Models Own - Polish for Tans Collection

L-R; Beach Bag // Flip Flop // Shades // Bikini // Sun Hat

I can't remember the last time I got so excited over a nail polish launch. For the first time in a long time I had to rush out and buy the entire 5 polishes making up the new Models Own collection, Polish for Tans as I love the look of each of the shades.

The idea behind the colour selection is that they are all neon brights with white mixed in, designed to look fabulous against a tan, and give your tan that bit of a boost. The polishes in the collection are Beach Bag - a gorgeous bright peach, Flip Flop - a neon green, Shades - a hot coral, Bikini - a highlighter yellow, and Sun Hat - a bright pink. As soon as I got them home I put Shades on my toe nails, and Beach Bag on my finger nails, and instantly felt more summery. I do think the fact I was wearing fake tan complimented the colours and while I was wearing it, I had numerous people commenting on how much they liked my nails.

Beach Bag snapped this weekend

Because of the neon-ness, they do dry quicker than standard nail polishes, which is a bonus - but on the downside this also means (in my case) they tend to chip more quickly too. I've noticed that Flip Flop dries to a semi-matt finish, while the rest seem to be slightly glossy. If you prefer a shiny finish, just add a layer of top coat and it will help to lengthen the wear too.

This is a fabulous collection, I can't wait for the sun to come out so I can wear them more and more and more!

The polishes cost £5 each and are available from Models Own stands and Bottle shops, or online.

Nails of the Day - Essie Action

I have been leaning towards wearing dark hues on my nails at the moment, but fancying a bit of a change, I brought some sunshine into my life with Essie Action!

It's part of the Poppy Razzi collection Essie released this summer - 4 shades names Lights, Camera, Action, and, errrr.... Bazooka (?!)

In the bottle it looks like a creamy, orange shade, once on the nails it looks much less creamy, more bright, and more jelly-like. I painted my nails with two coats (and Seche Vite topcoat) but I think three would have been best as there were some areas which were a little patchy.

It's pretty on the nails - and as it was a gift and I hadn't swatched it before, I got a massive surprise when I went outside and my nails caught my eyes... for this is a neon polish, and very neon at that! As anyone that's tried to photograph neon before will know, it's impossible to capture the colour on camera - so I've photographed it in natural light, indoors.

I really like Action, however I think due to the neon-ness it is more suited to summer - it will look amazing on tanned skin. I will definitely be digging it out in the 2013 sun!

As a side note, did you know that Liberty now sell Essie!? I spotted it in there while doing a spot of Christmas shopping and thought that would excite a few of my readers!

MAC Quite Cute Collection

I learnt a valuable lesson from this collection - don't buy until you've tried.

I had seen pictures online and various swatches and had decided there was a whole load of stuff I was going to get. I had the items in my shopping basket, and would have purchased, but the MAC site was temporarily not accepting orders while it updated it's warehouse - a blessing in disguise!

Last Thursday, the collection launched in the UK. I went along to my local counter as the website was still not working. I tried out the products I had planned, which had included Playing Koi lipstick and Miss Behave Mineralize Blush.

The Playing Koi, from swatches, looked just like the perfect peachy shade, which would look lovely for the warmer months.... in person it blended in completely with the skin tone of my face and looked like I had applied concealer to my lips.

Miss Behave was another I had believed to be a gorgeous peach - but on the skin it comes across as more of a highlighter and very ashy. Well that saved me a little bit of money!

In the end I came away with Candy Yum-Yum lipstick and that was all! I already own Saint Germain which they were running as a repromote within the Quite Cute collection.

I swatched the shades on my hand along with some other similar shades. Saint Germain looks quite similar to Pink Friday, but Candy Yum Yum is like nothing else I own! I have seen that Sleek are bringing out a Matte hot pink shade (True Colours - Amped) which might be a cheaper alternative.

Saint Germain is a bright pale pink, it's very noticeable, cool toned and creamy. It's Amplified in finish and does stand out from the crowd.

The other make up I am wearing in this photo is:

Estee Lauder Double Wear concealer (on blemishes)
Sheer Cover mineral foundation
Sephora Colour Correcting Concealer Palette (pink shade under eyes)
Urban Decay Virgin & Sin  shadows mixed up all over eyelid
Urban Decay Gunmetal shadow in crease
MAC Playful (Barbie collection) in outer 3rd of eye
MAC Smoky Heir Superslick liquid eyeliner
No7 Exquisite Curl mascara
MAC Well Dressed blusher
Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Candy Yum-Yum is amazingly neon, bright, fantastic - I just love it! It's a great alternative to wearing bold red lips and whenever I've worn it I've had girls in loos asking me what my lipstick is, even my Mum has taken to pinching a bit if I have it on me! You only need to apply it once - the photo below was taken about 4 hours after application and it still stays on. Even the next day there were remains!

Do you have anything from the collection? What do you think of it as a whole? I think the idea is nice - loving the hearts on the blushes and lipsticks with POW but on the whole I'm very glad I didn't have my online splurge.