Dotty digits - Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots

I've never tried Maybelline nail varnishes and it's not a brand I think of when I go on the hunt for new polishes, but when I spotted these dotty numbers, I had to give them a go. These remind me a little of the Illamasqua Imperfection nail varnishes which I drooled over (a lot!), although the glitter in these is chunkier and the colours less subtle.

200 Rain Forest Canopy: A dark teal colour with black and white matte hex glitters in various sizes. The base is very sheer so two+ coats are a must - below you can see one coat on the left and two on the right. Adding a white base underneath would also help the colour pack a punch. I'm not 100% sure I like this on my nails... I would prefer a more earthy, forest green (y'know, rainforest canopy...)

 

201 Speckled Pink: A deceptive pink-based polish shot through with the same black and white hex glitters. This applies to the nails a completely different colour to how it looks in the bottle, although it's still lovely. Again, the base is very sheer and you can see one coat (L) and two coats (R) below. I really love this colour and think it will make for a gorgeous summer manicure.

 

The glitter has a tendency to clump together, so it's worth taking a bit of time to spread it out in some random fashion on the nails. For both, wear time isn't that impressive - I noticed a lot of chipping after 1-2 days, so the rest came off pretty sharpish. As with all glitter polishes, removal is an absolute pain. The things we do for beautiful fingertips, eh.

Priced at £2.99, Boots is currently running a buy-one-get-one-half-price deal on all make up items. The Polka Dot range also includes a dark blue (Shooting Stars) and clear base version (Chalk Dust), but these didn't really tickle my fancy. (Ha, what a fun phrase!)

Are you a fan of Maybelline nail varnishes? Do you have any colour recommendations?

Sunnies

I was very pleased to find these sunglasses on a recent jolly to H+M and was even happier when I looked at price - £4.99! I've been on the hunt for some sunnies for a while, but couldn't justify splurging on a pricey pair owing to the seemingly permanent grey skies we're under in the UK. The price means I don't have to be too careful with them as well, which is good as my current sunglasses case is a sock (don't worry, it's clean...).

I love that the frames are green and don't contrast as starkly with my pale skin and blonde hair as black frames would. The shape of the frame is lovely too, although the actual lenses are pretty much round, the elongation in the top corners gives a nice cat eye effect, while the small studs add a bit of detail without looking obnoxious. These remind me a lot of a gorgeous Céline pair, but come in marginally cheaper. UV protection levels aren't specified, so it could be that these aren't the most effective sunglasses for that, however.

These are sold out on the H+M website (although they are still available online in a tortoiseshell pattern), but you may be able to find the green frames lurking in stores.

All I need now is some sun...