Leighton Denny S/S 2013 The Riviera Collection

For Spring/Summer 2013, Leighton Denny has released The Riviera Collection, which includes 6 limited edition creamy pastel pinks, oranges and pretty oceanic blues inspired by iconic Riviera destinations. I'm actually quite taken with the entire collection, but the pretty pastels and tangerine, Meet Me In Monaco look particularly pretty.

Here's the Leighton Denny description;

This season say bonjour to a summer of effortless glamour and sophistication with the Leighton Denny 'Limited Edition' Spring/Summer 2013 Riviera Collection. This elegant and timeless collection of six high performance colours will give you every excuse to unleash your inner Brigitte Bardot. 

Pink Promenade - A deliciously creamy hot pink - flirty, fabulous and all grown up. 

Yes we Cannes - A soft and dreamy pale shimmering green for a delicate touch of summer colour. 

Mine's A Rose - A flirty, fruity pink shade that warms the nails for that perfect summery touch. 

Get Your Cote - A stunning azure blue that's sailed straight this season's catwalk. 

I'm so Soiree - A stunning rich blue/green - perfect for making a dramatic entrance. 

Meet me In Monaco - A warm orange cream - instant summer style for nails. 

The collection's available now from the official Leighton Denny site and from Helen Marks (£11.00 for a 12ml bottle) And there are some great swatches of 5 of the 6 shades here.

Leighton Denny Swatches

Last year, I started a little series of Leighton Denny swatch posts, which I unfortunately didn't get around to finishing due to my little blogging break, so I thought I'd finish up with a kind of round up post of all of the colours together. I've also added a few pictures of what some of the shades look like applied. 

I've already mentioned a few times how much I like the Leighton Denny formula, so I wont ramble on about it again. I will say that the brand is one of my favourites for nail colours though. There's a lovely range of fairly unique shades available, they apply well, and are pretty long lasting too. 

Whatever: A shimmer free, creamy mauve shade, which is slightly streaky after the first coat, but the pretty colour evens out well with a second. 

Crushed Grape: is a soft, creamy burgundy and applies perfectly. 

Stormy Weather: A beautiful purple shot through with tiny, delicate silver shimmer. 

Rebel: A really rich, dramatic purple shot through with tiny micro shimmers. Looks quite sheer after the first coat, but is rich and opaque with a second. 

No Comment: A really deep iridescent plummy shade shot through with tiny red sparkles. Again, application is slightly uneven with a first coat, but the colour evens out nicely with a second. 

Supermodel: One of Leighton Denny's best selling shades. An elegant creamy, mink/milk chocolate colour which applies perfectly. 

Little Minx: A pretty, metallic bronze/beige shade. This one applies well, but requires three coats for completely opaque colour. 

Steel Appeal: A dark grey, shot through with tiny silver shimmer. Again, this one applies nicely, but I find it needs three, thin coats for a completely opaque colour. 

Vamp: A deep, dark, glossy red, which is very similar to Chanel's Rouge Noir.

Provocative: A glamorous, bright, classic red, which applies perfectly and dries to an amazingly shiny finish.

Viva La Diva: A super glossy, vibrant orange-y red. A perfect, summer-y manicure or pedicure colour. 

Feel The Burn: A warm, earthy, terracotta shade. I actually wore this one a lot during the colder months, but the colour also works as a summer shade, too, and looks great against slightly tanned/darker skin. 

Rampant Rose: A rich, creamy, berry-ish/red shade, which is very similar to Chanel’s April. 

I Love Juicy: A vibrant, rich orange/coral cream. One of my 'go to' summer manicure and pedicure shades. 

Do Me A Flavour: A bright, juicy orange. Applies well, but I find it takes three coats to get complete coverage. 

Lolly Pop: A bright, berry/pink.Another fantastic summer shade, which works well on fingers and toes. 

Some Like It Hot: Is described as a sassy, summery red, but I'd say it's more pink. it applies well and dries to a gorgeously glossy finish. 

And some swatches of some of the shades applied. All two coats of colour apart from Little Minx and Do Me A Flavour, and no top coat applied.

Leighton Denny Stormy Weather, Whatever, Crushed Grape & Rebel

Leighton Denny No Comment, Little Minx, Vamp & Supermodel

Leighton Denny Lolly Pop, Do Me A Flavour, Provocative & I love Juicy

All shades available from helenmarks.co.uk  (free postage on orders over £20.00) & from the Leighton Denny site (£11.00 for a 12ml bottle)

Leighton Denny Swatches: The Reds

Like the Leighton Denny Neutrals and Vamps, which I posted about here, my collection of reds from the brand is fairly small. I do love red nail colours, but tend to wear them more on toes than I do on fingers. The four I do own are all gorgeously glossy, shimmer free shades, which like the other colours I’ve already talked about/swatched, apply and wear incredibly well.

L- R Leighton Denny Provocative, Viva La Diva, Feel the Burn & Rampant Rose

Leighton Denny: Provocative, Viva La Diva, Feel the Burn & Rampant Rose

Provocative: A glamorous, bright, classic red, which applies perfectly and dries to an amazingly shiny finish.

 Viva La Diva: A super glossy, vibrant orange-y red. A perfect, summer-y manicure or pedicure colour.

Feel The Burn: A warm, earthy, terracotta shade. I actually wore this one a lot during the colder months, but the colour also works as a summer shade, too, and looks great against slightly tanned/darker skin.

Rampant Rose: A rich, creamy, berry-ish/red shade, which is very similar to Chanel’s April.

All shades are available from the official Leighton Denny site: leightondenny.com, helenmarks.co.uk and lookfantastic, where worldwide postage is free! The bottles are £11.00 each and contain 12mls of product.

A Week In Nails. Leighton Denny & Chanel

Leighton Denny Stormy Weather, Chanel Graphite & Leighton Denny Steel Appeal & Little Minx

Well, kind of. These are a few of the shades I've been sporting on my nails over the last few weeks. I've mainly been reaching for brighter, summery nail colours, but I've still been making the most of the darker and shimmery shades in my collection, too. 

 Leighton Denny Stormy Weather

Leighton Denny Stormy Weather

Leighton Denny's, Stormy Weather is a pretty, warm purple shade, shot through with lots of tiny, silver shimmer.  It applies well and is opaque in two coats.

Leighton Denny Stormy Weather (Two coats)

Leighton Denny Little Minx

Leighton Denny Little Minx

Little Minx is a metallic bronze/beige shade, which almost looks like liquid metal in the bottle. The shade normally applies perfectly, but for some reason, I just couldn't get it to paint evenly when I applied it this time. So, after taking the photo below, I went over the colour with a coat of Chanel's Graphite, which actually turned out quite well.

Leighton Denny Little Minx (Two coats)

Chanel Graphite paired with Little Minx

Chanel Graphite

I haven't reached for this shade for quite a while, but after using it to fix the streaky and slightly uneven application of Little Minx, I think I'll be reaching for the shimmery colour more often. I have a few other shades in the stash, which I think Graphite would work really well with, so I'll definitely be playing with this one some more. I may even attempt a bit of nail art!

Chanel Graphite over Leighton Denny's Little Minx

   Leighton Denny Steel Appeal

Leighton Denny Steel Appeal

A dark, glossy grey with silver shimmer. The base is very dark, but the silver sparkles lighten it slightly and turn it into something more interesting and unique. Steel Appeal applies perfectly, is opaque in two coats, and dries to a lovely, shiny finish.

Leighton Denny Steel Appeal (Two coats)

All of the swatches above are without top coat, and all of the photos were taken with flash.

The Leighton Denny colours above are available from the LD site, and cost £11.00 for a 12ml bottle.

I hope everyone's having a lovely weekend!

Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File

Leighton Denny Crystal Nail File

Until fairly recently, my nails were in a pretty sorry state. I had issues with peeling, breaking and ridges, and consequently, I found I was having problems with nail polish chipping and peeling after only a couple of days of wear. I actually worked my way through quite a few different types of base coats and top coats before I realised that the products I was using weren’t the issue and that the condition of my nails was to blame. So, I decided to go back to basics and after searching around online for recommendations, I invested in a few different products to help get my nails in shape.

I bought quite a few different things to help with the problems I was having, including a bottle of Orly’s Cutique to soften and remove my horribly dry, damaged cuticles, a bottle of Boots Expert Nail Strengthener to harden up my paper thin nails (this is actually really good stuff considering it’s so cheap!), and a decent nail buffer to help smooth ridges. But, the product I invested in which I feel has made the biggest difference to my nails is, Leighton Denny’s Crystal nail file. Described as the ‘Rolls Royce’ of nail files, it’s won numerous awards (it almost always pops up on glossy magazines top 100 product lists), promises to simply turn nails to dust and to make filing quick and easy. And my god, it really does do a brilliant job!

Before purchasing a Leighton Denny file, I was using a no brand, cheapy glass one I’d picked up at Boots last year, and while it did an ok job at shaping my nails, it didn’t really leave the edge of the nail completely smooth. Leighton Denny’s does exactly what’s promised and actually makes filing my nails a pretty pleasant experience. It shapes and files quickly and easily, it never drags, and it never ever leaves the edge of my nails feeling rough, jagged or uneven. Since replacing my cheaper file with this one, I’ve noticed a huge improvement with the peelies, have had no splits, and have seen a positive improvement with the overall condition of my nails.

See, unlike traditional metal nail files, or emery boards, crystal files are designed to gently file and actually seal the nail edge, which in turn helps to prevent the nasties (splits and catches) mentioned above. They’re also extremely easy to keep clean, and don’t wear down like traditional files. In Fact, Leighton Denny’s crystal file comes with a lifetime guarantee, so if the surface of the file diminishes in its efficacy, the product will be replaced free of charge. Pretty good, eh?

Leighton Denny Crystal File Guarantee

As you can probably tell, I’m incredibly happy with my purchase and with the results I’ve seen since I started using it. I think the other products I’ve been using, along with generally taking more time over my nails have helped to improve the condition too, but I really think I have my Leighton Denny file to think for the lack of peelies and splits I’ve had over the last few months. Overall, it’s a fantastic product and one I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. In fact, I’d say it’s quite possibly one of, if not the best nail product I’ve purchased, and I wouldn’t be without mine. 

Available from the signature Leighton Denny site (£12.00). There's also a larger file available (£15.00), and a set which contains both the small file and a larger version (£27.50).

What sort of file do you use? Do you have a favourite nail strengthener?

Leighton Denny S/S 2012 Castaway Collection

Leighton Denny’s Castaway collection consists of six, summery shades, inspired by warm sandy beaches, crystal blue waters and desert islands. 

Blue Lagoon - A fusion of teal and turquoise create a stunning, exotic creamy blue.

Coconutty - A mouth watering milk chocolate, infused with subtle gold shimmer.

Shipwrecked - A fresh pistachio, creamy green.

Coral Reef -  A sizzling red-coral, inspired by the tropical colours seen in recent designer collections.

Message In A Bottle - A luxurious sandy nude with a cream finish.

Maroon me Knot - A vibrant violet, perfect for Spring/Summer. 

I'll definitely be adding a few of these beauties to my ever growing Leighton Denny collection. Blue Lagoon, Coconutty and Shipwrecked all look like gorgeous, fresh summery shades, and are a nice change from the oranges, corals and bright pinks I tend to stick to.

All shades are available from the official Leighton Denny site, and beautybay.com, where worldwide postage is free. They're £11.00 each.

Leighton Denny Swatches: The Neutrals & Vamps

Well, just the one Vampy shade, actually. I don't own many neutrals or dark/vampy shades from the Leighton Denny range, because I already had quite a few in my collection before I discovered the brand. I love the colours I do own, though, and wore the two darker shades a lot over the Winter months. I also reach for the two lighter colours, Supermodel and Little Minx on a regular basis, too. They're both great, 'go with everything' shades.

I wont ramble on too much about the formula and how well these wear, as I already did that in my last post, which you can see here. I'll just say that all of these, like the purples, apply brilliantly and last well, too. 

Leighton Denny: Supermodel, Little Minx, Steel Appeal & Vamp

L-R Leighton Denny Supermodel, Little Minx, Steel Appeal & Vamp

Supermodel: One of Leighton Denny's best selling shades. An elegant creamy, mink/milk chocolate colour which applies perfectly.

Little Minx: A pretty, metallic bronze/beige shade. This one applies well, but requires three coats for completely opaque colour.

Steel Appeal: A dark grey, shot through with tiny silver shimmer. Again, this one applies nicely, but I find it needs three, thin coats for a completely opaque colour.

Vamp: A deep, dark, glossy red, which is very similar to Chanel's Rouge Noir.

L-R Leighton Denny Supermodel, Little Minx, Steel Appeal & Vamp

All shades are available from the official Leighton Denny site: leightondenny.com, helenmarks.co.uk and lookfantastic, where worldwide postage is free! The bottles are £11.00 each and contain 12mls of product.

Leighton Denny Swatches: The Purples

Last year I nabbed myself not one, not two, but three, lovely Leighton Denny nail colours as part of a magazine freebie deal. Before then, I’d not actually tried anything from the range, but I quickly fell in love with the brilliant formula and fabulous range of shades on offer, and since last year, I’ve added quite a few colours to my collection.

There’s something about Leighton Denny’s sleek and simple packaging design which really appeals to me, and I find a lot of the shades on offer to be quite unique. The formula and brush design are both excellent and make precise application an easy task, and I find the gorgeously glossy shades really wear well, too.

Leighton Denny: No Comment, Stormy Weather, Rebel & Crushed Grape

I frequently check blogs and forums for photos/colour swatches of shades before I buy them, but I sometimes find it difficult to locate Leighton Denny pictures or posts, so I thought it might be a good idea to have a bit of a swatchathon, and go through some of the colours I currently have in my stash. I thought I’d kick it off with a shade I seem to be slightly obsessed with at the moment, purple.

L-R: Whatever, Crushed Grape, Stormy Weather, Rebel & No Comment

Whatever: A shimmer free, creamy mauve shade, which is slightly streaky after the first coat, but the pretty colour evens out well with a second.

Crushed Grape: is a soft, creamy burgundy and applies perfectly.

Stormy Weather: A beautiful purple shot through with tiny, delicate silver shimmer. 

Rebel: A really rich, dramatic purple shot through with tiny micro shimmers. Looks quite sheer after the first coat, but is rich and opaque with a second.

No Comment: A really deep iridescent plummy shade shot through with tiny red sparkles. Again, application is slightly uneven with a first coat, but the colour evens out nicely with a second.

L-R: Whatever, Crushed Grape, Stormy Weather, Rebel & No Comment

I'd planned to swatch these on my own nails, and did manage to do three before my cuticles gave up on me, so I opted for a nail wheel instead. I can't get enough of these at the moment. Sitting down and painting a wheel of plastic nails is so relaxing! 

All shades are available from the official Leighton Denny site: Leightondenny.com, helenmarks.co.uk and also from lookfantastic, where postage is free. They're £11.00 for 12mls of product.

Have you tried Leighton Denny nail colours? Do you have any favourite shades?
Or any other favourite purples from other brands?

Leighton Denny Gelato collection

L-R Berry nice, Lolly pop, Do me a flavour, Sundae girl, Ice to meet you, Inside scoop

I spotted this picture of the gorgeous Leighton Denny gelato spring/summer collection over the weekend and haven't been able to stop looking at the pretty shades. I've not actually tried anything from the brand but I'm always glued to the TV when Leighton's on QVC and I'm always tempted by the lovely colours in his collections. Lolly pop, Do me a flavour and Inside scoop look particularly pretty, think I might have to pick a up a couple of them.

Has anyone tried Leighton Denny polish? What are your thoughts on them?