Nails Inc. 'Victoria'

In all honesty, I'm not sure just how much I am a fan of Nails Inc.  I find their polishes to be quite expensive for decidedly average quality.  I mean, Rimmel Pro polishes are almost half the price, come with a wide OPI-style brush and are quite chip resistant.  After living in OPI 'Skull & Glossbones' (after I blogged about it) for what must have been at least a month, I decided that a change was needed.  The gloomy winter weather called for a deep shade, cue 'Victoria' by Nails Inc.:

Although I absolutely love the black cherry shade, application is messy.  I normally get a few splodges around the edges of my nails, but golly.  This stuff got everywhere.  It's really runny and thin, and the brush just isn't up to par with the price tag.  As you can see on my index finger, it's already chipped on the corner, and the same for a few nails on my other hand too.  With a base, two coats and a top coat, chipping should be days away.. Not on the night of application!  Needless to say, I don't think I'll be purchasing any more Nails Inc. polishes any time soon.  The colour is lovely, but application and quality don't justify £11 a bottle!  For that price I'll stick with OPI, models own and Rimmel.  With competitors the same price and cheaper with better quality and value overall, I really can't see how Nails Inc. are worth it.. 

Love,

xx

OPI Skull & Glossbones

I thought I'd show you some new nail polish that I've bought, and also do a quick review of it.  I wanted a higher end polish than what I normally buy (drug store!), and knew that I wanted something neutral so I could wear it without worrying that I was clashing!  I saw Vivianna's post on Skull & Glossbones a while ago and thought it was colour I could probably do with.. So I popped in Jarrold's in Norwich and headed for the OPI counter.  I spent so long pondering over colours that my boyfriend wandered off :(.  I was torn between Suzi Takes The Wheel and French Quarter For Your Thoughts, but although these are grey enough, I wanted something a bit creamier and paler.  Cue Skull & Glossbones!

I know OPI bottles are pretty large, but look how tiny my hand looks in comparison!!

I've used the colour with my trusty Rimmel 5 in 1 base & top coat, and I must say that after 2 coats of polish Skull & Glossbones in an absolute favourite!  Application is smooth and easy - at first it seemed streaky and I began to worry, but as it sat on my nail it smoothed itself out, leaving a gorgeous finish.  I've had this on since Saturday evening and only gained the tiniest bit of wear on my right thumb, which is incredible!

I highly, highly recommend this colour; I'm not sure if I'll ever take it off with the amount of love I have for it at the moment!

xx

Nude Nails

You wouldn't believe how hard it is trying to take photos with the lighting in my student house!  I swear all the bulbs must be about 30 watt; any photos I try and take are tinged with yellow.. which as you will see, with today's nails it's not a particularly good look!!

The polishes I'm wearing are Eyeko 'Nude Polish' and 17 Lasting Fix 'Fairy Cake'.  The 'Fairy Cake' is one of my all time favourite polishes of 2011, along with it's sister 'Parma Violet' from 17's pastel collection.  However, I've tried to find you a link to all these polishes online, but unfortunately can't find any at all!  I'm wondering if they're just all too old now, which is a bit of a bummer, although there is currently a 'Fairy Cake' on eBay ;).

Now, this look is a bit of an odd one.  The Eyeko polish gave me a bit of a 'mare in the sheer amount of coats it needed; but it's given me mannequin nails, which I strangely quite like.. it's taking nude nails to another extreme!  The brushes on the Eyeko polishes are quite long and thin, but this didn't give me any difficulty in applying the polish, and also means you can get to the bottom of the bottle!  I've paired it with 'Fairy Cake' because I love it's bright, pastel-ly shine.  It's so easy to apply, since the formula's quite thick, but it dries well and for about £3 you can't go wrong.  I'm still not 100% sure on the combination, but I think it's growing on me; but I'm definitely loving the odd ring finger at the moment!  I also would recommend 17 polishes so highly, they're super cheap, last quite a long time with base and top coats and  they're always bringing out new colours so you can buy all of them!

Are you a fan of the nude nail?  What are your favourite cheap brands of polish?

xx

Ps.  Just in case you were wondering I used Rimmel's '5 in 1 Nail Treat Base & Top Coat'.  It gives a lovely glossy finish without being too OTT!