day two hundred and forty seven, lippmann collection shut up and drive

yay more lippmann! this is more of that haul i received in...january? february? i can't remember! but it's one of the new ones i bought (not new as in...released new but new to me!). it's a really cool pink/silver foil...BUT i will say that this polish is not as opaque as i wanted. it's a foil so i probably could've gotten away with 3 coats but my nails didn't SEEM covered so i applied 2 more and i was more satisfied. but i still thought it was a really great pink and definitely not a dupe for anything in my collection!

day two hundred and forty three, lippmann collection devil in a blue dress

MAN! does anyone watch doctor who!? i'd never heard of it until i moved to the UK and met my boyfriend, Steve who is obsessed with the show. needless to say when the BBC rebooted the series in 2005 i've been watching it with him ever since and this season just gets BETTER AND BETTER!

as a quick note...for any UK people looking for jessica nail polishes i found some in debenhams today on oxford street in London! totally unexpected and of course i just HAD to pick up some polish while i was out...so expect those soon. but WOW, i had no idea debenhams stocked jessica polishes! it was in their little salon products section (which was super handy as i'd run out of my trusty keretase shampoo just this morning!)

anyway...i'll move onto what's really important, the nail polish!

devil in a blue dress is a mini lippmann that comes in the 'party like a rockstar' trio (which features one of my favourites, good girl gone bad....i hope ms lippmann releases it as a full size polish...it's definitely worth it!) and people usually use this one as an example of blue jellies that can show visible nail line. but on ME i didn't encounter that at all, mine seemed more of a creme than a jelly! so i'm not really sure what to make of it. it's a super dark navy that looks almost black (and when the sun managed to shine it looked truly navy) and somehow...i can handle a navy vamp because it just makes sense to me (i can't explain it!) but if it's a burgundy vamp i get mad. WHO KNOWS!? but i used 3 coats and i had great opacity, exellent formula...everything i have come to know, love and expect of any lippmann polish i encounter.

i will say that after the ginger + liz vs diamond cosmetics private labelling fiasco (which they STILL have not acknowledged and they are aware of my comparison post)...i love lippmann because her colours make so much sense to me...it feels like there should be a million dupes as they're such staple colours but (like rescue beauty lounge) she always manages to use a twist to make it somehow uniquely lippmann. i really like that. i am always happy to stand behind originality, it's so hard to find in today's society because we are so constantly exposed to things and so much has already been done...it's really tough to have an original thought. so deborah lippmann? i applaud you!

onto the pics! :)

day two hundred and fifteen, lippmann collection brown eyed girl

i couldn't stay away from lippmann for long! this is one of my recent haul (that i've been trying to space out to make it last), brown eyed girl (after the great van morrison song!). i LOVE THIS COLOUR. it's probably the prettiest brown i've come across ...ever. it's not just brown, it's this beautiful brown with red and bronze undertones and this deep shimmer...i lack words. it's SO GORGEOUS! i LOVE IT! i can't get over how much i love this colour. everytime i think i'm going out of my colour comfort zone lippmann guides me and brings me to somewhere gorgeous and unexpected!

day one hundred and seventy nine, lippmann collection secret love

this is a gorgeous goody from lippmann collection, secret love is a really sweet peach colour with a strong pearl finish. i wore it to an interview and i felt it worked really well for the occasion, mild yet pretty...making your hands interesting but not distracting (which works if you are like me and gesticulate constantly!). this is also now my LUCKY POLISH because i got the job!!!!!! sooo nice to finally be chosen for a job after so much rejection and waiting!

i really, really like this colour, it's just pretty. it's simple and i appreciate that.

unfortunately my index fingernail on my left hand had been doing a funky bending thing (like the corner of the nail was bending into itself) and of course...it finally bent all the way and broke (but it was expected...i couldn't get it to 'unbend' and so it just kept going) so bye bye gorgeous nail talons (probably my longest ever...it was getting difficult to deal with my contacts everyday though!) and hello stubby nails! it is nice to feel my fingertips again (or be able to use them easily when typing) but my nail beds are very short so i feel like my hands look child-like and stubby.

anyway, onto this gorgeous-ness! (and no more lippmann for awhile...i feel like i've overloaded you all!)

day one hundred and seventy five, lippmann collection wicked game

quite possible the COOLEST POLISH EVER! wicked game by deborah lippmann/lippmann collection is named after the sultry chris isaak song (and the amaaaaazing video by herb ritts with helena christensen) and is possibly one of the most interesting polishes...EVER. it's a silvery purple that is also green at the same time. it's a duochrome but it's more complex than that. i managed to get one shot with the lighting perfect and it looks like green on one nail and purple on the other..but it's the SAME POLISH!

god it's SO COOL. i love it!!!

and of course....

day one hundred and seventy two, lippmann collection marquee moon

okay, i've been DYING to show you some of new lippmann haul but i don't like to show the same brand two days in a row, i want to show a variety of brands and be fair and let everyone get their turn.

this polish, marquee moon has shot to the top of my favourites list, i can't stop staring at it. it's AMAZING. it is a very shiny, bright silver polish with silver octagonal flat discs mixed in. the whole point of this is to have perfectly imperfect nails. you aren't supposed to have the same number of octagons on every nail, there isn't supposed to be any discernible pattern on your fingers. this silver is SO bright, it captures the light amazing...it's like the shiniest, polished piece of silver you've ever seen and the silver octagons add such an interesting concept to this polish, i can't get enough of it. also a plus for me is that it is wearing like IRON, no chips or anything and i've been doing dishes, cleaning...using my hands all day today and it's still perfect. i don't want to take it off, i love it!!!

day one hundred and sixty nine, lippmann collection just walk away renee

dare i say it...vamps are starting to grow on me!? it's weird but true!!! just walk away renee was created by deborah lippmann in collaboration with renee zellweger. it's a really gorgeous bordeaux, a deep dark red that is very 'come hither' in my opinion. it's like a power tie...red nails are my power ties, my power panties...they're just fierce and empowering!!! i guess i am beginning to enjoy vamps as long as they aren't just almost black colours that you can't even tell are NOT black unless in direct sunlight. london isn't known for it's sunny climate...so i can't usually give you sunlight swatches and say what these will look like outside. however, i can tell you what they look like indoors under different lighting conditions (be it under a lamp because i need more light to capture an image) or under halogen lights in my bathroom or under normal, plain lights in my bedroom!

this one is a winner. i want to go on a date with it...she's so mysterious and dangerous!

day one hundred and forty three, lippmann collection makin whoopee

okay you guys know i'm not a very pink kinda gal but this pink...i make an exception for!!! who else but deborah lippmann could create a pink that kicks ass and is sexy and badass and feminine all at the same time. she truly is a genius and that is why i will gladly keep spending money on her polishes for as long as they exist! i need to make an order soon, i'm coming to the end of my stash!!! i've shown you all 10 colours (including this one) and i've only got about...4 or 5 left!

anyway, makin whoopee (just the name makes me giggle) is a gorgeous pink that isn't neon but it's not a soft baby wimpy pink either. it's vivid with a great pearlescent (is that a word??) finish. i topped it off with 2 different nail stickers gifted to me by the great folks at nailene (i might not wear their fake nails [even though i appreciate them] but i have a blast with their nail stickers, so thank you nailene!). the thumb sticker makes me think of hawaii...oh how i'd love to visit hawaii (i went on a family trip when i was 4 and i don't really remember it!), sunny, sandy beaches..it's still cold and grey in London!

hopefully this happy colour will brighten both our Mondays.

day one hundred and nineteen, lippmann collection superstar

here's a good one for a new year's eve celebration (steve and i are happily laying low at home...spaghetti and meatballs and maybe some cookies later on!), it's from the lippmann collection 10th anniversary set. i am loving the two polishes i have tried so far from this collection (ruby red slippers and this one, superstar). they are JAM PACKED with glitter and wear like iron. they're just fun and eye-catching. i like this one because it's even more interesting than it appears. it isn't just bronze glitter on a sheer black base, it's all different shades of brown glitter mixed together and it glows in the light (which actually came out this afternoon!).

however...this is a chunky, chunky polish. i put on TWO layers of topcoat and it still wasn't smooth..but it did fill in the gaps amongst the glitter bits so it didn't catch on anything. less annoying to remove than ruby red slippers (i used a better cloth for removal this time)...just a good, fun colour...perfect for the holiday!

happy end of 2009 everyone!