There are some lovely releases from Nails Inc this year, with my favourites probably being the new shades of the Gel Effect polishes as the shade selection is seriously beautiful, and surprisingly, having had a little play with them, I think I’d also rate the new Latex effect polishes as they’re a lot more interesting than I anticipated! There are also some great effect polishes too, so here’s a closer look at some of the latest arrivals:
Out of the selection I was sent, I had a couple of shades that were quite blue-leaning, so I thought I’d make that a theme and add the Mercer Street shade from the Gel-Effect range as it’s a lovely blue that I think demonstrates the effect polishes perfectly.
I have the Garden Party Special Effects in Portobello Gardens and the Floral effects in Richmond Gardens. The Garden Party range is inspired by the English countryside merged with fashionable pastel shades. Portobello Gardens is a mostly blue colour with different sized flecks of white mixed in with the light and dark blue hexagonal glitter cuts. There’s also much smaller specks of white and yellow, all of which give a lovely effect.
I’m a little bored of glitters lately but I like this one; it’s still relatively fresh and the tiny bit of yellow keeps it interesting. In the swatches there are two coats on a clear base, two coats on white base and two coats on a blue base. There are two other shades of Garden Party available – Westbourne Gardens which is more red-leaning and Princes Gardens which is multi-coloured – and they’re £12 each.
I did a very quick paint job (can you tell…? Apologies for the tatty cuticles) with a fairly thick coat of Portobello Gardens over the top of a white base. It’s worth noting that it works really well both sheered out and built-up.
Next up are the Floral polishes which don’t really do it for me, but that’s probably a lot to do with the fact that I lack the patients to fish out the flower shapes when applying the polish! There are four shades in the range plus an online exclusive; Daisy Lane – red and pink, Queensgate Gardens – blue and pink, Chelsea Embankment – white, blue and yellow, Richmond Gardens – turquoise and yellow and the online exclusive of Floral Street Mews – pink, white and blue. I have Richmond Gardens and in fairness I actually found this easier to do this time than I did with Daisy Lane (review posted here), so maybe it’s a genuine case of practice making perfect, but again, you need some patience and I’m not completely confident I currently possess that particular quality…pretty shades though! These are also £12.
Next are the Pop Art duos which contain a colour polish at one end and a glitter effect at the other. There are three shade combinations in total and I like all of them, with my favourite being the Knightsbridge Place and Sloane Street combi which is a lovely bright pink with a multi-coloured glitter. If you prefer your nails a little more muted then there’s the Sheraton Street and Cavendish Place combination – grey colour with a mostly grey and dark blue glitter and the last of the three is the one I have which is Angel and Upper Street – mid pink colour with a pink and blue glitter.
Angel & Upper Street went straight on my toes as I love that pink! This is quite a good way to grab a bargain since you’re getting two polishes for £14, but you have to be a little more careful during application as the length of the tube makes them a bit unstable if you stand them up.
Last we come to my favourite of the launches, which is the Latex polishes. I was sent the Shoreditch High Street shade which I already have (although I completely forgot about it so I hadn’t had a play with it) which is a mid magenta shade. There are three other shades: Camden Passage – grey, Portobello Road – nude peach and Bermondsey Street which is a stunning light, bright blue that’s on my list of shades I clearly don’t need, but really, really want. Having tried the Latex finish (NOTD post soon) I have to say that it’s an extremely interesting polish.
It’s a very smooth and matte – almost velvety – finish that feels amazing to touch; it isn’t what I’d necessarily associate with latex (not that I’m an expert or anything…) but it’s very touchable and if you’re someone who loves that smooth, glossy finish of recently painted nails, you will heart this majorly. These are also £12.
All launches are already out and can be found at Nails Inc stores and online here – link.
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