lllamasqua 'Fragile' nail varnish

So I'm dedicating my first proper post to this little gem by Illamasqua. I have to admit, I am a bit of a nail varnish fiend - I always have my nails painted, and I absolutely hate chipped nail varnish. It makes me feel yucky. So in my eyes, the key to a good nail varnish is durability (well, that and colour, of course!)

I first saw one of these speckled nail varnishes on a blogpost and thought they were a bit of an Easter fad. I'm not really one for 'textured' nails, so it didn't really appeal to me. It's also fairly expensive for a nail varnish (around £15) and when I can get a Chanel polish for the same price, that's the option I usually go for.

However, this product seemed to spread like wildfire round the blogosphere, and I'm not one to enjoy being left out, so I put my worries aside and purchased the speckled-look varnish in 'Fragile'. As you can see, it is a really pretty baby blue colour on the base with navy-ish flecks, which are designed to make your nails looks like little duck eggs. Personally, I think they look more like mini eggs, but I'm not complaining.

Having said I don't like textured nail varnish, I was pleased to find that after I'd put my Seche Vite topcoat (definitely the best in the market!) on top of two coats of the Illamasqua beauty, the texture is pretty smooth. You know how some glittery nail varnishes tend to catch on everything you touch? Well this one doesn't, thank goodness! It really is just a textured appearance, which is a big tick in my book.

I can't really comment too much on durability just yet, because I've only had it on two and a half days, but I can report that so far, so good! I haven't needed to touch it up at all, and there is no sign of any chips occurring in the near future. I'll keep you posted...

If you're one for packaging, I think this packaging looks elegant and as high-end as the pricetag. You get 15ml of product, which is fairly good for a nail varnish, and the brush makes it very easy to apply. The consistency is fairly thin, so you won't get those horrible bumps that gloopy nail varnishes tend to give.

All in all, I absolutely love the look of this nail varnish. It's cute, it comes in about six pastel colours for Spring, and it's something a little bit different! You're sure to get lots of nice comments on your nails. As for the price, it is certainly is at the top end as fair as nail varnishes go, but so far I think it is worth spending the money on. Perfect as a little Easter treat for yourself, and a way to get into the Spring spirit without having to freeze.