Trying The White Based Nail Trend With Essence*

Look in any magazine or at any catwalk show, and one nail trend has probably stood out more than any other in 2015. No I'm not talking about stiletto nails (yuck IMO) I'm talking about nail polishes with a white base. From white based pastels, to white tinged nudes and out and out tippex whites, pale polish has been one of the the nail trends of the year.

Despite it's popularity within the fashion and the beauty industry I think plain white nails are a hard look for most of us to carry off. Your nails need to be decent, in my opinion this look doesn't work on painfully short, ragged nails, and the application needs to be perfect. 

If you want that white based look though, the easiest thing to do it to go for a colour that has that white undertone. Not only will it be more flattering but it will probably be more forgiving. I've shown you a few white based pastels lately but this one is more of a perfect,winter nude shade.

Essence I ♥ Trends The Nudes in 05 Pure Soul is a shade that gives you that super pale white based look but without the harshness or starkness of a pure white.

It's a bit difficult to subscribe but Pure Soul is more of a pale Ivory or creamy tone, it definitely has a bit more warmth to it than a pure white and it's also shot through with a tiny touch of pink shimmer, The shimmer isn't that visible in most lights but it definitely adds a bit of depth and warmth to this shade.

Colours like this are notoriously difficult to apply, and on coat number one, this one was no exception. It streaked and it was really uneven, but when you left it to dry and applied a second coat, it seemed to even itself out and whilst it was still quite sheer you could potentially wear just the two coats, as you can can see below, as part of a cream toned French manicure base.

For me though this colour should really be worn as a full coverage pale, nude and whilst you can still slightly see my nails tips here, this is 3 coats.

I'm going to be honest wear time wasn't amazing including a base coat I had 4 layers on here which does mean you've got quite a lot of polish on your nails and the thicker the polish the less well it wears. Although it would mean adding another layer a good top coat would definitely improve the wear time as well as adding a little bit of extra gloss.

When I first saw this polish my hopes weren't high, my nails were quite short and it just looked a bit too pale for my skin tone. Fast forward a few months though, and my nails have grown a bit and I actually think that I can get away with this colour after all. This isn't a stark, harsh white, and whilst it's pale the cream shade, and the tiniest smattering of pink shimmer, gives this colour the warmth that it needs. It's also a lot more versatile then I originally thought, as well as using it as a plain, block colour, you could also use it as a nice base for nail art and of course by only applying a coat or two it makes a good French manicure shade. Essence I ♥ Trends The Nudes in 05 Pure Soul retails at just £1.80 for an 8ml bottle, from Essence stand alone stores, and from Wilko and Wilko online so most people can afford to experiment or try something new. Are you a fan of white based nail polish shades? Let me know x I love reading what you have to say x 

*Sample