Models Own Hed Kandi Hedonist

With the sun fiiiinally making a cheeky appearance, it inspired me to want to try something more Spring-appropriate with my nails...I've definitely been in a dark-nail comfort zone for wayyy too long.  So I went extreme and debuted the new Models Own nailvarnish I got for my birthday...

It is from their Hed Kandi range and is a BRIGHT neon red-orange. I've not tried Models Own before, but I've wanted a bright neon nail varnish for aaages.

I was quite impressed with the depth of colour from the first coat, but then this is quite a thick varnish, it's more of a nail paint and it reminds me of the nail varnishes by Barry M.  Like I find with the Barry M nailvarnishes, the brush was a bit too thin and I didn't find the application very smooth - it didn't glide on like higher end varnishes like OPI. 

After first coat - impressive colour depth!

After second coat - there's barely much difference, it's just a bit thicker and even

Another thing...this nailvarnish has a semi-matte finish which I TOTALLY was not expecting. I'm not the biggest fan of matte varnishes and feel they work better in neutral, muted colours. I ended up putting a couple of coats of clear top coat on, and I definitely prefer this finish with it.

With two top coats (and no flash)

Having said that, I LOVE the colour and I'd definitely stick with it for that reason.  It is BRIGHT...very neon/fluorescent - it's a level of bright neon that I haven't managed to achieve with other bright nailvarnishes (e.g. OPI big hair big nails). The colour literally pops and it draws a lot of attention to your nails. For this reason I think you need to ensure your hands and nails are in good condition when you wear it. It will look amazing with a natural tan, but I think it could look a bit chavtastic with a fake tan...

I haven't been inspired to rush out and buy more Models Own nailvarnishes, because it is only the colour that sells this for me. I love it, but I'm a little scared of the brightness, I'm not gonna lie!