Another new Models Own nail polish collection just in time for summer!
The Models Own Splash Collection consists of 5 different coloured flakie nail polishes which are suspended in varying degrees of pigmented nail polishes that give a wash of colour to the nails when worn without a base colour.
Models Own describe the Splash Collection as 'A completely unique glide-on glitter topcoat in gleaming jewel shades. Inspired by the sea and distant shores, this pretty collection will have you dreaming of summer haze and tropical sun - each polish contains 5 different chunky hand-cut glittery flakes that are guaranteed to glisten, sparkle and refract the light. Revitalise your entire polish collection - wear alone for a wash effect or over your favourite colour polish giving a glistening top coat!'
I personally feel this is the first collection were all the nail polishes are quite similar and would actually suggest that if you do like the look of the collection to only purchase one or two. You can find a detailed explanation of each shade below, along with my own thoughts of the Splash nail polishes...
Golden Shore
This nail polish contains golden flecks/flakes which looks best over an orange base coat (see nail swatch) or black base coat to really show off the flakes... which oddly have a slight green tone to them when applied over a black base. Worn alone the gelly orange can be seen quite well on the nails after 2 or 3 coats and is one of the more pigmented polishes in the collection.
Red Sea
The flakes in this are a mixture of red and purple which are most noticeable when worn over a black nail polish. This would be the one that could also be worn on naked nails as the red gelly polishes is the most pigmented in the collectio.
Mermaids Tears
I had the highest hopes for this shade as it looks so pretty in the bottle however sadly the purple gelly that the flakes are suspended in has very little colour pay off. So this would look best when paired with a dark base coat such as a purple or black. The flakes in this are a silvery blue shade.
Aqua Splash
This over a black base coat really does come to life with it's green/blue/silver flakes and over a white base coat it looks a bit like shards of snowflakes. However over naked nails this is pretty bland.
Pink Paradise
Pink Paradise is the only polishes out of the collection that also has a glitter running through it, which is a really nice touch and adds to the finish. This looks best over a pastel pink or neon pink but again can be worn over a black nail polish to how off the blue and pink toned flakes.
Why I'm not in love with this collection...
As I touched on above, this for me is the first collection that I have felt the nail polishes are all quite same-y and Models Own have used the different coloured bases to make them all look unique, were as in reality the only polish that could be used on bare nails would be Red Sea.
Also I feel the formula of these do let them down. As the flakes are quite large and the formula is quite thick the application isn't that great and it can be hard to place the flakes evenly over each nail. So they aren't quick paint-over-your-nails-and-go polishes and you may also struggle for them to dry if you applied more than two coats.
Favourite picks from the Splash Collection...
Having said all of that, these do look great over a black base coat and flakes really do look amazing, my personal favourite would be Aqua Splash for this. However the most interesting polish would be Pink Paradise as it does also contain glitter and Red Sea would be the most versatile as it can be worn on bare nails, over a red or pink and looks great over a black nail polish.
As you can see above when applied over similar base nail polish shades the flakes do blend in and all look fairly similar. Also the amount of flakes that you can get on the nails with one coat can be quite sparse as you can see with the blue and purple nail swatches. If you do love the look of flakie nail polishes I would suggest spending a tiny bit more and purchasing China Glaze Lush & Luxe (£6.95 - Beauty Bay here) which is just out of this world!
You can find the entire Splash collection on the Models Own website here, at the Models Own Westfield Bottleshop or in select Boots Stores for £5 each.
I sadly feel a lot of people will purchase these on how they look in the bottle and that really doesn't translate on to the nails which may lead to disappointment!
As I have mentioned countless times in this post how much better these look over a black nail polish base I think I will post up swatches of the collection over a black, soon.
Fee xo.
