When I do wear polish though, I tend to favour dark shades, as I think they're a rare example of something that actually looks better on short nails (at least, that's how I justify it to myself, anyway!). Mavala sent me some samples of their mini-polishes to try recently, and it was love at first sight for this shade! It's a gloriously rich inky purple, and under natural light the colour is gorgeously vibrant and not at all "gothy". I'm wearing it in my rather staid office job right now!
Mavala specialise in mini pots of polish, and they promise a " unique formula" that is free from parabens, formaldehydes, toluene, camphor, cellophane, animal ingredients and heavy metal. They also say that their product delivers microscopic air pockets to allow nails to breathe, so is allegedly a healthier option for your nails than some other varnishes on the market. I love mini-products - seriously, give me a miniature version of anything, and I'll love it way more than the full size version, I'm a bit odd like that - so the dinky size of the bottle really appealed to me, and it means the polish won't dry up completely before I get to the end of the bottle.
I found the polish easy to apply (the pic shows two coats, with neither a top nor base coat, with flash), and although the brush on my bottle had a few stray bristles that I'll need to remove for next time I use this it, I really like it. I'll keep you posted on how the wear is! I was slightly disappointed in that I was expecting the colour to have a matte finish, but I actually really like the satin-y shine of the polish, I'm looking forward to seeing if anyone notices it at work ...
You can find Mavala polishes for around £3.75 at good chemists and department stores.