Sunday 11 November 2012

Neon Skittles


Everything beauty is just so Christmas focussed, I wanted to take a little step back, break from the mould and write about something a little different. I will embrace Christmas when I am ready but for now I want to write about something bright, something neon. Some of you will associate neon colours more with Summer. For me, neon is there anytime you want to brighten your mood and this is just what I need at the moment. Without wanting to throw my doom and gloom on you, I've spent most of the past week under the weather, mourning the loss of a close friend of mine. It's been quite cathartic to cry but now I feel the urge to shake myself out of it and inject some brightness into my life again.

 
Cue the Nails Inc 'Neons and Nude' boxset of mini polishes. I was lucky to win the boxset in a blog giveaway and the neon shades had to go on my nails first.
   
   
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For you today, I have some swatches of the 3 neon shades: Westbourne Grove, Portobello and Notting Hill Gate.

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The first shade which I felt compelled to try first was Westbourne Grove, the neon yellow-orange shade. I am not going to beat about the bush. I was very disappointed. Whilst I find the colour absolutely gorgeous, the application was laborious. The formula was smooth enough, but it was way too sheer. I paired it with my favourite nude polish underneath but even then it took 3 coats of polish to be able to appreciate the colour of Westbourne Grove. Then it's the finish I had trouble with. I do like matte polishes but when Westbourne dried on my nails, it looked decidedly dull.


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Portobello and Notting Hill Gate were a little bit better in terms of coverage but they still required the application of a nude polish underneath, which defies the object of 'quick, let's just apply a bright ass nail polish to cheer myself up'. Enjoyment of the neon part of this box set takes time and patience.


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There's something as well you should know. Bottles only contain 4 ml of product. Do not be fooled by the photos. 4ml is not much at all which explains why I only opted for a skittles manicure to show you how it looks when applied on the nails. The set is very cute but I find the price tag of £22 a little steep for sheer polishes. Maybe the other half will fare better in terms of opacity?  
   
   
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If you like Westbourne Grove but feel slightly put off by its pigmentation pay off, I'd recommend BonBon by Beautyuk. You’ll have your bright orange/yellow fix quicker and with less effort. I moan, I moan but I am quite happy to be the owner of this set. It brightened my mood, which is exactly what I was hoping for.

   
I am once again eternally grateful to Sirvinya, without who this blog would be very bare at the moment. Take a moment to check out her blog, if you have a few minutes to spare. If we hadn't had this sunday blogging date going on, I am not quite sure I would have updated my blog at all these days

10 comments:

Becky said...

I'm so sorry about your friend *hugs*

I don't think yellow nail polish tends to be that pigmented, no matter what the brand! But Nails Inc tends to do good greys and nudes so you should be ok with the other 3 shades.

Anonymous said...

I love the notting hill gate one, hope your ok in these hard times. x
https://allthingsbeautymake-upandshopping.blogspot.com

Lori said...

I hope you are ok, the loss of anyone close is always a shock, sending some love.

I actually like how dull that yellow is its quite a strange shade of yellow.
xx

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry about your friend, I hope you're doing ok.

The only Nails Inc polish I have is a bloody nightmare so I've been put right off them.

Wendy said...

Happy to see that you're fighting your way through, i own portobello, and i too was disappointed, i love to see reviews on things that aren't so great as well as brilliant things x x x

30SomethingMel said...

So sorry for your loss, losing anyone is hard, but someone close is even worse. I hope you will be ok lovely!
I have this set and love it. I feel it caters for all moods. Like you Neons for me represent a lifting of the mood - sometimes I wear them to 'bring' on summer.
My only issue with this set was the finish of Portobello Road, I loved the colour but hated the finish so always used to add a high gloss coat over it. xx

Just me, Leah said...

I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. I lost a friend suddenly in the summer and it knocked me for six. xx

Unknown said...

awww hunni i didnt know you'd lost a close friend of yours. hope you'll be ok babes. you know i'm here for you (not that i can be any help really)...

i quite like the yellow polish actually - it reminds me of dandelions and sunflowers (which are two of my favourite flowers!)

Miss drifted Snow White

S.Lennyn82 said...

Very sorry for your loss *HUGS. Love brights and neutrals together. What a great set:)

Sara xx

Anonymous said...

I would totally buy this set if it didn't have such awful formulas, I find this quite a common trait of Nails Inc polishes. I love the shades though, the mix of nude and neon works really well as a set.
I hate to bring up the loss of your friend but I hope you are doing much better now and feel more positive, my thoughts are of course with you x

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