Blue Rhapsody by Essie

This Essie polish is part of the Mirror Metallics range that Essie released last summer. I have never used an Essie nail polish before and at £7.99 a bottle as much as I was drawn to these polishes I felt these would not worth the money. Then last month I found these at Xtras-online.co.uk for the bargain price of £2.99 each (they have since gone up to £3.99 each). I bought all five polishes in the range for the same price as I would have paid for two full price. Bargain!

This polish is a steel blue/grey colour, looks great in the bottle and is even more amazing on the nails.  The polish shines in natural light and just looks like polished steel on the nails.

The consistency of these Essie polishes is really good, in my opinion it needed two coats but I believe that all metallic polishes do as every brushstroke shows up. That is my only criticism of this polish though. The brush is wide and very easy to use. I was very impressed. Not sure i would stretch to paying £7.99 a bottle but I will definitely be keeping my eye out for other Essie bargains online.

Next up is Elizabeth Street by Nails Inc.
Until then,
Lealea x

Blood Orange by Barry M

This polish is one of Barry M's new Gelly nail paint range. This is supposed to be like a Gel effect but a heck of a lot cheaper! This colour is exactly what it says on the tin, a blood orange colour, perfect for christmastime. Unfortunately I think it's a colour that looks better in the bottle than it does on my nails, it's just not quite red enough for me.

In terms of the Gel effect, I have never had Gel nails so can't really compare fully. This nail paint is supposed to produce a high shine effect without the need for a top coat. The polish is shiny but because I am used to wearing Sally Hansen Insta-dri top coat which is really shiny this does not quite produce the same effect. I also found that the polish is very slow to dry (again because I am used to using Insta-dri, I had forgotten how long it can take some polishes to fully dry and managed to knock it in several places before it had dried fully.

All in all I can't say that I was wowed by the effect and I don't think it's worth paying the extra £1 over and above the original Barry M polishes.
Next up is a polish I am excited about trying - Blue Rhapsody by Essie.
Until then (and Merry Christmas)
Lealea x

Aurora Borealis by Miss Sporty

Miss Sporty is not a brand that I normally would even look at. I have always dismissed it as a cheap brand aimed at teenagers. However they have a new range of Metal Flip nail polishes which caught my eye in the shop so I decided to buy them and see what I thought. Boots were having a 3 for 2 sale on, so I bought three at £1.99 each. This polish is a beautiful green/purple duo chrome with a metallic finish. The colour really does change from green to purple depending on the light you are in.

For a cheap brand I had previously dismissed I was really impressed with this polish. The application was really easy with a nice sized brush and the consistency was great. My only complaint was that the colour payoff is a bit weak and after three coats you could still see my nails underneath. I think the point of these polishes though is to layer them over other colours so maybe over another polish it would not be as thin.

All in all I am really impressed with what I have tried of Miss Sporty so far.
Next up is Blood Orange by Barry M.
Until then,
Lealea x

Mysterious by George

I bought this polish just after Christmas last year when Asda Living had an ofer on George nail polishes - they were two for £3 I think instead of £1.75 each. The colour is a beautiful purple colour with silver running through it, beautiful in the bottle and it translates so well on the nails, you can really see the silver highlights in sunlight.

For a cheap polish it applies really well and the consistency is really good, not too thin. Three coats would have been better than two to give a really opaque coverage but two was enough to get a nice coverage.

I really like this polish for the price.
Next up I am going back in the alphabet. I have been guilty of buying a number if polishes lately and so am going to run through all those that come before N in the alphabet before I start with the N's in the New Year. So the next polish is Aurora Borealis from Miss Sporty.
Until then,
Lealea x

My Fair Lady by Ciate

I got this polish free with Marie Claire magazine sometime last year. It is a nude colour, very good for using as a base colour for a French manicure. I have tried lots of different nude colours and this one seems to be the perfect shade for my nails. Like my nails only better! I did not put white tips on the ends of my nails when I had this polish on this time around, so it just dulled the whites of my nails a bit, but I don't think the effect was too bad.

I find Ciate's polishes a bit hit and miss. This one was easy to apply but some I find too gloopy. I would not have paid £9 for this polish but for £3 for the magazine with the polish included it wasn't a bad bargain.

Next up is Mysterious by George.
Until then,
Lealea x

Mulled Wine by Nails Inc

I got this mini bottle of Nails Inc polish with a can of Impulse body spray from Boots sometime last summer.  Given the colour is called Mulled Wine it seems appropriate then that I should be wearing it  on the run up to Christmas. The colour is a deep red wine colour, almost plummy.  It is a lovely colour on the nails.

Unfortunately I found that this polish was very gloopy and thick. I don't know whether its because it's a year or so old, but I have had polishes longer that have not been this thick.  It meant that the polish was very hard to apply and was patchy in places. Such a shame as otherwise I would have really liked this polish.

Next up is My Fair Lady by Ciate.
Until then,
Lealea x

Mudslide by Sally Hansen

This polish is a weird colour to like.  It is a very muddy browny pink colour, and looks a bit wishy washy in the bottle. However wearing on the nails it looks like a creamy rosy brown, very grown up and sophisticated.  I really like it on.

As with all Sally Hansen polishes, it applies really well with the wide angled brush.  The creamy formula is great. However, I have found it does also have a tendency to separate in the bottle so needs a good shake up before using it.

This is definitely a polish I would recommend as an alternative to peaches/nudes.

Next up is Mulled Wine by Nails Inc.
Until then,
Lealea x