It's no secret that I am a nail polish fiend. I always have my nails painted; I can't leave my house without nail varnish. A bit mad because I don't mind skipping knickers or makeup but hey, thats how I roll. Once I actually compared not wearing nail varnish on a night out being the same as not wearing lipstick; Áine was not convinced...
I thought it would be a good idea to pick out the top brands that I always buy as it can be trail and error with some polishes and temptation in Boots is a terrible thing.
Another thing I should point out is that the quality of your actual nails is a personal thing; mine are quite flakey but depending on the weather and how much shit I've eaten it can change. For this post, I've picked out the brands which came out on top for me for a number of reasons.
For me my initial attraction to a polish is colour, however after a while I've realised that for me, the brush is everything. I think that with the right brush you can work with any formula, even the awkward ones. And lets face it, like I said nail varnish is personal; like mascara. What may last on my nails if they're in alright condition might not last on you if you've been using loads of bleach.
These four are the ones I find best for;
- Range of Colours
- Ease of use thanks to the deelish little rounded brush
- Price and availability
- Longevity and colour payoff
- Full on colour with two coats
Lets start with my favourite nail polish brand ever ever; Essie. (available in boots or some random chemists, for about €9.99) I flippin' love this brand. It was Essie which really made me realise how beneficial a good brush is; with its slightly curved brush it fits neatly on the nail, completely covering in one swipe. The range of colours is amazing and most of them are so unique that you can totally justify always picking one up from Boots- the kinda "I have no creamy grey I just have grey" shit I pull is totally acceptable whenever I creep on the Essie counter. The range also has basecoats (one of which I'm currently trying so maybe more on that later!), top coats (which I haven't tried but heard good things), cuticle oil (LOVE), and more recently, hand cream and nail polish remover which I would like to try. They usually bring out new shades for different seasons and they are always dreamy. They also have incredible GLITTAH topcoats and cute gift sets which I'm sure I've given to at least 2 of you as a birthday present. Handy.
A more recent discovery (were talking last week)is the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polishes. I don't know why I never gave these a go before but on a recent Tesco trip with Viv- which was painful, I picked one up and I may have picked up another once on saturday. I applied it on Saturday; the application is dreamy and the brush is a beaut. This aside its Tuesday and no chips as of yet! Next time you're doing a boring Tesco shop pick one up as a treat. They're about €9 and the bottle is hefty.
Two cheaper options are the Rimmel Salon Pro nail polishes, €6.50 and Barry M Hi Shine Gel Effect nail polish €5.99. Firstly, the Rimmel ones are lovely; nice array of colours and they have that precise round brush. They are also easy to get your mitts on. The Barry M ones on the other hand don't have the brush BUT for the price (and they're usually on offer; at the moment they're 2 for €12 in Boots!) , these are class. Barry M have an amazing colour range in general but I find the formula of the hi shine ones better. Every time I see a Barry M stand it seems there is always more and more new colours from the hi shine range, woo!
Claire xo
A more recent discovery (were talking last week)is the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polishes. I don't know why I never gave these a go before but on a recent Tesco trip with Viv- which was painful, I picked one up and I may have picked up another once on saturday. I applied it on Saturday; the application is dreamy and the brush is a beaut. This aside its Tuesday and no chips as of yet! Next time you're doing a boring Tesco shop pick one up as a treat. They're about €9 and the bottle is hefty.
Two cheaper options are the Rimmel Salon Pro nail polishes, €6.50 and Barry M Hi Shine Gel Effect nail polish €5.99. Firstly, the Rimmel ones are lovely; nice array of colours and they have that precise round brush. They are also easy to get your mitts on. The Barry M ones on the other hand don't have the brush BUT for the price (and they're usually on offer; at the moment they're 2 for €12 in Boots!) , these are class. Barry M have an amazing colour range in general but I find the formula of the hi shine ones better. Every time I see a Barry M stand it seems there is always more and more new colours from the hi shine range, woo!
Claire xo
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