Beyoncé Blue

Those sausage fingers though...

I have never tried Nails Inc nailpolishes before- there, I said it. When I went to Sephora a few days ago though, I saw that all their ‘exclusive’ brands where 1+1, including Nails Inc, so I immediately went to the nailpolish stand and picked up this lovely cobalt blue colour called Baker Street. I also picked up another one I had been eyeing up for a really long time called Porchester Square.

Baker Street is also known as ‘Beyoncé Blue’, since it’s the exact nailpolish Beyoncé was seen wearing right after the birth of her beautiful daughter Blue Ivy. Being a little bit of a Queen Bee fan, I knew right away I had to have it.

I was kind of shocked by the price of Nails Inc. polishes; they’re €17.90, which is absolutely ridiculous and even more expensive than OPI. The formulation is really worth it though; they apply really easily due to the brush, and with my regular top-and basecoat the polish lasts for about 4 days without chipping but with minimal tipwear. If you know me, you know that 4 days is extremely long for me; my  other nailpolishes tend to chip after only 1 (!) day. I also think Nails Inc’s colour range is really good.

After all, I’m extremely happy I picked up Baker Street since its such a beautiful colour which makes you want to stare at your freshly painted fingertips for hours and it never gets boring. The colour pay off is extremely beautiful and opaque after one coat, even though I always tend to apply two coats for more beautifulness.

Have you tried Nails Inc polishes? Any shade recommendations?

Essie 'Lilacism'

Sausage fingers galore!

When it comes to nailpolishes, I always tend to opt for more pastel and neutral shades. I just believe that they look better on my (really pale) skin tone, and those are just the colours I prefer wearing, combined with a really nice and neutral outfit. I really want to bring more colour in my wardrobe as well as my nail polish collection, but for now I think I’ll stick with the pastels and soft, more feminine shades.

Essie ‘Lilacism’ is a shade I’ve been eyeing up for a good while. I was put off of buying it at first because I do already own OPI’s ‘Do You Lilac It’, which is also a nice pastel lilac colour. I thought the two were very similar and didn’t think about buying Lilacism until now, almost a year later. I saw someone on Instagram wearing it, and I immediately fell in love; it didn’t look that similar to my OPI nail varnish, so I decided I needed Lilacism in my ever-expanding make up collection.

Lilacism is a lot lighter than Do You Lilac It, but they do resemble each other quite a lot. It comes across as a really soft pastel colour, whereas the OPI counterpart can look quite harsh. I think I prefer Lilacism; I believe the colour looks better on me. The finishes of both nail polishes are quite similar, as well as the lasting power. They both last quite a few days (if I do use a basecoat and topcoat, that is), so it’s really just a matter of colour taste and maybe your skintone.

Overall, I’m really happy I picked up Lilacism and I still think there are a few other pastel colours I need in my collection. I do really regret not picking up Absolutely Shore and Bikini So Teeny from Essie’s Spring/Summer collection last year, so I do hope they will release them again sometime soon (I am aware that that is most unlikely, but a girl can dream, right?!). Essie have also released a new shade called ‘Go Ginza’, which is part of their Spring 2013 collection and looks a lot like Lilacism, but still a little bit different. Essie polishes are my all time favourite. What are your favourite nail polish brands? Any pastel shade recommendations?

Spring-Ready Nails

I’m a big lover of simplicity. I like to wear really basic clothing, with clean cuts and a nice (preferably oversized) fit. My jewellery is also quite simple; mostly gold pieces that aren’t too much of a fuss. I love wearing a big, oversized necklace over simple clothing. I like the idea of pastel coloured clothing, but whenever I buy a pastel jumper or a pastel jacket, I instantly regret it and end up only wearing it once. This is where nail polish comes in; I never get tired of a pastel nail. These are the ones I love the most.

The first two nail polishes up are part of the Chanel S/S ’13 collection. Emprise is a salmon pastel colour, whilst Fracas is a bright pink. The quality of these polishes isn’t amazing; I find that whatever top- and/or basecoat I use, they still always chip on me after two days of wear. Chanel is known for their innovative colours and their not-so-longevity, so it’s a matter of deciding which of those two qualities you would go for. I do, however, give myself a manicure every 2/3 days anyway so the longevity is not really a problem to me.

The next two nailpolishes are by Essie, which happens to be my favourite nailpolish brand. The formula of Essie is amazing and they last really long on my nails; sometimes even up to a week. The colour range is also pretty decent, and they even have some really good dupes for Chanel polishes. Not only is Essie cheaper, but the formula is also better- double win! Essie Mint Candy Apple is a classic; this pastel green/blue looks good on every skin tone, especially in summer when you’re a little bit tanned. The other polish, Essie Watermelon, is also one of my all time favourite colours. It looks a little bit like Chanel Fracas in this picture, but trust me, it’s completely different. Fracas is very pink, whereas Watermelon really does look as red as a watermelon. It’s the perfect berry shade!

So these are the four nail varnishes I’ll be rocking through all spring and summer. I’m currently coveting a few polishes from the Zoya spring collection, which seem like the perfect pastels my nail polish collection is still lacking. What are your favourite sunny-side-up nailpolishes?