2013 Faves - The Teals

Got things to do tonight, so I am going to be fast with this one!

Just a reminder.  I always paint to opacity and then add one more coat for the macro pics.  In other words, when it says I used 3 coats, you can usually achieve "in real life opacity" at 2 coats.  In no particular order:

With Flash

Artificial Light

China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint On - 3 coats
This pretty light teal just barely made it into my top 5.  It was the name that tipped the scales (tee hee).  The color and the shimmer are perfect, but the formula is a bit lacking.  It is thick, but a few drops of thinner took care of that.  However, unlike other China Glaze, it was not self leveling and required a lot of care during application.  I think it is all that shimmer packed into it!  Despite its downfalls, I still adore the color and finish enough to put it in my top 5....sometimes the heart wins out over the head.  You can find nail art with this HERE .

Artificial Light

With Flash

Scofflaw Flotsam & Jetsam - 3 coats
Ah, Scofflaw!  If you haven't discovered this indie, you must seek them out!  You can find them HERE and internationally at Llarowe.  This is a very pale teal filled with teal and purple shards and a light green shimmer.  The top pic gives you an idea of the glitter, but the bottom shows true color and shimmer.  The formula on this is purrfect!  Thin, yet stays put.  Dispersal of the glitters is better than the finest aerosols.  Pure pale loveliness.

 
Maybelline Drops of Jade - 2 coats over white
There were several shades in the Polka Dots line that appealed to me, but this was the one that went straight to my wish list.  I hunted for awhile before I finally tracked it down.  It always seemed to be the one sold out in the collection.  I was happy to see that the drugstore brands were finally taking a cue from the indies, but I don't think they will ever catch up with them!  A big reason why this made my top 5 was application.  The glitter in this glided on like Bambi on ice, no clumping and no dabbing required!  This will definitely grace my tips during the spring.

Revlon Elusive - 2 coats
Choosing my top teal was difficult, but this was just edged out.  Another drugstore brand!  I am really surprised by how many of these reached my lists!  This is what I wanted Emily de Molly to be, so I am so thankful I found this!  I plan on doing a comparison soon.  The gellie base on this is so dense and well pigmented, yet lets the teal glitters still peek through.  This is only two coats!  If I had more time, I would gush about this beauty more, but it is time to move on!

With Flash

Artificial Light

Urban Decay Zodiac - 3 coats
And now we come to the #1 teal.  Zodiac had been on my wish list for short time, but the price was a bit too much for me.  It doesn't seem much between a $12 indie holo and $15 for this, but once I spend this much on a bottle, next thing you know I will be purchasing Dior and Chanel (those are on my wish list too).  Luckily for me, my darling sister gave me an Ulta gift card for Christmas.  I debated between getting my hair cut and buying polish.  Polish won out!  I am so glad it did!  Just look at it!  It is a deep, dark green filled with gold, green and blue micro glitters.  The effect is that of a teal foil and I absolutely smitten with it!  Let me show you why.

Look at it!  Click on it to see a larger version.  Feast your eyes and all your senses!  Such murky beauty is worth the price tag!  And, it applies just like you would expect a high end polish to do.  It applies like a sigh, which is what my heart is doing right now (tee hee).  It is a bit of a cuticle stainer, but with such smooth application, it should be easy to avoid those edges.  Really, look how close I was able to get it to my cuticles without flooding!  This is an "extremely limited edition" according to Urban Decay, so get yours while you can!

Once again, a varied list.  Do you have any of these in your stash?  I think the last two would be in my top 10 of 2013....if I had such a thing!  Thanks for looking and commenting!

Tina