Last Monday, I was lucky enough to attend a press day at the Sanctum Soho Hotel for the Maison D’Anu nail varnish range, hosted by the lovely people at Fire PR.
As well as getting a delightful manicure, I was invited to take a walk through the range, along with a super special Autumn/Winter collection. Now, as you might have gathered, I’m a huge fan of Maison D’Anu, so I leapt at the chance to take a sneaky peek at their beautiful colours. I’m a total nail varnish fiend, and I wasn’t at all disappointed.
Maison d’Anu – Nail Colour
Let’s address the most important facet of any nail varnish range: the colours. As an aforementioned nail varnish junkie, I’m a tough act to impress. But impressed I was. Maison D’Anu have nailed (sorry!) the essentials, from the sheerest of pale pinks to perfect nudes. They’ve got the classics: clarets, rubies and pillar box reds. They’ve even got some utterly bonkers oranges and turquoises, and a pair of exquisite shimmery pastels – ‘Gold Digger’ and ‘Studio 54’. There’s a jet black (the enticingly named‘3.00am’), for those of you working a marvellous new gothic look this season, and the very deepest of plums if you’re still a little terrified to go black. ‘Big in Japan’ is a colour I want to describe as ‘berry orchid’, and £1 from the purchase of every bottle goes to the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami appeal. All polishes are priced at £9.95.
Maison d'Anu Gatsby, Daisy, The Green Light, Jazz Age Nail Colours
The Jazz Age Collection
If that wasn’t enough for you (you fiends!), Maison D’Anu will also be releasing special trend-based collections with some exciting new colours, consisting of around four colours. This season’s collection is inspired by the Jazz Age, particularly ‘The Great Gatsby’. Words can’t explain how thrilled I am about this, but I’ll just say I’ve always found the opulence and decadence of the era hugely exciting. I’ll be doing a full feature on this mini collection alone, as it deserves to be shouted about.
I plucked out ‘Gatsby’, a glorious deep garnet with very finely milled glitter, and proceeded on to my manicure. Maison D’Anu are consistently proving themselves as a high end beauty brand with products that really do their job properly. The manicurist slicked some Ginseng cuticle oil (priced at £9.95) on my nails, and it sunk it perfectly without leaving a greasy residue. Then came ‘Silk base’ (£9.95), which dried to a semi-matte finish – perfect if you’re working the matte nail trend. ‘Gatsby’ went on like a dream, a fantastic chocolate brown that turned mulberry under the light. Finally, the Quick Dry Top Coat (£9.95) which did exactly as it said on the…bottle.
The Gatsby, by Maison d'Anu - Beauty Ed's Favourite!
One of the most interesting and important facts about Maison D’Anu nail varnish is that the formula is free of the ‘bad five’: that’s toluene, formaldehyde, dibutyl, phthalate and camphor, folks. So you’re actually safeguarding your nails by using it! As a great side benefit, this means the polishes don’t stain your nails, so you can be confident using even the darkest of the dark polishes. All polishes are chip resistant, so you can expect a long lasting result. Perfect colours, natural ingredients, long lasting – what more could you want in a nail varnish?
Check out the range online at www.maisondanu.co.uk, and follow the brand on Twitter or Facebook, and look out for my upcoming review of ‘The Gatsby Collection’.
