Fantasy fire ...

I have heard so many bloggers talking about the nail polish, 45 - Fantasy Fire, from Max Factor that when I saw it in Superdrug I snapped it up pretty sharpish. It was the last one left and I'm really glad I managed to find one, because although it looks lovely I'm not prepared to pay the prices it has been selling for on ebay (it cost me £2.99 because Superdrug have a £1 off the mini Max Factor nail polishes but on ebay they are going from anywhere between £7.99 to £15.00 - which seems ridiculous to me). Apparently, one of the reasons it is so popular is because it is a really good dupe for a discontinued Clarins shade. 

Fantasy Fire is a lovely purple/blue base with green, blue, orange shimmer in it, but it is really sheer and I quickly realised it would take way too many coats and far too much time to reach any sort of opacity, so I applied one base coat of a similar general colour, which was No7 Speed Dry in 44 - Violetta. This coat provided a really glossy, opaque finish which I was really impressed with and provided a really good base for the Fantasy Fire to work with. I then applied three coats of the Fantasy Fire and then one top coat, so a lot of coats were still required. However, Fantasy Fire did dry really quickly in between coats, like the other Max Factor Minis, and the base coat is quite dark, so I think I will try it out with a lighter base coat another time. 

Overall, I would recommend this nail polish but not at the price it is going for on ebay. It is a small bottle and the formula is pretty sheer, and a lovely nail polish to have to spruce up a plain colour, but not something I would pay £10 for. 


xxx

The make up of make up artists ... :)

Recently I have bought a couple of the mini nail polishes from Maxfactor. They are sold in both Boots and Superdrug, but they are currently £1 off in Superdrug at the moment  (£2.99 instead of the standard £3.99). I really like the concept for mini nail polishes because although I do generally use all of my collection a lot, I still haven't ever finished many bottles. Nail varnish lasts a really long time! Or it goes gloopy before you finish it which is even more annoying (quick tip: apparently if  you put a drop of nail varnish remover in the nail varnish it can help make it less gloopy).  Both stores I went into had a really good range of the nail varnishes, and I have collected four so far; 05 - Sunny Pink, 14 - Dazzling Blue, 20 - Mellow Yellow, 43 - Odyssey  Blue. 

L-R - Dazzling Blue, Odyssey Blue, Mellow Yellow, Sunny Pink

I  thought I would include a picture to show how small they are. To be fair, models own nail varnishes are quite large but just don't be put off if you were expecting bigger; in my opinion they are still worth buying. If you would prefer a larger bottle, Maxfactor 10ml nail varnishes costs £5.99, but they aren't the same colour range. The first colour I tried is the Mellow Yellow. It's probably my least favourite of the four colours and it takes a good 4 coats to reach the level of opacity I like, but my boyfriend said he really liked it and I think it would be really good for summer. 

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It was also fairly chip free for a couple of days, which on my nails is quite good because my nails seem to chip like nobody's business. 

This is one, Odyssey Blue, is probably my favourite of the 4. It is a really nice glittery blue but it does also need a fair few coats. I think in this picture I have applied three coats as well as a base and top coat. 

This one is 'Sunny Pink' and is probably the most sheer, and in this picture I have applied 4 coats, but I do really like it and definitely don't regret buying it.  Also, because the individual layers are so sheer, they dry quite quickly, so it isn't too much hassle having too apply so many coats. 

I really like this colour too (Dazzling Blue). It reminds me of the sea and mermaids :)  In general, these are all really easy to remove but Odyssey Blue is harder because of the glitter. Overall, I would definitely recommend these to anyone really; they are good for people who don't wear nail varnish that often as they are so small, but are also good for people who have loads already and want to try something new.

xxx

My first exam is tomorrow  morning! AAAAARRRGGGH! Wish me luck :) xxx