Mint Polish Comparison Post

This is rather late, but better late than never, right?

I have NO IDEA what is going on with my formatting, but please bear with me.

1. Gosh "Drizzle" - 2 coats

Not even close to mint, this polish is a very greyed out and
dusty, faded green creme.

2. Revlon "Minted" - 3 coats

This is like a more muted cousin of Sally Hansen's "Mint
Sorbet" (#10). Smooth and very pretty.

3. Essie "Turquoise & Caicos" - 4 coats
Jelly based polish, needing 4 coats for opacity. Leans slightly
more green and is darker than the others.

4. Essence "You Belong To Me" - 2 coats
More blue toned rather than a "true" mint. Great coverage
and application.

 

Round Two

5. Gosh "Silky Mint" - 3 coats
Medium warm toned green creme. Although the name says
it's a mint, it leans just a little too green for it to be
considered a traditional mint. Gosh has great formula's,
very easy application.

6. OPI "Mermaids Tears" - 3 coats
A dustier version of "Silky Mint" (#5). Love this colour,
perfect for a more muted mint polish. 

7. Cosmetic Arts, un-named - 3 coats
Very cool, blue-leaning mint creme. Wish it had a name. No
complaints with application.

8. Color Club "New Bohemian" - 3 coats
This is the quintessential mint - my favourite out of them all.
It leans the slightest bit more blue than green and I think
that's why I like it. It works well on my skin tone (it causes
the least amount of lobster-clawness out of all the swatches)
and looks very refreshing.

 

 

Round Three
 

9. Sally Hansen "Green Tea" - 3 coats
Pale, muted mint green. Pretty and whimsical. I love this
type of greyed out polish.

10. Sally Hansen "Mint Sorbet" - 3 coats
Vivid but pale green mint. Perfect for summer; looks
awesome on tanned skin. Application was slightly thick.

11. Avon "Aqua Fantasy" - 2 coats
Very blue but has a very slight edge of green so I included it,
just to compare. White shimmer gives it a frosted feel and
the application was AMAZING. I need more Avon polish in
my life. Like yesterday.

12. Wet'n'Wild "I Need A Refresh-ment" - 2 coats
I kind of hate the name of this polish ... but the polish is
beautiful. More blue than green, the creme formula glides
on smoothly. Pretty but not quite mint. Mint-esque.

 

I wasn't exactly strict with my polish picking; I wanted to
include some polishes that lean a bit more blue (or green) just
to show the contrast to the what is traditionally thought of as
a mint polish. Personally, I feel like this helps the comparison
process.

My favourite "true/traditional" mint out of these 12 that I've
shown is Color Club's New Bohemian. As I mentioned
above, it is a great polish against my skin tone. Unfortunately
for me, most polishes in this colour family give me lobster
claws and a bit bonus, and part of the reason why New
Bohemian won out, is that it didn't cause my hands to look
so red. The fact that it is the perfect blend of blue and green
also helped, haha. ;)

My friend J wanted a review on Minted by Revlon which I
swatched in this post, so for J and all else who want to know
a bit about this polish ...

Application was good although a little thin on the first two
coats. I added a third to smooth everything out and make it
perfectly opaque. It dries shiny in case you're wondering. (I
would still add topcoat for longevity.) I can't comment as to
the wear of the polish because I only swatched it but I find
Revlon to be fairly decent. I don't wear polish for much
longer than a 2-3 days and it lasts well during that time. All
in all, I would give you a big thumbs up and green light:
go buy it! :)

What is your favourite mint polish? Let me know!

- A Polished Touch

Cosmetic Arts Equinox Fox

Hey folks. Internet was being a pain in the you-know-what yesterday, hence my lack of post. Things should be up and running again now so not to worry. ;) In January I posted the first holo mani ever on my blog (Cosmetic Arts Silver Belle) and today I have its counterpart called Equinox Fox. I'm in love and will let the pictures do the talking ... there's a lot of them.

2 coats, no topcoat

Nothing else needs to be said, right? PS: Application was a dream. *gasp, I know right?*

Cosmetic Arts Yell-oh!

Emergency, emergency! Nah, just kidding. I'm suffering from a pretty nasty cold/flu and I feel like I could drop at any moment, so for me the intro is fitting. To hopefully lift my weary, sick-burdened spirits I give you a vibrant YELLOW mani. I know, right. Yellow on moi?! Believe it.

Cosmetic Arts Yell-Oh!

3 coats, no topcoat

I realize that some of these photo's look verrrry similar but let's just enjoy them, 'kay?

Yell-Oh! is the easiest yellow polish I have ever applied. Application was nice. The first coat was streaky, which is to be expected, the second coat evened things out a bit and the third coat made it beautiful. It was slightly thick, but nowhere near the disaster that most yellow's are for me. I actually didn't want to take this off but I was on a swatching mission a couple weeks ago and couldn't stop so off it went. I will most definitely be rockin' this in a couple more months. I want to add glitter to it, ouuuu.

Hoping you are all healthy & well. *cough, cough, sniffle* I'm going to go try and beat this thing ... *nods off*

2012 Mani Challenge: Cosmetic Arts Silver Belle (Linear Holo!)

What a beauty I have for you today: my very first linear holographic (or "prismatic", as I've read somewhere recently) polish. I came across this beauty yesterday at Winners after I snatched up the charcoal version at a different location. I went back this morning for the second bottle of it because ... just wow. I will admit, it isn't Gosh Holographic (I wish!) but because I can't get my polished fingers on a bottle of that, Cosmetic Arts' Silver Belle will fill the lemming ... for now. ;)

I didn't use flash for any of these photo's.

 Outside

 Outside, blurred shot for effect ;)

 Outside

 Indoors, hall "spot" light.

 Indoors, hall "spot" light.

In the car, sunlight coming through my dirty window. ;)

*deep exhale* Wow. I'm impressed.

I used two coats of Silver Belle and I did notice that there were some slight bald patches, very minor, but evident if I turned my nails a certain way. I have heard that using a top coat on holographic polishes can dull the linear effect so I decided not to risk it and left it alone.

As of this moment, I have been wearing this polish for over 7 hours and have noticed some very slight cracking and a few minor chips, nothing too serious but definitely worth mentioning.

My little ramble, feel free to skip if you like ... ;)
People have no idea what they are passing when holographic polishes are just sitting on their little display. When I went to the first Winners last night I found the charcoal version behind another polish and stared at it, disbelieving. I turned the bottle this way and that way examining it closely and started whisper-yelling for Mr.Polish to come over and see what I found. He looked at it with a blank expression, highly doubtful that the  polish I was holding would actually turn into rainbow glory on my nails, but lo and behold, I stand victorious. (Ever the drama-queen ... nothing changes, hehe.) Anyway, 45 minutes later we find ourselves back at our usual Winners location and Mr.Polish has a huge smile on his face and he is holding out his hand. Silver Belle is proudly tucked in his grasp. Well done, sir. Well done. My man is learning.

Does your partner ever surprise you with their polish knowledge?


PS: I'm now doing the 2012 Mani Challenge which you will be able to check out in the tabs below my header. I've adjusted it slightly to my preferences, mostly for scheduling purposes. This mani is the first challenge, completed!