OPI Damone Roberts 1968

Today's manicure is OPI Damone Roberts 1968. This is an exclusive to Damone Roberts salons in New York and Beverly Hills and can be shipped from these locations, the contact information is available at damoneroberts.com. I saw the post on ALU and realized that Damone Roberts' salon is practically around the corner from me, so I went and picked it up after lunch. It's a very nice green, and appears unique in my green creme collection.
This is the official description: "It is not your typical mint green. It has a little touch of gray in it and a little touch of brown." I would say it's pretty accurate - it's less blue than MAC Peppermint Patti and Ciate Apple & Custard. It's at least one shade deeper than the pale mint of BB Couture Laguna Lagoon and Illamasqua Milf. (see the comparison photos at the bottom)
The polish is smooth, but thin in a streaky way - you need three coats to reach opacity. This mani is one coat Nubar Nu Nails, three coats of polish, and one coat of Nubar Diamont.




Here are comparison photos with other pastel mint green cremes. I also did bottle comps of Orly Mint Mojito, Nubar Green Tea, Barielle Sweet Addiction - but all were several shades deeper.

Ciate Refresher

Today's manicure is Ciate Refresher. Refresher is one of the polishes of Ciate's latest release for Spring/Summer 2009 - the Candy Couture collection. This was another overly thick/streaky Ciate creme, but improved after I added BB balls and 20 drops of SpaRitual Nail Lacquer Thinner. I did three coats, but it was opaque in two - three just helped smooth everything out. Refresher is a pastel gray blue with a hint of lavendar. The most accurate picture colorwise is the third one, the sun bleaches out the photos a bit. You can purchase this Ciate polish by contacting the manufacturer through their site Ciate.co.uk
This mani is one coat Ciate Underwear, three coats of polish, and one coat of Ciate Speed Coat.

Ciate Apple & Custard

Today's nail varnish just arrived in the post from the UK. Ciate does not have the option to ship internationally from their online store Ciate.co.uk, but I contacted them and arranged an order.
I received my package today, and was excited to slap on some new greens. The first varnish I tried is a pastel green creme called Apple & Custard from Ciate's Spring/Summer 2009 Candy Couture line.
This mani is one coat of Qtica Natural Nail Growth Stimulator (I am trying this base coat for the first time), two coats of polish, and Nubar Diamont top coat.
This polish is highly pigmented - opaque in one coat, but applied a little too thickly. I will thin it out for my next manicure. I also had some bubbling issues, but it may be an incompatibility with the base or top coat I chose so I'm trying a different combo for my next Ciate.
I have a large collection of greens. I compared this color to Orly Mint Mojito, MAC Peppermint Patti, Barielle Sweet Addiction, Illamasqua Milf, BB Couture Laguna Lagoon, Hard Candy Mint and Cry Baby...all the light greens. It is unique. The closest is Barielle Sweet Addiction - they have a similar dusty tone, but Ciate Apple & Custard is a full step lighter.