Beige doesn't have to be boring

It's definitely winter here in Germany. The last few days have left Bavaria blanketed in a fairy tale-like snowfall and it's just beautiful. However, the days are getting shorter and as pretty as the snow is, I've never been a fan of the cold. So you'd think I'd go running to my bright and glittery polishes to perk things up a bit, right? Hmmmm, well, not today...

The polishes I'm swatching in this post remind me of a thick and cozy cashmere sweater. And they show that, yes, beige definitely doesn't have to be boring.

The first swatch is ANNY Stardust. I've posted before about how much I love ANNY polishes, and this one is no exception. Super easy to apply, and no streakiness at all. For this photo I used two coats over a coat of CND Stickey Base Coat and finished the look with a coat of Seche Vite.

It has a very fine and subtle micro shimmer which gives it a bit more dimension. It's an easy everyday look and also good if you work in a conservative workplace (or have an interview coming up!) and would like to wear polish.

The next swatches are of Catrice Cosmetics Steel My Soul, which bills itself as having a "brushed metal finish". It's sort of like a semi-matte.

I like Catrice polishes because they offer a good product and great colors at a low price point, but this one was hard to work with. When I first tried it the formula was thicker than usual and hard to work with. I added a drop of thinner which made it easier to apply, but it might have affected the finish.

Catrice Cosmetics Steel My Soul, without topcoat

In the above photo I applied only one coat over CND Stickey Base Coat. I think it's pretty good opacity for just one coat, which I liked. Adding a topcoat means you lose the "brushed metal effect", as the next swatch shows...

For this photo I stamped my ring finger using Konad Special Polish in Black with a lacy pattern from XL stamping plate D. You can see the topcoat gives it more shine and dimension and it's a good background color for stamping.

While I'll keep the bottle and probably use it again, I was disappointed with this particular formula and won't likely be buying any "brushed metal finish" Catrice polishes again. I wanted to like this one very much, the color looks beautiful in the bottle, but even with the thinner I added the consistency just wasn't easy to work with and I thought if I added any more thinner then it would be streaky.

The last swatch is OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons!, a creme polish from the Germany Collection. For this photo I stamped my ring finger nail with a pattern from XL stamping plate B. I used two coats over CND Stickey Base Coat and it applied very easily. I finished the look with a coat of Seche Vite.

Thanks for visiting!