I popped into my local Poundland store recently, to pick up some sweets ect. for potential trick or treaters, and was greeted by some pretties that I had to share! I have to admit, pound stores or discount places are not shops I like to frequent - not because I'm a snob (seriously, I'm anything but) but because I usually have two small children in tow that want everything in sight and then whine for the rest of the day when whatever they buy inevitably breaks after half an hour, but they are sometimes worth a look for bargain nail polish and accessories. Sorry, that turned a bit ranty didn't it? Anyway, onto what I found...
Instead of the usual jumble-sale feel of the beauty section there was a stand devoted completely to nails and nail art, dubbed the Nail Bar. I was surprised to see some of the latest trends in the nail world, by what seems to be Poundland's own brand, Pretty. There were feather polishes, graffiti polishes, mattes, magnetics and lots of glitters. As well as the polish there were nail art stripers, rhinestones, charms, nail wraps, caviar beads and loose glitter embellishments as well as files, buffers and removers. All for just £1. I think I was most impressed with the graffiti and feather effect polishes, as these are so on trend and fairly new to the market - it's obvious they've been copied from high end brands but I'm not complaining. Personally, I'm not big on the feather effect, as I can't stand my nails looking 'hairy' or glitter sticking out from the end of my nails but for £1 (rather than £11ish for one high end brand) I can just about stomach it!
I picked up two of the feather polishes, and the graffiti effect one that they had in my store, and really they're quite pretty (hence the name?). The quality is surprisingly good too - I expected them to be thick and gloopy, and stink to high heaven but they didn't. They're thin enough to wear as topcoats, but with a decent amount of glitter so that you could build up to relative opacity fairly easily. The nail-wheel swatches below show 1 and two coats. The only gripe I have is that the shades are not named, but it's not a deal breaker!
I thought while I was at it, I'd show you some of the other things I've picked up in poundland, pound world and the 99p store etc. They're good places to check if you're after some cheap embellishments, and it's the only place I can find pure acetone locally to me without paying an arm and a leg for it. They've even had stamping plates, with a stamper and scraper in my local store before. I prefer my glass nail files now, but you can pick up basic files and buffers for pence too.
They also have branded items available sometimes - the most notable one recently being OPI shatters, with an RRP of £10.50 at just £1. Ok, so shatters aren't to everyone's taste, and seem to have gone out of vogue (I still love a quick shatter mani) but OPI for £1? Who can resist? I also regularly see Sally Hansen, Rimmel, Collection 2000, Revlon, W7 and Maybelline. Last seasons shades perhaps, but still good quality items. You take pot luck as to what you'll find, but it is worth a nose, even with children in tow!
Hx
