W7 Unicorn Nail Polishes Review with Swatches

W7 Cosmetics have brought back their Unicorn collection from 2018 consisting of five duo- chrome nail polishes. W7 describe these polishes as having 'iridescent and pearlescent beams of colour.' The shades are named after unicorns, the ones I have are Serenity 192 which is a hot pink base with a yellow shift that can look orange like a sunset in some lights, and Gratiana 193 is a dusty rose base with a green shift that reminds me of a pink carnation for some reason! The rest of the collection includes Alanana 194 (lilac base with a cool pink shift)  Breanna 195 (lilac base with an electric blue shift) and Drisana 196 (a grey base with a slight blue shift.) The bottles contain 15ml /0.5 fl Oz of product and retail for £2.95. I wanted to take a close up picture of the bottles so you can see the duo chrome shift. With Gratiana it's hard to see the shift in the bottle and on camera. 

W7 Unicorn Nail Polish in Gratiana

W7  unicorn nail polish in Serenity 

The W7 nail polish brush is long and medium thick making it easier to apply the polish. I also love the embossed W7 logo on the top of the nail polish cap.

Serenity is almost opaque after one coat however two coats enhances the colour and provides even coverage, it's a lovely colour for summer. The nail polish started to wear down three days after applying and then chipped on the fourth day which isn't too bad considering I have been typing and washing up without gloves. 

Gratiana needed three layers to reach opacity, the polish is thinner than Serenity and the shift is  subtle, making it harder to catch the green shift on camera. It also chipped very easily the next day so it's fussier to apply and more high maintenance than Serenity.  

Looking at all the shades in the collection it would have been nice to have more variation in colour maybe a dark red, green or gold polish as the collection is very pink/blue/purple.

If you like the colours and duo chrome polishes you should snap them up as the shades are unique and they are very affordable, especially as W7 do not charge for shipping in the UK. W7 Cosmetics also do not test on animals.  You can buy W7's Unicorn nail polish for £2.95 here.

Ciate Nail polish in Strawberry Milkshake and Topcoat Review

Recently I picked up Marie Claire magazine which had two free Ciate nail polishes. The shade I choose was Strawberry Milkshake along with a clear topcoat. This is my first Ciate product I've tried and I hope it's not representative of their other nail polishes since this one nearly drove me crazy while I was applying it.

 

Firstly the name Strawberry Milkshake is perfect for this shade, in the bottle it's a milky pale pink but on the nails it's a brighter, slightly darker pink if a topcoat isn't applied on the same day (as seen in the photo above far left.) In general I found that Strawberry Milkshake takes a long time to dry properly and set. The first time I wore this I didn't apply the topcoat for three days and by then the nail polish had time to dry and the topcoat didn't fully change the colour. The second time I wore this I applied topcoat about 80-90 mins later and the polish hadn't completely dried and the topcoat made the nail polish look lighter- a milky pale pink shade like you see in the bottle. The polish is opaque in two coats which isn't bad for such a light shade. However you will need three coats to stop it looking streaky. It also goes on unevenly as well. I realise this is mini sized nail polish and so the brush may not be as good as the full sized version, but I have read a few other unfavourable reviews for this particular shade.

The polish had some good points, the finish is very shiny and the second is that it lasts for quite a long while without chipping. The first time I painted my nails I went three days without a top coat, with only minimal wear and no chips  (including typing and washing up dishes without gloves - I really should know better by now!) The Ciate Top Coat dries very quickly, much faster than my usual Butter London P.D. Quick topcoat and sets as hard as a rock. However it doesn't really protect your manicure from surface scratches and marks which was disappointing. My first manicure lasted 6-7 good days wear with less chipping than I normally experience with other polishes. The second time I used this applying the topcoat the same day the manicure lasted around 4 days before chipping.

 

For such a high end brand I expected the application to be much easier and the formula more easy to work with. However the lasting power does make up for this a little. I'm hoping that it might just be that this shade that isn't as good as the others. It hasn't put me off trying Ciate's other nail polish shades.

Let me know what other Ciate nail shades should I try in the comments. 

BEAUTY TRENDS- The Bubble Nail - A Do or Don't?

Bubble nails have actually been around since 2009 but it's only recently that bubble nails have become more popular, appearing on Instagram feeds and sent many others copying the trend.
Bubble nails are created by layering lots of layers of acrylic in the middle of the nail to create a 3D dome or bump on the nail. Basically they look like half a marble stuck onto a nail. The difference in nail length separates the two similar styles: when the nail is kept short these are called Bubble nails and when nail tips are longer they're called hump nails. Bright colours, patterns and jewels are then painted on to finish the manicure.


Top left Enderkate4 Top Right Mermissues Bottom Left Nailedxlucy_  Bottom right- Nails by Ann

Generally both Bubble and Hump nails have to be done at a salon and since bubble nail manicures aren't covered in beauty school, nail technicians have developed their own techniques by trial and error and online tutorials such as those on Youtube. Neither styles are recommended to be worn for too long as the huge amount of acrylic can damage the nail. However celebrity nail artist Pattie Yankee says hump nails are safer for the nail because the ball of acrylic can be balance on the natural stress points. The nail on the bottom left was done by adding false nail to the bubble tip so it curled over.

Top Right and Bottom Right Nails by Ann. Top left Body Wrap Mona Bottom left Aesthetic beauty Liverpool

To me this fashion trend was made for Lady Gaga and fans, I'm not sure if Kylie Jenner will be joining in and I've yet to see these nails in real life. I would imagine basic everyday tasks like  texting, tying shoe laces and applying makeup and creams would be difficult with bubble or hump manicures! What do you think are they a do or don't?  

Models Own Speckled Polish Review and Swatches

Models Own have come out with the Speckled Egg Collection of nail polishes, there are five in total each named after a particular bird: Dove Pink, Goose Yellow, Magpie Green, Duck Blue and Swan lilac. Reminiscent of Illamasqua's speckled polishes these are more affordable retailing for £5 and i'm sure will be popular for Easter and spring. The colour displayed on the website and the actual colour in the bottle is accurate so there shouldn't be any problems ordering online. I bought Swan Lilac and Magpie Green land Duck Blue.

Swan Lilac is very thin and runny, and needs 3 coats to be opaque for a non patchy finish. Normally I wouldn't have the patience for anything above a 2 coater nail polish but because it's a special effect polish and the fact that the speckled effect is pretty forgiving in terms of brush strokes and streaks, I can put up with it. One coat of Swan Lilac gives a sheer paint splattered effect which also looks good. This shade can look almost blue sometimes because it's not a purple but a softer lilac shade.

Magpie Green is also a runny consistency but only 2 coats are needed for an opaque finish. I think thin coats are better to keep the finish looking even. I think I love this colour the best

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Duck Blue

 I found that two coats are needed for an opaque finish. When applying the first coat I found the nail polish formula a little on the thin side, then when I applied the second coat it felt a little gloopy. However application was still really easy.

This is a textured polish so the finish is not smooth, adding a top coat helps seal the colour while giving a smooth finish. (I used Butter London's PD Quick topcoat.) I would say drying time for this nail polish is average, the brush is long and easy to use. I really like the shade although it's brighter than what I would normally wear. The colour displayed on the website and the actual colour in the bottle is accurate so there shouldn't be any problems ordering online. I used Boots base coat, applied two coats of Duck Blue and then a top coat. I applied this on Friday and the first chip was on Sunday, this wasn't bad considering I've been typing a lot and that I forgot to wear washing up gloves on more than one occasion. I can't wait to try Magpie Green or Swan Lilac next!

I used Bourjois So Perfect base correctrice coat which has been fairly good at protecting my nails from stains, dries really fast and I love the long wide brush that coats the nail in one swipe. After that I applied two coats of Model's Own Speckled egg and then Butter London's PD Quick Top Coat which is really glossy, quick drying and 3 free. After three days I haven't had a chip so far even though I've been typing and washing my hands a lot. These Speckled polishes do take a tiny bit more effort to remove with nail polish remover because the speckles contain glitter particles (although you can't see this in the polish at all.)  

Despite their consistency I love these speckled polishes as they are so unusual, with a twist on traditional pastel colours and just perfect for spring. The Speckled Egg collection is available on the Model's Own Website retailing at £4.99. But Superdrug is currently having a buy one get the second half price many Model's Own Nail polishes here! 

The only Models Own polishes I've tried are from this collection, what other polishes do you reckon I should try from Models Own?  Let me know in the comments below and tell me what  your favourite nail polish brand is too! 

Revlon Neon Nail Art Polish

The concept behind Revlon Neon Nail Art Polishes is that a layer of white polish underneath another colour will make the colour 'pop.' This is why NYX Jumbo Eye shadow Pencil in Milk (White) is so popular, because used under other colours it makes the colour on top much more vibrant.
I bought this for a St Patrick's Day themed manicure and was interested in buying a green polish rather than looking specifically for neon nail polish. I also thought that with the two colours I was getting two colours for the price of one, and if I didn't like one polish the other would be ok. In the end I used other polishes because Revlon's version just doesn't work well.The white does make the polish a little brighter, a little more neon but the finish is very streaky and uneven. I have Revlon's number 150 Florescence- a white and bright light green polish. You're supposed to apply two coats of the white polish and two coats of the green. I started by using one coat of Bourjois So Perfect Base Coat before using the Revlon polishes.

The white polish is thin and runny, but isn't all that bad to be honest, and needs two coats to be opaque, I have read other reviews (unfortunately after I bought this) complaining that the white polish is really streaky but I think it's OK. However the green polish is very thin, watery and very transparent. This may be deliberate, so that the colour underneath shows through in order to make the green pop. However it applies very unevenly and ends up looking very streaky and blotchy. Some of the white polish showed around the edges as well, though I did my best to rub it off . It reminds me of trying to use a yellow neon highlighter pen to hi-light  black print and the highlighter merges with the ink to a weird green colour. It took separate two afternoons (10 hours in all) to try to get this looking presentable. It doesn't look great and I hope the camera picks this up. I didn't use a top coat because after all the effort of 4 layers and still looking bad I couldn't be bothered to apply more. However it does have a nice shine without a top coat.

To borrow a phrase from Dragon's Den, I feel that Revlon have 'over engineered' the idea of neon nail polish. This concept involves painting an extra two coats of polish when I'm sure you must be able to buy a neon polish straight of the shelf without all this hard work and effort. I feel Revlon  repackaged some nail varnish to convince us that it was something new and completely different to whatever else was out there, so that it becomes 'special' and a 'must have.' Basically it's a gimmick that doesn't work. The concept is terrible. I'm amazed that Revlon let this product out of the testing lab! It's priced a £7.99 in Superdrug, and on Amazon (£1.59-£15!) but luckily I bought this in Poundland so I didn't waste much money, but even for a pound there are much better nail polishes out there- I recommend Poundland's Make Up Gallery in Midnight Black nail polish. I am going to keep it to see if I can use the white polish as a base underneath some glitter polishes so that it doesn't go completely to waste. But my advice is not to waste your money on a gimmick that doesn't work well enough!

St Patrick's Day Manicure

To celebrate St Patrick's day I painted my nails gold and green. I used Kate Spade for Nails Inc in Uptown Glamour, which applies like a dream,it's opaque in one coat and dries quickly. It came with Glamour magazine awhile back,although it's still available on Ebay here. While Sinful  Color's Envy (Poundland) was runnier and needed two coats for complete opaqueness and to eliminate streaks. Sinful Color Envy results in a super shiny finish. I used Bourjois So Perfect Base Coat which has the benefit of being quick dry too. I used PD Topcoat by Butter London.