Hitting the nail on the head…

I was a bit of a late starter when it came to smart phones.  Stuck in a 2 year contract with an infuriating Sony Ericsson W890i (Arg, I get the rage just thinking about that bloody phone switching itself off all the time!!! And when I called O2 to play that pretend ‘I might leave unless you give me an Iphone’ game, they didn’t bat an eyelid..!!!)  Anyway, so now I’ve got a phone that I can check Facebook on (v. important), has Google maps (v. handy) and let’s me tweet from bed (v. addictive).  One of those sleepy tweet chats resulted in a rant about R Kelly and the exhanging nail varnish pictures… and so this guest post was born.

Introducing a fellow nail obsessive, who’s also partial to a manicure colour tweet: Sabrina from The Science of Style.

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So when weeding through my nail polish collection, I kind of cheated. I have my top 5 and an honourable mention (but it’s not technically a colour..)

I’ve never had buyers remorse with my polishes. They’re cheaper, last longer, and infinitely more fun then buying a new dress. I’ve only had it once.. and I swiftly remedied that by foisting it onto someone else and calling it a giveaway.

My love with nail polish started late, I was bored, at uni, swayed by the bright pink of a friend’s polish, borrowed it, and the rest is history. Painting my nails is always a little me-time in a frantic world of deadlines and working odd hours. Also I can watch TV whilst doing it so that’s always a plus. Oh and the pretty colours! When I do my nails well, I can’t stop looking at them. I never go without giving myself a new paint job every week. Even though I rarely brush my hair and often go out without make-up on – my nails always look fly. Even though in this pictures there’s polish all over my cuticles.

Without further ado, here’s my top 5 (and an honourable mention…)

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Sephora by OPI “Mr Right Now”

I have never understood why Sephora isn’t popular in the UK. Whenever I go to NY I literally gorge myself on beauty products and have to be dragged away with Nars shaped holes in my wallet. I’m not that keen on OPI itself since it chips a lot, but Sephora by OPI is a much better formulation, and slightly more expensive so that may explain why. “Mr Right Now” is a beautiful deep cherry gloss, which doesn’t chip easily, and is my go-to polish when I need be all BITCH PLEASE. Power nails. I love it so much I have two bottles, since I don’t know if it’ll ever be available here, or discontinued so my sister patiently went on a hunt and got the last bottle she could find (it’s popular).

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Barry M Bright Pink

I’m not that much of a pink girly girl. I’m more a cool greens, blues and pseudo preppy type. Mainly because it’s easy and comfortable. But this Barbie pink crème is the best £2.95 I ever did spend. It’s cheery,  pretty, and always brightens my day. Barry M nail paints tend to get a bit thick and hard to use mid-way through the bottle – but a drop of acetone free nail polish remover helps. And a vigorous shake. To some Beyonce.

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Illamasqua Strike

The closest I seen to a dupe for this was one by GOSH, and I wouldn’t buy it even though it’s much cheaper. This was the most I ever paid for a nail polish, but with no regrets whatsoever. It wears ridiculously well, is a beautiful sea green metallic with hints of blue and just makes my nails look (and my hands) very enviable.

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Essie Sole Mate

Part 1 of my Essie adoration. I only heard of them after getting $6 manis in Brooklyn a few years back, and finding out that every drug store sells them made me an instant fan. Sometimes the colour doesn’t go on so well, and is streaky which I find with the lighter shades of Essie. I’m also a fan of dark polishes, I feel they add a touch of elegance to whatever ensemble I’m wearing and it’s extremely glossy without topcoat. With topcoat it’s so shiny I can almost see my reflection in it. I got told guys don’t like dark nail polish. I responded that I couldn’t care less.

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Essie Blue Aruba

I saw this in a magazine on the plane and I HAD TO HAVE IT. I’ve been searching for a metallic blue for ages. I was a little worried about the Essie lack of pigmentation, but since it’s dark two coats goes on nicely. Three would make it more intense. It always pops nicely with my tan. And they don’t sell it in the UK yet. Ha!

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Sephora by Opi “Only Gold For Me” Top Coat (Honourable Mention)

I had a love-hate relationship with glitter nail polishes. Micro glitter is fine. Ones with big chunks of it, not so much. When I was a teenager I had a starry glitter polish from Claire’s. Never again, left my nails looking dull, and feeling rough. This top coat isn’t like that AT ALL. Even though it has huge bits of glitter in it, they settle nicely and form a smooth patina on the nail. I usually layer it over a dark polish when it’s the festive season, or when I just feel sparkly. It’s mega tough too, so your polish doesn’t chip. Only issue is that the glitter does get stuck to the nail and can take quite a bit of vigorous rubbing with remover to get off. I’m sure Yvonne won’t mind me sticking an extra cheeky one in if I let her borrow it…

*** Sabrina “The Science of Style” Bangladesh is a journalist, accidental stylist and all around creative bird ***