Orly Nail Polish Review

As many of you will know I love nails and everything to do with nails. I love nail art, I love sparkly gems but most of all, I LOVE nail polish. I have tried many low-end and high-end nail polishes throughout the years so I know which nail polishes are good and which are utterly shocking. 

I'm going to be reviewing nail polish brands over the next couple of weeks as this will be a good way of showing you the good, the mediocre and the down right rubbish nail polish brands. 

To kick off my series of nail polish brand reviews, I have for you...Orly. 

What Orly have to say...

"ORLY is the trendsetter when it comes to fashion for nails. Taking influences from the catwalk, ORLY's seasonal collections go hand in hand with fashion trends, and with over 150 different colours to choose from, there's a shade for every occassion.

Over 30 years and more than 25 treatments later, ORLY is renowned around the world for its professional quality products. A complete manicure and pedicure range, ORLY has everything you need to keep your hands and feet in the red carpert standard they so deserve."

Are Orly nail polishes 3 free?

Yes they are. Orly nail polishes are free from DBP, Formaldehyde and Toluene. 

Does Orly have a large colour selection?

Orly have a fabulous colour selection. There are 96 shades in the permanent collection and approximately 6 shades in each of the limited edition collections. Orly release many collections over the year and they're always brilliant collections. One collection Orly have just released is the Orly Flash Glam FX collection, it's basically a collection containing many sparkly and glittery nail polishes and I have to say that it's a simply amazing collection. Perfect for a magpie like myself. 

Orly cater for everybody as there is a wide selection of neutral, dark and bright nail polishes available. No matter if you like beige, dark purple or hot pink, there will be a shade just for you. 

How much do Orly nail polishes retail at and where can you buy them from?

Orly nail polishes retail at £10.95 and can be purchased online at Look Fantastic, Beauty Bay and Feel Unique. Mini Orly nail polishes can also be purchased in-store at selected Boots stores, the mini Orly nail polishes retail at £3.99 each. It's also important to know that full sized Orly nail polishes retail at  £7.50 on Beauty Bay so you may as well buy them from there, Beauty Bay also offer free delivery (or snail delivery as I like to call it).

What do Orly nail polishes look like?

Below are photographs and swatches of a few of my Orly nail polishes. 

From left to right: 'Hot Shot', 'Passion Fruit', 'Beach Cruiser', 'Basket Case'.

From left to right: 'Butterflies', 'White Out', 'Androgynie', 'Shine On Crazy Diamond'.

'Hot Shot'

Colour: Neon Red/Coral

Coats needed: 2

'Passion Fruit'

Colour: Neon Red/Pink

Coats needed: 2

'Beach Cruiser'

Colour: Neon Pink

Coats needed: 2

'Basket Case'

Colour: Pink With Purple Undertone

Coats needed: 2

'Butterflies'

Colour: Strawberry Pink

Coats needed: 3

'White Out'

Colour: Pure White

Coats needed: 2

'Androgynie'

Colour: Black With Green/Blue Glitter

Coats needed: 3

'Shine On Crazy Diamond'

Colour: Fine Glitter

Coats needed: 2

Swatches

From left to right: Hot Shot, Passion Fruit, Beach Cruiser, Basket Case, Butterflies, White Out, Androgynie, Shine On Crazy Diamond. 

The Good

• Brush - Orly nail polishes have a thin brush which enables precise application. 
• Packaging - Orly nail polishes have a rubberised lid which enables easy gripping (handy when opening) and flawless performance.
• Coats Needed - The majority of Orly nail polishes require 2 coats which is standard. Some of the paler shades need 3 coats but that is to be expected. 
• Drying Time - I can't give specific drying times as I don't sit there with a stop clock funnily enough, but If I were to guess then I'd say that one coat would be dry after 5 minutes. I also noticed that matte Orly nail polishes dry almost instantly so if you're in a rush and need to use a nail polish that dries uberly fast then I'd check out the matte Orly nail polishes, for example, 'Hot Shot' or 'Beach Cruiser'.
• Chipping - Orly nail polish lasts around 6 days before chipping. The majority of nail polishes last around 3-4 before chipping so 6 days is amazing! Orly nail polishes would be ideal for anyone who doesn't change their nail colour frequently.
• 3 Free - Orly nail polishes are free from DBP, Formaldehyde and Toluene (baddies that shouldn't be in nail polishes). It's important that you check the ingredients list of a nail polish before buying it as you really don't want to buy a nail polish that contains these three baddies. Hoorah for Orly.. you kind, thoughtful brand!
• Opacity - Some Orly polishes are very opaque, whereas some can be quite sheer. It just depends on the colour and finish of the nail polish but more often than not, Orly nail polishes have brilliant opacity. 
• Application - Orly nail polishes apply very well. They apply very smoothly without streaking, although you do have to watch out for some of the matte shades as they can apply a little streaky, and also sheer. 
• Colour Range - I personally feel that Orly have the BEST colour range, there's 96 different shades in the permanent range and there's usually 6 shades in each of the limited edition collections. Orly release many collections throughout the year and I have to say that they never fail to impress me. I feel that Orly cater for each and every one of us as they include a mix of vibrant, neutral and dark shades in their collections. 
• Size - Orly nail polishes contain 18ml of product which is utterly amazing. A standard nail polish contains between 8-15ml of product so you're getting a lot more product in Orly nail polishes. Orly nail polishes are very large so I can imagine one bottle lasting a while. I paint my nail VERY frequently and have gone through 2 bottles of 'White Out' in the space of 10 months which in my opinion is very good.  
• Price - Orly nail polishes retail between £7.50 - £10.85 and I think this is reasonable. Not only are you paying for the large amount of product, you're paying for the quality too. I own many high end nail polishes that are a lot more expensive than Orly nail polishes and I have to say that the quality it utterly shoddy, £1 Primark nail polish is probably better quality, and that's no exaggeration. Overall, Orly nail polishes have a brilliant price tag and I will definitely by buying more in the future, they're brilliant nail polishes!  
• Scent - Some nail polishes can have a really overpowering scent, so much so that they can give you a migraine but I'm pleased to say that Orly nail polishes don't have an overpowering scent at all. 

The Okay

• Availability - Orly nail polishes cannot be purchased in-store (apart from a few select mini shades at selected Boots stores) and this is a problem for me as I like to look at nail polishes before I buy them, just incase I either don't like the shade or find I already own a similar one. If Orly branched out to Boots/Superdrug, it'd be so much better as you could freely look at the nail polishes. There's no denying that Orly nail polishes are readily available online, you can buy them left, right and centre (which is ace) but it'd just be nice to see them in the flesh. Not only that, the Boots/Superdrug points would be nice too. 

The Bad

• I have nothing bad to say about Orly nail polishes, they're brilliant nail polishes and I'll certainly be buying more in the future. The only thing I will say is that I'd like to see more green/blue shades in the permanent range. 

Overall I like Orly nail polishes, they have a nice consistency, apply smoothly and last around 6 days without chipping. Orly nail polishes also contain 18ml which is utterly amazing as a standard nail polish contains 15ml.
I would suggest Orly nail polishes to anyone that doesn't paint their nails that often or buy nail polishes on a regular basis. Orly nail polishes would also be great for anyone on the go 24/7 as they're fast drying.

Would I recommend? Yes, I personally feel Orly nail polishes are the best on the market.

Would I re-purchase? Yes, 10 times over. 

Rating? 10/10

Have you tried any Orly nail polishes?

:)

*The shades 'Hot Shot', 'Basket Case' and 'Butterflies' were sent to me for review purposes. This does not effect my thoughts and opinions on the products. As always, my reviews are 100% truthful. 

Top 5 Nail Polishes For Spring

I'm currently going through a 'let's buy loads of nail polish' phase and to be honest, I think it's primarily due to my new love for China Glaze nail polishes. I had heard of China Glaze but thought it was only sold in the USA, little did I know that a couple of UK online shops also sell it too. (I will link shops at the end of this post).

Since I've accumulated a fair few nail polishes over the past few months (mainly China Glaze nail polishes), I thought I'd do a 'Top 5 Nail Polishes For Spring' post. 

It's quite evident that pastel colours are going to be huge for S/S (spring/summer), everywhere you look there's mint green, coral, pastel pink, yellow, baby blue... and so on and so forth, so I thought I'd include nail polishes that 'fit in' with this pastel trend. 

Neons also seem to be an upcoming trend in not only the clothing industry but in nail polish world too so I think I'll include neon shades in my 'Top 5 Nail Polishes For Summer' post as I don't think many people are likely to sport lime green nails in spring. 

So without further ado, here are the nail polishes I think are perfect for Spring. 

O.P.I 'What's With The Cattitude' - £11.00 - (15ml)

"Soft pastel baby blue"

China Glaze 'Re-Fresh Mint' - £6.75 - (14ml)

'Pastel green creme"

O.P.I 'Fiercely Fiona' - £11.00 - (15ml)

"Soft feminine pastel yellow"

China Glaze 'Peachy Keen' - £6.75 - (14ml)

"True peach creme"

Essie 'Lovie Dovie' - £8.50 - (15ml)

"A perfect true flamingo pink"

 From: What's With The Cattitude, Re-Fresh Mint, Fiercely Fiona, Peachy Keen and Lovie Dovie

So there are my top 5 nail polish for spring! I thought I'd include a nice mix of colours as there's no point in me choosing 5 nail polishes with similar shades. I felt I had to include a mint green nail polish as it would be a crime if I didn't. Mint green is possibly one of the nicest and most worn colours, it's just simply amazing. 

China Glaze Stockists:

Radiant Babe Beauty - http://radiantbabe-beauty.co.uk/zencart/index.php 

Beautifully Gorgeous - http://www.beautifullygorgeous.co.uk/china-glaze.html

So what are your favourite nail polishes for spring?

:)

Orly 'Shine On Crazy Diamonds'

I have to say that this nail varnish is probably the most glittery, sparkliest nail varnish that I have EVER used.

I love glitter nail varnishes, they're perfect for creating a simple but amazing effect. I have even been eyeing up the new Deborah Lippmann 'Stairway To Heaven' nail varnish and one of the new glitter nail varnishes from the O.P.I Muppets Collection. All I can say is that I'm a sucker for sparkles, you can NEVER have enough glitter nail varnishes.

Some people hate glitter nail varnishes with a passion as they're tricky to remove but it honestly doesn't bother me, trying to remove gel nails is a whole lot worse. 

If you dislike glitter nail varnishes because of the tricky removal of them, then I have a handy tip.

1.) Apply a good amount of nail varnish remover to cotton wool pads.

2.) Then place the cotton wool pads on your finger nails.

3.) Wrap tin foil around your fingers. 

4.) Wait for 10-15 minutes and then remove the tin foil and cotton wool pads. 

5.) And you're done, you should have glitter free nails!

This bottle of loveliness contains a 18ml and it can be purchased from Beauty Bay. It's great for wearing with any colour as it's purely made from multi-coloured glitter. 

The Orly nail varnishes retail at £6.95 but some places do them at discount prices. I know Boots sell Orly nail varnishes for £5.00 and some online shops are selling them for as little as £2.95. 

Let's take a look at this little gem...

Swatches...

(With Flash)

(Without Flash)

It's such a beautiful nail varnish and I think it would look amazing over black nail varnish. I think it's definitely a nail varnish I'll be wearing around the Christmas period. 

The Good:

• The bottle contains 18ml of product which is great as most nail varnishes contain 15ml at the most. O.P.I nail varnishes contain 15ml and they retail at £10.50 each. With Orly you're in effect getting 3ml more for £3.55 less, AMAZING. 
• £6.95 is a fab price for an high-end nail varnish. Most high-end nail varnishes retail between £10.00 and £17.00 so £6.95 is a bargain. I have tried other high-end nail varnishes that have cost a lot more but haven't been as good. I'm so impressed by Orly and I will definitely purchase more Orly nail varnishes in the future.
• The quality of the nail varnish is incredible, I have had it on for a week and it looks no different to when I applied it. It's still glossy, super sparkly and hasn't chipped whatsoever. I tend to find that most nail varnishes fade after a week of application but I can honestly say that I haven't found this to be the case with this nail varnish. Another great thing about the nail varnish is that the glitter particles aren't chunky, when I touch my nails they feel smooth, you cannot feel the glitter particles at all.
• It's great for wearing over the top of other nail varnishes. It would look fab over red, black and of course, pink.
• You only need to use 2 coats meaning you're not using a lot of the product. The glitter particles disperse equally meaning you don't have to layer the nail varnish. You could probably get away with only using one coat but I love full on glitter so decided to apply two coats.
• The consistency of the nail varnish is nice, it's not too thick or thin, it's just right (sounded like Goldilocks and the 3 bears then). Some glitter nail varnishes have a thick, gloopy consistency and they are very unpleasant to apply, I'm pleased to say that this nail varnish isn't gloopy and I don't think it'll ever become gloopy.
• Orly nail varnishes have a rubber handle meaning they're easy to grip.

The Bad:

• You can only buy Orly from Beauty Bay or Boots which is a little bit annoying as my local Boots doesn't stock Orly and Beauty Bay is an online shop meaning I'm unable to see the nail varnishes in the flesh. 

Thank you so much for reading! Have you tried Orly nail varnishes before?

:)

Ciate Paint Pots

Whilst browsing through piles and piles of magazines at the airport, I noticed that Marie Claire had a pretty amazing freebie, a Ciate paint pot. The Ciate paint pots retail at £9.00 each and when the magazine only costs £3.60, it's a steal! A £9.00 nail polish for £3.60 is AMAZING!...I wonder if O.P.I will ever do something like this ;)

I had never really heard of Ciate before so didn't know much about the brand or if the paint pots were any good so I bit the bullet and bought the magazine just so I could try out one of these fun little nail polishes. There were 2 different paint pots available, a lovely shimmery purple (also known as 'Wait Until Dark') and a pale peachy colour (cannot remember the name). I'm not a fan of pale coloured nail polishes as I love bright, vivid colours so I opted for the shimmery purple. 

Here's the little gem itself...

This colour is absolutely beautiful. I think I would have purchased this even if it wasn't free in a magazine, it's a stunning colour. 

I love the golden undertones in this nail polish and I especially love how shimmery it is! It's so shimmery that you do not need to apply a top coat!

A swatch of this lovely nail polish will be provided at the end of this post.

I wore this nail varnish on holiday to see if the quality was any good and I have to say that it 100% passed the test. It started to chip after 9 days, which in my book, is pretty impressive. I didn't apply a base coat or top coat so I'd say that this little pot of shimmeriness is amazing. 

I also noticed in the Marie Claire magazine that Ciate had a 25% off code, when I saw this I knew I had to buy more once I returned home, so I did. 

As soon as I got home I bought 3 paint pots and a base coat. The Ciate paint pots I purchased are Big Yellow Taxi, The Glossip and Cupcake Queen, the base coat I purchased is called Polish Grip. My order came to a total of £29.00, not bad considering I bought 3 nail polishes and a base coat! 

So without further a do, here are my new Ciate paint pots...

 Big Yellow Taxi - £9.00

 The Glossip - £9.00

Cupcake Queen - £9.00

Polish Grip - £11.00

Here are the lovely swatches...

From left to right; Big Yellow Taxi, The Glossip, Cupcake Queen, Wait Til Dark.

I cannot do a full review on these nail polishes as I haven't worn each of them for a long enough period but once I have trailed each of them, I shall do a full review. 

I currently have Big Yellow Taxi on my nails and I have to say that so far, so good! I've been making loads of jewellery today and it has withstood the likes of opening jump rings with my nails and also being jabbed with certain tools. My Barry M nail paint didn't withstand jewellery making so I think the Ciate paint pots are tough cookies!

If you would like to take advantage of the wonderful 25% off code then here it is; CIATE25MC

I think the code is valid until the 20th of September so you still have plenty of time left to make an order :)

Thanks for reading and keep a look out for the full review! :)

O.P.I Nail Varnishes

I recently purchased a few new O.P.I nail varnishes. I bought 3 from Look Fantastic as I had a £5.00 off code to use and then I purchased a couple off Chemist Direct as they were selling O.P.I nail varnishes for £7.19 each! How awesome is that!

Here are my new O.P.I nail varnishes...

From left to right; Pink Flamenco, Shorts Story, Alpine Snow, Fiercely Fiona, Lady In Black.

And here are swatches...

From left to right; Pink Flamenco, Shorts Story, Alpine Snow, Fiercely Fiona, Lady In Black.

On Look Fantastic O.P.I nail varnishes retail at £10.50 each but on Chemist Direct they retail between £7.09 - £8.15 so it might be worth having a look on there if you're looking to buy an O.P.I nail varnish. 

Which O.P.I nail varnish do you like best? It'd be nice to see what all your favourites are :)

Thanks for reading lovely people!

:)

O.P.I Nail Varnishes

I recently bought three new O.P.I nail varnishes. Look Fantastic were offering 17% off all orders so I thought I'd invest in some new nail varnishes. The O.P.I nail varnishes that I bought were 'Planks A Lot', 'What's With The Cattitude?' and 'Sparrow Me The Drama'.

Here are the nail varnishes themselves...

From left to right: Planks A Lot, What's With The Cattitude?, Sparrow Me The Drama.

Here's Planks A Lot...

"Aye, we believe this OPI Planks A Lot Nail Lacquer is worth walking the plank for. A divine purple shade, you’ll dive into style each time you don this fabulous tone. Fingers crossed there be no sharks lurking below…"

A swatch of Planks A Lot...

Here's What's With The Cattitude?...

"Conquer dragons, rescue princesses (or princes), or just relax in your favourite mud bath. OPI What’s With The Cattitude? Nail Lacquer, a moody light blue that’s really a pussycat, is sure to send you ogre-the-top…!"

A swatch of What's With The Cattitude?...

Here's Sparrow Me The Drama...

"Shiver me timbers, this OPI Sparrow Me The Drama Nail Lacquer means business. Avast, you’ll be swashbucklingly stylish in this hot pink hue, but beware – they’ll be a whole host of lily-livered pirates ready to fight ye for it!"

A swatch of Sparrow Me The Drama...

Information about the nail varnishes

• Each full size O.P.I nail varnish contains 15ml. 
• O.P.I nail varnishes have a ProWide brush.
• O.P.I nail varnishes do not contain DBP, Toluene or Formaldehyde.
• The nail varnishes were £10.50 each. 
• Sparrow Me The Drama and Planks A Lot are part of the O.P.I Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides collection.
• What's With The Cattitude? is from the O.P.I Shrek-tacular collection.

Final thoughts

I adore these nail varnishes, in terms of the colours and the quality. I think that these colours would be lovely for summer and they are also fab colours to use as a base for nail art. What's With The Cattitude? would make a perfect 'sky' colour, I wish I'd have used this when creating my bee trail nails! 

The quality of the nail varnishes is exceptional. They are so opaque, probably the most opaque nail varnishes that I've ever used. I did use 2 coats when swatching each of the nail varnishes but I could have easily gotten away with only doing one coat. The only reason I used 2 coats is to see if there was a huge difference between 1 and 2 coats and I can safely say that there's not much difference at all. 

The nail varnishes are incredibly shiny, so shiny that there's no need to apply top coat! O.P.I do sell a fast drying top coat but I really do not think it's necessary. I'd only recommend buying the top coat if you're doing a french manicure or applying O.P.I glitter nail varnish, I find that top coat helps O.P.I glitter nail varnishes look a lot more sparkly!

O.P.I nail varnishes dry super quick, I'm actually amazed that it only took 15 minutes for my nails to dry. When using other branded nail varnishes I usually sit there for hours on end waiting for my nails to dry, this makes Cole a very unhappy Cole. 

I really would recommend O.P.I nail varnishes to absolutely anybody! They may be pricey but they are 100% worth the price tag! 

Hope you've liked this post! 

:D

E.L.F Nail Varnishes

My mamma recently ordered 7 E.L.F nail varnishes. She hadn't tried anything from the brand before and since E.L.F were offering 20% off everything she thought she'd try some of the nail varnishes. The nail varnishes she purchased were Mango Madness, Mint Cream, Passion Pink, Gum Pink, Hot Pink, Nude and Lilac.

The nail varnishes retail at £1.50 and can be purchased at E.L.F Cosmetics. My mum ordered the nail varnishes last Friday and they arrived this morning, pretty good considering my mum selected standard delivery.

Nail varnish descriptions:
Mango Madness - This is a vibrant orange / coral colour.
Mint Cream - This is a lovely pale mint colour.
Passion Pink - This is a bright pink colour.
Gum Pink - This is a typical baby pink colour.
Hot Pink - This is pinky red colour.
Nude - This a standard nude colour.
Lilac - This a pale lilac colour.

My beautiful mamma swatched all of these nail varnishes for me so here are the swatches! :D

Here's Mango Madness...

Mango Madness is such an awesome colour for summer, it's just so bright and lovely! I think it's meant to be more of a coral colour judging from the photo on the website but trust me, it's by no means a coral colour!

My mamma applied 3 coats of Mango Madness to her nails.

Here's Mint Cream...

Mint Cream is a lovely creamy colour, it's very similar to the other 'ice cream' shades on the market.

My mamma applied 3 coats of Mint cream to her nails.

Here's Passion Pink...

Passion Pink is the perfect mix of coral and bright pink. It pretty much looks like the colour of the inside of a passion fruit, pretty fitting name don't you think? My camera has also made this colour look overly coral, in the flesh it's more pink than coral.

My mamma applied 3 coats of Passion Pink to her nails.

Here's Gum Pink...

Gum Pink is the perfect baby pink. It's such a lovely colour and it's great for all the girly girls out there!

My mamma applied 3 coats of Gum Pink to her nails.

Here's Hot Pink...

Hot Pink is a pinky red colour. When looking at the bottle you'd expect this to be a lot more pinky as it looks like a bright fuchsia pink colour. You only realise that it's actually more of a reddy pink when you apply it to your nails. It's such a lovely colour and it's pretty shiny too!

My mamma applied 3 coats of Hot Pink to her nails.

Here's Nude...

Nude is a standard nude colour. It would be great for those of you who like natural coloured nail varnishes.

My mamma applied 4 coats of Nude to her nails.

Here's Lilac...

Lilac is a nice colour for summer, it's subtle yet very girly. I wouldn't say this is an 'ice cream' shade as such, it's more of a pastel shade.

My mamma applied 3 coats of Lilac to her nails.

Final thoughts...
These nail varnishes really are fab for the price! My mum did have to apply 3/4 coats of each nail varnish which may seem like a bit of a negative thing but for £1.50 what more do you want. The nail varnishes also contain 10ml so it doesn't really matter if you have to apply 3/4 coats.

The nail varnishes are also available in a wide range of colours which means there is a colour for everyone. I love the colours my mum bought and I can see them being worn a lot throughout the summer period.

My mum also thought that the nail varnishes were also really easy to take off. She literally didn't have to do any serious rubbing at all. This is so good because there's nothing worse than spending 10 years taking off your nail varnish.

Overall these nail varnishes are brill! They're cheap, cheerful and the colours are lovely. However, my mamma noticed that some of the nail varnishes had bigger brushes than others, this probably wouldn't make any difference to the colour of the nail varnish but it could affect application in terms of streakiness. She also found that the Lilac and Nude nail varnishes had a different consistency, they were a lot thinner than the others, maybe this could be an issue with the paler colours?

These nail varnishes are brill for a base colour and are definitely worth buying if you're looking for some cheap nail varnishes! :)

Hope this post has been helpful!
:)