No Lack Of Lacquer

China Glaze Cast A Spell

I suddenly realised how many Halloween polishes I’ve bought this year, and though I’ve now run out of time to swatch/post them all before the holiday itself, I’ll at least get some of the CG collection done! This is the first of the three polishes I bought.

Cast A Spell is a very dark green/black base with tons of olivey-gold shimmer. I wouldn’t quite describe it as a glass fleck but it’s definitely reminiscent. The formula is a little on the thick side, which can make application slightly tricky, but it also means this is very, very close to being a one-coater. I used two for these swatches because it added a little more depth to the glitter. You can definitely just get away with one, however, if you’re careful. It’s also fantastically glossy even without a top coat, and the glass fleck-like nature means it’s very smooth despite how shimmery it is.

OPI Berlin There Done That

Oh, OPI, I missed your puns. I really like Berlin There; it’s in one of the colour families that I’m just generally fond of and is, I suspect, a cousin of Essie’s Chinchilly, though that leans a little more grey. The formula was about what I expect from OPI polishes, so no surprises there. My only complaint is something that I’ve noticed a lot in more recent OPI creams, which is that they often don’t hide the flaws on your nails, no matter how many coats you use. I needed three coats for full opacity and it dried slightly darker than the bottle shade.

Cult Nails Hypnotize Me & Charlatan

This was a bit of an experiment to see what kind of results I’d get from playing with one of the new Cult Nails topcoats. I used two coats of Hypnotise Me, a glittery blue-green jelly, two of Charlatan, a pink-purple duochrome topcoat, and another two of Hypnotize Me on top. It left me with an amazing shimmery colour shifter on my nails. Depending on the lighting, any of the four colours I’ve mentioned could show up at any time. The combination is very sheer (even with six coats) but absolutely stunning. I only regret that it’s been so rainy here that I didn’t get a chance to see it in the sun!

No7 Cruising

First off: my apologies for the broken nail. I managed to go through a period where I was breaking nails (literally) left and right and this was the hand that looked better at this point. Onto the post!

Cruising is a lovely turquoise that caught my eye immediately on the shelf. I really like the formula here; it’s on the thicker side but it flows very well, and is entirely self-levelling. I used three coats for a perfect, glossy finish. I didn’t get a lot of tipwear with it, either. You do have to be careful when you’re removing this one, however, as while it didn’t stain my nails, it didstain my fingers a bit.

Boots have recently redesigned their entire No7 range, which means a new cap and a new brush for the nail varnishes. As far as I can tell, the bottle is identical to the old design - it still holds 10ml, but now it costs £5.50 instead of £7. The new cap is more flared at the top which makes it harder to align nicely with the bottle when you’re closing it but doesn’t make that much of a difference to the application. The new brush is a little shorter, a little wider, and with rounded bristles instead of straight cut. I did find it a bit difficult to work with, though I think with time I’ll get used to it.

Rimmel London Pro Night Flight

I think this may be the first time I’ve worn a Rimmel Pro polish! This is a lovely blackened purple that gets darker with every coat. Be very careful with this one - it’s terribly streaky. I initially wore two coats, which showed the purple colour far better than the swatches above, but when I went outside to swatch the next day, it became clear pretty quickly that you could still see plenty of streaks on the nail. I added a third coat which cleared that up but only made the polish darker. It’s very difficult at three coats to see that it’s actually a purple. I don’t think I’d get ten days’ wear out of it (though admittedly, the bottle only promises “up to ten days”), as the tipwear started turning up on day two. I suspect it wouldn’t have been as obvious with a lighter polish.

a-england Holy Grail

Gold is one of those colours I rarely wear, but I’ll always make an exception for an a-england polish. Holy Grail does make my fingers look a very odd colour in certain lights, and unfortunately these photos, but it’s still a nice enough shade! It reminds me of the bright, shimmery yellow you often see gold pictured as in cartoons. The formula was a little sheerer than I’ve come to expect from a-england and you need three to four coats for full opacity. It also dries slower than I anticipated, so make sure you leave plenty of time between coats or you’ll risk denting. Otherwise, this is another great varnish from a fantastic brand.

Holy Grail has become limited edition and now costs £5 (with free worldwide delivery) while stocks last! When the last of the old Holy Grail has sold out, it’ll be replaced with an entirely new shade, so if you like this one, pick up a bottle while you still can!