Save, Spend, Splurge: Nail Varnish

I spent some time rummaging through my current nail varnish collection and reflecting back on old nail varnishes/friends nail varnishes and narrowed it down (kind of) to those which I would purchase again. I still haven't tried out Essie's polishes - I blame the collection for being too big, how can someone as indecisive as me chose between that many gorgeous shades? But next time I go shopping I am definitely buying one! I'll do a seperate post sometime about base coat/top coat as that's a whole other story, isn't it?




Save

L: 17 mini varni (shade unknown) R: Barry M Pink Irridescent
The 17 shade has a really good formula, it applies very evenly! However, I got this little varni as part of a set a while ago, so they may have changed the forumlas. Regardless, I would happily buy a 17 varni as part of a drugstore splurge. I know Barry M are very popular especially as they are only £2.99 and have a yummy array of colours to choose from - great kind of brand if you want to keep up with the trends (vs. a staple varni investment*). I guess you could say it's like the Primark version of nail varnishes; allows you to keep up with the trends and not feel guilty about only using it once or twice. This particular shade is really just a glittery overcoat, I will edit this post with a pic the next time I wear this. I love wearing it over baby colours, it looks too cute :)! What I like about this glitter in comparison to others i've tried (Nails inc) is that it's not an absolute pain to remove. Whilst other glitter varnishes probably are more "glittery", they also leave you with the burden of trying to sandpaper off your varnish.

Spend

Topshop, L to R: Parma Violet, Gone Fishing, White Lie, Blitz
The first three are lovely, creamy formulas that apply really evenly. The last one, however, is a bit of an effort to apply - the brushes are the same so it must be the forumla, which is obviously due to the fact that it is metalic, unlike the others. So whilst you do get that nice metalic finish, it seems you have to sacrifice application! I think this is true for a lot of other brands i.e Revlon. Anyway, for £5 and also part of a huge selection of colours I think Topshop nail varnishes are hard to resist.

Splurge

Chanel Le Vernis 489 Rose Insolent
Just pointing it out there now that I love Chanel. All of the products that I have purchased from the collections have been truly satisfying due to their high quality. You really do get what you pay for with Chanel. I think it's probably one of my favourite high-end make up brands. Anyway, at £17 what you do get is a very rich, creamy forumla that applies like a dream. This nail varnish is almost self-correcting it applies that well - I think so anyway. For £17 I would expect it to be a bit more chip-resistant than what it is, but I will definitely be treating myself to another one of these soon :).

What is your favourite nail varnish?