16 March 2009

Lacquer Lundi

It looks like a great majority (78%) of readers are interested in nail polish reviews. So, without further ado, let me first tell you a bit about my nail polish philosophy:

* When it comes to nail polish, I am basically a magpie - the brighter the shade, the weirder the colour and the sparklier the polish, the more I'm drawn to it. I do have many traditional colours - reds, pinks, neutrals - but my heart always beats a little faster when I see a polish chock full of glitter!

* I don't freak out if I break a nail - I just file them all down to match.

* I keep my nails fairly short - anything too long and I can't function properly at work.

* I am not a polish snob - at this point, I own polishes that run any where in price from $1 to $17 per bottle. I have found that price is not necessarily an indicator of quality.

* I am easily distracted. I don't generally wear a polish for very long (I like to switch things up every 1 to 3 days).

* I am very hard on my hands - I don't baby them. Between all the chemicals I use at work (the joy of being a chemistry teacher) and all the gardening/housework I do at home, my hands get quite the workout in any given day.

Now, on to the pretties:

Rimmel Play Fast - Out of Control

- purchased at Zehrs (a chain grocery store) for $2.29 CDN

I love this polish. The consistency is good, not too runny, not too thick - so application is a breeze. The brush is easy to control and is a good size, so three swipes of the brush and the nail is covered.

It has decent pigmentation - these pictures are two coats, although three coats would have been more opaque. This is a fast drying polish - my first coat was dry in one minute and the second coat was touch dry within 2 minutes.

But, the best part - the colour, oh the colour! This polish is the most beautiful shade of dark orange, with light orangey-gold micro glitter. It is simply gorgeous.

I wore this polish for three days (during which I was tough on my hands) and I didn't suffer a single chip. The only evidence of a three day old manicure was some slight tipwear. This polish is a winner in my books.


BB Couture - Frosty Meadow
- purchased from overallbeauty.com for $8 US

I wanted something green for St. Patrick's Day and this bottle jumped out of my stash and into my hand. It is a beautiful rich green base with small gold glitter. I realize that green is probably out of the comfort zone for many people and may not be work appropriate for most. I'm lucky that I can wear wacky nail polish to work and no one bats an eye. For people still wanting to give it a go, it might merit consideration as a great weekend or pedicure colour.

The application is a little difficult for the first coat (it's streaky), but all subsequent coats are easy-peasy. Three coats were required to build up to the bottle colour, but it is well worth it in my opinion.

This line of nail polish boasts a "4 in 1 formula", which means that it has "base coat, top coat, nail strengthener and color in one bottle." However, I always use a basecoat to avoid yellowed nails, but I did not bother to use my usual topcoat.

I have had this polish on for two days with no signs of any chipping and only minimal tipwear.

10 comments:

CraftRage said...

Ooh! I love that green!

I love the big, bold colors, too, but I gravitate towards electric purples and anything with huge, age-inappropriate sparkles.

cidell said...

I'm still trying to find a good green for my skintone. This weekend I've been wearing a purple holo from China Glaze all weekend. I'm with you on the sparkly. But, I tend to like nice dark matte colors too.

2BSewing: said...

Cool colors! I actually like the dark orange. I have to do the same to avoid yellow nails...use a basecoat. Can I ask what nail polish remover you use? Might be a good future post. ;)

Unknown said...

I *heart* that sparkley tangerine Rimmel--excellent! I hardly ever paint my fingernails, but I own tons of open-toed shoes and am always touching up my toe-polish in warm weather. (Which is also why I shy away from the green shades, haha.)

Maggie said...

Shannon, I can see why you like nail polish...you have beautifully shaped nails! I love it when nails can be kept short to the fingertip but still have a good amount of nail showing. You have that. If I trim mine to the tip, which I like to do, the nail is a bit short for much polish. that being said, I would love to see your nails in a deep matte coral shade! If I had your nails, I would go nuts with the polish!

angie.a said...

Ack, I need that green!! I'm so jealous that I don't have one for tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

You really have lovely nails. How do you keep your cuticles so nice? I have trouble with cracking in the corners and hang nails even though I use a cuticle cream every day.

Stephaney

Shelley's Garden said...

Thanks, Shannon, this is fun and helpful. While I don't wear nail polish very often, when I want to, I'm never quite sure which kind to purchase.

Sew Wilde said...

Thanks for the fun post! I love painting my toenails a different color every week in the spring and summer.

Summerset said...

Love the colors! Lucky you that you can get away with the wild colors at your school. My schools were always conservative in those regards. I did take a bit of glee in knowing that my toes always sported wild colors - blues, aquas, etc. - but were never seen!