NOTD: Essie Chinchilly

A  quick NOTD as I stumbled upon Essie Chinchilly in my stash recently whilst hunting out another polish and remembered just how much I liked it!

I find Chinchilly to be one of those shades which is wearable in all seasons and it pretty much goes with everything.  It is a difficult shade to categorise - a taupey  mushroomy colour with a  hint of brown.  It may have been around for a while but it is one of my favourites and a polish I come back to often.  

Price - £8.50

Where to Buy - Beauty Bay, ASOS

Have you tried Chinchilly?

Model's Own Tropical Sun NOTD

Today's NOTD is Model's Own Tropical Sun from the Beetlejuice range.  I wasn't really fond of any of the other Beetlejuice shades but this one instantly caught my eye due to the shimmering pinky / peach / golden tones in the bottle.It reminds me a little of the Nars Orgasm polish, but obviously a lot cheaper!

Like I have found with other Model's Own polishes, it is quite thin and watery so it does require a bit of care when applying otherwise it is liable to spill over into your cuticles.

This is with two coats and as you can see there is still some visible nail line apparent in the photos, although it isn't nearly as obvious in person.  With another coat, I would imagine this would disappear or you could add a neutral base coat underneath for a more opaque finish.  Again, similar to other Model's Own polishes, I found it to last for around 3 days before there was any tip wear, but I don't use a top coat.

Verdict

This polish is perfect for injecting a little bit of sun into the gloomy Summer days we are currently experiencing.  I love the duo-chrome peachy shade with glimmers of gold that sparkle when they catch the light and at £5, it is an affordable treat.  If you are a peachy / coral fanatic like me, this is a must buy!

4/5

Price - £5, although they are currently £8 for 2 in Boots

Where to Buy - Boots, Model's Own, Asos

Or you could enter my giveaway here to win your very own Tropical Sun for  free!

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy

As part of my mini haul of China Glaze products from US eBay, I picked up Flip Flop Fantasy, initially released as part of the Poolside Collection in 2010.  

Neon accents are very on trend at the moment and although I have yet to embrace the trend fully in my clothing, I can totally get on board with neon nails!

The colour in the bottle is seeringly bright and I am happy to announce that it remains suitably dazling when swatched and used on the nails.

The finish is semi-matte, as is common with many neons andI tend to use a top coat with it as I prefer the shiny, glossy look.   I did however find that it applied very streakily to the nails and it required three coats before it started to even out.  It was also quite liquid and difficult to control on the nail, although I have found this is common with other China Glaze polishes.

With Flash

In terms of wear time, it was only a couple of days before it began to chip, and when it chipped it flaked off in large chunks - there was no trying to cover it up with crackle polish like I normally do when I encounter short wear times!

Without Flash

Verdict

The colour is gorgous, both in the bottle and on the nail.  However the issues with application and the short wear time meant it was just too much hard work for me.  I will be saving it for specific nights out and for when I am craving statement nails! 

2/5

Price - £6.59

Where to buy - Sally's, US eBay

NOTD: Chanel Graphite

Just a quick post to say Happy New Year to you all!  I hope you had a lovely evening and aren't feeling the ill effects of it too much today!

I thought I would post a quick NOTD that I wore yesterday.  Hubby and I had a quiet night in with some Champagne, a tasty dinner and a DVD before watching the Edinburgh Fireworks display at midnight from our window. Despite living in Edinburgh where it seems almost obligatory to go out on New Year's Eve, we've done that several times and much prefer to stay in in the warmth and cosiness these days.  I'm obviously getting old!!

Above is Chanel Graphite, which I thoroughly adore.  It is a shimmering, sparkly almost duochrome colour which is entirely New Year's Eve or party- appropriate and I wear it a lot.  I love the fact that in some lights it looks silver, whilst in others it has a definite gold sheen.  Although it looks glittery, it goes on lovely and smoothly and is a cinch to remove. This is certainly one of my favourite polishes, and although some people seem to have wear problems with Chanel's polishes, I find they wear very well one me and last much longer without chipping than many other similar priced brands.  

Verdict

If you get the chance to purchase this, don't delay!  Graphite was released as a limited edition shade in the Autumn, however I have seen it on counters fairly recently so you may still be able to snap it up.  I believe Revlon Carbonite is a close dupe for this if you are in the US.

5/5

Price - £17.50

Where to buy - Chanel counters, Department stores