NOTD: Fatal Golden Birdie Reloaded in Vegas

Hi guys! 

Here's a quick NOTD today - nothing too fancy-pants - unfortunately I can't lay claim to the superb artistic skills of the lovely Behind Green Eyes or Cuti-Clue-Les but here's a quick offering :)

Jacava - 8-Free Nail Polish Review

I've recently been rekindling my love for nail polish and my collection has grown exponentially of late. Today I have some pretties from new kid on the block, Jacava London to show you.

Catrice - Cheap as chips - without the chips!

Hi Guys!

First of all I must apologise for being a bad beauty blogger. Ill health, exams and well, life in general has gotten in the way of my adventures in the blogging sphere of late. I've really missed blogging and catching up on my daily dose of chats with fellow beauty junkies and enthusiasts alike. I'm really looking forward to getting back on track - and catching up on all the latest beauty news!

Now, you may or may not recall but I have a slight obsession with Catrice - they're such a fantastic brand - price aside. They're always on the ball with the latest beauty trends and thankfully, they're well stocked in pharmacies throughout the country, along with Penneys, Dunnes etc...

I've amassed quite the collection of Catrice polishes now at this stage - at €2.99 they're cheap as chips - who can say no to three polishes for less than a tenner? Well, I know I can't any, but that's another story.. ;)

I'm not just praising them for their low price points either - I find the formulas are fantastic - usually opaque in two coats and I get around 4/5 days with no chipping, which is a lot more than I can say about some other expensive brands *cough-Chanel-cough*

I'm not just praising them for their low price points either - I find the formulas are fantastic - usually opaque in two coats and I get around 4/5 days with no chipping, which is a lot more than I can say about some other expensive brands *cough-Chanel-cough*

I'm on a bit of a Makeup storage and re-organization kick this weekend and in organizing my Catrice polish collection I thought I'd share a peek at some of my stash.

FYI: I did actually manage to arrange about 100 Catrice polishes into a Pyramid, alas, the entire thing took a tumble just before I got to take a photo :(

Cue, frantically checking all the bottles to make sure none broke or cracked after their swift demise face first into a slab of granite. I'm happy to report there were no casualties. No nail polishes were hurt during this production. Phew.

Have you got any Catrice polish favorites? Have they discontinued any shades you used to love or are there any new colours coming out that catch your eye? If so, let me know in the comments below! :)

Must Haves: Tweezerman

Good old Tweezers. We all have a set or two of Tweezers laying about somewhere but the undoubted King of tweezers is of course Tweezerman.

I recently had the pleasure of watching Nilam Patel (the founder of HD Brows) do her thing and the most important tool for taming your brows to get that defined and polished look is a good set of tweezers - look no further than Tweezerman!

Jacava Nail Polish in Marrakesh Nights

I was recently contacted by a brand new company named Jacava who have recently brought out a range of "8-Free" Nail Polishes, each of which are made in the UK who wanted to know if I would be interested in trying out one of their polishes. Well as a nail polish lover (though sadly I don't get to wear it as often as I would like as of late) I jumped at the chance and I was sent Marrakesh Nights

Put your paws, er hoofs up!

In continuing with my series for some fab winter skin rescue remedies comes Mane 'n Tail's Hoofmaker.

Originally developed for horses to moisturize dry, cracked, brittle hooves. Since applied to the hoof by human hands, over time many of those using Hoofmaker on their horses noticed dramatic improvement in the condition of their hands and nails.

Ciate's Brand New Velvet Manicure

The British nail brand Ciate, which earlier this year caused a sensation with its caviar manicure kit comprising tiny caviar-like pearls to create a 3D beaded effect, has now announced its velvet manicure kit, which consists of a paint pot, crushed velvet and a dusting brush accessory

Creating the Velvet Manicure at home is easy: Simply coat your nails with the polish, sprinkle on some dust, and brush off the excess. The result yields a luxe, crushed velvet-coated look (and feel!). 


Choose from three shades: Berry Poncho (plum), Blue Suede (navy), and Mink Cashmere (grey).

I'm loving the look of Berry Poncho so far, this will be perfect for the autumn with the rich, berry tones. Gorgeous.

Berry Poncho:

With the explosion of nail art in the past few years, nail polish brands have been constantly looking for new ways to create a buzz. Last year companies including OPI and China Glaze embraced the crackle effect trend with their product launches, while Nails Inc. released a polish line called Magnetic Attraction which came with an embedded magnet to create a rippled effect. This velvet manicure kit, is really something else however, and I can't wait to get my hands on it to show you all!

What do you think of the Velvet Manicure kit, will you be trying it out when it's launched?

Available from: www.ciate.co.uk

Belle xXx

Velvet Nails by Ciate

Ever since MAC’s senior make up artist Keri Blair created three velvet manicure looks for the Ruffian runway show the velvet trend caught on creating a buzz amongst the beauty industry. Dominating the catwalks for Fall/Winter 2012 collections, the look was favoured by the likes of McQueen and Gucci.

So who better to snap up this idea and bring it to the high street than Ciaté, the brand that pioneered the popular Caviar Manicure. Ciaté’s velvet manicure kit comes equipt with polish, crushed velvet powder and a dusting brush. The look leaves nails with a luxurious matte effect.

Ciaté will be launching three shades, Berry Poncho (plum), Blue Suede (navy), and Mink Cashmere (grey) that will be hitting stores this August.

What do you guys think? Is velvet nails a trend you’re eager to try?

Belle xXx

Essence Better Than Gel Nails - Fantastic!

Let me present to you this professional kit from Essence for home made salon looking manicure! Studio nails- better than gel nails! This kit includes six products, that are easy to use and even more important, easy to remove nails. With no UV light and no damage to your own natural nails. And even better you can get all of this for just a tenner, bargaintastic or what?!

Five easy steps and less than 15 minutes to achieve a perfect studio nail look:

Step 1

It’s important to clean your nails with the essence studio nails – better than gel nails nail file before application. This will remove excess oil and dirt to ensure particularly long-lasting results. The file is available for  €2.29 

Step 2

Next, select a suitable tip-size and stick it onto the tip

of your natural nails using the especially fast-drying

glue included in the set.

Nail tips  €2.29

Nail tip glue  €2.29

Step 3

When the artificial tip has dried a bit, remove the little tip-handle

by moving it up and down gently. Then file the nails into the

desired shape (with included file- step 2)

Step 4

Now it’s time to use the base coat: simply apply the transparent base coat on the prepped nails. This ensures that the artificial tips and the subsequent styling have an optimal, long-lasting effect. The base coat is available for  €2.89

Step 5

And the final step is – your finish! There is a special, glossy top coat

to give your gel-nail look the perfect finishing touches and to seal

it so that it lasts longer. For an especially gorgeous look, apply two

coats. So head for your polish and you’re done!

Top coat  €2.89 

Nail tip remover €2.89

So, now we are ready to use it! First, I filed my nails with step 1 file, that is included in the kit. This step removed all residue from my last manicure and all oils.

Then I got my tips ready...  I measured all tips against my natural tips and the numbers that works with me are (from thumb to pinky): 1, 5, 3, 7 and 9. Then I used glue on artificial tips to placed them on my nails...When using glue you have to be careful to use only a tiny amount, because when you place tip down, the glue distributes it self on whole tip.

When I placed my tips, I pushed down with a toothpick to completely cover my nail tips. Than I went over with one coat of base sealer, waited to dry (couple of minutes) and applied two coats of top sealer. 

 VOILA, this is the result!

My expectations about this kit were very high and I can truthfully say that I'm completly satisfied! I give this product BIG THUMBS UP and definitely 10 out of 10!!! 

I find that I even get more than the 10 days wear as advertised, I normally get between 2-3 weeks before they chip or fall off. How amazing is that?!

Essence Better Than Gel Nails Pack

Belle xXx

Catrice Million Styles LE Nail Swatches Part 2

Catrice ¿Holo Qué Tal?! is not a holographic topcoat. Surprise. It is a pink/purple shimmer topcoat which reminds me of the CND topcoats a lot. Very nice I think, and very wearable!

Catrice Have an Ice Day is a holographic glitter topcoat. It has been done before, I know I have a bottle of something very similar if not the same somewhere here… Well, let me say it, it is pretty. I love topcoats like this, because you can use them for almost everything. Have you tried Space Nails with a holographic glitter topcoat yet? Works wonders!

And last in this post my absolute favourite of the whole bunch. Catrice Godfather of Pearl is a duochrome blue/aqua topciat with a lot of golden specs in it. I think this is the shit.Love it – that’s why you get two pics.

So, overload of topcoats? Which one(s) did you get/like the best? :)

Let me know what you think guys and dolls! 

Belle x

Catrice Million Styles LE Swatches

Hello!

I'm super happy to show you the following polishes. I was lucky to find the current Catrice limited edition called "Million Styles". It's a collection composed of 8 effect top coats.

The following nail polishes are in the collection:

• C01 No Smoke Without Fire for a smokey finish
• C02 Million Dollar Baby is a glitter
• C03 Miss Money Penny delivers soft golden shimmer
• C04 Shake It! Flake It! creates a 3D jewel effect
• C05 Return Of Space Cowboys layers a sparkling coat
• C06 Godfather Of Pearl creates a soft pearly finish
• C07 ¿Holo Qué Tal?! is a holographic glitter
• C08 Have An Ice Day is a glittering ice-effect

I cannot wait to try these out, how gorge are they?!