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Favorite Essie Gel Couture Nail Colors

December 27, 2018 / FASHION & BEAUTY / 0 comments

Hello! Happy Holidays to each and everyone! I hope you guys are having a great time this holiday season. Me? I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family and friends. In fact, I’ve reunited with some friends I haven’t seen in years! I miss them a lot and there hasn’t been a day where I stopped thinking about them, yet for some reason, life has its uncanny ways of drawing distance and when you finally see each other, it’s like you’ve never really been apart for so long. OMG! I just love reunions and I wish it won’t take me a very long time to see these friends again.

Anyhow, even though I’ve been busy with all the events for the holidays, I managed to finally sort out my top favorite shades of the Essie Gel Couture nail polish. In my previous Essie nail color roundup review (seen HERE), I posted my favorite Essie colors in Enamel and Gel formulation. However, in that post, I was just starting to try out some of the Essie Gel colors, but I haven’t really made up my mind when it comes to my top fave shades until recently. So, finally, in this post, I’ll be talking about my personal favorite colors in the Essie Gel Couture line. Now, keep in mind that this particular Essie Nail Color line still doesn’t have a lot of color varieties. As much as I love the lasting power and overall formula of this gel lacquer, I find that the shade range is still quite basic – reds, pinks, some blues, greens, and purples.

I’m a big red nail polish lover because that’s what looks good on me, so you’re still gonna be seeing a lot of reds here, but I also have a few nudes, a dark violet/purple hue, as well as a few bright pinks, along with my opinion of the Essie Top Coat and how it compares to some other top coats in the market.

Reds

Paint The Gown Red – ruby red

Spiked With Style – wine red

Bubbles Only – cream burgundy

Gala-Vanting – deep maroon red

Nudes

Take Me To Thread – plush taupe, looks greige with a nude mauve undertone, reminds me a lot of Chanel Particuliere (HERE)

Pinned Up – nude pink rose

Sew Me – cream caramel

All Dressed Up – swatched HERE, medium rose pink

Pinks

Signature Smile – bright coral pink

Stitch By Stitch – light nude pink

Purple

Turn ‘N’ Pose – deep plum/purple

Model Clicks – wine purplish red

Top Coat – I’m really amazed at how good this top coat is. It sets not only the gel nail polishes but also the enamel ones, at least in my experience, and it does set fast. It keeps the nails hard as a rock, chip-free, and without any tip wear for at least two weeks and a bit more. It also has a flat wide brush just like the Essie Gel Couture nail colors. When compared to the other Top Coats out there, I find this particular Top Coat to be way better than Seche Vite, and it’s neck and neck with Chanel Le Gel Top Coat as well as the Smith & Cult Above It All Top Coat. Speaking of brushes, I am definitely in love with the Essie Gel Couture line because the brush itself is just so easy and quick to use. See the comparison of the original Essie Enamel brush versus the new Gel Couture brush HERE.

Bottom line, these Essie Gel Couture nail colors are as good as the high-end brands. I noticed that there’s barely any chipping on my nails after almost two weeks of wear, and the colors remained vivid. I hope that Essie will play with some trendy shades to add on this Gel Couture line soon.

Are you an Essie fan? What’s your fave nail polish brand? Do you also prefer the Gel formulas over the Enamel ones?

The Essie Gel Couture Nail Colors are currently available at most drugstores and grocery stores nationwide and at Amazon, Ulta, Target, Walgreens, and Macy’s

Merry Christmas Again and Have a Prosperous New Year!

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