Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
NARS Ratin Jot Nail Lacquer
NARS Ratin Jot Nail Lacquer
NARS Ratin Jot Nail Lacquer ($18.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as an “orchid purple.” It’s a muted magenta pink with a cream finish. Illamasqua Obsess is more vibrant, less pink. Deborah Lippmann Makin’ Whoopee is more fuchsia. Zoya Areej is dustier, pinker, less vibrant. SpaRitual Color Trip is pinker.
The formula on Ratin Jot was lovely–richly pigmented (opaque in two coats, but almost in one), not too thick or too thin, and flowed beautifully across the nail without streaking, bubbling, or pooling. This color is very saturated and almost neon, but it’s shy of it. There’s a slightly muted quality that keeps the pink hues from turning fuchsia, but there’s still enough richness that it pulls very magenta. I typically get a week of wear with minor tip wear but no chipping with NARS’ lacquer formula.
Where to Buy: NARS, $18
NARS and Thakoon know how to collaborate--they've created some really incredible, standout shades that live up to the bottle color and come with a high quality formula that's pigmented and has an easy-to-use consistency.
Saturday, May 5th, 2012
Chanel Holiday Le Vernis
Chanel Holiday Le Vernis
Chanel Holiday Le Vernis ($26.00 for 0.40 fl. oz.) is a bright medium-dark orange with a cream finish. MAC Morange is similar, a touch lighter. NARS Lal Mirchi is redder. MAC Kid Orange is redder. MAC Oriele is redder but muted. Essie Braziliant is darker, more red-toned. It has some red undertones, but it’s more orange than red–definitely not coral. There’s enough vibrancy for it to pop, but I wouldn’t describe it as a neon–there’s too much depth for that.
There’s definitely no shortage of orange nail polish options this summer! It seems like every major brand has launched at least one. This shade seems a bit more dupeable, though it can be a little difficult to find an orange that is mostly orange, rather than orange-red, that isn’t neon. It was opaque in two coats, and it applied evenly and fluidly–it was the easiest to apply out of the three in the summer collection. The consistency was just a tiny bit thin. There was the slightest jelly-like quality to it, though it’s really a cream. I typically get a week of wear out of Chanel’s formula, but I don’t have issues with nail polishes chipping on me aside from some matte formulas (with no base/top coat).
Where to Buy: Chanel, $26.00
There's definitely no shortage of orange nail polish options this summer! It seems like every major brand has launched at least one. This shade seems a bit more dupeable, though it can be a little difficult to find an orange that is mostly orange, rather than orange-red, that isn't neon.
Friday, May 4th, 2012
Chanel Delight Le Vernis
Chanel Delight Le Vernis
Chanel Delight Le Vernis ($26.00 for 0.40 fl. oz.) is a pale golden bronze with lighter champagne, copper, and bronze shimmer. It has a strong metallic, almost foil-like, finish. Urban Decay Superfreak is more pewter-like; less bronzy, more silver-gold. OCC Cruising is a golden yellow. MAC Soiree is the closest I could think of, but it has a rosiness to it. China Glaze Jingle Bells is much yellower.
This actually could be a one-coater, and I liked the way it looked better at once coat–it almost gets a little too thick-looking (but it doesn’t seem thick in terms of actual, physical thickness). It was totally opaque in one coat, but I did swatches with two coats. The drying time on this is very quick, regardless of whether you’re doing one or two coats. The texture was really fantastic on Delight; it wasn’t too thick or too thin, and it flowed beautifully across the nail during application with no bubbling, streaking, or pooling along the edges. Not many polishes chip on me, so I’ve had no problems with Chanel and wear–I get noticeable tip wear after a week of wear but no chipping.
Updated: Sorry, all! It was supposed to be A–I must have typed through the rating fields too quickly and hit A+ rather than A. Thanks for everyone who emailed and left comments telling me about my colossal error!
Where to Buy: Chanel, $26
This shade will be flattering against warmer skin tones and is very appropriate for summer. It reminds me of sandy beaches, partially because of the color but also with the finish--though not gritty (it dries smooth), you can kind of see grains of sand.
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
NARS Anardana Nail Lacquer
NARS Anardana Nail Lacquer
NARS Anardana Nail Lacquer ($18.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as an “azalea pink.” This is a vibrant pink-red with a cream finish. The undertones almost read neutral to me, but there is a subtle warm undercurrent that gives it an almost coral-red look to it against my skin tone. MAC Toco Toucan is much pinker. Zoya Kimber has a similar base color, though it’s a bit lighter, but it also has shimmer. China Glaze 108 Degrees is pinker and has shimmer. Illamasqua Collide is a smidgen pinker. China Glaze Heli-Yum is similar but not as vibrant. Zoya Dana is a touch pinker.
Thakoon was inspired by the vibrant hues of an Indian spice market and translated it into polish for your nails. Anardana is a star within the collection–it’s so, so rich in color, you could almost get away with a single coat. It’s bold, vibrant, and nearly turns neon but manages to stay a notch away so it has a little more depth. The formula had a good balance between thick and thin, so the polish flowed evenly and fluidly across the nail during application. I typically get a week of wear with minor tip wear but no chipping with NARS’ lacquer formula.
Where to Buy: NARS, $18
Anardana applied effortlessly--the formula itself was flawless and the color rich in pigmentation. It was perfect in two coats but you could almost get away with just one.
Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
NARS Lal Mirchi Nail Lacquer
NARS Lal Mirchi Nail Lacquer
NARS Lal Mirchi Nail Lacquer ($18.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “mandarin red.” It’s a vibrant, medium-dark orange-red with a cream finish. It’s more orange than red, but it has enough red in it to give it that really deep, intense coloring without looking burnt. MAC Kid Orange is very similar, perhaps a smidgen redder. MAC Morange is more orange. MAC Oriele Orange is a little more burnt looking. Essie Braziliant is redder. Essie Meet Me at Sunset is much redder. Essie Vermillionaire is significantly more orange and lighter.
It’s really rich in color payoff, so it’s opaque in two coats easily, but it’s almost opaque in one. The consistency was excellent; not too thick or too thin, so it applied beautifully, evenly, and fluidly. There was no bubbling, pooling, or streaking during application. I typically get a week of wear with minor tip wear but no chipping with NARS’ lacquer formula. This was one of the best shades out of the NARS and Thakoon collection–it is exclusive to NARS’ website and their boutique.
Where to Buy: NARS, $18
This was one of the best shades out of the NARS and Thakoon collection--it is exclusive to NARS' website and their boutique. It appears to be one of the more dupeable shades in the collection, though.
Sunday, April 29th, 2012
MAC Pink Nouveau Lipglass over Lipstick; Nail Lacquer
MAC Fashion Sets: Nail Lacquer Review Round-up
MAC is not known for an excellent nail polish formula. Sometimes they do it right, but they often create some major misses that tend to suffer from too thin/too thick consistencies, streaking, and poor pigmentation. As is generally the case, the set of sixteen matching nail lacquers was a mixed bag but with more winners than real losers. Pigmentation wasn’t a problem with most of the shades, but I found several of them to be on the streakier side with some more readily covered with a thicker second coat. There were also a handful of shades that were lovely to apply!
The other downside was that a few of the nail lacquers did not match well with the lipstick/lipgloss (Angel, Impassioned, Razzledazzler, Rebel, Snob, and Spice were among the least matching, particularly in tone, not just slightly lighter/darker).
I think MAC has accelerated the price point of their nail lacquers far too quickly–$16 is more than a lipstick or a gloss! It’s $2 less than NARS, the same or $2 less than Deborah Lippmann (depending on the type of polish, as some of hers are $16 and others are $18), $2 MORE than Illamasqua (one of the best polish formulas I’ve ever tried), and $2 more than Butter London. And frankly? At that price tag, MAC is giving you less than the brands I just mentioned–0.34 fl. oz. vs. 0.50 fl. oz. 0.50 fl. oz. is the standard lacquer size (China Glaze, Essie, OPI, etc. all have this size as well). This formula needs to be on point to command a $16 price tag when there are nail polish niche brands where all they do is nail polish have excellent formulas. The nail lacquers have increased in price faster than other comparable price points at MAC (e.g. lipsticks, glosses, and eyeshadows go up $0.50 every year).
I very specifically removed price from the overall rating so that a $30 formula can be compared to a $3 formula with no boost/decrease because of the price–you are the only one who can decide what is too expensive, just right, or not worth it. As a buyer, I’m most interested in quality, and then I’ll figure out if the quality-to-price-ratio is worth it to me or maybe the color is so original that I’m willing to pay a higher price — or maybe it’s so cheap that I’ll accept that it streaks or is powdery. I try to shed light on situations where the price seems out of line with the brand’s position in the market, against competitors, or if the price/quantity ratio is unusually low or high.
MAC’s lacquers are packaged in a cylindrical bottle (though it has some tapering) and a rubberized cap, and this type of cap normally brings packaging scores up to 5/5, but because it’s awkward to hold (it’s stubby and oddly shaped when gripped), it ends up being a wash. Though it has been an issue in the past, I didn’t have any problems with the brush–they all seemed fine and didn’t have any splaying issues.
The best shades were: Chestnut, Girl About Town, Morange, Pink Nouveau, and Russian Red (A). A good but not great shade was Impassioned (A-). The most under-performing shades were: Saint Germain (C+) and Snob (B-). The rest were middle-of-the-road shades with mostly Bs and a few B+s.
Availability: Based on the information I have received from MAC, the distribution of these shades is regional. I cannot confirm the extent of non-regional shades being available online for your region (e.g. whether all of these will be available on the UK website). I can confirm only that for North America, all shades are available for purchase online. Only the North America-specific shades will be available in-stores on May 3rd, 2012. Select Macy’s will also carry Latin America & Middle East region-specific shades.
North America: Chestnut, Girl About Town, Myth, Rebel, Russian Red, Snob, Spice; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Girl About Town and Snob to the permanent range in July
Asia Pacific: Angel, Morange, Impassioned, Peachstock, Ravishing, Razzledazzler, Saint Germain; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Girl About Town, Impassioned, Morange, Saint Germain, and Snob to the permanent range in July
Europe & Africa: Impassioned, Morange, Myth, Rebel, Russian Red, Saint Germain, Spice; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Impassioned, Morange, and Saint Germain, to the permanent range in July
Latin America & Middle East: Girl About Town, Impassioned, Morange, Pink Nouveau, Please Me, Russian Red, Snob; all are limited edition at this time, but MAC will be adding Girl About Town, Impassioned, Morange, and Snob to the permanent range in July
Reviews, Photos, Swatches
Where to Buy: MAC, $16.00 each
One major downside was that a few of the nail lacquers did not match well with the lipstick/lipgloss (Angel, Impassioned, Razzledazzler, Rebel, Snob, and Spice were among the least matching, particularly in tone, not just slightly lighter/darker). I think this is important, because the concept of the collection is very matchy-matchy, you know? Being a little lighter/darker is acceptable, but getting the undertone wrong is less so.
Please note that the photos included in this post are for summary purposes only–there are four additional photos for each lipstick shade that have been excluded in this post but are available in the set’s original post: one product photos, one swatch (diffused flash), and two swatches (studio lighting).
