Nubar Toasted Marshmallow with a 70s Twist

As I said before, Nubar - Toasted Marshmallow has become a favourite not so much because it's a great colour on its own, but because I have been looking for this colour for designs I want to do. Here is the first one in a style that is full of late 70s nostalgia, a time where this sort of yellow along with brown and warm red was very fashionable - or at least that is the impression we are left with. Of course I added a Carpenters song to match the mood!

The breakdown

Base colour: Nubar - Toasted Marshmallow (2 coats)

Stamping polish: Le Chat Cm - 04 Brown Nail Art Polish

Plate: Konad m65
No topcoat.

I decided not to use a topcoat with this but instead take advantage of the matte finish that this brown polish has and add some texture to the mani even if it meant it wouldn't be as long lasting.

Comparison: Sleek Rose Gold - Sleek Lace (Guipure) Blushers

Ever since Sleek came out there's been a lot of fuss around their products for being good in spite of their low price. I was in Superdrug yesterday and I though I'd give the blushers a try.

Rose Gold is their most famous colour for being a dupe of Nars - Orgasm and having that peachy-pink colour that is universally good (=for all skin colours) and the golden sheen that is very fashionable these days. I also noticed there was a similar colour in one of the new Blusher By 3 palettes, Lace (367), Guipure. Guipure is softer as a colour and peachier than Rose Gold, but they both have the same amount of sheen to them. Both are very pigmented and soft, but unfortunately I am not at all keen to this much sheen in any blusher. I like a more natural-but-better look and I always think that products that are terribly 'in' and duped left and right at any one point will make pictures and videos one might take look so terribly 'old fashioned' after a while, so I think I'll pass.

Here's a few swatch pictures for those of you who might be interested. All of them were take under natural mid-day sunlight with varying degrees of light/shadow.

Perfume Review: Caron - Violette Précieuse

I have had such a craving Charbonnel et Walker violet creams these days! Anything violet seems to fit so well with the first days of spring where it's still a bit chilly, but bright and sunny. There's a freshness to the smell of violet that is very appropriate. This lead me to buy Violette Précieuse, believing it would be a great early spring perfume. I wish it were so!

Caron - Violette Précieuse in the old formulation used to be a magic thing from what I have read, a seductive scent straight from 1913. Unfortunately, this is not true of the current version. It doesn't smell too modern in spite of the raspberry base, but it's not seductive, and it's not what its name leads you to believe; it's  not precious and certainly not what you'd expect of a perfume from House Caron. I have the EdT formulation, but even for an EdT lasting time is poor. It leaves behind an almost undetectable sweetish smell, but it's nothing to write home about.

I was really looking forward to trying this one which of course means I am pretty disappointed with what I got. I do regret buying it before sniffing and trying it on, but up till I got this all the Caron perfumes I had tried suited me and my taste. It's too light and leaves no lasting impression. It's the bimbo of Caron perfumes I'm afraid!

I do wear it, but I usually layer it over something more substantial like Caron Montaigne (I will review this, too) which makes things better. We've had a few happy days like this, but soon I'll move to my proper spring perfumes! One day I hope I can find the old perfume to sniff.

On a final note I would say that if you want to buy a perfume for a pubescent girl, I think this would be a good choice. A light floral perfume like this would suit a young age and it's not like the sickly sweet horrors that are passed on as perfumes for these ages at the minute.


Top Notes: Violet Flowers, Violet Leaves, Iris, Orange Blossom 
Middle Notes: Jasmine, Lily of the Valley 
Base Notes: Raspberry, Vetiver

China Glaze VIII: Aubergine Dream

Greek/Ελληνικά

I don't know why I hadn't posted this earlier, I took the pictures ages ago. China Glaze VIII. is an older polish that came out on a special anniversary series China Glaze did some time ago. It is beautiful, it goes on smooth as a butter, doesn't chip for ages and the colour is a gorgeous true aubergine (eggplant for those across the pond). See for yourselves. Here's a couple of delicious Greek aubergines 

And her is the polish (2 coats, no topcoat)

Beauty Tips: Taking Care of Your Nail Polish Bottle

Για οδηγίες στα ελληνικά πατήστε εδώ

How annoying is it when your nail polish dries in its bottle or when nail polish residue dries around the 'mouth' of the bottle and you can't open it no matter how you twist it?

Well, there's something that can prevent all this and it's really very easy. All you have to do is apply a little bit of vaseline on the spiral grooves of the bottle. The vaseline will prevent polish residue from sitting in the grooves and it will give it enough slip to open and close easily. Additionally, because it's very pliable it will sit in the grooves when you close the lid and prevent the volatile substances from vaporising, ie. no more nail polish smell where you keep them stored and your polish will not dry so much when you're not using it. It's going to be nice and airtight!

Caution:
Be careful not to apply it to the final groove of the bottle. You don't want any vaseline reaching the lips of the bottle because then it might get on your brush or even in the polish and ruin it. Always wipe away the excess.

With frequent opening and closure the vaseline tends to spread so every few times wipe it away and re-apply.

I have obviously applied too much here to make it apparent in the pictures. You don't actually need to apply this much!

Nubar Spring 2012: Toasted Marshmallow

In the Nubar Spring 2012 Jellybeans collection Toasted Marshmallow (NJB263) was considered by some the least wanted colour. Well, I'm most definitely not one of them; when I saw it, it was a 'halleluja' moment! I have been looking for a colour like this for so long that I had to get it as soon as possible. It's been with me for the last month and I've been using it for so many manicures that you will grow tired of seeing! Haha! Before I start the madness though, here is the colour itself.

I would describe it as a muted goldenrod yellow, like you mixed a bit of brown to dampen the goldenrod a little bit. It is not the most amazing colour on its own, especially not on fingers like mine where I have a lot of red pigment on my fingtips, but it doesn't make them look bad. It's not giving me lobster hands like a green would, a problem I've had with similar colours that have green in them. It's a subtle, easy to wear 'confiture de lait' colour.

My Pride and Joy: Speckled

For a very long time I have wanted a polish that has particles in but isn't shimmery or sparkly. I wanted a speckled polish. I have seen a couple this year by Misa and one by Orly and , while I am hoping there's going to be more eventually, they weren't speckled enough for me.

Tired of waiting for somebody else to bring out what I wanted, I decided it to make it myself and here it is, a pinkish nude base with lots of black speckles that neither shimmer nor shine! The colours I picked were Ciate - My Fair Lady and Guppy - 33. My Fair lady is a very sheer nude/pink french nail type of colour and guppy is and Guppy 33 is a very pigmented pinky beige. I wanted to keep the colours light because the addition of the black speckles would make it look darker. Also, the texture without a topcoat is a bit uneven (first picture) but it improves with a layer of topcoat(second picture) and is smooth with a second layer, especially if it's thick (forgot to take a picture). Here it is, my sweet Speckled!

Natural Light (shade)

Artificial Light

Before mixing

Speckled and friends

This is Madness, This is St.Patty's Day!

I'm not particularly crazy about this day, but I opted for a green colour just for fun. This is Borghese - 02 Oro Verde, a beautiful green with a golden sheen. The odd thing is that it's almost a duochrome as the sheen looks golden when it's under direct light and slightly smoky when it's not. This is two coats with top coat. 

L'Odyssée de Cartier

A stunning video to celebrate House Cartier's 165 years. Bruno Aveillan, who directed this little marvel, created a beautiful story in this clip and what is more iconic and appropriate than the panther to tell the story of Cartier.

I particularly love that moment where the panther enters the room decorated with the Tutti Frutti jewels. I also like the choice of model they made; Shalom Harlow is so beautiful. The dress was designed by Yiqing Yin.

Edit: A link where you can learn more about the motifs and jewels displayed in this video as well as why the Cartier panther is visiting the places he's visiting and how they relate to the history of Cartier.

It's so weird that I found this clip today. On Monday I dreamt I was meeting a friend in Place Vendôme right next to where Cartier's is. It's funny the things we remember about places. What I remember more intensely about Cartier's is the window grills; they had the same beautiful design as the ones on the main entrance of the Grand Trianon Palace at Versailles. It was the moment where I realised that Paris is full of the same motifs and decorations as Versailles, only they are more sparsely spread. I think I left a piece of my heart in Paris. 

Dear Shu Uemura why?

When I saw the latest Color Atelier version of the Shu Uemura eyeshadows and blushers which has been out roughly since November in the UK I couldn't help noticing that they were smaller than the older ones. Yesterday I found one of the cases form the pre-2005 eyeshadows and noticed that those were even larger. Up till 2005[pre-L'Oreal era] we were getting 2.8gr (0.9oz.), from 2005-2011 we were getting 2.1gr(0.7oz) [3/4 of the previous version]and now we are getting 1.4gr(0.49oz); we are getting exactly half the product we used to get till 2005. Moreover, now you have to get a 'single' palette even for one eyeshadow. I really don't like being pushed to buy something when it used to be included in the price.

And of course there is the issue I mentioned in a previous post, about the cosmetics being made in Korea now instead of Japan.

The blushers'quantity hasn't changed as dramatically. I don't have any of the pre-2005 era ones so I don't really know how much blusher was in the pan but between 2005 and 2011 we were getting 5gr and now we are getting 4gr. My issues with the new Color Atelier Glow On Blushers is that they have changed the codes! They all used to have a three digit number which was informative as to what the colour characteristics were. Well, that's gone now! They've replaced it with a different two-digit number which means that either I'll have to visit the store with the list that they have made available (highly unlikely) or just get whatever I like when I see it. Having learned from experience, I am attracted to the same sort of colours and buying the same colour from the same brand just because they changed the code will annoy me to no ends. I guess I won't be buying any more of them until I need to, which won't be any time soon since they last forever! 

You Can Never Hold Back Spring

The Details

Base O.P.I. - Done Out in Deco

Stamping polish Mavala - 167 Cyclades Blue

Plate D17