Rimmel Metal Rush

Rimmel just released a new collection of nail polishes for autumn, they're called 'Metal Rush' and they all have a duochrome effect. As well as being an ordinary polish, they are supposed to 'flip' a colour if you layer them. There are four shades available : Royal Blue, Pearly Queen, Purple Reign and Gold save the Queen. I tried out all four and for the most part I really liked them.

(Left to right) Royal Blue, Pearly Queen, Purple Reign, Gold save the Queen

All of the polishes were opaque in 2 coats apart from 'Pearly Queen' which was sheerer than the others and took 3 coats to get an opaque finish. In regards to the duochrome effect, its quite pronounced in all of the polishes, probably least so in 'Purple Reign' but even then theres a fair amount of colour shift in it. I liked all of the polishes on the nail but to be honest i'm not sure I could see myself wearing 'Pearly Queen' that much just because it is sheer, takes careful application and just isn't the kind of colour that really appeals to me, particularly in the cooler months where I prefer deeper and richer tones.

2 coats of 'Royal Blue' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

Royal Blue was an interesting one for me, I really love the colour and the way it looks on my nails but i'm not sure i'll get much wear out of it in autumn or winter, for me this is a great summery duochrome; but perhaps that's because I personally favour lighter blues for the warmer months. The colour shift on this one was really great and true to how it looked in the bottle, goes from a blue to purple with a hint of yellow and green in there, a very pretty shade!

1 coat of 'Royal blue' over 2 coats of Nails Inc 'Black Taxi'

When put over black this colour is super beautiful, this I really can imagine myself wearing during autumn and winter. It kind of reminds me of when petrol and water mix and you get that great spectrum of colour. When this polish is layered over black I think it becomes way more complex and you can see lots colours in it. I really wasn't expecting to like it as much as I do.

3 coats of 'Pearly Queen' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

Let me start by being very honest, this was my least favourite of all four of the shades, not because it was horrible or impossible to work with or did anything bad to my nails, but because it's just not my thing, I can see a lot of people loving it though. This was the lightest shade and the sheerest, it still only took 3 coats though which isn't too bad really. Again, the duochrome was quite pronounced in this one, and actually much prettier than it looked in the bottle. It went from a purpley pink colour to a light green, looked more opalescent than pearlescent to me.

1 coat of 'Pearly Queen' over Nails Inc 'Black Taxi'

I like this much better over black, its less frosty looking then it is on its own. It went a dirty, sort of purpley green colour. The duochrome wasn't so pronounced so it kind of just looked like a metallic polish with a little bit of colour shift. I like it, but again, I prefer some of the other colours in the collection.

2 coats of 'Purple Reign' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

I like this polish a lot, it's the kind of colour that I really love for this time of year; it's deep, rich and warm which is pretty much my idea of a perfect autumn polish. The duochrome in this one is way more subtle than it is in all of the other shades but I don't mind that because there isn't too much of a colour shift in the bottle either. The shift that it does have goes from purple to red with a bit of gold that can only be seen very occasionally. Overall one of my favourites.

1 coat of 'Purple Reign' over 2 coats of Nails Inc 'Black Taxi'

As far as this colour as a layering polish goes, I don't really think that it 'flips' the colour underneath very much. There is the least difference between when its on its own and when it's layered over black -it just seems to get a deeper shade of purple, and i've got a similar effect just by using a normal nail polish over black. It still looks pretty though so I suppose I can't complain, it just doesn't live up to the 'flip your colour' claim made on the bottle. Overall I prefer this one on its own because layered over black it seems to lose the subtle duochrome that it has when worn alone.

2 coats of 'Gold Save the Queen' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

Last but by no means least is 'Gold save the Queen'. I really really like this one, it may be my favourite from the collection. The duochrome is really pretty and goes from the slightly dirty looking gold colour to a pink and green. I think this is quite a unique colour, for my collection anyway, and I think i'll get a lot of use out of it, especially near Christmas time. To me, its a more interesting take on gold nail polish.

1 coat of 'Gold save the Queen' with Seche Vite fast dry top coat

Just like 'Purple Reign' this one seems to not transform the black base as much as the first two colours. Perhaps the more subtle duochromes are less suited to being layering polishes. I do really like the colour it made though, it's like a dirty brass colour which I think is pretty cool. I can't really see any duochrome in this one, again it just looks like a metallic shade (a pretty awesome one) but I probably will wear it layered just because I love the shade it creates and the formula is pretty nice on these.

All in all, I think that this collection is a winner, especially great for a cheaper brand 

(these polishes were £3.99 each and I purchased mine from Superdrug but you can get them wherever Rimmel is sold). I've been pleasantly surprised with all the less expensive nail polishes that i've been trying lately, what are some of your favourite cheaper nail polishes?