Oriental Blush - Water decal nails

I saw these stunning nail decals on the British Beauty Blogger website about a month a ago and I knew I had to have them straight away!

They are commonly labelled as 'geisha' nails, but some very knowledgeable folk have commented that they are in fact Chinese peach fairies. Whatever these beautiful, ethereal creatures are, they make for a stunning manicure and I've blurred the label by calling them 'Oriental Blush', I think that sums up the look really.

Peach fairy nails!

Nail decals are like transfers, you cut them to size from the sheet, soak them in a little water for a few seconds and then slide them over your (previously painted) nails. I chose a pale French manicure pink as my base for a soft, fairytale vibe. This is two coats of L'Oreal Marie Antoinette underneath the decals. After applying the decal I used a generous layer of topcoat to seal in the design. I'm happy to report that this has been one of my longest lasting manicures.... over a week of wear!

For some reason I couldn't get a crystal clear shot of the peach fairies, but if you go to the Hail the Nails website you can see them displayed perfectly and you can pick some up for yourselves while you're there!

I loved the peach fairies so much I picked up two sheets of them and I also got the Pink and Peach English Rose Flowers decals. Such a great little site!

I'm itching to try these over black, do you think it will work? 

Pandora loves Autumn

It's been a long time since I really wrote about the things I love and actually love what I wrote....

I began this blog almost two years ago as an outlet for my creative writing and more recently I find myself merely 'reporting' in the briefest way possible, leaving aside any real expression that might interfere or, most likely, be ignored. After all, most people check out beauty blogs nowadays for reviews and swatches, not for literary satisfaction. And why shouldn't they? Why should we part with our hard-earned cash for products that just aren't worth it. We're savvy and we know it.

Anyway, I digress as usual.... Today I'm going to indulge myself thinking about all the things that make me feel warm inside when it's cold outside, both beauty-wise and otherwise.

First up.... CANDLES!

I love them. I love the subtle light they create, and the way they instantly change the atmosphere in a room with a flicker. Scented candles are even better, but they have to be good quality ones. I've had some very disappointing candles in the past and there is definitely a correlation between price and quality. My current favourites are by Yankee Candle. Perhaps not the most luxurious of packaging it has to be said, but there is a cute homeliness about the jar candles and once they're lit and the lights turned down low it doesn't really matter anyhow.

When I come in from the cold there is nothing more reassuring than lighting a few candles and making some tea before snuggling up on the couch.

Yankee Candles in Chamomile Tea & Blissful Autumn

The two I have burning at the moment are Autumn Bliss, (a sweet, fruity and mellow tempered with spice and a stronger hit of pear) and Chamomile Tea (the most comforting, wrapped-in-a-blanket smell, and quite literally chamomile tea with a dash of honey). I burn them simultaneously if I'm feeling indulgent and they complement each other beautifully. The quality of Yankee candles is absolutely superb. A medium sized jar (410g) has between 65-90 hours burn time and the wax burns down evenly for the most part. The scent is as strong at the end of the candle as it is at the beginning.

Medium jars retail for about £16.99 each on the official Yankee Candle website. 

Next up....RICHLY COLOURED NAILS!

This year I'm really spoilt for choice when it comes to adorning my nails. I have some beautiful metallics (which go with most things but really seem to set off knitwear beautifully) such as Estee Lauder Molten Lava and Chanel Peridot, and some more unusual offerings like Estee Lauder Black Turquoise .

Estee Lauder Molten Lava

I especially love the feeling of pulling out my purse (which happens far too often according to Mr P) and flashing my jewel-toned dark nails at cash registers. Don't ask me why, but it makes me happy...

Next.... and a strange one.... PALE SKIN!

I love to embrace being pale in the winter and eschewing bronzer for a richer toned blusher and just-bitten lips. I love the idea of having alabaster skin, although to be honest I tend to go more sallow than anything else... still it's the idea I love and that inspires me to go more gothic with hair and make-up. I love the feeling of fragility that paleness gives me.... please don't get me wrong here, I don't mean consumptive heroine, and I certainly don't love feeling ill, I mean more like a delicate 'winter fairy', if there's such a thing (and I'm sure there is) :)

Anyway moving swiftly on..... BLACK!

Nothing literary here, it makes me look thin, ok? And I've been wearing a lot of it recently and loving the sleekness that comes with a mostly black ensemble. A well-cut black coat is every girl's best friend as are a nice firm pair of black treggings (trouser-leggings, don't you know?). I love colour, truly I do, but this autumn in particular I've been loving embracing the dark side....

Next.... CASSEROLES, STEWS AND BAKING!

See why I need the black? Cold weather means hearty food and is there anything more comforting than finding a casserole in the oven when you come in from the cold and freshly-baked muffins for those icy weekend mornings?

My vanilla caraway muffins - the ultimate breakfast treat

I can't tell you how much I'd love to find a casserole magically made for me when I get home. Perhaps the winter fairy will provide it, it's probably more likely than coming home to find Mr P in an apron chopping onions....

I hope you've enjoyed the randomness of this post.... I'd love to hear what you're loving at the moment! 

'Starry Night' Halloween Nails

Sinful Colors 'Black on Black' with Orly 'Shine on crazy diamond'

Ok, so this is not exactly ground-breaking, but with not much time or scope for creativity nail-wise, I wanted a quick way to pay homage to Halloween without spending a frustrated hour with a tooth-pick trying to draw spiders on my nails. Granted, last years nails were much more interesting, but I had more time back then.

Having said that, I rather like my little festive Halloween look. Think black night peppered with stars, a less ghoulish and more glam take on All Hallows eve.

 I used one coat of Sinful Colors Black on Black (yes, just one coat, it has marvellous coverage), topped with one coat of Orly Shine on Crazy Diamond, which is my favourite sheer glitter polish. Then one coat of Essie Good to Go Topcoat. The Orly, as lovely as it is, has a horrid dull finish if you leave it on it's own and a topcoat will bring it back to life.

 I've tried to capture the amazing holographic nature of the glitter which comes to life under artificial light. In daylight you only see silver, so I took these photos underneath my bathroom lights.

For our Halloween tonight we are going to see Diana Krall at the Royal Albert Hall, so I don't think these nails would look out of place there. A little bit fun, a little bit chic and oh-so simple.

Happy Halloween peeps!

Chanel Black Pearl

Also known as 'the curse of the black pearl'.... This has stolen my heart and become my number one polish of all time. I just want to wear this and only this....

Chanel Black Pearl

Funnily enough I didn't buy this little bottle of black magic. It was a birthday gift from my little brother and his lovely little girlfriend (ok, they are not so little, they are grown up enough to recognise Chanel, but you know.... younger than me, so little.) They also bought me Peridot which I thought I didn't want but now I have it I don't know how I could have not had it in my life. The Peridot story will be told soon, but it's now my 'lucky' polish...

Chanel Black Pearl

 But back to Black Pearl. This literally is like someone has just replaced your fingernails with precious black Tahitian pearls. (Do pearls even come from Tahiti? Well, I like to think they do)

 I don't know how they did it, but Chanel have replicated all the beautiful nuances in a black pearl, bringing out the shots of irridescent green and flashes of blue-lilac which can be found in real 'black' pearls. It's really incredible.

I'm so in love with this. It goes with everything and even has a changing quality which means that it picks up the colour in whatever you are wearing and reflects it, for instance, if I'm wearing something green the polish becomes more green-tinged. Amazing.

It's a curse because I've received a lot of stunning new colours recently, all birthday gifts, all of which are gorgeous, but my heart yearns for black pearl in a way which I've never before experienced with polish. This is going to be one of the very few colours I'm going to need a back-up bottle of.

Plus, this is one of the GOOD Chanel formulas, lovely coverage, decent wear time. This is two coats with Essie Good to Go topcoat.

Buy it. You need it. You won't regret it.

Review- Laura Geller Glow and Behold Kit

I'm a bad, bad beauty blogger, because I've not told you about this when it's something that you probably need in your lives, like, now.

This was a Today's Special Value on QVC some weeks ago and I caved in and bought it because every single one of the products looked so unique, unlike anything I have already, and as you can imagine, I already have a lot. 

The whole kit was also tremendous value for money, something around the £34 mark if I remember correctly, but even at it's current price, £42, it's still awesome value for money and I would definitely buy it again as a beautiful gift for someone. 

Laura Geller Dream Cream concealer (medium-dark)

So, what's in the set, I hear you ask. First up, and the thing that intrigued me most; The concealer. Yes, that's the concealer in the above photo! Can you believe it? You basically swipe your finger across all the shades and within each colour there are corrective and brightening properties which means that you get the best of everything in one go, almost like 4 products in one. If the result of mixing all four shades together is too dark or light then you can adjust the shade by going over the application with one of the three stripes of colour to lighten or deepen accordingly. The half-moon shade to the left is the highlight shade which, when mixed in with the others just brightens the under-eye area a touch, and when used alone as a traditional highlight gives a lovely rose-gold gleam to the cheekbones. This is a totally unique concept, made even more special by the fact that swiping across all shades does not ruin each individual colour, you can swipe down on them vertically to regain each original shade as you see it here. The effect looks very natural indeed, and I happily interchange this with my Garnier roll-on/Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection combo, although I suppose if it came to the crunch and I absolutely had to choose one concealer it would still be Collection 2000, just because my dark circles are soooo bad and it's a bit more opaque in coverage. But overall a very lovely concealer and definitely one to check out either on it's own or with the rest of the set..... and so moving on to:

 The Tahitian Glow face and body powder. A gorgeous skin brightener which is a cross between a bronzer and a glow powder. It's a bit like the Dior Healthy Glow powder, only less orange. Don't get me wrong, I love my Dior powder, but this just brings my skin to life in a way I didn't think was possible. It can even double up as a foundation as it has a degree of coverage to it. In the summer that's what I'm going to do, if it lasts that long. You can also dampen the sponge it comes with and use it wet for even better coverage on the body, but I haven't tried this out yet. I just use it with a powder brush all over my face and marvel at the radiance.

 I should also mention the half mirror inside the compact... it's a neat idea to have half mirror/half transparent plastic, it makes identifying the product a whole lot easier. The mirror is a little small, but much better than nothing. I do my make-up facing the window and so I have to hold up a mirror to see what I'm doing. As a consequence my mirror-less blushers get a little less love.

The Bora Bora blush is stunning. The perfect pale pink flush of colour for any time of year. The effect is luminous and paired with the Tahitian Glow the overall look is 'radiant princess', for lack of a better phrase! I think the key is that both the blush and the Glow powder are baked creams, so they are fundamentally a cream formulation which means that they don't end up looking powdery on the skin.

You also get a whopping size of the Spackle make-up primer in the set. I'm kind of fine without primer on an every day basis, but for special events and situations where you really want your make-up to stay put this does the job admirably. It's scentless and light. Not a thrilling product by any means, but a good one to have on standby.

Last but not least, this clever little lippie. It's a split-colour called Caribbean Kiss, with a plummy-pink on one side and a tawny bronze on the other. I thought that it looked a bit 'blah' to be honest, but it's now my most reached for lip colour, giving me a very luscious looking soft, fresh pout. The texture and scent are a huge plus, it has a light smell of raspberry buttercream (in my opinion!) and feels so moisturising. The colours are sheer which makes it so easy to slap on and not think about, and I can't think of anyone this would not look good on.

All in all I'm a TOTAL Laura Geller convert. If you have the QVC channel try and tune in when she's on, she's hilarious, so much fun to watch. That fact that the products are top-notch just makes me love her even more.

You can find the set here if you're interested. As far as I know it's only available in the UK via QVC, but in the US it's probably all much easier to come by.

Top of the taupes - including comparison between Barry M Mushroom and Cappucino

I had prepared this post from a few weeks ago but never got round to writing it up. I thought it very appropriate for this time of year when we pack away the corals and dig out the greiges...

From left to right: Mavala Mauve Cedre, Barry M Cappucino, Barry M Mushroom, Maybelline Rosy Sand, OPI A Taupe of the Space Needle, Kiko shade 325

Inspired by the taupe-y goodness that is Barry M Mushroom, I decided I'd compare it to my latest Barry M acquisition, Cappucino, and then in a fever of taupe - greige enthusiasm I thought I'd dig out other shades in my stash to compare.

I was worried that they would all look far too similar, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are all different enough to justify them being in my possession. Maybelline Rosy Sand (4th along) is perhaps the only one that doesn't really belong, more suited to the nude palette, but I thought I'd chuck it in there as to me it's a paler shade of Barry M Mushroom to it's left. The OPI shade A Taupe of the Space Needle is more of a muddy khaki, you can really see it's green tones when compared to the others. I'd previously thought that the Kiko 325 was quite green, but now I see it as a green-toned grey.

From left to right: Mavala Mauve Cedre, Barry M Cappucino and Barry M Mushroom

 So here is a clearer comparison of the two Barry M's. Cappucino is a more purple take on a classic taupe, but still in the taupe family I'd say. Mushroom is much more milk chocolate with a greyed base. Both are great shades to have, I couldn't choose between them as to which I like best and to be honest, at £2.99, I don't think I have to.
Interestingly I nearly didn't buy Cappucino because I thought it would be too similar to Mavala Mauve Cedre (also pictured above) which I'd had for a while, but there is far more grey in the Mavala.

I love doing these shade comparisons.... I could spend hours just staring at swatches, plus it makes me realise the value of uniqueness in every colour I possess. Yes Mr P, they are ALL DIFFERENT.

I seriously recommend getting some plastic nail wheels from ebay, they are super cheap and hours of fun lie ahead!

NOTD - Essie Tart Deco

Just when we think we're falling into autumn, summer comes round again and slaps us in the face.

This weekend has been hot. Like, 28 degrees hot. I couldn't possibly slap on Black Turquoise in this heat, I needed to go dig out something brighter but not too holiday-esque, if you catch my drift. 

I have various un-trieds in my collection, and Essie Tart Deco was one of them. A milky peachy-apricot-y orange hue in the bottle, it seemed like the perfect crossover shade.

Essie Tart Deco (daylight)

I wasn't a fan of the formulation on this one, a bit thick and tricky to manipulate with the rather narrow brush. I think this is the old Essie formula, one I picked up much earlier this year when still in Brussels. I would love to see how the new formulas compare at some point.

Essie Tart Deco

Anyway, that aside, would you look at that colour?? I couldn't believe how bright it turned out, almost neon actually. And it's a bit of a chameleon... in daylight you see much more of it's apricot milk goodness. In artificial light it leans a much brighter true orange. Either way I like it very, very much and it certainly livened up a monochrome outfit I'd put together.

Essie Tart Deco (artificial light)

As usual, this is two coats with Essie Good to Go topcoat.

Apparently it'll cool down a lot later in two days, but I'll enjoy Tart Deco while the sun still shines. I guess looking back on these photos it IS in fact very holiday-esque.... oh well.

Would you be partial to a slice of Tart Deco?