My Dotty Tiger

Today's prompt for the Crumpet Nail Tarts 33 DC is animals.  I am a bit ambiguous about what I came up with, but let's see what you think.

 Look at those tiny nails!  This was done late summer in prep for this challenge.  

Artificial Light

Flash

This started with three coats of Maybelline Color Show Dotty.  When I was looking for these speckled Maybelline polishes at my local Target, this was the only color left, other than the black and white.  I actually like this polish as it is perfect for Halloween and fall manis, but since those were a way off when I purchased this, I decided to use it for a Dotty Tiger.  

I stamped with one of my many zebra/tiger patterns, which I didn't write down and am to busy to go through all my plates to figure out, and my fav stamping black, Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

I have to be honest, Maybelline Color Show is some of my least liked polish, although I own many of them.  It has little to do with the polish itself.  This applied with a good spread of glitter, no fishing needed, and I love the jellie finish which, with three coats, gives it that depth that I adore.  No, the reason I have a love/hate relationship with the Color Shows is the bottle and the brush.  Let's look at a little comparison.

The Maybelline Color Show bottles are small (as you can see compared to the Sinful Colors and the China Glaze bottles above), only .23 fl oz.  It is short, with a fat cap the same width as the bottle.  This makes for a nice looking bottle, but a difficult to manipulate handle for the brush.

On top of that, the brush has sparse and stiff synthetic fibers that don't fan across the nail.  This means that you need to use more brush strokes and it tends to drag the polish across the nail rather than spread it.  Here is a comparison of a China Glaze brush (left), which I consider a middle of the road quality brush, and the Maybelline Color Show (right).  

It really is a shame that these need so much finesse to apply because Maybelline has recently come out with some nice collections, including a holiday Brocade collection I will feature here soon.  Obviously the drawbacks to the packaging have not outweighed my desire for new and unique polishes.  At roughly $3.99 normally, It is difficult for me to resist a BOGO 50% off polish sale at my local CVS, even if the polish may be a bit fussy to work with.

So what do you think?  Is this a nail fail or not?  I like these tigers because they are different from others I have seen, but I think they may be a bit busy.  Have you tried any of the Maybelline Color Shows?  Do you detest the packaging/brush as much as I do?  Let me know your opinion!  And then check out the other creatures featured on our talented ladies tips.