blue Archives - Super Gorgeous

New Hair at BLEACH London

It was safe to say, once I’d dabbled with Fudge’s Paintbox colours, I got the colour bug. In that post I spoke about how much I wanted hair like My Little Pony, and I’d toyed with the idea of bleaching my whole hair in order to get a whole head of pink.

I loved the pink hair so much that I decided I was going to go for the kill and do my whole head. I knew I needed to go somewhere amazing who knew what they were doing – BLEACH London were the first people I thought of. All the session stylists I work with rave about it, and it’s well known that if you want a crazy colour in London, BLEACH is the place to go.

BLEACH has recently opened a concession in Topshop Oxford Circus, but I visited their original Dalston salon to get my pink-on. It’s based in the heart of East London, slotting in nicely with the local vibe.

The salon is lined with glass bottles, once holding soft drinks, now where the magic dye is kept. The colourists mix up their own potions and tones at the back from the nameless containers. Very mysterious and so very cool.

I spoke to Sapphire, the manager, and also the lovely lady that would be doing my hair, about what I wanted. I have so much hair, that is very thick, and I use straigheners almost every time I wash my hair – all these factors were working against me in my quest for a full head of pink locks. She advised me that my hair would snap off, and would be very coarse… it was all of a sudden sounding less appealing! I was disappointed that I couldn’t have the hair I had envisioned, but at the same time I was grateful that Sapphire was professional enough to notice the warning signs to stop me from ending up with a rubbish head of hair!

She said she could take my blonde up a little further, giving me more area for the pink to work with – but when I thought about how that might look once I’d decided I had enough of the pink, I decided against it. Although now, I’m kind of wishing I did it!

In the end I went for, what they call, a ‘Super Cool Colour’, and boy, is it super cool! I had seen an image of a girl with pastel pink hair, with turquoise and purple running through the ends that I was using as hairspiration. I showed it to Sapphire who said that my hair probably wouldn’t go those tones as it wasn’t quite blonde enough, but she could make it quite strong, which would eventually fade down to a more pastel version of itself. I was sold.

She took her time thoroughly coating all of my hair, and blending the purple and blue into the ends. It was a much better than what I’d managed when I did my own dye job a few weeks previously! It was left for 20 minutes before being rinsed and I actually said “wow” as I saw it being dried. I was in love.

The only problem is, now I really really want a whole head of it!

To find out more and to book an appointment, visit www.bleachlondon.co.uk

Katy Perry’s Eylure Color Pop Lashes ‘Ka-Boom!’

Katy Perry has had a line of false eyelashes with Eylure for a while now – I am yet to try any of her classic collection, but I have always been impressed with all the Eylure lashes I’ve tried. They’re always a failsafe purchase!

The latest release from the Katy Perry / Eylure camp is the Color Pop Lashes – a range of lashes designed to give you a pop of colour with the volume and intensity of a false lash.

There are three colours in the range – Ka-Boom! (royal blue), Ka-Ching! (peacock green), Ka-Pow! (Purple), and also Ka-Zaaam! – a pack of individual lashes covering all of the colour options.

They look like a set of black false lashes, with another set of coloured lashes, with more sparse hairs, on top – this adds to the fullness of the lash, and means you get the colour coming through without it being too over the top.

Of course, anyone can wear any colour they like – but green and blue will bring out brown toned eyes, and blue and green will enhance blue toned eyes. Just to be a little different, I tried the blue – Ka-Boom!

The lashes themselves are, as always, great quality. They are rather long and fluttery, and according to Eylure, fit all eye shapes. The glue is included, and they are reusable.

As for the colour – is a subtle flash of colour – from a distance, no one would probably know the difference, and up close, it’s rather pretty. FAR nicer than coloured lashes! I think they’d be fab for a night at a club or something similar, especially if you like to play up your eyes. They’d also be great with a full-on smokey eye. Sometimes black lashes can get lost against black shadow, so these are a great way to break it up.

Katy Perry’s Color Pop Lashes are £6.45 per pack from Look Fantastic

Clinique Chubby Sticks for Eyes

When the nation went crazy for Clinique’s Chubby Sticks for Lips, it seemed natural for them to extend the range. The Chubby Sticks are a perfect design for easy application on the go and next week, they are introducing 12 shades for the eyes to the Chubby Stick range.

I went down to the Clinique Head Office last week for their launch, which featured a cute little candy shop and teeny milkshakes from bottles… and got to play with all 12 shades of the new Chubby Sticks.

I was given 2 to take away with me – was complete luck of the drawer as to which 2 that would be – I ended up with Portly Plum and Big Blue.

The outer design is exactly the same as the Chubby Sticks for Lips – they are in a crayon shaped barrel and removing the silver lid reveals a crayon-like product, which you twist the base of to get more of the product out. The only noticeable difference is that Chubby Sticks for Eyes are rounded at the end for easy application to the eye lid, while the lip version is pointed to apply to the lips with ease.

Neither of these are shades I would have picked out – my initial reaction would be to go for the neutral and bronzey shades (Whopping Willow Fuller Fudge and Ample Amber in particular, I’m talking to you!) which, with about 5 different tones, are just gorgeous. However, I seem to be having a little affair with purples at the moment, so was pleased I got to try out Portly Plum. It is a dusky purple with a hint of pinky purpley iridescence. Big Blue reminds me of the colour of Cinderella’s dress – it’s a very pale blue with an almost frosty finish, with pale blue iridescence.

I applied the Portly Plum for the first time and noticed that once it’s on the eyes it is much more sheer than when I had swatched it on my hand. One sweep left a sheer wash, which I patted in with my 4th finger to create a base. One more sweep left a much more opaque finish – it is definitely very buildable and I could have gone over it again and again to create a more dramatic look. I found the shape of the bullet easy to apply the product under my lower lash line too. I used a brush to blend out the edges of the shadow then added some eyeliner and mascara and this is how it looked. (I put a dab of the blue in the inner corners too just to see if it could be used for highlighting purposes… I think it looked ok!)

I found it to be a purpley brown on the eye which is right up my street, so will definitely wear it again! I’d also like to try it as a base to eyeshadows – I think this would look great with a black smokey eye over the top.

The full range of colours is Bountiful Beige, Lots O’Latte, Fuller Fudge, Ample Amber, Whopping Willow, Portly Plum, Pink & Plenty, Curvaceous Coal, Lavish Lilac, Big Blue, Mighty Moss and Massive Midnight. I swatched all of the 12 shades at the event….

There are some lovely ones there aren’t there?!

They launch on 15th February at Clinique Counters nationwide, and www.clinique.co.uk priced at £16

Nails of the Day – Nails Inc Stonehenge – Concrete Polish

Stonehenge is the second of the Nails Inc Concrete polishes I’ve tried. I love the blueness of it; similar to that of Baker Street, a favourite Nails Inc polish of mine. Stonehenge is vibrant without being neon – a really eye-catching colour.

The Concrete formula gives a rough texture to the nails which means you have to leave them without a topcoat. You can of course wear a topcoat but you then lose the texture. It’s a different kind of effect – leaving the nails almost bobbly and semi-matt, of which I think I like it in this shade the most.

The Concrete polish removes as easily as any other polish, however I found it chipped after one day of wear which would stop me from reaching for it as often as I would perhaps like to.

What do you think of the Concrete polishes? Will you be wearing them?

Nails of the Day – ncLA Mulholland Maneater

Mudholland Maneater is the first ncLA addition to my polish collection – a brand hailing from the USA which are toxin free and not tested on animals.

The polish comes in a stylish square bottle and has a wide, flat Dupont brush which resulted in a smooth application. I worry about putting on dark polishes as any mistakes are far more noticeable, but this went on like a dream.

It is a deep, indigo blue shade, which, from a distance, looks almost black. Up close, or in the light, you can see the gorgeous blue tones coming through.

One coat left my nails almost opaque – two was the perfect finish. It dried nice and quickly and left a gorgeous, glossy shine to my nails. I can’t wait to expand my ncLA collection now!

ncLA polishes are available from CutE COsmetics for £12.50

Do you have any in your collection?

Nails of the Day – Barry M Gelly Nail Polish in Blueberry

Barry M’s Gelly polishes are a fairly new addition to their range, promising an extra glossy finish. Boots was buy one get one half price last week, so this was a nice little cheapy to take advantage of that offer with, at only £3.99.

There are nine shades to the new range, I went for Blueberry which is a sky blue with a hint of lavender Although I have lots of light blue nail polishes, I think, colourwise, this is slightly different to any others that I have.

In terms of whether there was an extra glossy finish… I cheated. I used my Seche Vite as normal and don’t think they are any more glossy than any other nail polish. It did look rather shiny pre top coat, but I can’t be dealing with that sitting round waiting for nails to dry rubbish! I gather the finish is meant to be that of a gel nail… I didn’t get that effect (perhaps I needed another layer?) but still really like the polish and would definitely get more of the range. I have my eye on Grapefruit next.

It is a really nice formula, quite thick but easy to work with, and lasted a whole 3 days on me before the first chip appeared which is good going on my nails.

Have you tried any of their new polishes? What do you think?

PS. Sorry it’s nail post after nail post, but I had my laser eye surgery on Friday, so spent the weekend mostly doing nothing…. and I can’t wear eye make up for the next week so expect some lipstick and nail posts to fill this week!

Nails of the Day – Avon Arctic Waters

Today I have on one of the new polishes from Avon’s Arctic Goddess Collection, Arctic Waters. In fact, I’ve been wearing it for the entire week!

I am a bit of a blue nail polish lover, and this one has slotted in nicely to the collection. In the bottle it looks to have a small amount of blue iridescence to it, but once it’s on the nail it is hardly noticeable at all. It stops it from looking like a completely flat colour, without it looking like you’ve just got lost in a shimmer factory. I’m not a big fan of shimmery nails so this is just right for me.

It’s a great aqua blue with really good staying power. I had a few days wear before any chipping which is a big achievement on my nails!

Do you like blue nail polish? What do you think of this?

Avon Arctic Goddess Collection

Last week I attended the launch of Avon’s new range – the Arctic Goddess Collection. It was in the penthouse suite of the Mayfair hotel, with the most stunning views of London. Alesha Dixon, who is the brand ambassador for Avon, was there, and Pixiwoo, who I got to have a lovely chat with – it was a fab event.

The Arctic Goddess collection has focused on the icy blue and green tones it spotted on the A/W catwalks – there were lots of chilly inspired things there – like the ice sculpture housing the 3 new nail polishes!

I got to take home some pieces from the new collection – the Arctic Goddess Eyeshadow Quad, Pink Icicle Ultra Colour Rich Brilliance Lip gloss, and the three nail polishes – Chilling, Arctic Waters, and Green Goddess.

The eyeshadows feature two light, icy, shimmery tones, and two matte bold cool colours. The top left colour is a silvery lavender colour, the right is a silvery aqua. The bottom left is a turquoise which packs a lot of punch, and the right is a dark grey.

The shimmery colours need a couple of applications to give a strong colour, the matte shadows are extremely pigmented.

I would never, in a trillion years, think to wear blue eyeshadow. I normally steer clear of blues, for no reason other than the fact I’ve never been drawn to them – but after trying these ones to take photos for this blog post – my mind has definitely been opened!

In the photo above, I am also wearing the lipgloss, Pink Icicle.

It comes with a small lip brush applicator and is quite a thin formula – it feels quite slippery on the lips rather than sticky and doesn’t have a flavour. It has lots of teeny pieces of glitter in it that look golden, silver, blue and pink, so it’s quite shimmery and leaves the lips looking very glossy and full.

The three nail polishes from left to right, are Charming, Arctic Waters and Green Goddess. I have Shellac on at the moment, so can’t show you what they look like on my nails – but expect nails of the day featuring these, shortly.

Charming and Green Goddess are very frosty looking in the bottle, and all three shades have some iridescence to them. I particularly love the look of Arctic Waters – it looks like the perfect turquoise with a hint of pearl. Green Goddess looks like it will be very multi-tonal, and similar to a certain Chanel colour.

This is the first time I have tried Avon make up, and have been very impressed!

The range launches in November, with prices starting from as litte as £6.

Nails of the Day – Nails Inc Baker Street

This is the nail varnish making waves across the press at the moment, as it’s the very same nail polish that Beyonce Knowles wore on her first public appearance since having her daughter, baby Blue Ivy. I’ve spotted a few of the TOWIE girls wearing it too and I can see why. It’s gorgeous!

Baker Street is one of the new shades from Nails Inc – an eye catching bright cobalt blue which I am in love with! I have a bit of a thing for blue nails and this has just zoomed to the top of my list!

The polish is really bold and bright from the first coat. It is a little streaky with just one, but with two coats it is lovely and opaque and glossy.

It reminds me a bit of the hard to find AWOL by Topshop but this is richer and deeper and somehow a bit yummier!

What do you think of blue nails? Do you like Baker Street!?

Nails of the Day – Nicki Minaj for OPI – Fly

As promised, here is the other polish from the Nicki Minaj for OPI collection.

Fly is a very vibrant turquoise colour – I wouldn’t say it was ‘bright’ as I have blue’s much brighter – but it does pack a big punch!

The brush seemed wider than normal OPI pro-wide brushes, as was the case with Pink Friday. Because of this some of my nails were covered with just one swoop of the brush. It is a very opaque polish and not at all streaky.

I am a big lover of blue nail varnish – Fly is definitely on my ‘like’ list – but it has a lot of similarities to Ciaté Headliner which I already have in my collection.

What do you think?