Mavala Sublime Collection

Ivory Beige

This is a beautiful brown nude colour which makes the nails look flawless. I don't usually got for nudes but this makes hands look so sophisticated. 

Poetic Rose

This is a dusty red colour that hovers on pink. It is a very cute colour and reminds me of winter berries. I have been told that it looks lovely on toes!

Amethyst

At the Mavala stand at work, this has absolutely flown off the shelves! I personally think it looks better with one coat as the vampy purple colour shines through more, and two coats dampens the purple. It is a really lovely colour though. Perfect for this season.

Espresso

As I said earlier, I don't really do brown shades but this is absolutely to die for. It has such a deep brown tone and looks really effective and beautiful just on its own. I added glitter on top and it really popped!

Twilight Blue

This is one of those colours that doesn't look all that in the bottle, but when its on it really shines. When I wore this I got so many compliments on the colour, and it really is like nothing else out there. Its a lovely matte deep blue.

Warm Grey

This is another colour that looked quite bland in the bottle, but again, once it was on, people really started to notice it. Its lighter than my favourite Mavala shade 'Elle' but has warm hues to warm up the skin a bit like the 'Ivory Beige' does. This colour reminds me of some big chunky knitwear.

I thought I'd do some autumnal nail art to go with this collection as the browns really inspired me to do somthing special. Below, I used the 'Ivory Beige' and 'Espresso' on the accent nails. For the gold glitter, I used the Mavala 'Gold Diamond' which is a lovely fine glitter, that has a soft effect. The Brown french tips were done with 'Espresso' also. For someone who stears aways from browns, I was quite happy with these and felt I had captured the golden autumnal season. 

Jessica A/W Collection - A Night at the Opera

Jessica's new Autumn/Winter nail collection, 'A Night at the Opera' represents the glamour and sparkle that the more wintery months can hold. The collection is to be worn at the night time events where we dress up to impress. This collection is perfect for the Christmas party season, as each colour is wearable with a touch of sparkle. As I have said before, pearl and iridescent finishes are not my preference as I prefer a matte finish, but this collection has opened up my inner sparkle for the Christmas period that is fast approaching.

From Left to Right: Velvet and Pearls, Primma Donna, Overture

From Left to Right: Opening Night, Blue Aria, Standing Ovation

Velvet & Pearls

'Velvet and Pearls' is a very dark deep jet black. A very versatile colour than can be worn plain or have some glitter and sparkle added for the more festive months. Jessica describes this as 'Tuxedo Black' which adds the glamour the line is trying to evoke.

Prima Donna

'Primma Donna' is such a gorgeous colour as it is a cross between electric blue and sparkly violet.This is my favourite one from the collection as the way it catches the light is amazing, and the hues of blue, purple, and sometimes pink are my favourite colours.

Overture

When in the bottle, 'Overture' really didn't wow me, but out of the bottle it really changed my mind. 'Overture' is a lovely copper colour, but it has slight pink and orange hues that make it look expensive and not brassy.

Opening Night

'Opening Night' is another colour that looks better out of the bottle. Its soft fushia and bluey tones make it another favourite of mine from the collection. It is very pretty but also very chic.

Blue Aria

'Blue Aria' does not contain a pearly shimmer finish, but is a very deep navy blue that is very glamorous. This colour is a very under stated way to dress up a evening dress.

Standing Ovation

 Finally, 'Standing Ovation' which is a greeny emerald colour that will be a hit in all the press as it is an emerald colour that is going to be huge this season. The colour looks completely different out of the bottle, as in the bottle it has that 'oil spill' rainbow effect, but out of the bottle, its shimmery green is unmistakable.

Cupcake Nails

I am totally in love with the British TV series 'The Great British Bake Off'. I love tuning in every Tuesday to see what yummy treats the contestants will come up with, and this week I decided to do some creative cupcakes too... on my nails.

I'm so upset that when applying my topcoat, I smudged the 'B' standing for 'Great British Bake Off'. I tried to amend it by adding a rolling pin to make it look like it had been flattened but it just didn't look good! Anyway, much like nail art, baking can be tricky and unpredictable too, so I think it adds a little something to it!

I used 'Barry M' 'Strawberry' as a base coat, and the sprinkles were done with my 'Barry M' confetti effects in 'Marshmallow' (it is a complete coincidence that these polishes are named after potential cup cake components)

The cupcake cases were done with pastel purple and green nail art pens by Models Own.
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I used a dotting tool to create the cherry on top, with 'Barry M' 'Bright Red'.
All detailing and highlighting was done with white and black nail art pens by Models Own.

 Tune in every Tuesday on BBC2 to watch the bake off!

Ciate: Emerald Collection

I have been so excited to show you the Ciate Emerald collection! I bought it a while ago for £25.00 online. The reason I bought it was because I have wanted to try the crushed velvet manicure so badly, but didn't want to buy just the kit on its own in case I didn't like it. When I saw the kit contained not only the crushed velvet, but caviar and glitter I knew it was the kit for me. Based on the lovely green emerald colour that is going to be the colour of 2013, I was really impressed with the kit, and want to buy all the kits individually now!

The kit contains everything you need, including a tray for all the mess, a clean up brush, and even a little funnel so you can decant the excess back into the bottle for no wastage! Little things like that really make something special to me so I was very impressed.

The actual emerald base colour supplied is called "ditch the heels", and is a full sized Ciate colour. I left one nail without any effects on so you could see it. It is a really lovely colour and I'd happily wear it alone.

None of the effects require a fiddly glue or anything, you just apply it to a wet second coat of the green base. For the caviar effect, you simply shake the bottle over the wet nail, and gently push in the balls to make them stick, and that's it! I love the colours of the beads. The gold, light and dark green give it a really festive feel, and I will certainly be sporting the collection over the Christmas season.

The glitter effect is achieved by dipping the wet second coat into the pot of glitter, and then wiping of the excess with the little brush. You can even afford to sweep over the whole nail to make the surface more flat. I am not 100% happy with the way mine turned out. I think I dipped my finger in a bit to hard, so I have a very uneven surface. I think less is more with this look, and it will last much longer without lots of layers, as I found they keep falling of due to there not being enough surface area for the glitter bits to cling onto! You also don't get such a good look at the pretty array of colours when it's heavily built up.

Finally, the velvet effect. As I bought the whole kit to try this effect I was really hoping I wouldn't be disappointed, and I really wasn't. Applying it was so easy, and the finished effect is exactly how I wanted it to be! It feels and looks exactly how you think it would, and I can't stop touching it. Due to this I think I have actually worn quite a bit of it away after a day, but the look is so versatile and it has really got the cogs in my head turning for future nail art ideas for example fluff, Christmas tree effect, grass??

The general staying power of these effects is actually really good. You can get your hand wet, then towel dry them and have no trouble, mine even stayed pretty tight after a hair wash which I thought would ruin it all. As I said about the glitter before, if you overload it then prepare to have a trail of green and gold glitter behind you. The velvet still feels very velvety after a day at work although the look is probably not as obvious as when I first did it. Quite a few of the caviar balls have fallen off, but after a day at work doing deliveries and opening boxes I would be very impressed if it had stayed on! Most of them are still in tact though and its the ones round the edge of the nail that have fallen off, and even where the balls have fallen off, they leave a little gold/silver imprint so it still looks like there is an effect on them.

Basically, if you want the nails for a certain occasion or party, then do the nails the day that you need them before because that is when they will look they're best.

 

 I absolutely love this kit, but I would love to know what you think about it? Is it perfect for the run up to the Christmas season or just too OTT?

Eve Lom NEW Age Defying Smoothing Treatment

Eve Lom is a brand that I haven't written about, but has been on my list to review.

Its a British brand that have high end, luxury skin care. They're predominantly natural and have proven results due to their skin science motif. They have recently brought out they're new 'age defying smoothing treatment', which is a night time treatment that makes your skin feel like satin. It really does have a smoothing effect, and makes your skin feel flawless. It's a night time treatment so you can put it on and let it work its magic overnight so your skin feels fresh and smooth in the morning, however it has such a great smoothing effect you could use it as a primer in the day. It is an anti aging treatment so it is full of peptides and 6 naturally derived amino acids. It has been compared to a natural botox because of its noticeable plumping effects, and  It feels like it has a silicone effect due to its smoothness, but it is free of silicone and parabens so has all the power, but none of the chemicals. The highly moisturising ingredient is squalene, which is naturally derived from olives, and is identical to the squalene we naturally produce in our bodies. It is a whopping £120 a pot, but it has been advertised in magazines among anti aging creams such as Lancome and Dior, which cost nearly double the price, yet have the same anti aging effects without the harmful chemicals which is a big thumbs up from me.

They're are 90 little sachets of serum in each pot, and in each sachet there is enough for the face and neck. The serum is a oil consistency and it smells slightly of cinnamon. It absorbs really quickly into the skin so you can go straight to sleep.

For more information follow this link to see the official Eve Lom website.

Plain Nails

Hi guys, sorry its been a while since I've posted, I haven't been well, and since I recovered I've been really busy! Due to my business, I have just be sporting plain nails recently which is quite unusual for me. I have quite enjoyed just having plain colour but I shall be doing some jazzy designs soon! Here are 4 colours that I have worn recently and really liked. I have also made an instagram for 'What A Looker' so please just search for 'whatalooker' and follow for mostly nail art!

'Baker Street' by Nail's Inc

'Baker Street' is such an amazing colour as the pigment is so strong. Really pretty and chic.

'I Love Juicy' by Leighton Denney

'I Love Juicy' was the base I used for my cartoon nails. Again, it is a very vibrant colour.

'La Paz' by Mavala

'La Paz' is a a very sophisticated but hot pink. It is quite understated but brightens up any hand.

'Raspberry' by Barry M

Finally, 'Raspberry' by Barry M is a deep red, almost burgandy colour. I have started embracing the autumn and bringing out my darker colours for my favorite season!

Leighton Denny Autumn/Winter 2013 The Temptation Collection

The summer is officially over and now all the Autumn/Winter collections are coming into season. From the nail collections I've seen so far, shimmery metallics and pearl finish is the trend this season. I am not usually a fan of pearl or shimmer, but some of the colours I've seen have been an exception.

The Leighton Denny advertisement features its pale purple colour 'Lilac Lust' clutching some dark beads. The collection has the feel of Christmas parties and glamour.

 'Lilac Lust' looks matte in the advertisment. It actually has a very subtle silver shimmer. It's quite a simple pretty colour.

'Mutual Attraction' is a light brown colour with a silver shimmer. I'm not a huge fan of this colour, but think it would like for someone who likes subtle nails.

'Hypnotic' is one of my favourite colours. It is a blue/teal shimmer that looks like an oil spill. As I said I don't like shimmer colours, but this is one I would make an exception for!

 'Attention Seeker' reminds me slightly of the Leighton Denny colour 'Best Seller' which is a similar deep berry colour with silver glitter. 'Attention Seeker' has more gold tones to it.

'Tempt Me' is another one of the colours I quite like. This deep purple has interesting tones of gold and green, again, giving it that oil look.

'Statement Maker' is probably my least favourite colour. The silver glitter overpowers the Emerald base colour that is meant to be huge this season.

What do you think of this collection? What sorts of colours do you want to see this season?