W7 Nail Polish - Wear and Review

W7 is a brand that shows up in discount stores around the UK, I have always been tempted by it but never bought it until now.  I went to Cheshire Oaks designer outlet to the Beauty Outlet store and came across the brand again, this time for £1.99 so I thought why not.  I bought four colours in all.  I am on the prowl for a one coat white polish so I got white, I also bought the three colours that I use the most blue, pink and a shimmer shade in purple. 

My go to polish is Barry M simply because it is reasonably priced and it lasts on my nails. I have a few other more high end polishes that i bought for a discount from TK Maxx but for the most part I am all about budget nail polish.  

The W7 polishes are not as high standard as the Barry M polishes and to be honest they don't last as long.  Here is how each colour applied and lasted.

The first shade I used was 106 Purple Rain. The brush is a large flat brush that allows you to cover the nail in less strokes. However the formula is not at all opaque and I had to use three layers to get full coverage.  The problem with this is it that it takes longer to apply and even when leaving ample time in between layers to dry and using a quick dry topcoat the polish had a very thick layer and seemed very easy to smudge.  I would describe the colour as a midnight purple, and while the shade is beautiful its lasting power lets it down.  This one didn't chip in the traditional sense but it did pull back from the tip of the nail despite the fact that I wrapped* the nail with polish when I applied. (*a horizontal swipe of the brush along the top of the edge of the nail to stop the polish shrinking from the edge) 

The second colour I tried was the white polish, similarly to the purple I needed multiple coats to get the shade opaque.  While it took three coats it did go on better and smoother than the purple.  This is not a bright white shade and it seemed to get more cream coloured the longer I wore it.  I don't know whether it was my imagination but it was definitely closer to cream by the time I took it off.  While an off white can be a less intense polish and in most cases more flattering, I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Clueless again recently and I really want a 90s bright white polish which this is not. Barry M does a white called Cotton in the Gelly formula that is quite good and better than this but I am still searching for a solid one coat white polish. 

Shade number three was 17 Flourescent Blue. This was the shade I was initially most excited by but also the shade that disappointed me the most.  I applied three coats of this colour and as you can see from the picture it was still not opaque.  In the flesh the colour has a slight more green in it which makes it very striking from a distance, in fact it was the shade out of the four that I was complemented on the most.  It also lasted the longest.  Another draw back it that it has a traditionally shaped brush which does make the application harder to get even. If this formula was more opaque it would have been my favourite by a mile but I won't be reaching for this bottle as I don't have time to be putting on four layers of colour.  

The best of the bunch was the fourth colour I tried which was 78 Fuchsia.  Now obviously if you are not into pink this is not the colour for you, but as always I love bright colours and this is a pink that doesn't disappoint. However, like the other shades this does not go on opaque and does chip easily.  In fact I picked up a very similar pink from Orly for £3.99 from TK Maxx that is so much better!

From this review you can tell that I wasn't overly impressed with the W7 formula.  I also hear you shouting "BUT IT WAS ONLY £1.99" and you would be right, however the classic Barry M polishes are £2.99 and their Gelly shades are £3.99, all of which are not much more costly and will last longer because you won't have to apply so many coats. While I am always up for a bargain I will relegate these polishes to be used for polka dots in nail art designs as that way I haven't wasted my money.  My advise is if you want a budget nail polish brand go with Barry M.

As Always I hope this was helpful, much love.

XOXO