Today I wanted to show you some polishes from a brand I've recently taken a bit of a shine to. I've been aware of Boots No7 for quite a while - they make one of my favourite opaque nudes, So Simple (I just started my second bottle!) - but they cost £6 each, and being such a cheapskate, if I'm paying more than a fiver for a polish, it has to be something fairly special, especially as they are essentially a 'drugstore' brand.
Fortunately Boots often has offers on, like 3 for 2, and they also regularly have vouchers for £3 off No7 cosmetics. So I have a few bought cheap from Boots, plus a few I've found on market stalls, and in joblots on eBay.
I swatched two of these quite a while ago, maybe 6 weeks? Trying on polish is very important, especially with nail art, because you need to know how the polish will behave (how many coats will it need? Will it dry quickly? How dense is the glitter? Etc etc etc), but I hate putting on polish only to take it straight off. I also don't necessarily want to do a full manicure with every polish I'm testing out. So I tend to take pictures of most of the polishes I try on. I figure, even if I never use them and they end up deleted, it still seems less of a waste of polish somehow!
And that's how you end up getting these swatch posts! I do feel a bit guilty about this, as they are rarely new, exciting polishes, and I know my photos are...well, they're pretty poor really. I'm trying to use the tools I have, rather than blowing my polish budget on cameras and lightboxes lol. Polish wins every month!
Anyway, ramble over, on to the swatches!
Hot To Trot is a pale, bronzey, champagne coloured metallic. It has the veneer of being suitable for work, but it is rather sparkly. I think this is 2 coats.
Unfortunately you do see a lot of brush strokes, but I love the metallic, yet very neutral, almost nude finish. It's almost like it's halfway between full on bling, and plain nude!
Salsa is a spicy, hot red metallic. Again, I think this is 2 coats. Possibly three.
Phwoar! If I wear red polish, it's always a creme polish. It's the classic look. This makes me rethink things though! And look, I've cleaned up and there's no sign of red stained cuticles, or halos of glitter either! Which is nice. I just know this is going to get lots of use around Christmas!
Finally, Poolside Blue, which is blue (gasp!). 2 coats (1 might have actually done)
This is the sort of loud, bright colour I usually avoid. My eye was instantly drawn to it, of course, but I prefer my nails to be eyecatching in a nail art sort of way, not a garish colour way.
Having said that, I do like this. yes it's bright, but it's also very rich and creamy, it's nearly a one coater, and you might actually see me wearing this in Summer! Well, how could you miss me lol
Hot to Trot and Salsa were bought from Cosmetics Fairy, and Poolside Blue was bought on a market stall (3 for a fiver! Get in!)
All three dried fairly quickly, I had no issues with application, but I do find them to be a little chippy (but then the vast majority of polish is on me. I don't know what it is I do to my nails, but they often look like I've been digging through gravel or something). I would recommend them, but probably not for £6 a bottle. Shop around, people!
I've got an accumulation of No7 polishes too - mostly from when the No7 vouchers were £5 and the polishes were £6 - too good to resist for £1. I've been able to resist after the vouchers went down to £3 though, since I've got all the nice colours now!
ReplyDeleteI have Poolside Blue - I got it last summer I think, and I was a bit hesitant about it at first. However, I've worn it several times and really like it :D I think I have owned Salsa, but gave it away without wearing it!
One of my friends used vouchers to get totally teal and poolside blue but hated them and gave them me. I love both of them, but took a couple of uses to adjust to the brush! I love the fact they are pretty much one coaters (I'm heavy handed in application) yet I never got any more from the range.
ReplyDelete