Wednesday 14 December 2011

The perfect stocking stuffer for a nail polish lover

Bloom have a massive collection nail polish colours - 80 to be exact (you can see all the colours here) which ordinarily retail for $19.95 per bottle or two for $29.95. However, just in time for Christmas, Bloom have brought out a couple of gift packs containing four mini bottles of their famous polish. These are an absolute bargain at $24.95, especially considering that the mini bottles are a generous 9ml each. I don't know about you but i have never ever finished a bottle of nail polish, therefore these mini bottles are perfect for me - more colour for my buck!

There are two packs to choose from:

Fashion Mini Nail Polish collection containing the following colours: Goldie, The Casette Society II, Kate, Sunday.


Classic Mini Nail Polish collection containing Millie, Kim, Edie and Toni.



I was sent the Classic Mini Nail Polish collection to trial. Prior to this I had not actually tried a Bloom nail polish before so I was quite intrigued to see how it compared my other favourite brands.

According to the Bloom website:

Natalie Bloom has always been obsessed with colour. In fact, some might say she has an unhealthy fascinations with the graduation of a Pantone swatch book! Natalie has collected fabric swatches, magazine tear-sheets and ribbons as inspiration for our 80+ Nail Polish range and the results are amazing. From sheer, seashell pink to that illusive petrol blue with a slight shimmer - Natalie wanted to create that perfect shade of nail polish that you've been searching high and low for.

With pigments sourced from around the world, a professional two-coat formula and an incredible 330-strand brush, our nail polish will hold its colour and shine for days.

The first colour I took for a test drive was Millie - a colour I would describe as a dark cherry red. My sister had a less poetic way of describing. On seeing me wear it she exclaimed 'OMG, that is the perfect whore red. I have been searching everywhere for that EXACT colour'. She then asked if she could borrow it...and took it with her when she moved to Japan. It is a great red after all! Two coats give total opacity. The formula is a dream to apply. I didn't find it streaky at all. However, it was fairly slow drying. It lasted three days before it started chipping and even then the chipping was minor. I did not apply a top coat over this - that is how shiny the polish is and the shine lasts until you take it off. I was hugely impressed with this polish.




I didn't get a chance to do a full mani with the other colours so have swatched them each on a single nail to show how the colour comes out. The second swatch is Kim, a taupey brown. I have to admit that this colour isn't my cup of tea. I just don't do anything that is even remotely a shade of brown. However, it is a colour that is really in fashion at the moment. I have seen a few blogs do nail polish swatches that are various shades of brown and the blog owners have all raved about the colour. I'd love to hear what you think of it. This is two coats. One coat gave me about 95% opacity and if you were in a rush you could get away with it as it only had the faintest 'bald spots' (a nail polish term I just learnt from Jacie at You've Got Nail!). Like Millie, it applied like a total dream.




The third swatch is Toni, though unfortunately it has not photographed as true to its colour as i would have liked. It has come out a lot whiter than in real life. Bloom describe the colour as 'a dew'...though that doesn't help me at all (I though dew was water so clear??), so I will include the official Bloom photo of the bottle to give you a better idea of its colour. The first application was very patchy so I was expecting this to be a minimum three coat job but surprisingly the second coat gave it complete opacity. I can see myself getting heaps of wear out of Toni, this summer, as it is one of those colours that really accentuate and and foot tan!






The final colour in the classic pack, and my personal favourite, was Edie. This is one hot red! Apologies for the colour of my finger, I think the blood must have been a bit cut off getting my finger to this angle. If you can ignore the purple finger take in the beauty of Edie. It is the perfect pillar box red. It is hot hot hot and demands attention. It looks like patent leather on. And the best bit - total opacity with one coat! Yep, this picture was taken after only one coat was applied, no top coat. Brilliant when you realise that you haven't applied nail polish and need to be out the door in five minutes (ok, fine, it won't be touch dry in that time but you get my point!).




The Bloom mini nail polish packs are such great value. You get four nail polishes for just over $6 each, and these are top quality polishes to boot. If you are after a Kris Kringle gift, or an extra stocking filler I can imagine anyone not being totally thrilled with a pack of these mini polishes. You can find Bloom online or in Myers and David Jones stores.


Have you tried Bloom nail polish before? If so, what are your thoughts?

Can you do a brown nail polish or do ou have a severe brown phobia like me?



All opinions stated in this blog are my own. I have no affiliation with Bloom and received no remuneration for my comments. This product was provided for consideration.