NOTD: Nails Inc, St James

So sorry, I had this drafted yesterday but I just didn't have the time to post it. Such a busy Saturday. Luckily I have today to relax and maybe even get in a facial later!

Everyone and their mother picked up Glamour this month for the fantastic free nail varnish. I actually read Glamour regularly anyway, so I'm happy to say I didn't get it just for the freebie...but I might have.

There were four colours to choose from,

Elizabeth Street: A sheer pale pink/nude
Motcomb Street: A deep, dark navy
St. James: Blue toned red
Glamour Glitter: A golden glitter topcoat created exclusively for Glamour

It was such a difficult choice for me to choose between Motcomb Street and St. James! But I reasoned with myself that everyone needs a classic red, and it can be worn all year round. Red nails never really go out of fashion, just like red lips and black dresses.

So here it is on me!

This is the most expensive varnish I have ever used and I can honestly see why. St. James was so smooth and lovely and easy to apply. The colour was rich and bright. I even noticed a very, very light red shimmer running through which was just so beautiful and exciting to see. I've had a few people ask me what shade/brand this is and it's so great sharing it with them. This is a colour that I will be wearing all year round. I can't really fault it to be honest. Ordinarily you could expect be shelling out £11 for a Nails Inc varnish, so get one (four) right now!

Which shade did you get? What do you think of it?

Lauren

NOTD: Maybelline, Winner Takes It All

I've decided that I'm going to do my nails every Saturday from now on because it's probably the day that I'm least likely to be doing a long shift at work.

Today I picked Winner Takes It All (820), a gold metallic from Maybelline's Forever Strong Pro range. This is the first time I've used this shade and the first time I've used a varnish from Maybelline full stop. I only just stopped a life long nail biting habit this Summer (I'll post about how I did this because when I searched online there was very little to help me!) so colouring my nails is still somewhat of a novelty for me and as such I haven't tried many brands and I certainly haven't perfected my application technique, so be gentle!

Here it is on me. Chubby fingers and all.

This really is a gorgeous shade and I really liked the shape of the brush - it made application super easy, even when using my non-dominant hand. I did find that the varnish was a little thick though and difficult to apply evenly. This has led to clear (when up close) brush strokes on my nails which is a little annoying. It's quite a flat metallic and I think that the next time I buy a shade like this I'll get some with more of a shimmer in it. I've used two coats here but I could have easily left it at one, this shade is super opaque so great for when you're in a rush. It also dried really fast which is always a bonus. It retails for £4.09 for 10mls so it's really affordable and worth a try. I bought this as part of a buy one get one half price offer at Boots though so for just over £2 I couldn't say no! I used my Barry M all in one as a base and top coat.

Which metallic shades are you loving at the moment?

Lauren