NARS Zakynthos & Ithaque Nail Polishes Reviews, Photos, Swatches
NARS Zakynthos, Ithaque Nail Polishes
These are the last two shades of NARS Nail Polish ($20.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) that I have to review! 🙂 There are a total of 43 permanent shades, and today (July 15th) is the official launch day. Both the formula and the brush have been changed. According to the brand, the formula is supposed to “improve wear and strengthen nails” with a “flexible, high gloss finish.” In the past, I’ve experienced really strong, long-wear (up to ten days with minor tip wear; after seven, tip wear appears very minor). I tested five shades–Thasos, Elbrus, Obscura, Pastorale, and Zakynthos–for wear, and they were fairly consistent with minor tip wear after seven days but no chipping (no top or base coats were used). I really liked the brush, as it wasn’t overly wide; I could still apply polish to my pinky nail (which is my narrowest nail) without getting polish all along the cuticle/skin along the nail. Most shades dried down faster than average, and generally, they applied well without streaking, bubbling, or pooling along the edges with good color coverage.
NARS Zakynthos Nail Polish ($20.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “beige.” It’s a medium beige with subtle, rosy undertones and a cream finish. It was opaque after two coats, and it applied fairly evenly, though it was somewhat streaky initially, leveled quite a bit, but there was still some unevenness. The consistency was on the thinner side, and the brush on this shade was very splayed/uneven. MAC Style Tip (LE, $16.00) is similar. a href=”https://www.temptalia.com/product/rescue-beauty-lounge-nail-lacquer/sheer-nude”>Rescue Beauty Lounge Sheer Nude (LE, $20.00) is warmer. China Glaze Dress Me Up (LE, $7.50) is similar. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
NARS Ithaque Nail Polish ($20.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “light pink.” It’s a sheer, milky, light pink with a glossy, creamy finish. I wish NARS had thought to include “sheer” in the description, because after two coats, it’s semi-sheer. It was slightly streaky but leveled quite a bit while drying down. MAC Ke Ai (LE, $16.00) is warmer, has shimmer. MAC Delicate (LE, $16.00) is similar. MAC Confectionary (LE, $16.00) is more opaque. Cult Nails Enticing (P, $12.00) is cooler-toned. See comparison swatches / view dupes.
Zakynthos
PPermanent. $20.00.
Ithaque
PPermanent. $20.00.
See more photos & swatches!
NARS Zakynthos Nail Polish
NARS Zakynthos Nail Polish
NARS Zakynthos Nail Polish
NARS Zakynthos Nail Polish
NARS Zakynthos Nail Polish
NARS Zakynthos Nail Polish
NARS Zakynthos Nail Polish
NARS Ithaque Nail Polish
NARS Ithaque Nail Polish
NARS Ithaque Nail Polish
NARS Ithaque Nail Polish
NARS Ithaque Nail Polish
NARS Ithaque Nail Polish
NARS Ithaque Nail Polish
This just occurred to me: without even really thinking about it for nudes, I always seem to gravitate to much cheaper brands. There have been a few exceptions, but that has related to a unique finish. With so many gorgeous colour offerings from this line, I’m ‘meh’ about these two.
Do you often wear beiges/browns or is it a shade you rarely wear as well?
rarely! I’ll grab a weird muted taupey shade or a taupey ashy brown before I will wear nude nails. They don’t do much for me, but some people’s hands looking amazingly elegant in nude nails, whereas, on me they seem to fall flat or that is just my perception.
What do you use to clean up the edges of your nail? Your paint jobs are suuuper professional!
Hi Jane!
I don’t use anything when I’m swatching since I deliberately leave some space around the edges, but if I do a full manicure, then I use a fine art brush and remover!
Have you ever considered doing 7-day and 10-day pictures with nail polish?
I ask because I hesitate to buy expensive nail polish like NARS. How could it be 3x better than the drugstore brands, or even Essie/OPI? The only differentiating factor would be wear and chip resistance, right?
I’m speaking generally here – clearly all brands have some duds with streaks, etc.
On occasion, I do include a photo of wear, but in general, there’s so little wear that you can hardly tell in photos (it’s about 1mm to 2mm on me) so most of the time, visually they look the same (I keep trying to find an angle that shows it better but not much luck yet!). Essie wears the same as NARS for me – so it isn’t 3x better for me. Almost NOTHING chips on me (the last thing I can remember is matte polish from a few years ago), so while I report on my wear times, I get exceptional wear out of polish, which is why I caution all readers to take my wear time with a grain of salt, as I don’t fall within normal/average in this area.
For me, I find the difference between polishes to be the opacity, consistency, and application, but these are all differences that can happen from shade to shade, let alone brand to brand. But just like with any beauty product, there are great products for $1 and great ones for $100. You’re not getting a product that is 100x better if both products are A+. Lipstick that is $35 doesn’t necessarily last longer than a $5 one – maybe it’s more pigmented or hydrating, or maybe a $5 lipstick is fantastic and puts a $35 lipstick to shame. Beauty is a world where price is a often a misleading indicator of quality, IMO.
thanks for your response – you make a good point.
I also get exceptional wear out of nail polish, about 10 days worth. if one chips, i just repaint it. my friends hate me.
I call it my superpower.
LOL! Very nice! 🙂
It is a great personal thing to have, but as a blogger, I wish I was in the middle, lol!
Yay, these are two polishes I can definitely skip! There have been too many shades that have caught my eye from this line!
Phew! 😀
They’re pretty!
Do you have a favorite between the two?
I really like the nude one! It’s not something I’d wear often though so I need to try one of those dupes. The China Glaze one looks pretty nice too!
I don’t reach for lighter beiges too often myself!
Without hesitation. I am grabbing both. No swatches in store just up to the counter and to the register!! I collect nudes, why? I just love them !!
Enjoy, Tangie!
I looove Zakynthos! It’s my kind of nude!
Yay!
These are just too boring for me to even consider, let alone the coverage.
Good thing there are 43 shades to choose from, lol!
Wow! That Zakynthos would be a beautiful nude color for my nails!!! I would prob get the China Glaze dupe because I can’t imagine spending that much money on a nude polish.
Hopefully you can find a dupe!
LOL, my favourite picture of Ithaque is actually the one of the brush – it looks so pretty on the brush for some reason…
Obviously it looks great on your nails too (curse you and your fab application), but it’s not exactly the most…exciting colour that NARS released with this new collection 😉
True enough – with so many richer, bolder shades, it gets lost in the mix!