Beauty Obsessed

OK, actually the description “red & blue” isn’t really accurate – it is more of a deep red and black-blue (mincing words, I know, but there’s a difference, I swear!).  In any case, these shades aren’t really very ‘Summer-like’ but they suit my purposes at the moment.  I’m wearing a long flowing goddess-type dress to a wedding this weekend, and red nails really needed to happen – particularly on toes.  I’m going to be wearing a bronze-colored shade on fingernails for the event, but since I just picked up 3 Joe Fresh polishes last week and have been dying to try them, I thought I’d coordinate with them for the work week for fun.

This is my first foray with the Joe Fresh cosmetic line, and I’m not entirely sure I’m sold just yet.  Before I get into THAT, let’s see some pictures!The shade is called ‘Navy Marine’.  If I didn’t tell you the name of the polish, I’m sure you’d think this was a black or charcoal shade.  In the bottle in person it’s clearly a deep, dark blue, but in photos and on the nail itself, it looks pretty near black.  It’s the closest-to-black shade I’ve ever worn actually.  But it does have that hint of blue – which I hope you can see a bit in the photos – and I like it quite a bit.  However, I’m NOT a fan of the formula AT ALL – first coat went on patchy and pulled if you didn’t get it on in the first couple strokes.  Additionally, the polish was somehow both runny and thick, if that’s even possible?  But there it is.  Lastly, because of the shape and size of the bottle cap, and the smallness of the bottle itself,  it was hard to see how much polish I was getting on the brush each time, and it didn’t help in getting thin coats to avoid bubbling – which I got on both my thumb nails :S   So, while I enjoy the color, I think there are likely better formulas out there in a similar shade; it’s by no means unique I’m sure.  And if I could, I’d choose a shade a touch lighter so you know it’s blue and not black.

Now, onto Essie’s Limited Addiction, which I hunted for on MUA for months before I finally got someone to swap with me for it.  I’m very happy with this shade – I haven’t yet worn it for a full mani or pedi because I received it in early Spring, at which point I felt it was more of a Fall/Winter shade…however, as mentioned before I needed something specific for my dress and this fit the bill perfectly.The second photo reflects more accurately the depth and deepness of the red tone.  This is a slightly brown-leaning red, and likely why it looks good on me – blue-based reds just don’t work on my olive-leaning skin.  Easy-peasy to apply, although Essie’s brush is sometimes a PITA because it’s so itty-bitty.  Regardless, this is a classic shade and a definite keeper.I think the two together look sophisicated and timeless in this day and age where black (or darn near) is the new neutral.  I feel that the dark blue shade, while very vampy, is still work appropriate and will go with anything in my wardrobe.  Again, this isn’t what comes to mind when you think ‘Summer’, but I still think it works somehow.

Details: Two coats on both the Joe Fresh and Essie polishes.  Base coat used for both (S.Hansen Age Correct No Chip), and top coat (Seche Vite) used for Limited Addiction. 

Where to Buy: Joe Fresh polishes are only found at Superstores/Loblaw’s across Canada.  Essie can be purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart, certain salons, and online at spaboutique.ca – however, this shade was limited edition from the Fall 2010 collection and is no longer available on this site.

What do you think of wearing darker shades in the Summer?  Faux pas?  Or are these particular shades seasonless?  Do you wear certain shades in certain seasons?

We’re getting more settled into the new place and more accustomed to each other’s typical routines, so hopefully I’ll be posting more again soon!  Miss everyone, I hope you’re all having a great summer!