My Nail Polish Power Suit

Butter London: All Hail the Queen


Hi all,
Do you ever have those shades that make you feel more confident when you wear them?  That's what today's shade does for me.  I call it my version of a Power Suit.

Today I have All Hail the Queen from Butter London from their Fall 2010 collection.  This polish used to be called All Hail McQueen (after Alexander McQueen).  I'm not sure why they changed it but it's gorgeous no matter what it's called.

This shade is a holographic taupe.  On my darker skintone it works great as a nude.  It would give me mannequin hands if it wasn't for the fantastic holographic shimmer.  I admit the holo in this polish isn't very "in your face"  but I think the subtlety is what makes it perfect for the office.  It's a great work appropriate neutral and the shimmer gives it a special kick to take it up a notch.  When I wear it I feel both stylish and professional.

OPI BC for natural nails, 3 coats polish, no topcoat

I had absolutely no problems with the formula.  The polish went on smoothly and was opaque in two coats.  I used three because I wanted a slightly darker shade.

Click the pic on the left to see more of the holo effect.

This polish has definitely become one of my favorites.  I got a lot of good comments the first time I wore it and my sister promptly borrowed it for a business trip to LA.  She even got compliments on her polish from a stylist at a photo shoot!  It has been passed around several times now between my mother and two of my sisters.  I bought the bottle in mid-January and about 1/4th of it has been used already!!!  Luckily my sister & mother recently purchased their own bottles so I won't run out anytime soon. (I was afraid I was going to have to hide the bottle :P )


The polish is pricey but the impressive formula and amazing color makes it worthwhile.  I definitely want to buy more from Butter London -- I think Victoriana and Marrow may be my next purchases.




Butter London polishes are Big 3 Free and retail for $14.  They are available at www.ButterLondon.com, www.beauty.com, and www.ulta.com as well as in select Ulta stores.




Till next time...
Mac 

Something new: UNT - Little Mermaid

Hi guys

Today I have a polish from a little known brand called UNT Color made by UNT skincare.  UNT is a Taiwanese company that specializes in affordable skincare products.

From UNT's website:

Our Mission

UNT was founded based on philosophies that skin care should not be a luxury, that all people deserve healthy and comfortable skin equally, and that every product should have a purpose for skin. Since its inception in 2004, UNT has persisted on developing only medical-grade skin care products that deliver visible results, at prices affordable to the mass market.

You can read more about UNT Skincare here.




Little Mermaid is part of the Pink Fiction Reverie collection - Utopia. The Unt Skincare website describes the collection as Sun bathing on a yacht in your teeny tiny bikini, sipping bubbly champagne… what a life to live!  Well sign me up!!!  The collections consists of some gold & nude shimmers, a brillant blue, a few purple shades, and pink... Lots and lots of pink.

 

Little Mermaid has a mixture of purple, silver, and holographic glitters.  Am I the only one who is wondering why they didn't name the blue polish "Little Mermaid"? Anyway, the formula was excellent.  It went on thick and was almost opaque in one coat.  Most people could probably get away with one coat if they don't mind visible nail lines.

1 coat OPI Basecoat for Natural Nails, 2 coats polish, 1 coat Ulta Topcoat

The UNT brush is wide and easy to work with.  It's actually a little wider than the OPI brush.  I love this brush but it might cause a problem for people with narrow nailbeds.

It's really hard to capture this shade on camera.  The purple glitter isn't showing up well in the pics.  In person the glitter looks more purple than silver.

Here it is layered over China Glaze Liquid Leather:

1 coat OPI BC, 3 coats Liquid Leather, 1 coat Little Mermaid, 1 coat Orly Top 2 Bottom

Bottom Line:
I took a risk when I ordered this because I couldn't find any swatches online.  Not many people have heard of this brand.  But purple is my favorite color so I decided to go for it.  I'm glad I did.  I had no problems with the order system ( I ordered through Amazon) and my package arrived in under two weeks.  This is a great glitter!  The color reminds me of a purple version of OPI's Teenage Dream from the Katy Perry collection. I was really impressed with the formula and the brush. I don't have anything like this in my collection. So Win for me!!!!  BTW I eventually found swatches on this Taiwanese blog and on Ommorphia Beauty Bar.

Are these polishes Big 3 Free?  I'm not sure.  I looked at the ingredients and it doesn't have Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde, or Toulene listed.  However I'm no scientist and I don't know all of the different names these ingredients might be listed under.
Click the pic to see the list of ingredients full-size.

UNT Nail Lacquer is available through www.shopunt.com and through Amazon for $8.00 with free shipping.

(Amazon lists the price as $15.00 with a $7.00 discount to make the price $8.00 but the Unt skincare website lists the price as just $8.00)

Bye for now
Mac


Update:
Eugenia from Ommorphia Beauty Bar (whose blog is awesome and you should check it out) was kind enough to let me know that she contacted UNT and not only are they Big 3 Free but they are also animal cruelty free.  I definitely recommend trying this brand.

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