Wild and Crazy Nail Enamel in Nr. W144 Erie

Warm tone? (pretend it is :) )

 

 Cool tone?

14 ml (0,4 oz), exp. date: no info, made in USA.


Toluene, formaldehyde and DBP free

Colour: deep green, more of a cool (blueish) undertone, under the certain light it appears more of a warm tone though. Gorgeous shade! Have no idea what Erie means (could it be the lake?), but my guess is a Nordic forest fairy. :)

Finish: pearly frost (hello, brushstrokes! lol).

Application: smooth application , 2 coats is enough for a full coverage.

Retail price: around 2-3 EUR.

Pros: beautiful colour, good coverage, long lasting, smooth application (not too much brushstrokes), big 3 free, CHEAP!
Cons: the brush is quite small for my liking.

PS GO GREEN! :)

8ty8beauty haul Nr. 2

What a day!

We still have a green winter here! It's a little below 0C but it's not yet that bad. I can deal with it. :) I was so surprised to see the sun today! But then "suddenly" I remembered that I didn't wear any nail polish, meaning I couldn't be able to make a decent picture... again. lol

Five minutes later I was almost ready to leave the house when the door bell rang. Postman!!! With my 8ty8beauty haul! I decided to stay at home for 10 more minutes. I ripped the paper off, grabbed my camera, arranged "the set"... And guess what? Yep, my battery died after the first shot! Man, I'm "lucky" today... lol

Anyhow, I'm VERY excited! These are my first products from China Glaze, Color Club and Poshe. Can't wait to try these babies!

As you've probably seen all these famous polishes for xxx-times and you have the idea of what they look like, pretend you can recognise them from my crappy picture. lol

Can't recognise? Ok, here they are (as a bonus - my initial reactions):

From left to right:

China Glaze Side-Saddle: dark chocolate brown with golden shimmer. Pretty, but I expected it to be more of a burgundy undertone.

China Glaze Emerald Sparkle: green shimmer. WOW! WOW! WOW! It is SO GREEN (no bluey undertone, the original version?)! And it seems that my bottle is FULL of the gorgeous green shimmer (I can hardly see the base - dark green polish!)! I think I found a new love! Speechless! :) Sparkling Christmas tree! :)

Color Club Revvvolution: gray-black holographic shimmer. Interesting colour! Not that holographic as Wild at Heart (yep, no sun here again). I heart the bottle! So cute! :)

Color Club Wild at Heart: purple holographic shimmer. Pretty! I'm so happy it's a bright purple. I was afraid it could be very dark and "sparkle in sunshine" only (check the story about OPI DS Fantasy).

Poshe Super-fast drying base coat

Poshe Super-fast drying top coat

Here is my second attempt, several minutes ago (artificial light):

From left to right: CC Wild at Heart, CC Revvvolution, CG Emerald Sparkle (it looks brighter and warmer in a real life), CG Side-Saddle, Poshe top coat, Poshe base coat

PS This time 8ty8beauty were not that fast (took almost 3 weeks just because they forgot to inform me that one of the polishes was OOS and I had to replace it with another one!), but it was worth the wait! :)

OPI DS Fantasy

All the pictures were taken under the bright artificial light (surprise surprise lol). No sun here, but at least it's warm (for winter) and it's not snowing! :) Note: the colour appears much brighter than it is in reality.

15 ml (0,5 oz), exp. date: 36 (usually it's 24 months for OPI) months after opening, made in USA.

From Designer Series 2007.

Contains toluene and Formaldehyde resin (black label!).

Colour: dark navy blue with fine holographic (well, it's not really holo, but it "sparkles strangely" :) ) glitter. This colour is so strange. Under the certain light (i.e. most of the time) it seems black or dark, I mean really DARK blue, but when the sun shines it sparkles! Doesn't it sound familiar?.. Guy... hmmm... polish that sparkles in sunshine? lol

Finish: glitter

Application: very smooth application , 1 coat is enough for a full coverage.

Retail price: ranges between 7 USD - 15 EUR.

Pros: perfect coverage, easy application, nice brush, pretty bottle.
Cons: it's not that bright and sparkly as I thought it would be! the fact that it's so expensive here!

PS Since there is no much sunshine these days here in Finland, I can't appreciate the whole beauty of this polish. It sparkles only under the bright artificial light, not under the normal artificial light! I tried to convince my hubby it "can" sparkle, but he still thinks it's black! lol

PPS Can it be that I was "lucky" enough to get some crappy version? Or is it my fantasy? lol

PPPS  Hello! I'm a "Twiaddict"! :)

Wet'n'Wild Rock Solid Nail lacquer in Pink Sapphire

 Bright artificial light

Artificial light

Artificial light (check the "whitening effect"!)

 

Artificial light

Note: this polish is indeed long lasting! See how my nails got longer (the gap between the cuticle and polish) but the polish is still OK! :)

10 ml (0,33 oz), exp. date: no info, made in UK.

Toluen & Phthalate Free (contains Formaldehyde Resin!).


Claims: "Infused with micro fine diamond flecks for rock solid strength and platinum performance."

Colour: pale milky pink with very fine silver shimmer. This shade is so versatile! You can wear it anywhere: office, party, wedding (!), etc.

Finish: creme (jelly?)-shimmer.

Application: pretty smooth application , but very sheer. I usually apply 3 coats, but as you can see from the pictures - the white nail line is still visible. And here comes a "secret trick"! Somehow this polish makes your tips look visually whiter! In person it looks like you have false nails (in a good way :) ) on!

Retail price: 3,95 EUR (quite often Wet'n'Wild products are on "Buy 3 pay for 2" offer).

Pros: versatile shade, nice brush, pretty bottle (with a "diamond" on top!), list of ingredients, long lasting.
Cons: sheer, smelly (!). I'm not sure what was the problem, but when I tried this particular polish with Sally Hansen's fast drying top coat, after the removal process I discovered "a surprise" - my nails turned yellow! I've never experienced this before... Weird!

PS If you have troubles in making the French tips yourself, or you just don't have time, grab this polish. :) It will make your nails look clean&sophisticated. :)

OPI Tickle My Francey

Artificial light

Artificial light

Natural light (shadow, where would you get the sun in Finland these days? :) )

15 ml (0,5 oz), exp. date: 24 months after opening, made in USA.

From France collection 2008.

Seems to be 3 Big free (green label!).

Colour: pale dusty gray rose/mauve. This colour is so strange. Under the certain light it seems more of a cool tone, but I still think it's more of a warm tone (despite the fact that it may make your hands look a little bit dead... cold... huh... lol).

Finish: creme. I would call it milky! :)

Application: very smooth application , 2 coats is enough for a full coverage.

Retail price: ranges between 5 USD - 15 EUR.

Pros: perfect coverage, easy application, nice brush, pretty bottle, big 3 free.
Cons: the fact that it's so expensive here!

PS Pretty unusual colour suitable for office though. But wear it with caution! :)

LUSH pet peeves. Part 5

Well, this post is about LUSH pet peeves aka "what bugs me". I was thinking to incorporate this topic into the first post about LUSH, but then I decided it would be easier to understand the whole thing when you actually got to know my experience.

But before I start, I want to mention (and repeat my thoughts from the first post), that although I truly appreciate their marketing concepts, I don't think their products are for everyone, meaning that if it's written "natural", "eco", "fresh", etc on the label, it does not mean it is 100% natural and safe to use (perfume and parabens can still be there). By the way, all those "chemicals" also come from our mother Earth... :)

Pet peeves&"what bugs me" (in no particular order):

1. You know that most of LUSH products come without a packaging (so you have to find a way to store them!). Ok, I understand the "Go green" thing and I really appreciate that creams or liquid shampoos (in cute black jars/bottles) come without boxes, but when I think of all those products (incl. big chunks of soaps, jellies, solid shampoos, massage bars, etc) that are waiting for us, buyers, days and days (if not months and months) in the shop, getting exposed to light, dry air, dust, and most importantly to all those touches from all those curious buyers, the whole situation starts to bug me. Haven't you seen how someone takes a big chunk of soap to sniff&rub in order to "test it"?..

2. Here goes another nastiness - as jars and bottles come without any box, and are not securely closed (no plastic thingy), you can't be 100% sure if someone "smart" enough didn't "test" it some time ago before you decided to buy this products! Would you buy a mascara without any protection thingy? I guess this is why the testers are displayed without a lid (there's a green "tester" sticker though), so you could spot them.

3. Here comes the turn of previously mentioned testers without a lid. Imagine what happens with a cream, or lip balm when it is displayed without a lid. Now, add several "finger dips" per day. And what do we get? Right! A smelly (usually dried out) substance full of germs and bacteria! How can I evaluate the end product based on what I try from that jar? I really hope, that those samples come from some other testers that are not on a display! :/

4. Check the videos on Youtube on how do they make their products. Guys wear gloves only! They don't wear protection masks... Now I seriously don't understand this thing! It is about skin care! Isn't it supposed to be hygienic, safe and FRESH? I hope these guys are healthy, but it still bugs me... a little bit...


Ok, enough negativity! :) Here is what I admire:

1. Very interesting concept!
2. Wide range of products.
3. All the descriptions are with a sense of humor. :)
4. List of ingredients!
5. Perfect customer service (all the sales persons I met seem to be very devoted to the brand)!

So, be careful! Watch for yourself! :) And ENJOY!:)

London haul

Hello! This is London hauling! lol

It's been a while since my recent visit, but since I took these pictures the next day after I got home, here it is. :)

Ladies, you can't even imagine how happy you are with all the offerings (and prices!) you have in UK! I guess ladies in USA are happier, but anyway! :)

Unfortunately (for me, but happily for my hubby lol), we had just a couple of hours for shopping. I prepared my wish list beforehand so it wasn't very difficult to decide on what should I buy, etc. I bought a couple of unplanned thingies also.

I hope you can clearly see everything I got from these pictures (click to view the full size). I will probably make short reviews later on, and now I present you my initial thoughts only.

Note: I also compared the prices for the UK and Finnish markets (quite a big difference, don't you think?). UK price is what I paid (I don't take "BOGOF" and "BOGO50%OFF", "Buy 3 Pay for 2" into account though), Finnish prices - approximate common price.

You can check my LUSH hair care haul in the previous post.

Boots & Superdrug hauls

Boots Eye makeup remover (150 ml) 2,93 GBP, not available in Finland?
Note: pretty good! I like the smell and the texture!

Soap & Glory Glad Pits spray deodorant (150 ml) 4 GBP, not available in Finland?
Note: decent deodorant. The scent is too strong for my liking (hubby likes it!!! :) ) but it evaporates pretty quickly.

Soap & Glory Fab Pore Mask (50 ml) 5,88 GBP, not available in Finland?
Note: don't see any difference when using it. Leaves a weird residue!

Olay Beauty Fluid (200 ml, I wanted to buy 100 but it was OOS) 5,49 GBP, this particular cream is not available in Finland?
Note: pretty average.

Neutrogena Deep Clean 2-in-1 Invigorating Wash Mask (150 ml) 3,42 GBP, this particular mask is not available in Finland?
Note: "Use it as a daily wash to cleanse away dirt and oil without over-drying"? Why then it dries my skin? No kidding!

St Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub (30 ml, perfect size for traveling) 0,97 GBP, not available in Finland?
Note: pretty average.

Aussie 2-in-1 Volume (300 ml) 3,37 GBP vs ~11 EUR
Note: have yet to try!

Barry M Nail Paint in Nr. 119 Baby Pink 2,89 GBP, not available in Finland?
Note: have yet to try! Check my previous review on Barry M Nail Paint in Nr. 295 Turquoise.

Barry M 3 in 1 Mascara - "volumises, lengthens and curls!" 5, 82 GBP, not available in Finland?
Note: This could be extremely funny if it wouldn't be so sad! It doesn't do ANYTHING what it claims to do (the package was sealed, meaning it wasn't spoiled), in fact it uncurls (!!!) the lashes! I've never used an eyelash curler. And this "wonder mascara" makes my eyelashes look extremely flat&straight in about a couple of hours after the application! BIG bloody FAIL!

Maybelline Colossal "Up to 7x more volume" mascara 6,84 GBP vs ~12 EUR
Note: have yet to try!

Palmer's Moisturizing Lip Balm 1,16 GBP
Note: have yet to try!


The Body Shop haul (those "BOGO50%OFF" offers are so tempting! But I resisted i.e. didn't buy a whole bunch of other stuff! :) )


Japanese Cherry Blossom EDT 50 ml 14,65 GBP vs 23 EUR
Note: hubby's choice!:) He likes L'Occitane's version as well. As for me, I'm not a big fun of these both scents, but use it occasionally.

Coconut Body Scrub 50 ml (perfect size for traveling or for trying out new product!) 4,85 GBP
Note: have yet to try!

Coconut Body Butter 50 ml (perfect size for traveling or for trying out new product!) 4,85 GBP
Note: I had it in the full 200 ml size. Decided to get the smaller version, as I don't like to use the same product for months and months. :) My favourite scent! Smells SO YUMMY! Like Rafaello! :)

Coconut Lip Butter 10 ml 4,85 GBP
Note: have yet to try!

Brazil Nut Lip Butter 10 ml 4,85 GBP
Note: have yet to try!

2 free samples of Love EDT and body wash (?)
Note: didn't like the scent, but the jars are super cool! :)