Loreal Walk on the Beach 300: Review

 

I'd call this a cool leaning to neutral light tan. Basically I saw it, and thought, "Ohhhh... I've got the perfect color to go with this." I had gotten Pure Ice Viva Las Vegas a few days before and had already done my nails with it. So this was just sitting there, looking all creamy and pretty, and I knew what I was going to do with it.

On it went, and I do like the way it looks as the tips of the nails, but for the beds, it went on kind of streaky. It took two thick coats to get a smooth surface, and it still looks a little uneven.

Oh well, that'll happen sometimes when you layer polish A over polish B, and the tips looked quite good.

Next came the on it's own test, where I took off that look, and went for Walk on it's own.

I needed three coats to get true to bottle color.

That's sixteen hours after I put Walk on. You can see there was a tiny bit of bubbling on my ring finger, and there's some tip wear on the first finger. This is my left hand, and I'm a righty, SAHM, and writer, so it's not like those fingers were doing anything all that strenuous. (I should probably also mention that 9 of those 16 hours were spent in bed.)

Close up after sixteen hours:

Now, when I test a polish, I don't use a top coat, and only use a base coat if I think it'll stain. I don't want to test how well my top and base coat work. I already know how well they wear. So those pics are Walk all on it's own.

Still that's more tip wear than I like, so I decided to camouflage it with a second color combination I had planned for this. Walk on the Beach x OPI I've Got A Herring Problem. It's a basic, put on one color (Walk) let dry, apply tape, paint second color (Herring), remove tape, volia, you have a manicure type of thing.

Pretty combo, yeah? Well, I think so. But still, why is one finger all blue, and why is there some sort of weird goopy thing on the thumb?

Here's what happened when I took the tape off the first finger:

Yeah, that's pretty ugly.

Remember, Walk had been on for more than sixteen hours at that point. So, it's not like I didn't give it enough time to dry, and it just peeled right off.

I honestly don't know why this happened to the thumb. It wasn't like that before I put the top coat over the manicure on, but it was after. (Yes, I use a top coat when I'm not testing for wear.)

I left my right hand with just Walk on it. I wanted to see how it did on a longer test. This is 40 hours after I put it on.

 

So, that's a bit more wear and chipping than I like in a nail polish. Anyway, I like this color, but I'm not terribly impressed by the wear or the application. 

Other reviews:

http://kittypolishnbags.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/loreal-walk-on-the-beach/

http://prettysquared.blogspot.com/2012/10/notd-loreal-colour-riche-polish-walk-on.html

http://www.allaboutthejoy.com/2012/10/loreal-walk-on-the-beach/

Sally Hansen Insta Dri: Brisk Blue

When I'm out and about running errands with my youngest, we have a deal. If he behaves, he can get a little treat. When we're at Target, that little treat is often a bottle of nail polish. (This is how I actually ended up collecting nail polish, and why I have so few pinks, corals, pastels, or "girly" colors in my collection. My four-year-old son may like nail polish, but he does not like pink.)

This is the latest addition to the collection due to Littlest Dude behaving.


It's a cream finish bright blue. Pretty enough, but nothing earth shaking.


Littlest Dude wears his polish on his toenails. Between the fact that it lasts longer on his toes than on his fingers, and that no one teases him about it, because he usually has shoes on, it's a win all the way around.

I thought the formula was very thin and drippy. For painting his nails, which are awfully small, (and likely to move about suddenly, because at four he's not the king of sitting still) the wide brush and drippy texture were problematic. However, assuming you do not intend to paint a four-year-old's toenails, this combo of wide brush and thin formula may be a bonus.  And if you're an on the go sort of person (like, for example a four-year-old) the quick dry aspect is very welcome.

Alas, since Littlest Dude was the test subject for this polish, I can't give a very detailed accounting of how long it lasts or how well it wears. I can report, that after three days of running about (in shoes and out) that it's chipped and flaked, but most of it is still on his nails. I can also report that for him, a good long-lasting polish is one that's still on three days later. So, it's lasting longer than average, but it is not unscathed by the trials of life attached to a very active little person.


Other reviews:

http://eatinglipstick.blogspot.com/2012/08/nail-of-week-brisk-blue.html

http://www.alllacqueredup.com/2009/05/sally-hansen-insta-dri-summer-shades.html#.UOSd9ay5Xqc

http://latteandstilettos.blogspot.com/2011/03/photos-sally-hansen-insta-dri-in-blue.html

Michael Westen on the Beach

I'll admit, my first thought upon buying Loreal's Walk on the Beach was that it would go really well with Pure Ice's Viva Las Vegas. My second thought was a color combination I'd been thinking about for... oh... call it two months now.  I already had the blue, OPI I've Got A Herring Problem, all I needed was the perfect light tan color.

And there it was!Sitting in it's little square bottle, waiting for me...

Behold, Michael Westen on the Beach.

Now, some may claim that I'm obsessed with Burn Notice. They might bring up this or this as proof of that. To which I say, well, call a spade a spade and don't be shy about it. Of course, I'm obsessed with Burn Notice! It's worth being obsessed about.


I really like these two colors together, and just wish that Walk on the Beach wore better. I did a basic tape stripe for the nails and ended up with:

Yeah, that's all sorts of ugly.

And this:

Now bear in mind, I painted Walk of the Beach 16 hours before adding I've Got A Herring Problem, so it's not like Walk should have done anything besides play nice. There was no chance that it was wet.

Anyway, I got three out of five nails done well, and one passably so.

Will I do this look again? Maybe.  Especially if I'm looking for something for a day or two. Like maybe to celebrate Season Seven when it comes on in the Summer. (Or maybe by then I'll have a color combo for Fi...)

Long Live the Beach At Vegas

French tip mash up of Loreal's Walk on the Beach and Pure Ice's Viva Las Vegas.

I absolutely adore Viva Las Vegas. It's a white gold, taupey, shimmery bottle of just lovely. And I wasn't planning on matching it up with anything until I was in Target and saw....

This! I'm sure there are other colors that I'll love with Viva, (I'm thinking it'll look interesting with red...)but this one looks like it was just made to go with it. I snatched it up, and as soon as Little Dudes were in bed, I was adding it to my already Viva bedecked nails.

Which resulted in: 

This on the left hand. I actually prefer how this combo looks with the tips in Walk on the Beach. Maybe because it's a more traditional "French tip" look, or maybe it's just because I like the sparkly, shiny-ness to be center stage. Either way, I think this hand worked out better than....

This one. It's not bad or anything. I just like the other one better. To my eyes it looks like the Walk on the Beach doesn't lay as well on the larger side of the nail. The formula was a bit on the streaky side while I was putting it on, and that wasn't as issue for the tips, but it does seem to make the right side look a little less polished (if you'll forgive the word choice.)