Tag Archives: pastel

January 9, 2012 · 7:22 pm

OPI: Banana Bandanna

Banana Bandanna..talk about a mouth full. I received this polish as a little Christmas gift. I was surprised since it was a polish that I wasn’t really familiar with. Yellows aren’t very common and I felt as though I was fairly familiar with the ones OPI had, but I guess this one passed me by in the summer 2009 collection. However, I’m really glad it found its way into my collection!

Creamy banana yellow

What is unique to me about this polish, is that it’s a very soft yellow without being overly pastel. It’s very creamy and understated. Very buttery. It’s not overly saturated or bright at all. It’s very pretty and delicate. I like yellow nail polish, but yellow in any other situation might be my least favorite color; I find it unflattering and hard on the eyes. But this polish is nothing like that. In the bottle it looks as though it has the finest of micro-shimmer throughout, however that isn’t translated onto the nail. I’ve caught myself staring at my nails all day!

Runny application

The formula of this polish was a little hard to get the hang of. It was runny and thin. Pretty runny actually, which made it difficult to get a thicker first coat to avoid streaking and gain full opacity. It wasn’t awful though, I would say for a yellow and a pastel that I had minimal streaking. I did end up using three coats and it looks pretty good. Maybe next time I’ll try for four thin, even coats. Regardless, I love this polish.

Where to Buy: Online Retailers / $ 4 – $ 8

Do you own Banana Bandanna? Do you like it or was the formula and application too much of a pain? Are you tempted to pick it up? Are you a yellow polish wearer? If not, what turns you off about it? 

- Liz

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September 22, 2011 · 6:21 pm

Wet N Wild: Tickled Pink

This polish was an impulse buy at Walgreens a few months ago. I was in a phase of bingeing hard on stuff at Walgreens. (Also known as being bored on Friday night). It was an impulse buy because I’m not a pink girl, especially not cotton candy / bubblegum pink.

Cool toned, bubble gum pink creme

The color of this polish speaks for itself. I mean, it’s basically as girly as they come. A light, cool toned, pink creme. Pretty standard for a girl’s collection. Shockingly though, this is the only one I own. It’s pretty similar to my favorite of this group (that I don’t own) Essie’s I Need A Vacation. It’s weird, I actually quite enjoyed wearing this polish.

Not the best formula, but it's inexpensive

Wet N Wild actually delivers most times on quality for their inexpensive nail polish (and other beauty products). But the application on this polish wasn’t very good. I did have some streaks and bald spots, and major chipping by the end of the day. (I seriously need to step up my top coat game though). The brush sticks are pretty long too, because the bottles are tall, and that makes application a bit difficult.

Where to Buy: Drugstores / $ 1.99

Do you wear barbie pink polish a lot? What’s your favorite pink polish? I need to get more “classic” manicure colors, such as pinks and cremes, so I’d be open to suggestions!

- Liz

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July 5, 2011 · 7:23 pm

Sally Hansen Complete Manicure: Barracuda

There were a couple of polishes from this recently released summer Sally Hansen Complete Manicure collabo with Tracy Reese that appealed to me. The creamy summer collection looks relaxing and calming and really drew me in. I picked up a couple of bottles and I pretty much wish I kept my money instead.

Light, breezy blue

Isn’t this polish name kinda fun? I love the color blue and believe it or not, I don’t have that many that fall into this light, breezy tone. The color is very relaxing and pretty. It’s nothing unique or different, but it’s still soothing, calming, and pretty.

Patchy and uneven application

The formula on this polish was fine. It wasn’t too thick like some pastel-ish shades can become. But the application was pretty bad. It was patchy, uneven and full of bald spots. It didn’t correct itself when it (sort of) dried. The drying time was also very long. It seemed to…never dry. I had the same problem with Without A Stitch from this collection. I haven’t had this problem with the Complete Manicure line before, so it was pretty disappointing. Wear time was also not up to par.

Where to Buy: Drugstores / Target / $ 8ish

Did you pick up any of these new Complete Manicure polishes? Or did they not catch your eye? I was excited about Sally Hansen finally expanding this line, but it didn’t live up to the others that I own.

I’m feeling somewhat discouraged about blogging. I feel as though I put a lot of time and effort into Death by Polish and it hasn’t really become what I wanted it to be. I wanted to be able to reach more people in the nail community and know that people really enjoy stopping by my blog in their busy days to relax and read about our shared hobby. And even more so, be able to talk more with others about my polish hobby. I hope that my feelings change because I really loved watching DBP grow and be a part of my “me time”. But it seems to be expanding less and reaching less readers and that, well, bums me out. I really appreciate and enjoy all of our regular readers and want to talk and connect with you guys more!

- Liz

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June 12, 2011 · 11:29 am

Orly: Lemonade

Sunny yellow!

First off…. IT’S OUR ONE YEAR BLOGIVERSARY! Thanks so much to all of our readers! I can’t believe it’s been a whole year! We’ll be announcing the winners of the giveaway soon. So excited!

And now… back to the polish

Orly’s Lemonade is from the Sweet Collection which came out last year. Out of the entire collection this was the only polish that really grabbed me. Kind of unusual when that happens with a pastel yellow, but I just think this is so cute!

I don’t have any application problems with this one, as you can see it comes out pretty smooth and even. I remember the first coat being a little streaky, so you probably have to work to even it out a little with the second coat. I only used two coats for this mani.

Lemonade is a rather pale yellow compared to others. It’s not golden, shimmery, or bright and electric like the few other yellows in my collection. I think this is such a cute color, although it probably won’t look great on everyone. If your skin tends toward the yellow side already, I’d probably stray away from this one and go for something that’s more golden or orange. It’s definitely a pastel, which isn’t something that appeals to everyone (normally, I’m one of those people, hah!) If you’re looking for a different yellow, however, you may want to give Lemonade a try.

close up!

I got pretty good wear time out of this polish, which has been my general experience with Orly polishes for the most part. This is always something fun and different for me to wear because it’s not what I normally grab when looking at my collection. It instantly makes most outfits cuter and girlier, haha.

Writing out this post makes me wonder what’s going on with Orly lately. I think the last time I bought a new Orly polish was last fall. It seems like their Pin Up Collection this year kind of repeated the Sweet Collection from last year.

Where to Buy: Online retailers

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

-Lauren

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May 11, 2011 · 1:09 pm

OPI Pirates of the Caribbean: Mermaid’s Tears

First of all, I think this polish name is really cool and not too cheesy like some of the other ones in this collection.

And for some reason, I’m pretty interested in some of the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean polishes. Although they seem somewhat typical at first glance, they aren’t. They all have a bit of dustiness and a bit of dirtiness to them which is appealing to someone like me who normally doesn’t gravitate toward pastels.

Dusty sea foamy green

Mermaid’s Tears is not your typical sea-foam green. It’s a bit dingy and less saturated than all of those other minty / sea-foam greens you already own. I actually love it. The muted color is so pretty. The color is tweaked just the slightest bit, but it adds a big difference and allows this color to be more relaxed and polished.

Glossy

The formula and application on this color was great. It went on very smoothly. It also evened itself out very nicely after the second coat. It seems to be one of those half creme / half jelly hybrids, which sometimes needs three coats to even out, but this one was great in two and dried quickly.

Mermaid's Tears VS Turquoise & Caicos

Here you can tell that Mermaid’s Tears is a bit more greyed out that Turquoise & Caicos. It looks more grown up and less minty than the typical sea-foam green, which I feel is a great change.

Where to Buy: Ulta / JCPenny / Dillard’s / Trade Secret / Salons / $ 8.50

A lot of us polish collectors are suckers for sea-foam greens and they are all the same, but Mermaid’s Tears offers something different that makes it worthy of getting. I really like it!

How are you guys feeling about the Pirates of the Caribbean colors? A little bit let down or do you like them? Did Mermaid’s Tears suck you in?

- Liz

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April 12, 2011 · 11:20 am

OPI: Rumple’s Wiggin’

I was feeling like I needed something light and clean on my nails yesterday, and ended up wearing Rumple’s Wiggin’ from the OPI Shrek Forever collection that was released last year. This collection as a whole wasn’t really unique and neither is this color. But it’s so pretty.

I was into how good it looks with my bedding (I’m a freak, I know) so, a change of scenery for these photos!

A perfect, soft lilac

This soft lilac is so pretty. Sure, there are countless polishes of this same color, but it’s great regardless. I would say that Rumple’s Wiggin’ might be the tiniest bit less saturated and a fairly more pink compared to Essie’s Liliacism, but basically the same color. It looks very feminine against my skin, and is giving just the right amount of pale color. Perfect for spring. I really love it.

I only needed two coats for (mostly) everything to be even and saturated. For a pastel creme, this formula isn’t streaky or chalky at all. It’s quite thin and easily manageable, which is always good. Macro setting made this polish look unfinished, but in real life it’s not noticeable.

Orchid!

Take a look at this! This beauty is blooming in my room currently, and I couldn’t get the color palette of lilac (my nails), muted sea foam green (from my bedding) and orchid out of my head. They look so great together. I’m feeling ultra feminine today apparently.

Where to Buy: Online Retailers / $ 5

Do you own Rimple’s Wiggin’? Or any other lilac polish that you love? Let me know, I’d like some more good suggestions.

- Liz

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February 1, 2011 · 8:51 pm

Essie: Lilacism

soft purple creme

Hello everyone! I know that “Snowpocalypse”/”Snowmageddon” is happening everywhere, but not on my nails because I was feeling Springy. I decided to bring out one of my favorite springtime polishes from last year: Essie Lilacism. Lilacism is from the “Art of Spring” collection 2010. It’s a soft, pastel, muted purple… lilac to be exact.

I loved this color last spring and wore it a few times, it’s probably one of the only times I will wear pastel. In some lights the lilac almost appears like a soft grey, which makes it really easy to wear and doesn’t make it look like you’ve dipped your nails in candy coloring like a lot of pastels make me feel.

Although it’s not snowing here, it’s been very dark out so it has been difficult for me to get good lighting for pictures. I apologize if this looks darker than you’ve seen in other swatches, it’s actually fairly light. At least it was light for me in 2 coats, I wanted something on the lighter, more neutral side so I stopped at 2, although I think it would be greater and much more purple in 3. I also went with 2 coats over 3 because the formula was kind of thin. I don’t remember it being thin the last time I used it, however.

darker shot

The wear has been nice so far, no tip wear or chips at all in the first 24 hours. I think this polish is also a nice palette cleanser. If you love purple I think this is a must have. It’s a really great spring color and, now that I think about it, works for winter as well. I’ll be honest, from what I’ve seen from Essie’s 2011 spring collections, I wish they had a little more to offer, especially after loving last year’s spring collections.

Where to Buy: Ulta / Essie / Salons / $8

Hope you’re all staying indoors painting your nails!

-Lauren

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