Reader Request: Blues / Essie Mesmerize Comparison

Index: Essie Mesmerize
Middle: Nocti Flying Naked
Ring: OPI Dating A Royal
Pinkie: Misa Pour Me Something Tall And Strong

As you can tell from the picture, Essie Mesmerize is most similar to OPI Dating A Royal. The main differences are that Essie Mesmerize is lighter, a little less vibrant and much more opaque. OPI Dating a Royal needs at least two coats and looks best at three, while Essie Mesmerize is nearly perfect in one coat.

Nocti Flying Naked and Misa Pour Me Something Tall And Strong look more similar to Essie Mesmerize in the bottle than they do on the nail.

Essie Mesmerize is from the Spring 2009 collection, OPI Dating A Royal was released with the Mod About Brights collection in 2008, and Misa Pour Me Something Tall And Strong came out with the Misa Look On The Bright Side neon collection in 2008. I don't know when the Nocti polish was released, but all of these colors should be readily available and easy to find.

OPI Summer Splash, Surf Party, Beach Party and Nocti NanoBrites

In honor of the approaching Summer and related OPI summer collections and my disdain for 3-free polishes, I bring you....

A few wonderful chemical-filled OPI summer collections from the past:

Summer Splash

Amazing Lazing Lilac, Tangerini Bikini, Cabana Banana, Pooltime Lime, Cool in the Pool, bottle is To Dive For Pink.

Surf Party:


Sun Streaked, Beachen Peachen, Ocean love Potion, Berry Tubular, Vio-Let's Surf, bottle is My Fave Wave.

Beach Party:


Strawberried in the Sand, Maliblue, Bikini Envy, Abalone Shell, Seagullible, bottle is Just Beachy.

And, to contrast, some polish that is 3-free but is pretty much hell in a bottle, I'll explain why after the pic.

Nocti NanoBrites. Kiss and Tell, Bikini, Swag, Nip Tuck, Flying Naked, bottle is TMI.

Despite the great colors, these are honestly the worst nail polish I've ever used. Even though they are brand new, they are thick, goopy, stringy and impossible to apply. They bubble wildly even if you haven't shaken them. The picture was taken about a minute after application. A few minutes after that they bubbled so much that they were completely unwearable.

Not only that, but they take ages to dry. Seche Vite caused a weird cloud to form when I used it on top of these. I used half a bottle of Flying Naked one day just trying to get it to look good. Between the bubbling, bad texture and weird Seche cloud, I gave up.

So, sadly, I can't recommend these. I'm not saying I'd never wear them again- I'm just saying I have to be in a particularly brave mood.

One last picture:
Some of my China Glaze collection. I could probably name the colors, but I am far, far too lazy for that.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of trying to build Aerith a better flower wagon.