Urgh!

Sometimes, I can't help gilding the lily:

Had a perfectly good Rococo Utility manicure, and I went and added a layer of Inglot flakies to it, and ended up with this hideous mess. Both gorgeous shades on their own, added together just made me feel all "urgh" about it!

Have you ever made any terrible errors of combination?

Nail of the Day - Mavala Mango Orange

Oh, this is just too pretty, it arrived courtesy of the Nail Varnish Fairy and I was wearing it within about 30 seconds of opening the envelope! This will explain - I hope - the rather messy application ...

Housed, as always in one of Mavala's mini-bottles, this gloriously hot metallic orange shade is perfect for summer fingers, although I can see it working beautifully on toes too. The above picture shows two coats over a rather beige base.  It's very sheer, and highly sparkly - almost frosty, if such a hot shade can be said to be frosty - but it catches the light very well, and it's gorgeous in sunlight!

What shades do you love for summer nails? Mavala polishes are available from John Lewis and leading independent pharmacies.

The Fine Print: As there isn't actually a Nail Varnish Fairy - sorry kids! - it should be disclosed that this is a review sample.  I wish there was a nail varnish fairy though, I know a few people who'd keep her very busy ...

He's Baaaaaaack!

Yes, MrLippie is back reviewing again.  And I think he may have been drinking! Take a look at his latest post over on Ape to Gentleman, and don't forget to let him know what you think.  All the filth in the final paragraph has nothing to do with me, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  So there.

Ellis Faas: Ellis Eyes Lights Eyeshadows FotD

As you may know, my birthday treat to myself was a couple of Ellis Faas Ellis Eyes Lights shadows. I created a FotD with E305 - a rich burgundy brown with amazing green duochrome - at the time, but I've since got around to wearing the E304 - a shimmering lilac metallic - and this is how it looked under a variety of lighting conditions:

As you can see, depending on the lighting conditions it can look very different. Also, depending on the angle you're looking it from, it can appear very sheer with a hint of sparkle, or a vibrant lilac shade, accordingly.  For me, in all honesty, I actually find it a slightly easier shade to wear than the E305, possibly because I like to play up the green tones in my eyes, and this is an excellent vehicle for that.

It's maybe not entirely suitable for office wear, but that's never stopped me wearing glitter for work before, to be honest! I teamed it with a taupe eyeshadow in the crease alongside my beloved Guerlain Oriental Metal kohl, and a very nude lip (Becca's Giselle topped with Le Metier de Beaute's Manhattan gloss), here's how it looked in the full context of my face:

Yeah, my hair looked insane in the full picture, so I had to crop  it out, that'll learn it.

The Fine Print: Bought them!  Nyah Nyah!!

Mannequin Hands? Precision Nail Lacquer P300 Kismet

A couple of months ago you couldn't move for blogs with people showing you their "Mannequin Hands".  Basically, a mannequin hand is one where you've painted your nails the same colour as the skin of your hand, making you look like you have longer, slimmer fingers.  Sadly, my hands are more sausage fingers than mannequin, but this polish - P300 Kismet from Precision - seems to have worked better for me in this craze than some other, more beige shades I've been trying.

Yes, it's a bit frosty - and therefore not a "real" mannequin hand, as you're meant to use a creme shade - and yes, it's a lot paler than I thought the skin on my hands was in the first place, but I do kind of like the shade, I can't deny it.  But I also can't deny that this looks dated in the picture, because what you can't really see here is the amazing green/pink duochrome that's in the polish! It's very visible in the bottle, but sadly not on the nail, and not in these pics ... The pics have also washed out the shade a little, it's actually slightly more pink than it appears here.

Pics show four coats - I still had some visible nail line, but I can live with it - over an Orly sticky basecoat, and under a layer of OPI Rapid-Dry top coat.  The polishes last well, the picture above is several days old now, and there's no chipping or signs of tipwear.

Precision polishes cost £5.95 and are available from Venus nail and beauty supplies.  I've not bought from these people though - this polish was a gift - so buyer beware, and all that.

What's your take on mannequin hands?

Elf High Definition Powder vs Urban Decay Razor Sharp Ultra Definition Finishing Powder

You can't move at the moment for High Definition cosmetics. I'm not - entirely - convinced that for day-to-day wear you need cosmetics that provide coverage designed for such a specific purpose (essentially a High Definition cosmetic is one designed not to look dreadful for digital photography), but some of them do have their uses.

I'm a fan of HD powders, they're a lot finer than traditional talc-based powder, and for that reason, on my slightly dry skin, I find them quite easy to wear.  They're also slightly lighter than talc-based cosmetics, so they won't clog your pores, and they're also suitable for summer-wear over a tinted moisturiser.

I own two HD powders, firstly Elf HD Powder:

Mainly consisting of silica, this powder costs £6 and is available from the ELF website.  It's housed in a bulky black box with a sifter, and comes complete with a velvet puff to buff the product into your skin.

I also own the Urban Decay Razor Sharp Ultra Definition Finishing Powder (catchy name!  But it's essentially an HD powder like the ELF above):

This is housed in a round container, which has a built-in applicator, which makes it slightly less likely that you'll end up spilling the powder all over your feet when you're using it.  Not, of course, that I'm speaking from experience!  Their are two major differences between the Urban Decay HD powder (seriously, I cannot be bothered typing the full name out every time) and the ELF, and that is the UD is beige, and it costs £17.

So, given that the major component in both powders is silica, is there much difference between them?  Actually, yes. And no. Both feel silky on the skin thanks to the silica, and both work well as finishing powders, giving the skin a matte-ish, but not flat finish.  In fact, the ELF powder is the one I use as a finishing powder in the vast majority of my makeovers, but I do find that the Urban Decay does, in fact give a finer, softer finish on the skin, and feels a great deal silkier when rubbed between your fingertips. There's not a huge amount to choose between them to be honest.  Both involve patting the applicator over your skin, then I like to sweep away the excess with a large powder brush, to give an even finish.

All that said, which one would I buy again?  The ELF. Most likely. For my purposes, it's just that little bit more versatile.  Yes, it doesn't have the "sexy" packaging of the UD, but I don't think the fancy container justifies a three times higher cost considering the similarity of the contents. I did find, in use that the UD reminded me a great deal of Prescriptives (now discontinued) "Magic Powder", and I think it has some of the same "water-burst" technology, so people who've been yearning for a duplicate, here's your chance! For me though, I'd still buy the ELF, I can always put it into a fancy container ...

Do you own any HD cosmetics, what do you think of them?

The Fine Print: I bought these. A little while ago, admittedly, but I've still got the box the ELF came in.  I really need to tidy up.

Guerlain Kohl Swatches

I own four of the Guerlain Kohls now, I thought it was time to show you how they compare to each other:

Here are the three darks, Noir is a rich, sparkly black, Mirage is a matte, slightly flattened grey-brown (it's not quite a taupe, but it's not as red, nor as sparkly as Guerlain's "Brun" shade), and Oriental Metal is the most beautiful lightly metallic taupe-shade, which has very quickly become a staple in my daily make up.

There is one missing from the hand-swatch here, and that's the Guerlain kohl in Secret Glow.  The reason for this is that it's almost impossible to see, so I thought I'd show it to you "in action" as it were:

It's a flesh-coloured powder with a light hint of iridescence, you use it in the same way you use the other kohls (a quick swipe along the waterline with the stick), and instead of darkening and defining the eye, it lightens and brightens your eyes, by getting rid of any residual pinkness.

It's VERY easy to overdo though.  Very, very, very easy.  This doesn't look too bad in the photo, but I spent all day boggling at how "odd" my eyes looked.  I'm not sure I'll use Secret Glow again for a while - it was just too different - or at least, I might try and see how I can use it to get a slightly lighter application.  I'll say this for it, it's got some MEGA-staying power!

The Fine Print: I bought these, and I loved them so much I've bought them for other people too.  Don't fear the stick, people!