There’s something about a fresh manicure that makes you feel like you can conquer the world – that somehow, you’ve got your whole life together, even if in reality, you feel like a bit of a hot mess. It’s amazing how that one little thing can totally make your day; every time I see my freshly-painted nails I feel that much more on top of my life.
For the longest time, I’ve almost exclusively gotten my nails done at a nail salon, but since moving to DC, I’ve really been trying to cut back on some of my more ‘frivolous’ spending – the cost of living is so much higher here, so anywhere that I can save money is fantastic. So when Londontown reached out to me about reviewing their polishes, I was all for the idea.
First Impressions
First of all, this nail polish brand is both vegan and cruelty-free. As someone who likes to be vegan whenever possible and is trying to switch all her products to cruelty-free ones, this was a huge plus for me. I love when brands realize that they can make great products without harming animals in the process.
Fortifying Ridge Filler
Y’all, not gonna lie, after having SNS nails for almost a year, I was genuinely terrified that I was going to try regular nail polish and my nails would immediately break. My nails were pretty weak right after I took the SNS off, and they’re quite long, making them a perfect target for breakage. Yet somehow… that never happened? And I 100% attribute that success to the ridge filler base coat, because my nails were paper thin beforehand, and after experimenting with these polishes, my nails are actually back to their natural thickness and completely sturdy. And yes, they even survived a full week of weightlifting workouts.
Polishes
Londontown sent me three colors to try: a bright pink (Fruit Tella), a pale pink (Peach Pop), and a shimmery purple-gray (Opal). Of the three, Opal is definitely my favorite – the blue sparkles in the polish are really cool, and it’s just a very unique color overall. Formula-wise, they’re pretty standard polishes. I was impressed with the pale pink in particular, because it was opaque after two coats, which is kind of rare with light-colored nail polish.
Here’s each of the three colors, swatched.
Protective Matte Coat
I think matte nails are super cool, so I’ve loved using this topcoat. Another plus: it dries super quickly, meaning your hands aren’t completely useless for a whole hour after doing your nails. The one caveat I will add, however, is that the matte topcoat will very clearly highlight any mistakes you made while painting your nails – any ridges, uneven coats, etc. – so it’s definitely not an ideal choice for a beginner. You can see in my swatches above that my manicure is definitely a little less-than-perfect (I also, for some reason, chose to take all my swatch pics of my left hand, which is my dominant hand, meaning that y’all get to see the worse hand). But if you’ve got faith in your nail-painting ability, by all means, go for it.
I’ve adored trying out these products – if you’re interested in getting your hands (and nails) on them yourself, check out their website! I’ve been poking around there lately, and I’m particularly digging Skyline Reflect, Aces High, and Foglifter.
xo, Taylor
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