MIKI
now browsing by tag
Oh Miki, you’re so fine…
Hurray, a guest-post from longtime reader, first time poster AM
I was thrilled to read Sarah’s post about Miki nail polishes the other week, as these little gems are my new favourite thing at the moment. I really wanted to share a few more colours with you, so here are some swatches and comments. As with Sarah’s post, I have done four colours, four nails, two coats and no top/base coat. Normally I’d put a drop or two of Essies Quick Drying polish on top, which doesn’t affect the colour and dries soooo fast (the downside is the $40 price tag).
AM's nail swatches
On the small nail is the same green Sarah used – this is my all time fave green. It’s hard to get a good green polish, and I prefer darker shades, so am delighted with this one – the small price tag is the icing on the cake. I keep meaning to try this with a layer of black underneath, I think that would suit it.
Pretty polishes
Next we have the gorgeous dark purple shade. I have been trying to find a colour like this for awhile, and the closest I came to it was the L’Oreal dark nail polishes they released last year which were ok but just lacked something for me. Like the green, a layer of black underneath might increase the depth and intensity of it, worth a try. I put some clear nail crystals on this colour last time I applied it, and that gave it an elegant yet slightly gothic look. I also experimented painting one nail green, one nail purple, next nail green, then purple, etc and I think it looked great (not everyones cup of tea, I agree).
Then we have the ‘other purple’. (not to be confused with the lovely blue shade they have). Wow! I just don’t know what to say about it and photos can’t do it justice. I’m a big purple fan, and this is one of the nicest and most unique I’ve seen yet. It is very sparkly but doesn’t have those big annoying particles of glitter that are hard to remove. It is predominately purple but has so many other colours within it like blue, red, green and more – hold it up to the light and you’ll see what I mean. It is quite dark, and you’ll want to apply at least two coats, I’d recommend three. If you see this colour and have a spare $2.50, go on and buy it – you probably won’t be disappointed. The batch number on mine is B14960 if that helps anyone?
Last, and I’d say least (the bar has been set pretty high here!), is the red. Its a rather Revlon-ish red, and I like it though it’s quite pinky. It has a bit of a pinup girl/vintage/rockabilly type of feel to it, if you need something to top off your 1950′s costume then this is it! (Batch number B14920).
The rest of the collection are too light/pastel/neon for my tastes but there’s a huge selection to choose from, and the price is right. These would also make an awesome stocking filler, or Secret Santa gift.
MIKI Minis
I decided that having promised MIKI swatches I should do them straight away or else they would never get done. They’re not the greatest photos, but hopefully they give an indication of what this range is like. The polishes cost $2.95 or 2 for $5 and can be found at random pharmacies.
So, 4 polishes, 4 nails, 2 coats, no base coat, no top coat.
In the bottles:
On the nails:
Unfortunately these don’t have shade names, only batch numbers printed on the bottom of the bottles, which for 3 out of the 4 polishes are illegible.
The dark green I think is probably the standout shade. I’m not a shimmer fan, but after admiring this in the shop a couple of times I decided to give it a go. The first time I applied it I was sitting in a pool of sunlight and when it hit my nails, wow. The base of this is a dark blue-leaning green and it’s packed with fine gold, green, and bronze shimmer. Like a crazy awesome beetle.
The photo on my nail really doesn’t do it justice. I’ll try to remember to take a picture when I’m wearing this on a sunny day. I even scored a spontaneous, “Wow, your nails look awesome!” from my boyfriend as we waited at a red light one day.
I love my greys, and have worn this one over and over again. I applied two coats here, but I usually just go with one. It’s also excellent under OPI’s all too sheer “Brand New Skates”.
The mint green is very springish. And not too starkly pastel. You can see my ridgey nail poking through in the picture so it probably really needs 3 coats.
The pink is a warm peachy leaning shade. The consistency is fairly thick, but not difficult to apply. I’m not really a pink kind of girl, so I’ve only worn this once. I eventually managed to find it under the bed when I decided to do these swatches, so at least it has found a use as a toy for the cat.
D5 Creation