I was perusing the House of Fraser Beauty Hall (Westfield) the other day when the fabulously sparkly Deborah Lippmann nail polish display caught my eye.
I’ve heard quite a bit about this brand, more specifically their ‘Happy Birthday’ multi-coloured glitter polish (which was sadly, not there!) and their ‘Stripper to Go’ removal mitts. The Deborah Lippmann line forms part of the new(ish!) Apothecary line in House of Fraser, which I was also excited to explore as until now, I’ve only admired the online store. They also had an array of MOR products… swoon!
Although it was a tough call, the polishes that drew me in were the fabulous ‘Across the Universe’, a navy jelly-ish base with bright blue glitter and huge hexagonal green and blue glitter and ‘Today was a Fairytale’, a clear/pale grey base with silver glitter and the same chunky hexagonal glitter in silver. I must admit it was the name that got me on the latter… as a huge Taylor Swift fan it has me singing ‘Today was a Fairytale’ every time I look at the bottle!
l-r: Across the Universe: 2 coats, 1 coat, Today was a Fairytale: 2 coats, 1 coat.
As for application, they are surprisingly smooth. For the glitter-haters amongst us, they are genuinely not as rough a finish as your standard glitters. But then again, these aren’t your standard glitter polishes by any means.
Across the universe is a really unique polish that has great depth to it in person and is therefore virtually impossible to photograph well (with my poor photography skills, at least!). It applies easily and fairly evenly, leaving a beautiful opaque finish in two coats.
Across the Universe: Above 2 coats, Below 1 coat
Today was a Fairytale however, was a slight disappointment. As the base is clear it would require three coats to get a totally opaque finish, and because the glitter is all the same colour, the larger pieces (which are what make the polish unique) are somewhat lost. I think it would work better as a bling-tastic topcoat over a bright colour.
Today was a Fairytale: Above 2 coats, Below 1 coat
It is a pretty polish none the less but in my opinion, Across the Universe is a much more worthy contender for your 18 hard earned pounds. Having said that, they both knock the socks off Chanel’s polishes in my book!
I also gave ‘The Stripper to Go’ mitts a whirl and I must say they are fabulous. One mitt removes three coats of polish from all 10 fingers in record time with no mess and no fuss. They would be fab to take on holiday or keep in your bag for nail ’emergencies’. The £14 price tag would put me off using them on a regular basis but they would definitely be worth splurging on if you’re a frequent traveller!
I’d love to hear if any of you have tried out Deborah Lippmann polishes, or if you’d like to try them? I’ve got my eyes set on the stunning, deep purple, Lady Gaga inpired ‘Bad Romance’ next!
The collection is available from House of Fraser online and in selected stores.