A newfound love affair for licorice

When I was younger, I really really did not like licorice. It was the one form of sweet I would not put in my mouth under any circumstance (and believe me, I put a lot of sweets into my mouth as a child #fatkid). However, thanks to Essie, I have now developed a love for licorice.

This is the first Essie nail polish I have ever bought. £7.99 always seemed a bit much (or a lot much) to spend on a nail polish, but I cracked (here). I'm actually glad I cracked because the formulation of this nail polish is the nicest one I've ever tried, and I've tried a fair few in my time. Nail polish is hard to get right with me for several reasons:

1. I can't apply it for fudge, seriously if it's not a big brush, I just can't do it so -clears throat- I like big brushes and I cannot lie

2. Even if I have managed to apply it nicely, I can't keep my hands still, I have to do things and that usually entails smudging my averagely applied nail polish so I need as quick drying a formula as possible

3. I do a lot with my hands, I have to write long essays (I do Philosophy and History A level, it's a bundle of fun) and I play piano (grade 8 is no joke folks) so this leaves my nail polish prone to chipping, so I need a nail polish that chips as little as possible

4. I need one coat wonders with nail polish, I can't sit for ages applying coat after coat with a streaky nail polish because, as the wise Kimberly 'Sweet Brown' Wilkins once said, 'ain't nobody got time fo' dat'

5. I don't really have a fifth reason, I just wanted a list of five to emulate Rob Fleming from High Fidelity

I'd be lying if I said this nail polish didn't chip, I found minute (literally tiny tiny barely noticeable) chips after a day or two of wearing them, then I found after vigorously playing piano (seriously, I meant it when I said grade 8 piano is no joke) that it chipped a little bit more but it was nothing a touch up job couldn't fix. I've only found that I've only had a small issue with chipping if I'm playing a lot of piano or if I'm trying to get a tricky bit of plastic wrapping off from a DVD* and even then it's nothing a touch up job can't fix, otherwise we're coming up to 5 days strong.

This is possibly the quickest drying nail polish I've ever used, thoroughly dry within 2-3 minutes. Probably quicker than that, but I get concerned about the possibility of smudging, so I haven't tried touching it before then, but even so that's pretty darn impressive. A factor of the fast drying property is probably the fact that you only need one coat, it's opaque and the brush is wide so only one coat is really need.

So whilst £7.99 may seem a lot for a nail polish, it's pretty hard to fault, and I'm pretty certain I'll be buying more Essie nail polishes in my future nail varnish ventures.

What's your favourite nail polish brand?

*#FirstWorldProblems

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Review | Essence Colour and Go Nail Polish in 113

I have to tell you something, it's been eating me up inside but I need to come out with it, and I hope we can see past this together - I don't like the Barry M  Gelly Nail Polish. Okay, I said it, and I'm sure you're now judging me pretty harshly as these are otherwise known as some of the greatest nail polishes in the world of beauty. I feel I should mention that I only tried out one, but I can't see how the formulation would be massively different between shades. 

Anyway, since trying out the Barry M Gelly nail polish, I have been on the lookout for a glossy, gel, pigmented nail polish without spending extortionate amounts, by which I meant £5 or more (hey, we're going through a recession don't judge my cheapskate-ness wise spending). 

After trying out various Essence products (which I've reviewed here and here), I came to the conclusion that Essence was amazing value for money and so when I saw they sold nail polishes I knew I had to try one, especially as they are gel nail polishes. 

The shade I picked up is 113 - do you speak love? I feel I should inform you that the number and the shade name isn't clear, you need to look at where the barcode is and it's in small writing, however I am glad they had a proper shade name rather than just a number. I refuse to have my beauty products reduced to numbers. It's a beautiful autumnal burgundy red so it's perfect for Autumn and Winter but I think red is generally the type of colour that you can wear all year round. 

I really love the packaging, it reminds me of Bourjois nail polishes because the lid is the same colour as the nail polish which also makes it easy to pick it out of a bunch. The brush is also amazing for application, it's wide so it covers the whole nail in one swift stroke - that's also the amount you need to get an opaque colour, just one swift stroke. You can go over with a second layer for longevity perhaps but I think it's fine with just a base coat and one layer. I've found that it lasts about a week before chipping really badly as in it has to be done a week later at the very latest otherwise  your nails are going to look a bit tatty and not nice. My favourite thing about this product has to be the fact that it dries so quickly for a gel nail polish, this was the problem I had with Barry M. With Barry M, my nails would be tacky for hours whereas with Essence my nails are fully dry in under 10 minutes, I'm sure it is even less than that but I paint my nails slowly otherwise I mess it up to such a large extent.

Overall, I love love love this product and I will definitely be trying out other shades. I find it hard to believe that such a high quality product only costed £1.60 from Wilkinsons.

What are your favourite products from Essence?

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Review | Essence Studio Nails Hardening Nail Base

Just over a month ago, I heard that Wilkinsons had introduced a make-up brand called Essence and I was interested from the start as I've always gone for the most inexpensive best value products concerning make-up, skin care and clothes. I took a gander on the Wilkinsons website first and foremost so I could find out what sort of products I would be most interested in trying, and the first thing that caught my eye was their nail polish range and in particular their nail hardening products because I have wanted to purchase the Sally Hansen nail hardening products for a long time but I couldn't bring myself to spend that much - hence I decided to try out the Essence Studio Nails Hardening Nail Base.

The one thing that puts me off from wearing nail polish in general is the thought of it chipping quickly because I hate chipped nail polish and I always have a compulsion to remove it straight away even if it has only chipped after a day or two, that's why finding a good nail base was important to me. Furthermore, my nails are fairly brittle so this means my nail polish is more susceptible to chipping so this is why I needed a nail base that would harden my nails more than just prevent staining. This product was only £1.80 so it wasn't a massive loss at all. 

Whilst it looks glue-like in consistency and colour, I can assure that it is a very good nail polish. It dries clear and quickly, and makes my nails feel instantly stronger and it has now become a necessity when painting my nails. It makes my nail polish (the one on top of the base coat) last at least twice as long as it usually would as well when I'm wearing it so it is well worth the money.

I can honestly say I have no negative things to say about this product, it will definitely be a repeat purchase. Considering it was under £2.00 as well, I am pretty chuffed to have discovered this product.

Have you tried any products from Essence?

What do you think of it?