Storage - Helmer alternatives!

For a nail polish 'collector' I would say my collection is pretty modest and up until recently all my polishes fitted neatly into this Muji container (34 x 44.5 x 18cm). I still remember when I bought this and my entire collection filled only half of the container. Those days have well and truly gone as I've been using a small cardboard box to house overflow!!!! Although it's a nice cheap solution to keep everything together polishes get buried and are forgotten about which is bad because I end up buying dupes. So now I'm in the market for some new storage.

From reading other blogs it seems the Ikea Helmer is the preferred solution as it's relatively cheap and strong. It's ok but I personally want something that will add to the decor of my house (when I buy one) and isn't tucked away in a closet. Basically I want a nice bit of solid furniture, looks good and is a good investment.

After browsing I've decided I want something like this...

...old style library index filing drawers.
I know it may not be to everyone's taste but I can imagine something like this in my house (when I get one). It would house my polishes discreetly but keep them organised.

More random units I found on eBay and Google!

At present there is no way one of these would fit into my flat (and one of these solid oak units cost about £1000) so for the mean I might have to get a helmer!

Anyway enough random rambling from me, what do you guys use to store your polishes in?

Boots 17 Fast Finish Nail Polish - Fury

Drooling over Peridot but cannot bear to part with £17.50, Boots have come up with a wallet friendly alternative. Part of their new autumn/winter collection 'Fury' is a warm gold/bronze metallic with subtle hints of green --- I've just realised this sounds like a press release! I think I'll leave the writing to the professionals and just get on with showing you the pictures!

Chanel Peridot on index and ring finger in case it's not obvious!

As you can see it's not really a dupe but it does have Peridot qualities to it and at £2.99 I don't think you'll complain.

Who's going to buy it?

Replacement!

Look what came today...

...replacement for yesterday's mess! Have to say ASOS have redeemed themselves with their customer service and fast delivery, shame the packaging was still a little inadequate and the risk of breakages still very high. They need to start securing them so they're not tumbling around in a large box or wrap them individually so that if one breaks it doesn't ruin the others!

Can you guess what I got?!

Silver Holographics Comparison

I thought I'd do a quick comparison for you of all the silver holographic polishes I own.

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight
Index: M&S- Rainbow, reviewed this in an earlier post. Easy to apply even without special base coat.
Middle: Sally Hansen Nail Prisms - Diamond - particles very fine, polish quite sheer so you will need a zillion coats. I expected more punch from this polish. Doesn't dry fast or well, has weird rubbery squishy feel like it's not dried properly. Can easily leave a mark.
Ring: China Glaze - OMG - Pain to apply without base coat but very holographic
Little finger: GOSH - Holographic - Best of the bunch but need base coat for best application. Dries fast to give foil finish. Need I say more (unless you want me to).
Thumb: Milani - HD - Quite chunky particles, more inline with CG Kaleidoscope polishes. Dries with that rubbery squishy feel like SH.

Indirect sunlight SH has a more gold tone to the silver, the rest are your typical silver. I think the silver is really ugly when it's not all holographic.

Availability: GOSH fix base and holographic can still be found in some Superdrug stores, not ones in big cities though. China Glaze OMG and Sally Hansen Diamond available on eBay at silly prices. M&S(UK) and Milani (US) still widely available.

M&S Rainbow - High street Holographic that's easy to find

I have to admit I often over look M&S when it comes to make-up not because it's rubbish but I just don't associate M&S with make-up let alone nail polish, but food definitely!

To cut a long story short I was recently browsing through their nail polishes when I came across a silver polish called Rainbow. I thought it was a silly name for something so plain but when I picked it up I understood the rationale!

Take a look:

Part of their 'Perfection' range

Left to Right - GOSH, The MakeUp Store and M&S

Here I have compared it to GOSH's holographic and The Make up Store's Britta and you can see it's not as intense but nothing to be ashamed of. I would say the M&S polish is similar to the holographic-ness of Color Club's Fashion Addict and I'm guessing Worth the Risque which I don't have.

3 coats

In terms of application it's a lot easier that GOSH, there's no balding or dragging. You won't need to apply a top coat either because it has an 'extra vinyl' finish which would probably explain why it's not as intense as the other holographics. I can't comment on whether it's long wear because I only had it on for one day but it didn't flake off like GOSH can. This will set you back £7.50 for a 11ml. Not bad, not bad at all.

If you want to get yourself a bottle visit a larger M&S store that stocks their full range of make-up or alternatively visit their online store here.

Recent NOTDs Pink Spice and Wild at Heart

The two nail polishes I'm wearing here need no introduction so I'm just going to show you the pictures!

Pink Spice by Accessorize - Gorgeous duochrome that required 3 coats. Gives a foil like finish.

Color Club's Wild at Heart a stunning purple polish with a subtle holo effect. Perfect application in 2 coats but for pros one coat may enough.

My first attempt at Polka Dots

For the past few days I've been wearing For Audrey by China Glaze, a gorgeous nail polish created in honour of Audrey Hepburn. The colour is supposed to match the colour of Tiffany jewellery boxes however I can't confirm it myself as my boxes are miles away. I achieved perfect coverage in two coats but I reckon those of you who are more experienced could do it in one, it's that opaque. Don't you think it looks a little like Mint Cream by ELF? I didn't want to do a side my side comparison so instead I decided to do some polka dots for the first time using the techniques learnt from Cute Polish.As you can see from the picture Mint Cream is lighter than For Audrey and on closer inspection it's also more on the green side.

I love the dots and will be doing more if the future! What do you guys think?

(Can you tell I've filed my nails down to have a squarer tip!)

Color Club Fashion Addict

It was only after I had made an order from an eBay seller for some hard to find polish (in the UK) that I read about duds and people's disappointment with some of color club holos. I hoped that I would get a good bottle but inside I reluctantly resigned to the fact I was going to receive a dud. So when my package finally came from the states Fashion Addict looked flat and my heart sank. However the next day when the sunlight caught my nails I could see glimpses of a rainbow and the signs of a holo!! Could it be? To be honest I don't know if I have a good or a bad bottle but there is definitely something there. I've tried to capture it on camera for you guys to see...

I had to fiddle with the exposure factors because my compact gets confused when there are areas of light and dark.
This is my thumb and the colours are a little more saturated because the photo was deliberately underexposure!

Before a clean up!! artificial lighting

Is this a dud? Should there be more holo?

The Makeup Store Holographic

If you've given up on ever finding the gems from the China Glaze OMG collection or are in the market for a GOSH holographic dupe then The Makeup Store in Westfield shopping mall, London stock some fantastic alternatives.

They're £11 for a 8ml bottle which is quite steep but if you're a holographic lover it's totally worth it. Yesterday I picked up Britta which is a pink linear holographic out of the 5 they had.

The holographic-ness is blinding (my photography not-so!) and even a coat of Seche Vite didn't really dull it. Application takes a bit of getting used to as it drags and balds if you use too much at once. I found if you do one quick stroke then leave it to dry before doing the others works best. I think I applied about 3 coats in total. There is a base that goes with these but I didn't get it so am unsure as to whether it would make application easier.

I had never heard of this brand before yesterday but I was informed it has been around for 15 years and originates from Sweden. I don't think these are available to buy online but you can place an order over the phone providing you spend over £30. I'll be saving my pennies to buy the others!
UPDATE: I found a GOSH fix base in my local Superdrug and tested to see if the application of this polish would be better and I have to say it is. The polish goes on smoothly, doesn't drag and there is minimal balding. So because of this I highly recommend using a base. I'm glad I put off buying the from The Makeup Store because the GOSH is so much cheaper (£4.99).

Is GOSH Holographic 549 still available in the UK?

Hell yes it is!!! On Monday (11th April 2011) I found two bottles in a market-town called Wimbourne. The two bottles vary slightly so I'm thinking they're different versions/batches but I might talk about that in a later post, however for now this news should give those who are still after the polish a glimmer of hope of getting their hands on a bottle without resorting to eBay. Definitely check out small Superdrug stores located in the sticks!

Ax

Zeitgeist - The Perfect Duochrome

Whenever I visit my parents I always end up rummaging through boxes of my old junk in the hope of discovering forgotten treasures from my childhood. Usually I find nothing but last week I found a few old nail polishes which I'm positive date back as far as 2001.

The first one I want to share is called Zeitgeist by Rimmel. Part of their 60 seconds range, it is the perfect duochrome!

(ignore the lumpy application and tips, that was my fault!)

From the pictures you can see the main colours are an aubergine purple and a greeny coppery gold! Depending on the lighting and the angle you look one will be more pronounced. In the bottle there is a hint of blue (think oil slick) but unfortunately this doesn't appear on the nails.

Despite the age (at least 10 years, just look at the old bottle design) the polish applies wonderfully. It's a little thick but the formula is designed to give perfect coverage in one coat and it did, kind of!

I don't really have any other duochromes (at the moment) that give such an obviously effect so this will be added to my growing nail polish collection. It's funny because I remember when I first got this I hated it and was tempted to throw it out, luckily I didn't.

This nail polish has been discontinued but you may still find it on eBay.

A x

Below Deck and Mint Cream

China Glaze Below Deck with a coat of Color Club Femme Fatale on top.

Color Club Femme Fatale

Elf Mint Cream

Required 4 coats here to achieve complete opacity. Was incredibly streaky and a general pain in the butt to apply. If I didn't love the colour so much I would throw this in the trash.

The Chop

My nails are shorter, they had to go after I broke one playing rounders on Saturday :-( I can't stand having different length nails.

NOTD: Pelican Grey from the Anchors Away Collection. Love this because it's got silvery micro shimmers (just about see on the index finger) which gives it more dimension and doesn't look flat on the nail. I even got a compliment.

Tea, cake and croquet

Providing the weather holds tomorrow I'll be attending an Alice in Wonderland style tea party/picnic dressed as a flamingo. To match my bright pink outfit I have painted my nails using Rimmel's I love fruities Lasting Finish in Cranberry Zest 066. Application was quick with the wide brush and only two coats were required for an opaque finish. As the name suggests there is a fruity smells once the polish dries, a bit gimmicky but whatever the colour is nice.

For base I used Collection 2000 Nail Care 2 in 1 Base Coat and Ridge filler with Keratin. No top coat was used as I'm not planning to keep this mani on for more than 2 days!

OPI Austin-tatious turquoise

The sun is out and I'm feeling super summery. I've been holed up in a dark room for quite some time but thankfully I have until June to top-up on my Vitamin D and to have pretty nails before I have to return!!

Today I've chosen a lovely shimmery turquoise from OPI's Texas collection (Spring/Summer 2011) called Austin-tatious turquoise. In darker lighting you can see the purple duochrome. (I used a base, x3 generous coats of polish because it is super sheer and a top coat)

OPI is available in the UK from John Lewis, Lookfantastic and Lena White