Essie Fall 2015

Good afternoon polished people!

I hope you've all had a fab weekend.

Yesterday I received my Essie fall collection order so why not get them swatched and posted :)

There are six colours in the collection, and I've got three to share today so lets get started.

My first pick is Frock 'N Roll, a deep mauve purple with gold glitter - 

I just can't make my mind up about Frock 'N Roll! The formula was ok. I swatched it over OPI's Glitter Off Peelable Base Coat so I'm unsure whether this affected the application of the polish as I found that it pulled slightly and was a little bit uneven. But nothing really serious enough to put me off using it! And the colour is lovely and unique to my collection too. I am wearing to coats with a top coat.

Next is Color Binge, a bright coral-red creme - 

The formula on Color Binge is fabulous! Could be a one coater, I guess it depends on your application method and preference. I personally went for two thinner coats. I like the vibrant orange toned red, though not a one off I would be tempted to recommend Essie for the quality of the formula. However, I can't comment on wear time as I did only wear this one to swatch.

Lastly, Bell Bottom Blues. A deep blue with a turquoise shimmer - 

Bell Bottom Blues is definitely my favourite out of the three, but I am a sucker for a blue!! The formula of this one is in-between the other two. Not quite as flawless as Color Binge, but not awkward like Frock 'N Roll. Again, I'm wearing two coats.

Overall, I am pleased with my selection from the collection! 

I purchased my Essie Fall collection picks from Nailpolishdirect.co.uk for £8.95 each.

Thank you all for reading and have a wonderful week :)

WN x

China Glaze - The Great Outdoors

We did it! It's finally Friday :)

I pre-ordered some colours from the China Glaze autumn collection 'The Great Outdoors' over a month ago, and yesterday they arrived! Although they took an age to come, it was actually quite a nice surprise as I'd forgotten I'd even bought them.

Naturally, when I received the dispatch email I was straight back on to Nailpolishdirect.co.uk and ended up with three new Essie's! But that's for another day ;)

I purchased four of the 12 shades, so lets get into the swatches....

L-R Change Your Altitude; S'More Fun; Pondering; Take A Hike

First up is Change Your Altitude - 

Change Your Altitude is a 'light grey-toned lavender creme' which is actually a pretty good description. However I might change the colours round as personally I'd say it's more of a lavender toned grey. But that's just six of one and half a dozen of the other really! Lovely formula and fully opaque in two easy coats. 

Next is S'More Fun - 

S'Moe Fun is described as chartreuse creme. The formula again is lovely, however slightly more streaky than Change Your Altitude though S'More Fun is still opaque in two coats and applies evenly too.

Third polish is Pondering - 

Pondering is a stunning purple shimmer with a green duo-chrome shift. The polish is by far my favourite of the four. I feel like this is how a duo-chrome should be, it felt like I was wearing two different polishes! You can see how the colours change in the close up shot. The formula is good, not streaky, doesn't drag and, of course, opaque in two coats.

And finally, Take A Hike - 

Take A Hike is a dark teal toned green creme with athe best formula of the lot. You could definitely get away with only one coat of this beaut, however I am wearing two in the swatches because I just can't help myself :)

I'm very happy with my choices from the collection!

The China Glaze The Great Outdoors collection is available at Nailpolishdirect.co.uk for £4.50 each.

Thank you for reading, and have a fabulous weekend!

WN x

Illamasqua Element

Half way through the week and I am exhausted! The first week back is always the worst...

I have a swatch to share today of the new Limited Edition nail Varnish by Illamasqua named Element.

Well, I say new. The collection, called Earth, actually launched on the 27th of August. I ordered the polish immediately like I do. However I had a notification to say Illamasqua were moving premises and there would be a delay in delivery so I didn't actually receive it until the day before I went on holiday. 

Side note - due to the delay in delivery (which was no biggie, I probably received the parcel about two day later than I normally would) Illamasqua also sent me a lip gloss for free to apologise and thank me for my patience!! How amazing are they for doing that?! 

Thank you Illamasqua, I love the gloss (I received the intense gloss in Maiden). You guys didn't need to do that and you're so sweet to have :)

Anyway! On to the swatch. 

Element is a metallic granite shade with a slight purple shift. I am wearing two coats with top coat - 

The formula of this polsih is fabulous as it always is with Illamasqua. You do get brush strokes, but that's to be expected with a metallic polish. Perfectly opaque in two smooth and easy coats.

As the varnish is LE, you are unfortunately no longer able to purchase Element via Illamasqua.com, however at the time of posting you can still find it online at Beautybay.com, Asos.com, or Debenhams.com. And don't forget to check with your local store or counter also :)

I hope you're all having a good week, and thank you for reading!

WN x

Nails Inc - Battersea Park via Glossybox

Happy Sunday everyone, I hope yo're all having a lovely weekend so far :)

I received my Glossybox a couple of days ago and inside was this lovely Nails Inc polish that I have swatched for today's post. I try to get the Glossybox posts up ASAP as they are still available for a short time after subscribers receive them, just in case anyone is interested in purchasing the current box!

According the the info card in the box, subscribers receive a full sized polish of either a khaki green or dusty pink. I received the khaki green in mine, named Battersea Park. It's is a creme formula khaki with a grey undertone, making it a more muted shade.

In the swatches I am wearing two coats of polish with a top coat - 

I like the formula of the polish, it applied very nicely and was perfectly opaque in two coats. Although I'm a bit disappointed with it generally, as I'm almost certain that the info card that came in the Glossybox is lying to me! 

The polish received in the box is, as you can see from the bottle shot, in the old Nails Inc packaging. The card claims you are receiving a full size polish, which is 10ml and retails for £11.00. That would be fine if Nails Inc had not re-branded over a year ago to celebrate it's 15th anniversary. Their new packaging contains 14ml of polish and is also more expensive, priced now £14.00. 

The product info card claims that you can purchase Battersea Park at Nailsinc.com. And you can. But it also claims that this 'full size' product is £11.00. Which it is not.

Have Nails Inc got a massive back log of old nail polishes that they are trying to shift? Probably. I have to admit that I find it a bit poor that we have been sent cast-off's and leftovers. Who's fault is it? I don't know. But I do know it's put me off both Nails Inc and if my Glossybox subscription wasn't a gift I would be thinking about cancelling. 

Am I being dramatic? Almost certainly. If I was someone just getting into beauty, I would probably be excited at the prospect of a 'free' full size Nails Inc. But I'm not and for a service that claims "Our global experts curate the latest trends and products" on their website, I'm not happy that I've been sent a product that's in packaging that's been redundant for over a year.

All that being said, the polish is still good and it is a good addition to my collection.

Let me know what you think on the matter below!

Thank you for reading :)

WNx

Zoya Focus & Flair

Happy Friday polish people! I am on holiday at the moment and have, for the first time ever, created a scheduled post so I'm not absent for too long. I have never set a blog up to post on it's own before so fingers crossed it worked....

Today I have swatches of one of each of the Zoya Focus & Flair collections for Fall 2015. The Focus side contains 6 lovely creme polishes and the Flair six-some is all jewel toned metallics. Unsurprisingly, I purchased the blue shade from each! 

From Focus, I chose Sia a royal blue creme - 

The formula on Sia is lovely. She is super pigmented and glides on like a dream. I'm wearing two coats in the swatches. This one, as most blues do, does stain the skin slightly upon removal. Though I did only wear it to swatch so I can't really comment!

And from Flair I picked Estelle, a metallic deep blue - 

Again, the formula is great. One coats does nothing, but the second makes this polish a solid sea of multi-tonal blues tones. I really enjoyed wearing this polish :) I couldn't stop staring at that turquoise shift!


It's tough but I think Estelle is my favourite. But they're both so gorgeous, I just know I'll be purchasing more from the collection!

Zoya Focus & Flair collection are available at Nailpolishdirect.co.uk for £8.95 each.

Have a fabulous weekend, and thank you for reading :)

WN x

Chanel Autmn / Winter 2015 - Collection Les Automnales

I am finally back and with an Autumn collection! 

Today I have swatches of all three new Le Vernis from the Chanel Collection Les Automnales to share :) So lets get started...

First up is #669 Chataigne. Chataigne (or Chestnut in English) is exactly what it's called, a rich chestnut brown! This polish has a creme finish and needs two coats - 

Second is #671 Ecorce Sanguine. This polish is a deep, blood red with a very fine gold shimmer running through. The shimmer is not visible once the polish is applied however it does give that shiny finish finish that you will find often through the Chanel collection. This is a one coater :) 

Close up with flash to show the shimmer - 

And finally, #679 Vert Obscur. Another one that is exactly what it's name is, a dark green! The formula on this polish is a strange one. The first coat is very thin and almost jelly like, but it is the most beautiful emerald green shade! (Chanel, please make a polish that colour!! Because you know they are reading this....!)

However once you add the second coat, the deepest, darkest, inkiest green shade is revealed. Gorgeous.

The formulas of this collection are fabulous, as they always are with Chanel. The collection is inspired by the warm yet muted colours of the Autumnal palette, and I think they've got it bang on with these three.

My favourite is definitely Vert Obscur, I just love the depth of the shade of green. It feels like it goes on forever.

Each Le Vernis is £18 and I purchased mine from Debenhams.com.

I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far, and thank you for reading :)

WN x