Nail polish inspiration - for Illamasqua

Illamasqua are running a contest at the moment to find the inspiration for a new shade of nail polish. It closes on March 14th (Sunday) so get your skates on if you want to enter.

As I'm always banging on about duochromes, and am especially fond of those that appear in the natural world, my choice is pretty obvious. My entry to the contest is below.

Cetonia aurata - the rose chafer beetle, pictured by ParaScubaSailor on Flickr

A polish in tribute to the jewelled beauty of the rose chafer. Clinging to the fingertips like 6 delicate legs, shimmering rose gold and green like the multi-faceted wing-cases of this gentle springtime insect. Vibrant and shining, shifting colours on a blue-black base. An unconventional beauty brought into the spotlight.

Review: Mezaya Non Toxic Nail Products

Disclosure:  We received these Mezaya toxic free nail products to test free of charge from PR.

It was with great interest and a little trepidation that I opened up this cute little box of non-toxic, water based nail products from Mezaya.  The application and removal of nail polish has always been a stinky yet very necessary ritual for me, and while those of us who love the lacquer have built up a tolerance to the smell, there are those who find it quite horrible.  These water based products are free from harsh chemicals and the solvent smell, making them more pleasant to use and less drying.  The biggest question for me was whether they perform as well as traditional polishes.  Find out how I got on with them after the jump.

Retro Beauty: Bath Pearls

Back when I was much, much younger and much, much poorer, luxury was being able to go to the Body Shop and choose as many as ten bath pearls from the little baskets dotted around the shop.  I used to hoard the jewel coloured spheres, using them sparingly in every other bath, mostly just admiring how pretty they looked heaped up in a dish in my bedroom.

Bath pearls have fallen out of favour in recent years; oils are now presented in glass bottles, and single-use bath products tend to be in the form of ballistics.  Indeed, a touch of Googling to see if they're still available has mostly turned up a new variety of in-bath lighting rather than the more familiar oil-filled globes.

If you're an avid fan, you can still find them at a few online stores, including Bubblelush, where they cost 20p each - scandalously expensive according to my inner 11 year old, but quite reasonable by modern single-use bath product standards.

Do you have fond memories of collecting and using bath pearls?  Were the "classic" spherical pearls your favourite, or did the star- and animal shaped varieties make it into your collection too?

One polish all UK/Denmark polish fiends should own - GOSH Rainbow

Here are some rather self-indulgent shots of my nails bejewelled with GOSH's Rainbow polish (£5 in the UK from Superdrug). It's a top-coat/layering polish containing a phenomenon known to the blogging community as "flakies". Despite the unaappealingly dandruff-tastic name, these are a fine alternative to the more old-school glitter polish - the are little shreds or "flakes" of reflective material that lie flat on the nail and provide an eyecatching multi-faceted appearance with a smooth finish.

Rainbow is shown here over the top of lovely lovely Burlington Arcade from Nails Inc. Mesmerising, even if I do say so myself. Click the pictures for a giant-size image to pore over (and try not to judge my cuticles too harshly).

 

Click "Read more" for 3 additional pictures.

Favourite Things: NailTek Xtra Treatment

Have you ever stopped using a product only to realise just how essential it is?  I'm there at the moment, my friends.  My usual nail treatment, NailTek Xtra, ran out the other week, and given that I had another strengthener to try, I decided not to repurchase.  After a few days, though, I've placed an order and can't wait for it to arrive.

My nails grow quickly and are relatively strong and flexible, despite years of being nibbled.  But they have a tendency to split.  It's a testament to how good the NailTek is that I'd forgotten how much they split until I stopped using it - right now, my nails are so split that I'm going to have to clip them down and start again. 

NailTek Xtra is designed for difficult nails that resist the usual treatments.  I found it via the Makeup Alley nail boards (which is a goldmine for any nail related dilemma) and henceforth will not be without it!

If your nails are suffering and you'd like to give it a go, you can find it at the wonderfully named TopTalons.co.uk at £7.99 for 15ml, or on eBay for around £6.

WIN! "Hoochie" Lip Tar, a brand new shade from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

As we reported earlier this week, OCC have just unleashed 4 new shades of their culter-than-cult Lip Tar - Complex, Demure, Hoochie and Vapid. They are exclusively available in the UK, along with the other 20 shades, from The Makeup Artist Boutique.

They can be pre-ordered now, and are expected to ship on 23rd March. (Use the promo code OCCLBR for 10% off your order.)

We are offering you the chance to win one of these new Spring shades - Hoochie (third from left, above) in conjunction with the girls at The Makeup Artist Boutique, who are supplying the prize.

To enter, just drop us a comment below, telling us what other products you would pair with Hoochie (for example, you might combine it with black cat-eye liner and a matching plum blush). If for some reason you're not yet following us (*nudge*, *wink*), please leave us your email address in the comment too.

The competition will close on Saturday 20th March at 12.00 GMT, when we will pick a winner at random from the entries.

(NB - Get Lippie is also giving away one of the new Lip Tars - head over to her page to enter.)

Bare Escentuals Re Think offer

We will be trialling bareMinerals Original Foundation from Bare Escentuals over the next couple of weeks, and will bring you a review once we've given it a thorough road test.

In the meantime, we thought you might like to know that you can currently have your shade matched at your local Bare Escentuals counter as part of their "ReThink Your Foundation" promotion, and receive a free 10 day sample and miniature brush to take home. (All the better to chip in with your thoughts when we do our review.)
For more details and to find the counter nearest you, visit the Bare Escentuals site.