NARS Sharks Nail Lacquer Pair ($29.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is described as a “yellow” and “lavender.” Each nail lacquer duo comes in a “shoebox” with a NARS dustbag. The individual polishes don’t have names, but one is labeled as “Left” and the other as “Right” (building off the inspiration, which was Pierre Hardy’s spring shoe collection). However, each bottle is a full-sized bottle (0.50 fl. oz.), like regular NARS’ polishes, which retail for $19.00 normally–so the set is priced at $29.00 but has a value of $38.00. I typically get a week of wear out with very minor tip wear and no chipping with NARS’ formula.
Sharks (Left) is a pale yellow–butter yellow, really–with a cream finish. It was opaque in two coats, but it was on the thicker side and was really streaky to work with. I ended up redoing the swatches three times and the best results were with two thick coats, but it resulted in pooling along the edges, so some clean-up was required. MAC Near Beth Experience is similar, perhaps a touch darker. NARS 15 Minutes is a darker yellow. China Glaze Lemon Fizz is also similar but a little darker.
Sharks (Right) is a creamy, lavender purple. Two coats yielded opaque color coverage, but there was a little bit of streakiness on the initial coat that a second coat was able to cover. It had a slightly thicker consistency, too, but I didn’t experience any pooling with this shade. This shade’s cooler undertones made it harder for me to come up with similar shades to share with you. Essie Bangle Jangle is pinker. Essie Nice is Nice is also pinker. MAC Little Girl Type is pinker-toned and lighter. NARS Pokerface is darker, more red-toned. Zoya Marley is lighter.
Yellow is a tough color to perfect when it comes to polish, and a pastel yellow just adds another layer of complexity. NARS' yellow falls short like other yellows do because of a streaky application. The lavender shade was easier to deal with, but you have to be willing to deal with streaky applications to consider this duo.
Product
7/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
7/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
3/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
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NARS Ethno Run Nail Lacquer Pair ($29.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is described as an “orange” and “navy.” Each nail lacquer duo comes in a “shoebox” with a NARS dustbag. The individual polishes don’t have names, but one is labeled as “Left” and the other as “Right” (building off the inspiration, which was Pierre Hardy’s spring shoe collection). However, each bottle is a full-sized bottle (0.50 fl. oz.), like regular NARS’ polishes, which retail for $19.00 normally–so the set is priced at $29.00 but has a value of $38.00. I typically get a week of wear out with very minor tip wear and no chipping with NARS’ formula.
Ethno Run (Left) is a bright, bold medium orange with a cream finish. It was very nearly opaque after two coats (faraway, there’s a slight lightening where my nail line starts), and it applied easily without streaking or pooling along the edges. NARS Madness is a bit darker and has a more jelly-like finish–but the two are rather similar. NARS TV Party is darker with stronger red undertones. Illamasqua Gamma is also darker and has a stronger red undertone.
Ethno Run (Right) is a deep, dark navy blue with a cream finish that’s almost a little jelly-like. It has a thinner–almost watery–consistency, and it looked a bit like watercolor paints on the nail–like some areas seemed nearly black and others seemed bluer, so it was a bit streaky. MAC Double Truoble is lighter. Essie Bobbing for Baubles is more subdued. Essie Cynthia is tealer. Rescue Beauty Lounge Dead Calm is much lighter. China Glaze First Mate is also quite a bit lighter. NARS Midnight Express seemed really quite close–perhaps marginally lighter.
Both shades were not fully opaque after two coats, and depending on your preference, three would get you to full opacity. The orange shade was easy to apply, but the navy blue was a little watery so it was a bit streaky.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
9/10
Texture
9/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
NARS Easy Walking Nail Lacquer Pair ($29.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is described as a “rose gold” and “camel.” Each nail lacquer duo comes in a “shoebox” with a NARS dustbag. The individual polishes don’t have names, but one is labeled as “Left” and the other as “Right” (building off the inspiration, which was Pierre Hardy’s spring shoe collection). However, each bottle is a full-sized bottle (0.50 fl. oz.), like regular NARS’ polishes, which retail for $19.00 normally–so the set is priced at $29.00 but has a value of $38.00. I typically get a week of wear out with very minor tip wear and no chipping with NARS’ formula.
Easy Walking (Left) is a metallic, shimmering champagne beige with warm undertones. It shows up as a bit yellower than traditional rose gold, but it’s certainly not a true yellow gold and is one of the closer shades to rose gold I’ve come across. It was opaque in two coats, and it was a little on the thicker side. The major issue I had was that it has a lot of brush strokes, and they weren’t easy to control–it definitely dries really quickly and the less passes you make with the brush, the better. I had my best results with my pinky nail, because I can almost get away with just one pass of the brush. China Glaze Swanky Silk is darker and sheerer. Dior Diorling is sheer and sparkly. Guerlain Altoum is lighter. China Glaze Jingle Bells is a few shades darker.
Easy Walking (Right) is a warm-toned, yellowy tan with a cream finish. Camel, indeed, is exactly what I thought of when I saw it. This polish applied beautifully: no streaking, bubbling, or pooling, as the consistency was not too thick or too thin. It fully covered the nail in two coats. I don’t have too many shades like this, but Barielle Aura Angora is slightly darker, less warm-toned, while China Glaze Desert Sun is much more orange and warm-toned.
Easy Walking (Left) is the troublemaker here, while Easy Walking (Right) performed extremely well, the metallic shade had a lot of visible brush strokes and was difficult to apply.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
10/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
Color Club Beyond Nail Lacquer ($10.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is a deep, warm, smoky gray-black with holographic shimmer. The closest shade I could think of was Rescue Beauty Lounge Anne, which is slightly greener and not-so-holographic.
Beyond applied beautifully–I had no trouble with application at all, and sometimes holographic polishes can be tricky to apply. It went on fluidly, evenly, and didn’t emphasize ridges or anything like that. It didn’t dry as fast as other holographics but did dry faster than the average polish did. The holographic effect is insane–it happens at nearly every angle and there’s plenty go around; you won’t feel like you have to get your nails at just the right angle in just the right light to see it. You’ll be hard-pressed to find an angle where it isn’t shimmering in a rainbow of delight. It was fully opaque in two coats (and nearly opaque in a single one!) and didn’t pool, bubble, or streak. I typically get a week of wear out of Color Club’s formula with minor tip wear but no chipping.
The holographic effect is insane--it happens at nearly every angle and there's plenty go around; you won't feel like you have to get your nails at just the right angle in just the right light to see it.
Product
10/10
Pigmentation
10/10
Texture
10/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
5/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
Chanel Taboo Le Vernis ($30.00 for 0.40 fl. oz.) is described as a “violine with red iridescence.” They should call it “Galaxy in a Bottle.” It’s a rich, deepened red-toned purple with iridescent shimmer that reflects red, violet, pink, and coppery-red. Dior Shadow is a warmer (more eggplant-like) purple with coppery-red shimmer. Cult Nails Spontaneous is a lighter, plummy purple with flecks of purple sparkle. Estee lauder Extravagant Night is warmer with much larger sparkle–and it’s a mix of plum and gold. Zoya Valerie is redder, warmer, and has larger shimmer.
Taboo is stunning. It’s a paint-one-nail-and-pause-for-effect–it’s that show-stopping–and it’s not just an effect visible in bright light or if you hold your fingertips close to your eyes, as you can see the shimmer dance and sparkle even at a distance. It’s very nearly opaque in a single coat, but I did apply two coats for full opacity. The consistency wasn’t too thick or too thin, and it flowed beautifully across the nail–no pooling, streaking, or bubbling. It dries down to a naturally shiny finish, but I’d recommend adding a top coat to really make it sing. Taboo is exactly what high-end, luxury polish should be: interesting, complex, highly-pigmented, flawless application. I normally get a week of wear with Chanel’s formula with no chipping, just minor tip wear.
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
Riot Gear was only somewhat streaky on the first initial coat, but a second coat evened it out and covered any of the remaining streaks from the first coat. It was the best of the four MAC polishes I swatched yesterday. It was very nearly opaque after two coats, but at certain angles and when there was more light, there was a hint of visible nail line. The consistency wasn’t too thick or too thin, so it applied without pooling along the edges. I usually get a week of wear out of MAC’s polishes with minor tip wear but no chipping.
It's one of the better polishes that I've swatched from the recent collections, though it is not without its downsides. At this price point, it should be better.
Product
8.5/10
Pigmentation
9.5/10
Texture
8.5/10
Longevity
9/10
Application
4/5
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Where to Buy
This product can be purchased at the following retailers:
Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.
Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!
