I think we all love getting something for free so I couldn’t fail to mention the new offer from Special K and Nails Inc. Everyday for 12 weeks there are 100 of these vibrant nail polishes up for grabs. All you need is the promotional code from a pack of special K which you enter online for the chance of winning.

Now that autumn is most definitely here I love the rich, vibrant shades on offer. This is such a vibrant red polish that it can brighten up the darkest of wintery days! I must admit I do love the diamante on the bottle lid as it helps make it stand out amongst the rest of my nail polish collection.

I had a black tie do on Saturday night so I thought this was the perfect polish to go with my black and cream outfit. I think a polish this bright requires flawless application so I think I did pretty well. I did initially start of trying to do a couple of thin coats however this seemed to drag a little over my nails so instead I found one thick coat applied a lot smoother and gave a glossy finish.

This polish doesn’t claim to be a one coat polish however I found that one coat was all I needed to obtain an opaque finish. Perfect if your in a rush as I find most one coat ail polishes actually require at least two to get a finish I like. Tip wear wise I had this on my nails three days before the tips looked a little chipped which I think is quite good going for a polish which only needs one coat.

I have to admit my nails still have a little tinge of red even though I’ve scrubbed them clean but then any bright polish often tends to leave a little bit of staining. Consider this polish can be won for free when Nail Inc polishes usually cost around £11 I think it’s well worth the time to log on and enter!

*pr sample

I popped into Boots on Saturday hoping to find the new 17 magnetised nail polishes though unfortunately there only seemed to be the product info and no actual nail polishes! However I couldn’t fail to notice the 3 for 2 offer across all the makeup ranges so I had to pick myself up a few new items.

I’ve fancied buying a nail art pen for a couple of weeks now so when I spotted this pen from Models Own for £6 I thought I might as well try it. I’ll do a proper review with some NOTD soon after I’ve tried experimenting with it. I love my Mirror Shine lipstick from 17 in Beehive so I’ve also picked up another 2 shades, Flirtini and Belle which were £4.59 each. With my 3 for 2 it means I picked up the second lipstick for free!

Leopard print nails! I know, not the most creative of designs ever but this is the first time in ages that I’ve actually tried a little bit of nail art so I thought I’d start simple.

I fancied using a bright base so used a couple of coats of Mavala Sweety which is a lovely summery, candy pink. I love my GOSH Holographic polish but the wear is terrible so instead I’ve used this to do the leopard spots. I don’t have any nail art kit so I had to make do with a black marker pen to draw the black lines.

I’m quite impressed with my efforts though unfortunately the black pen does smudge a little when you apply a clear polish over it. I think I may have to invest in a black nail art pen in future. The holographic effect of the spots doesn’t show up so well in the pictures but in really life it is really sparkly. I think I’m going to be trying some other nail art designs with it now.

I was in Boot’s last week and noticed they were running a special offer on Barry M nail polish, buy 2 and save £1 which works out as two nail polishes for only £4.98! I’ve not bought any Barry M nail polishes in a while so I couldn’t resist picking up two of their most legendary shades, Peach Melba and Dusky Mauve.

Peach Melba is a bright coral shade which would look lovely in the summer with a nice tan. That said I think those with pale skin like mine can still probably get away with this colour. The picture here is three coats as just two left it slightly patchy. Application was relatively straight forward though did take a little while to dry.

The colour is more orangey than anything else I own but I love it on my nails as it’s such a bright, cheerful colour. Even though the weather is miserable this helps to brighten up those dark days!

Still on my haul from the cheap beauty shop, Beauty Works (bit like Saver’s I think)! I can never resist a nail polish and whilst I’d never heard of the brand Technic before the polishes were only 99p so I figured I might as well try them. I’ve been wearing a lot of bright nail polishes recently so I went for a change and picked up this blueish grey shade called Arctic Ice.

The first thing I have to say about this nail polish is that it does smell very chemically! Probably not surprising with a cheap polish but it is a little off putting when your applying it. The pictures below show three coats which had applied easily enough and a couple of hours later I went to bed with perfect nails. Unfortunately when I woke the polish had loads of lines and imprints in it so I think this means it’s the longest drying polish ever!

The colour I did really like as it’s quite subtle but unfortunately the drying time I just can’t live with! Maybe next time I’ll have to try a fast drying topcoat over it too see if that actually helps speed up the process as I’ve never had a polish take over a couple of hours to dry.

As I really liked the colour I thought I’d try a layer of OPI Last Friday Night over the top to hide all the imprints. The two nail polishes worked really well together and the finished look just has a hint of glitter which looks really pretty.