HJ Manicure Midnight Sky & Thunder Storm Review and Swatches

Hey there 🙂 the other day I was lucky enough to be sent a couple of HJ Manicure nail polishes. This is a new brand which has just very recently launched – they are cruelty free, vegan friendly and 5-free (which means they are free from Camphor, Toluene, DBP, Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde Resin), so if you are looking for a non-toxic, safe, ethical brand then here you have it! They currently have 16 shades, plus four Autumn/Winter shimmers to choose from. They are all designed by a lady called Helen J (hence the ‘HJ’ in the name!) and I have to say, they have a great selection of beautiful unique colours.

I was lucky enough to be sent a few to try (I have two to show you today, and there will be two more at some point in the next week or so!). Today I have one from the core line (Thunder Storm) and one from the Autumn/Winter Shimmer Collection (Midnight Sky).

HJ Manicure Midnight Sky

This is a lovely classic deep blue shimmer. It’s a long while since I’ve worn a nail polish of this colour, and I always forget how much depth they have. It’s beautiful!

Application: The first coat seems watery and streaky, but by the second coat it’s actually full coverage and has that depth I mentioned. It dries to a dull finish so definitely use topcoat for the best effect. It dries fairly quickly.

HJ Manicure Thunder Storm

This is a lovely blue-toned grey. It’s a lot like Nails Inc Porchester Square, although I think it has a touch more blue (and Nails Inc formula never stays on my nails for long). It’s elegant and flattering, without being too plain. It also makes a perfect base colour for a glitter.

Application: This was pretty much opaque in 1 coat, although if you are doing thin coats you may need a second coat. It’s even and buttery – perfect. Dries quickly and to a nice shine. I actually wore this for 4 days straight, with no chips, tipwear or anything – safe to say I was impressed.

General comments

The brush length (specifically the stick part) on this nail polish makes it a little tricky to apply, because it gathers nail polish along it which can drip down, so just be careful to wipe off the excess before you apply. Also because the (very attractive) bottle has a narrow base, if you’re clumsy life me make sure you are careful not to knock it over! 🙂

All in all I really like these nail polishes, I think they are brilliant quality and I always love a good ethical brand. You can get HJ Manicure polishes here for £9.50, and they have free shipping on orders over £20.

I often hear or read people saying the £9.50 is quite steep for a single nail polish – however I think for a great quality product it’s worth paying a little extra for the added longevity and good formula, not to mention it’s non-toxic and cruelty-free qualities.

Let me know what you think in the comments!