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Tom Ford Nail Lacquer Review & Swatches

September 5, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Today’s review, we’ll talk about my favorite nail colors from this posh brand.

The Tom Ford Nail Lacquers don’t seem to have a lot of color lineup to choose from, and in contrast to Chanel or Dior, Tom Ford doesn’t seem to release many colors every season, or none at all. In total, there are about 11 shades of the Tom Ford Nail Lacquers available (as of the moment), and though limited in color range, you will still find the perfect true red nail color, a beautiful vamp, a nice neutral cream shade, and the prettiest pink. The quality of these nail lacquers and the beauty of the packaging with the gorgeous sleek tube are just drool-worthy. They’re definitely the most beautiful nail polish I’ve ever owned, just staring at them will really make your heart skip a beat, LOL. Formula-wise, I find that I always need to apply two coats on my nails in order to get a good color payoff, and the first application always seems to be a bit patchy, but once you apply the second coat, then you’ll get true vivid rich colors that will last for two weeks without almost any chipping. I do think that the patchiness of the first application is due to the brush applicator which I think could be improved because it’s a little too thin or too skinny and a little too long for my taste. I would have loved it to be like Dior’s or Essie’s Gel Couture brush that is wide and thick which applies nail colors quickly and easily. But anyway, that’s just a minor thing, because once you apply any of these nail polishes, you’re definitely going to be amazed at how nice, glossy, and beautiful your hands and fingers look especially if you use any of the darker shades.

Mink Brule – This is probably the best neutral I could find out of all the TF nail lacquers, and I like that this fits my complexion well without making my skin look too dark or too pale. On me, this looks like a medium beige creamy nude.

Smoke Red – This is a blue-toned red that delivers super rich pigment and one that my skin can pull off because it’s a deep rich red and not one that is too bright or tinged with orange or coral.

Bitter Bitch – Bought this because of the name, I must admit, and it still cracks me up whenever I see this particular nail polish. I think this color has an attitude, LOL, it’s like eating chocolate and having it all over your nails while not giving a care, hmmm!

Bordeaux Lust – As always, I’m a big fan of vampy or red-wine nails, so a nice blood-red color from Tom Ford like this is a perfect must-have for me. Just can’t go wrong with this shade.

Plum Noir– A surprisingly beautiful dark purple-violet color that may look vampy in the shade, but can also look like a beautiful glossy berry-wine under the sun. This is a dramatic beautiful color that is perfect for Fall or Winter and the best berry-violet-purple nail polish I’ve ever tried.

Bottom line, lots of love for these gorgeous nails lacquers. I may not like their brush applicators and their sort of patchy application at first, or the fact that there’s not a lot of shades to choose from, especially if you’re looking for more neutral colors, but I do love how long-wearing the formula of these nails colors are, and the fact that they don’t chip as much compared to most nail polishes out there. They also don’t have a very strong pungent scent and they set in pretty well, though you will still need a fast drying top coat to seal the colors in quickly. These nail lacquers are pricey but its good to have a few of them in the colors that you really like.

Are you a Tom Ford Nail Lacquer fan?

These Tom Ford Nail Colors are currently available at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Net-A-Porter

Smith & Cult New Shades for Spring 2018

March 1, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

If you’re bored and tired of this frigid gloomy winter, well, rest assured that you’re not alone. I can’t wait for the colors around me to come back. Speaking of colors, there’s a couple of new shades from Smith & Cult nails polish lately and they’re really pretty. As someone who’s never tried any Smith & Cult nail polish before, even though I keep seeing them in my local department store, I feel like it’s about time to venture to new nail polish brands and explore different unique shades that are outside my comfort zone. I’m talking about taking a break from my usual vampy red nail colors.

The Smith & Cult nail polishes are one of those chic nail colors that you just can’t help but stare not only at their interesting shades but also at their glamorous packaging. Such design for a nail polish. But the beautiful colors and beautiful containers come with a steep price. For $18 per nail polish, it’s definitely a splurge. However, having a few shades that you know you’re gonna use a lot and love for a long time makes it all worth it, like the three I got here.

These three new shades are not only Spring and Summer-ready shades, but also they’re great transitional shades from Winter to Spring. Apart from that, if you’ve been following the “mannequin nails” trend, that is, matching your finger’s skin tone to your nails which gives a lengthening effect, then you’re gonna love two of the shades here.

I applied these nail colors using Smith & Cult’s very own base coat and top coat. My experience with both is just amazing. The Basis of Everything base coat settles very fast and it made my nails feel very strong. The Above It All top coat is one of the best top coats I’ve ever tried. It does what a top coat should do. It dries and sets the nail polish immediately and it makes for strong nails that shine. It’s perfect.

Peaceful Paranoia ($18) – This opaque dark cream with a pinkish/magenta sheen is probably one of the most perfect shade for that mannequin nails trend. It’s definitely gonna match to your finger especially if your skin tone is light to medium like mine. However, to be honest, I’m not so crazy about the whole mannequin nails trend, I think it’s just not a trend for everybody, and it’s a pretty difficult trend to pull off. If you’re a long-time reader of my blog, you know that I like mE nails red, scandalous, and vampy, LOL. So, you can imagine my reaction when I painted my nails with this cream-tone shade. But anyways, even if this color is too close to my skin tone, it doesn’t mean that I couldn’t love this. It took me a while to get used to this color though, but after a few days, I feel like it’s really not that bad. I could get used to it. But do I really need to psyche myself that much in order to love a nail color? hmmm… Anyway, apart from that, let’s talk about the longevity and overall impression that I got with this color. Once on my nails, I had a hard time seeing that pink/magenta sheen that comes from the nail polish itself, it’s almost like it only reflects from the bottle. After probably a week or so, I noticed a slight chipping on the side of my nails, but overall it stays on almost perfectly for more than two weeks.

Powder Posse ($18) – If I had mixed feelings about the Peaceful Paranoia shade above, this creamy pale lilac is a surprise love for me. I like this one a lot better than Peaceful Paranoia because at least this shade shows a bit of contrast between my skin and my nails. It’s definitely a shade lighter than my own skin tone, but it looks clean, sleek, and polished. It still looks like I have mannequin nails on but it also looks like I have nails for real. You know what I mean.

A Short Reprise ($18) – Lavender Mauve. This is my most favorite shade among the three. It’s so pretty and it’s not an aggressive “look at me” shade. It’s just simple yet stunning. This is indeed a nice transitional shade or a color meant for Spring and Summer. The tone of this reminds me a bit of Essie’s Angora Cardi, but this one has more lavender shade in it. Overall, this is a relaxing pretty nail color that you don’t see a lot in most nail polishes nowadays, but when you see one, you know you’ve got to have it.

I feel like I’m gonna be seeing some more Smith and Cult nail polishes popping in my drawer after this. I love this nail polish already. The formula is long-wearing, doesn’t have that much strong odor, and I get about two weeks or more of wear, and it’s also an 8-free nail polish. I also love the brush applicator, it’s much better than OPI, Essie, Chanel and Tom Ford’s, but I still love Dior’s brushes though, because those are fat and wide, so it’s easier for me to apply the colors on my nails. Other than that, I am now a convert of Smith and Cult nail colors and I highly recommend them. Yay!

The Smith and Cult Nail Colors are currently available at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, SpaceNK, Bloomingdales, Net-A-Porter, and Amazon.com

Dior Vernis Review

April 13, 2017 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

This is my first time trying out the Dior Nail Polish and I honestly can say that I love their nail colors so much already. I’ve always been using Chanel for most of my high-end nail lacquers (reviewed HERE), supplemented by a bunch of OPI, Essie, and China Glaze. This time I’m venturing into other nail polishes to see if the grass is really always greener on the other side. Well, I’m happy to say that yeah, perhaps, it almost always is, except for a few caveats.

The Dior Vernis nail colors are all in a gel formula, just like the new Chanel Le Vernis. It goes on smoothly and feels very rich and creamy while fast-drying at the same time. The brush applicator is wide and very precise, which I’m really impressed at. Also, the scent of this particular nail polish is not as strong as the other nail polishes I’ve tried before, even slightly less than Chanel’s. The very best thing about the Dior Vernis Gel Shine is that the colors are extremely versatile, wearable, very classic and well-pigmented. I noticed that I seem to like most of their shades and would want to wear them all.

Incognito (257) – Definitely the best nail color if you want something subtle yet sophisticated. It’s a very corporate shade and also very casual. The best definition would be that this nail color is very versatile for everyday use. The perfect nude nail color, even more so for medium skin tones.

Cosmopolite (785) – I’d like to call this a vintage, retro-ish, washed-out red, or more of a brick rose-red. It’s classic but not boring and has an old-world feel. A muted red that is also very versatile. Great for when you’re bored of red nails or that red nails may be a bit too much for the occasion. This is definitely a unique red tone shade.

Mirage (338) – If you’re a fan of purples, magentas, plums, or violet-pinks like me, then you’ll love this shade. It’s quite similar to OPI Dim Sum Plum or Essie Big Spender, but with slightly more lasting power than the other two.

Massaï (853) – My most favorite shade of the entire Dior Vernis by far, and one of the most perfect red nail color I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely a rich deep red and slightly vampy like blood. There’s no black tone nor orange tone. It’s more of a blue-toned red and the formula goes on smoothly into the nails. This nail polish definitely complements all skin tones because of its perfect beauty.

Nuit 1947 (970) – I love vampy shades and this one is also perfect for me. It’s a deep vampy red like wine but looks almost black in low light. It’s similar to Chanel Le Vernis in Rouge Noir than Vamp. No shimmers, just plain reddish-black nail color.

Gel Coat – This is the topcoat of choice for the Dior Vernis Gel Shine. It is meant to make the gel nail colors dry fast and to make them long-wearing. Which I think is definitely true on the fast-drying ability of this topcoat, but I’m not sure about this top coat’s long-wear potential. My nail color starts chipping on the side during the 5^th day, which doesn’t happen with me whenever I use the Chanel Le Gel Coat with the Chanel Le Vernis. I don’t know if it’s this topcoat or the Dior Vernis in general, but I find this topcoat to be not as long-wearing as what it’s supposed to be. A lot of people prefer the Top Coat Abricot more than this Gel Coat, which I haven’t tried yet, but will definitely give it a go-to compare them side by side pretty soon.

Verdict: I love the Dior Vernis and will definitely recommend it to you all. The colors are great and the formula is also wonderful. I love that the scent is not too strong and it disappears quickly, and I also love the wide brush applicator for a more even application better than Chanel’s. Also, the nail colors dry very fast with the help of the designated Gel Top Coat, but it’s not as long-lasting as the Chanel Le Gel Coat (reviewed HERE). I probably get a good 7 days of wear with these Dior nail polishes, while I get almost 2 weeks from the Chanel Le Vernis. In addition to that, Chanel has a lot of colors to choose from, yet Dior Vernis’ well-pigmented pretty colors are to die for.