Crushed Grape, whatever the season. Free Leighton Denny Manicures

There are times when I spend ages trying to find that first sentence on how to start a blog post and others, like tonight where billions of way to start a blog post comes bustling in my head and I am overwhelmed. Please excuse me for I am very excited tonight. It's been a while since I've played with a Leighton Denny nail polish and I forgot how good it was.

When the gorgeous Nic, from Strawberry Blonde Beauty Blog told us informed us about the Magazine Freebies offers in March 2012, I got a bit hot under the collar: 3 shades of Leighton Denny nail polishes can be yours for free, if you purchase a copy of the March 2012 edition of Red Magazine (£3.80)





Nic warned us that the actual magazine with the free polishes would be hard to track down but being a massive fan of Leighton Denny, I was not going to give up so easily. I was lucky, they had some in my local Marks and Spencer and I managed to get my hands on 'Crushed Grape' a dark berry polish and a lilac polish annoyingly called 'Whatever'.





I can't explain in words the delight it was to experience 'Crushed Grape' and 'Whatever' on my nails: smooth, creamy, easy peasy to apply, opaque in one coat, dries fast, only £3.80. What more can a girl want? Well perhaps spending some time en-tête-à-tête with Leighton Denny himself.


I didn't do any clean up whatsoever on my manicures, (it probably shows but I would be quite happy to parade with my nails like that) I went really sloppy with it so much so that it felt like that the polish applied itself. I am in love, totally in love. As a consequence of my infatuation, I am going to leave you with an avalanche of photos.


Crushed Grape in all its glory, one coat only:







Now with slightly warmer lighting





and this is, ‘Whatever’. I am not going to lie. I feel the name doesn’t do justice to the beautiful shade and finish. Again, this is one coat. I know!!







Now with warmer lighting







If you have not yet tried a Leighton Denny polish and can hunt a Red Magazine with freebies in, you will not regret it. It will probably be the best £3.80 you've ever spent   








Needless to say, if the third free shade ‘Vamp’ had also been available at my local Marks and Spencer, I would have also bought it. Let me know if you managed to get your hands on it, I would love to see!  
      

 
Leighton Denny, will you marry me?      

 

What? Leighton Denny nail polishes in 'Crushed Grape' and 'Whatever
How much? Free on purchase of Red Magazine, March 2012 edition, £3.80
Where? I don't know. In some Marks and Spencers. xx

     

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Viva la flavour Nails - Free Leighton Denny Manicures

My story with Leighton Denny couldn't have had a more unfortunate start. First polish I bought from the brand yesterday had  the inside brush falling off its outer cap. I'd never win the lottery but if there is one loose brush in a  million, you bet I would be the one to find it. The very first time I bought what became my favourite and most  repurchased facial wash, it also sported a funky cap. I am so happy I didn't seal my final opinion on that first  purchase.


I never planned to buy any Leighton Denny polishes last week end. It all started on twitter when so and  so wondered if the Leighton Denny polishes were any good, as Bazaar Magazine is offering a free Leighton Denny  polish (to choose from 3 summer shades) on purchase of a copy of the magazine (£4.20) I was not ready for the  huge wave of enthusiasm towards the brand. My twitter timeline was on fire. Lydia who had just come home, came  out again especially to buy the polishes and my lovely Drew bought the whole collection  first thing the  following morning.





What was special about that brand? I was about to find out. After hearing the undiluted praise on Leighton Denny  on twitter and Drew's gorgeous swatches, I decided to buy all three shades: Viva La Diva, a sumptuous shade of  orange based red; Do me a flavour, a bright orange polish and Supermodel a gorgeous taupe/brown polish.





I first started to play with Viva la Diva and I just couldn't believe my eyes. The application was a dream. I  don't know what Leighton Denny put in their formula but it's just perfect: it glided effortlessly on my nails, not too  runny, not too thick. I could take my time to apply the polish around the cuticles and do my little gap. To top  it all off, it dried so such a glossy finish and so quickly. My photos of viva la diva show 2 coats of red. My  nails could have benefited from a third coat but I was so impatient to show them to you that I only applied 2  coats. Viva la diva? Viva la perfection, more like!

Viva la Diva with flash







Viva la Diva under natural sunlight




 


I was a bit hesitant about buying 'Do me a flavour'. Recently I bought an orange polish also as part of a  magazine offer and I ended up giving it away as I had found it too neon for my liking. 'Do me a flavour' is also  very bright in the bottle but fortunately not neon when you apply it. And what application that was: Like viva la  diva, it was just flawless and dried very quickly. 









I absolutely adore orange and can't wait to wear this shade,  tanned or not tanned. if this shade is too bright for you, pop them on your toes, you'll absolutely love it. I would like to thank you Marks and Spencer at this stage who were ever so kind to replace my first faulty polish against another one.







The third and final polish from this magazine offer was Supermodel. I am not very good with describing all  the nuances in brown and taupes. Supermodel reminds me of 'marrons glacés' (glazed chestnuts) and of a mixture of my  favourite polish in the whole world (Nails inc London) and Eyeko Posh polish but with a 5 star application. (all  right, all right. a quick little comparison below if you behave)

The photos show 2 coats of supermodel. You'll notice quite a difference in shade between the photos with flash  (the ones on black background) and the ones in natural sunlight. The ones most true to colour are the ones with  flash. The sunlight was so bright, it was turning supermodel into a much warmer brown.  














Quick brown comparison. The swatches below were done very quickly and sloppily. Excuse the surplus of polish on the middle finger and the gap so big on the thumb you could drive a truck in there. What this little exercise showed me is that although Nails Inc London is my favourite colour of them all, I much preferred the application of Leighton Denny. In fact, if I had to rate the polishes from below for their ease of application, from less easy to easier, it would be

1. Beanie
2. Nails Inc London
3. Eyeko and Bsrry M (sorry, I can’t choose)
and the best would be Supermodel.
Blown away I was!








Where the heck  was I when the memo about
how good Leighton Denny polishes are came out?


I've got no idea but I am not  missing out again. If you have never tried the brand, now is your chance to try. A Leighton Denny polish would  usually retail around the £11 mark, so £4.20 to try one is an absolute steal. or perhaps you want to let this  opportunity fling through your fingers and then have to buy the polish at 3 times its value on eBay? Do me a flavour, go get one now before the offer runs out...

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