Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Orly Nail Lacquer – Swatches and Review
One of the first places I look when searching for a beauty bargain is Fragrance Direct, especially when it comes to nail varnish. In the past I have purchased Essie products from them for £1.99, and even OPI for £3.99, and last month they added another well-known brand to their site – Orly. Orly nail varnishes usually retail for £10.95 each, but Fragrance Direct are selling full-size bottles for just £3.99.
Fragrance Direct very kindly sent me four Orly shades to review, and after trying all of them out I can now share my thoughts, so here they are…
Velvet Rope / Moonlit Madness / Charged Up / Liquid Vinyl
Despite their different finishes, all four varnishes have a very similar formula. The consistency is smooth and, even though the brush is narrow, it applies easily, but the first coat always comes out slightly streaky. No matter how careful I was when swatching these, I couldn’t get the first coat to look right, and it was nowhere near opaque. Luckily, a slightly thicker second coat solved that issue, and the overall look was good. They also dry fairly quickly which is always a positive. They’re not quite 60 second varnishes, but they’re not far off.
When choosing the shades I wanted I struggled slightly as there are so many gorgeous colours in the range, but I’m really happy with the ones I settled for, and here they are…
Velvet Rope
As it’s my favourite colour, my nail varnish collection is overflowing with purples, but Velvet Rope is unlike any other I own. It’s a lovely violet purple with a shimmer finish, which is studded with particles of silver micro glitter. The overall effect isn’t quite ‘velvet’, but it’s really pretty, and despite the glitter is still easy to remove.
Moonlit Madness
I’m not always keen on red varnishes as a lot of them have an orange undertone which I really don’t like, but I love Moonlit Madness as it’s a bright cherry red, which I wore a lot over Christmas. It also gives the classic red nail a bit of a twist with a subtle shimmer finish.
Charged Up
Charged Up is my favourite of all four shades as it’s so beautifully vibrant and eye-catching, and in the right light hints of both pink and blue come through, as seen above. It also has a lovely creme finish. This is a great shade for Spring and I know I’ll be getting a lot of wear out of this one in the coming months.
Liquid Vinyl
I currently have three black nail varnishes – one from Primark, one by Barry M and this one, and this is by far the best. As the name suggests, Orly’s black is gorgeously fluid and looks stunning on. It has an incredible shine to it as well, and its high quality is just so obvious.
If you want to grab yourself some bargain Orly shades, just visit Fragrance Direct. Their standard delivery is only £1.99 too!
Naomi x
*These Orly Nail Lacquers were sent to me by Fragrance Direct for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Gorgeous swatches!! Love the colours!
Great colours!
Nice for my stash 😉
I absolutley love Orly polish as it’s cruelty free and has a fool proof consistency and those grippy lids. What a great bargain from Fragrance Direct! Moonlit Madness is such a classy red colour and Charged up is just awesome!
I couldn’t believe how cheap they were when I first saw them on the site! The bottles are pretty big as well. I’m definitely going to order some more at some point.
Thanks for commenting
Naomi x
Love all of the swatches – and now I want all of the colors!
These are all gorgeous! Charged Up is especially pretty. Fragrance Direct always amaze me with what great bargains they have. I’m so glad you introduced me to such a brilliant site!
Ra ♥
I love the purple one but it looks streaky? That’s what my Nails Inc one did :(. I don’t know if it’s a purple problem or an issue with all ‘creamy’ textured ones.
Love these colors! Especially Velvet Rope!