Orly Spring 2013 Hope & Freedom Collection

'Hope and Freedom Fest'

Spring is my favourite season for cosmetics and beauty, I can't get enough of pastels and brights and my first port of call for splashing a bit of colour into my beauty routine is my nails. What better a collection to satisfy my talon tastes come Springtime than Orly's Spring 2013 Collection - Hope & Freedom Fest. The Hope & Freedom collection is formed of six polishes, which are a good selection of textured polishes, pastels and brights. I love how this collection and the shade names give a gentle nod to the up and coming festival season, with a shade range playing on 'boho chic' hues. Here I've got 'High On Hope' and 'Coachella Dweller', which I've swatched and reviewed to give you just a flavour of the collection.

Orly packaging is sleek and really easy to use, I like the rubberised handles which make them easy to grip even when on the move and the skinny brushes deliver precise application, I used to prefer chubby brushes but I'm finding myself favouring skinnier brushes more and more for achieving a salon style finish.

First up is my favourite shade from the two I've got - Coachella Dweller - a creamy green hue. The formula is lacklustre, two coats are streaky and even on the third coat as pictured here the finish is a little streaky albeit glossy. I really like the Earthy muted finish of Coachella Dweller, I just wish the formula was a little better, wear time lasted around 3 days before noticeable chipping.

Next up we have High On Hope; although this isn't the shade you'd expect to see in a Spring collection awash with pastels it does in fact earn its place well...doesn't it just remind you of a clear summer nights starry sky? I've pictured it with flash here to pick up on the lovely petrol finish that washes over the navy base. High On Hope is a gorgeous shade that lasted slightly longer on my nails, up until around the four day mark before chipping, and has a better formula too although perhaps a little watery. Two coats yields an opaque finish without any sight of streakiness.

I've used Orly polishes for quite a while now and although I consider them a high street brand rather than luxury they still tip the scales at over £10 a pop, the shade range is good but the polish consistencies vary in quality and texture. Although I love all the shades in this collection if you make a purchase it will be more for the shades than it will the formulas, thus far these two didn't impress me formula wise but the colours are hard to resist. My personal pick from Orly's Hope & Freedom Collection is 'Elation Generation', a jelly coral formula with flecks of glitter sandwiched within. If you like the collection but don't want to part too far with your money there's a four piece mini-collection for £14.

Orly Hope & Freedom polishes retail for £10.25* each from Look Fantastic, available online now.