Friday, 15 February 2013

NOTD: Illamasqua Fragile


This rather pretty polish is Illamasqua's Fragile.  It's intended to look speckled like an egg (and many of the promo images do indeed feature eggs), combining a jelly like base colour with matte glitter particles in a number of sizes.  It's like a more muted version of a Deborah Lippmann glitter polish - glitter showing through multiple layers of polish for a manicure with plenty of depth and variation.

Unlike some of the more interesting instant nail art polishes I've tried recently, I'm finding myself really liking the speckled effect.  Probably because it doesn't have a particularly unusual texture.  Unusual textures often lead to annoying things like catching on tights, feeling weird when you tap your nails on your cheek when thinking (does anyone else do that?) and causing your other half to raise his eyebrow in a fairly cynical manner.


Anyway.  Application was pretty damn good for something so chock full of particles.  The polish glides onto the nail smoothly, and there's no need to poke the particles into place - they distribute themselves evenly with no effort at all.  This is three coats - the first two were a little patchy on the pale blue base colour, but the third coat evened everything out.

Removal is unsurprisingly awful.  It might not be sparkly glitter, but it's still a mixture of chunky bits - it's easiest to soak this polish off rather than scrub the nail.

Illamasqua's speckled polishes are also available in green, pink, beige and purple varieties and I rather think I need the purple one in my life.  Find them at Illamasqua counters and stores, and online, where each polish will cost you £14.50.

Disclosure: PR sample

5 comments:

  1. So pretty! Love the speckled effect!

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    1. Certainly gathered a lot of compliments this week! :)

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  2. I have the beige version and it looks wonderful on. But removal was awful! I had tons left on - put another polish on over the top for the following day - removed that and there was still lots of glitter left - ended up scraping it off with another fingernail. I think I'll just do one accent nail from now on.

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    1. Have you tried using the foil soaking method to remove it? Cut a cotton pad into nail size squares, saturate with remover, place on the nail, and wrap up in a strip of tin foil. Make sure the top is folded over, leave for two minutes or so, and the polish will come straight off!

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  3. Many thanks for that tip, Gemma! I'll try that next time. It really is a gorgeous colour and I can't wait to wear it again.

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