HaPpY HaLLowEen!!

Happy Halloween Peoples

I think Halloween has been playing on my mind, I'm bit of a baby and a scaredy cat. I've been having the most awful nightmares! I swear, I had such a terrible dream about Zombies I woke up in a right state lol. But I can't complain, because this time of year brings such fabulous polishes. I only bought two this year though, China Glaze - It's Alive and the Wet'n'Wild Fantasy Makers Glow in the Dark polish. I'm trying to not buy every polish in sight. Luckily for my pocket, I'm not a fan of Christmas collections usually, but I'm a sucker for Halloween.

This is 3 coats of It's Alive, a stunning green based jelly containing green glitter. Good coverage, applied a little stodgy and it was a total git to get off. Didn't really work with my skin tone, but I'm not going to let a little thing like that put me off.

On another note, the wonderfully fabulous Cara @ Cara Robinson Nail Technician wrote a post about my Mushroom holo franken I sent to her a couple of weeks back. So check her out, it's a great beauty blog and Cara is lovely. I'm pretty new to the blogging community, and meeting other bloggers like Cara really makes it worthwhile. Which brings me to my second point...I've reached over 200 followers!! Blooming hell. I really appreciate the support everyone has shown my little blog. Hopefully those who have followed since I mentioned my giveaway will find something here interesting and worthwhile. Your comments have also been really supportive. SO thank you!

Before I get too gushy, enjoy your evening and Happy Halloween. Don't eat too many sweeties :-)

Tee Dee xx

Illamasqua Scarab + Barry M Instant Nail Effect Gold Foil

Afternoon all

Hope you've had a spectacular weekend! Today I have my attempt at a Halloween mani. It was also a good opportunity to try out Barry M's new Instant Nail Effects Gold Foil. First I needed a vampy nail colour base. Hello Illamasqua - Scarab.

Then I used a Bundle Monster plate with the Barry M Gold Foil. The cobwebs were a little tricky, with some of the design not transferring properly.

Scarab is gorgeous! 2 coats here. It's the only Illamasqua polish I own. Got that gorgeous glowy effect that I love. Got it off Ebay for about £6.00. The Gold Foil stamps okay, better than Gosh Gold. I thought It was going to be rubbish, as the reviews haven't been positive. I haven't yet tried the Silver Foil, but might give it a go soon.  

Barry M Instant Nail Effects is available at Boots and Superdrugs for £3.99. Superdrugs are currently running a 3 for 2 mix and match here.
Enjoy your Halloween!

Tee Dee xx

Topshop - Poison Ivy

Howdy Peoples

Green polish today! They cheer me up. I've been sporting China Glaze Westside Warrior mostly this week and I loves it. Now, a different kinda green...Topshop - Poison Ivy. A deep green shimmer, has an almost glass flecked  appearance, well contains smaller particles then say Zoya Edyta? (dunno if I'm making sense or talking doo doo but I shall continue)

Superb pigmentation in this one, only required 2 coats, and I was being extra again. Love the blackened look of Poison Ivy, the name reminds me of Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy Character in Batman and Robin.

(source)

Well, I couldn't leave it alone could I. Poison Ivy presented me with a marvelous opportunity to try my Colour Changing Topcoat on a dark green.

Again like my other experiments with this topcoat it changed the tone of Poison Ivy when layered over the top. Really complex I think, If your a fan of dark murky polishes, you might like this combo. I loved it (of course).

So was I done? Who Me? Never? I then went into a wild frenzy and decided that I needed something more...''Flakies!'' I told myself practically frothing at the mouth, ''I need flakies!!!''...So I then went a bit stupid and added a coat of Nubar 2010.

It actually didn't go too bad. A tad to far perhaps, but he who dares and all that malarky.

What do you think? Ever gone a step too far with a wild layering frenzy?

Tee Dee xx

Orly Fantasea vs Stargazer 128

Evening Everyone!

Well I've been meaning to swatch more Stargazers since I featured Stargazer - 121 here. But like a lazy madame, I never got round to it. Well I dug out Stargazer - 128 and thought that it looked slightly similar to Orly - Fantasea. Well, only one way to find out. Comparison swatch.

I used 3 coats of Orly - Fantasea on my middle finger and 3 coats of Stargazer - 128 on the rest. Very similar, both quite sheer, both super glowy and iridescent. Fantasea is slightly more purple base while 128 has a more red tone. They both contain that stunning golden shimmer. Application wise, Stargazer was easier to apply in my opinion, although it had that notorious smelling formula. Orly was a little bit harder to apply, sightly thicker and dragged a little. For the polish collectors out there, not dupes, but very similar. My mum would tell me off for buying both, but I'm glad I have them!

Price? Well Stargazers are pretty cheap for a UK brand only £2.50 each (14ml) available from their online Store here. Orly is slightly more expensive ranging from £5-£9 (18ml) depending on where you buy. I got mine off ebay. I also have Stargazer 127 which is also similar to both of these, but more pink/gold. I'll try and get a swatch of that also :-)

Which do you prefer? Have you tried any of these?

Tee Dee xx

Rimmel 60 Seconds - Hard Edged 850

Hello there!

Today I thought I would show you one of the prizes from my current giveaway. I originally picked this one up just for myself :-) I got a second bottle for you after seeing what a fab polish this is! I use Rimmel polishes a lot, especially for layering. Not with this stunner though, this deserves to be the star show, without being teamed with anything else. Meet Hard Edged, a beautiful brown/black cherry shimmer with a slight duochrome finish. From Rimmel's 2008 Autumn collection.

Nice huh? This is 3 coats. Applied beautifully. Love this polish, one of the reasons I included a bottle in my giveaway. If you haven't already entered you can by clicking here.

Any favourite Rimmel shades?

Enjoy

Tee Dee xx

Topshop Smoke and Mirrors Nail Polish - Fallen Leaf

Evening Everyone!

How are you all? Today I have the third polish from Topshop's Smoke and Mirrors collection - Fallen Leaf. A lovely dusty green creme polish.

In Sunlight

In Shade

Closeup

Formula was once again good on this one and really opaque. This is two coats with one coat of Nubar Diamont Topcoat. Overall I think this collection is one of the best seasonal releases around, the colours are sport on. I haven't yet been able to get my hands on Prim and Proper, the pink polish in this collection but hopefully I can get that one soon. The price however of these polishes are a bit steep, £6 per polish and only 8ml yikes.

These aren't yet available on the US Topshop website. For some reason none of Topshop's nail polishes are not available on this site, not sure of the reasons why? The rest of the Smoke and Mirror collection like their Glow highlighter are though. After applying Fallen Leaf I was intrigued to see what effect I would get applying a coat of my Colour Changing topcoat.

Once again, I'm liking how the topcoat changes the tone of this polish. I like it over purple better, but it's definitely an alternative!

So whats been your favourite Topshop Smoke and Mirrors shade so far?

Tee Dee xx