Wednesday, September 30, 2009

NYC East Village Nail Polish: Mermaid to Order What?

Hi everyone,

For those who’ve known me from my blog, I love blue very much. In fact, about 1/3 of my eyeshadow stash consists of various shades of blue. I have so many of them to quench my thirst of aqua colors. But using blue nail polish? Oh my Chanel, I’ve gotta try!

While summer is almost really over, the urge to wear bright color on my toes remains. Since OPI launched Mermaid to Order, a shimmery deep green blue nail polish, I always wanted it. But there’s a catch: it’s a nine-dollar bottle of nail polish! Then I realized it looks very familiar to something I saw at the drugstore. It turned out NYC, the super-affordable drugstore brand, launched a collection called "In a New York Color Minute" about a month or so before Sephora launched Mermaid in the Shades. The new and reformulated NYC nail polishes are free of DBP, toluene and added aldehydes at $1.99 a pop! Of course, I got West Village first and after lovin' it so much, I decided to get more.


East Village nail polish
(That’s Jen A kissing Drew Barrymore in the background)


East meets West
(L-R) NYC East Village and West Village nail polishes


East Village is a very good lookin’ sister of Mermaid to Order, after the Pinkberry district where Chace Crawford and his Gossip Girl co-star Ed Westwick used to live. It took me two CVS and a Target stores to finally get my hands on East Village. In a New York Color Minute polishes sold fast, and this particular shade flew off the shelf like hot cakes. And I don’t blame it: this color is gorgeous! It’s a sheer shade of blue green nail polish with shimmers. Sounds familiar? I think so, too!


Test card: I painted one coat each of East Village and West Village by themselves, then layer them together in the middle

East Village looks like a paler sister of Mermaid to Order but when I mix a coat of it with a coat of West Village, a darker shade of blue-green that I described here, Mermaid to Order can be really jealous. The mixed shade is stunning and complex. On top of that, I spent less than four dollars for two bottles of nail polishes! Life is good, I tell ya!


More colors!
On my nails (L-R): Greenwich Village (hot pink), Soho (light pink, suitable for weddings), East Village, Little Italy (patent white, notice the smudge I made before the polish dried), and Grand Central Station (clear polish)

These nail polishes really last and once dry, they do not chip easily. However, it takes longer for them to dry, as they are free of toluene.

That's all for today, folks! The weather is really nice in my neck of the woods and since the sky is still sunny, I'll stretch my days of wearing bright colored toe nails as much as I can. What do you think about the new NYC nail polishes? Give me your comments, ok?

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9 comments:

  1. I never gave East Village a chance (it looked too sheer - I'm obsessive about opening bottles and looking at formula before deciding to buy) but now that you mention it, it does look like a good layering shade :)

    There's another drugstore shade that's in the same color family as Mermaid to Order, in my favorite Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear line. I believe it's called Ocean View... the swatches I've seen online show that Mermaid to Order to be a little bit more green-leaning though.

    Normally I love bright polish, but I'm not sure why Mermaid to Order doesn't appeal to me. I think I've oversaturated myself on the bright shimmery blue-greens.

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  2. They look really pretty mixed together, but I've kind of avoided NYC nail polish because the few I've tried have been too sheer and watery. Revlon has a dark blue color that's a good dupe of Chanel's Blue Satin, but it tends to get gluey as you apply your second coat and the brush is way flimsy.

    I think you do get what you pay for with nail colors - all the cheaper brands I've purchased from years ago have dried to paste, while my old OPI polishes are still (almost) good as new. I do think L'Oreal's great as a drugstore brand, though - and China Glaze is pretty fantastic and reasonably priced.

    As for slow-drying polishes - have you tried Seche Vite? It dries my polish in literally about five minutes, and after 15 you're basically good to go. I used to avoid painting my nails before I got this stuff because I got tired of waiting for an hour, then falling asleep and waking up with sheet marks.

    Sorry for the long comment, I have a test to study for... just writing to say I enjoy your blog :)

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  3. Hi Jordy,

    NYC has a lot of new colors and they are all very pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello May,

    I'm also like you, I need to test the nail polishes first before I buy. This seems to be sheer at first but after 2 layers, it's very pretty. I think I saw that Xtreme Wear color, too. I need to get me some when CVS has another sale. I know what you mean, Mermaid to Order looked quite unique before all the other brands came out with their own similar shades.

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  5. Hi Anonymous,

    Aw, you didn't leave your name! I have a bottle of OPI that's about 7 years old and still looks the same as the day I purchased it. Amazing, huh? I need to get me some Seche Vite, that sounds wonderful.

    Good luck on your test, and come back soon!

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  6. Those polishes look gorgeous!

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  7. Hi Gio,

    They are also very affordable. I love them a lot and get a lot of compliments whenever I wear East Village.

    ReplyDelete
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