My Top Nail Polish Picks for Autumn

My Top Nail Polish Picks for Autumn

Thursday, 20 October 2016

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It's safe to say that Autumn is really upon us now, with Summer  long since over. Gone are the pastel shades, bronzed goddess skin  (HA!) and no make up make up looks, now the fun can really begin. I'm talking deep berry lips, golden bronze eyeshadows and, most importantly, the autumnal nail polish. Here's a run down of just a few of my faves. 

Eve Snow London Nail Lacquer in Skyler - £14 from Net-a-Porter

Despite sharing a name with my least favourite character from Breaking Bad - seriously does anyone like Skyler?! - Eve Snow's Skyler is one of my all time favourite polishes. I can never resist a blue polish, so much so that I'll take any excuse to wear it year round. This is why Skyler is perfect, the cool icy blue shade has a touch of grey in it, that makes me think of the sky just before it snows, making it really appropriate for this time of year. The formulation is lovely; creamy, opaque after only two coats and it lasts about a week without chipping. Nice.

Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy in Up the Ante - £7.99 from Boots

The Revlon ColorStay Gel Envy formulation is the best on the high street and my absolute favourite formula out there. It has an amazing consistency, applying smoothly and evenly, it also acts as a base coat, meaning it lasts a really long time before needing to be re-applied. The colour is beautiful too, a warm pinky purple that looks good all year round but especially good in the Autumn.  

Butter London Nail Lacquer in Poole - £12 from lookfantastic

Like Skyler Butter London's Poole is a nail polish that would normally be considered more of a summer colour, a duck egg blue-green, (incidentally my absolute favourite nail polish shade), it has just a hint of grey in it that makes it more seasonally appropriate. It doesn't have the best formula, I've found that without a top coat it is prone to chip within a day or two, with a top coat the longevity lasts about a week, so fairly standard, but the colour more than makes up for the crappy wear time. It's worth reapplying.

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Watermelon, Blackberry & Chilli - £3.99 from Boots

I've been a fan girl of Barry M's Gelly Hi-Shine nail paint for ages, they make up more than half of my nail polish collection. They last really well and they leave a beautiful, plumped and glossy finish after only two coats, one for the darker colours, not to mention the incredibly cheap price point. Watermelon is a deep forest green, Blackberry a navy blue that reminds me of the Berol Handwriting Pens we had to use in primary school and Chilli a deep rusty orange red. All of them are stunning, but Blackberry is my favourite, even though I have no idea why it's called that when it's blue... weird.

Barry M Speedy Quick Dry Nail Paint in Sprint Finish - £3.99 from Boots

Autumn is the time for deep berry shades and this raspberry pink is stunning. The Speedy Quick Dry nail paints are amazing, almost as good as the Gelly Hi-Shine's, with a cuticle hugging brush that makes application a breeze and a formula that lasts reasonably well and dries in seconds. Blink and you'll miss it.

China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Tinsel Town - £4.99 from Amazon

I am not a fan of glitter nail polishes, because generally they're a nightmare to remove and really ain't nobody got time for that. This might be the exception to the rule because it comes off so easily. I only have a few China Glaze polishes but they're really good quality. Tinsel Town is a gun metal grey with fine hexagonal flecks of silver glitter running through it.  It looks really pretty as an accent nail or layered on over another colour as a full on glitter mani. It actually lasts quite well and doesn't chip or flake too badly. I like it a lot, for a glitter polish.

What will be gracing your nails this Autumn? Let me know by commenting below - I always reply so check back -, on twitter, or dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check out my instagram, facebook, bloglovin', snapchat -search lolarocknroses - & pinterest for regular updates.

Love love love xxx

February & March 2016 Favourites

February & March 2016 Favourites

Tuesday, 29 March 2016

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I'm not gonna do that whole 'OMG where did *insert relevant month here*?!' thing that I do every month. We all know that time goes scarily fast. Even faster as you get older and as we are rapidly approaching my 25th birthday I may start freaking out little.  Sorry that was a bit of a weird tangent, let's just talk about my favourites from the last 2 months shall we?

Primark PS Concealer in Light - £0.80 from Primark

This concealer cost 80 pence and it is freaking amazing. If you've been reading me for a while you'll know how much I love Seventeen's Phwoarr Pain under eye concealer, however I've found that it can be quite waxy and feel heavy on the skin. Primark's PS Concealer is really similar except it comes in stick form. It is just as creamy, covering and long lasting as my Seventeen fave but has a less weighty texture and feels a lot lighter on the skin whilst giving the same level of coverage. I. Love. It.

L'Oreal True Match Foundation in 1C Rose Ivory - £9.99 from Boots

I'd been really reluctant to try the new formulation of L'Oreal's True Match because I am such a huge fan of the original, once I even crowned it my favouritest foundation ever. But after some umming and ahhing I decided to try it,  and then wear it throughout the majority of March. And I have to say I really like it. It's very similar to the original formulation except it feels more comfortable to wear. It still has a lovely satin finish that looks really natural on the skin but gives excellent coverage. I'll be going into more detail in a post next week, so keep your eyes peeled. All I'll say for now is that it's still my favourite high street/drug store foundation, reformulation and all.

Avon Gel Finish Nail Enamel in Moon Dust - £3.50 (on offer, usually £7.00) from Avon

The Avon Gel Finish Nail Enamels are extraordinary! They have such an amazing formulation; they apply really evenly and smoothly. They're creamy, thick yet easy to work with and opaque in only one coat, this includes the really pale shades too. Plus the wear time is amazing, with the gel shine top coat they can last up to two weeks before chipping, without the top coat you can get a good 6 days out of them. Out of all the ones I've bought so far, and it's a lot, Moon Dust is my favourite. It's a springtime appropriate pale grey and it has been gracing my nails pretty much constantly. It is gorgeous. 

Urban Decay Naked Pallet - £38.50 from Urban Decay

I have used this every day since I bought it, which annoys me a little bit because it took me so long to buy it and I love it so much. The colour pay off is amazing, there is very little fall out and the shadows are beautiful. 

Real Techniques Stippling Brush - £7.95 from Amazon

Until recently the Real Techniques Stippling Brush was probably my least used make up brush. But then I started using it to apply foundation and it was a total revelation. It doesn't absorb any product and being quite small it allows me to buff/stipple foundation into the skin really quickly, leaving a flawless airbrushed finish. I really like it, so much so that I bought another one and now have two. 

Urban Decay x Gwen Stefani Blush Pallet - £35.00 from Urban Decay

I picked this up in a recent High End Haul and have used it pretty much everyday since. It's so versatile and the powders are lovely, really finely milled and super pigmented. You really need to use a light touch or risk looking a bit like a clown but other than that it's amazing. 

Eve Snow London Nail Lacquer in Skyler - £14.00 from Eve Snow, currently out of stock

I'd never tried Eve Snow before until I found this in the beauty aisle at T.K. Maxx. Now I have approximately a million blue polishes, but it never hurts to add one more to the collection. That and it only £2.99, which is a massive reduction from it's original £14 price tag. Eve Snow's polishes are formulated with 3 added ingredients to really nourish the nails and are free of several toxic ingredients, including formaldehyde, that are found in other polishes. It applies beautifully, it has a thick brush that does the nail in two strokes, but not in a clumsy way, and the colour is beautiful. It lasts well on the nails and only takes two coats to achieve opacity, which is super impressive with a colour this pale. Plus the bottle is absolutely gorgeous. I will definitely be adding more to my collection.

Avon Ultra Colour Lip Crayon in Raspberry Rush - £5.00 from Avon

Berry lips are my jam! They're my favourite lips to wear all year round, and this spring time appropriate offering from Avon has become a firm favourite (I went a bit mad with an Avon Haul read it here) It's a lovely colour, a rich pink, with a satin finish and a creamy but wearable formula. It's not the most long lasting but it applies nicely. I really like it. 

DW Home Richly Scented Candle in White Rose -  £6.99, Unavailable online but may be available in store at T.K. Maxx

I found this candle in T.K. Maxx for £6.99 and just had to have it. It smells BEAUTIFUL! I'm not usually a fan of rose scene, sometimes they can be a bit grannyish and sickly. This is the complete opposite of that. It's really fresh and floral. It's quite subtle but noticeable. I've been burning it constantly because it smells like springtime. It also burns really evenly, which I find is an important quality in a candle. I love it. 

Finding Neverland Original Cast Recording - £8.99 from iTunes

So you might know this, you might not, but Musicals are pretty much my favouritest thing ever. Have been since I was about 13. If I could sing constantly then I think I would be a significantly happier person. My current musical obsession is the original cast recording of Finding Neverland. It's lovely and features some amazing people: Laura Michelle Kelly, Matthew Morrison & Kelsey Grammar to name but a few. My favourite tracks are All That Matters & Circus of your Mind. If your a musical fan it's definitely worth listening too. 

Jenna Marbles and Jenna & Julien's Podcast

Sometimes I feel like I am super behind the times. Relevancy is kind of everything these days and sometimes I feel like I have my finger right on the pulse and I know EVERYTHING. And then I discover someone like Jenna Marbles, who has been a YouTube sensation for years, and then I realise that I've barely scratched the surface. Like I said Jenna has been around for years but I came across her videos maybe two weeks ago, and already I'm sporting a major girl crush. Firstly because her videos are brilliant and really funny. Secondly because she's very relatable and honest and has the magical rainbow hair of a mermaid/unicorn, which gives me hair goals for days! I've been binge watching her videos and she is awesome. I also really like the podcast she does with her boyfriend Julien Solomita it's really funny and clever.  Love her.

Buzzfeed's The Try Guys

Again The Try Guys have been around forever. I had seen a couple of their videos, my favourite is The Try Guys Try Wedding Dresses, but recently I've really got into their videos and may have watched all 57 in one sitting. They're hilarious and utterly ridiculous and clever and cool and stupid and all that good stuff. I really like them, but Eugene's my fave.

What were you loving throughout February & March? Let me know in the comments below, on twitter, or dropping me an email at lolarocknroses@gmail.com. Also check out my instagram, facebook, bloglovin', snapchat - search lolarocknroses - & pinterest for regular updates.