I recently got sent two nail products. I knew one was coming and had high hopes, while the other was a complete surprise. BOTH items immediately became treasured members of my Top 5 For Nails list, and I wanted to do a quick post to show you both
Indigo Paris, part of Lancôme’s Fall Collection, is a fabulous blue shimmer that is nearly metallic! It's immediately getting the "Holy Grail" status fro me, because I've been looking for a blue comparable to my beloved China Glaze Coconut Kiss. Meanwhile, Essie's Matte About You topcoat taps into the matte trend by overlaying any polish you have with a sexy satin finish.
I did a mani with Indigo Paris and then layered Matte About You over it on the ring fingers. I then went back with Indigo Paris and painted a French-style stripe on the tip. On the thumbs, I reversed that - shiny nail bed, matte French tip.
Here are the swatches - plain ole Indigo Paris on the left and on the right is the mattified version. Look how radiant this polish is, even with the matte top coat!This is just the perfect blue shimmer (and it wears well, too)! The formula is perfect - no gloppiness, not terribly runny. Nothing to complain about!
And here are some more examples of Matte About You at work:
I used the colors above (pardon the terrible pics) because I thought many of the colors were familiar. Below, skittles nails before Matte About You, then after 1 coat was applied:
A closer look at ♥ matte Coconut Kiss ♥ and Aruba Blue:
A closer look at China Glaze Ruby Heels and Lubu Heels,
and a peek of OPI Shootout at the OK Coral (2009 version):
Matte About You dries in a hot second, leaving behind what can only be described as "yumminess". I wasn't sure how I felt about the matte trend, as only a few of the pre-made colors I've seen were really eye catching. But now I have to say I'm quite interested in the experiments I can do with my current collection of polishes, and I LOVE doing a mixed matte-shiny mani. I may give a second look to Fall's matte collections, now that my eyes have been opened, but all I really need is Essie's Matte About You!
Note: Some of the matte polishes on the market come with a lot of rules. They say "don't use a base coat" and "don't apply lotion" or the formula will degrade. Not with Matte About You! I used my normal base coat and the appropriate number of color coats for the particular shade. In fact, I even topped that with Seche Vite to dry it all quickly (in case I had to change a diaper!). Matte About You glided on top and dried quickly and flawlessly. Using lotion or cuticle oil de-mattifies the topcoat temporarily, but once the oils sink in or rub off (whatever) the finish is back to satiny goodness.
Lancôme’s Indigo Paris comes in at a pricey $18 US, but in my opinion it's worth it!
Essie's Matte About You finisher is only $10 US, and I'll definitely be getting a few more bottles!
