OPI 'Fly'

 I'm starting to think that i'm just as obsessed with blue nail polish as I am with coral. Since I got this shade a couple of months ago it really has become one of my favourite nail colours for when the sun is shining. 'Fly' is a bright teal creme that dries to a very glossy finish. This polish was fully opaque in 2 coats but i'm pretty sure you could get away with one.

 

'Fly' with natural lighting

This was part of the Nicki Minaj for OPI collection and I loved it so much that first off I had it in the mini size and then I got the full size, this was definitely my favourite although i really like 'Pink Friday' too. This is one of those polishes that I didn't think was anything special in the bottle but as soon as it was on my nails I really loved it. I think that bright blues are a great alternative to summer neons for us pale girls that can't quite pull them off.

 

2 coats of OPI 'Fly' and 1 coats of Seche Vite 'Fast Dry Top Coat'

Dupes-wise I think Butter London's 'Slapper' is a great dupe for this, despite the fact that its more expensive than the OPI, but if you can't get hold of 'Fly' and love the colour then I would say go for 'Slapper'. I actually went to buy the Butter London polish when I was wearing 'Fly' when my boyfriend pointed out that they were the same so I didn't buy it which is why I can't comment on formula similarities and differences.

Orly 'Hottie'

Today I want to talk to you about Orly's polish 'Hottie', which is a bright neon pink. I'm not entirely sure why I picked this up in Boots but my eyes were drawn to it and I just couldn't put it down. This is especially weird and silly since I knew there was a 95% chance that this colour would be horrible on me, and I shall not lie to you, it looks pretty damn awful with my skin tone.

 

2 coats of Orly's 'Hottie' and a coat of OPI 'Rapi-dry top coat'

On to application and the formula; I used 2 coats of this to get the opacity shown in the above photos which is pretty good since it was practically glowing the colour was so bright and intense. This polish dried to a fairly matte finish which I found quite odd, and it took quite a while to dry, nothing that a good top coat and some patience couldn't sort out but always something to consider.

Same as above, see how it glows?

I really wouldn't recommend this for lighter skin tones because the brightness gives lighter skin tones a dirty appearance which isn't ideal but I can imagine this colour looking great and really summery on people with a tan or of darker skin tones than I.

5.3ml bottle of 'Hottie' available online and from Boots in the UK

I've said this before about Orly polish but I find that they can be a little expensive. £5 for 5.3ml of product works out more expensive than other brands, such as Essie or OPI, where I find you get higher quality. I also think that this colour is probably highly dupe-able, you can probably find a very similar product for less money or of higher quality. Or perhaps i'm just being negative because this polish really didn't suit me, who knows?

Barry M 'Peach Melba'

I really, really love this polish. I got this very recently and wanted to use it as soon as I got it. I used 3 coats despite the fact that it was opaque in 2. I used 3 to give it more vibrancy which is something that I really love with bright pastel colours like this.

I really love this one for summer, it reminds me of a lighter version of Essie's 'Tart Deco' so if you have that then you could probably do without this nail polish, unless you're obsessed (like I definitely am). The first coat went on quite streaky but this was easily corrected with the second coat so it wasn't too much of an issue.

This is the first Barry M polish i've tried apart from their glitters and I really liked it, but thats mostly because of the colour rather than the formula which, to be perfectly honest, was nothing special. One thing that I especially wasn't pleased about was how short an amount of time this polish lasted on my nails without chipping - it started chipping after 2 days which doesn't bother me too much as I change my nail colour so often but it's something to keep in mind.

Lets talk base and top coat...

I am a devoted reader of many different nail polish and beauty blogs and websites and yet I have never come across a post or article about base and top coat. I know this isn’t the most interesting nail-related topic but it is an important one nonetheless. In the time I’ve been wearing nail varnish I’ve always worn a base coat because my mum always stressed the importance of it so I didn’t stain my nails. I’ve tried quite a few, including Sally Hansen and Revlon which were ok but my favourite has to be the OPI ridge filler. I’ve used this time after time for quite a few years now and it creates a perfect base for my nail varnish and keeps my nails underneath stain free, I definitely consider this an essential for both my finger and toe nails and have re-purchased it a number of times.

Top coat is a pretty big essential for me too, not as much as base coat/ ridge filler but almost. I'm a bit shine obsessed, I like my nails to be super shiny so they never really feel done until I've got top coat on, not to mention it makes my nail polish last way longer. I've tried many and I've had to say my biggest disappointment was OPI, I don't think it made my polish last any longer and just didn't give me the shine I wanted. My 2 favourites are Sally Hansen diamond shine and seche vite fast dry top coat. I like them about the same but I do like that the Sally Hansen is about half the price of the seche vite. Having said that I like how fast the seche vite drys, it cuts drying time in half which is more convenient, especially if you're as fidgety as I am. If normal drying time is fine for you then I would reccommend the Sally Hansen because it's cheaper and achieves the same ultra glossy finish.

So there you have it, perhaps a bit of a boring post but about something that I think is quite important to having nice looking, healthy nails.

Deborah Lippman 'Across the Universe'

I finally got it! I'm so excited, I looked for so long for this polish in actual stores rather than online because I wanted to make sure I loved it as much as I thought I would before shelling out the cash (£16 in House of Fraser in Edinburgh). Just as I thought I would I really love this polish, despite its sheer base colour. 

It's a navy blue jelly base with small turquoise glitter and larger glitter particles in various shades of green and blue. I think this polish looks really magical, like the bottom of the ocean or something like that. Application with this one was a little tricky, but i'm more than willing to put up with that. In the photos i've used 3 coats which is what I needed to get this polish looking opaque.

I wholeheartedly recommend this one - don't get me wrong, it is an expensive polish but I can honestly say that I have nothing else like this...and I have about 200 bottles of nail polish. The fact is that with a lot of more expensive polishes you can find a dupe or something similar for less money if you look hard enough but with this one I've never seen anything like it and because of that it's worth it to me.

Even in the bottle this polish is so beautiful! I'm not saying its a must have by any stretch of the imagination, but if you're looking for a beautiful and unique blue then I would definitely consider checking this out despite the high price tag.

Essie 'Fiji'

A polish that's girly and soft looking without a smattering of glitter or shimmer? Yes please!

Essie Fiji is an extremely light pink, so light that in some lights it looks kind of white. I found it very difficult to photograph this polish without it looking white unless I had a white backdrop. (side note: sorry for the poor picture quality, I've been very busy recently and took these photos on the go on my phone). Below you can see how unless I placed my hand against a white background the polish did look completely white because it is such a creamy light, light pink shade.

This polish is like the more opaque counterpart to essie's mademoiselle. I used 2 coats with a base coat and top coat (OPI ridge filler and seche vite fast dry top coat). It made my hands look tanned which is basically a miracle, not sure that I'd attempt this one in winter when my hands are so pale that they're actually purple but I like it for summer.

Application was fairly easy, first coat was a bit streaky but the second covered it up nicely. I got this polish from the essie diffusion line that you can find in selected boots and Superdrug stores. If you're looking for a nice feminine neutral that will go with everything then this is a colour that you may just like, but be aware of how truly light this colour is!

OPI 'Austin-tacious Turquoise'

I love it! I love it! I love it! This is probably my favourite summer polish of all time, I love it for my fingers and my toes. It's bright and lovely but not too bright to give my pale hands the dirty appearance that most neons do. 

Application is basically perfect, it's quite sheer but not at all streaky, if you wanted to have a lighter looking, sheer blue then you could use just one coat. I choose to use 3 because I love the intensity of turquoise that it gives. 

This polish is metallic but doesn't look frosty or have the brush strokes that lots of metallic polishes can get. This is my go to in summer, especially if I'm wearing a white dress to add a nice pop of colour. Hate to be repetitive but I do really love it!