The lovely Ros from Dielle UK got in touch with me about her new (August 2012) nail range and I have been wearing Dielle UK polishes for the past week. It is fantastic to see a black woman at the helm of a nail company. It makes such a difference to me as the consumer, because things like, having a black hand model on the website ( go and have a look) happen from the beginning of the range, not as an afterthought. As a result it is easy for me and other people to see what colours will look like on me. It is a small touch but the impact is huge. This is also a UK brand AND it is a Toluene, Formaldehyde, DBP, Camphor, & Pthalic Acid (nasty chemicals) free range. I was very excited to try the range but also a little wary truth be told.
My last experience of a toxin free nail range was Zoya and it was not good. Last year I had a manicure in a lovely Spa in Canary Wharf as part of a hen do. My manicure was done in the afternoon and by dinner time by colour was chipping. I am not averse to toxin free ranges, BUT it is really important to me that they perform as well as, if not better than the toxic ranges.
Ros sent me four products:-
The silver handle is nice and long which makes it easier to apply the polish, though the surface attracts fingerprints as you can see from the pictures. The square base of the bottle is very secure if you are painting your nails away from a table and the brush is lovely, not to large or small and with enough bristles so that it does not splay too much on the nail. I was able to cover my nails in three even strokes. I found it difficult to read the colour of the varnish on the bottle as it is printed in black (apart from the Lustre Gel Coat)
Lustre Gel Coat.
The name Gel Coat, made me think that the product would be thick, like Seche Vite. It is not, which is not an issue, just an observation. It goes on very easily and does leave a nice lustre on the nail. It is touch dry within a couple of minutes and provides a level surface to apply varnish to. I have some ridges in my nails and this product evened them out. It brings a shine to the nail, it has a slight smell of pear drops and can make good a slightly smudged nail.
Everlasting.
This is deep teal shade from Dielle’s Muted range. In the pictures is looks quite blue but it is definitely teal in the bottle real life. I found that depending on the light, it was either deep teal or air force blue. This multi-tonal element was a plus and both shades were gorgeous. It is a grown up neutral and as someone who has no interest in the greige shades that are flooding the market, this is a great alternative. It is not super dark, it has a great creamy formula and a gorgeous autumnal neutral tone. A grown up shade that is great with my skin tone. Dark but not so dark that it looks black it is a lovely creamy formula, though very slightly thinner than some other nail brands.
Majestic Obsidian
This is my signature nail colour. SERIOUSLY. It is a gorgeous creamy imperial purple shade from the Metallic range, that has a small amount of shimmer and sparkle running through it. Once on the nail depending on the light it can look like a creamy opaque shade but then in brighter light, the shimmer and sparkle shines through. This is not purple for kids. It is a grown up purple and I love the colour and the formula.
Modern Goddess
This is also from the metallics range but has far more shimmer/glitter then Majestic Obsidian. This is a gorgeous royal blue, but I found that the formula was much much thinner then the other colours. When the second coat is applied you get full and even coverage.
I really wanted to like the colours and when they arrived, and I really did, but with a nail varnish, it is not enough to just like the colour. The formula has to be good enough to last more than a couple of days. So I put Everlasting to the test on my fingers and Majestic Obsidian on my toes. I chose Everlasting for my manicure because generally metallics generally last longer than cream formulations.
A couple of hours after my home manicure, I went to my friend’s new place to put up a flat pack desk and swivel chair. This was the week that I also made soup, from scratch, which included peeling a substantial raw pumpkin with a sharp knife, washing up twice without rubber gloves and a day spent typing a report – I touch type and my nail are short so the edges of my nails are impacted.
For my hands, it was a very heavy-duty week on my hands, but it gave me a the best opportunity to test longevity of the varnish. I broke a nail whilst doing the flat pack and chipped a nail whilst cutting up the pumpkin so there were two casualties. After the first day I stopped thinking about this as a toxin free range, and just thought about it as nail varnish. I did not expect my manicure to last all week with this barrage of events and it didn’t… but neither would OPI, Essie or any other brand that I use regularly. Dielle lasted as long as my usual manicure ( five days) would under this barrage of treatment – which is fantastic!! I really like this range…alot…. Imperial Crown, Hopeful Sky and Unforgettable are already on my wishlist!!!