Nail Polishes
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| Smith and Cult The Graduate Nail Polish Review Swatches |
The Graduate is my first foray into Smith and Cult products and these are my first impressions.
Smith and Cult The Graduate Nail Polish is a greige taupe in a creamy finish. It is a neutral ie. work-appropriate, formal events appropriate and graduation-perfect!
It comes in an awkwardly large artistic container. The top is artistically asymmetrical, massively round with a disproportionately tiny brush in the middle.
But that aside... the formula is lovely! It is opaque in two coats and auto-levels itself to provide an even coverage. Compared to my beloved Essie, the formula is much longer lasting and chip-resistant (It lasted a whole 7 days during my travels to Marrakech, camel-rides and all!). It is not so easily stained and does not change in colour as the days go by.
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| Smith and Cult The Graduate Nail Polish Review Swatches |
Livia | The Skin and Beauty Blog
*Press sample. All views are my own.
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| Nails Inc Seven Dials Review Swatches |
Yellow is definitely my new current colour obsession but gel effect by Nails Inc has definitely surpassed my expectations.
The shade, Seven Dials, was exactly what I was seeking and never fails to get a compliment. It has a richness to it that other companies cannot rival.
What I most love about this product is its longevity. It is rare to find a nail polish that remains chip free but I can safely say it still looks near fresh at the end of a very busy week.
Just two coats of this wonderful product is all you need for a salon quality manicure without any UV hassle (not to mention it's easy to remove). It's slightly pricier than some nail polishes (£15), but for the quality I think it's definitely worth it and cheaper than a salon manicure.
Nails Inc have transformed their product design which now include custom lids which make them a great gift idea.
Personally I cannot wait to try more shades.
Happy manicures everyone x
Shivanee | The Skin and Beauty Blog
*Press sample. All views are my own.
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| Essie Cocktail Bling Nail Polish Review Swatches |
Do you match your nails with the weather? I do, sometimes. And Essie Cocktail Bling Nail Polish nails it as the gloomy-weather nail polish.
Cocktail Bling is a dusty greyed blue. It's not bright or glaring like other shades. Its a pleasing understated hue.
This nail polish has the modern Essie large brush that makes application easy along with its great formula. It doesn't require much patience to get application right. This works well with my favourite bases and top coats ie. Nail Tek Foundation and Seche Vite Top Coat, respectively. I bust out this shade when the weather is blue to match the grey London skies. It is one of my favourites.
Essie Cocktail Bling Nail Polish is currently on offer for just £5.99 with Diet Coke in selected Boots shops. Grab one from the following stores, while stocks last.
What's your favourite Essie nail polish?
Livia | The Skin and Beauty Blog
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| Essie Cocktail Bling Nail Polish Review Swatches |
This nail polish has the modern Essie large brush that makes application easy along with its great formula. It doesn't require much patience to get application right. This works well with my favourite bases and top coats ie. Nail Tek Foundation and Seche Vite Top Coat, respectively. I bust out this shade when the weather is blue to match the grey London skies. It is one of my favourites.
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| Essie Cocktail Bling Nail Polish Review Swatches |
Livia | The Skin and Beauty Blog
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| Sally Hansen Hard as Nails, Ecotools Concealer Brush, Essie Eternal Optimist Nail Polish, Essie Allure Nail Polish, Essie Vanity Fairest Nail Polish |
With a few days off work I've decided its time my bare nails deserved a treat. Usually for one-time (many-a time) retail therapy I splurge on the boldest daring shades I would never wear more than once but this time I decided to take a step back, use some self control and purchase shades I would wear over and over.
On re-doing my pedicure I noticed yellow stains on removing nail polish, ew. As you could deduce I have been naughty lately, skipping the base and going straight into colour. My Nailtek Foundation Ridge-Filling Base Coat has seen better days and I needed a new nail base coat. Enter Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Nylon Retinol Nude, the one base coat that was almost (and now currently) sold out at my local Boots, I think of this as a good sign. I have high hopes for this one.
I have still not managed to find my holy grail under eye concealer brush. I still stay loyal to the MAC 224 Brush and its bristles still never cease to shed. Perusing the brush department I was intrigued by Ecotools Complexion Collection Eye Perfecting Brush and fell for its promise for efficient undereye concealing. It comes with a pouch, which I have now disposed. I was surprised at how stiff the bristles are; it actually feels like a furry finger. I'm still undecided about this one and will report later.
Now for my favourites, the Tres Marias, the three I picked up from Essie.
Essie Eternal Optimist Nail Polish. This is a creamy nude pink that I love to wear on my toes. It is quite flattering on my medium olive skintone.
Essie Allure Nail Polish. I was tossing between the many Essie sheer whites, rather struggling as they were all quite similar. I decided on Allure as its name was most alluring ha. I have this on my nails at the moment with two coats so you can still see some sexy nail underneath. It makes me look like I have leuconychia but otherwise its beautiful!
Essie Vanity Fairest Nail Polish. This shade is what got me into Essie nail polishes, previously blogged about it HERE. I have this in a mini form but I wanted to get the large bottle incase the lil one runs out and we full well know it never will. It is a sheer pink with tiny sparkles. With two coats it never fails to make me feel like a princess.
Livia | The Skin and Beauty Blog
Every time I pop into a medium-sized Boots I always gravitate towards that little Essie corner and be on the look out for any polishes that catches my attention. On this visit I was drawn to this duo with the pretty strawberries on the box packaging, which consists of Too Too Hot and Blanc. I felt these two would make great summer nail varnishes and would also double up well for the Christmas season (just thinking ahead you know, although we haven't hit the -ber months yet).
Essie Too Too Hot Nail Polish
I do love a lil red on my peds and so I love this nail polish. It is a sizzling red with a hint of coral thrown in. The formula is fantastic, streak free, fully opaque in one coat. Using on the feet, I like to apply a top coat on top to help them last longer as toenails grow the slowest. It's been 2 weeks so far and its still looking good!
Essie Blanc Nail Polish
The perfect white nail polish is soo hard to find. Formulas are usually stubborn, streak-prone and I'm afraid that's what Essie Blanc is. It is a good cream finish white shade but I find it so difficult to apply without streaking. I've worn it in two coats here. From a far it looks alright but up close it would be difficult to restrain from thinking about how streaky it is, although my other half likes the shade and thinks its sexy!
What do you think about these Essie nail polishes?
And have you found the perfect white nail polish?
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| Essie Bridal Collection 2015 Review, Swatches |
With my wedding approaching (a couple of months to go!) I've become increasingly attracted to anything bridal themed and when I initially heard of this Essie Bridal Collection 2015 from the Elle Wedding Magazine I knew I had to have at least part of the collection. After stalking my local Boots for some time I was excited to find that this collection is finally available in the UK. I picked up the Essie Wedding Collection trio. The names are just genius eg. Hubby for Dessert!
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| Essie Hubby for Dessert, Vanity Fairest, Brides No Grooms Nail Polish Swatches |
Essie Hubby For Dessert Nail Polish is a light grey-ed lavender with a very jelly finish. 1 coat makes a very sheer coat, with 2 coats it becomes more opaque. I like wearing it with three coats however like above. Make sure you give each coat time to dry before adding another - to avoid streaking.
Essie Vanity Fairest Nail Polish is such a pretty nail polish! It is a sheer pinkish nude with verrry fine flecks of shimmer. It is so beautiful - looks like perfect nails. The swatch in the photo has 2 coats. An unexpected gem from this trio.
Essie Brides No Grooms Nail Polish is a bright pink red shade. One coat is enough for full opaque coverage and the formula is fantastic.
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| Essie Bridal Collection 2015 Review, Swatches |
Overall, this collection has very pretty universally flattering and beautiful colours. I admit I can't help but feel a little bit disappointed in Hubby For Dessert as it is a little sheerer, more grey and less lavender than I expected. I'm surprised to find Vanity Fairest in this trio - its so beautiful and perhaps a shade I can get away with wearing for work. Brides No Grooms is a good hot pink, but this will probably be worn confined to my toes or on sunny weekend getaways.
I hope this post was helpful for those looking to try some nail polishes from the Essie Bridal Collection 2015!
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