RiRi Hearts MAC - Talk That Talk Dupe!

This was a very happy coincidence!


When the latest RiRi collection dropped last week, I was bummed that I didn't have the cash to get the items I wanted. The two things I was really after was Talk That Talk lipstick and lip liner. Of course, they sold out in no time and I didn't get a chance to buy them.

So I went on the hunt for a really dark red lippy - something that screamed vamp. I ended up on Illamasqua.com as they had a sale on (I also finally picked up Pink Raindrops - yay!). I was browsing through their lippies and decided to give Growl a try.

I then get an email from MAC a few days later saying RiRi is back in stock...so of course I jump over and grab TTT. The liner was still sold out, so I settled for grabbing Nightmoth pencil instead.

They both arrived yesterday and to my suprise...Illamasqua's Growl is an exact dupe of Talk That Talk. I cannot tell the difference at all. Growl is slightly more matte than TTT, which bizarrely doesn't feel like a retro matte at all and has a good amount of slip in it!

Seriously...I can't tell the difference!

Illamasqua describes Growl as a " Rich mahogany brown" whilst MAC describes Talk That Talk as a "Matte dark plum". I'd say somewhere in the middle of both, with added red.

*PS - there is a slight colour difference in two of the pics below, as I took them from my phone which really wasn't a clever idea, but my proper camera picks up way too many of my blackheads to attempt that! I can assure you, they are definite dupes!*

 

 

 

Talk That Talk

Growl

Growl (top) and Talk That Talk (bottom)

Talk That Talk (left) and Growl

Talk That Talk *slightly pinker overall tone here*

Growl *slightly yellowy tone - my phone sucks!*

Growl over Nightmoth lip pencil

Nightmoth lip pencil and Talk That Talk

Illamasqua's Growl can be found here

Striping tape criss cross mani's...and I have a new four-legged friend!

Hi guys!


Been a while since I posted (again!). I've recently been a bit obsessed with doing criss-crossy striping tape mani's. Get a serious amount of compliments with these! They aren't always perfect, a lot of the time I can't angle them correctly so they end up being a bit skew-whiff, but I still think they're pretty!




This first mani is using Azature's Blue Diamond and OPI's Tiffany Case:

Second is using Layla's Chrome Mirror Effect polish with OPI's Honey Ryder. I basically just kept wrapping a long string of tape around my nail on this one.

Third is using MAC's Please Me with OPI's Jinx. Pic was taken on my phone whilst I was out shopping, hence the trolley...

And the last mani is using Illamasqua's Swinger with OPI's Every Month Is Oktoberfest.

Whilst I'm here, I want to introduce my new friend. He's adorable. Seriously.

His name is Buddy (cos, he's my little buddy!) but he also gets called Budbud, Hammy, Hamham, Little Man and Bugger when he's being mischievous!

He reallllly loves broccoli...

Azature Blue Diamond Polish Swatches

I just had a re-look through my Azature posts and realised I hadn't posted up pics of the Blue Diamond polish!

 

I had originally swatched this many many many months ago, but must have completely forgotton. I've decided to re-swatch, because it really is a to-die-for polish.

This, next to the Green Diamond, are my favourite polishes from Azature. It's a little on the thick side but definitely manageable, has no major issues (pooling, bubbling etc) and is opaque in just one coat. Blue Diamond is a medium-dark vibrant blue packed out with blue and holographic shimmer. It really is an absolutely stunning colour!

Azature Lilac Diamonds Polish Swatches

Yay!!



Azature very recently released some new polishes - all of which are creme finishes. They can be found exclusively at Selfridges for £17 each.

I'll admit, part of me is very underwhelmed with these. After the first lot of Azature's, which I'm dubbing the "sparklies", these just seem a little...meh. I mean, there's nothing wrong with them, I love a good rich creme finish polish, but compared to what we've seen from Azature they just aren't hitting the same sweet spot. If they were packed out with pretty sparklies I'd be having constant orgasms over them, but these are just okay. £17 is a lot to pay for a creme finish polish. It does still have that pretty little black diamond in it though, and that will always suck me in.

Lilac Diamond is a medium blue based purple. I used two coats for this, and didn't have any issues. The formula flows really nicely on the nail, it's neither thick or thin.

If you have some extra cash or you really love diamonds, they could be worth a splurge. I'll complete my collection of these, but it will take me some time!

Azature Red Diamond Polish Swatches

Ahhh...more diamonds!


Red Diamond is the second to last polish I've picked up from Azature's sparkly polishes. The last one to grab is the Yellow Diamond, but I'm not too sure I'll be picking that one up. They've very recently released some more polishes - all creme's - one of which I do own (which will be up next).


I do absolutely adore Azature's Diamond polishes. They're so incredibly sparkly. Some have issues with pooling or being very thick (or some having horrific staining)...but I still love them. Anyway...

Red Diamond is a classic red polish with holographic shimmer. My camera refuses to pick this up correctly. It's a cross between a jelly and a creme. I used two coats for this polish and had no major issues with it (including staining - yay!)

Texture Haul - OPI, China Glaze and Zoya

Hi guys!


There have been so many awesome textured polishes released lately, so I figured I'd have a little bit of a splurge and catch up on the ones I really wanted.

From OPI I bought Alcatraz Rocks from the San Francisco Collection and from the Bond Girls collection I picked up Honey Ryder, Jinx, Pussy Galore, Solitaire and Tiffany Case. I also grabbed Lights of Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz Collection.

From China Glaze I grabbed Itty, Bitty & Gritty, In the Rough and Toe-Tally Textured from the Texture 2013 collection. I also picked up Graffiti Glitter from their Glitz and Pieces collection.

I've only grabbed one of Zoya's Pixie Dust polishes so far - Chyna. Zoya is fairly difficult to come across in the UK, and they're on the pricy side here :(. Hopefully I'll be picking some more Pixie Dusts up soon though!

Alcatraz Rocks is a dirty navy/purple with different coloured shimmer. I can see gold that leans slightly to green, flashes of blue, pink and purple. It really is very pretty. I used two coats of this.

For the Bond Girls:

Honey Ryder is a gorgeous, slightly dull yellow gold. Aaah, I really love how the texture looks with this. It looks like poured gold or something - It actually reminds me of fools gold. I used two coats for the photos below.

Fools Gold!

Jinx is a ferrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrking lovely orange/red/coral hybrid with gold shimmer. Seriously - this looks proper stunning. Again, two coats.

Pussy Galore (snigger...) is a frosted light pink with darker pink/silver shimmer. I used three coats for this one. I wasn't too sure about the frosted textured finish, but when it dries down completely it's actually really pretty - almost luminous!

Solitaire is a frosted white with silver shimmer and glitter. Again, unsure about the frosted finish but it turns out lovely! Three coats again for this one.

Tiffany Case is a metallic, icy aqua blue packed with blue and silver glitter.

Lights of Emerald City is a really pretty mix of large square white glitter and small translucent, iridescent square glitters. These glitters flash blue and bronze in the bottle, but on the nail it depends what colour you're wearing under it. I felt like this polish was on the thicker side. The glitter had a tendency to bunch up, especially the white glitters, but it wasn't too much trouble to spread them out. Overall, I think this is beautiful!

Onto the China Glaze!

Itty, Bitty and Gritty is a very pretty warm pink coral. It's the same texture we've seen released from Nails Inc and Barry M. I used two coats for this one.

In the Rough is an awesome chartreuse/lime green. I'm a sucker for colours like this. Two coats on this one aswell.

Toe-Tally Textured is a bright (and I mean bright) orange. It's heading towards neon, but doesn't quite make it. Again, two coats.

 

Graffiti Glitter is a mix of green and black glitters and bar glitter. It applies well, though there are gaps when you try and build up the coats on its own. The photos below show one coat each over OPI Fly and Pink Friday, and four coats of Graffiti Glitter on its own.

Aaaand finally, the Zoya!

Chyna is a classic red with red glitter. My camera refused to pick this up properly - but it is incredibly sparkly in real life.