In the past week or so, I've bought eight new nail varnishes. Eek! But sometimes necessity is necessity.
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| I couldn't have put it better myself. |
I'm not snobbish when it comes to my nail varnishes. I can splurge on a pricey Deborah Lippmann or I can be just as happy with a drugstore brand such as Barry M. It's all in the formula for me - not in the name.
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| My little haul... |
I've been pretty impressed with most of the ones above. Perhaps with the exception of one. I've done a bit of a review on each - take a look and see what you think.
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| Hand one! | | | | | |
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From left to right:
- Deborah Lippman - Call Me Irresponsible £14
This polish is described as a "Vivacious Violet Creme." It is an interesting one this, as when I saw the bottle I thought my dreams had come true. I am completely besotted with the colour purple and am always on the look out for the perfect shade. One mid-tone, one dark and a lilac.(*see bottom of post for further details). I really thought this was going to be a contender and I have to say that I am a little disappointed. It seems that what looks like a purple with blue undertones in the bottle actually doesn't come out like that at all. In fact, it seems to have an almost reddish hue about it. Also, it is extremely sheer. The picture above shows three coats and you can still see my nail through it in certain areas. I wish it looked like it does in the bottle! Having said all of that, I suspect that to gain a more opaque coverage a fourth coat is required and a pretty colour will be achieved. It might not hit my top purples list, but I will be wearing it and there isn't a disaster!
I don't think you can go wrong with OPI's Ink and I have no idea why it is not in my collection already. It is a glorious, shimmery goddess with blues, purples and an iridescent pink sparkle to finish. I wouldn't say there is glitter in this polish, more of a dense metallic shimmer in an opaque coloured base. Formula wise this is great. It is thin, smooth and drys in around five minutes. With a decent topcoat I managed to go completely chip-free for four days.
I don't have many China Glaze polishes as they aren't that easy to find in the UK. I managed to track this one down in Sally's and was pretty chuffed as I've been looking for a metallic-with-a-hint-of-purple for a while now. I know this particular polish has been around for sometime and picked up some bad reviews along the way. The main complaint is that it is streaky, but I can't say I found that myself. It went on smoothly and the colour was opaque from the first coat.
What a joy to behold! Cheap, cheerful and really easy to apply. The brushes on Rimmel polishes are fantastic and I've yet to find a brand that makes one comparable.'Strawberry Fizz' came out last summer in a collection of scented polishes. I think it was an interesting, if a slightly strange novelty but I can't say that I will be going around smelling my fingers. But for anyone who is interested - yes, my nails do smell of strawberries and it is indeed quite pleasant!
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| Hand Two - Apologies for the darkness! |
From Left to right
I am really impressed with this one. A simple no shimmer, no glitter sophisticated grey. This is the kind of product that does what it says on the tin. You really can get away with one coat if you are in a hurry and it does indeed dry in 60 seconds (I timed it). Like 'Strawberry Fizz' from the Fruity Scents range it goes on very smoothly and quickly, probably down to the wonderful 'Xpress' brush. There are loads of nice shades in this range, I've already got several in my collection. Pompous and Purple Reign being two of my favourites.
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| Rimmel's great application brush... |
- Deborah Lippmann -Today was a fairytale £18
Today was a fairytale- is a “Virgin Diamond Powder-infused silvery-blue starlight shade with brilliant silver sequins.” I saw this with 10% off in House of Fraser and kept picking it up and putting it back down. Surely I couldn't buy something so, so blingy?! With hexagonal and square glittery bits in three different sizes it really reminds me of something I would have just adored as a child. In the end I couldn't resist and I am glad I didn't.
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| A little close up for you... |
Initially, I was worried that the glitter chunks would be sparse and they wouldn't spread evenly. My concerns were soon put to rest as with each stroke of the brush the sparkles just kept on coming! In the picture I am wearing two coats and I didn't feel like it was too sheer. In fact I was seriously impressed.
- Barry M - Strawberry Ice Cream £2.99
Really disappointed with this one. Had high hopes as I usually love Barry M polishes. Some of my all time favourites are from that range (Berry Ice Cream to name one). I don't know whether it just didn't suit my skin tone or whether it was the formulation too. I have come to the conclusion that it is probably both. The consistency is pretty terrible - really thin and watery. It needs about four coats to look anywhere near decent and is streaky. I'm not sure I will be reaching for it anytime soon.
This is meant to be a shimmery colour, but even with my eyes squinting in the direct sunlight I still can't see it. So I am calling it a creme. But that, in my opinion, is no bad thing. It is a very pretty light grey that applies like a dream.
* I mentioned at the beginning of the this post that I have a slight, hmm, shall we say, a positive inclination towards purple shades.
Here are some of them. Operation 'Perfect Purple' is still very much under way. Please feel free to give suggestions (high end or budget!).
I really hope you've enjoyed this post. Let me know what you think and please sign up to follow me if you like what you're reading.
Ciao for now x
P.s Since I completed this blog post two further nail varnishes have been purchased. Arggh!!!
