NOTD: Island Coral

Sinful Colors nail polishes have recently been launched in Boots, for a bargain price of £1.99 per nail polish, it's taken me a long time to get this colour as it's been sold out every time I have been in Boots.

It's such a pretty coral colour, as you can tell my addiction to coral isn't restricted to lipstick, the colour is brighter than I expected, and as you can tell my nail ridges are noticeable but I have pretty bad ridges and even my Essie Ridge-filler base coat can't cope with them.

I wore this polish for 4 days without even a hint of a chip or the polish wearing away at the end of my nails, which I think is pretty impressive for a £1.99 nail polish!

I will definitely be trying out more polishes from this range.

Elaine

NOTD: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Prickly Pear

This is the first Gelly nail polish I have bought from Barry M, and I really love it! 

I am pretty obsessed with purple and lilac nail colours, but this is the first blue shade of lilac that I have and it's such a great spring/summer shade.

The nail polish itself was really easy to apply, the first coat was very sheer so it needed the second coat to get this opaque colour, this finish is nice and glossy but I think you would still need to apply a top coat just to get extra a couple more days out of the wear.

Elaine 

Models Own Utopia and Jack Frost

(L-R) Utopia, Jack Frost - please excuse my horrible ridgey nails!

These two are the first Model's Own nail polishes I have bought, I'm not sure why as I am pretty obsessed with nail polish and at £5 a bottle they are a bargain. 

I have heard a lot from other bloggers about Utopia and when I saw it in Boots I knew I had to have it, it is a beautiful neutral colour with a hint of lilac, I have worn it constantly since I bought it and have had lots of nice comments from people when I wear it. Utopia needed 2 coats but I think that is pretty standard for a nail polish this colour.

Jack Frost is such a pretty glitter nail polish, I LOVE it, the glitter is really fine and iridescent so it blends in with your base nail polish colour really well, it is quite subtle for a glitter polish but is really beautiful. I think that Utopia and Jack Frost really compliment each other well, I can't wait to try Jack Frost with different base colours. 

The nail polishes lasted okish on my nails, about 2 days max without chips although when you add the glitter top coat it does give the polish extra staying power. I am impressed with the colours and will definitely be trying out more Models Own polishes.

Elaine

NOTD: Essie Sew Psyched

This is my current go to nail varnish, although its rather autumnal I just can't resist wearing it now. I've been looking for the perfect khaki for awhile, but I've found most of cheaper brands were a bit too bright, not quite what I wanted, so I was chuffed when I found this Essie one. For me Sew Psyched its the perfect dull khaki with a grey sage green hint. As with all Essie nail varnishes it wears well and it went on extremely easily, it would look fine with one coat - I've done two.

What do you think? Khaki nails a good look or just a bit wrong?

Rachel

NOTD: Rimmel Peppermint

This Rimmel Lycra Pro nail varnish has been my favourite summer colour, I love it! I originally bought it as a dupe of Essie's Mint Candy but it is actually more of a brighter colour when it is applied. I have been wearing this constantly! 

In the photo I have applied one coat of my Essie ridge filling base and 2 coats of the peppermint. The varnish has quite a large brush so it is very easy to apply.

However I wouldn't say that it lasted 10 days, I've had it on for 2 and it has already started to chip on the edge of my nails. But I would still highly recommend it for the colour alone.

You can get Peppermint here.

Elaine

NOTD: Urban Outfitters Birthday Glitter

I'm not normally one for glitter nail varnishes as I like the glitter look to be solid and I find with most glitter varnishes it's very hard to get this look and it takes loads of coats that never seem to dry! So when I saw this nail varnish in Urban Outfitters I wanted it straight away as the glitter payoff in one coat was brilliant and it dried very quickly, I think it's called Carnival. So I asked for it for my birthday, and I was lucky enough to receive it from my lovely sister!

I applied one coat of Barry M Berry Ice Cream (one of my favourite nail varnishes ever!), and 2 coats of the glitter varnish, I could have easily gotten away with only 1 coat but I wanted as much glitter as possible!

I really love this nail varnish! It's an absolute bargain at £6 (I know I shouldn't know how much birthday presents cost) I will definitely be trying out more nail varnishes from Urban Outfitters.

The photo below shows just how concentrated the glitter is.

Have you tried nail varnishes from Urban Outfitters?

Elaine

NOTD Revlon Cloud

I bought this Revlon nail polish 'Cloud' from a cheap makeup stall, I've seen a few people post that they bought this colour from Poundland and was on the look out for it for awhile so I was chuffed to see it for £1.99! 

For some reason I found it really hard to photograph as I couldn't get the colour to show true, I would say its slightly more lilac than it appears. The formula was a bit thick and difficult to work with but it dried super fast and I love the colour so it doesn't bother me. This is the first Top Speed Revlon nail varnish I've tried but I'm really impressed that it is truly a quick drying polish.

What do you think of this polish? Have you found any must have Revlon colours in Poundland?

Rachel

NOTD: Cosmopolitan Freebies Missguided Misstify & Misslead

(L-R) Misstify and Misslead

Misstify and Misslead are the two of three nail varnishes that Cosmopolitan are offering as freebies on this months issue, I bought these colours as I really wanted some neon nail varnish. Missguided have partnered with Cosmo before and I have always been impressed with the colours however they do tend to stain your nails, but I am really underwhelmed by these colours.
When I applied the 'neon' pink nail varnish (Misstify) I was disappointed by the darker pink finish, I definitely wouldn't call this a neon pink which it appears to be in the bottle, the finished colour isn't one that I would reach for, so I can see this lying at the bottom of my nail varnish collection or I will give it away.
When I got the yellow nail varnish (Misslead) home I was unimpressed to find that it actually had a shimmer to it... which wasn't isn't for me personally and it definitely didn't look too good when I had applied it, I felt it looked quite cheap and Rachel agreed, it was removed straight away. The application was tricky too as it was quite streaky, this took 4 coats to get the coverage shown in the picture!

I was disappointed with these nail varnishes, but I have learnt a lesson to look at the colour of freebie nail varnishes a bit more closely!

Did you get this months Cosmo's freebies? What did you think?

Elaine

NOTD: Barry M Coral

I love my new nail varnish from Barry M, it's a really vibrant red/orange colour for summer,which is great as the sun has finally come out!! I wouldn't say that this was really a coral colour... but I still love it, is it just me but when it gets near summer it seems that any red/orange/pink colour suddenly is called coral.

I have applied two coats with no top coat in this picture. I have been wearing this for the past couple of days and I was really impressed with how it has lasted, it has worn a bit on the tips after 3 days but I think that is pretty good considering I didn't use a top coat. 

This is a bit random but I applied this to my toes and I don't think the colour worked, I'm not really sure why but Rachel agreed... I would put a photo up but I don't think anyone wants to see my feet!

Elaine

NOTD - Ciate Bon Bon Free with Marie Claire

I received this Ciate nail varnish free with last month’s Marie Claire. I initially wasn't going to buy it as I have loads of nail varnish and there were so many great magazine freebies last month...... however whilst on my way to work I was reading the Metro newspaper and noticed a voucher to buy the magazine for only £1 - so it would be rude not too (I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for more offers like this at the end of the month, as I saw one for Elle magazine too)

I've never tried this brand before but I’ve heard a lot about them so I was looking forward to trying it. This is the shade Bon Bon with two coats, it definitely needed two coats to stop it looking streaky but then I think all nail varnish needs two coats. It’s a lovely lilac colour with a hint of grey, I would say its slightly more purple than it shows in the images, however still lovely. Since wearing it I’ve had a lot of compliments – which is always nice.  The application went on easily but it took slightly longer than expected to dry, I then applied the Barry M top coat. The varnish wore relatively well 3 days without chipping however on the 4^th day it peeled! I mean  it wasn’t a huge problem as it was ready to be removed but I haven’t had a nail varnish peel in a long time. Perhaps it didn’t work well the Barry M top coat, I’m not sure, has anyone else had this problem with Ciate nail Varnish?

Rachel

NOTD: The ELLE Grey by Mavala

I got this nail varnish a couple of years ago as a freebie from Elle and I love the colour soo much, I think as the grey is quite light it's an all year round colour! The nail varnish had actually turned quite sticky which I was surpised about, I would have thought that a brand like Mavala would have a bit more longevity in the nail varnishes! I still love it even if it does show all the ridges in my nails... Has any one tried Essie's base coat that fills nail ridges? Is it any good?

And I think my cat Smudge loved it as much as me, I couldn't take a photo without her trying to get in the picture too!

Elaine

NOTD Essie It's Delicate

As previously mentioned I bought this in a set of three Essie polishes for the bargain price of £9.99 from TK Maxx. It's a delicate and lovely sheer light pink, In the photo above I have applied 3 coats however if its a sheer look your going for this was beautiful in just one coat. The colour is really close to the well blogged about Fiji - however that's a far more opaque and slight more pinkish in colour, it's delicate is well more delicate looking. On top of this I've been using Barry M top coat and I've found it lasts really, really well. 

So far I'm extremely impressed with Essie polishes and its clear to see why everyone raves about them.

Rachel

NOTD - H&M Blue My Mind

I featured this nail varnish in a mini haul/shopping H&M post and I must say its my new favourite nail polish. As you can see its a fantastic bold and undeniably bright blue. I don't think this photo really does it justice as in real life I find it much brighter and slightly darker. I'd say it was comparable to the famous Nails Inc Baker Street but I personally prefer this cheap one from H&M at only £2.99. This photo is with two coats and lasted a good few days before chipping, although I must say it was a bit of a pain to apply as I found the formula quite thick - thicker than my other H&M polishes.

So what do you think? Do you own any H&M nail polishes?

Rachel

NOTD Maxfactor Fantasy Fire and Navy Barry M

I've had the infamous Maxfactor fantasy fire varnish for a while and although I loved it, I found it slightly annoying how many coats you needed to get a solid colour, you can see the NOTD here. So I thought I'd try it out with different base coats.

I used one coat of Barry M's 292 Navy and then 2 coats of fantasy fire, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, I think it gives a nice petrol look! I will definitely be trying fantasy fire on top of other colour base coats in the future. 

Elaine 

NOTD Nails Inc Instyle Power Pink Free Nail Polish & a dupe

This is my favourite free Nails Inc polish from June's Instye magazine, I am slightly obsessed with purple nail polish! This colour is actually more pinky than this picture shows.

If you haven't been able to find this colour with Instyle, I had to go to quite a few shops to find it, I have a slight dupe for you to try! 

17 Parma Violet

It's actually a slighter paler version but pretty similar! My thumb nail is the Instyle polish so you can see it's not that much of a different colour. 

I'm really pleased that I got the Instyle polish though because I'm not sure if you can tell but my bottle of parma violet has got a bit clumpy but I have had it for a couple of years and I love the colour.

Do you think this is a good dupe? Do you know any better ones?

Elaine

NOTD Nails Inc InStyle Bluebell Free Nail Polish

Elaine and I both chose the same free InStyle nail varnish, Bluebell. It's unlike any other colour I have and to be honest I wouldn't normally choose it as I'm not a huge blue/lilac fan - but I like it, it's perfect for spring and I think it's flattering for my skin tone. In daylight I would say it's more lilac/ lavender that it appears in these pictures,

What do you guys think? Did you get any of the free InStyle colours?

Rachel

H&M Goodies & NOTD Miss Stone Heart

Thanks to a £5 promotion I received from H&M I bought all these goodies for a measly £5.95. I've had my eye on the blue polish (Blue My Mind usually £2.99) for awhile, its a soft purpleish blue and it's a colour which has been huge on the high street recently (Primark have shoes in this colour - but not ever in my size it seems) I also fell in love with a shirt this colour from the H&M gold label section but unfortunately again they didn't have my size :-( so this nail varnish will have to fill my lust for now.

The grey polish (Miss Stone Heart usually £2.99) is a really beautiful light grey with a lilac undertone and looks great in just one coat, perfect for rush jobs.

The brushes were a random pick up as I'm pretty lazy at washing my brushes so I was needing some back ups. The eye brush (£1.99) is lovely and soft although after trying the angled brush (usually £2.99) I'v found its a bit scratchy on my face, but it will do as a back up. So these brushes are okay but the quality is definitely reflected in the price - nothing to write home about. 

Rachel     

NOTD: Rimmel Beige Style & Matte Finish Topcoat

Since buying the Rimmel Lycra Pro Matte Finish Topcoat sometime last year I've been addicted, I know matte nails aren't as huge/on trend as they were last year but I still can't stop using it. I personally think it looks best on dark colours or natural shades like the one I'm wearing today - Rimmel Lycra Pro 365 Beige Style. 

These are two of my all time favourite nails varnishes and to be honest it wasn't until today I realised they were the same brand and make, I love the wide yet easy to use brushes and I find they only need two coats (only one of the top coat), dry fast and last really well.

PS. I've been wearing this all week and I was really shocked to see Elaine had blogged and was wearing her matte nails this week too - great minds and all that!

Rachel

NOTD: 17 Woo Me

Ignore the 'just in' sticker I've had it for a year!

I love this blue/grey lilac colour, I think it is just the right colour for this time of year!

I wouldn't say this has any extra lasting power though, I only put this on yesterday but I will definitely need to touch up the ends of my nails before I go out tomorrow night.

But I do really love this colour!

NOTD: Maxfactor Fantasy Fire

I managed to get my hands on this for my night out on Friday, luckily there was plenty in my local Boots. 

The colour is actually much more of a vibrant bright purple than I expected, which hasn't really been picked up in this picture. The nail polish is also very opaque so it takes a few coats to get the above coverage I actually lost count I think it was 5/6, luckily it dries quickly!

I really like this nail varnish but I think I might try this over a navy or a dark purple to save me applying loads of coats and to try and make the vibrant purple a bit more subtle. I will see how it goes and try to do an updated NOTD soon.

Elaine