Nail Polish : Beauty and Fashion Tech

Moving into Fall with Deep Purple Nails

I am dragging myself kicking and Screaming into fall now. I started with a purchase of fall nail polish from the OPI France Collection in the shade We’ll always Have Paris. I wasn’t quite ready to wear it on my fingers, so I just did my toes! Here they are. I admit that it is not the best pedicure–I got a little sloppy with it!

I really like this shade. Purple hues suit me well, especially when they are very dark. I also don’t care for black, blue, or other things that seem a bit too trendy and funky for my age. So the purple trend works well for me. It is just reddish enough for me to not feel like I am wearing a kid’s color. Look for all sorts of deep purple nails this fall, while grays, blues, and black are still around as well.

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Popularity: 16% [?]

Matching OPI Nail Polish to OPI Nic’s Sticks

Last week, I reviewed OPI Nic’s Sticks - Paint & Go Nail Laquer (read review). I loved the shade, but didn’t really love the polish. So I and wondered whether I could find the same shade in a regular polish. Off to Ulta I went, where I matched my Nic’s Stick to the OPI shade Elephantastic Pink. Below are the side by side results:

The shades were pretty darn close, although I still like the Nic’s Stick shade a bit more. I tested the OPI polish out at work and when I chipped it typing (something I regularly do to all polishes), I used the Nic’s Stick to fill it in.

It worked pretty well, as long as I filled in the chip and then went back over the entire nail with the Nic’s stick polish. The Nic’s Stick lacquer is sheer enough that a perfect match was not needed, but it does need that extra full coat to cover a chip.

Together, they are a pretty good pair! I might try this with other shades.

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Popularity: 18% [?]

OPI Nic’s Sticks Nail Lacquer: Polish on The Go

OPI Nic’s Sticks - Paint & Go Nail Laquer are easy to use quick dry nail polish “pens.” Basically it is a tube with a built in brush that the polish is clicked up into, making it easy to carry and apply polish just about anywhere.

The downside of these polish pens is that they tend to have lower quality brushes and the polish just doesn’t come out as nice. This makes sense if you think about it: Anyone wanting a top notch manicure will do one with a full base coat, good lacquer, and a top coat. The pens really are more aimed at on the go easy nails, so they often lack the finesse of a really good manicure.

Sally Hansen makes a similar product that I was not overly impressed with, but I decided to give OPI Nic’s sticks a try. I got the shade Express-ion of Love and adored the color.

Overall, this line has very nice shades. The color is also fairly sheer, but will become opaque with a couple of layers. However, when it dried, I found that the polish looked a bit dull, so I had to add a glossy top coat. At that point, I might as well have done a regular manicure. But having the pen does make for easy touch ups. When I chipped my polish at work, I just grabbed the pen from my purse and touched it up. The polish dries very quickly, so smudges are no concern. The Nic’s sticks polish tended to last not quite as long as regular polish would and it also chipped a bit easier.

On the whole, this is a decent item for when you really need simplicity, or the ability to do quick touch ups. Otherwise, I suggest sticking with regular nail polish. It also got me wondering if I could find the same shade in a regular OPI polish so that I could do a normal manicure and then use the Nic’s sticks for touch ups. More on that next week!

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Popularity: 14% [?]

Revlon Glimmer Gloss Nail Lacquer

Revlon Glimmer Gloss is a lightly tinted, glittery nail lacquer that can be worn alone or over regular polish. Personally, I like it over an opaque polish to add subtle extra shine and shimmer. In the picture, I am wearing the shade Strawberry Sizzle over Maybelline Salon Expert Nail Polish in Pink Splash (read review). The glimmer is hard to see in the picture though

The look can be rather fun, and Revlon has a number of shades, so there is likely a Glimmer Gloss that will layer well over almost any polish. Give it a try for a fun summer look in nail polish!Shop for Revlon Cosmetics

Popularity: 7% [?]

Maybelline Salon Expert Nail Polish

I grabbed a bottle of Maybelline Salon Expert Nail Color because I loved the bright summer pink shade (pink splash, number 822). Turns out that I also love the polish in general.

Maybelline Salon Expert covers really well. You can get away with only one coat of this stuff, but I went ahead and did two. It has a great shiny look when dry, and boy does it last! I type so much and tend to be hard on my nails, so I generally chip the heck out of polish within a day or two. I managed to make the Salon Expert lacquer last about 5 days, then I stretched it a few more by tossing another coat on top.

I was so impressed that I went and bought another bottle in a different shade. It is affordable, quality, easy to find, and has some great shades. What more can a person ask for?

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Popularity: 9% [?]

Borghese Nail Lacquer Vernis: Not Recommended

It is not often that I do a truly negative review, but I’m afraid I have to on this one. I honestly don’t think people should pay $8 for this stuff.

I have liked the few Borghese spa products that I tried in the past and I know people love various skin care items from the company. So when I spotted Borghese branded nail polish at an Ulta store, I decided to give it a try. I think the company should stick to spa products!

The first thing I noticed about the polish was that the wand had a short stem with a fat and rather stiff brush on the end. Big packaging error! That combination made it nearly impossible to apply the polish without it getting all over my skin. It also kept the polish from spreading evenly. When I did get the polish on, it was very streaky on the first coat and still didn’t look very even after a second. It then chipped off nearly immediately. I am admittedly hard on nails, but on the second day of wear, the polish was so chipped that it looked like I had been wearing it for a week.

This is an $8 polish, which puts it in the mid-upper range. But I found it comparable to the cheapest drugstore kiddie brand. For better choices in the same price range try Essie or Orly. OPI is also pretty acceptable with a huge range of color choices. Sally Hansen Salon polishes also are an excellent value.

Sorry Borghese, I still love your spa products, but I just plain can’t recommend your nail lacquer!

Popularity: 6% [?]

The Blue Nail Trend: Getting it Cheap with Wet-n-Wild!

When it comes to the trendy blue nail polish look, I’m a fence sitter. I have seen some women, particularly younger women, wear it well. In the darker shades, I tend to rather like the look. On myself, however, I think it looks rather silly–Something my husband very much agrees with.

Regardless, there is no need to break the bank buying sold out Chanel on Ebay or spending $20 on the Dior version in order to have the current hip look in nails. The cheaper brands are already stepping up and putting out blue shades. When chasing a trend, buying cheap makes sense. You are unlikely to use up the product before it goes out of style anyway

At the cheapest end of the scale, you can get a perfectly acceptable polish in Wet ‘n’ Wild for a couple dollars at your local drugstore. As one of those impulse grocery store purchases, I picked up Wet ‘n’ Wild Sapphire Blue for under $2 and gave it a try. The quality of the polish was surprisingly good. It covered well with only a single coat, dried quickly, and has been almost as chip proof as my more expensive polishes. Plus I kill nail polish so fast, that chip proof means little to me–I chip even the best within a day. Here is another view of it:

I think the blue looks odd on me, but that is not the fault of the brand. I plan to give Wet ‘n’ Wild another look for some shades that are better suited for me. Why spend $8 for Essie or O.P.I. when a $2 brand at the grocery store works just as well? The shade choices are more limited though and I have to admit that my favorite shades happen to be from Essie and MAC. So I doubt I will be entirely switiching brand loyalties.Here are a few other affordable options for blue nails (both currently on sale for under $6 through the links): OPI Nail Polish Yoga-ta Get this Blue! from the India Collection, and Essie Nail Polish - Aruba Blue. Other bargains can be found online, as can the more expensive Dior version. Also watch for all of the drugstore brands to play catch up and start releasing their own blue shades.

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Popularity: 22% [?]