BarryM Textured Nail Effect Polish in Ridley Road | Review.

Once again the weather is strangely glorious. This time I actually went out in the sunshine, alas it was only to do some leafleting for work. At least I was being paid to wander around in the sun.

The nail polish I'm reviewing today is perfect for Spring and Summer. It's a beautiful pastel turquoise colour called Ridley Road and it's from the Textured Polish range by BarryM (£3.99). As you're probably aware I'm awful at explaining colours but I'd describe it as a pastel mint colour that leans a little blue (so in my mind, turquoise).

I love the name, Ridley Road is in Dalston, which is very near to the area in London where I was born (Stoke Newington). My mum used to go to the Ridley Road market all the time and the last time we visited London we went shopping there. There's the most amazing fabric shop there, as well as copious amounts of fruit and veg stalls.

I've never worn a textured nail polish before and I must say I wasn't all that sure beforehand. As soon as I tried it though it was love. The 4 colours in the range are all beautiful pastel shades, but they still pack a punch as they are a little brighter than your average pastel. I do wish there was more of a shade range but maybe there will be in the future.
This shade took two layers to be opaque and build up the texture a bit.

The Good.

Beautiful colour.
Interesting texture.
Only £3.99.
Opaque after 2 coats.
Lasts for a couple of days without chipping.

The Bad.

Limited colour range.

Safe to say I love this nail polish, I really want to get the other shades too. Have you tried any textured nail polishes before? What are your favourite polishes for Spring/Summer?

100 Followers Giveaway | Sleek, BarryM, Dainty Doll and Collection.

Finally I managed to get my act together and collect everything I needed for my 100 follower giveaway! I really appreciate every one of my followers, I'm so happy that anyone actually reads my blog. So thank you all very much. This is just a little giveaway seeing as it's my first one, but I hope people will like it.

The winner will get a Sleek blusher from the Aqua Collection in the shade Mirrored Pink (so wanted to keep this for myself!), a BarryM textured nail polish in Atlantic Road, one of the Dainty Doll lipsticks in the shade Saucy Sailor (I love this colour!) and a black felt tip eyeliner by Collection.

Info.

This competition is open from now until Saturday 4th of May - so that gives you two weeks.
All you need to do it follow me on GFC and there are other optional ways of gaining entries too if you like!
The competition is open internationally - however I will not be held responsible for any customs charges or taxes that may incur.
All the items will be packed in a box with sufficient protective packaging so as to avoid breakages - however I cannot guarantee this and once again will not be held responsible for any broken items. Sorry!

Thanks again to all my wonderful followers!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NOTD | Barry M + H&M.

Just wanted to post a couple of photos of my nails. I love painting my nails, and I always end up doing an accent nail - I'm still stuck on that trend haha!

I used two layers of Miss Stone Heart from H&M on all my nails then layered 288 from Barry M over the colour on my ring fingernails. 288 is a beautiful silver-grey micro glitter. It's so shimmery and smooth, I love it!

That's it, just wanted to show you what I'm wearing on my nails today! Hope you're having a lovely weekend :)

No 7 Stay Perfect Nail Polish | Review.

I've got quite a few things lined up to write about, I really need to get organised and get around to doing it! More of the posts will be about Christmas presents that I wanted to try out for a while before I made any judgement on them.

These mini nail polishes came in a set that I bought as part of the 3 for 2 gift offers that are always on around Christmas time. I love it, they always have so many cosmetic sets to choose from. Saying that, I found it hard to spot anything I really, really wanted. I decided on this little set as I don't have the largest collection of nail polishes and I wanted to expand on the colours I have. These mini bottles are the perfect size at 4ml, I never finish a whole bottle of polish before it goes all gloopy and I have to bin it, so I'm always looking for minis to try out.

This set was £10. The price is really decent considering that a full size single nail polish costs £6 alone. Not sure if this set is still available any more, it was probably a Christmas exclusive. Other sets may be available in stores.

UPDATE (15/01/13): This set is on sale for £5 at the moment!

The set came with 4 polishes, I thought the colours were perfect for Christmas and New Year which is why I was drawn to them. You can see below the colours I wore for Christmas day.

Damson Dream looks very purple here, but it's more red on the nail.

L-R - Devils Delight, Totally Teal, Hot to Trot, Damson Dream.

Mini Revlon Haul.

Something I really love about Christmas time is the special offers certain shops have on! Boots and Superdrug tend to have them all year round, but they have more around this time of year. 

I popped into Boots a couple of weeks ago and I noticed that it was 3 for 2 on all Revlon cosmetics, this caught my eye straight away as there are a few things I've been looking to buy from them for ages. Here's what I got.

Christmas Nails.

I'm not the hugest fan of Christmas, I do like it, but I'm not as mad on it as most people are. Although saying that I felt like painting my nails with a Christmassy theme. Kind of...
Having two days off work is amazing for many reasons, but it also means I can paint my nails!

I used Red Nail by H&M and 150 by Barry M for the accent nail. H&M nail polishes are fantastic, of the brands I've tried they are my favourite. They have a lovely colour range, are very opaque after two coats and are very easy to apply.
I just wish my nails and cuticles weren't so messed up. Years of washing dishes at work and an allergy to sanitiser have destroyed my nail beds so my cuticles don't grow back properly, if at all. It also means my nails grow in bumpy.

 

I heart Autumn

SO, I love watching various tags on YouTube, and the one that has been going around lately is the I heart Fall/ Autumn tag. I really want to do it, so instead of video form I thought I'd do it in the form of a blog post!
I've not actually been tagged, but hey...

1. Favourite Fall lip product?

I love dark colours for Autumn - I also love to state the obvious. Had you noticed? My favourite dark lipstick is probably Hang-Up by MAC. Shoddy photo time!

Hang-up (creamsheen) by MAC.


2. Favourite Fall Nail Polish?



Because I work with food I'm not allowed to wear nail polish at work, so I hardly get the chance to wear it. Which is sad. I would probably go for a classic black or burgundy though. My favourite black is by Barry M. Which reminds me, I used to use my mums one, so I'll need to get my own!

3. Favourite Starbucks Fall Drink?



 I don't really drink Starbucks, if I'm going for coffee or hot chocolate (which is very rarely) I prefer Costa. I would like to try out this Pumpkin Spiced Latte everyone is going on about though.

4. Favorite Fall Candle?
 

Well, I very rarely buy scented candles, so I'll have to pass on this question. I hate cinnamon or spice flavoured/scented things. Cloves, EW. Those seem to be the usual candle scents for this time of year.

5. Favourite Fall Scarf or accessory?



 I need to get myself a snood or a circle scarf. Might get my mum to make me one! I love them though. Fingerless gloves too, those ones with the little mitten flap things.

6. Haunted house, haunted hay ride, or haunted corn maze?


None really, only ever been on the haunted house ride things in the fairground. They're not all that scary, but I reckon the other two would be horrible!

7. Favourite Halloween movie?

Hmm, Hocus Pocus probably, predictable answer, I know. It's one of my favourite films ever though, not just at Halloween. I even went to Salem and Marblehead last year and saw some of the filming locations. Dream come true! I also love Beetlejuice and The Shining. 




8. Favourite candy to eat on Halloween?



 My mum had these hard candy things with little pumpkins on the wrapper a couple of years ago. They were orange and had orange sherbet in them. Other than that I don't know, Scream Eggs? 

9. What are you dressing up as for Halloween?!


 I hinted in my last post what I will be dressing up as. So you can guess from that, and there's another hint in this post too! I don't want to give it away just yet...

10. What is your Favorite thing about Fall?

Well, I just love the feel of it, it's very hard to describe. It's cooler and I can start layering and wearing black without people thinking I'm odd. I wear black all the time regardless. I love the smell in the air, I think it's the cold air and crunchy leaves or something. That's another thing, crunchy leaves, it's so satisfying to stand on a nice, big, crunchy leaf. Also, Halloween, my birthday, and the day after that Guy Fawkes night. FIREWORKS!!!

I tag everyone!

That's pretty much it. Keep an eye out for a Halloween post tomorrow. I hope my costume is successful! Have fun :) 

I'll leave you with a painting from one of my favourite artists, Gil Elvgren. It's very appropriate. 

Gil Elvgren

For more Halloween/random photos go to my personal Tumblr page.

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