Barry M Giveaway: The Results Show!

It's not just X Factor that can string out announcing results, you know.

So. The contestant... who has been chosen by the wonder that is random.org... to receive a bottle of Barry M Instant Effects...

...

... is...

...

... (this is usually the point at which I would dearly like to throttle Dermot O'Leary)...

...

Rachelle!

Congratulations Rachelle, hope you enjoy your little prize! Drop me a mail at lyndarthemerciless[at]gmail[dot]com with your address when you have a moment, please, so I can get it sent out to you.

Thanks to everybody who entered, by the way. I seriously wish I'd had one for everyone in the audience, Uncle Gaybo stylee x

Giveaway: Barry M Instant Effects nail paint

You know I love me a bandwagon, so there was no way in hell that I wasn't going to lep aboard the crackle finish nail trend. Isa Dora kicked things off with their Graffiti Nails collection, which consists of five topcoats that shrink and crack giving a shattered geometric effect as they dry to let your base colour peek through, and sent the beauty blogosphere into a frenzy when they came out in August.

Sadly, they haven't reached Irish shores yet, but the ever reliable folks at Barry M have all our crackle finish needs covered. Their new Instant Effects topcoat, €5.95, may only be available in black, but its popularity is such that it's been proving difficult to track down both at home and in the UK. So when I espied a couple of bottles in Boots in Liffey Valley last week, I swooped down on those bad boys faster than a hungry bird of prey who's just spotted a particularly delicious-looking mouse.

I also called The Sister to excitedly explain my find and ask if she'd like me to pick up one for her. 

She laughed for about 10 minutes solid ("So, what, it makes your nail varnish look cracked?! BWAHAHAAHAAHAHAAAAA!") before cheerfully declining my thoughtful offer.

What she doesn't know is that OPI are about to release a crackle polish called Black Shattered as part of the upcoming Katy Perry and Serena Williams collaborations so this "cracked" effect is set to be huge. 

You and I, however, can get ahead of the game, since I got a bottle of Barry M Instant Effects for both of us. Yep - one for me, and one for you. 

To be in with a chance of getting your paws on this here bottle of crackle-finish goodness, you'll just need to...

1. be a follower (either here with Google Friend Connect in the sidebar, or over on Twitter), AND

2. leave a comment on this post to let me know you want in.

Simples!

And incase you're wondering what you could use it for, well, here's a terrible photo of one I made earlier...

 

Layered over Lancôme B.B. Sand, looks leopard print-ish from a distance

Giveaway is now closed, folks - winner will be announced ASAP :) 

The small print
» One (1) winner will be selected at random and will receive one (1) shiny new bottle of Barry M Instant Effects nail paint.
» Open worldwide (but, please note, will not ship to a PO box address).
» Giveaway is open until 11.59pm this Sunday, 24th October 2010.
» Winner will be chosen and announced early next week.
» There is no cash alternative and my decision, it will be final. (I iz the boss here, you know.)

The Big Reveal

I can't believe I haven't crowed about this before, but I finished re-covering Boris' bed.

It used to look like this...

 

... but now it looks like this!

Since we don't have a sewing machine, I had to hand stitch the seam in the corner of the "armrest". Hey - the dog seems to appreciate that personal touch and regularly uses it to support his chin while he surveys his kingdom.

The only visitor who noticed the change without being prompted was Himself's 5-year-old nephew, which I'm choosing to believe means that adults are just too tall to notice it rather than it's not an awesome transformation. 

Anyway, it looks so much better in the kitchen now. If I could sort out a blind in there, I might actually be able to call it done and post some pictures. Things have changed quite a bit since this photo was taken..!

Talontastic Thursday: French Me, Baby!

I'm not really a French manicure type, as regular readers will probably have gathered. However, both my thumbnails came a cropper the other day, torn off right down to the quick. 

Yes. "Owie" is right.

So, to protect the incredibly tender skin that should be covered by the nail tips, I pulled out a couple of thumb-sized falsies and whacked them on. And since I was then already 20% of the way to a French mani and have a rake of pale pink polishes hanging around the place, I decided to just go with it. 

What you see here is three coats of Essie Fiji in all its streaky, globby glory as I tried to ape the pink of the false nail; I used Essence Tip Painter for the white tips before topping the lot off with Seche Vite.

Are you a French mani fan yourself, or would you rather have solid colours on your nails?

STOP PRESS - WAH Nails opening in Dundrum!

Lovely reader and fellow WAH Nails fan Ame has alerted me to something uh-maze-ing: WAH Nails are opening a concession in Harvey Nichols in Dundrum, Dublin 16! Thanks a million for the heads up, Ame x

Now, I am BEYOND thrilled about this. Seriously, there aren't enough exclamation marks and smiley faces in the world to do my excitement justice.

More details as I have them, but a staffer in London let slip to Ame that they're to open this month, and word on the street is that interviews for "enthusiastic, talented" full and part-time staff who "love nail art and have a can-do attitude" were held over the weekend. 

To whet your appetite, here's the nail art menu from WAH's website; hopefully we can expect the same level of amazingness in Harvey Nics!

Will I be seeing you there?

PSSST: In further so-deadly-I-may-faint WAH Nails news, Beaut.ie are hosting a Barry's "Tea With..." event with founder and one-woman entrepreneurial powerhouse Sharmadean Reid on Wednesday 27th October! Click on over to Beaut.ie for all the deets.

An American Manicure Monday with Milani Hi-Res

Milani Hi-Res was one of the sparkly purple nail polishes I brought home from America. I lusted after its holographic ways for months and then did a little jig in the aisle of Walgreens in Santa Barbara on finding it. (Seriously, like. Morto.)

While it applies nicely, is almost opaque in 2 coats, and wears well, it's a colour I'm just not 100% sure about.

And this is why.

Both these photos were taken indoors with no flash, away from direct sunlight, and make it look like what we're dealing with here is an old lady lavender shot through with irregularly shaped fine silver glitter bits.

Meh.

However, moving into a shaft of warm October sunlight that was slanting across the kitchen floor (and annoying the dog in the process - he likes to catch those indoor rays while he gets his zzzs) things started to get interesting.

Oh hai, sparkly mauve holo magicness! There you are!

 
My poor 6-year-old camera couldn't actually cope with the rainbow reflection that was bouncing off Hi-Res when I ventured into the garden - this is the best pic I could get outdoors in sunlight:

That shot doesn't really do it justice, which is a shame, but hopefully you can see how the direct light makes it looks less like a glitter polish and more like one of the 3D effect holographic stickers you used to slap on your bike/pencil case/little sister's forehead as a kid.

What - that was just me?

Bonjour, mes petite amis!

Sorry about the radio silence last week, peeps. Vichy whisked me away to, well, Vichy for a couple of days en France (more on that anon) and then a lovely but unexpected commission landed in my lap so the blog had to go on the backburner for a bit.

Let's get back to, er, normal with a café decorated in the style of a skewways library!
 

Such a super cool idea, but does the photo make anyone else feel a bit seasick..?


via Apartment Therapy