Category: Nail Product Swatches

This is MUA’s nail polish in Natural Days. It’s a light pink polish with a shiny finish.

It’s quite hard to make this opaque. Even after four layers, it wasn’t quite a solid colour. I must admit the older brush in this old style bottle really didn’t help with that but even with the newer brush in the redesigned bottles, it’s not going to be great.

 

It costs only £1 from the MUA website or Superdrug. Do I think it’s worth it? As a base colour for other things, It’d be okay but it’s really not something I’d recommend even at such a low cost.

Melange from Illamasqua is described as a golden teal with a matte finish. It costs £14.50 online or your nearest counter.

It’s definitely teal, the greener end of teal. The gold from the gold microglitter contained in it. It’s a wonderful shade and reminds me of old English houses. It’s that kind of green. I’d not say it’s matte though. It’s got a definite shine, if a little dull. Kind of like old well used pottery.

I did use a top coat and got a great picture. This one is also in natural sunlight, rather than indoors and you can see how pretty it is.

The only thing wrong with it is the brush. It’s not very wide but that’s the standard Illamasqua brush.
It is opaque after one coat and therefore dries quickly. It’s quite chip resistant but not overly so.
All in all I love it.

Nails Inc’s Whitehall magnetic nail polish. It costs £13.00 from the Nails Inc Website or your local stockist.

Whitehall is a black/green polish.

When first coated on the nails it does have a nice shine and if used without the magnet effect is actually quite an interesting shade.
It’s opaque in one coat but if you’re going for the magnetic look you are best off with two to prevent it being sheer in places. Just let it dry for a short time between coats.
The brush in the bottle is just right for me.
It’s not particularly chip resistant but will last a day for me. It’s last a lot longer if you don’t work with coins.

How to

• Paint the first layer and let dry
• Paint the second layer
• Immediately place the magnetic cap over the nail. There is a small lip to rest on you nail bed
• Leave for ten seconds
• Let dry and use a top coat

So is it worth it? . Don’t expect high chip resistance. It’s a nice effect and can be used with other brands magnetic caps for different looks on each nail if you like. A good little number for your nails.

Pitch Black is a black polish from MakeUp Academy. It costs only £1 online or from your local Superdrug. There is 6.2 ml of product in the bottle.

It’s quite opaque and you can if you’re careful get away with just one coat. Two is better and gives a lovely opaque finish. It’s also nice and shiny. Not high gloss but that’s easily fixed with a top coat. It hasn’t got superb chip resistance but it’s a £1 polish. I’m not really expecting it for that price. The brush is good and doesn’t leave marks.

For £1 you really can’t go wrong. If you’re a Goth at heart or just need a black polish for a special occasion or nail art this is a nice little buy.

PS Don’t forget my huge make up give away including MUA products!

Meet Peacock and Nightshade from the 17 fast finish range. They cost only £2.99 from Boots in store or online.

Peacock
Oh man is this polish shiny. It’s got such a brilliant high shine finish you really don’t need a top coat. It’s a lovely shade of teal too.

Nightshade
It’s a deep dark black. Like the soul of your local Goth kid.

They’re almost opaque in one layer. Two makes them pretty much perfect. They’re also a fast finish polish, so will dry quicker. If you’re only doing one layer it dries in about 60 seconds. I’d not recommend going through your wallet but it would be touch dry after 60 seconds. Two layers will take longer but still a shorter time than normal.

I adore Peacock, I can’t tell you how much. Very cute. Very shiny. Nightshade is an awesome black.

Mermaid tears is part of the Splash Collection from Models Own. It costs £4.99 online or from your local retailer.

I am not a photographer as you can tell and couldn’t really get a good shot with this polish. It’s got a lovely blue/purple base that’s very sheer. I actually prefer it when it’s had four or five coats. It gives the glitter and colour a lovely depth.

Given it’s a glitter polish it’s not that hard to remove. The glitter itself is more like paper so doesn’t affect the removability. The brush is nice and the polish dries quickly. All in all it’s a nice polish. It’s just not for me.

 

Bright Coral is an orangey pink from MakeUp Academy. It costs £1 from your local Superdrug or online.

It’s actually much pinker than it shows in the picture above. It photographs red but it’s actually a bright pink. The online photograph from MUA is actually closer to the bottle colour. Also, you will notice a different bottle, I have the original bottle in my hands. The new bottle is a better shape and the new brush is so much better too.

Now it is a £1 nail varnish, so if you’re looking for hard wearing and chip resistance, don’t look here. It’s got okay chip resistance which of course will be helped with a top coat. It also definitely needs two coats to be opaque.

All in all, it’s still a great polish and I like the colour.

Nails Inc’s Trafalgar Square magnetic nail polish. It costs £13.00 from the Nails Inc Website or your local stockist,.

Trafalgar Square is a black/silver polish.

When first coated on the nails it does have a nice shine and if used without the magnet effect is actually quite an interesting shade.
It’s opaque in one coat but if you’re going for the magnetic look you are best off with two to prevent it being sheer in places. Just let it dry for a short time between coats.
The brush in the bottle is just right for me.
It’s not particularly chip resistant but will last a day for me. It’s last a lot longer if you don’t work with coins.

How to

• Paint the first layer and let dry
• Paint the second layer
• Immediately place the magnetic cap over the nail. There is a small lip to rest on you nail bed
• Leave for ten seconds
• Let dry and use a top coat

So is it worth it? . Don’t expect high chip resistance. It’s a nice effect and can be used with other brands magnetic caps for different looks on each nail if you like. A good little number for your nails.

Fever Red is a deep blood red nail polish from Makeup Academy. It costs £1 for 15 ml of product from their website or from Superdrug.

So the picture above is of the old style bottles. They’ve changed since I bought this and the brush is much improved.

It’s got a good shine and there’s little need for a top coat. It does, however, need a good couple of layers to make it opaque. Removal is easy and it doesn’t stain. The chip resistance is what you’d expect for a polish that is this price. Not brilliant but it’s not bad either.

For the price, it’s excellent quality.