Tag: butter

Seeing red: go for broke in a violent shade of vermillion. Photograph: Observer

I've been looking for the brightest red varnish. One reminiscent of a honeymoon sunset, or the floor of A&E on New Year's Eve. One that blinds you with its very redness. I want a red with attitude, not a sultry red, or a mysterious red, but a red that stomps before you and screams about glamour. I want one that draws attention away from all the nonsense I'm spouting up there, taking the eye down here to where my hands are fluttering elegantly. Tom Ford's Scarlet Chinois (25, harrods.com) is a red turned up to 11. A single coat will do. Similarly, Revlon's Red Bikini (6.49, boots.com) is so bright you can almost hear it, and Dior's Red Royalty (18, 020 7216 0216) is rich yet eye-catching. You should see how nice my hands look. Man.

Alternatively

Rimmel in Ready Aim Paint! 3.69, rimmellondon.com Barry M Lady in Red 2.99, barrym.com Mavala in London 4.30, johnlewis.com Butter London in Come to Bed Red 12, butterlondon.com Diego Dalla Palma #18 10, tesco.com

Fingersmith: try Butter London's old-gold varnish. Photograph: Observer

Nail time! Sometimes it feels like a body isn't quite big enough for all the jewellery you want to hang on it. You've got, what, one neck? Two wrists, an ankle, a couple of fingers that are thin enough for rings? This is the opportunity to turn your nails into jewels. Metallic varnish. The way to wear it now is as matte as possible – use Rimmel Pro Matte Top Coat at the end if you like (4.59, boots.com) – and on long, pointy-ish nails, so they look a bit like serving spoons. I like the old-gold look of Butter London's Full Monty (12.50, butterlondon.com), which has the feel of tarnished wedding rings, and Mavala's Platinum Marble (4.30, boots.com), which is even odder – an old picture frame, found buried in the garden. OK. End of nail time. Back to work.

Alternatively

Illamasqua: Bacterium, 13.50, illamasqua.com
Nars: Diamond Life, 13.50, narscosmetics.co.uk
Deborah Lippmann: Don't Tell Mamma, 14, houseoffraser.co.uk
Topshop: Hyperreal, 6, topshop.com
Orly: Rock Solid, 9.85, orlybeauty.co.uk
Chanel: Peridot, 17.50, 020 7493 3836