Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Adoree swatches, Part II

More Adoree swatches, continued from yesterday!

Reminder: Polish or Perish readers can get a free glass nail file with every order at Esther's Nail Center with code POPGNF (put it in the 'message to seller' box).

(And since I already posted about the fact that I got half of these free from ENC yesterday, I feel idiotic mentioning it two consecutive days in a row. Especially since the new FTC rules aren't in effect until December 1st. Not that the chances of the FTC coming down on this small blog for not disclosing freebies is terribly large, but I try to follow the spirit of laws that make sense to me. When laws don't make sense to me, however... I'll at least not advertise my flouting of them on a blog. I'm old enough to remember the days when people were cautious about what they posted online. :P)

Seaport Blue
From left to right, four coats (index), three coats (middle), two coats (ring) and one coat (pinky).

This is an amazing fine cobalt blue glitter. I have many blue glitters but this one is my favorite so far. Most glitters apply somewhat unevenly: some strokes are much denser in glitter and some lighter. This one spreads so easily and evenly onto my nails. Even though it takes four coats to become opaque, it's a very predictable progression from just a glittery topcoat to a solid glitter; it's very easy to control the amount. I also love how vibrant this color is: it's such a true blue.

Adoree Autumn Cover

Orange-coral creme, for those who don't think that fall has to be the depressing prelude to winter. ;) (I did expect this to be a more muted orange shade when I requested it.) The photos make it look more saturated than it is. Super easy application, two coats and so glossy.

Adoree Fairway
HELLLOOOO GREEN! Lime green with chartreuse shimmer. Two coats pictured above, probably could've used three. Glows in the sunlight and applies very well. More olive-leaning than Zoya Midori. This was the first Adoree I swatched and I remember being happy with how easy it was to work with. I'm more of a green creme type though.

Adoree Red Tulips

Okay, technically, this is under the name "Ted Tulips" on the ENC website. But I'm going to assume that it was either a typographical error based on the proximity of the "t" key and/or the keyboard equivalent to an anticipation error (where the speaker/typer knows that they have to use a "t" in the second word but jumps the gun on it). Or maybe someone at Adoree knows someone who likes tulips, named Ted. Either way, this was the most headache-y polish for me of the bunch: it looked like it was going to be phenomenal (gold hexagonal glitter in bright red jelly, which reminded me of fall foliage) but ended up being tough to apply. (It was a bit thick and harder to build up.) Also, the gold somehow gets swallowed by the red jelly and it was not as glowy as I had hoped it would be.

Close-up of Red Tulips

Adoree Sea Turquoise

Slightly greyed sky-blue creme with just a tinge of teal. It's darker than most pastels but applied like a pastel: thick, streaky, chalky. Took three coats to get it smooth though it settles down to a lovely glossy creme when you finally do even it out. Strangely enough, this polish looks very different in the bottle than it does on the nail: in the bottle, it's more grey but on the nail, it shows up as a more vibrant blue.

On the balance, I am enjoying these polishes immensely. $5.50 is a decent price for a huge bottle: 0.65fl oz compared to the typical 0.5fl oz. I personally wouldn't be able to ever finish a bottle -- I doubt I'll ever finish any bottle of polish considering how many bottles I have -- but for those who are interested in getting quality and quantity for their money, these seem like pretty good bets. (Adoree definitely knows how to do glitter!)

For those who are wondering, Adoree has a stable and wide-ranging collection and, as far as I know, has not discontinued any colors. The company introduces new ones every so often but not on a seasonal basis. So it doesn't have that lemmingish, limited edition excitement of new collections... but this also means you will not anguish for some discontinued shade. :D