My mother’s work (she works in a doctor’s office) spoils me entirely too much, and they send me packages each year for Halloween filled with all sorts of spooky things, including mounds of peanut butter cups that I promptly eat within 10 minutes, and then of course, gift cards.

There were beautiful Target gift cards in this package, so one day when I felt I deserved it (I probably didn’t), I took my happy self to Target and browsed. I knew this gift card was going to nail polish. I didn’t even pretend that I would buy anything else. So I immediately went to the nail polish.

I saw a display of this brand called Defy & Inspire, and I had seen others discuss it before so I was curious for sure. There was half a display of normal shades, and then their recent fall collection as well. They normally sell for $7.49, but the fall shades had the magical clearance stickers on them, so of course I snatched them up. They’re down to $5.24 for each. There were 3 left of the fall collection, so I got them.

Defy & Inspire is a brand exclusive to Target. They’re 5 free and contain 0.5 FL oz, same as the other mainstream nail polishes. Their fall collection was called ‘Rock and Roll’ and contained 6 polishes. I picked up the 3 left in the display.

Let’s get onto the swatches! Hopefully you’ll see this and see a new brand of nail polish to try that you can find the next time you’re in Target (because we all spend too much time in Target).

The first shade is called ‘Roxy Rose’. This is a beautiful cool toned mauve shade with the tiniest microshimmer throughout. This turned out a lot darker and more purple once I put it on, but it surprised me in the best way. It’s different than a lot of other mauve shades I have in my collection. This was two easy smooth coats. This was honestly so smooth and easy to control. I was surprised. So far, so good.

The next shade is ‘Stairway to Style’. This is a light, golden copper shade. Again, another unique shade to my collection. This was another 2 easy coats – you could probably get away with 1 thicker coat and call it good. As you can see, the brush strokes are pretty noticeable in the metallic finish, but you can sponge on the final coat if it bothers you too much. This shade just seems like it shines from within. I like it more than I thought I would.

Lastly, I have ‘For Those About to Frock’. This is a beautiful vampy maroon shade with golden shimmer throughout. I am a little disappointed that the shimmer isn’t as apparent or smoldering as it is in the bottle, but it’s still apparent on the nail. This was another one where you could get away with 1 thicker coat, but I used two coats for the picture. Another smooth beautiful formula.

Overall I was impressed with my first experiences with this brand. After having these, I definitely want to get more from them. If you can’t find them at your store, they’re online on Target’s website – including the shades from the Fall collection. I’m seriously tempted to get the other 3 colors because it’s a gorgeous sapphire blue and a deep green, and a nice purple. But do I want to buy makeup with the other part of my gift card? The struggle.

Have you tried this brand at all?