You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘NOTD’ tag.
I’ve been trying lots of blues and turquoises, but now I have on something that’s solely green. Essie First Timer (Resort Collection, 2013) is a bright spring green creme:
Picture taken in sunlight. The formula was thick yet runny. It didn’t apply very smoothly but was quite pigmented, so I only needed two coats for full coverage, with some touchups in between to make sure there would be no uneven spots. The formula wasn’t perfect, but I love this color. In terms of blue vs. yellow toned, I think this sits right in the middle; it doesn’t seem to lean either way (which I appreciate, because I feel like I don’t see that so often.) This green is light and springy, but it also has a great, almost neon-like vibrancy. It has a bold, stark quality on the nail, which I love to see in any season, but especially around summertime (I imagine this would look amazing against a tan.) I paired this with Sephora by OPI Alley Cat on my toes.
<3sarah
I tried one half of this collection in May, and this month I’ll wear the second half, starting with Essie In the Cab-ana (Resort Collection, 2013), a bright, aqua-turquoise creme:
Picture taken in sunlight. The formula was nicely thick and pigmented, and I got full coverage in two coats, with some touchups in between. When I bought this I thought the color would be really similar to Where’s My Chauffeur?. They are, in the sense that they’re both in the same broad color family, but they’re not as close as I thought. Where’s My Chauffeur? leans on the green side of turquoise, while In the Cab-ana leans more on the blue side. There are also differences in formula; In the Cab-ana has a thicker, more solidly opaque consistency. Both are bold and really pretty; this one makes me think of lovely turquoise seas as well. I paired it with Illamasqua Purity on my toes.
<3sarah
This is a departure from the blues and greens I’ve been trying, but I think this is the last untried polish I have from this collection so I just wanted to get it done. China Glaze Glitter All The Way (Holiday Joy, Holiday 2012) is a mix of gold, green, purple and red glitter in a clear base:
Picture taken in weak sunlight. The formula was like any glitter in a clear base. I applied a first, patchy coat to give the additional coats something to grip, then applied a thick second coat to really build opacity, then a thin third coat to ensure complete, even coverage. I only used one coat of topcoat but two or more would be needed to get a glassy smooth finish. I labeled this a gold for categorization’s sake, but to me, this doesn’t really have a predominant color. All the colors contrast nicely and really stand apart from each other, but there’s an even amount of all four so there’s no main color. The glitter is hexagonal; the gold, purple and red glitter are tiny, while the green glitter is slightly larger, but still very small. As many have noted, this looks perfect for Mardi Gras! I paired this with OPI Dutch ‘Ya Just Love OPI? on my toes.
<3sarah
Most of the blues and greens I’ve tried so far this month have been really spring/summer-appropriate shades, so I’m trying one that’s a little unexpected for the season. Illamasqua Venous (Spring 2013) is a medium greenish teal creme:
Picture taken in weak sunlight (Please pardon the injury! I hope it heals fast so it won’t appear in many more of my NOTDs.) The formula was smooth and applied well in two coats. At first this struck me as a more fall-appropriate shade, since it wasn’t light and bright like the polishes I’ve been wearing recently. The more I look at it, though, the more I see it as spring-appropriate. It’s dusty, but not very muted. It’s kind of like a springy version of Essie School of Hard Rocks (both remind me of chalkboards.) It’s not the first shade I picture when I think of teal, but it just fits under that category, as one that has more green than blue. The name intrigues me; I normally wouldn’t think of this as the color of veins, but when I looked at my wrist, the shade seems like a match! I paired this with OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know? on my toes.
<3sarah
Most of the blues and greens I have slated for this month are cremes, but I have just one glitter that combines all those shades. China Glaze Water You Waiting For (Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away) is a deep blue, turquoise green, and blue-purple glitter in a blue-tinted base:
Picture taken in sunlight. The glitter is very dense, so I only needed two coats, with touchups in between, for complete coverage. As I continued to work with it, the formula became thicker and a little clumpy. It looks flat without topcoat, so I used one coat to bring out the sparkle. At least two would be needed for a glass-smooth finish. This looks absolutely gorgeous, especially when you look at it up close and really appreciate the detail. The blue glitter is dominant, and the turquoise green and very blue-toned purple glitter provide nice contrast and dimension. All the glitter is very fine, but there seems to be two sizes: tiny regular glitter and slightly larger round glitter. Punny as the name is, it’s really appropriate; it’s like looking into fantastical seawater (though I think it has that galactic vibe as well). I paired this with Sephora by OPI Caribbean Cocktail on my toes.
<3sarah
I put on this color as it matches Novak Djokovic’s kit during this year’s French Open. I was really hoping to see him win today’s semifinal against Rafa Nadal and compete for the title on Sunday to complete the career slam, but it was not to be. 
I guess I’m particularly devastated because he practically had the match in his hands! Anyway, Ciaté Pepperminty is a cool, mint pastel creme:
Picture taken in natural light. (Pardon the blurriness of this photo; the weather matches my current mood.) This applied pretty well, and as expected for a pastel. It was streaky so I needed three coats for complete, even coverage. This isn’t the starkest of pastels, but it’s still light and nicely pigmented, so it qualifies. I probably already have something similar enough, but I do love mint polishes; they’re always pretty and they make me think of sweets. 
This one leans on the cool side, but it isn’t so blue that it looks turquoise. I paired this with OPI Pink Friday on my toes.
<3sarah
I’m finally finished trying this collection with Essie Where’s My Chauffeur (Winter 2012), a bright, greenish turquoise creme:
Picture taken in sunlight. (This looks just a little greener in real life.) This applied smoothly, though the formula didn’t quite have that really solid pigmentation. I needed three coats for full, streak-free coverage. It did turn out to have a pretty strong presence on the nail, even without that creamy, solid, pigmented type of formula. It’s kind of strange to think of this as part of a winter release, since this color seems so summery. I can’t resist a turquoise! This one leans a little on the green side. Turquoise shades are typically light, but I like that this one is actually pretty bold and bright, and not washed-out and pale. I feel more at home trying it at this time of year. It’s so pretty and makes me think of a gorgeous turquoise sea. I paired this with Sephora by OPI It’s My Pink on my toes.
<3sarah
I thought it’d be perfect to wear a polish named after Avenue Montaigne during Roland Garros. Essie Avenue Maintain (Spring 2013) is a French blue creme:
Picture taken in weak sunlight. This was well pigmented and applied smoothly; I got solid, opaque coverage in two coats. I am probably more inclined to call this polish a French blue because of its name, but this really does seem to match the shade you see when you look up “Bleu de France.” When I first looked at this indoors, I thought it was dusty, but seeing this outdoors, I see that it’s actually pretty bright. It’s not that sort of vibrant-bright, but it is very fresh and springy. A crisp, clean, clear blue. I paired this with OPI Gouda Gouda Two Shoes on my toes.
<3sarah
Following my own little personal tradition, I have a slew of shades in the blue/green family to try this month, starting with Essie Butler Please (Winter 2012), a bright cobalt blue creme:
Picture taken in sunlight. The formula was not as smooth as I hoped it’d be; it was nicely pigmented, but it was on the thick side and a little cuticle draggy. I got full coverage in two coats plus touchups, and topcoat helped level everything out. I think this must have neon pigment in it, because it dries satiny and its consistency kind of reminded me of a neon polish. Formula issues aside, I do love the color! It’s really bold and vibrant, and it does have that electric feel (hehe) to it, though not quite as much as Nails Inc. Baker Street, which is my favorite of this type of blue. I almost forgot that this is actually part of a winter collection, but it’s great for summer, too. I paired this with Sephora by OPI Pushing Your Luck on my toes.
<3sarah
After weeks of mostly cremes, I wanted to throw in one glitter before getting into another row of cremes. China Glaze Pizzazz (Holiday Joy, Holiday 2012) is a mainly silver multicolored blend of small and large hex glitter in a clear base:
Picture taken in sunlight. This is really a polish that’s meant to be layered, as it’s not that dense of a glitter, but with some work it can be opaque on its own. I didn’t really paint this on like a normal polish; I put a lot of glitter on the nail then spread it around, then let that initial “coat” dry a little, then filled in any empty spots with more glitter. I also moved the glitter around with a cuticle stick to get nice, even lines. When you look at this close up, you can see all the different colors of glitter: silver, fuchsia, sky blue, green, orange, yellow. But from a distance, the silver really dominates. Next time I use this I’ll probably put it over black to make all those colors pop, but I just wanted to see what this sort of “party in a bottle” glitter would look like on its own. I paired this with OPI Metallic 4 Life on my toes.
<3sarah
