Collection: The Body Shop 2015 Summer

I recently took advantage of a sale at The Body Shop and got three shades from their relatively new line of nail polish, Colour Crush. I previously tried The Body Shop Green from the initial launch, and liked it quite a lot, so I was happy to plunk down a mere CA$12 for three polishes from the new summer collection: Apricot Kiss, Chocolate Cutie, and A Sunny Affair.

The Body Shop markets itself as an eco-friendly brand, so it’s no surprise that the polish formula is 5-free, vegan, and cruelty-free. It is also enriched with fair trade marula oil from Eudofano Women’s Co-operative in Ondangwa, Northern Namibia. I wouldn’t have thought that oil meant for moisturizing would be a good idea in a product that is supposed to dry to a hard finish on fingernails, but I’m no chemist!

Apricot Kiss (230) is an orange-yellow cream that’s certainly apricot-hued, but it honestly reminds me more of a No. 2 pencil! A touch of iridescent pink-peach shimmer would go a long way to making this look more “apricotty”.

Application was reasonably good for this. Two coats is just fine. I find that The Body Shop’s polishes are well-pigmented and apply relatively smoothly.

If you’re looking for a fun polish for summer, and don’t want to be too spendy, this is a pretty good option. The Body Shop usually runs multiple purchase sales on these (e.g. 3 for $12, which is what I paid), too.

The Body Shop Colour Crush Nail Colour is 0.22 fl oz / 6.8 mL and retails for US$8 / CA$6 / GB£5. The formula is 5-free and vegan. The website does not state what the 5-free ingredients are, but typically the five are: toluene, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), camphor, and formaldehyde resin. The product is made in France. The Body Shop remains a cruelty-free company.

The Body Shop was founded in 1976 by Dame Anita Roddick. It is headquartered in Littlehampton, England. In 2006, the company was acquired by L’Oréal.