Leighton Denny - Welcome to the Funfair Collection SS15

Last week I participated in a competition hosted by Leighton Denny on Instagram and was fortunate enough to win the complete Welcome to the Funfair collection: six brand new, vibrant polishes for Spring/Summer 2015.


This set of six polishes is inspired by the bright and bold colours of the funfair and features a range of finishes: four cremes, one shimmer and one glitter topper. If you're not familiar, Leighton Denny is a luxury nail brand, sold in department stores like John Lewis and Marks & Spencer, as well as various places online. The quality in general is very good (as you would expect from a premium product!) I've only tried out one of Leighton's polishes before, a deep pink creme called Berry Nice, and it was seriously one of the best nail polishes I've ever used... so these new ones had a high reputation to live up to!

First up is Ticket to Thrill, a beautiful ultra-pale peach. Shown is 3 coats with no top coat. The formula is fairly thin and sheer, but build-able. At 3 coats there were still a few uneven patches but these haven't been picked up on camera and I'm sure a quick top coat would smooth them out. I really love this colour; in the bottle I thought this would be a traditional nude but on the nail it's a definite pastel peach. Subtle but still fun, and unique in my stash.

Next is Love on the Carousel, described by LD as a 'soft powder blue'. I know in this photo it's picking up slightly green and minty but in reality I would agree it's blue. Here I've used 2 coats and no top coat. The formula is again slightly thin but very pigmented - warning this will stain! I would recommend a double layer of base coat under this, I was only wearing it for less than 30 minutes and there was a faint blue tinge around my cuticles upon removal. Still, with a bit of preparation it's a lovely colour, a soft blue but still bright and eye-catching.

Now this is Loop the Loop, a very interesting glitter polish. I'm wearing 1 coat over Ticket to Thrill and I've smoothed it over with top coat. This polish features a mix of light orange and pale blue matte glitters in various sizes in a clear base with added blue iridescent micro-shimmer. It's very unusual and completely different from any other glitters I own. Personally I would have preferred it without the extra shimmer but nevertheless it's still very cool. Paired with the peach base colour it reminds me of Easter and speckled eggs!

Next is Kiss Me Quick, a wonderfully bright bubblegum pink. The swatch shows 3 coats with no top coat. I found the formula of this one to be different from the others: it was thicker, richly pigmented, but streaky - very strange. It was quite tricky to apply evenly, hence the need for 3 coats, but at least it was self-levelling and I did end up with a nice plump glossy finish. The closest I have to this colour is probably Barry M Dragonfruit but this is a touch darker and bolder. I do really like the end colour, it just took a bit more effort than expected.

This jazzy number is Helter Skelter, a vibrant orange-toned red creme. Shown is 2 coats and no top coat. The formula was very good, after one coat it was almost perfect but for a slight VNL. With two coats it was opaque with an almost crelly finish. It was a little thin but still easy to apply and dried fairly quickly. I would recommend a top coat for a extra shine.

Last is my favourite name - Scream to Go Faster, an indigo shimmer. I've used 2 coats and no top coat. This colour is a perfect blend of blue and purple and features pink iridescent shimmer. I can't help but smile looking at this polish, something about it just screams 2001! (Incidentally I was 9 years old and finally big enough to ride a looping roller coaster - Rock'n'Roller Coaster at Disney World if anyone's interested!) It's not the type of polish I'd typically go for now but I do like it and if you are into shimmer polishes this is a very nice example. 

So overall a really fun collection full of lovely bold colours. If I had to pick a favourite it would have to be Loop the Loop since it's such an unusual glitter combination, but I'm a big fan of Helter Skelter as well. 

Amy

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