*PLEASE BE WARNED - THIS POST IS QUITE PIC HEAVY!*
Gel nails have gained popularity over the past couple of years, due to their longevity, and their glossy shine that cannot be achieved with regular polish. The downside, however, is the time they take to do (Base coat; cure. Colour,;cure. Top coat; cure. Yawn) and they can become expensive, especially if you like to regularly change your manicure. Cue the rise of the gel-like polishes; the same shine, but a lot cheaper, and no UV curing!
Barry M released their Gelly collection last year, and now Models Own have upped their game, and are set to release their Hypergel collection. Retailing at £5 each, the range of ten shades, from pastels to vibrant colours, are set to hit Models Own Bottleshops from mid February, and will be available in Superdrug and Boots from March. Luckily, their Facebook page hit 250,000 likes, so as a mark of gratitude to their fans, they ran a half price sale for 7 days... including presale of the Hypergel collection.. and I was fortunate enough to grab the whole collection before presale stock ran out. One happy Lilyy!
There was a bit of a kerfuffle with problems placing orders when the sale went live, but with the sheer volume of people taking advantage of the 50% off, it's no surprise. It took a good while, but my order went through finally (after a lot of me whinging to my husband that by the time my order was accepted, they'd be sold out), and within a few days, a wonderful package landed on my doorstep.
This was my first order from the Models Own website, and I have to say I'm impressed. Look how beautifully packaged my parcel was! So cute. Not only that, but the polishes came excessively well wrapped to prevent breakages, which is always a risk when ordering polishes, so they all got here in one piece. Phew!
As I mentioned, the collection consists of ten shades. Mostly pastels, there is a couple of more vibrant colours. I personally would have liked to have seen perhaps a deeper purple, and a black, but I'll admit the shade range is perfectly chosen for the upcoming Spring and Summer seasons. I can only hope in the future they'll expand the range and release some more shades.
 |
| From left to right; Turquoise Gloss, Blue Glint, Cornflower Gleam, Lilac Sheen, White Light. |
I really love the lids - they have a big disc swatch on top, making them super easy to identify, especially if you have a big polish collection. I wish all polishes did that; it'd make life so much easier for us polish addicts!
The names of the shades aren't excessively imaginative, but maybe I'm too picky and I've been spoilt by China Glaze and O.P.I. with their polish names? That's my only gripe with them, though, so I'm hardly going to dwell on it.
 |
From left to right: Naked Glow, Pink Veneer, Cerise Shine, Coral Glaze, Red Lustre.
|
I will be honest - the second half of the collection is more likely to be my favourites, since I'm more often than not wearing nudes/neutrals, pinks or corals, although I have promised myself that I will start wearing blues and blue-based shades more often. Call it 'being adventurous', if you will.
Swatches will be up ASAP. I'm waiting on some swatch sticks to be delivered, since my nails are short and stubby and gross since I've recently filed them all down in an attempt to repair them and grow them stronger... but that's another post. Once they arrive, I will make a separate post with all ten swatches, I promise. I have, however, tested a few shades on my horrible little piggy fingers, and I have to say, they seem very opaque, and super glossy, so I'm very excited to see them all swatched myself!
Did you manage to get hold of the Hypergels in the sale? Will you be buying them when they hit the shops?
