As I mentioned in my catch up post yesterday, last week I went to a blogger event at Crabtree & Evelyn’s Edinburgh store. The first thing I spied when I walked in were bowls of nail polish. I had no idea that Crabtree & Evelyn did nail polish and neither did most of the bloggers I spoke. So I am sharing the knowledge today.
The event organisers kindly gave us goody bags containing nail polish so these are the colours I am sharing today.
This is ‘Apple’* (left) and ‘Wisteria’*.
‘Wisteria’ is a blue toned purple with a very fine silver shimmer running through it. I can honestly say that I don’t have a similar colour in my collection. I applied three coats. I could have gotten away with two – it certainly would have been opaque by two, but the second coat dragged the underneath layer that wasn’t completely dry. If you have patience and can wait five minutes between coats you’ll only need two.
It’s not completely glossy, I’d say it dries to an almost semi-matte finish. This kind of finish tends to pick up imperfections in the nail and this one did, so I’d recommend a ridge filler base coat.
‘Apple’ is a classic red, well suited to its name. In the photos and initially in person, it looks like a creme finish. Until you look really closely and see that it actually have a very, very fine shimmer through it. In the sunlight this gives it a lovely ‘glow from within’ look. I don’t wear a lot of reds and didn’t expect to be that taken by this but actually I really love it. The shimmer definitely elevates it above standard reds without being too in-your-face sparkly.
I found the formula of this one to be a little thinner than ‘Wisteria’ so it requires careful application.
Both ‘Apple’ and ‘Wisteria’ lasted a good day and a half with only minimal chipping to the tips. This was without a base and top coat (naughty!) so actually I was impressed that it didn’t chip within a few hours.
Crabtree & Evelyn polishes sell for £6 so comparable to the higher end of the drugstore such as Revlon. Their colours are all quite classic so worth investigating if you’re looking for something along those lines. Not trend led shades, but essential all the same. ‘Apple’ has gone straight to the top of my favourite reds collection anyway.
Have you tried any C&E nail polishes? Do you like them?
I used: Barry M Silk ‘Pearl’ (white and as base under the pink); Barry M ‘Superdrug 50th Birthday Special Edition); Barry M nail art pens in pink and black; fimo flowers; real dried flowers; Boots Shine Solution topcoat.
I used: OPI ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ top coat; Bourjois ‘Amande Defile’; Barry M Gelly ‘Rose Hip’ and ‘Huckleberry’. ‘TMWTGG’ is clear with 18k gold flakes in it of different sizes.
I used ‘Huckleberry’ on my pinkie finger and index finger, ‘Amande Defile’ on my ring finger (and thumb) and ‘Rose Hip’ on my middle finger. Despite ‘Huckeberry’ being blue and ‘Amande Defile’ being green, it’s difficult to tell them apart, even in person, there’s only a slight difference. I did three coats of each colour as these milky pastels are quite sheer and tricky to get even. I then applied a thick coat of ‘TMWTGG’. This does require a dabbing technique and as the consistency was quite thick (Seche Vite style) you have to give it a good amount of time to dry, although if you’re careful with you glitter placement you only need one coat.
Here’s a super summery colour for you! In all fairness, everyone need a good quality black nail polish in their stash. I’m fairly loyal to Nails Inc ‘Black Taxi’ but it’s a tad pricey so I’m always open to cheaper alternatives. Seventeen had a 3 for 2 offer on the other week so I decided to try out their new gel range. Gel nail colours are all the rage nowadays with everyone trying to recreate a salon finish at home. Seventeen have been pretty bold by writing “up to 8 days wear” on the lid so let’s see how it holds up.
Application is nice and easy. It has a small, flat brush with rounded off corners which you can’t go wrong with. It was opaque and smooth in two coats. I didn’t apply a topcoat as I don’t think you should need to with gel effect polishes but I did use Orly Rubberised Basecoat. The finish had a good shine as you can see above. The first day was great, no chips, but… it did chip on day two. Not too badly, but on a couple of nails and black looks bad with chips so I removed it at the end of the second day. So no, it won’t last 8 days. I have never found a polish that does, even with base and topcoat so I’m not fussed about this but it might put some off. However, at £3.99 a bottle, I think it is a good buy and there are loads of colours to choose from. I really like the look of the grey ‘Long Island’ also.
I wasn’t that taken with the Barry M Aquarium collection when I first saw it, thinking it was more suitable for late summer and autumn than spring. Still, it didn’t stop me picking up one bottle to try. I picked ‘Pacific’ the blue-green duochrome foil.
Look how shiny and duochromey it is! It goes on quite thin so needs three coats. It has a very strong shift between blue and green in both natural and artificial light. It’s the kind of polish that has you staring at your nails all day, it’s very pretty.
When I first saw the new HyperGel collection from Models Own I can’t say that I was that excited about it. Made up of 10 colours and at only £5 each, objectively I can say that it is a great capsule collection, but for me, I wasn’t that taken by any of the colours. This is purely because I have so many, it’s pretty rare that I find a new colour I want. However, I had read good things about the collection so when I ordered the 
I think you’ll agree that the shine on these is amazing! Even shinier than my beloved Barry M Gellys. Application was easy, smooth and opaque in two coats and they do have a slightly plumped look to them, like a toned down version of a real gel manicure. This lasted 2 days with no chips and only minimal tip-wear before it started to chip slightly and removed it.
It officially became springtime in the UK on Thursday 20th March, and what should be waiting on my welcome mat when I got home that day but this package of joy. Spring has well and truly sprung in the Models Own world with their latest nail polish collection, Speckled Eggs.
The colours are: ‘Dove’ (pink); ‘Swan’ (purple); ‘Duck’ (blue); ‘Goose’ (yellow); and ‘Magpie’ (green/turquoise).
These are priced at £5 each but Models Own currently have an offer of 6 for £20 on their website so you could get the entire collection with one for free and another to spare. I did this and picked up Cornflower Gleam from their HyperGel range. This was my first time ordering from their website and I must say I’m impressed with the service. I placed my order on the Monday and it had arrived by the time I came back from Paris on Thursday. The box they were delivered in was small enough to go through the letterbox (definite bonus as I’m never in for packages) but sturdy and the polishes were well protected. I wouldn’t hesitate to order from them again.
