Imagination In Colour UK Nail Polish Blog
Hello! Recently every brand and their dog in the UK has been coming out with ‘gel-effect’ polishes. I’m a fan. I have always loved the look of gel nails, but without wanting to commit to a single colour for more than a couple of days they aren’t for me. So these gel-effect nail varnishes are perfect! I’ve come to realise though that these seem to be very hit and miss. Barry M stormed it with their Gellys, but Models Own seem to have had a bit of a fail with the HyperGels, according to the blogosphere. Nails Inc also seem to have made some lovely coloured ones, but their Kensington Caviar gel-effect topcoat seems to have been one big flop. And I honestly haven’t heard much at all on the Rimmel Salon Pros, so now that Seventeen have brought out their take, how will they fare?
Long Island is a very simple, very clean soft grey. It’s probably the palest grey I own, which is something I’ve been searching for for the longest time! I find greys can come off quite dull or quite ugly sometimes on the nail, but this one is just perfection. I think this will be fantastic worn alone but even better as a neutral base for a lovely sparkly glitter.
Application:
The photos are 2 coats, for full opacity. This was something I wasn’t expecting. First coat is a little sheer, and most pale greys take a while to build up, but this one was flawless at two. It applies really evenly, and dries to a fabulous shine, much like the Barry M Gellys (dare I say it… maybe even… better?). It dries quickly, however I did find sheetmarks the next day after a good 2-3 hours of drying, so I’d definitely recommend using a quick-dry topcoat to avoid denting and sheetmarks. If that’s its only sin, I can live with it! The bottle claims you can get up to 8 days of wear from this polish, which in all honesty I am too impatient to try, but Sophie of The Bird Song apparently wore it for nine days so that’s awesome! The brush made application really easy – often flat brushes end up too wide or too thin but this one is a good width and has a nice curve along the edge to make the neat cuticle line easy to achieve. No clean-up here ladies!!
My verdict – LOVE. I am so impressed with this polish and it far surpassed my expectations. I do love my funky indies and my wild glitters but sometimes it’s so nice to wear a ‘palate-cleanser’ – I just felt that my nails looked so clean and looked-after with this on! I will definitely be going back for more. I also bought ‘Emerald Tropics’ – a very gorgeous green that is hell to photograph so I may or may not write a post on it, but that one is equally fabulous in formula and finish.
The Seventeen Gel Colour range retails for £3.99 each and is available in Boots instore and online. They currently have a 3 for 2 offer on so grab them while you can get them nice and cheap!
What are your thoughts on Gel-Effect polishes?
x
