NOTD: Essie 'Eternal Optimist' + Look Beauty Nail Pop 'Bling'

This weekend's manicure is a very pretty and unashamedly girly one. Using my all-time favourite colour, Essie's 'Eternal Optimist', I added a coat of Look Beauty's Nail Pop in 'Bling' for a little sparkly interest. This is one of the best glitter polishes I've found in terms of opacity, and it's not too pricey either, currently on sale in Superdrug for £2.50. Bargain!

 

Ciaté Mini Mani Month - Day 7

‘Cutie Pie’ was hidden behind door number 7 – a creamy, light pink. As with a lot of polishes this colour, the formula is pretty sheer and three or four coats are necessary to get a good colour pay-off, although with two well-applied coats, it gives a nice wash of colour. For me, the formula is too thin and dries too quickly, making it difficult to work with. I ended up with streaky nails after two coats and needed another (if not a fourth!) to even it out and make it opaque.

With 2 coats, you can see how streaky it is

   

 

3 coats and counting, still not opaque

I already own a pretty close match to 'Cutie Pie' in Essie's 'Muchi, Muchi'. The two look slightly different in the bottle, with the Essie shade more of a flesh toned pink than the Ciaté colour. However, on the nail, they look pretty similar. I find the formula of 'Muchi, Muchi' so much easier to work with - opaque and streak-free in two coats, with a nice glossy finish which I think 'Cutie Pie' lacks. I can't really justify owning two such similar colours so I'll probably give the Ciaté shade to my sister. She likes to wear a French manicure so could use a single, well-applied coat as a base. For me however, my light pink needs are all met in 'Muchi, Muchi'.

2 coats of 'Muchi, Muchi'

Do you have a favourite light pink nail varnish?

Nail varnish haul

OPI 'Get in the expresso lane', Essie 'Stylenomics', Essie 'Recessionista', Essence 'Circus confetti' and Essence 'Holo topping, please!'

More duty free and general continental madness. While en-route to Munich recently, I decided to take advantage of duty free shopping and buy my sister’s birthday present (2 months in advance, check me). While wandering about, I came across an OPI stand. I’ve got a base and top coat from the brand, but have never tried any of their colours, so was very easily tempted. ‘Get in the expresso lane’ caught my eye – a coffee-esque brown (durr) with a dark, olive green tint to it. I was really looking forward to trying it out and had high hopes, seeing as OPI is such a popular brand. However, the formula of the polish is one of the worst I’ve come across. The consistency is very thin and goes on pretty streaky and uneven. Two coats, if not three, are definitely needed. I like the finished look of it on my nails (nice and shiny!), though I wish the green tones were more noticeable.

I was excited to be on mainland Europe again and planned on picking up some bits and bobs from those brands we can’t get in the UK. Wandering around a rainy Munich town centre, I came across a shop called Douglas, which seemed like a cheap and cheerful Sephora. I was giddy. Pottering around and getting excited about exotic sounding names (saddo? me?), I came across Essence. I’d heard this brand mentioned on a few blogs before but didn’t realise how affordable it was. I picked up two nail varnishes – a sandy coloured, holographic microglitter called ‘Holo topping, please!’ and a chunky, multicoloured glitter called ‘Circus confetti’. At €1.79 each, they were a bargain! I was tempted to buy more, but had already put two Essie nail varnishes in my basket, so exercised some self-control. ‘Holo topping, please!’ isn’t a colour I’d normally go for; I had this idea that nude shimmers would look cheap on my nails. This polish has changed my mind. Two coats of this by itself give a lovely opaque, but subtle shimmer, while one coat layered over a nude polish looks equally nice. ‘Circus confetti’ would be harder to achieve an opaque finish with. The clear base is shot through with different sized purple, pink, gold and turquoise glitters. I really like this layered over dark colours, makes my nails feel jazzy.

                             

At €7.95 a bottle, I reasoned that the Essie polishes worked out cheaper than in Boots and Superdrug, where they sell for £7.99 a go. My choices were very autumnal; ‘Recessionista’ – a beautiful dark berry, and ‘Stylenomics’ – a very dark, forest green. The formula of both is great and they could easily be worn with just one coat (particularly ‘Stylenomics’). I’ve really been loving wearing these and feeling very season-appropriate.

                                

My nail varnish obsession continues... I've treated myself to the rather expensive (but amazing) Ciaté Mini Mani Month advent calendar (Day 1 post to follow). I'm sure my nail varnish bag will be overflowing by the end of the month. My boyfriend’s suggestion of a ‘one in, one out’ policy is definitely not going to happen though, 29 is a big ask!