The Nails: Max Factor Glossfinity Nail Varnish

I've been walking around all Jekyll & Hyde the last few days. Not that my personality is fluctuating at the drop of a hat, you understand. The confusion is not in my mind. It's all down to the fingertips. I wanted to try out both these two colours from MaxFactor's Glossfinity range, and couldn't decided which one to go with first, so like the good little beauty writer I am, I decided to go with one colour on each hand.

This season, it's all about the nude nail, the holy grail being found in chasing down the perfect nude shade that not only matches buy also flatters your natural skin colour, and gives the impression of longer, more elegant fingers. My Dr Jekyll shade of the two I tried is the perfect one for me. It's that "I'm not wearing makeup" make-up for my fingers, almost like primer, foundation, concealer and powder for my nails, all in one. Two coats was perfect for the intensity of the colour I was after, although I have to say I loved what one coat gave me too. Nude, innocent, girlie yet not a hint of Barbie-pink in sight, this is Shade 40, Pink Whisper.

My darker side, my Mr Hyde, is Shade 180, Blackout. A deep and glossy black, it's a very wearable shade when you want to channel your inner-goth.

Both are super glossy. Both wear extremely well. MaxFactor claims that you can wear these for 7 days without losing the gloss, even without a top coat. I had to bite myself on that one - applying a top coat comes as second nature, I almost do it without thinking about it. I can't say the gloss didn't fade a little, but the "wear" was beyond what I expected for not wearing a top coat.

I'd say these are perfect for when you have to rush out the door, want a perfect hit of colour, but don't have the time for the whole base-coat-two-coats-of-colour-top-coat regime. You'll get all the colour, all the gloss and none of the fuss.

Nail nirvana for the time-starved, at only £5.99 a hit. Marvellous.

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