pirates of the caribbean OPI review

OPI nail varnish has got to be one of my favourite brands, in terms of colour variety and quirky names but due to it being one of the more expensive ones, I haven't actually been able to afford a full bottle as it's not a necessity (I can find similar colours in cheaper names like Barry M, MissGuided, Revlon etc). Anyway, I have been able to buy some sets of mini's including the Pirates Of The Caribbean one (I also have the Katy Perry one which includes a mini of every colour in the collection) which gives me a chance to try out 4 colours from the collection.

If you read my Crete shopping haul post, you'll know I bought it in duty free where there was also the option of a Texas collection mini set - really wish I'd bought both. However, I am very happy with this one. I am the biggest fan of Pirates of the Caribbean so I was extremely excited when OPI released a collaboration with it.

I got four colours in the set, Skull & Glossbones, Planks A Lot, Sparrow Me The Drama and Stranger Tides.

I have to say that I love the colours but I would have preferred Mermaids Tears instead of either Skull & Glossbones or Stranger Tides in order to get more variety.

skull & glossbones

planks a lot

sparrow me the drama (very similar to barry m's bright pink - colour 279 which i also have)

stranger tides

Overall the polishes are lovely and only needed 2 layers to produce a think, opaque colour. 2 of the colours (can't remember which, sorry!) didn't go on very well and sort of 'dried out' whilst I was putting them on but the other 2 went on lovely. I give a big thumbs up to the collection and the nail lacquer's and also have to point out that they dried very quickly which is always a bonus!

My favourite colours were Planks A Lot and Sparrow Me The Drama. The purple is gorgeous and nothing like I've ever had.

After trying the mini's out I definitely want the whole collection of full sizes. I've found some links for them all, with help from Laura who posted a link to this ebay seller on her blog. These are the links to the full bottles and they are at such good prices:

• mermaids tears (unfortunately, not from the same seller but the cheapest i could find)
• stranger tides
• planks a lot
• sparrow me the drama
• steady as she rose
• skull & glossbones

I think the next mini set I want is the Texas one and hopefully I can get some full sizes of the Katy Perry collection too. Here's the link to the OPI website which I think I browse pretty much every day. I just love the names and the colours and the fact you can try them out on a cartoon hand is great (they also have a iPhone app that does this too)! Enjoy!

GLOSSYBOX PRODUCT #1 ciate nail enamel in mojito review

I know this is a very delayed post (I got this nail varnish in my July Glossybox almost a month ago) but I haven't really been in the mood for a bright nail varnish recently, let alone a green one. I only have one other green nail varnish and it's a bright neon-y yellow colour that isn't the nicest thing ever so I was a bit reluctant to try this. To be honest, it wasn't a colour I would have picked and bought myself but I'm glad I tried it out. I don't think I'll wear it very often but at least it's there! 

Before receiving this, I'd never heard of the brand Ciate but I looked on their website and their nail varnishes are lovely! I definitely hope to order a few more when I finally get some more money. I think the bows on each bottle are lovely! Very cute!

first coat

second coat

third coat

Overall the polish is nice. It goes on well (if you have enough on the brush) and the end result is lovely. However, it takes a while to get to the end result. As you can see from my pictures below, it took three coats to get a nice finish. Also, if you don't put enough liquid on the brush it goes quite patchy and it's hard to get on smoothly. Regardless of these 'bad points' I do like it and as I said before, I would love to get some more colours to actually try out the brand more. 

I also took some pictures of what my nails looked like after 24 hours. Bare in mind that yesterday after I'd painted them I didn't do much, just lounged about and did some bits and bobs around the house. But today I worked for 4 hours, returned library books and did some stuff around the house. So they went through quite a bit. Overall, I think they lasted very well! Usually after a day, my nail varnish is chipped badly/smudged/cracked etc. So I'm very happy with how they're looking now! I think the quality is wonderful and I definitely recommend the Ciate nail varnish's to everybody. Please, go check them out!

after 24 hours

Here's a link for the website - Ciate

And to the actual colour I received - Mojito (£9.00)

crete shopping haul

Sorry this is a little delayed. Yesterday I was busy picking up my cat from the cattery and having a sort of 'induction' at my friend's work where I could be getting a job! Finally! It was also raining like crazy (not so nice after two weeks in Crete...) so I just wanted to stay in doors and watch movies. Anyways, I haven't been up to much today so thought I should do this post now because I know I won't be able to post much for the next two days because I'm going to be super busy!

as usual i got a few magazines to read on the plane/on holiday 

with the instyle magazine i got two body shop eyeliners which was great!

in duty free i spotted an OPI stand with two little sets of mini nail laquers so i picked up this pirates of the caribbean one. i also have a katy perry one and it means that i can try out the nail colours before buying the full bottles which are obviously more expensive.

FINALLY got the maybelline mascaras that i have been lusting after for ages! don't think they need any explanation but i will hopefully do a review on them.

i also finally got the urban decay naked palette on the plane! i was so happy when i saw it in the little on flight magazine so i cannot wait to try it out!

first bracelet of many. most of the bracelets i bought were from this little shop in the centre of the town we were staying in. i think it's become my new favourite shop, it was amazing!

anklet from the same shop.

ring from the same shop.

this is actually a nose ring from the shop in the centre of town but i'm using for my cartilage piercing. i've got it in at the moment, i love it!

this was from an aquarium we went to in the north of crete and all the money they earn is used to feed unwanted pets and lost animals. it was such an amazing aquarium and it was an amazing cause!

little straw bracelet from a beach we went to. it's actually blue/rust coloured but you can't really tell because of the lighting, sorry!

more bracelets from the shop.

more anklets from the shop.

this anklet actually has bells on it and it's so cool. i think it may annoy some people, but i really like it. when i wear my blue maxi dress i feel like a gypsy!

another ring from my fave shop.

i got four pairs of earrings as well from the shop (pictures of the other three pairs below).

there was also this really nice jewellery shop with expensive stuff and my dad got my mum's anniversary present from there. he also treated me to this dolphin ring ^ it's gorgeous!

in the airport in crete i got 3 more magazines (cosmo, heat and look) and i got this coral nail varnish free with cosmo. it's the colour misschievious if anybody is interested.

lastly, i got myself a braid. it was one of the things i really wanted to get on holiday so i'm really glad i got it!

So yes, that's everything I got on my holiday. Obviously I bought other things like food and presents for my friends but the food's been eaten and my friend's presents probably won't interest you. Anyway, I hope everyone else has enjoyed their holiday if they've been on one and if not, I hope you've enjoyed your summer!