Review: Illamasqua Nail Varnish in Throb

Celebrities are wearing it. Beauty bloggers and vloggers alike are raving about it. Illamasqua has become infamous in the beauty world for it's "amazing" nail varnishes. And none of their nail varnish range is more sought after than 'Throb', the most striking red colour I have ever seen.

I admit, I've been rather skeptical about the hype surrounding these - their nail varnishes come with an eye-watering price tag of £14.50 each and as far as I'm concerned there isn't really a great deal to improve on the high street brands which retail at a third of the price.

Well my beautiful friends, I decided to bite the bullet and got myself 'Throb' and I have not been disappointed. The pigmentation is like nothing else - you can easily get away with one coat if you're in a hurry. With no bottom coat, top coat or second coat of any kind this is what my nails looked like:

This particular colour didn't take long to dry either. In just under 5 minutes my nails were fully dry and ready to go.

And go they did! Since application I have washed up a load of dishes, baked, been typing a lot and done a load of errands, yet my nails look the same as when I first put the nail varnish on. Not a chip or indication of peeling to be found.

Now it may sound as though I've been taking happy pills and nothing could be wrong with this nail varnish. Maybe true, but I do fail to see the reasoning behind the monstrous £14.50 price tag. I know some high street nail varnishes that will do a similarly good job for literally a third of the price. I can understand it being slightly more expensive with it being so good and from a high-end brand but I am shocked that it's so much more.

However, that won't stop me getting it for special occasions!

Have you used Illamasqua nail varnishes? What was your experience? Let me know in the comments section below!!

DISCLAIMER:- I have NOT, I repeat: NOT been endorsed by Illamasqua in any way for this blog post, the opinions are my own. I am not affliated with Illamasqua in any way either.

Review: YSL Matte Red Lipstick in 204......Perfect Classic Red Lips??

After trying a plethora of different brands and shades, I may finally be at my journey's end for the perfect red lipstick..........thanks to Yves Saint Laurent.

Their range called 'Rouge Pur Couture The Mats' makes red lips look elegant and classy on anyone and they come in a variety of shades (as you'd expect). The woman at the YSL counter was absolutely lovely and let me try pretty much the whole range before we agreed no. 204 was best for me:

I love how the colour is more understated than some of the cheaper brands - there are bright reds out there which are so tacky-looking they're hard to pull off. You'd never be able to call this tacky. Even the case screams glamour: a complete gold mirror with a small YSL logo in bold red on the front. Simple yet elegant, the theme for this collection.



However, all this sophistication is reflected in the price. At £25 the price tag means you have to be sophisticatedly working to afford it regularly.

For big nights and '40s themed parties though, this collection is PERFECT!!

Review: L'Oreal Paris Top Coat Nail Varnish in Gold Lurex

I'm a magpie! I admit it: the only reason I was drawn to this nail varnish was the fact that it was shiny. That's it.

It looks so pretty in the bottle on its own it's easy to forget that it's meant to really be for top coats. However, as I experimented I found that the rules are meant to be broken. There are actually more ways of wearing this nail varnish.

Although this is meant to be for top coats, I personally think it looks fab for a night out on the town even without another colour underneath. Like this:

The only drawback I found to this is that bottle isn't massive (5ml) and you end up getting through the varnish a lot quicker this way. It took 3 coats to achieve a full coverage without any coloured undercoats and after this I could already see a big difference in the amount of varnish left in the bottle.

When this is used properly though (over another colour) you only need one coat and it still looks fantastic:

(also check out http://polishthis.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/loreal-gold-lurex-over-essence-berlin.html and http://mimimanicures.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/chanel-bel-argus-and-loreal-gold-lurex.html for more classic combos)

If you're feeling especially creative this gold colour even allows for some experimenting. Using smaller brushes you can decorate your nails with intricate patterns or designs rather than putting on complete coats.

This varnish gives the perfect sparkly edge to your nails and instantly glams them up. It's also very easy to applicate - the brush is so smooth! L'Oreal have chosen the colour well here. I'm glad to see that they haven't fallen into the trap of expanding into a range of colours with this as I personally think it's much more difficult to rock glittery bolder colours. The gold colour is easy on the eye and nonthreatening so, unlike many other glittery nail varnishes out there, it's not just child's play. This beautiful varnish allows adults to sparkle with sophistication too. And at £4.99 it doesn't break the bank either! I think this is a classic nail varnish I'll be stocking up...



Online links for purchase in UK:
- http://www.superdrug.com/loreal/loreal-color-riche-nail-top-coat-gold-lurex/invt/618752
- http://www.boots.com/en/LOreal-Paris-Color-Nail-Top-Coat_1309095/

QOTW

“Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world.”  - Marilyn Monroe

Illamasqua Nails

First up, Daisy Lowe tweeted about this amazing nail varnish from Illamasqua:

http://www.illamasqua.com/shop/products/nails/throb-nail-varnish/

She got hers in kink and posted a picture of her wearing it:

Doesn't it look amazing!!??

I had to try it out for myself, so I got the one in Vice. Oh. My. God!!! It's incredible!! The colour REALLY makes a statement and it lasted me a whole week!!

It's pricey, but seriously worth it!!

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Love Kicks and Swizzle Sticks

The first thing you should know is that I'm not a whore. And I don't live in London.

I've decided that my life is so tragic, I needed to create a blog.

This one's dedicated to the one consistent love of my life: fashion.

Like nearly everyone else, I get my inspiration from celebs. Emma Watson, Daisy Lowe, Alexa Chung........... 

So this is my take on it all.

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