Tuesday 26 July 2011

Review: No7 Nail Polishes.

I thought it was about time I started my nail polish brand overview posts, as my nail polish storage post went up nearly 2 weeks ago! (I got excited blogging about other things, plus I may have also been putting off the big 'photograph every polish I own' session I needed to do!).

No7 has two types of polishes; the 'Speed Dry' (gold tops), and the 'Stay Perfect' (black tops). Each bottle contains 10ml of polish, and retails for £7 each from Boots (though I've bought every polish with a £5 off No7 voucher that is often available.)



Twinkle, Cherry Tart, Blackberry, Violetta, Betty Blues, Beautifully Black, Night Silver and Matte top coat.
 
Twinkle is a very pale pink (it doesn't really show up alone, it's best used as a glittery top coat) with lots of glittery shimmery particles; for me it needs a top coat (I cannot stand feeling glitter chunks on my nails!) The rest of the shades look beautiful alone, and all but Violetta require only 2 coats for a perfect coverage :) Blackberry and Violetta are my favorites; Blackberry is a lovely plum colour with a hint of golden shimmer, and Violetta is a bright violet with blueish tones, it does need 3 coats as it's a little streaky, but I think it's worth the effort.

Betty Blues is the only let-down for me, in the bottle it has beautiful blue glitters, but on the nail it appears practically black, with the shimmer only showing up with a camera flash, plus this is the only not-great formula, it's quite gloopy and hard to work with. It's definitely worth having a sneaky test of these shades before purchasing, in case any others have a similar formula (hopefully it's just this one)


Excuse the seriously terrible application... Thumb: Night Silver,
then left to right: Betty Blues, Violetta, Blackberry and Cherry Tart


Overall I really like the formula of these polishes (I personally cannot see a difference in formula between the Stay Perfect and Speed Dry polishes) they have a nice consistency and dry rather fast, as well as lasting well on my nails- (it's worth noting that I am always rough on my nails, and often forget to apply a top coat!) they will probably last about 2 days with no chips, and are bearable for several more days before I have to remove them- which is quite a while for me! However I have mostly dark colours so chips are more noticeable and any wear and tear annoys me more.

The brushes are wide and flat (see below for a face-on and side-on view), which makes application very easy and fast- as the brush covers a large area less strokes are needed. The actual brush/top is also very long, which I find a little easier to manage than short stubby tops, plus the top of the bottles have a nice shaped (sort of thin and oval) which I find nice and easy to hold.



  
I don't think I'd ever pay full price for a these polishes (I think £7 is a bit much for me, particularly when I can get much cheaper, good quality polishes elsewhere) but with a £5 off voucher (look out for them, they're given out quite frequently) at £2 these are very good value and I definitely recommend them (particularly Blackberry!)

 As always if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask :) Do you like No7 polishes?
           

                                                                                 xGretalRabbitx

2 comments:

  1. Ooh blackberry is really nice! I have betty blues and was put off the rest of them because of the gloopy formula.

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  2. I know, it's such a unique shade :) Definitely give them another go- Betty Blues is the only polish I have with that rubbish formula- the rest are great!
    xGretalRabbitx

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