En Couleur @ Cal

Dive Deeper by Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure worn over What’s With the Cat-titude? by OPI

To everyone who’s still reading this blog, thanks for sticking around despite the dearth of recent posts. After finals and graduation, we at En Couleur have had little time for updates due to celebrating our freedom from the yoke of oppression. Now that things have settled down a bit, I’d like to inaugurate this summer’s posts with this sheerly sparkling, cornflower blue mani. Dive Deeper on its own is so sheer that you’d be painting to the point of frustration—I’m guessing four coats for opacity, at least. Layer it with What’s With the Cat-titude underneath to cut that down to one coat, and brighten the blue tone. For best results, wear with a bikini and hit the beach! It may not be the most traditional beach color, but doesn’t that color remind you of waves gently glittering under the sun?

Purple Gala by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear

The intense sparkle of Purple Gala, even in the shade, speaks for itself. This purple-gold glitter reflected so much light that it was hard for my camera to capture it accurately. Before I saw it in person, I’d heard of it described as a dupe for Hard Candy’s Mr. Wrong, one of my favorite colors, and I knew I would love it then. It’s hard to say which gets the edge. I’d probably give it to Purple Gala simply because at under $3, it retails for less than the $5 Hard Candy line. Whichever you decide to go with, both are beautiful and deserving of a spot in any nail polish collection.

Purple Pulse by Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure

Happy New Year everyone! The first lacquer I chose to swatch in 2011 is this shade of aubergine. The color itself is pretty, if a little commonplace. I’ve tried exactly one Complete Salon Manicure before, and it was also ho-hum. I dislike the thick formula (note the presence of several bubbles) and wide brush, which is supposed to facilitate full coverage of the nail but also makes it easier for individual bristles to get bent the wrong way. Also, this formula is designed to negate top and base coat, but you’d be foolish to eschew a base coat with a color this dark, because it will stain. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for an eggplant-purple frost that applies quickly, you could certainly do worse.

Little Black Dress by Ulta with Celeb City by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear

To celebrate the end of finals, my friend J.J. and I decided to tackle the holy grail of many nail polish aficionados and try water marbling. I restrained myself to two colors to keep it simple. For the how-to details, refer to this post from my fellow blogger N, who attempted water marbling this summer. Let me just say that the whole process really does create a lot of waste, in terms of time, water, nail polish, and Dixie cups. By J.J.’s calculations, we spent about nine minutes per nail. However, we were first-timers, and we noticeably improved by the time we got to our second hand. I’m in love with the finished result, so I have no qualms about trying this again.