Similar to my Summer Nail Trends post, I selected a few (well, eleven) shades from my collection that I felt best represented what the early autumn landscape looks like, nail wise. Though I've been rather out of the loop, blogging wise, I kept up with reading my favourite blogs and from these, I formed an idea of what the current trends are (going to be? I don't know. I'm probably totally wrong, lol).



Yes, I photographed these over my Physics textbook, for I am a hardcore nerd.



Companies seem to be bringing out the foiled, irridescent colour shifting polishes at the moment in gorgeous antique colours (I'm seeing lots of old golds and greens) such as the Model's Own Beetlejuice collection (sourced from Vampy Varnish)...the Inheritance fan in me hopes that this is a sort of nail polish celebration of the release of the last in the series but somehow I really doubt that. What? The strong duochromes remind me of dragon scales, OK?

Geekery aside, the other new fad seems to be magnetic nail varnish, which I think is lining up to replace the mighty crackle. The colours of the polishes again fit the model of the 'autumn trend' - that is, they're darker and shimmery, but I'm wondering if it's going to catch on like the crackle trend simply because including a magnet with your nail polish is going to make it more expensive, and there isn't really a way to get past that. While the cheapest crackle polishes retail for about £6, you can buy a crackle for £1.99 from W7, or just a pound more from the MUA Pro range.

Finally, I've seen loads of lilac around recently. This may just be where I live, but pastel lilac nails seem to be really popular over here...so I bought two new ones, one from No7 and one from MUA, so I could be a sheep and take part in this new and fascinating obsession with the lilac colour. *shrugs* Purple in general seems to be a huge thing at the moment, both in clothes and in cosmetics. Perhaps it's something to do with the recession? Isn't purple linked to royalty? Maybe there's some sort of subconscious thing going on there.

Onto the photographs...


Right hand (from left to right):
Nails Inc 'Lowndes Square'
MUA Shade '23'
No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in 'Vivid Violet' (I think. I 'borrowed' this one off my Mum to swatch, and she's asleep as I'm writing this post so I can't sneak into her room and double check!)
Funky Fingers 'Snakeskin'
Barry M 'Dusky Mauve'

I'm fully aware the Dusky Mauve phase has gone and passed, OK? But I included it as an example of a subtler colour shift. I do think the neutrals/mannequin hands trend is slowly passing right now, very few brands have included neutral colours in their line up.




Left hand (from left to right):
American Apparel 'Passport Blue'
No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in 'Lucky Lilac'
Barry M Nail Paint in 'Indigo'
No7 Speed Dry Nail Colour in 'Beautifully Black'
Kiko Makeup Milano '262'

Bonus polish, for sitting through all of that so nicely:


A gorgeously sparkling Kiko topcoat, to help add that bright, otherworldly look to the polishes in your collection - cheaper than buying loads more soley for the sake of the trend, in all honesty. I'm really up for buying all of that Beetlejuice collection, personally, but for now I'll make do with this to paint over my darker nail colours. It's beautiful in it's own right, really. I don't have nearly enough coloured/glittery topcoats.








Thoughts on the trends for Autumn? Do you like them, or are you staying away? If you do like them, which companies do you feel interpreted them best? I personally want to say Models Own, but 17 have really stepped up their game with their releases recently (I'm thinking about the BB Cream as well, even though the shade range is pants) so perhaps they deserve the crown.

EDIT: I'm pretty sure I got my hands mixed up and left is right and vice versa. I get so confused with these things, sorry!

I purchased these during their £5 off voucher promotion thing that they do at least four times a year. One wonders how they make any money but whatever.



Above and below are "Blackest". When I saw the name in store, I thought it was going to be a plain, jet black eyeliner, but it actually has noticable glitter in it, which would make this unsuitable for the waterline. I find Blackest in particular intensely creamy, perhaps even more so than Zero (Urban Decay). It makes for a really intense, black line, but not particularly precise. I imagine that these would require refrigeration before one attempted to sharpen them, they're that soft.



This is "Purple". On my hand, it looks fine, but I find it just looks like blah once on my eyelid. It would make for a softer look than black, so appropriate for school makeup looks as it's less obvious than jet black liner.



This has hints of glitter too, but it's a lot smaller than the glitter contained within "Blackest" and it's predominately red, pink and green. The glitter in "Blackest" is mostly silver, with some flashes of red and green.



One thing I'm really happy about is that once you've given these liners a minute or so to dry down, they refuse. to. budge. No more finding half your eyeliner in your tear duct by lunchtime, no more smudges etc. They're pretty much bulletproof. I've been rubbing the swatch on my hand constantly and it's not moving. Nice.



I dig these liners, even at the full price of £7.75. I personally think that they're worth the money!

Nothing to do with the fact that January only has like two days left. Nope.

I decided I need to make an urgent trip up to town when my Mum returned from work yesterday with three different Boots No7 Stay Perfect eye pencils in her hand. I was pretty curious and removed the lid. They look just like Urban Decay 24/7 liners! I was quite surprised. Even at their full price (£7.75) they're still cheaper than Urban Decay's. A few other bloggers have been saying that they're dupes, but I only own one Urban Decay pencil in Zero so I bought the black of this to compare the two. Also, Boots were doing 3 for 2 on all No7 so I bought three pencils and gave the blue one to my Mum because she wanted it. She bought a grey (with a smudger on the end) a green/teal colour and a purple, and gave me money to buy her the blue one. I was mildly jealous, not going to lie. Anyway, pictured here are the purple and the black. With the voucher, it's a pretty decent deal!
I also repurchased the Allura False Nails from Poundland. I was running out of nail glue and this includes nail glue, plus I was planning to wear them again. This time, I think I'll trim them considerably!

I've heard people raving about the New York Colour Quick Dry topcoat, so I bought that too as my MUA (£1 from Superdrug) topcoat had long since run out. Faithful to the end, lol. It's probably the only topcoat I've ever used that hasn't gone nasty, thick, gloopy and stringy 2/3 of the way in. It was £2.59 from Superdrug. I didn't mind paying that as the bottle feels pretty lux. I'm hoping the product lives up to expectations.
I spotted these before Christmas on Lipglossiping's blog. They're Metallic Eye Sparks from BeautyUK. Pity Superdrugs is so crap.
Yes, that is Sellotape right there.
Disgusting. There were testers there, but clearly some teenagers feel the need to open and play with actual product so I guess the staff put Sellotape on these. It was pretty ineffective. While I was debating whether or not to buy this, I easily removed the cap from the pencil. Thankfully it hadn't been swatched, but still. Superdrug, sort your life out. The £ store has better packaging than you do!
The silver one has a label which is less offensive to the eyes (and, as I noticed after removing it, an anti-theft device) but I mean still. It was just as ineffective at stopping access to the interior of the product.
Anyway. People have been saying that these are performance dupes for NYX Jumbo Pencils, which aren't readily available in the UK, so I'm hoping these won't be a crease fest.

Late much? 


I haven't seen too many of these, so either it's incredibly tacky or people just don't do them. I'm mildly cautious but OK.


I totally stacked them all up in a box. Some of the stuff in there isn't beauty related so I'm not covering it.
 Superdrugs did these little gift sets of MUA products for £2 in the run up to Christmas. I already have two out of the three shades, but one had broken. The duochrome one has gone into the giveaway pile and the top shade makes a great highlighter.
 A cosmetics holder/sorter! I'm not sure where this came from, but it's seriously neat.
 I'd asked for this because I have a tonne of old polishes that are too thick to use. The bottle is huge. Hopefully, it'll last me a long time.
 I found it curious that the dropper was bent, though!
Lastly, Boots No7 Exceptional Definition Mascara. I've seen good reviews of this so I have high hopes for it. I think this came with the free eyeshadow palette, back when they were giving out the vouchers, but my mum kept that for herself trololol.


Not pictured are the Sleek palettes (Two Sparkles and an Original). I wanted to buy the Good Girl one but it was all sold out (yes, I did pick out my own presents. Problem? ;D) so I got two Sparkle palettes with the intention of selling one.


What did you guys get for Christmas, if you celebrate it?

This post had a picture before I decided it was unnecessary.

Anyway, shall we start? In no particular order...

Boots Natural Collection Body Spray - Vanilla

This was two pounds for 250ml of product, if I recall correctly. I originally bought it for the spray bottle (I was planning to empty the perfume out and refill it with one of my concoctions, lol) but liked the smell and am still using it as a perfume. While it doesn't stay on for a long time, it's pretty cheap so you don't have to be conservative over how often you spray it. It does the job that I want it to, so I've put it in this post.

Sleek iDivine MakeUp Palettes - Acid & Circus

While we all know about their fail customer service, their product quality is generally very good. The matte black included with the Acid palette is to date the only eyeshadow I have hit pan on (and have nearly finished using) without it shattering into a thousand tiny pieces. It's not the most pigmented of Sleek blacks (I've found that the black in the Circus palette is insanely pigmented) but that fact is almost a plus as it gives a softer look to my eyebrows. Sleek have some of the best drugstore shimmer eyeshadows that I've ever bought. I find their mattes are lacking (except the black ones) though.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Lip Balm

This is dead cheap (I know for a fact it is way less than £2 at Superdrugs) and really does keep my lips soft and makes them look slightly matte as opposed to very greasy/glossy as many cheap lip balms can do. I wear this either by itself, or a thin layer underneath a lip pencil/lipstick. I've recently started wearing those, lol. Another plus for this product is that it contains sunscreen. No idea what rating, but I'm happy to have it in there. My only complaint would be that it can sting a little if the lips are badly chapped. Still, I bought a second to use on parts of my body with dry skin as it contains a lot of Vitamin E, and it works really well in my opinion. I can't see this one running out any time soon, but when it does I will repurchase (already have, see above :P)

Urban Decay The Black Palette

I credit the beauty blogosphere for a) allowing me to even know of this product's existence and b) enabling me to know exactly where I stood when I purchased it. Thanks to some extremely detailed and honest reviews (including one from the Pink Sith over how to dupe it using Fyrinnae which I found really interesting and did consider attempting) I was pretty aware that I'd need the Pixie Epoxy to make it pop, which I've now ordered and am waiting for, and any other shortcomings (not a lot with this product). I love all the shades in this and am pleased to own the Zero liner and the Eden primer. It's my special occasion palette!


The MUA Make Up Line at Superdrugs

This will most likely turn up again when I do the nail polish specific year end round up, but I really love the feel of the shadows, lip glosses and the pigments from this line - it's all good quality for a pound and you get quite a lot of product for the price. The eyeshadow pans break if you so much as look at them the wrong way, but repressing them is quite a simple job (though annoying) and I enjoy pressing things so I'm not that bothered over a one pound product. I'm really excited to try out their clear mascara for my eyebrows. This was my favourite makeup launch of the year.

Bella Sugar Four Colour Eyeshadow Palette

I won a giveaway on Bella Sugar's blog a while ago, and I was really pleased to recieve the palette, being my first giveaway prize! The design on the outside is simple but so cute, and I've taken it out many a time in my bag and nothing has been broken. It's incredibly pigmented and they just look so vibrant on the lid. I remember being in science and wearing Ariel (a dark, forest/mossy green) and my science teacher saying, "Your eyeshadow is highly illegal*, but gorgeous."
Anyway I was pretty pleased by that. Hopefully in the New Year I'll be able to order. Assuming I get Christmas money. *hint hint, relatives*

* against our school rules, not necessarily against the law of the land, lol.

Have you tried any of the products from these brands? Jan, if you're reading, how did you find the MUA polishes?

 I can't even be bothered to make a snide comment about the naming choice.
 I really dig the glitter in this. It's dense enough so that the entire polish looks more like a dark gunmetal grey from a distance, and close up it looks really interesting. It's not quite "stars in the night sky" though, which is probably what they were aiming for. It's too small and evenly sized for that.
 I dig this. If I remember correctly, it was opaque in one coat and the formula was lush to apply. I did two coats to be on the safe side, though.
 It's not your basic black, it's funky and interesting. I like it. It wore well but I took it off about only two days as I had a design I wanted to try out. Typical of me. Sorry!
I purchased this for £2 as Boots were doing their £5 off vouchers at the time. Has anyone else noticed that prices vary regionally? The big Boots in the city sold these for £1.75 with the voucher, and I get to my Boots locally (still quite large, but with only two floors as opposed to three in the city) and it's £2.00. Why the inconsistancy?

It's actually a seriously hot pink, but whatever.

 In what alternate universe is this the colour of a berry? A berry on crack, maybe. Not your average berry, certainly.
 This colour is bizarre. For the Jigglypuff manicure, I wore two coats, no topcoat, and it went about four days before I even saw any tipwear. Understandably I was proclaiming it's awesome from rooftops, converting to Bootism et cetera. But I put it on for this swatch and no less than a morning afterwards, it's got tipwear like nobody's business. And I used a topcoat!
Berrylicious, why are you like this?

Have any of you guys run into this problem before?

I can't even begin to fathom the incredible amounts of imagination that goes into these names.

...

Still, they're more imaginative than Barry M.

 Anyway, Totally Teal (the alliteration, do you see it?) is actually a pretty unique colour, for me at least. I haven't got anything in my collection that compares, colour wise, and application is buttery. My only complaint is that it doesn't dry particularly quickly and tipwear happens about two or so days into the wearing of the polish.

 This colour was really difficult to photograph accurately! I think the photos immediately above and below shows the actual colour best. It's quite glossy and has the /slightest/ gold flash which catches you offhand because it's been masquerading as an innocent creme. Don't trust it.
Look at it, begging you to trust it. Pah.

All in all, this colour is beast. I approve.

Told you I'd get round to one of these eventually ;)

 Really loving Boots No7 voucher thing that they had going on, snagged myself three of these as I got a voucher with my (very expensive) purchase...I'm saving the best for last...
From memory I believe the middle one, which looks black in the photo but that's only because my photography skills (or lack thereof) are seriously appalling, is called Totally Teal. And it is a very unique teal colour which is why I picked it up :P It's almost like a creme finish, but not? I assumed it would be metallic, but it's not quite. Very confusing. I wouldn't have bought this for full price but at £1.75, it was just about right.
The black one is called Glamourous Black or something equally as unimaginative and I can't be bothered to go find the bottles and scour them for the names so when I'm actually reviewing these I'll name them then lol.
 My Palmer's Body Cream ran out, and they seem to have altered the formula as it doesn't smell half as good as it used to, so I didn't repurchase and bought this instead. It's huge and overly runny lol, but I don't hate it. It's far better for the body than for the face in my opinion. Doesn't smell of anything really...*mourns cocoa butter formula back when it used to smell great*
 Lol it's deoderant. It works. Overly Lynx-esque design though, maybe Sure want to work on that or something.

Last but best. I don't care how disrespectful that sounds to the other products, I've been wanting - no, craving - this for an age. Since the summer at least. I AM A FANGIRL FOR THIS PALETTE. And I usually only say that about my favourite K-pop girl groups/boy bands but I feel the term can be applied here. I was totally an Urban Decay virgin, pure, untouched. Except for those loose pigments. *shifty eyes*
I'll do a proper, in depth (sort of. By now, I'm sure all of my followers - so many! Happy dance - are aware of how easily I get sidetracked. Oh look, something shiny! Must investigate!) later on, but if this palette were a man, I'd totally tap that. Plus now my mum has got one and everything. It's so cool!

Fangirling over, what have your best purchases of November/October been?