Nails Inc Gel Effect: Porchester Square

Nails Inc Gel Effect Porchester Square Nail Polish

 I haven't got many Nails Inc nail polishes. They are at the pricier end of the spectrum after all. But I was shopping yesterday and really loved the look of the Nails Inc Gel Effect in the shade Porchester Square.

I had heard of the shade before because Anna from Vivianna Does Make Up often cites it as her all time favourite polish. It is a greyish nude shade, which is the perfect mix of grey, taupe and a hint of lilac. I'm a sucker for this colour - I even chose a similar shade of Farrow and Ball paint to paint my front door!

I have been looking for a warm grey nail polish for a while. I recently bought the Tanya Burr Nail Polish in the shade Penguin Chic which you can see in the photo below. I do really like this colour, and whilst it is not dissimilar to Porchester Square in the bottle, on the nails it is more of a darker milk chocolate brown.

Tanya Burr Nails Nail Polish Penguin Chic

Porchester Square is available in the regular Nails Inc polish and in the new(ish) Gel Effect. I have really loved the shine that I've had from other gel nailpolish such as the Barry M Gelly Polishes, so I thought I would stump up the extra £2 and go for the Gel Effect. The Gel Effect also claims to have a 'plumping effect'.

I applied a clear base coat first - my nails have ridges and I find a base coat gives the colour coat a more even surface to work with. This means the colour goes on less streakily as it doesn't pool in the ridges. The Nails Inc Gel Effect applied well, it seemed to self-level pretty well (I'm guessing this might be the 'plumping effect'?) which is always handy as I am not the tidiest with polish application...

I used two coats of the colour although I found one coat gave pretty good opacity (I noticed that in her review Anna mentioned that the Gel Effect was not as opaque as the regular version of Porchester Square - I haven't tried that one so I will take her word for it!).

I finished off with a top coat of my beloved Sally Hansen Insta-Dri (see my full review HERE). If you haven't tried this before I can't recommend it enough as a complete saviour to prevent scuffing freshly painted nails!

I am pleased with the overall effect. The Nails Inc Gel Effect is very glossy - I probably didn't even need a top coat! Porchester Square looks more beige than grey on the nails but is a sophisticated nail look and perfect for the office. I think that it will look even better in the summer when my hands have a healthy glow rather than my current mid-winter pallor! My only criticism is the price - a bit steep for a nail polish in my opinion, but finding a colour like this is in cheaper ranges isn't always easy so I decided to indulge just this once...

Nails Inc Gel Effect nail polish in Porchester Square is £14 for 9ml HERE (with a free gift if you spend over £30 on Nails Inc products!).

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri is £5.05 for 13.3ml HERE.

Tanya Burr Nail Polish in Penguin Chic is £5.99 for 12ml HERE.