Recently, a 17 year old girl (I'm 37) has been shadowing me on some jobs. I wanted her opinion of each of the colors too. So we set out to do an experiment. We each tried all 18 bottles of nailpolish and made our own notes about them (as well as took pics). I felt as it was called "NYX girls", a younger girl's opinion would be interesting on this particular product. Pictures to follow....
Thumb color #1: Buzzworthy- Packs a powerful punch of nude/gold glitter. Thought it would be a slightly more grown up version of the glittery nail as it is nude. The payoff of glitter was a bit more than sheer, but far from opaque. About 30% glitter payoff. The color reads almost rose gold when on the nail. I would suggest using it to top off another polish. Really pretty thought.
17 year old's thoughts on buzzworthy- It's goldeny and sparkley. Kinda sheer, needs 2 coats. It's a light and fun look. Would purchase.
The other thumb color is robotic. I find it in person it reads like a super shimmery/glittery emerald. It reminded me of these rings we'd get at the dentist for being good patients in the 70's. Awesome. A couple of coats and you get a full fledged deep greeny blue tinged baby glitter nail. Of course our photo doesn't show what it would look like if we'd taken some time to clean it up a bit ;)
17 yr old reaction to robotic- A dark shimmery turquoise color. Very runny and needs a few coats. Fun and edgy.
Fig- This was my first choice to purchase on my order. There was something peculiar and alluring about the dreamy blend. It's sort of deep plum, sort of bluey, and black with the faintest hint of silver shimmer. Loved the payoff, and would be a really pretty pedi color.
17 yr old reaction to fig- super dark purpley gray with a tiny bit o shimmer. Good for a datenight.
17 yr old reaction to fig- super dark purpley gray with a tiny bit o shimmer. Good for a datenight.
Sunday Afternoon- Fine shimmer in a taupey gold. It strikes a balance between typical satiny polish and glittery polish. Serious enough for a professional/adult, but certainly fun enough for a party.
17 yr old response to Sunday Afternoon- Nude shimmer, with a slight pinkish undertone. Simple, but fun.
Blue ink- I'm on a blue kick of late. This one is almost cobalt, but with a touch of grey (Grateful Dead reference not intentional) and a hint darker in person than it goes on. This wasn't my personal favorite once it was on the nail. It looked to me like what I spent on it was about right.
17 yr old reaction to blue ink- Dark navy, pigment payoff was good. Fun and slightly bold.
The taupe- There are a ton of these shades on the market nowadays and I have hesitated before. I didn't want to jump on the nudey/taupey/brown bandwagon. This guy stood out to me once it landed on my nails. It's a mid-tone taupe, sure, but also has the faintest kick of lavender. I ended up wearing this one after doing the test with 18 choices! Love. It.
17 yr old response- More gray than taupe to her. Slightly dramatic, professional. Maybe too grown up (gasp, does that make ME grown up??).
Sinful Colors Coco Diamond- Looks like a mid-tone non-descript pinky/reddish/lavenderish hybrid shimmer. The payoff is much lighter in intensity and the shimmer is actually pretty impressive. Definitely one I would reach for regularly.
17 yr old response to Coco Diamond- Shimmery nude rosy-pink, slightly sheer (a couple coats). Reminds her a little of the desert sunset.
Lapis- This is a milky base blue with a small hint of cooler tones. It seems a bit young and dated to me once on, but was much fresher looking in the bottle. Has more robin's egg appearance on nail, reminding me of the original Hard Candy nail polish that started the blue polish craze of the 90's.
17 yr old's response to Lapis- Powdery sky blue, very sheer and light and fresh. (Because she can't remember the 90's...)
Sinful Colors California- In the bottle it looks like a feminine swirly pinky shimmery with a soft baby nude. On the nail it's a snoozefest for me. Borrrring. You could coat this up til the cows come home and you wouldn't get anyone to even notice you'd done nailpolish. Nearly invisible, barely shows. If you're into that kind of thing, this is a homerun.
17 yr old's response to California- Very light shimmery pink and iridescent. Sheer! Something a "baby" would wear. Didn't like it. 2 passes from us (old and young both say "blah")
Moonwalk- Bottle color is a very deep plum black and on the nail it's a more sheer buildable plum. It seems to darken up with photos. Would be a good winter everyday nail color. Be careful with streaking and take your time. I'd wear it!
17 yr old response to moonwalk- Plum good for going out or date look. More than one coat to darken it. Kinda fun!
Sinful Colors "Call you later"- This is kermit green glitter to the extreme. I had to get to my $40 free shipping total and this was my final pick. Wasn't thrilled about the juvenile shade of lime. But upon receipt, pretty cool and on nails it's a slam dunk. Looks to have a couple different types of glitter which catch the light beautifully. Yes please!
17 year old's response to "Call you later"- Chunky sparkly light green. Reminds her of St. Patty's Day. Best layered on top of something. (I agree- but in the most awesome layering way possible).
Sinful Colors "Boom Boom"- This is a true hot pink. Creamy and opaque, builds well and would be a fun vacation color. It looks to me like a off the shoulder dress would be apropos with this shade. I'm a fan of hot pink, so I love it. I could also see it on someone who idolizes barbie...;)
17 yr old response to "Boom Boom"- Very fun and bright hot pink. Like bubblegum.
Luscious Green- This is a lime again, but with a satiny gold undercurrent that gives it a fresh look. The picture does it do justice. The gold really makes it more sophisticated than a typical green polish. You could even wear it to Grandma's house without her passing too much judgment.
17 yr old says about "Luscious Green"- Reminds her of turtle green with a hint of gold that makes it pretty. Could wear it for non-specific cutesy look.
Dorothy- This is the ruby slippers and then some. Major deep red glitter of varying sizes on a sheer black backdrop makes for a STUNNING color that I now crave for the holidays. I want this coating everything I own- it's THAT gorgeous. $2??? It's a steal and Chanel wishes they had made this.
17 yr old response to "Dorothy"- More black with red sparkles. Really pretty and reminds her more of Alice in Wonderland more than Dorothy (The Red Queen).
Boho- Can you tell I was on a green kick when purchasing?? Another almost lime green shade. Less yellow tone and plenty of fine silver shimmer. I promise you I'm not 7 years old...But I love, love this color. I'm gonna rock it for Christmas, you best believe. I don't see what's "Boho" about it though...would need more of an olive tone to be named that in my opine.
17 yr old's response to Boho- A pale sea green, very refeshing- like a cool drink. She's picturing the ocean, even though it's green.
Woman- Deep ruby, red shimmer. This one doesn't stand out in the bottle to me. The pic is a bit of the dark red boringness too. But it actually looks really pretty. It's the look you want to sport when your outfit is already got a lot going on. Also suitable if you're wearing all black and want a dark and wintery nail to accompany.
17 yr old's response to "Woman"- Sparkly pure red. Reminds her of a "Wow" factor. Grown up. Hear that, guys? GROWN UP!? :)
Alaskan Wild- This is somewhere between grass green and forest green. Not much brown undertone in this green- reads like a true pop of deep bright green. The pic is pretty spot on. I had purchased some cheap gel nail polish on ebay that was supposed to be army green and it ended up this color. I hated it then and now I'm lukewarm at best on this shade. We'll see...my mind changes with the wind.
17 yr old's response to "Alaskan Wild"- Boring, pure green. Didn't do much for her. (We agree!).
Fame- Bottle versus payoff is the most disappointing of all :( Looks like a gorgeous true purple glitter in the bottle and like a clear with some specks of purple on the nail. Would be fine if you wanted to add a clear top coat to something that needed a little sheen. Stress LITTLE.
17 yr old's response to "Fame"- Really fun looking, but on the nail very sheer. Reminds her a bday party.
The moral of the 18 bottles of nailpolish experiment? If you pay $6 in person, you may end up with the same amount of winner as I did with $40 of online fingers crossed purchases. But with my experiment comes your guide....hope it helps if you want to spend far less on a few bottles. And also from this, I can see that I like glitter as much as the 17 year old, but I finally like a few tones that may be "grown up". Who knew??
