SWATCHES: Nail Kind // Glazed Donut & Coco Loco

I chose both of these as part of my monthly Latest In Beauty subscription. I don't normally buy deep red polishes but I liked the bottle design. I've been seeing this brand a lot recently in my local TK Maxx for £3.99 which I think is reasonable. The formula isn't as good as Barry M (no brand can self-level like the Gelly Hi-Shine formula) but I would buy more. They're usually £8.95 which I feel is too much.

Coco Loco // Deep Brown Crelly

Collection: Timeless Nudes

Release: Autumn 2021

Coats: 2

This is a deep reddish brown which is why I chose it as I lack brown shades. It's also more on the jelly side than creme but has streaks. 2 coats and you're good to go though. It gives a sophisticated, autumnal vamp look, which I really love. This is a super 90s shade, perfect for the upcoming months. With Glazed Donut on top, I'm getting metallic Christmas pudding vibes.

Glazed Donut // Off-White Silver Pearl Shimmer

Collection: Donut Worry Be Happy

Release: January 2023

Coats: 2

I didn't realise this was a pearl shimmer until I got it. I was drawn in by the name. I find this "collection" a bit odd as its just 2 colours; a bright red and this. Seems more like a Christmas release than a donut release (where I would expect pastels and beiges).

Whilst this polish was drying I noticed some cracking on the first coat and minor cracks on the second. it definitely shines more silver in the light. I'm not the biggest fan of silver shades as they make me look a bit washed out and I hate seeing lines in pearl finishes. It's one of the reasons I normally avoid that finish.

SWATCHES: Nails Inc // Nail Spice Set

I saw this in TK Maxx for £12.99 and stayed strong however a few weeks later I was there again and caved because it's such a cute set! I'm also a sucker for ombre shades.

The Nail Spice set was released October 2021 with a retail price of £22.

Pudding Lane // Off-White Pink Taupe Creme

Coats: 2

Nails Inc have reused this name as it used to be a blue glitter polish from the early 2010's. I found this be on the streaky/runny side making it somewhat difficult to apply. I'm a big fan of off-white shades though so this will be going on my favourites shelf. 

2 coats can still be a bit streaky but it's not the end of the world.

Bread Street // Neutral Dusty Pink Creme

Coats: 2

I am in love with this polish. It's hard to imagine this looking bad on any skin tone. It's one of those perfect, autumn mauve dusty shades. Like Pudding Lane, it's quite runny with streaks making it slightly annoying to apply but all is forgiven on that second coat.

Honey Lane // Neutral Dusty Peach Creme

Coats: 2

This is an amazing shade that could be used for any time of the year. It pairs incredibly well with Bread Street. I can see all of these shades being used in a nude art deco look. This one is also a perfect match for my skin tone and would provide the best base for nude nails with neon decorations.

This one had the best formula so far, slightly thicker and less streaky.

Nutmeg Lane // Deep Terracotta Creme

Coats: 2

I like this shade however I wish it was more brown-ish and resembled actual gingerbread which has more of an orange tint to it. it was also the easiest to apply and you could get away with one coat but I did 2 just to smooth everything out. This is a proper cosy autumn shade and stamps really well. 

// Overall

This set is advertised as being "gingerbread scented" which is perfect for the autumn/winter seasons however there is no scent. To me it just smells like nail polish with a slight sweetener aroma somewhere. 

On the box it says you should fill in your thumb and pinkie with Pudding Lane, Bread Street to your index, Honey Lane on the middle and Nutmeg Lane on the ring finger for "on trend ombre look". So that's what I did:

I think the shades tonally match each other well and you can create some fantastic nail art however this set should have a 5th dark brown shade to complete it. 

Nails Inc // Nail Spice Set // £22

SWATCHES: OPI // Orange You A Rockstar & V-I-Pink Passes

Found recently in TK Maxx for £2.99 each. I already have what feels like 1000 pink/peach polishes but I just can't stop buying them.

Orange You A Rockstar // pink/peach satin crelly

Collection: Neon

Release: Summer 2019

Coats: 3

I love the formula on this; it's a crelly and super easy to apply but it has a satin finish so it can leave streaks if you overwork it.

I wouldn't really call this a neon due to how sheer it is. After 3 coats I can still see my nail tips slightly peaking through. I think the satin finish is a disservice to this polish though; I love it with a super plumping top coat.

V-I-Pink Passes // magenta satin crelly

Collection: Neon

Release: Summer 2019

Coats: 3

This one is much brighter and more in the neon realm. It also has a crelly satin formula which I think all of them in this range do. I also have Dance Party Teal Dawn which I swatched here.

Watch out when removing as this really stains the skin and edges of the nails. It took me a while to get it all off.

SWATCHES: Sally Hansen Color Therapy // Well Well Well, Make My Clay, Glow What Fun & Bronze Reflection

I bought these many years ago in a beauty outlet shop for £1.99 each. I was enticed by the bottles and low price. I had never actually used any of them because when swatching them on sticks just after purchasing, I noticed how slow they were to dry so I put them in my "if nothing else matches the colour I'm after, check these" cabinet.

That day finally came when I was after an off-white that wasn't too beige, not too pink but not too white and I ended up choosing Well, Well, Well. 

Well well well, I did not have a good time with this polish. So I decided to swatch the rest of this range I bought properly to see if it was a bad formula or just that shade.

The entire color therapy line was released back in Summer 2016, later than I thought. I bought these around 2018, I'm surprised they were discounted so heavily after only 2 years.

Well, Well, Well // Off-white creme

Coats: 3

The first coat of this was extremely patchy and dragged. It also doesn't self-level and towards the tips it separated. The second coat was worse, this polish does not like being applied on top of itself and it felt like I was scraping the polish along the bottom layer. Again it pulled away from the tips to create even worse dark patches.

I finally left it at 3 coats as it was starting to look lumpy and you could see visible drag marks in it. It's also strange that on me this is definitely an off-white, slightly beige shade but on others it looks stark white.

I was not impressed with this formula. It clung to the brush stick and then ran down in large blobs just when you didn't want it to. I found it difficult to control and probably won't use it again.

Make My Clay // Light Olive Creme

Coats: 2

This one has more of a thin jelly formula and was much easier to apply. I does some dragging at the tips but no where near as much.

I absolutely love the colour though. It's a beautiful, pale muted Olive that would suit anyone. This is such a great background for christmas nails, I just wish it would dry faster.

Glow What Fun! // Warm Gold Shimmer

Coats: 2

This is much thinner than I was expecting. I'd almost class it as a shimmer topper. First I wore it on top of Make My Clay and it worked surprisingly well. That turned out to be the perfect base for it and you could tell how thin the polish actually is. Also made the gold a bit darker and richer.

Bronze Reflection // Green to Purple Duochrome Shimmer

Coats: 3

Without a black base coat this is a weak brown shimmer that goes slightly garbage-river-green at the tips; lovely. Ok, I'm being to harsh on this shade. After 3 coats is ok, better when you're outside and the shift is easier to see. With a black base coat you can see the purple more but no matter what, it will never look how it looks in the bottle which is a shame. Because the in the bottle it's beautiful.  It's just a lot of effort to get it looking good when you could just purchase Cowboy, Bye by China Glaze for a space worthy, purple/green/holo shimmer.

SWATCHES: Essence // Sugar Blush, Bubble Trouble, Isn't She Minty, Don't Leaf Me & Swirl Pool

I headed into Wilko's the other day for some plant pots and plant feed and walked out with these new essence polishes as well (as you do). It appears Essence stopped their "Shine Last & Go" range (a quick dry "gel-look" formula) a year ago to this "gel nail colour" formula with a few new shades. Do not be fooled though, it's the exact same formula just with a re-brand.

I saw these 5 and together they look like a pinterest room palette; perfect spring/summer shades for monstera/leafy looks.

05 Sugar Blush (formerly 05 Sweet as Candy) // Sheer Pink Nude Creme

Coats: 2

First up is a nice sheer polish. It does have some streaks which isn't ideal for a sheer but they're not all that noticeable. I think this would work well as a rose quartz polish. For a sheer it is quite pigmented and after 2 coats, you'll have a nice off-white/pink hue to your nails. I liked this paired with Barry M's plumpy top coat for proper gel-looking nails.

04 Bubble Trouble (formerly 04 Millennial Pink) // Light Peony Pink Creme

Coats: 2

Next we have this pastel pink creme. Another streaky formula that doesn't quite self-level leaving an un-even finish, even after 2 coats.

40 Isn't She Minty?! // Light Pistachio Green Creme

Coats: 2

One of my favourites in the bunch; this goes super well with bubble trouble! The formula on this one was ever-so-slightly better but still gloopy and difficult to manipulate. I also noticed some cracking as it dried. If you love this colour than I'd recommend Wild Mint by Barry M. It's slightly lighter but has the amazing Gelly Hi-Shine formula.

19 Don't Leaf Me // Dark Teal Creme

Coats: 1

This one recommends a base coat on the bottle; I imagine due to horrific staining as it's a beautiful teal shade. This is an exact dupe for both Essie Stripes & Sails and OPI Teal Me More, Teal Me More. With both of those shades retailing at £7 or more, this is an extremely affordable alternative; even if the formula is terrible.

42 Swirl Pool // Sky Blue Creme

Coats: 2

I really like this shade; it will definitely cause staining though so double up on the base coat. This was the easiest to apply. It still had streaks but there was no cracking and minimal dragging. 

// Overall Thoughts

The formula just isn't great as it drags and can be difficult to apply smoothly. For £1.80 each I can't really complain too much though. I'm still not a fan of the giant brush; it can cause too much polish to get on the nail resulting in a "thick" look. It's also an awkward shape with too many bristles at the edges causing polish to flood the cuticle area.

I don't think I would use these as base colours (apart from Sugar Blush) but as nail art and stamping polishes. They aren't opaque enough to be proper stamping shades but they do well enough and hold their shape when picked up.

It's really annoying because the entire range has some beautiful colours but I think I'd rather shell out a couple more pounds and buy Barry M...unless there is a sale on.

SWATCHES: Essie // Stripes & Sails, You're A Gem & Spaghetti Straps

Found these three beauties in TK Maxx for £2.99 each so of course I had to bring them home with me!

Stripes & Sails // Sacramento creme

Collection: Spring 2018

Release: 2018

Coats: 1

This one-coat wonder is a self-levelling thing of beauty. I love dark green/teal shades and I'm happy to have this as part of my collection. I'd say a cheaper dupe for this would be Rockpool by Barry M. It also does well as a stamping polish due to it's thickness.

You're A Gem // Rose Gold Linear Holo

Collection: Gorge-ous Geodes

Release: Spring/Summer 2019

Coats: 2

Who knew that mainstream polish brands could do holo so well??

I looked up the rest of this collection and I think I may need to track the rest of them down because hot damn, what a formula. 

Spaghetti Straps // pastel pink crelly

Collection: ?? Core Colours?

Release: <2010? or 2017?

Coats: 3

This is such an old shade I can't actually find when it was released! I know that this is a newer bottle though because it has the wider flat brush so I think this particular one is from the core colours that were re-released back in 2017.

That said, I LOVE THIS POLISH. Sorry for the caps but it's just such a soft, baby pastel pink with a slight hint of peach. This is my polish for all quartz looks now. It can be ever so slightly streaky if applied in a too-thin layer but other than that, it's the perfect sheer. I'm wearing three coats and I can't get over how classy and elegant it looks. Apparently there are some other amazing Essie sheers out there now in similar shades and I'm going to have to hunt them down.

SWATCHES: Nails Inc // Made In Mykonos Set

Found this adorable set in TK Maxx for £8.99! I think the packaging lured me in more than anything. Released in Summer 2022 this was a perfect summer set!

You're My Sol Mate // white creme

Coats: 2

So this is also the exact same shade as Primrose Hill Road from the Florals...For Spring? set. I've noticed that Nails Inc don't really do new shades anymore, they just rename old ones and package them up in a new set.

This is quite a streaky white creme that only slightly self-levels. The second coat still leaves some slight dark patches but is acceptable. 3 coats is needed for full coverage.

I was actually quite impressed though with it's stamping ability! It's a bit translucent however that can come in handy for layering looks.

Need Some Vitamin Sea // bright navy crelly

Coats: 2

I feel like this should've been called "Rooftops" or "Shutters" because these 2 shades together remind me of those white buildings with the blue roofs. Not just for summer though, this shade is perfect all year round and for the most part it even stamps well on top of light shades!

It's a pure crelly shade, so not quite a full jelly as it's too opaque but applies with no streaks. The formula reminds me of the Ciate Gelology range. It dries fairly quickly and 2 coats is sufficient for full coverage. After the second coat you're left with that beautiful glass-like shine. be careful though, as it is quite runny and stains the nail bed/cuticle area.

SWATCHES: Color Club // Pastel Neon Collection 2015

When I saw this 7 piece set in TK Maxx for £6.99 I practically threw it in my cart and then protected my cart at all costs...even though no one was around and if there were, they wouldn't know what Color Club is anyway unless they too were nail polish enthusiasts.

And this wasn't the only 7 piece Color Club set I got....oh no I got 2 sets for £14. I considers this a win-win scenario. Currently I can find this set on amazon for £35 and there are a few other sets which I'm considering as £5 a bottle isn't that bad but TK Maxx did me a solid.

After getting them home I did some research on them and found out this set is their full Pastel Neon collection released back in 2015.

https://colorclub.com/collections/pastel-neon

It's my two favourite finishes smooshed together to create the ultimate polish.

Meet Me At The Rink // Pale Pastel Baby Blue

Coats: 2

Even though I hate the thin brushes this was surprisingly easy to apply. The first coat was streaky, but it is a neon pastel so that's expected but the second coat covered everything. I'm surprised how glossy the polish is, usually neons are slightly satin but this reminds me of Barry M's Gelly Hi-Shine formula.

Diggin' The Dancing Queen // Pastel Lavender

Coats: 2

This is almost a one coat wonder, if you can control the polish. It's a bit on the runny side but not too difficult to apply. Again, this has a lovely glossy finish and reminds me of Ciate Spinning Teacups but brighter. These peony lavender shades are some of my favourites right now as they suit my skintone so well!

Feathered Hair Out To There // Pastel Pink

Coats: 2

This is almost a dupe for Deco Miami' Cake but both polishes are hard to get hold of in the UK so it doesn't really matter. This pink has a slight hint of peach but it's wonderfully bright and makes you look more tan. Without a doubt this is the shade I'm wearing to go watch Barbie in though.

Hot Hot Hot Pants // Pastel Peach

Coats: 2

I love this shade! It's a perfect peachy pink and these are the types of shades I'm partial to buying. Surprisingly though I couldn't find anything like it in my collection! This one is the least glossiest, with more of a satin finish. Due to this, it needs at least 3 coats. I'm wearing 2 in the photo and it doesn't look bad on photos but up close you can see the streaks.

Disco's Not Dead // Pastel Yellow

Coats: 2

This reminds me of one my favourite polish shades; Avon Lemon Sugar. It's difficult to do pastel neons and this is more on the streaky side but it does well.

Under The Blacklight // Pastel Green

Coats: 2

A bit of a seedy name for a polish but whatever. Neon pastel green is a notoriously hard shade to get right but Color Club have done a great job. It's not even that streaky. I'd say Hot Hot Hot Pants was the worst offender in the collection. This is a more affordable version of OPI's Pump up The Volume and doesn't need a white basecoat under it either. I'd say the cheapest UK alternative is Cuccio Dancing in the Dark but that has the black speck problem that releases from Cuccio in the past few years have and it's not a pastel finish.

I didn't have this on for long but I can see it proper staining your nails so get those basecoats on when wearing it.

'Til The Record Stops // Pastel Mint

Coats: 2

And last is this dupe of Essie's Chillato; also one of my favourite polish shades. It's still quite streaky though after 2 coats. I'd go with 3 but then you're looking at long dry times.

// Verdict

What a great collection. It's a shame it's so difficult to get hold of Color Club in the UK. You either have to rely on amazon or ebay as many specialist UK nail stores have stopped stocking them. 

If I had paid full price for them, I would've expected better self-levelling properties, but other than that I have nothing else to complain about.

SWATCHES: China Glaze // Sun Of A Peach, Pilates Please & Peachy Keen

Surprise surprise; I bought some peach nail polish! Bet ya didn't see that one coming.

One thing I did not see coming though was the revelation that China Glaze only went 5-Free in 2019. I found this article from 2019 (https://www.thezoereport.com/p/the-orly-vs-china-glaze-nail-polish-difference-is-this-experts-say-18196467) which states a spokesperson for CG says they were "always 5-Free but now they've gone 7-Free as well". This is a lie as all three of the below polishes clearly state Formaldehyde Resin on the ingredients label.

I wish I knew this before I started buying up older CG polishes. So a warning if you're allergic; only buy CG polishes from collections from 2019 onwards for at least 5-Free polishes. I personally only like to use polishes that are at least free of any formaldehyde and toluene so I'm disappointed. I'll still continue to use the polishes I've bought but I won't be buying anymore older CG polishes from now on.

But anyway onto swatches; make sure you're in a well ventilated area when using older CG shades as well!

Sun Of A Peach // satin neon orange (contains formaldehyde resin)

Collection: Sunsational

Release: Summer 2013

Coats: 4

This is a bugger to apply. It's extremely thin and dries insanely fast so streaks; streak everywhere. You need to build this up in thin coats. It's also nearly identical to FlipFlopFantasy V2. The re-release of FFF was after this though so I have a feeling that maybe they changed the colour of FFF to match this one as it's kind of hard to get hold of and is a sun of beach to apply. With FFF v2 I'm done in 2 coats.

You can see in the comparison photo that FFF is only slightly lighter than Son Of A Peach and you can only see the difference in very bright lighting. So if you're looking for a neon orange I'd say go with FFF v2 as it's much easier to apply and has a better formula.

Pilates Please // peach creme (contains formaldehyde resin)

Collection: Chic Physique

Release: Spring 2018

Coats: 3

A wonderful true peach creme. It is on the streaky side and I needed 3 coats in the end to get full opacity but I love this shade. I wish I had some stamping plates with peaches on them as this would be the perfect shade!

This is one those polishes though where the more layers you have, the lighter it gets. After 3 coats my nails were looking gloriously plump and shiny. The top photo was taken in more direct lighting than the bottom so you can see how much it changes based on lighting.

Peachy Keen // peach/orange creme (contains formaldehyde resin)

Collection: Up & Away

Release: Spring 2010!

Coats: 3

This is a super old one. We got some vintage China Glaze action going on here. It was actually in searching to find if CG did a re-release of this shade (because the text on my bottle is different than the original photos) that I discovered that this polish contains formeldahyde resin. So I guess it was good for that?

As for the shade though, this is another one of those polishes that becomes lighter with more layers. I think my bottle has started separating quite a bit as it was streaky and needed a good three coats. After that it was bordering on neon.