NOTD W7 Metallic Venus

Another awesome duochrome from W7. It flashes between purple, blue, pink and gold, with purple-blue shift being most obvious. Its pretty sheer- three coats to opacity, but dries quickly. It also stinks, so badly that it gave me a headache. Best use in a well-ventilated room!

I bought this for £1.99 in Savers, but its a limited edition collection.

NOTD Blue and Gold Ruffian
I don't often wear dark blue, mostly because it stains my nails, and also because I prefer brighter colours, choosing sky blue and turquoise over indigo time after time.
Having recently acquired few pretty blues, I decided to give them a chance and because I didn't want to remove the beautiful gold (17's Fury featured in earlier NOTD), I decided to have an attempt at creating ruffian manicure over it.

I think the combination of sparkly blue and glowing gold is very festive- it reminds me of brightly coloured glass baubles.
The nail polish is called Indigo Dazzle by George, and retails in Asda.

ELF Golden Goddess

I love glitter, especially holographic variety, so ELF's Golden Goddess deserves a special place in my nail polish collection. Layered over a dark polish (I used W7s Metallic Jupiter) it looks like a starry sky, which is very appropriate for festive season:

A mixture of fine gold  and large holographic hexagonal glitters suspended in a clear yellow base. It looks pretty enough on its own, but I dislike the yellowish hue that it gives to nails, and it would take at least three coats to cover the nail completely.

It dries quickly, but weirdly, with cracks appearing on the surface (I hope its just a duff bottle I got) and becomes dull, almost matte. The holographic glitter also feels gritty to touch, so a topcoat is a must, and it better be a thicker one. The manicure held up well, except the peeling on the middle finger.

Glitter removal takes ages, too. 

Still, even with the inconvenience of glitter removal and having to use a topcoat, I am very happy with this nail polish- its cheap (£1.50 from www.eyeslipsface.co.uk), and its very pretty. 

My November Favourites

This is a quick post about the make-up products I enjoyed last month.

1 Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation.

I think its the closest thing to a HG foundation that I have. Easy to blend, light, and wearable, it covers minor skin imperfections well, and yet feels like I am wearing nothing. The awesome fruity smell is an added bonus- I really like the scent, its light and pleasant. I'm not sure if it lives up to its claims of "boosting radiance", I don't think that my skin feels any different from wearing it. Still, its a lovely product that I want to repurchase. If only it cost less that £11 :/

2 Avon Super Magnify Mascara.

It became my everyday use mascara - it separates and defines lashes well, and the slim, long brush is easy to use even in a hurry. It doesn't give you dramatic lashes that looks like falsies, but for a natural, defined look it very good. It also builds up well, without clumping - the tiny, soft bristles comb them out easily. I use as many as 5 coats sometimes. It retails for around £8-£10, but I bought it for £3.50 on sale.

3 Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush in Lilas D'Or

Another lovely Bourjois product! Its a soft, rosy pink with gold shimmer that gives a natural rosy flush. The gold shimmer seems chunky in the pan, but it looks very subtle on the skin, and adds a bit of glow to it.

Many people find the brush included a bit useless, but I find that it fits the shape of my cheekbones perfectly and is soft enough for a comfortable application. Plus, its very cute! I am not the biggest fan of heavy rose smell, its a bit too strong for me.

4 Soap and Glory Cheekmate

This is the easiest lip-and-cheek stain I ever used! Its gel texture is easy to apply and blend, and I love how pigmented it is. Its easy to go overboard with this, but as long as its used sparingly, its nice. Especially for girls with darker skin. It retails for £8 in Boots and Soap and Glory website. The tube is tiny, but a little goes a long way! It smells of.. nothing! Which is nice for people who don't like their make-up to smell of anything

5 And finally, two eyeshadows: MUA in shade 8(Pearl),  beautiful aqua-turqouise, and Wet'n'Wild trio in  Spoiled Brat (That I won in Lipglossiping's giveaway) that consists of three colours- silver foil, matte black with sparkles, and pink with soft shimmer. 

MUA is very vibrant and soft, and lasts well even without a primer. Considering its tiny price tag, I am impressed. 

W'n'W trio is also soft, and blendable, with amazing pigmentation. It lasts fairly well and fades evenly. I just wish W'n'W was available in UK!

Avon Super Shock Metallic Gel Eyeliner.

Gel eyeliners in pots are few and far between when it comes to high street- there is only a handful of brands (ELF, Barbara Daly, Maybelline) that caught up to the concept outside high end make-up, and Avon has joined these brands recently, with their new offering- Super Shock metallic cream liners that come in three shades- Shimmering Sapphire, Blackened Metal and Flashy Brown.
I have initially bought Blackened Metal when the product just came out, and after spotting a half price deal on it in a new Avon catalogue, I also decided to get Shimmering Sapphire. And I didn't regret this purchase!

Packaging of these is awesome, a sleek and heavy glass pot that feels much more expensive than you would expect from a budget brand. The lid is a simple screw top, with silver lettering on black plastic:

The only thing I don't like bout packaging is that it cleverly conceals how little of the product you get. Solid, heavy glass bottom coupled with a big lid , and you instantly get an impression of having much more product than you really get. I couldn't find the weight on the packaging, so I can't say how much you really get, but I guess that its slightly less than what you get with ELF cream liner. Still, at the price, you can't really complain.

Both shades live up to their names- Blackened Metal is a very dark charcoal grey that looks almost black, and Shimmering Sapphire is a vibrant cobalt blue with soft shimmer, and both have a somewhat metallic finish:

Blackened Metal has a hefty dose of silver sparkles, though it doesn't look too over the top once you apply it. Its a very pretty and wearable shade that looks softer than plain black.

Shimmering Sapphire is very bright blue colour that has a  oft and subtle shimmer.

Application was somewhat tricky- the product doesn't have a gel or even cream consistency, so I think the term "gel liner" is somewhat of a misnomer. The product feels a bit like a solidified cream (if that makes sense) and is a bit crumbly and hard once you pick it up with a brush. It doesn't drag on the eyes but you have to pack it on with your brush and make several swipes across your eyelid in order to get a good intensity. Blackened Metal was crumblier and harder to pick up than Sapphire, because of the metallic sparkles. The sparkles don't feel gritty on the eyelid, nor do they irritate my fairly sensitive eyes, but they did make application tricky. Sapphire was smoother and easier to apply.

Once applied, they set almost immediately and don't budge from your lashline for good for good few hours, even on my oily eyelids with no primer or setting powder.

Here is a shot of me wearing Shimmering Sapphire:

I love the vivid colour and I think it would compliment most eye colours nicely. 

Avon Supershock Metallic Gel liner can be bought either from a rep or via Avon website. It usually retails at £6, but I bought it for £3, so keep your eyes peeled for an offer!

Avon Sequined Turquoise

One of the four shades in Avon's Sequins and Shine collection. Its pretty green colour is tad deeper than turqouise- to me it looks more teal. I initially expected it to be a dupe of my Accessorize Mermaid, but Sequined Turquoise lacks the fine golden shimmer and blue-green duochrome of Mermaid.
The colour of this one doesn't change in any light, remaining rich and deep, with silver glitter creating a beautiful foiled effect.

Unfortunately, it also gives me hands that any lobster would be proud of. Its also is a bit patchy and sheer on application, and becomes a little dull on drying (but its nothing a good topcoat won't solve). It dries rather quickly, so it wouldn't be hard to add a fourth coat. It chips pretty quickly too

Removal is a pain, as with all glitters. 

Still, it would be a good choice for cool-toned girls and would make a good choice for a party.
It retails for £6 pounds and can be bought either online from avon.co.uk site or from a representative. I bought this on an offer,which is what I advice to everyone, considering how often Avon have them.

17 Fury

Somehow, all the posts I have made recently disappeared. So this post is a reincarnation of the one I made earlier today. Take that, Blogger!
Boy, am I late to this party. This nail polish was hotly discussed as a potential dupe for Peridot, that amazing golden green that costs like, £17 or something. Crazy.
Fury turned out to be not-quite-similar and I just dismissed it as "another metallic", and only bought it to get a Femme Noire gift with purchase. I already selected their (17's) mirror shine lippie as my item number one and grabbed the first nail polish that caught my eye. My eye was a winner that day, because I seriously dig this polish

It reminds me of wheat fields, with green grasses peeking through the vast expanses of gold.Am I poetic or what? :p

The green is more visible under low light, whilst sunlight makes the gold shine brightly, nd brings out the pretty fine sparkle.

Application wise it was funny; first coat smooth as butter, second a bit draggy because it dries so fast. The coats have to be fairly thick and fast, which makes it a bit brushstrokey. But it doesn't bother me much.

It tends to chip quickly, though I haven't used a topcoat. I love the fact that it dries fast. I hate waiting for hours to dry my manicure and then getting a bloody dent.

Conclusio: a subtle green shift does not a Peridot make, but it does make this gold very interesting. And it not just the green hue, its the rich, sumptuous gold with a gleam that sets it above the usual pale,yellowy golds. The richness of colour makes it a good choice for autumn.

17's Fury retails for around £3.99 and is sold in Boots (instore and online)