Soigne Botanique AW 2016

I've been trying out the Autumn Winter range by luxury French nail brand, SOIGNÉ Botanique and am impressed by the shades, formula and packaging. The SOIGNÉ formula does not contain any harmful carcinogens, is 5-free and each polish includes up to 85% plant-sourced raw materials.

I'm going to use the brand's own colour descriptions as even these are charming (clockwise from top left)...

1. Poussière d'ortie, meaning “nettle dust”, a unique green, reminds us of the faded foliage of summer time. 
2. Mica is a sophisticated mineral-grey, a cooling shade to compliment the deep tones of your autumn wardrobe. 
3. Papillon De Nuit is a playful, pumpkin-leaf green to add a burst of colour and a hint of mischief to any outfit.
4. Nuit Radieuse is a unique shade of gunpowder grey, reminiscent of the dark blanket of the night sky and mysterious moonlit shadows. (I'd describe this as a dark teal)
5. Robe Velours is a deep and mysterious purple, reflecting the luxurious garments of winter. 
6. Ombre Solaire, meaning “solar shadow”, is a burnt orange, reminiscent of autumnal sunsets and crisp, fallen leaves. 

I find that these polishes apply very smoothly and evenly in two coats and the sophisticated simplicity of the bottle design really appeals to me. 

The only shades I personally wouldn't wear are the orange and lime ones, though I do think they could look incredible on deeper skin tones and like that SOIGNÉ hasn't played it too safe with these collections. My personal favourites are the two greens, both of which you can see me wearing here (Poussière d'ortie) and here (Nuit Radieuse). 

The above shades and a vast range of pastels and brights are available at soignenails.com



Products featured on Strawberry Blonde Beauty include press samples. See my full disclaimer here.

NCLA Prized Possessions: Swatches

Um, let’s just stare at the pool of indigo glitter for a moment… how beautiful?  NCLA Prized Possessions is a new release from the 5-free brand’s Black Market Fall Collection.  NCLA do some of the best glitter polishes around. Not for glitter wusses, they really do pack a punch and the quality is a dream to work with.

This was two coats on a clear base to illustrate how easy the colour and glitter are to build… I also intend to try it over a navy base.  I love that this looks bright sapphire blue in some lights and purple in others, thanks to the green, blue, turquoise, silver and purple chunks of glitter running through it.  I didn’t use a topcoat here as I quite like the 3D texture, but the colours look even more WOW glossed up!

A gorgeous alternative to the usual Winter and festive shades, don’t you think?

It’s a Wrap!

 

I’m also really tempted by these stunning NCLA Fowl Play nail wraps… I’d wear one or two as an accent nail with a plain black outfit and think they’re some of the nicest designs I’ve seen.  I’ve tried NCLA wraps before and found them really easy to use - press on, file down edges and paint over with clear polish.

The latest NCLA releases are available now at CutECOsmetics

 

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