Bloom - Las Vegas + Matte

Oooooh, I think I'm starting to like glitter mattes more with this manicure.  Thanks to the lovely Gilded Angel for convincing me that I needed to keep on going with this!

Whereas the glossy version is all about the bling, the matte top coat makes this like the Mona Lisa.  Everytime I look at it, there's a feature or element that I just haven't seen before.  It's magical.

Although there is still a sheen to the lacquer, the glitter almost seems trapped in the lacquer.  Without sounding too biblical, it's like a little stain glass window on my nails.

So maybe my previous theory was a little premature.  Maybe glitters can look fab with a matte top coat.

I know I will be doing more matte manicures with this colour from now on.

What do you guys think? 

Bloom - Las Vegas

Bloom's Las Vegas is a va-va-va-voom sort of colour.  Definitely click to see the larger photo.  Your eyes will roll into the back of your head, Homer style.

Like Seoul, this is a dense glitter.  It is opaque in two coats and, quite frankly, I think it could be used to guide planes in.  That's how bright this is on the nail.

At first I thought this might be a dupe for butter LONDON's Rosie Lee. However, looking at the two of them side by side, it becomes evident that Las Vegas is a much lighter pink and lacks the 'foil' effect that so defines Rosie Lee.

Quality wise, this is very typical for a dense glitter.  The finish is rough and there is occasional hanging glitter.  But I can live with both of these things with that colour payoff.

Viva Las Vegas!  Mmm, yeah sorry for that cliche.

kit - Dream Run + Matte

Ladies, set your faces to stunned.

I thought Dream Run was beautiful as a gloss, but it rocks my world as a matte. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

I have a theory about how mattes work on cremes versus glitter.  Let me run it past you and tell me what you think in the comments.

I think matte top coats work much better on cremes than glitters. 

Ok, so I've only trialled one glitter and one creme so far this week, but I'm finding that matte top coats have a tendency to 'flatten' the impact of glitters.  Conversely, the matte topcoats seem to bring out the colour in cremes.  Almost as if they add another dimension to the colour.

What do you think?

Do you prefer the matte effect over glitter or cremes?

Hey There, Wait A Minute Mr Postman - BYS Kits

I couldn't resist.  I went onto Fashion Addict and was immediately taken in by the range of BYS Lacquers.  So I ordered a couple of kits and they arrived today.

First, we have the Tropical Collection.  This is a beautiful little collection of five lacquers including a black that has to be seen in person to be believed.  I think these will swatch beautifully.

The second kit I bought was the Glitterazzi 7 Pack.  This contains seven little bullets of glitter gloriousness. I have high hopes for these little gems.

So, what do you think? Aren't both kits adorable? If you have to pick a colour as an early favourite, which would it be?

kit - Dream Run

Walking into kit Cosmetics is like beauty catnip for me.  I ALWAYS walk out with something, whether it be nail lacquers, face products (I am loving Mario Badescu's Drying Lotion at the moment), or oodles of samples (the kit shop assistants are always uber generous and lovely).

Dream Run is a limited edition lacquer that is described by kit as a 'pink grape'. I prefer to describe it as 'OMG, come to Mama right now and never leave'.

This is the kind of grape colour that I love with a passion. It's conservative enough for work, but it's still sexy and utterly feminine.  Perfectly versatile and goes with everything.

The formula on this is MAGICAL.  One coat, ladies.  This is one coat. Without top coat.  Seriously, this is the type of lacquer you want around when you're short on time but don't want to sacrifice quality.

I cannot wait to see how this looks as a matte.  I think I might just love it a little more.