NOTD: Go bananas

As is often the case, this manicure was inspired by one posted by Wah Nails on Instagram. Mine's not quite as good as theirs, but I love the contrast of the yellow against Models Own 'Hedonist'. Need to make my bananas a bit bendier next time!

 

NOTD: Sharks

When I saw WAH nails new shark design pop up on Instagram I straight away went to recreate it! I used my favourite Barry M Cyan blue, 17 Holographic silver and Models Own Hedonist to make it pop. 

Models Own Haul inc. Hyper Gel swatches

I've been keeping my eye on the Models Own Facebook page for weeks now,waiting for the elusive 50% off code to drop when they reached 250,000 likes. And it finally happened! I was so happy as some of my favourite Models Own polishes needed replacing, and I wanted to try a couple of the Hyper Gels too. Here's what I got...
All swatches are 2 coats

(top L-R: Hedonist, Beach Party, Ibiza Mix, Sophie's Pink, Red-Black
Bottom L-R: Hypergels White Light, Pink Veneer, Cornflower Gleam, and Scented Blueberry Muffin)

My Hed Kandi collection polishes (Hedonist, Beach Party, Ibiza Mix) had gone thick and gloopy but they're some of my favourites so I wanted to replace them.
Hedonist (left) is a neon red and Beach Party neon orange. They have somewhat of a matte finish and look really good with a tan (which I'm lacking at the moment)

Ibiza Mix is my all time favourite glitter. Below is 2 coats; you can see how good the coverage is. It looks great over so many colours. 

I've always seen Sophie's Pink on the website and been tempted, so when the 50% off deal came around I thought I might as well. It's not as bold as the swatch looked on the website which I'm a bit annoyed about.

Left- Sophie's Pink on the website. Right- Swatch

Img- nailpolishdirect.co.uk

Red Black actually seems more purple-black than anything, which I was a bit disappointed with as I was hoping for more of a 'Chanel Rouge Noir' colour. It was really hard to photograph too, so in the photo below it just looks black.

I didn't indulge in the scented collection when it was first released, as I thought it was more gimmicky than innovative. But I love a blue polish so went for Blueberry Muffin. This applied really well and wasn't streaky which surprised me. Looking ahead to summer I kind of wish I'd got the whole scented collection as I do love the pastel colours.

And finally...the Hypergel polishes. Part of me wanted them all but I restricted myself to three. 

I always find white polishes a chore, as it's so hard to find one that's not streaky and gives solid opaque coverage. The Hypergel shade 'White Light' is completely opaque in two thin coats. 

In hindsight, I didn't really need Cornflower Gleam, as on inspection it is nearly identical to Barry M's Gelly Polish in 'Blueberry'. I'm a sucker for a blue polish though.

Below is a comparison between the two, Models Own 'Cornflower Gleam' on the left and Barry M's 'Blueberry' on the right. The formulas are also really similar, in that they are quite sheer and require a few coats for full coverage. I was hoping this wouldn't be the case with the Models Own one, as that's part of the reason I don't use the Barry M one as much. You can see how much shinier the Model's Own polish is though.

Pink Veneer is a pretty cool toned baby pink which I didn't think would look right against my skin tone (a lot of pink polishes just don't look right on me) but I really like it on. It applies well and non-streakily which is a bonus in such a pale colour.

Models Own Ice Neon...what do you think?

I was just recently saying how I was waiting impatiently for the announcement of  Models Own's new season collection, as the last four have been wonderful (Wonderland, Mirrorball, Beetlejuice, and Hed Kandi). And then it was announced: Ice Neon! 

Hmm. For some reason, I didn't feel as excited as I have for the previous collections. I'm going to have to try them out for myself to see because though I've been loving neon, I'm not sure about the neon yellow, and I've tried neon pink on my nails before and it  really hasn't suited my skin tone. Maybe I'll just have to do some extreme tanning. Intrigued by how the green and purple will turn out, as you don't often see neon purple. Think I'd be a bit more excited about this if they were more like pastel neon shades, if that makes sense? Like the colours that amazing beauty store born pretty does (see here to understand what I'm waffling on about)


It launches at Boots on the 22nd March, though as they're supposed to be refrigerated to keep their brightness, I'm wondering how they will do this? Or is it all just a big gimmick?

What do you think of the new collection? Are you excited? 

Model's Own Hyper Brite Lipstick review: Pink Hawaiian

I've just started wearing lipstick, and after the first nerve-wrecking application, I now feel fairly confident wearing it and can't wait to try more colours. Thus, during my standard lunch time browsing of Boots, my eye was straight away drawn to Models Own Hyperbrite lipsticks. Of the four colours [Orangeade, Flaming Red, Annalise's Pink and Pink Hawaiian], I was immediately drawn to Pink Hawaiian...still not sure if I'm quite brave enough for orange lips!

In the tube, I loved the look of it. Bright pink but with a slight coral tinge, rather than a cool toned Barbie pink that I think would look terrible on me [see the other Hyperbrite Lipstick, Annalise's Pink!) 

However, in reality, it looks completely different on to what's in the tube...

Classic hand swatch

Excuse the major bed hair...

I was quite disappointed in this. I absolutely love the colour in the tube, but on the lips I don't love it and it doesn't seem to be the 'Hyper Brite' shade it claims to be. The formula's odd too; though deemed 'Matte Hyper Brites' it really isn't matte at all! You can see the sheen of it in the photos, especially this close up

Though this means it's very comfortable to wear, and doesn't dry and clump on the lips like other matte lipsticks, it doesn't result in the look that I was after. With matte shades, I expect the coverage to be pretty opaque, but this was quite sheer. 

So there you go! Pretty disappointed with this, as I love Models Own for their nail varnish and hoped this lipstick would be as good. The colour wasn't what I was hoping for, but the wear time was pretty good [around 2 hrs] and it faded and left the lips stained a nice pink rather than cracking and clumping like other matte lipsticks. But really wasn't what I was after.

NOTD: Summer brights- Models Own Hed Kandi

I mentioned that I'm already dreaming of summer, and this was also reflected with my nail polish choice today. Models Own Hed Kandi collection was one of my favourites as I genuinely loved all the colours in the collection. I hope their summer collection this year is just as good! Here's Hedonist and Beach party with a sponged gradient effect:

I'm such a fickle nail person; was going through a major love of muted and nude shades but I love this combo! Though I think it's a bit early and I'm far too pasty right now. But I'll definitely be revisiting this combo come summer

NOTD: leopard

Now it was Gem Fatale's leopard nail tutorial that first got me into nail art about two years ago. I've been out of inspiration recently for nails so thought I'd return to a tried and tested design. 

Colours used were my current favourite, Essie Sand Tropez, and Models own Nude Beige, which was free with last week's More magazine

Pretty understated for me, but I like how the nude colours make leopard print more chic

Models Own- Wonderland and Mirrorball

Despite being thousands of miles away, like any other polish addict I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Models Own Mirrorball and Wonderland collections. However, now I have returned to England with a near empty bank account I could only allow myself a select few. I decided on Jack Frost and Snowflake from Wonderland, and Dancing Queen from Mirrorball. Jack Frost is an irridescant glitter that leans mostly blue and purple in the light, and Snowflake a golden shimmery ‘flakie’ polish. I chose Dancing Queen from Mirrorball as swatches Ive seen of this over various colours looked the most interesting to me.

L-R Jack Frost, Snowflake and Dancing Queen. 

Now we know with glitters the best way to apply is to gently ‘blob’ the polish on, as if you try to apply like a normal polish the glitter won’t stick to the nail. I have to admit I did find this a bit more difficult with these polishes and I ended up with quite a thick layer of the clear polish that the glitter’s suspended in. The Snowflake polish was probably the most difficult to apply, as the flakes stick together and it takes some time to get the placement right. However I think they are beautiful enough for me to put up with the hassle of application ;)

Here are some swatches of each of the three over a few different colours so you can see the different effects that can be achieved

Each picture L-R: Dancing queen, Snowflake, Jack Frost . 2 coats. 

   Over Look Beauty shade 29- Vintage               Over Barry M 47- Black                  And over Revlon White on White

I thought the Wonderland polishes looked cute and christmassy over the white polish, however it made it slightly discoloured and gave it a yellowish tinge. All polishes had a more dramatic impact when layered over the black polish, so I think a darker base polish is the way forward and I'll be trying a variety of other bases for them. 

Have you purchased any of the new Models Own polishes? Blizzard and Disco Inferno are next on my list.