NOTD: Topshop Nail Polish in Hopscotch

I fell in love with this colour as soon as I laid eyes on it. Topshop's nail polish in 'Hopscotch' is a lovely pale grey colour. Similar I suppose, to that of the concrete in a playground - hence the name 'Hopscotch'! This nail colour went on beautifully and I was very impressed with the way it comes out on the nails - the colour match to that of the polish in the bottle is perfect so there's no unpleasant surprises.

This colour's very classy and I think it's perfect for all occasions. The nail polish also dries quite fast, so drying time isn't bad at all. I'm now waiting to see how soon it takes to chip! Durability is a big factor for me, and for most people, when it comes to nail varnish. I find I like at least 4 days' solid wear before the varnish begins to chip. Well by the 4th day it did start to, but before then it had remained untainted so I thought it did pretty well considering!

I've been hearing some people complain about the price of the Topshop nail polishes. They retail at £5 a bottle but I think that's fairly reasonable considering the number and diversity of colours on offer. I know Barry M offer great value nail varnishes that really offer good quality, but I find that Barry M's range doesn't offer the nice candy colours that Topshop's does at the moment.

Stay tuned as my next NOTD will also be on another of Topshop's nail varnishes in the very cute yellow colour: 'Bee's Knees'!

Topshop Makeup Launches!

If you haven't already heard, or read the hype in magazines and newspapers the UK over, last Tuesday Topshop's new and very own makeup range launched across the nation! The range has been under development for a long while up at Topshop HQ and the products are reportedly manufactured by those who make Lancome makeup.

The collection currently contains: skin tint, lip polish, lip balms, glazes and glosses, lipsticks, glitter, eye shadows, mascaras, eye liners, crayons and kohls, nail polish, bronzer and blush and more! However the full range is only available in their flagship store Oxford Circus, London and online. Your local Topshop however will be selling the lip balms, a limited number of lip glosses and nail varnishes.

The colour selection of nail varnishes so far is incredible. There are all sorts of gorgeous shades on offer and quite frankly I want practically every single one! There's a gorgeous cream yellow shade called 'Bee's Knees' and a beautiful nude colour called 'Big Smoke', plus a lovely grey shade 'Cloud' similar to that paraded on the catwalks for S/S 2010. They even have their very own mint/jade shade ('Gone Fishing') which has been a popular colour since last Spring/Summer's catwalk season.

The packaging is quite simple and understated but very cute with the branding being black and white spots and stripes. I'm quite fond of it including the logo/font which looks as if it's been hand-written - I guess harking back to the fact that makeup is an art form in itself and is often about painting and drawing upon a canvas!

The prices are also nice and affordable starting at £4 and working up to £10 - great for all pockets I think. Perhaps a bit pricier than the average drug store brand of makeup but more affordable than some counters. The proof now as to whether the prices are worthy or not is in the testing - I'm curious as to what the formulations are like and whether or not they're up to scratch.

The only sad factor is that the launch in all other stores apart from Oxford Circus has been a bit lack-lustre and you'll need to have a good look out for it when you go in or you could be forgiven for missing the tiny stand altogether. However the more you show your support and the more you try, the more of the range local stores will begin to stock so get down to your local Topshop and check out the goodies!

I'll be trying out and reviewing the collection on here in the coming weeks so keep checking back for my thoughts. I'm starting tomorrow with a Nails of the Day (NOTD) showcasing one of my favourite nail polishes from the range...

All of the makeup as I said is also available on www.topshop.com so if you want to check out the full collection but are nowhere near London then log on now. You'll also find their website-exclusive SS10 Trend collection and handy video tutorials on how to create some of the latest and hottest looks!

Image from the Topshop Blog

I Heart Topshop!

I've been in love with Topshop's clothes for a long time now! Every time I go there, I come away with more and more stuff (or end up trying to when my bank account allows haha). To me they're constantly evolving and developing and I love every effort that goes into their collections.

I went on their website the other day and I must say it's looking very chic at the moment. The overall layout and accompanying photos are all looking gorgeous! I'm particularly fond of the Marianne collection that you can see on there right now. I've a sneaking suspicion it's so named after Marianne Faithfull who's well known for her beautiful sense of style from suede boots to fur coats - very 60s and very sexy!

The Kate Moss A/W 09 collection launched on Thursday and I think it might be her best line yet. There's many items from it I'm adding to my wants list hehe... I'm coveting the fur print bolero top, the flame mesh halter dress and her trophy stud dress...

I understand why some people may not be so fond of Topshop since their prices went up in the last few years, but you have to give them their due - they are the only highstreet retailer that offer people on limited budgets such a diverse range of on-trend collections that I know I wouldn't otherwise be able to afford!

When I get some cash together I'll be taking a grand trip up to Oxford Circus Topshop - bring on three levels of seventh heaven fashion - I managed to spend FOUR hours in there once... Well it is supposed to be Europe's biggest retail outlet - Mamma mia!