After receiving my Illamasqua order earlier this week, I decided to paint my nails with my new Illamasqua Nail Varnish this weekend.  The shade I ordered is ‘Snap’, which is currently in the online sale for £5, down from £13.50.

‘Snap’ is a very thick nail varnish.  One coat is enough for it to be completely opaque, but I applied two as the packaging suggested to give it more ‘intensity’.  I would’ve been happy with one though.  At first, the thick consistency of this proved to be quite troublesome as it was difficult to get an even coat and it seemed quite gloopy, but once I got used to the formula I found it a lot easier to apply.  For a thick varnish it dries quite quickly too – after a few minutes it was good to go, but yet again I made the mistake of painting my nails before bed so the sheets left slight imprints on the tacky top coat (which you may be able to see below).

My favourite thing about ‘Snap’ is the colour.  Illamasqua describe it as a rich pewter with a shimmer finish, and they are exactly right.  It is neither matte nor shiny, so it actually looks like metal, and the pewter shade is very luxurious and highly pigmented.

The nail varnish is proving to be hardy too.  I haven’t been wearing it for many days so I can’t comment fully on its lasting power, but I spent a good few hours hiking today which meant scrambling over rocks and grabbing onto tree branches, and it hasn’t chipped or peeled at all!  A very good sign if you ask me because my manis don’t often survive my nature walks.

Overall, I am fairly impressed with this nail varnish.  It could do with being a bit thinner maybe, but I have been told that one or two Illamasqua nail varnishes are a bit on the thick side, but the rest are perfect.  I’ll just have to try a non-metallic colour won’t I?  Not that I’m complaining :)  Illamasqua’s range of shades is amazing, and this one doesn’t disappoint.  At £5 this was a bargain as you get a large 15ml bottle, and I’d be happy to pay £13.50 for the right shade.

Naomi x