Nail Polish Haul!

Hi there!

I've been on a sort of spending ban ever since I bought my car. Owing £4k makes me uncomfortable and I cannot wait to get that debt paid off....but Christmas and offers are killing me and I've ended up succumbing to so many deals and eBay especially!

Have you ever bought nail polishes off ebay before? I'm always dubious but can't resist especially when some of the ones I wanted were limited edition and only sold in shops for a number of weeks.

Recently I have picked up polishes from Essie and OPI and kept my fingers crossed they were genuine.

First up at the OPI polishes, both from the James Bond 007 set that came out last Autumn/Winter time. I'm a HUGE james bond fan and couldn't resist collecting them all. But unfortunately for me at the time I'd been out of work for almost a year because of uni so having minimal funds left meant I couldn't afford all of them even in the Christmas sales. So it has long been my mission to get my hands on all of the colours (aside from the real gold flake top coat....£30 for a nail polish I just cannot justify!)

2 that I was still missing were Live and Let Die, a dark green gold shimmer polish and You Only Live Twice; a red/pink shimmer.

Both of these looked gorgeous in the bottle and in online pictures so seeing them on ebay for around £6 instead of £11ish I was excited to use them.

Live and Let Die is shown below:

These pictures were taken with 2 coats of polish and one of top coat and you can see that they come out very uniform and not streaky at all.

The colour is a lot darker than I thought it would be and the shimmer doesn't show up as much which was a bit disappointing.

It's more of a sludgy green in comparison to how it photographs in the bottle but it might get used over the winter months.

You Only Live Twice is shown in the pictures below:

Excuse the awful lighting...I had to take a picture super quickly as I got to work as the lab seems to kill any manicure I have within minutes!

Again this was uniform and opaque in 2 coats and seemed to come out more true to colour than the previous polish.

I'm glad I didn't pay full price for these polishes....not only did they not come out as I imagined after comparing them to my other Bond polishes they are most definitely fakes!
The labels on the bottoms are not the same font or size and these 2 polishes smell very strongly in comparison to the others. This is an unfortunate part of ebay and what tends to put me off in the first place as you never know what chemicals were used to create them and they aren't regulated at all.

I highly doubt I will use these again as I'm always wary of suspect chemicals....definitely learnt my lesson with OPI polishes!

Essie polishes were a different story!

I purchased these three from 2 different sellers who I will link below.

After a quick browse one day on ebay I couldn't resist snapping up Recessionista and Miss Fancy Pants. Both of these are my favourite colours for winter; I love berry shades on my nails and nudes are always welcome particularly Essie ones! I believe they are from a previous winter collection though I'm not sure which.

I bought them from this seller who has a range of products including Essie for a mere £3.62 so I snapped them up and they combined postage for me too which is always lovely.

Beyond Cosy is a polish that I have previously bought in the Winter Collection from Essie last year (see here) and I've used this one plus Leading Lady quite a bit since! I knew I was going to have to pick up the full size one soon and luckily for me Fee from Make Up Savvy put up this post with a link to a discounted version on ebay I couldn't help it! 

I ended up getting it from this seller who Fee mentions in the same post and it's such a gorgeous colour!

Here's a design I did with Beyond Cozy underneath and Recessionista on the top; its one of my favourite ways to wear metallic and glitter polishes!





The flash used above is my awful iPhone flash and is very blue so the colour is not very true here but the gold glitter shines so nicely!

I have used Miss Fancy Pants since purchasing it but didn't take a photo. As I already owned Chinchilly (also by Essie) it was only natural that I compare the two and found that they are very similar, which MFP being slightly lighter.

The picture below shows Chinchilly just for reference; I'm sure MFP will make it into a NOTD soon as I can't stop using any of them!

What do you think about buying cosmetics off eBay?

Most of the time I avoid it but nail varnish is normally ok; save for the OPI ones as they're such big money makers!

Do you like my purchases? Will you be buying any of them?


L xxx

Inspiration: Hunger Games Catching Fire

Hello all!

I'm sure like everyone else on the planet you are all excited for the latest installment in the Hunger Games trilogy. When I first heard about it from a friend a while ago i thought....what the hell?!

But she persuaded me to read the books and I was HOOKED. I loved them and couldn't wait for the films!

In light of the latest film coming out this week I have decided to do an extra post with inspiration from the film and the districts, I hope you enjoy the ideas!

Unfortunately I've been struck down with some kind of flu; I've been suffering with the usual aches, swollen glands and ear ache so I've been confined to bed and watching a lot of tv.

Because I'm not looking quite as attractive as normal (ha!) I decided to stick to simple ideas and have a lip and nail idea for you. They're quite simple which is what i like best and i took inspiration from the name Catching Fire. 

First up is the nails, here's what I used:

China Glaze Smoke and Ashes (from the Official Hunger Games Capitol Colors Collection)
OPI Bond Die Another Day
OPI Bond Girls Liquid Sand Jinx
OPI Goldeneye
Revlon Sequins

Excuse the messy mid-way photo, I used to sponge to apply a gradient polish effect. I started with the black and green glitter from China Glaze and progressed from left to right using the polishes in the above photo.
I used a sponge to do this in multiple layers layering to the gold colour which i used on the tip.

The gold glitter is then applied all over for a 'spark' effect; you can't catch fire without one you know!

I hope you like my nail design, i had lots of fun doing it whilst sat in bed. It's always the best place to be when you're ill. I've even got myself some tea and homemade cake, lush!

My other inspiration idea was an ombre lip, similar to the nail design. I used the following products:



Rimmel Kate Moss 107, Rimmel Kate Moss 12, Maybelline Color Sensational 912 Electric Orange.





I also used Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner, Rimmel Scandaleyes Kajal and L'oreal Color Appeal Eyeshadow in Pure Gold.



I applied 107 to the outer corners of my lip, 12 to the middle and then Electric Orange to the centre of my lips blending together as I went.
In order to make the lip line neater I used the red lip liner to give my lips more definition and shape, and then used the black kajal pencil to make it darker at the outer corners.



To make the middle of my lips look even lighter I then used the gold shadow to highlight the centre and just dabbed it on the centre.



This was a lot of fun and a completely different look than I'd normally choose. I love playing with eye make up and this was a fun change from that; I'm not the biggest fan of taking photos of my mouth as i see some that look ridiculous and my lips aren't the biggest so have the worst pout!

What do you think of my Catching Fire inspired looks? Will you be trying either of them out?
Have you see or will you be seeing the latest film?

We're going Tuesday, i cannot wait!

L xxx

OPI Liquid Sands: Bond Girls - Honey Ryder and Jinx

Happy Friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiday!!!!

I'm lucky enough to be spending my day in London today, and my current plan is to go to the Victoria and Albert museum so I'm really looking forward to it as I've never been and it's supposed to be amazing!

That said, I've been swooning over these polishes for a little while. I'm obsessed with James Bond and OPI which generally means that these polishes were a complete no brainer.



When OPI bought out the original collection I snapped it up, along with the Bond Girls Liquid Sands. I have previously posted about the mini set I bought but my friend in America sent me over 2 full size of my favourite one and a new one.

The new one was Honey Ryder, a beautiful gold liquid sand polish.

It was love at first sight for me!

I keep trying to think of things to say but quite honestly I feel the pictures say it all.
It's such a beautiful polish and the texture is gorgeous.



The texture makes it look so glittery and adds another dimension. I like different kinds of polishes and techniques but I don't normally like them all that much, but these liquid sands I do love!

I particularly love wearing Honey Ryder on my toes, it's long lasting and is a great sparkly addition to my collection. I know if I wear it that it will go with every thing I might wear so it's a great easy option.

Below is Jinx, the other full size polish. I've mentioned in the previous post how much i love it, it's a coral liquid gold with a gold shimmer through it. It shimmers like a fire in the light which makes me love it even more!

Are you a fan of liquid sand polishes? Are you obsessed with collections of polishes like I am?

Sets are far too easy to get addicted to!

L xxx

OPI - 007 Bond Girls Liquid Sands

I've mentioned a few times how obsessed I am with James Bond. And how obsessed i am with nail collections.

Obviously when the Bond Girls Liquid Sands collection came out I had to snap it up.

I only picked up the mini collection though (slightly redeeming myself...) which contains 4 out of the 6 polishes. This leaves me wondering why on earth they didn't just do a mini set of all 6, or split it into 3?

I'd have still bought it and most others would too. I love some of them so much I've requested my Americna friend to send some over for me, assuming they get through the post GODDAMN INTERNAITONAL MAIL RULES.

This mini collection contains Jinx (Halle Berry), Vesper (Eva Green), Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) and Solitaire (Jane Seymour) and all are Liquid Sands, the latest in nail decoration to hit the masses.

First up is Jinx.

This is my absolute favourite and request number one from my friend.

Just LOOK at it.

It's corally, with a gold shimmer and a beautiful texture.

It looks like fire, and part of me wishes that Hunger Games could get a few of these liquid sand polishes out for the next film as seriously, wouldn't Catching Fire make a great liquid sand polish??

Wondering aside, this beautiful polish was the first Liquid Sand polish that i have tried and subsequently have fallen in love with them all. Sometimes a fad just hits the part where you were wondering why on earth so many variations of nail art existed and you totally understand.

It actually mesmerises me and I've put my order in for a full size so I can continue to coo over my own nails like a weirdo!

Below shows the first image of Solitaire.

Solitaire is a shimmery white liquid sand polish that is described as being a 'diamond white'

Please excuse my appalling application in these pictures as I was far too excited to concentrate.

Diamond White is definitely the correct description for this polish as the silver glitter in it perfectly sets it off.

I'm not one to wear a shimmery white polish as it reminds me too much of my nan who thinks she's very cool for wearing it, but i will take all of that back for this beauty. If only i had a tan to set it off with! It would look even better then!

Pussy Galore is as you would expect, a cute baby pink shimmer.

This was super easy to apply and was completely foolproof. The others were easy to apply too and mostly I only needed 2 coats for each, but this polish applied like a dream and instantly looked great.

I'm also not much of a baby pink girl, I prefer hot pinks and reds but this is a very welcome addition to my collection and will certainly get a lot of use over the summer.

I've even worn these to work and haven't had any comments, which is good as my neon colours have caused quite a stir! The Bond colours are clearly more acceptable ha.

Below is the final in the collection, Vesper.

In the films, Vesper is one of my favourites. She's so British and I think Eva Green is beautiful, she's also in the first film with Daniel Craig as Bond, which means I love Casino Royale more ;)

This purple perfectly matches the dress she wears in the film.

This one was a little harder to apply and I think 3 coats would have been preferable for the perfect finish.

Having said that it is a beautiful aubergine purple and will be perfect for autumn and winter when berry colours take over (possibly my favourite time of year!)

You can see in the picture above where the polish looks thinner. It's not so apparent in reality but you can just see it, which means in my opinion that a third coat is needed.

This one is also not glittery which is probably why it shows up flaws more as the light is being diffracted all over place distracting your eyes!

Overall as my first mini OPI collection I was very impressed. I also bought the OPI Oz mini collection too which will be in an upcoming post.

Jinx was my ultimate favourite and as I've mentioned I will be getting it in the full size. Pussy Galore and Solitaire are the shock likes in this collection as I didn't think they'd be anything more than pretty nude colours, but I was proved wrong. Vesper will have to be brought back out at winter time as its such a deep purple, but then it will definitely be used and I'm looking forward to it.

Also in the collection is a gold called Honey Ryder (also on my list to come from America!) and Tiffany Case, a really pretty baby blue. I won't be trying Tiffany Case as I'd have to buy the full size to try it, but you never know, I'm a sucker for owning a full collection!

I hadn't thought to try nail art with these yet, but Polish You Pretty did the most amazing ombre effect with Vesper and Honey Ryder that I had to show you....AMAZING!!

What do you think of the Bond Girl collection? Do you like the Liquid Sand effect?

L xxx

NOTD: OPI James Bond Tomorrow Never Dies

Following on from my previous post last week, here is one of the most beautiful purples I have ever seen.

This is OPI's Tomorrow Never Dies from their James Bond 007 Collection:

I did take rather a lot of photos of this colour as in every light it seemed to come out a different shade of a beautiful metallic shimmery purple.



In a flash picture it looks a more blue toned purple but above without a flash it looks more like a Cadbury purple, and we all love a Cadbury purple colour!
The reality is somewhat between the two as it does show up differently in different lights.
It's absolutely gorgeous and has been great whilst the evenings were longer and darker and I wanted something more varied than the winter berry colours.



This colour would also look great matt which I tried out but stupidly forgot to take a photo of, silly me!
And I cannot wait to try out some glitter on top, galaxy style nails anyone??



Tomorrow Never Dies is also one of my most memorable Bond movies from my childhood as I remember my dad watching it.



This colour applies opaque in two coats which is what we have come to expect from a brand like OPI.
It's a pretty flawless application - though my photos tell a more revealing story as these were actually taken 3 days after the initial painting.
I'd been to work for 3 days before these photos and still the polish is barely chipped which is nothing short of a miracle working in a lab and my fingers and nails are definitely put through their paces.



What do you think of Tomorrow Never Dies?
Too much of a Cadbury purple for you or does it make you feel warm and fuzzy inside like it does for me??


L xxx