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.