Essie's Splash of Grenadine

This is one of those polishes that makes you feel girly, no other way to describe it.  It's such a vibrant Barbie lilac-pink, and it just draws the eyes in.  As Essie polishes go, it's pretty standard - easy to apply, good longevity and decently opaque in two coats.

The colour is very distinctive - even though (as I said above)
 it is Barbie-esque, there's something slightly chic about it.
Perhaps because it's almost a muted neon?

Here's two coats of the polish, with the usual top coat (Sally Hansen Insta-Dry).
No chips after five days! 

You can find Essie polishes at most Boots stores or online, priced at £7.99

xxx

The perfect coral nails.

Coral lovin' 

When Bobbi Brown came out with her 'Nectar and Nude' Collection, I was all over it.  Everything was b-e-a-utiful, and I immediately wanted to go have an accident in the John Lewis beauty hall (I mean a purse related accident - not the other sort - haha!)

As it usually goes though, by the time I'd gotten around to visiting the Bobbi Brown counter the items I'd specifically wanted had all sold out.  This happened too with the Dior spring collection, where I desperately wanted the coral coloured 'Lip Glow' - but that's another story...

Anyway, the one thing I'd really had my eye on was her nail polish in 'Nectar' - the perfect reddy-pinky-orangey coral.  I ended up keeping an eye out for it on Ebay - eventually I found someone who was selling one!  I'd wondered whether it was worth doing a post on a limited edition product, but if (like me!) you were hunting for it online and were unsure if you should bother - this might be of some use.

The bottle is lovely, Bobbi Brown's packaging is always very chic and sleek.  The colour really does translate beautifully to the nails, although it can be a little streaky to apply.  I'd also prefer a slightly larger brush, like the ones on Essie polishes (especially since it's rather pricey!)  As I'm very messy painting my nails, I knew I'd probably run out of it quickly so I've been hunting around Boots for a close enough, budget-friendly dupe.  Max Factor do a shade in their 'Glossfinity' line called 'Cute Coral', which seems to be pretty much identical.  Thank goodness for that!

The picture online looks much more orange -
but it really does look like 'Nectar' in reality!

Max Factor 'Cute Coral' is £5.99 from Boots (a bargain considering Bobbi Brown polishes are £11!)

xxx

Glitzy nails...

I'd decided to glitz up my nails for a night out last week, and happened to take a couple of pictures just before leaving (you know how it is - you need photographic evidence of that perfect mani you spent aaaaages on before you go out and most likely mess it all up :/ )

Anyway.  I found the photo this morning, and thought I might as well type up a quickie nail post on the polishes I used...

On the left: 'Hors d'oevres'
On the right: 'Big Spender'

I'm in love with Essie polishes at the moment
(definitely going to be checking out their summer collection next time I'm hitting up Boots!)

Having started everything off as per usual with a base coat (the Revlon one from my previous nail post), I applied a couple of coats of my fave - Essie's 'Big Spender'.  Once that had all dried, I added a coat of Essie 'Hors d'oevres' - a gorgeous gold shimmer with hexagonal silver glitter and tiny little flecks of blue.  (I believe I saw this originally in TalkBeckyTalk's summer nail vid, and was obsessed with it!)  Finally, I topped it all off with my regular Sally Hansen Insta-Dry.

Surprisingly, as everything was super quick drying it didn't take long at all to set (I always end up spending the extra time tidying the edges up though!)  However, ideally I'd probably leave it all overnight and apply the top coat the following morning :)

I love how you can still see the base colour, depending on the lighting.
So purdy.

Although it still required a little extra elbow grease to get my nails squeaky clean, having multiple layers of polish under the glitter coat meant I wasn't clawing chunks of glitter off over the day following removal.  Also, two coats of the base colour probably aren't necessary as the glitter polish isn't that sheer - which is great news for next time around!

Essie polishes are usually cheapest at Boots, but as the glitter top coat was limited edition I purchased it from Ebay.

xxx

A sky blue mani with a pop of pink...

A quick post today on the manicure I did tonight...

L-R: Models Own 'Feeling Blue', Essie 'Big Spender',
Revlon 'Quick Dry Base Coat'', Sally Hansen 'Insta-Dry'

I'd had Models Own's 'Feeling Blue' nail polish for a while, and had never used it.  Its a lovely pure blue, like the sky on a clear summers day.  I really like Models Own polishes; they're opaque in two coats and have a great colour selection.  The brushes are quite small though, so not the easiest to apply.

Since I didn't really want blue toes, I opted for my favourite Essie polish - 'Big Spender' - for them.  Its a gorgeous plummy pink colour, that's almost opaque in one coat and applies like a dream.  I love the brushes on Essie polishes; they're huge, and allow you to coat your nails in a couple of swipes (they're very similar to the ones on Dior polishes).  (Note: the colour from this one doesn't quite translate on camera - it's a little more purple, and darker in reality.)

In order for my hands and feet to match, I painted my ring finger on each hand with 'Big Spender', and I feel it goes quite nicely (and adds a little bit of girlyness back into the manicure!)

I'm also terrified of stained nails, so always use Revlon's 'Quick Dry Base Coat' underneath - very very quick drying, and makes the polish on top apply much smoother and more opaque.  Finally, I topped everything off with a coat of Sally Hansen 'Insta-Dry' - so so glossy, and it's touch dry in seconds.

And here's the finished product!

(Also, a quick note from the morning after; no sheet marks!!)

Essie, £7.99
Models Own, £5
Revlon, £6.49
Sally Hansen, £5.99

(They're all available from Boots, and are almost always on 3 for 2.)

xxx