Dolce & Gabbana nail polish

Last month I picked up a few, or actually more accurately an abundance of beauty goodies in the duty free when I went to see my parents. I'm slowly but surely testing my way through the magnificent loot and today we'll look at one of the nail polishes that I got. As you know I'm always keen on trying a new nail polish, but it's even more fun to try a completely new brand and today I have not just any newbie, it's Dolce & Gabbana's The Intense Nail Lacquer (£18.50) in the color Ibisco. I must admit that even before I had tried any of the Dolce & Gabbana products from my duty free haul, I had already been seduced by the packaging which is all sleekness and sophistication with its gold top with the brand name embossed on top of a glass bottle - I just love everything about it.

The formula is a little bit strange - it's very runny but at the same time it's not thin as such and the consistency is creamy enough that you only need less than a tiny drop to get a full and opaque coverage of your nail. The brush is of average width although of great quality so it's flexible and nice to work with, and it gives an even streak free finish without leaving any pesky hairs behind. Despite being such a wet formula it's still highly pigmented and already with only coat you get a lovely and polished high shine finish and at least with the darker shades you could wear only one coat if you're in a rush, although personally I think that the finish looks a little "thin" - not from a pigmentation point of view, but as a finish and if you have any ridges or unevenness on your nails, they will show through. Since the polish dries extremely quickly I would recommend that you apply two coats, using a tiny micro drop of product for each, and you'll get a beautiful smooth patent shine look. The nail polish comes in 30 different colors ranging from pale nudes and neutrals to intense, dramatic, rich and sophisticated shades. Ibisco is allegedly one of the best selling shades from the range and no wonder - it's a gorgeous warm rose pink with a noticeable coral undertone that would work beautifully with any skin tone and I'm speaking from experience since I first tried this shade when I still had my pale blue winter skin and it looked as chic then as it does now when I have a touch of a tan after the Easter holidays. How long a nail polish lasts is of course always an individual thing based on life style, job etc but on me this nail polish lasts about 3-4 days before it starts to chip a little bit which I think is fairly average and good enough for me. I really like the Dolce & Gabbana nail polish and to get a better feel for the entire range, I'm planning on getting at least two more shades from opposite ends of the range, so one sheer nude and another one more vibrant and vampy - and if there's a particular color that you would like me to try, please let me know and I'll follow your recommendation.

All good things come to those who duty free

As you may know I have been away from the UK for a while to visit my family, and when I came back not only was Him Indoors away on his travels and  I got back to an empty house - but my cat completely ignored me for about 24 hrs.... I was not feeling the love.. Well good thing I had a gianormous duty free haul to be happy about instead. It's absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for me to have this heaven called duty free and not buy a single thing, but even I will admit that I went completely over board this time around. I tell myself that I do these things to relax before flying or so that you won't have to splurge... and if I chant those excuses aloud enough times, it makes it real. Anyway, let's just look at what I got over the last few days and I'll split the products into three groups; perfumes, skincare and makeup, but please note that this is just a teaser and that I will post detailed reviews of the products as I work my way through them.

Let's start with the perfumes, and the first one is so brand new that it's not even available in the shops quite yet, although it's supposed to be as of March - and it's the stunning Exotica from Roberto Cavalli. It's a lovely tropical and fruity scent and slightly floral scent and I have a feeling this will be one of my favorites this season. Next perfume is fairly new, it's the Elie Saab L'Eau Couture EdT (£31) which is a light and fresh, sophisticated spring like scent - and what a beautiful classic bottle! Last in the perfume bunch is Fan di Fendi Eau Fraiche (£33) which is a beautiful green, spicy and fresh scent - very comforting and harmonious.

First in the skincare group is a great little kit that would make a fab present for someone, myself e.g... the Ole Henriksen The Whole Truth Kit (£45) contains three full sized anti ageing products - serum, moisturiser and an eye cream, to revitalise and brighten the skin, and I'm very excited to testing this out. I also got a new night cream that I had had my eye on for a long time, Origins High Potency Night-a-Mins (£34) which is supposed to add radiance to the skin and make it look wonderful and refreshed in the morning. I have high hopes for this and fingers crossed it lives up to my expectations.

On to the really fun bits - makeup! My favorite designers are Dolce & Gabbana - I love the passion, opulence, sensual playfulness and very distinct point of view of their designs and I have finally taken the plunge into their makeup range, which proved to be a slippery slope for me into complete decadence starting with the Dolce & Gabbana Smooth Eye Colour Quad (£39.50) in Stromboli which has a beautiful bronzed, warm and earthy range of shades - stunning! That lead to a Dolce & Gabbana Classic Cream Lipstick (£24) in Cosmopolitan, which is a gorgeous creamy coral shade, a bit similar to MAC Vegas Volt which is another favorite of mine and I think it'll go beautifully with the warm quad. As a bonus I threw in Dolce & Gabbana's The Intense Nail Lacquer (£18.50) in Ibisco, which is a fresh and lovely warm pink and I'm really curious to see what the formula is like. i haven't even tried a single product yet and already I suspect that this is just the beginning of a new brand addiction. Last of the makeup is YSL Volume Effet Faux Cils Luxurious Mascara (£23) in Brown for beautiful long lashes. Even though I adore the Baby Doll formula I wanted to try something different and having heard wonderful things about Volume Effet, I decided to take a bit of a risk and buy it, and if it's even half as good as the Baby Doll mascara, I'm on to a winner.

Let me know in the comments section which product you would like me to review first, and your wish is my command! Before you feel too sorry for me coming back to an empty house I guess I also have to mention that Him Indoors did eventually show up with a lovely bouquet of flowers, and the cat did come around and showered me with love - so I guess all good things to those who wait... or duty free...