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 - Oz The Great and Powerful

As well as my naughty purchase the other week when I ordered the OPI Bond Girl Liquid Sands, I also picked up the OPI Oz The Great and Powerful set as well, oops!

I couldn't resist and had heard such great things about the liquid sand in this collection and nudes, particularly from OPI are great for any collection.

I also love the names, as usual!

I Theodora You is a sheer pink
Glints of Glinda is a classic beige
Don't Burst my Bubble is a sheer white
What Wizardry is This is the liquid sand, a beautiful taupe with a matte shimmer.


First up is What Wizardry is This.

This is the liquid sand from the collection and as I said before in the Bond Girl post, I was so unsure of the texture and effect of the liquid sands.
However with the Bond Girl collection and this one I have been completely won over.

This is beautiful in the light, in the dark and in just about any situation possible. The classic taupe colour means it will suit most skin tones and most outfits, but the texture and shimmer bring it bang up to date and wearable to work, lunch dates, pub trips and Saturday nights out.

Look at it glimmer!

I Theodora You is the first nude I tried, and it's the sheer pink.

I do love nude pinks and this one is a really nice colour, but I think these are a bit too sheer for me.
They'd be perfect for work as they're a 'your nails but better' kind of shade and aren't too opaque to stand out.
However these ones are very sheer, and the photo below shows my nails after 2 coats so I was disappointed with this as theyre still very streaky and I'm not sure further coats would be able to sort this out completely.




Next up is Glints of Glinda:



The name to me suggests that it should be a glitter which was a little disappointing!
This is actually a classic beige, but again its a sheer polish. This is not as sheer as I Theodora You, and the colour is a lot more consistent.

Again its a 'your nails but better' shade that wouldn't show up too much if you have to be conservative at work.
I can imagine this would be great in winter too as this kind of beige colour will look great with the winter berry colours!



Lastly we have Don't Burst my Bubble which is a sheer white.

On first impression this one is very like Essie's Ballet Slippers. I forgot to take a photo after painting my nails with it so below the photos show it with some clear glitter on the ends (oops!)

This was after 2 coats and I will definitely use this as its so similar to Ballet Slippers and is probably the one that I will use most out of the nudes.



I think I will use Don't Burst my Bubble and What Wizardry is This the most as the liquid sand is so unique and the other is so wearable. I Theodora You and Glints of Glinda were a little disappointing as they were so sheer and out of all the polishes available I think the mini collection could have been a lot more exciting, 3 nudes in one limited edition collection is far too many.

What do you think of the collection? Do you like this many nudes? What do you think of the Liquid Sands?

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