Nails Inc - Mayfair

Off-white pearl  

Happy New Year - a bit of a slow start to the year (and a quiet December) but my plan is to keep chipping away at my blog in 2017!

Mayfair is an pearl finish polish in a slightly off white, I think Nails Inc called it oyster white.  There's a smidge of pink and some warm grey/putty in there I'd say.  

Swatches were 2 coats (but 3 on my pinky finger) and for a white pearl finish the brush strokes weren't too bad at all.

I'm not much of a fan of white polishes but I don't mind this - it's clean but soft.

And there are many, many Nails Inc Mayfairs - Mayfar Mews, Mayfair Gardens,  Mayfair Lane and Mayfair Court!

Rococo - Purple Haze

Light purple pearl  

Purple Haze is a light purple pearl.  As such it's a bit brush-strokey and rather dated looking.

Application was tricky, unlike a previous Rococo the brush was ok on this one but it was very runny and of course the brush-stroke issue with a pearl makes things more difficult.

Rococo call this finish 'Luxe'

Swatches are 2 coats, no top coat.

Can't say this one really floats my boat - good job it was only £1.50 in the SpaceNK sale!  A total bargain as Rococo normally retail at £12...

Next - Molten Platinum

Greenish Charcoal Pearl  

I always forget that Next make cosmetics, probably because I so rarely go in one!  But my lovely Sister had a Next perfume on her Christmas list so I found myself browsing around the cosmetics area and discovered some interesting nail polishes - and a deal, 3 polishes for £8!  So it would be rude not to, right?

First up is Molten Platinum which they say has a 'hardwearing pearl' finish.  I don't know about hardwearing but I'd agree it's pearly  - and also a bit metallic, no?

Molten Platinum is a charcoal grey pearl that leans a bit olive green.  I did google molten platinum to see what the real thing looks like but all the pics are of super hot hot orange/red stuff!

Being a pearl application was a little tricky as I was trying to avoid brushstrokes and the formula was kinda gloopy - you can see I had a little trouble getting a smooth looking finish near my cuticle.

Swatches are 3 coats with no top coat.

The bottle is a rectangle, similar in size/shape to American Apparel and NailGirls so I'd assume they're about 15ml.

I like the colour and I think it's pretty unique in my collection but the formula wasn't so great - so a bit of a mixed bag for me.

Anyone else tried Next polishes?

Nubar - Reef Green

Bright green shimmer

Reef Green is a bright apple green pearl.

Application was good, although you have to take care with brushstrokes.  Swatches shown are 3 coats and there's still a little VNL in full sunlight.

This is certainly an unusual colour and not exactly one that suits my skintone but hey, it's fun!

Leighton Denny - It's an Honour

Cool taupe shimmer/pearl  

Free with this months issue (October - Michelle Dockery cover) of Harper's Bazaar is a choice of 6 shades of Leighton Denny polish.   Now the magazine isn't something I'd normally buy and it's a rather hefty tome with a price tag to match of £4.40.

But £4.40 for a choice from six full size Leighton Denny polishes?  That's my kind of deal.  I think this is the 4th year Harper's have done a LD covermount.

I picked up two copies earlier this week with Morning Dew, a cool green creme and It's an Honour, featured today.

 

It's an Honour is a taupe (my fave) but it's unusual shade of taupe, being very cool and quite light, almost like it's been mixed with silver.  And the finish is somewhere between shimmer and pearl to me.

Application was good, I do like the narrow LD brushes and swatches shown are 2 thick coats, if you stick to thin you'll need 3.

I really like this colour, very work appropriate but still interesting.

UK readers, have you availed of the freebie polish?!

Vintage Valentines - LO'real Jet-Set - 255

Orange pearl  

I've already shown you a vintage L'Oreal Shock Proof, now here's a Jet-Set.

I'm not sure when Jet-Set was launched, I think before 2000?

The colours and formula are pretty variable, some are fab colours with an opaque formula, some, like this one, are 'unusual' with pretty terrible opacity.

And, at least in the UK, they didn't have names, only numbers...

255 is an orange pearl with a strong yellow shimmer/pearl.

Orange is definitely not a friend to my skintone so I don't have a large collection of orange polishes, but I certainly don't have another like this!

Sadly the formula on this was pretty terrible in terms of opacity.  These swatches are 4 coats and there's still a hint of vnl.

I'm not totally adverse to doing 4 coats for the right colour (I'm thinking of you, OPI Brand New Skates) but for an orange pearl - no thanks!

I do like the bottle shape on these Jet-Sets, chunky and funky - after this they changed to a smaller triangular bottle which for some reason really bugs me....

Vintage Valentines - L'Oreal Shock Proof - Plum Mystique 700

Plum pearl  

Today's valentine comes from the early years of this century, by that I mean 2002ish!

The oddly named L'Oreal  Shock Proof range (why does your polish need to be shock proof?) is also Extreme Wear.  It makes it sound like, in a post apocalyptic world, all that will be left are cockroaches sporting natty coats of L'Oreal polish!

Anyhow, no idea where this one came from, may have been part of a random eBay bundle?

Despite being so old it's Toulene and Formaldehyde free - and looks like it might be a Canadian edition

Plum Mystique is a pretty, slightly blackened plum pearl/shimmer.

Application was good, I know some folk don't like the long narrow brush on these but it works fine on my tiny nails.  And no thinner required.

Swatches are 2 coats, no top coat.

Anyone else got any old L'Oreals?  Although they're not particularly collectable, they were produced in relatively large quantities across the world so seem to still be available from ebay and car-boot sales.

Vintage Valentines - Rimmel 60 Seconds - 560 Odyssey

Lilac/silver pearl  

Apologies - I got caught up yesterday and didn't get time to post.

So here's my delayed Vintage Valentine.  Another Rimmel 60 Seconds from the '90's but I think we'll all agree this one is much less desirable than the previous stunner!

Odyssey is a silver/lilac pearl.  In sunlight it looks more silver, in shade more lilac.

It's pretty but also pretty brushstrokey and I can see in the third swatch, a bit bald near the cuticles, I probably should've done 3 coats.

Swatches are 2 coats, no top coat.

So not such a great colour but I do really like the bottle shape on these old Rimmels.

Vintage Valentines - 17 - Space Babe

Lilac/silver pearly foil  

Welcome to the second Vintage Valentine!  

This polish comes from 17,  which I don't think is a particularly 'covetable' or collectable brand.    

17 or Seventeen is a Boots exclusive brand aimed at a younger market (15-19 year olds according to the internet).  The brand itself is over 40 years old, launched in 1968.  I'm not sure how old this polish is but this version of the 17 packaging was launched in 1998.

Space Babe is an Advanced Wear One Coat Polish in a lilac/grey pearl/foil.

Application was ok, but of course it's pretty brush-strokey and I did two coats for completeness.

It's quite pretty and has a soft glow, almost like brushed steel

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....

Vintage Varnish - Sparkle & Fade - Silver foil

Silver foil

Not much more to say about this one, it's a silver foil.  Not a super bright, shiny silver foil

Looks kinda brushstrokey in sunlight but almost like a foil/pearl hybrid in indirect light.

Swatches are 2 coats, no top coat.

It's fine but a pretty standard colour/finish.