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Saturday, April 11, 2009

Weekend Beauty - Nail Polish: Dusty Purples

Dusty Purple is my favorite kind of purple. It is such a chic color, I find no other way to describe it. Just purple is nice but ordinary. Add to it some dust/grayness/dirt, and it becomes a little odd and much more unique.

(From the darkest to the lightest)

The most stylish dusty, or rather - dirty purple extraordinaire is, to me, Metro Chic by OPI for Sephora. Yes, I included it last week in the selection of my favorite mushroomy colors, but that is what's great when a shade is so multi-faceted, you can categorize it so many different ways.

Parlez-Vous Opi? became a classic in its category at the moment of its release last year, and it's easy to see why, this shade of purple, with its slightly dirty undertone, is gorgeous. It might be just a tiny bit too dark for me. I love mu purples either lighter or dirtier than this. Still- a must have for fans of unordinary purples. The application is problem-free, as is mostly the case with OPI.

Pharaoh's Purple is from Nubar's brand new Cleopatra collection. I predict that it will be just as popular as Parlez-Vous. The two colors are very similar...and yet different enough that a ...let's call it connoisseur would want to have both. The difference is hard to decsribe. Pharaoh's Purple strikes me as a warmer and more muted color, devoid of blue undertones. It is also slightly lighter than Parlez-Vous. Of the two, the Nubar is my favorite. The application and texture of this polish is impeccable.

Misa Heartbreak has a slight duochrome (hints of pink shine in its purple) effect, which is not what I ordinarily like, but just look at this gorgeous gray-purple. A chic, melancholy, hard-to-describe shade that applies easily, wears long and costs just $2.99.

OPI Done Out in Deco is Parlez-Vous' lighter cousin. Along with Who's Wearing What, it is exactly the shade of purple I love, darkness-wise, and has just enough "dust" in it to make it a little edgy and not just pretty.

Same goes for China Glaze's gem from some time ago, Who's Wearing What. To a normal person someone not into nail polish, it would look pretty much the same as Deco. A polish maniac will see subtle but essential differences. As was the case with Parlez-Vous and Pharaoh's Purple above, WWW has less blue in its purple than DOiD, is warmer and more muted. Application and quality- sublime.

And, although it is not dusty and not even an obvious purple per se, but just because I love it so much, here is another new shade from Nubar, from the same Cleopatra collection, Isis Purple:

This was love at first sight for me, an immediate holy grail. In a course of two days, while wearing Isis, I received more compliments on my polish then in a course of my life. I am not exaggerating. There is something special about this pink-purple shade. It stands out, but is not too bright, and I think the amount of pink and the amount of purple in it are so perfectly balanced. The quality of this nail polish is amazing, it was basically good enough to wear after one coat. My absolute favorite in Cleopatra collection and, right not, my favorite polish period.

Available at Sephora, Trans Design, 8ty8beauty and Bynubar.

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23 Comments:

Blogger thecavewoman said...

oh my goodness, you must use a lot of polish remover! i love the shape of your nails, they are perfect! mine are too short and square.

3:06 AM EDT  
Anonymous trish/pikake said...

Hi Marina,
You know, I went looking for that Zoya Pasha the other day at this little boutique that carries Zoya, and they didn't have it. I was crushed, LOL.

So now I want it even more!!

3:45 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Liz
Short is square equals stylish nails, imho

8:51 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Trish,
Oh I am sorry, I hope you find it somewhere soon

8:51 AM EDT  
Blogger lovethescents said...

We JUST spoke about that beautiful Isis the other week and it looks even more fantastic than I expected. Can't believe I still can't get it!

Enjoy it for the rest of us!

8:55 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

S,
And of course in reality it is better than on the pic. Awesome color.

8:56 AM EDT  
Blogger lovethescents said...

I know! I know!!!

9:01 AM EDT  
Blogger Gail S said...

NOW you're talking my colors! I have and wear most of the polishes you've pictured today. I was pleasantly surprised by OPI Done Out in Deco. It looked a bit uninspiring in the bottle but is so flattering on the nails that it would be my favorite of they bunch.

For Trish/pikake, if you're not opposed to shopping online, artofbeauty.com has Zoya Pasha.

9:49 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Gail,
Deco surprised me too, so very pleasantly, I adore it. It is certainly the best of South Beach collection.

9:51 AM EDT  
Blogger Flora said...

Wow, even I would wear that Nubar Isis Purple and I am not much of a nail girl to start with! It is just beautiful, the perfect balance between pink & purple. I can see why you get so many compliments on it.

4:05 PM EDT  
Anonymous Trish said...

Gail,
Thanks for the heads up on that. I'll check it out.

~T

5:38 PM EDT  
Anonymous Lavanya said...

M- you have probably put me on the path of another addiction!! I usually NEVER wear nail polish on my finger nails but sometimes on my toe nails.but today I went to Sephora and tried out some of the Sephora by OPI colors and really LOVED how they looked on my hand (nails)..I tried and liked: Metro Chic, On Stage, call your mother and beauty junkie (I have a thing for dark brownish reds on my toes, so couldn't resist trying on this one)..

The only thing that is bothering me is that I think I absolutely cannot apply nail polish with my left hand (on my right finger nails that is)..lol..so will have to practice a bit..:)

Oh and I (finally) tried TF champaca absolute ..It didn't blow me away on paper (I liked CdG champaca better- it was very evocative of a south Indian wedding) but I got a sample so will test it on skin and see (sniff)

12:47 AM EDT  
Anonymous Lavanya said...

Oh btw, like China Glaze and LOVE how Isis looks on you..the last picture, especially looks gorgeous!!

12:48 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Donna,
and you should!!

9:06 AM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Lavanya,
So my work here is done then :-) Applying it with left hand is not hard, you do it once and it's easy from there on.

9:07 AM EDT  
Blogger violetnoir said...

Wow! Very nice, M. You have beautiful nails, and the mushroomy-purple colors suit you very, very well.

Hugs!

12:36 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

Thank you, R!!

12:40 PM EDT  
Anonymous Lavanya said...

M- is Misa heartbreak discontinued? Couldn't find it!

2:03 PM EDT  
Blogger Marina said...

L,
Did you try transdesign,com? I got it there.

3:16 PM EDT  
Anonymous Lavanya said...

Yup- found it- thanks!!

4:33 PM EDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you truly love this kinds of colors check out Below Deck by China Glaze or Channelesque by the same brand

4:02 PM EST  
Blogger Krystle said...

oooo! wow great blog! :D

check mine out when you get a chance!

www.morepolishplease.blogspot.com

7:08 PM EST  
Blogger Krystle said...

oooo! wow great blog! :D

check mine out when you get a chance!

www.morepolishplease.blogspot.com

7:08 PM EST  

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