Maybelline - MNY 446

Grey/taupe shimmer with holo sparkle  

Blimey, somehow I lost a whole month to work, Christmas and general busyness....

Anyhow, on with the show...

MNY is a younger, funkier branding for the  Maybelline range.  In the UK I think it is, or was, exclusive to Superdrug but I first discovered it in a drugstore in Germany a few years ago.

Blurred close-up to show the holo...

Unfortunately the MNY polishes don't have shade names only dull numbers so here is 446....

This is definitely an unusual colour/finish.  Primarily it's a grey/taupe shimmer but there's also a strong blue/silver foil flash (can you even have a foil flash?) and then to finish off there are fine holo sparkles.

The base colour changes a lot with the light, sometimes it's cooler and grey, sometimes warmer and almost brown.

There's a lot going on, but I'm a big fan of taupe and grey and who can resist holo sparkles even if they're very fine and not massively visible?!  A win...

Nails Inc November - Brooklyn

Nude pearl with pink flash  

The final polish in the 2011 Mad Men themed collection, it turned out I did have Brooklyn after all!

Brooklyn is a slightly sludgy, greyish nude pearl with a pretty strong pink flash.

Swatches shown are 2 coats, no top coat and pretty visible nail line.  I obviously decided that 3 coats wouldn't be enough either so stuck to two!

I am a big Mad Men fan, the styling, fashion, Don Draper (of course), cocktails, the level of detail etc but oddly I don't associate  Brooklyn with the show very much.

Nails Inc November - Covent Garden Ballet

Soft warm grey with copper shimmer  

Covent Garden Ballet is a gorgeous soft grey with a nicely visible fine copper shimmer.

My swatch pictures look to be running a little warm, it's definitely not a super cool grey but maybe not as warm as it looks here.

This polish does run sheer - swatches are 3 coats with no top coat

Luckily this polish is still available from Nails Inc - it looks to have been relaunched as a 'Ballet Sheer'.   Originally this was part of the 'A Listers' collection of four polishes back in 2012.

Nails inc describe it as being an iridescent pearl, I suppose that's what makes it look soft....

Nails Inc November - Designer matte finish - Southwark Street

Matte plum/purple  

Back in 2011 Nails Inc released two 4 piece collections of matte polishes, the Matte Violet collection and the Matte Cherry Collection.

Southwark Street was part of the Matte Violet collection along with Aldgate, a deep violet, Britannia Street, a cool grey and Borough Market, a navy/grey.

The bottles have a nice frosted finish in comparison to the usual clear glass bottles.

Southwark Street is a plum/purple matte, but one of those not completely matte matte polishes if you know what I mean, there's definitely a slight sheen there which gives it more of a satin finish.

Swatches shown are 3 coats, no top coat in the first pic, top coat on 2 nails in the second to show the contrast.

It's a pretty colour but as with most mattes, wear time is pretty bad and why wouldn't you just put a matte topcoat over an existing polish?

Nails Inc November - Curzon Street

Smoky brown creme  

Nails Inc Curzon Street is a smoky brown creme.  There's definitely a hint of grey and maybe green in there, this is not your standard chocolate brown.

Curzon Street was part of QVC's 5 piece Autumn/Winter collection back in 2009!

Amazing formula that is pretty much opaque in one coat

These swatches show 2 coats, out of habit, with no topcoat.

Nails Inc November - Belgrave Square Gardens

Warm red with gold shimmer  

Belgrave Square Gardens was a QVC exclusive from the 4 Piece Party Toes Collection back in 2010.  

I didn't buy that collection so this must've come to me via one of the many Nails Inc 'Lucky Dip' offers where you get 6 or 7 random polishes for £15-22, depending on the offer.  

For someone with a nails inc collection as large as mine (over 500 unique colours) they can be a bit of a gamble but I've never received one where I had *all* the colours already, I've come close though!

Belgrave Square Gardens is a warm, slight rusty red shimmer with a fine gold shimmer running through.  A very Christmassy colour, if it's not too early to mention the 'c' word!

Application was good and the swatches shown are 2 coats, with topcoat.

And Belgrave Square Gardens themselves are beautiful, surrounded by Embassies with a statue of Christopher Columbus and a tennis court but sadly private.

Nails Inc November - Glamour magazine giveaways

Nails Inc freebies

This month's Glamour magazine has a choice of 1 of 4 free Nails Inc polishes.

As the magazine is only £2 (and I'm obsessed) I picked up all four!

The colours are:

Hanover Square - burgundy creme
Marylebone Mews - Grey/lilac/taupe creme
Tate - classic red creme
Wigmore Street - Deep purple creme

Hanover Square is a wonderful vampy burgundy creme, fabulous application and so shiny.

Marylebone Mews is a grey/lilac that can look a bit taupe (bottle shot).  I thought this might be similar to the classic nails inc shade, Porchester Square, but a quick comparison showed Marylebone Mews is much cooler and less brown/taupe than Porchester Square.  This is the only shade that might've benefited from 3 coats.

Tate is one of the earliest Nails Inc colours, a classic glamorous red creme.

Wigmore Street is a dark purple creme that never looks black.

Formula and application on all these was up to Nails Inc's usual high standard.

All swatches are 2 coats with no topcoat.

If you haven't already, get yourself down to your nearest news outlet to pick these up!*

* Sadly UK residents only...

Nails Inc November - Mad Men Collection - Westchester

Deep red creme  

I'm back!  With what's becoming a yearly event, Nails Inc November.  Well when you have over 500 unique Nails Inc colours it's good to have motivation to swatch them all!

October was a bit of a washout in these blogging parts - holiday, work pressures and general lethargy meant little time nor inclination for blogging.

Enough excuses, on with the show...

Winchester is from the Mad Men collections released for Season 4 of Mad Men back in 2011

The collections was just 3 colours, Brooklyn, Westchester and Madison Avenue, all named after key locations for the show.  Brooklyn is where Peggy is from, Westchester is where Don & Betty lived and of course, Madison Avenue is the eponymous place where the (M)Ad Men work.

I have Madison Avenue too but am missing Brooklyn - you have to draw your obsession line somewhere, right?!

Westchester is a deep burgundy red creme with maybe a tiny hint of brown.

The formula is fantastic, pigmented and a joy to apply - if you were careful this could be a one-coat wonder.

Swatches shown are 2 coats with no top coat.

Avon Nailwear Pro - Night Violet

Purple/plum with gold shimmer

The nights are drawing in and the heating is on, it's time to go vampy!

Night Violet (love that name) is a deep purple/plum with a swirly fine gold shimmer running through it.

Unusually for a deep shimmer this was a little streaky - so swatches shown are 3 coats.  This is definitely one I had pegged at 2 coats!

These are old swatches and I have a rather random collection of nail lengths here!

American Apparel - Mouse

Grey/taupe creme

I know, another taupe. What can I say, I love 'em...

Mouse from American Apparel leans grey and doesn't have much purple.  It also changes a lot with the light, looking much warmer, more mushroom toned in sunlight and cooler out of the sun.

It's also quite a soft, light taupe compared with something like OPI's You Don't Know Jacques!

Swatches are 2 coats, no top coat - the polish has a wonderful shine of its own.

American Apparel made quite a splash when they launched their polishes back in 2010, whatever you think of the company and their practices (pretty dodgy is my view) they certainly picked the right supplier for their polishes.  Almost all were highly pigmented with great application and the first couple of colour collections were fabulous.  I personally love the enamel-like feel of the polish.

Alessandro - 190

Bright red flakie

190 is a gorgeous slightly orangey red creme which is packed with gold flakie shimmer

Application was good, swatches are 2 coats with top coat to bring out the flakes...

This is only a tiny 5ml bottle but it's concentrated fabulousness!

Vintage Varnish - Sparkle & Fade - The Reds

Red shimmer & creme  

Here are the last of the Sparkle & Fade polishes (previously sold at Urban Outfitters)

First up, the shimmery red...

This is a classic red with red shimmer.  The shimmer adds depth to the finish.

Swatches shown are 2 coats, no top coat

I don't often wear colours like this on my fingers but they're classic for a reason...

And lastly

Another classic red, this time a pillar box red creme.  Great application and gorgeously shiny - I think I should wear a classic red more often.

Again swatches are 2 coats with no top coat.


Overall I'm very happy with my little Sparkle & Fade collection, the completist in me wishes I had them all (I've seen a lime and a grey on the interwebs), but all the ones I have are winners, either in colour or application & finish....