Bad Apple Review and Swatches - 3D Arlington, 3D Red Cape, 3D Russett and Barn

Hey all :)

Today I have some long overdue swatches for you of some Bad Apple polishes I picked up. I couldn't say no to the fantastic offer on Wowcher which is where I picked up Arlington, Red Cape and Russett. The other polish 'Barn' I picked up from CheapSmells.com after seeing it reviewed on Lucys Stash. I also love that they are a British company, and I am all for supporting companies from home!

Here's a little bit of information about Bad Apple - 'The Bad Apple design was developed by Darren Woods who prides himself on being the sole designer of these exclusive colours. By drawing upon his extensive experience within the industry and from all the advice he has given to others about colours, he has finally been able to design and develop his own range of stunning nail varnishes. This Bad Apple range is based on 70s cars such as the TVR. Bad Apple nail varnishes are no drip, no chip and high gloss. Bad Apple Cosmetics do not contain Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP or Parabens.

All these shades I am showing you today are worn over a coat of OPI Matte Nail Envy and finished with a coat of Seche Vite unless otherwise stated.

The first I have for you is 3D Russett. This is the one that caught my eye in the bottle - a beautiful duochrome that flashes green / brown / gold. From other reviews I have read, I expected it to be quite sheer, but it was opaque in one coat. I used two coats in total. This is beautiful for autumn - there are a few duochromes coming out from indie polish makers and this is a beautiful UK substitute! The formula was great - applied nice and smooth, the brush is a standard slim brush but the long slim handle made it easy to grip and use. Nice!

The second I have for you is 3D Red Cape. From the bottle this looks predominantly purple with hints of brown and gold. On the nail this is... odd. The formula is different - much more watery and thin in comparison to the other two. When you first put it on, its quite a dreary brown, mauve colour and is really sheer. I used 3 coats here and you can see the visible nail line still. It could be layered over something else, such as black to give it a more pigmented look on the nail. However, what saves this polish is the beautiful purple shimmer it has. I used the flash on my camera to show you this when it catches the light - it really is gorgeous (even though its purple). I will be keeping hold of this but I think it will be better layered than worn on its own - such a shame it doesn't share the same formula as the others though.

The third I have for you is 3D Arlington. This looks like a greeny / blue duochrome in the bottle, but looked predominantly green on the nail when I first put it on. After it dries completely, it does shine a more teal blue at certain angles. It had the same formula as Russett, which I was pleased with. Again, bottle was easy to use, formula was nice for application and I only needed two coats for full opacity.

The last I have for you is Barn. There is nothing 3D or duochrome about this polish - I just liked it. It's a bright pink with a lovely shimmer to it.  The formula is lush. Different again to the other 3 polishes but lovely and smooth and could definitely be a 1-coater for shorter nails. I actually think this might be my favourite pink ever! I wore two coats here WITHOUT topcoat (look how beautiful and shiny it is!) and you can at certain angles still just see the VNL, but I'm happy with it as is.You could always add another coat if you want - the bottles are nice and big at 14ml each.

These polishes retail for £9.99 each at the Bad Apple Cosmetics website. You can pick some shades up cheaper at various other websites like I did, such as CheapSmells.com.

Overall I am quite impressed with these polishes and would definitely like to try some more. Russett is definitely my favourite of the '3D' duochrome polishes, but Barn is my overall favourite. I have also seen they have some beautiful looking gel-like polishes, so watch this space for some more! ;)

What do you think of these? Are you a fan of duochrome? Or is the pink your favourite?