I don’t know about you, but it takes me a LONG time to figure out what polish to wear these days. When I’m just applying it to my fingernails, it takes a little thought, but I can generally pick a shade with relative ease (using the weather/season/my mood/event as a guide). However, when the weather gets warmer and calls for bared toenails, attempting to pick a color combo that I’m pleased with is an entirely different challenge. This morning I spent the better part of an hour trying to decide. That is just not on. So, in case anyone else has been suffering the same problem, I would like to introduce a weekly series on color combinations I’ve come up with – hopefully I can help inspire some ideas, as well as get feedback on the choices I’ve made.
Today, I really wanted to wear Essie’s ‘Meet Me at Sunset’ which I picked up in PEI this weekend, but I also have been eager to feature some shades I have yet to show you on the blog, and all the pairings I made with MMAS were with shades you’ve already seen, so I’m putting that one off until the weekend. I managed to come up with two colors that I haven’t shown you, and that I think compliment each other relatively well.
One of these shades I know many of you are intimately familiar with – last year’s hit shade (which spawned countless dupes) ‘Catch Me in Your Net’ by OPI:
Above, natural light
Below, both in indoor lighting
I joined the bandwagon late on this shade, and only managed to pick up a mini-size by the time I came around. Again, it’s one of those shimmering shades with I’m just not really into right now, and even though I’m a sucker for blue shades, aqua on the other hand doesn’t always hook me – as I’ve said before, I’m not sure it’s flattering on my skin tone. However, one I put this shade on my toes, I was fairly pleased. It’s a fun color and the depth of the sparkle is alluring. I still prefer more feminine shades on my toes, like pinks/reds/purples, but this is OK. I’m not upset that I only managed to get a mini size, as I think it’ll just be enough for the amount of times I’ll wear this.
The second shade, my mani color, is a pale yellow from Revlon called ‘Sunshine Sparkle.’ Earlier in the season I was craving a pretty yellow shade to satisfy me enough to avoid picking up Chanel’s ‘Mimosa.’ In past years I was seriously adverse to yellow polish, as it made me think of jaundice, but after seeing Mimosa, my mind was changed. Since I had heard it had application issues (which has since been rebuked by Eugenia at ommorphia beauty bar), I felt it was a better idea anyway to grab a cheaper version. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of going with Revlon as the replacement brand – I have yet to have good luck with any of the polishes I’ve gotten from them and I swear after this to not return. This is not to say that the shade isn’t pretty:
Natural light
Indoor lighting
The second swatch is the most accurate – the color is indeed more lemony than the first picture shows, which makes it look very pale.
My issue with this shade is this: what you see here is three coats, and there is still slight VNL and patchiness. Yuk. Just overall I don’t like Revlon polishes so I could be biased, but I’m not too pleased. The color is nice, with a touch of shimmer to spice it up a bit, and neutral enough so it’s not too aggressive for the office, but it’s no Mimosa. Oh well!
So, how do the two look together you ask? Here are a few shots – tell me what you think!
Natural light
Indoor lighting
I don’t think it’s too shabby. I’m sure I can come up with something that has a little more pizzazz, but I feel they at least don’t clash! And it’s two shades off my list of must-swatch colors.
Opinions, please! And does anyone else have a dislike for Revlon polishes like I do, or am I being ridiculous?
Happy Monday, and thanks for reading!!
#1 by Eugenia on June 13, 2011 - 4:22 pm
The combo is stunning! And for the record, Toya, teal really does look good against your skin tone (cute toesies by the way! lol!) I actually picked up Revlon’s Sunshine Sparkle while I was waiting for Mimosa to launch, but have yet to wear it…and now, I’m not sure I even want to try it on! I have read so many negative reviews vis a vis its application, that it’s turned me off. As you read in my post, I had zero issues with Mimosa and for a yellow, it’s actually really flattering on. So I’ll think about the Revlon (thanks!) and give this combo a whirl when I get a chance! Great idea for a series…love it!
#2 by Latoya on June 15, 2011 - 9:06 pm
Thank you ladies! I’m so glad you like/approve. As I said, it took me ages to pick shades!
@ Eugenia: Honestly, I don’t feel the Revlon is worth it, especially when you have the lovely Mimosa. Give it away! LOL
@ Loodie: I wish I could just pick shades and go with it. Being half anal-retentive, it would drive me mad if they didn’t ‘go’. This is coming from a girl who as a child paired her crayons together according to how well they complimented each other, and said they were ‘dating’ LOL! I’m glad you have good luck with Revlon, they have some great shades…I’ve just not found the formulation on my end to be satisfactory. I did try to wear a neutral base color (‘undies’ – love it!) but I didn’t have the right color to work with the pale yellow, unfortunately.
@Mary: I think the color combo of pink and purple would actually suit perfectly! Too bad about the crappy application of the Revlon though. As for brands I use regularly, OPI does have some great shades and generally has good formulations, but another brand you could try is China Glaze – which you can get at either Chatters Salon or Sally Beauty, which are both in Bayers Lake. C.Glaze has tons of colors and are a cheaper than OPI ($6.49 vs. $9.99) while still having similarly good formulations. At Shoppers, I’m a fan of Essie or the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure shades. Let me know what you pick up!!
#3 by Loodie on June 13, 2011 - 8:34 pm
What a cute mani/pedi combo!! I hardly ever pay attention to making them work together, I just pick and randomly lol.
I think both colors work quite nicely with your skin tone!!
I personally LOVE Revlon. Some colors are more sheer then others and in those situation “undies” come in handy. You could try a beige (or even white) under two coats of Sunshine Sparkle and see if you can get rid of VNL. Either way it looks soooo pretty!!
#4 by Mary Hergett on June 14, 2011 - 9:20 am
I do agree with you on the Revlon application. I used some Revlon polish this weekend in a deep purple (sorry I’m not as into the names as you guys
lol) and after two coats I was ready to take it right back off. I’ve used some difficult polishes before, but none that make me feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. It just felt all wrong.
And I love your topic for nail colour combos. Right now I have deep purple nails and bright pink toes LOL it looks quite funny actually. The combo you put together here looks GREAT for summer. I never would have chosen a yellow shade.
I do have a question: I’m looking to add to my nail polish collection because it is almost non-existent and I was wondering what brands you would habitually use? I hear everyone talk about OPI but there must be others out there that are just as good. Let me know!
#5 by Liz (Beauty Reductionista) on June 15, 2011 - 11:44 pm
Love the combo! I especially love the colour on your toes and think it looks fantastic against your skin tone!
I don’t even look at Revlon now no matter how tempting the shade might be. I’ll enjoy the ones I already own, but they’re not fooling me again. Nope.
#6 by Latoya on June 20, 2011 - 8:40 pm
Thank you my dear! And I concur on boycotting Revlon altogether, I am totally done with that brand for nail polish…you said it perfectly, not fooling me again!