SOSU X Suzanne Jackson

Two weeks ago I attended the Cocoa Brown launch of their new Bronzing Gels (I’ll have a post on them in the coming weeks). In the swag bags we got at the event was a Sosu nail polish by Suzanne Jackson, which I was really happy about as I hadn’t tried any of them yet.

I’ve heard nothing but good things about the polish and have even heard that it can last up to two weeks so I was pretty intrigued to test it out.

I received the polish in Cast a Spell, a gorgeous purple that can only be described as a witches purple so the name is very apt.

The polish didn’t last two weeks on me but I did get a good week out of it with very little chipping. The left hand had no chipping at all and the right hand had only minimal chipping. The gloss and shine stayed all week which I was very impressed by, I would say it has more of a Vinylux effect rather than the gel like effect that you would get off Shellac nails but it's still very impressive. I think a lot of people who have had the nail polish last for longer than a week wore it over fake nails which would mean that it lasts a little longer than on natural nails.

The colour is very opaque with only one coat being needed but I did two anyway just for luck. I also used the CND Vinylux top coat over it.

I have one problem with the polish and that’s just the brush applicator, when dipping it into the bottle it did get a bit messy around the top of the bottle. I’ve heard that she has changed the brush applicator in her new collection so hopefully that will stop any excess polish being left on the top of the bottle.

I’m not sure what put me off not buying her polishes any sooner but after trying this one out I think I will pick up a couple, they are well worth the €7.99. You can buy them in Penneys nationwide as well as local pharmacies – a full list of sellers can be found here. They are priced at €7.99.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Polish

When it comes to gel effect polishes I have a very high standard for what it takes for me to really love the product.

1)      If you’re going to sell me a gel polish it has to be as good as a Shellac or Vinylux.

2)      Has to last at least 5-7 days without chipping

3)      Stay glossy for the time being on my nails

4)      Can’t take long to dry – that goes for all polishes with me though

I bought a load of Vinylux polishes when I was at the Irish Beauty show a few months ago and they have set a really high bar for what I think of other polishes. I have however found it hard to source some, I know you can buy them online but I’m trying to cut back on my online spending.

This is a good thing though as I found a new love in the polish world that I think could possible trump my Vinylux ones.

The Colour Stay Gel Envy polishes from Revlon are possibly the best drugstore polishes I have ever tried. They tick all the boxes for me in what I look for in a gel polish.

They last all week, the shine never dulls, they are highly pigmented and when it does chip it’s usually by the end of the week and they are so tiny that unless my hands are right in your face you won’t notice them.

The price point is very similar to the Vinylux polishes. They retail for €9.29 in Boots and have an amazing colour range with 30 colours to choose from plus a top coat.

You will need to buy the top coat when getting the polish, its key that you do as this is what keeps your nails in tip top chip free condition and makes your nails super shiny.

The colours are highly pigmented, at least the ones I’ve tried so far have been. You could get away with one coat but I still pop two on. With two layers of colour and one top coat you would think it would take forever to dry but it is quite quick a drying formula so you can be back to business in no time at all.

If you love long wear nail polishes as much as I do then give the Revlon Colour Stay Gel Envy polishes a go. Anyone of my friends and family that I have recommended the polish to have loved it, so get out there and get some. Oh and Boots have a 3for2 offer on at the moment so no excuses.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo 

Maxfactor Gel Shine Lacquer

I was recently sent these gorgeous Maxfactor Gel Shine Lacquer polishes. They are “high shine and intense colour that lasts, for an instant glamour transformation”.

These polishes claim to give “intense colour pay-out with high shine and up to 7 days wear”.

I am immediately drawn to any polishes that have gel in the title or promises to give the same results as any UV gel polish.

I didn’t test all the colours unfortunately, I didn’t manage to try the brighter colours before I got Shellac on my nails. I had Sheen Merlot on my nails for over a week though so I think I have a good idea of how they work.

 

I chose Sheen Merlot (Burgundy) over Vivid Vermillion (Neon Orange) and Twinkling Pink (Bright Fuchsia) as I am forever drawn to plums and reds.

It does have a very high colour pay out as it didn’t take too much for the nail to be completely covered without seeing any of the nail bed. By the end of the week I only had one or two chips which I was really impressed by.

The only thing I was disappointed by was the fact that I didn’t seem have a very gel like finish. It could have been that colour though because I did swatch the other colours and they did seem a bit thicker on the nails than Sheen Merlot.

I did love the colour I tested and while it didn’t have too much of a gel look it was very pigmented and did last for almost a full week which I was really impressed by. They retail for €10.39 each.

Do you think you’ll buy them?

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah

Barry M Aquarium Nail Collection

I absolutely love Barry M polishes, they always have amazing colours and collections. When I saw these two from the Aquarium Collection I fell instantly in love with them. One is a colour polish and one is a glitter polish and suit each other perfectly. The polish is in Arabian, an amazing 2 toned turquoise colour and the glitter polish in Mermaid, a clear polish with flecks of blue, gold and green.

You’ll need at least two coats of the Arabian so not to see any of the nail bed and I put a few coats of the Mermaid on to get a good amount of the glitter flecks onto the nail as I didn’t want it too sparse looking.

The colour probably goes better with a tan, I think I’m a bit pale but it still works. It didn’t take too long to dry but the Mermaid took a while as I put a lot of product on my nail.

I love these colours they’re probably more suited for the summer so I should only get another month or so out of it.

The collection is still available in boots and it comes in few more colours too. I love how they’re so cheap only €5.99 and the great thing about boots is that they’re currently in a 3 for 2 offer!

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

Collection Lasting Gel Color | Review

I bought these during my Boots Haul last week. They were on offer - 2 for €6.50 or €3.99 each, so obviously I had to buy the two. I love gel effect nails so I was excited to try these, I had tried the Models Own Hypergel polish and wasn’t impressed at all so the fact that these where much cheaper than the Models Own I my expectations weren’t too high but still optimistic at the same time.

Vixen Red

Raspberry

I love the brush, it’s wide and gets the full nail pretty much on one swipe a bit like the Rimmel 60 Seconds nail polish or the YSL polishes, I hate really thin brushes they never work the way I want them too.

Firstly as a beauty blogger I want to try everything at once and as I’ve had Shellac on for so long I couldn’t wait to get my nails painted and polished again so I put one colour on each hand.

On my left hand I tried Vixen Red, from the bottle it looks like a deep burgundy red but when applied it has more of a plum hew to it. With the application I applied two coats to get a full colour, one coat was too thin. With this hand I applied a top coat when I was finished and the drying time was very short, it almost instantly dried to touch but it needed a short few minutes before it was fully dry. I love these kinds of colours especially for the autumn.

After over a week’s wear the red had hardly chipped other than looking a bit dull around the tip of the nail.

No chips after a full week of wear

On my right hand I had the colour Raspberry, it’s like a hot pink but a little darker another one of my favourite colours but this one is more suited for the summer. On this hand I didn’t put any top coat on just to see if it made any difference having it with or without it. Again after a week there is literally just one obvious chip and a little dulling around the tip of the nails.

 

The application on the colour was much better than the Vixen Red, the colour is thick enough and only needed one coat but I put two on just for luck.

Only one obvious chip after a full week

I’m so impressed by these polishes, they have a high shine that has stayed for the week, no chipping with or without a top coat and they are a bargain at only €3.99. They look more like a normal polish on the nails rather than having gel on the nail but I’ll let that slide as the overall quality is really good.

Thanks for reading J

Love Sarah xoxo

Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pens | Review

Sally Hansen I Heart Nail Art Pen

This was the worst nail buy I have had in a looooooooong time!!! It was an absolute impulse buy, I just saw the pictures that they had advertising the pens and thought what I saw was what I was going to get. I suppose there should be some blame on my part for buying a product I didn't know anything about but that's what happens when you’re in boots during a 3 for 2 sale and just put stuff in your basket without thinking.

Firstly I thought what I was buying was a pen with a small brush tip, because to me that’s what the pictures looked like it was but what I got was a hard tip like you would get from a felt tip marker!

When I got home and tried them out, it took me forever to get any product out and when I did it was a pretty miniscule amount.

I wish I could find a picture of the advertisement that I saw in boots when I was buying the pens to show you how I thought it was going to look because it really made it out to be a really flowing varnish with a very easy movable tip.

In the end I was just really disappointed with the pen and in the end I didn’t like them because:

They were too difficult for the product to come out

The colour came out very opaque and for a nail pen I would want something more pigmented

Too expensive, at €8.95 per pen that is just too expensive for myself, especially on something I won’t be using again.

So that’s what I think about these oul pens, I won’t be buying them again and for such a good brand like Sally Hansen I thought they would have been so much better.

Thanks for reading and if you have bought these pens too then let me know what you thought about them.

Love Sarah xoxo

Facebook Competition

Good Morning Girl's!!!

I finally have a picture up of the goodies that you can win on my Facebook competition. 

If you haven't entered yet just click the link and like, share and don't forget to follow as well :)

You can win the new Cocoa Brown Travel Set, the Oh So Special Sleek Palette and a little nail polish set from the PS Love Beauty range from Penny's.

Enter Here :)

Nails Inc 2 in 1 Color and Pop Art | Review

If you follow me on Facebook or on Instagram you'll have seen my pictures of my new Nails Inc 2 in 1 Color and Pop Art varnishes. I had bought them at the start of March and only properly got around to using them this week.

They have 3 to choose from in their collection:

Angel & Upper Street

Sheraton St & Cavendish Place

Knightsbridge Place & Sloane Street

I was only going to buy one but I couldn’t choose between two colours so figured I just had to buy two, the sales guy must have seen the struggle of what to do on my face and came over to help me. Anyway I ended up getting all three thanks to the salesman, he told me if I bought 3 then I would get a free manicure so I really couldn’t deny a freebie. You've got to love a good splurge.

Luckily for me when it comes to Nails Inc. I love all their products and the majority of my nail polish collection is full of the stuff, so when I did splurge I didn’t feel too bad as I knew I was going to be getting a good product and you do get what you pay for my darlings!!!

So last Sunday I sat myself down and dug these beauts out, I only used Angel & Upper Street and Knightsbridge & Sloane Street as I was going for a pink look.

I didn’t use any top or base coat so I did have the fear that they would chip off within the next day but they didn’t and there was a great shine on them even without a top coat.

The varnishes are duos so on one end you have your colour and on the other you have the clear coat with glitter. These are limited edition for Spring/Summer 2014 and the shades have been chosen to reflect the pastel and pop colours for this season.

I love the ideas of these duos and they last ages without chipping. I have one problem and that’s when removing the glitter, they don't budge. I use my Maybelline Express Remover as it’s the only remover that I’ve used to get glitter off but it still didn’t work, I chipped them off with my nails which probably isn’t the best for my nails.

But other than that I love these little things, they are a bit pricey at €16.80 in Debenhams; I think they're £14 in the UK.

Have a great weekend dolls!!

Love Sarah xoxo

Rita Ora Nail Collection for Rimmel

I'm a big fan of Rimmel, I have been since I was a young girl, not so much of Rita Ora especially since she's been cast as Mia in 50 Shades (still won't stop me seeing the movie though), so when I heard they were bringing out a nail collection together I was interested to see what they would come up with. Rita has collaborated with many great artists since she came on the scene but I think creating a nail collection with Rimmel is the best collaboration yet.

In this collection there are 12 Shades altogether (€4.99 each)

 Lose your lingerie - a pastel pink

Raw as night - a hot pink

Don't be shy - Barbie pink

Let's get nude - a lovely little nude

Midnight rendezvous - a dark purple

Hot White Love - plain and simple white but so on trend

Blindfold me blue - a sea blue

Pillow talk - a pastel blue

Do not disturb - a sea green

Breakfast in bed - a pastel green

Rita rouge - Pillar box red

Orgasm - (the rudeness) an orange

She also has 10 shades of Colour Rush lipsticks but I have enough lipsticks so I decided not to get the lippy, although I have enough nail varnishes too but they really excited me!! 

I bought mine in Boots; they had a 3 for 2 offer so I got six of the following:

Midnight Rendezvous

Rita Rouge

Raw As Night

Hot White Love

Do Not Disturb

All of the above where given a single coat and they dried really fast. My favourite of the ones I bought where:

Rita Rouge - After trying it out it's a gorgeous burgundy red, I love colours like that on my nails and lips

Hot White Love - It's a brilliant white, but you will need to give a perfect application on the nails to get the perfect manicure. This one will be great with a tan.

Raw As Night - This is a really light bright red, when I applied it to my first few nails I didn't think I was going to like it but it definitely grew on me, I usually love dark reds so this one surprised me.

I love all the colours and I can't wait to get the rest in the range. They are so affordable and I love how they actually dry quickly, I hate when some polishes claim to dry quickly and really don't. I've only ever bought one or two of the Rimmel polishes years ago so I couldn't remember if they where good or not, but I'm pleased to say that they are amazing and I will be buying them in the future!

If you don't believe me you will need to try it for yourself!

Love Sarah xoxo

Reveiw | Tanya Burr Lip Gloss and Nails Part 1

I love watching Youtube for tutorials, hauls and to see what vloggers think of the latest products, so when I saw that one of my faves Tanya Burr had released her own range of lip glosses and nail polishes I knew I had to get them. 

For this post i'm just going to write about the nail polishes. There are 10 polishes in total and each of them have their own unique names that Tanya chose herself.

Penguin Chic - a taupe like grey

Riding Hood - such a lovely pillar box red 

Mini Marshmallows - a light baby pink

Peaches and cream - a peachy cream colour 

Midnight Sparkles - a dark sparkly purple

Bright and Early - bubble-gum pink

Be Bright, Be Happy, Be You - a little hot pink 

New York Night - a dark purple

Mischief Managed - a pinkie red

Little Duck - a pastel green

I bought my 3 on www.cloud10beauty.com, I chose Riding Hood, Midnight Sparkles and Be Bright, Be Happy, Be you. The quality of these polishes are really good, I paid €7.50 for each polish which I think is reasonable enough for what you get. 

Be Bright, Be Beautiful, Be You and Riding Hood:

When I first put these colours on my nails I was blown away firstly by the shine and secondly from the coverage. Even from just one coat there was such a high coverage.

Be Bright, Be Beautiful, Be You

The shine is just amazing and the coverage is so thick it almost looks gel like. I really love a wet look nail so this really ticked the box for me. 

Riding Hood

Midnight Sparkle

I don't think my photo does this polish any justice. In person it really is a sparkly purple, it reminds me of a supernova deep space colour. I tried to use my camera and my IPhone camera but this was the best shot I could get. There wasn't as much of a shine as the other two polishes and the sparkle disappeared a bit but i'm thinking if I put a lighter polish underneath maybe it will make it pop a bit more.

Midnight Sparkle

The varnishes promise to be chip resistant and they live up to that. I didn't put a top coat on my nails just to see how long they would last on their own and after a week there was only minimal chipping so I presume if I put a top coat on it will last for a good few days.

I love the packaging although I did have a hard time opening 2 of the polishes and had to get my dad to open them because i'm so weak.
Overall I do love them and if I see them in my local stores maybe I'll buy them, it's just a bit of effort to buy them online.

Enjoy your weekend girls and keep an eye out over the next few days for my review on Tanya's lip glosses.

Love Sarah xoxo