The Nail Polish Push

I’m not sure what sort of nail polish sorcery has been going on recently, but it seems that I’m unable to be within a two mile radius of a Boots or Superdrug without entering and exiting with a lacquer in hand. The bottles of the tipped-off stuff are just calling to me. And not just my usual nudes either (although I’m currently sporting the ol’ classic Nails Inc Porchester Square), but red, greens, corals – they’ve all been added to the basket. And most of them are under a fiver and there’s not an Essie in sight. Say what? The polish push is well and truly on…

First up, probably my favourite of the bunch is Nails Inc Portobello which is heading up the Nails Inc revival that I’m currently experiencing. A pinked-up flamingo coral, I think I’ve found my summer nail jam. Worn alone it imparts its bottled colour on the tips, but layered over a white base coat and jeez you’ve got some serious neon on your hands. Something a little more subtle but still sort of summery is a recent Maybelline purchase, Forever Strong Super Stay Gel Nail Colour in Mint For Life. A shade that sits somewhere in between Essie’s Mint Candy Apple and Absolutely Shore in the mint stakes. Fab brush and even fabber lasting power, this stuff stayed chip-free on my talons for a good five days before it needed an SON sesh. Further colour recommendations from this range are welcomed.

Another drugstore range that’s been tickling my fingertip fancy are Rimmel’s Salon Pro Nail Colours. There’s a whopping 32 shades in total, 10 are part of their continuing collaboration with Kate Moss and somehow three have managed to squirrel their way into my stash: Hip Hop, another coral/pink hybrid and the one that Kate’s wearing in all the promos, Soul Session, another Kate created colour and Summer Orange which has a hint of CHANEL’s Holiday about it. I’ve been loving all three shades, there’s not a dud in there. The brushes are bed-width, the finish extremely glossy and although the colours do tend to need three coats it dries so darn fast the process isn’t too laborious. And all for £4.49, bargain.

A further two points to raise from this post. After proclaiming that the Boots in London are a little lacklustre, I stumbled across the best one I’ve ever set foot in – Westfield’s White City. One word – wow. And secondly, on reflection of this post it seems I have purchased three very slight variations of the shade red. But there’s always space for another rouge. Right?