Saturday, April 17, 2010

My Quest for Coral: Part 1 of...Many?

I've never been able to find my perfect coral polish. Every summer I give it a haphazard stab and typically end up giving my coral duds away. I think because I am super pale it is hard to pull them off - corals always seem to look better with a tan!

This summer I've decided that I am going in whole-hog on my quest for coral! Here are my first two stabs at it. I like things about each of these colours, but neither of them are my Holy Grail.

Attempt #1:
First up we have Essence What Do U Think? (hate that name...) that I picked up at Ulta for $1:




This is widely known to be a Chanel Orange Fizz dupe. I saw Orange Fizz in person at the Nordstrom counter and thought it might work for me, but this was the easy $1 way to try it! While I like the colour, and would probably really love it on my toes, I think its too bright and sha-POW! on my tips. There is something I find appealing about this colour - I love that it's a creme and there's something downright juicy about the melon hue - but in a lot of lights it looks like neon orange, and that's just not my bag.

That being said, I loved the little Essence bottle - so cute! And the brush was nice and wide and worked great, formula was quite nice as well - for a dollar it was a great purchase. If you're looking for Chanel Orange Fizz, I'd point you to this lovely.

Attempt #2:
Next up in Essie Brandie Alexander. I have been really loving this on my toes for a while now, and it makes me really happy to see it on my piggies, so I thought I'd give it a shot on my tips:




I felt a little uncomfortable with this on my tips - again it just feels like brightness/colour overload for me...I'm just too demure with my nail colours I guess! But I received a *ton* of compliments on this one when I wore it! I might have to take it for another spin when I get a bit of colour on me (which is a long, slow process).

The formula was typical of Essie for me - two easy coats of deliciousness - but then again this is the black label version with all of the lovely chemicals in it. It has a light shimmer to it that isn't all that obvious but adds a depth to the colour. It leans more pink than the Essence, but in other lights it is most certainly coral. I wore it for several days and I have to say the wear was amazing - not a ding or chip in sight!


All in all, I have to say I haven't found my coral for my tips yet. I need something softer, I think. But both of these colours are really pretty and I will really enjoy wearing them on my toes this summer!

What is your perfect summer coral??? I would be very curious to hear any suggestions!

kittytokaren