Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Misa Reviews: The Basics!

I've been testing out these polishes for a while so I can give an honest, accurate review. All of these are colors that I probably would not have picked for myself, but I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up liking these. I only wore them for a day each, but I didn't notice any significant tipwear, chipping or peeling by the time I removed them. There was also no staining, I'm happy to say.

One color from each of the basic nail polish categories- Black, White, Pink and Red.


Camellia Destiny.

A very pretty and delicate pale pink that is somewhat sheer in two coats and completely opaque in three. It applies well, the formula was a little bit on the thick side but it didn't give me any trouble at all.

This is the color I thought I'd like the least, but after I tried it out for a while it grew on me. I'm not usually the kind of person who wears pale pink, but I couldn't stop looking at my fingers with this on. It felt different- my fingers looked so feminine! This color is, like I said, delicate, and gives a healthy clean look to the nails.


Heaven White.

A clean, crisp white.

I half expected this to be a streaky, thick mess like most white polishes are, but it wasn't! I'm always somewhat hesitant to use these sort of pale, "white out" type colors because they are often a pain to apply. This was not thick and streaky, though it definitely needs two coats to look perfectly even. Without topcoat it dried to a glossy finish, unlike some whites that look matte when dry. I think this is a little too bright of a white for natural looking french tips, but it looks great on its own. This would be a great base for sheer polishes, and would look pretty awesome with some glitter over it. It also makes my hands look weirdly tan.



Red Hot Mamma.

This is a very bright color. In the bottle it looks mostly like a barely-shimmery vibrant red, but on the nails it has sort of a fuchsia look. It's bright and cheery and has a touch of shimmer. Again, not a color I would have picked for myself, but once again I'm quite pleased. This applied magically- the formula was the perfect consistency and this color only needed two coats. Even more important was how it removed: Reds usually cause massive finger-staining when I remove them, but this barely left any trace of red on my fingers. It also didn't stain my nails, but I only wore this one for a day, and I used Misa's BackBone base coat, so I'm not sure if the lack of staining was due to the color or the base coat.



I Will Survive.

I can't really think of any way to describe this color other than "black." It's black. Very black. Smooth, even, opaque, super-glossy black. This really only needs one coat to be completely opaque, but I used two anyway. It's important for a black to be opaque in as few coats as possible, because if you use them mostly for layering (like I do) you don't want to end up with too many coats of polish on the nail. Another thing that I like about this black is that it is extremely glossy. This is the shiniest black I've ever used. This picture is taken with no topcoat- see how shiny the polish is?

The formula was great, smooth and not too thick or difficult to control. If you can see in the picture, I had a tiny bit of bubbling. I don't think it's due to the polish formula, because it was nearly 100 degrees and humid the day I wore this one. I should give it another try on a cooler and less humid day to see if it still bubbles.

Overall, I think these polishes are of excellent quality. They apply very well and these particular colors dried a lot quicker than other Misa colors I have used in the past. There isn't really anything too spectacular about the colors, they're pretty basic, but there's also nothing bad to say about them. They're all pretty, plain and simple. Heaven White and I Will Survive are the standout colors here- they would be perfect for layering because they dry quickly and only require one or two coats to cover completely.

I am thankful that I got a chance to try these. Thank you, Misa!

17 comments:

  1. I want to compare that Misa Black to Milani Black Magic, my HG black, and the new Lippman Fade to Black.

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  2. Steph, I haven't seen the Milani one! They're pretty cheap, I might have to give it a try. I love OPI Feet Black. It's still my favorite, but I'm thinking it's discontinued? I have to get Fade To Black just for the name... I'm pathetic, LOL

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  3. I might need Red Hot mama. Do you have Essie Formal Affair? Wondering if they are similar.

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  4. Tink, hmmm, I don't think I have that one! I haven't updated my lists in a long time, I'll double check my stash to see if I have it! If I do, I'll do a comparison :)

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  5. i have heaven white but i have not used it -- and i've owned it for about 4+ years. it looks great on you so i will consider putting it on me just to see if it will look the same on my nails.

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  6. I must try I will survive and see if it could be even better than ChG Liquid Leather, my favourite black so far. It looked stunning at your pictures, but, your pictures are always stunning...

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  7. Nail Juice, thank you :)

    Hallie, you should try it out! I think you'll really like it :)

    Sminkan, haha thank you (and yours too!!). I have Liquid Leather and the only thing I don't like about it is that it takes longer to dry than some other blacks I have.

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  8. just a thought: is heaven white good for french tip, do you think?

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  9. Hallie, if you like really bright white french tips I think it would work well. If you like more natural looking french tips, I don't think this is the right polish.

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  10. You rock them all! I love Misa:)
    It's really intersting to see how different camellia destiny can look on different persons. I look at it on you and on "ballz & thinner". It almost doesn't look like the same polish. But pretty it is:)

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  11. Sanna, thank you! :) I think it's my pale hands, it tends to make light colors look washed out and dark colors stand out more. It also makes my fingers look red all the time! But I love them anyway :D

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  12. That black is the best black I've ever seen! WOW! Simply WOW! And your nails are gorgeous and perfect, I know I've said it before but that doesn't stop me!

    Btw, I'm glad to be back blogging - thanks for all the sweet comments over at my place! :D

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  13. Rocketqueen, thank you so much! I'm glad you're back, too, I love your blog! :)

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  14. Where can one purchase Misa?

    Website? Store?

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  15. Ladies, can I please get some reccomendations for nice Misa colors?

    I just discovered Misa....and I've only seen a few pictures....

    Just wondering what the favorites are....

    The cheapest I could find was on H2H....is that about right?

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  16. Deborah, I get all my Misas online from either Head2Toebeauty.com or TransDesign.com :) They each have a really good selection. As for favorite colors, I have a ton, but what I recommend doing is taking a trip over to NailGal.com and searching for "Misa"- you'll find so many pretty pictures it'll make your head spin! :D

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