My winter nail wardrobe

I've certainly BOUGHT a lot of pretty varnishes this winter...

Lusted after, unimpressed with the striping, sold on

This is around 3 deep. You may notice a lot of purpley pinks...I loathe purple.

I think I have a physical aversion to it.
But I cannot make my treasures pay for my odd tastes, and discard them so.
There is also a LOT of glitter.
Which just is NEVER worth the effort or the tinfoil hands afterwards

These are the shades I prefer to wear, creamy rich, sophisticated neutrals.
It has however been the season of purple, so I tried, I really did

Ok, so it was as close as I'll ever get.
Dusky, sultry lilac toned pinks and a lovely one from Barry M
which sadly is just too dark to let the lovely pink sheen show through.
Don't you hate when the bottle looks better than the product?

And, as you can see, among real disco balls, Rimmels *scoff* 'disco ball' is sadly found wanting. When you apply this to the nail, you get the usual Rimmel thin gloss top coat with about four pieces of glitter that relunctantly apply themself to the nail..reminds me of being young (pre Nails Inc et al) and being just grateful for that paltry glitter sprinkle..I don't know, maybe a kiss from a fist is better than none.

So, my winter nails ended up looking like this.

L-R; Revlon Stormy.  Garbrini Summer Green(perverse I know) No7 Beanie. Rimmel Beige Style

Banana fingers!

I am an unashamed self medicator. When the chips are down and all around is pap, I buy nail varnish. I used to buy Top Shop Boutique gossamer sheer floating dresses, until I finally faced the fact that I liked chips (and keeping my money) more than the idea of squeezing into these dresses. Nail varnish is far cheaper, and instantly effective at lifting a black mood..

My loveliest treat were the Natural Collection ones. I expected them to be vile and badly behaved. They are actually very adequately pigmented, appropriately opaque in two coats and resilient to chipping for a day or two, which is more than I can say for some brands that cost three times as much

(Maybelline, I'm looking at you)

I predicted, on Twitter, months ago that pearlescent granny varnishes were due a return after the big design houses went all 'future dimensional metallic shimmer' on us. And I was right, everyone from Zoya to Essie to Chanel (again) are incorporating a little pearly queeniness into their collections. I'm a fan of layering the darker, harder taupes with a little sheer pearl as a top coat myself. Just to keep things a little fresh. Sugar Mouse is an iridescent creamy off white, which, layered over a french manicure as a top coat delivers the prettiest, rainbow pink oil effect. For £1.99. I think I've said enough.