day two hundred and twelve, rescue beauty lounge om

so i had a job interview for a full time position (i only work part time now...fingers crossed!) and i chose to wear what is actually my interview staple colour...i just haven't worn it in ages because i spent so many months waiting for my visa from the UK government so i could work legally as a US immigrant! man. that took ages. anyway, this is possibly my most worn RBL shade and my favourite neutral of all time. it's very close to mannequin hands for me but it is distinctly different enough from my skin tone to be (in my opinion!) very flattering. it's this gorgeous soft almost cooked salmon pink but way less whiteish pink. it's not the most interesting colour but it's just soothing and PRETTY. sometimes i really like putting something on my nails that makes me look nice but doesn't detract from something else (like my shoes or top or something). it's great for work or even fancy parties where you need a simple nail. i know this polish won't go out of production anytime soon...if ever, but i still feel like i need 5 backup bottles (even though i'm only about 1/4 through this originally purchased one!) just in case. it's that reliable and wonderful!

day two hundred and eleven, barrym emerald green

today we've got barryM, emerald green. a really pretty spring green...doesn't remind me of emeralds (as i consider emeralds to be a darker shade!) but it's almost a grass green. really nice, glass fleck type finish so it has added depth and interest! my fingers look lobster in some of these but it was just tweaking with the lighting to get the colour to accurately capture on my camera!

unfortunately this lovely colour has no bearing on the london weather, it's raining like crazy and super windy. i want things to be light and cheerful like this colour!

barryM is basically the UK equivalent of the USA's diamond cosmetics brand. polishes retail for £2.95 each

day two hundred and ten, china glaze 2030

thanks for nobody noticing/pointing out that i accidentally wrote 100 yesterday instead of 200! i've since realised and fixed my error!

okay. more from the china glaze khromes collection...aka the collection that just looks bad on my nails. i have no idea what a good ridge filler base coat might be (i currently use essie billionails and bb couture hard on to try and strengthen my nails as they have a great tendency to peel...one of the side effects of swapping your polish every day!) so it just isn't that flattering. i definitely might consider revisiting these if i found a great ridge filler basecoat so i could do something besides stare at the imperfections on my nails! it's like staring at your face in a magnifying mirror...you can't help but be amazed and disgusted by your pores! (if anyone can suggest a good ridge filler i will happily accept any and all tricks and suggestions!)

anyway, i had a bit of trouble capturing the real colour here (our wondrous week of sunshine and warmth has gone back to grey and rain...so back to normal non awesome swatching weather so i alternate between lamps and natural light fiddling around with the settings on my camera to get the best picture possible [once i get a full time job i totally want to save up for a proper camera/light set!]) so imagine it as falling somewhere between these two colours. it's a FANTASTIC konad gold stamping polish (right now...that's the only selling point of this collection to me since it isn't flattering my nails). speaking as someone who bought the actual konad brand gold and silver polish i was pretty annoyed to find out that they're kind of useless if you want the image to show up. enter the khromes collection! it does what the konad polishes do not (this reminds me i should start konad-ing again!)...so. yes. i need to stop before i ramble, it's been an incredibly long day (i just got home!!!)

(but i did pick up 3 different rococo polishes today and hope to swatch them after/during the easter bank holidays! so keep your eyes peeled :D)

day two hundred and nine, nubar purple rain glitter

i must say...when nubar do glitter...they certainly do it up proper! these images came out way blue toned and it's a lifelong struggle to get purple to capture accurately on film!!! anyway, this one is GORGEOUS. it's an oldie, called 'purple rain glitter' (and of course...my mind goes immediately to Prince!) and it's a gorgeous royal purple with silver AND holographic glitter densely packed in. the purple base is a bit on the jelly side (in order to let the glitter not get drowned by opaque polish) but it is easily buildable and opaque in 2 coats (but i always do 3!). this polish is prismatic on your fingers...it's just like wearing anything from OPI Designer Series or China Glaze Kaleidoscope but glitter instead of shimmer! man. i loooove purple! it is one of my favourite colours of all time and this one is a MUST OWN in any purple/glitter lover's stash!

day two hundred and eight, diamond cosmetics bronze star

as a quick aside i've attempted to link my blog with facebook so there's a little follow thing on the right hand side if you are interested! i don't actually know if it will work but it's worth a shot! :)

today's polish is exciting because it is unexpected. i have been sitting on this colour, 'bronze star' for ages and just haven't gotten around to wearing it. i felt like i was wearing copper-esque colours nonstop and just wasn't feeling it. so i put it on and i can't believe i waited so long!!! not only is it really pretty but it's really interesting. the base colour isn't just some orangey brown it is actually filled with pinkish red tones to make it so much more complex!!! it also has gold shimmer threaded throughout and it just glows on your fingers, it's SO pretty!!!! i am really pleased with this one!

the wonderful painted lady fingers is having a giveaway of 2 lotions and 4 HTF polishes!! i'm entering, are you!? http://paintedladyfingers.blogspot.com/2010/03/smooth-and-polished-giveaway.html

day two hundred and seven, obsessive compulsive cosmetics blackboard

a moment of silence....this is the last of my obsessive compulsive cosmetics collection! :( i definitely will buy more (not right now but in general) because i love their stuff! they do such interesting colours and also have amazing makeup!

blackboard is exactly what this colour is. it's the same green colour that was on all my chalkboards in classrooms growing up! i know they call it blackboard because it was once white chalk on a black board...but in my school teh board was green! feels like they should change it to greenboard! anyway, this is a stunning almost vamp-esque green. very dark, excellent pigment and never looks anything other than green.

i only own 1 piece of occ makeup that i like [their lip items are too intense for me, i prefer a more natural, sheer lip] and that is their pigment! i have the colour 'elephantine' and it's a beautiful light grey packed with iridescent shimmer. i love putting it on solo and it makes my eyes light up well or over my finished makeup for an extra sparkle.

either way...i love this brand to bits!

buy occ products from their website, http://www.occmakeup.com/

day two hundred and six, diamond cosmetics mystical knights

okay. this is a weird one only because it was the wrong polish for my mood or day. does that make sense? sometimes you put on a colour (or even an outfit) but it just isn't what you thought it was. that is how i feel about this colour. it's a deep blue and it just didn't wow me.

day two hundred and five, china glaze millennium

okay. china glaze millennium from the khrome collection. the best thing about this polish is that it is the perfect konad stamping silver. the bad news is that i don't really like this polish as just polish on my nails. it's a really lovely silver, and it is almost minx-like in its reflectivity...but the finish is atrocious. it's this really delicate metallic and it shows every nail imperfection and is on the brushstroke-y side. you can see the imperfections in my nails (and those weird raised dot things) and it's just not that attractive. i don't really know how to remedy that so i'll just keep this as my stamping polish!

as a plus it does have great opacity. just a bad finish

day two hundred and four, rgb steel

here's another from RGB. i am really liking this brand, their pigmentation and shininess is amazing. they're 1 coat colours and sooooo shiny. this is steel...it's a really nice blue grey but i must admit i need to pull out my bottle of RBL Stormy because they look really similar in pictures...but either way, if you don't own one (or even if you do!) it's still worth buying this colour because it's so pretty!

i've been wreaking havoc on my cuticles recently so they look awful!! i'm trying to let them heal but it's bothersome !

day two hundred and three, ginger and liz put a ring on it

here's another lovely one from ginger + liz called 'put a ring on it'. it's a really gorgeous berry toned hot pink. i'm hiding two fingers in these photos but it has nothing to do with the polish quality and everything to do with me. i had massive chips on two fingers because i went to the gym on my lunch break, took a shower and then waged World War III against my tights because they refused to go on properly (and it was quite the battle!!! my arms were exhausted from exercising, i was overheated and damp from the shower...really not a good combo) and ended up twisting my fingers all about in my tights and pulled off my polish in the process. so basically....i don't think a polish in the world can withstand the rigours i put my fingers through to get my stupid tights back on!!!

so. anyway, i was wearing this colour on my toes for the first two weeks of my new job, i wanted some extra oomph that no one would know about and give me some extra confidence in my new environment (and it totally worked!). i love this colour. you guys know i'm not a pink person but this is more than just hot pink. it's definitely got berry tones to it...the coolest thing about this polish? it's opaque and perfect IN ONE COAT! how many polishes are perfect in one coat!? seriously. ginger and liz do polish like nobody's business. you can tell how much effort they put into creating this colour.

i LOVE IT!

[G+L polishes retail for $12 each - when i made my order i bought...6 or 7 so there are still plenty more colour for me to showcase!]

day two hundred and two, barrym racing green

barryM is the uk's version of diamond cosmetics. each polish is £2.95 (or sometimes 2 for £5) and available from their website or any superdrug. my hands look a little lobster in these but it's just the light and camera setting...i had to go lobster to show the real colour! it's a beautiful rich dark green with an almost china glaze glass fleck shimmer. it's beautiful, very deep, shimmery and eye catching!