This or That: Mint Green Nail Polish (Essie Mint Candy Apple vs Wet n' Wild I Need a Refreshmint)

Hey guys! I'm back in action after an exhausting but productive exam series.  Since I am feeling in a very summery mood, I've got two nail polish blog posts for you.  This one will compare two mint green shades and the next post will compare two coral shades, since mint and coral are the colors to have this summer!

I'm comparing Essie's Mint Candy Apple with Wet n' Wild's I Need a Refreshmint.  These are two of the most popular colors in the stores right now, and let me tell you, it was a pain to find both!

Even though Mint Candy Apple is part of the regular line and not a seasonal shade, I must have struck out a good 10-15 times before finally spotting one lone bottle at my Walgreen's.  There are slots for this at Walgreen's, CVS, Wegman's (for you north easterners!), Target, and Walmart.  I'm sure there are others stores as well, but these are the ones I've personally checked.

Wet n' Wild's I Need a Refreshmint is a seasonal shade.  This means it's even trickier to find.  I ended up ordering it from drugstore.com during a 30% off all beauty items sale.  I also used Ebates, which I've posted about before, to get 6% cash back on that haul, which was awesome. Combine all that with the lower price tag on Wet n' Wild polishes compared with Essie polishes, and this one is a real winner if you're pinching your pennies.

COLOR

This
Mint Candy Apple is the quintessential mint green.  If you're looking for true mint green, stop reading here are start looking for this color.

That
I Need a Refreshmint is named as a mint green, but in truth, it's a bit off of mint green.  It has a hint of blue to it and it is not quite as bright as the Mint Candy Apple.  However, this color is still right on trend for spring, and for those who are not keen on wearing super bright colors, this color represents a toned-down version of mint green.

BRUSH

This

The Essie brush is small and flexible.  It is easy to maneuver, but I find that it contributes to some of the streakiness of the shade because you have to go over the nail many times in order to get a consistent coat.

That

The Wet n' Wild brush is huge! It looks a lot like the Sally Hansen Complete Manicure polish brush.  It is wide and wonderful, in my opinion.  I prefer big brushes like this because it takes less strokes to get the nail completely covered.  I think this brush is easier to work with and contributes to more even coverage.

APPLICATION

First coat. Mint Candy Apple is on top, and I Need a Refreshment is below.

This

Mint Candy Apple applies a bit streaky.  I expect this with lighter colors, but I think the small brush really contributes to this because of how many times you have to go over the nail.  I think that even with my fairly small nails, I had to apply a thicker, gloopier coat in order to get even coverage on the first coat.  The second coat covers up this streakiness, though.

That

I prefer Wet n' Wild's application.  The first coat was more even, though still somewhat streaky due to the nature of lighter colors.

FINISHED RESULT

Second coat. Essie on top, Wet n' Wild below

I'm happy with the finished result of both shades.  I think both formulas have shine on their own, though I'd probably top it with a top coat for staying power anyway.  The color came out even with both polishes.

THIS OR THAT?

To be honest, I think there is definitely room for both colors in anyone's collection.  There are similar, but they are just different enough that I can easily justify keeping both.  I can even see how easy it would be to use both in the same manicure.  If you like the ombre look, where the color subtly changes from nail to nail, these would look great right next to each other.  You could use one to do subtle polka dots or another pattern on top of the other.  You could use one as an accent nail.  The possibilities are endless.

But, since the blog post is called This or That, I'll make a selection.  I personally prefer the Essie shade. While I prefer the brush and lower price tag of the Wet n' Wild, the true mint green of Mint Candy Apple is just so perfect for spring and summer and so bright and cheery.  I can already tell that Mint Candy Apple is really going to pop against my mid-late summer tan.  If I had to give one of these colors up right now, I would say bye bye to the Wet n' Wild and hello to true minty goodness.

Review: Flower Cosmetics Nail Polishes

Next up for review: Flower Beauty nail polish!

Left to Right: Fanatical Blossom, Gorgeous Gerbera

These nail polishes promise "super short dry time, smooth application, [and] premium glossy shine" in two coats.  Sounds good!  I picked up two colors: Gorgeous Gerbera and Fanatical Botanical.  Gorgeous Gerbera is a peachy pink that is very trendy for spring, and Fanatical Botanical is a metallic rose gold.

What I look for: 1) opacity in two coats, 2) shiny finish, 3) good staying power.

Color Selection: I want more! There are 16 shades in the collection right now. There were several reds and lots of light colors, but only 2 dark colors.  This collection right now screams trendy for spring but wearable for everyone.  There were only a couple of colors that I thought would be inappropriate for a professional woman to wear to work (either because they were super bright or super dark).  I was on the edge of grabbing one dark shade called April Showers which was a very dark blue, but I thought it would probably come across as black from far away because of how dark it was.  I was also tempted to grab the mint green, but I already a mint green at home and couldn't justify it.  I definitely want to pick up one of the reds but I couldn't decide on this first trip, plus I didn't know if I'd like them enough to buy more.

Price: These are a great deal at $4.98 a piece.

Formula: A quick note here for someone who took many hours of college chemistry.  The company totes these nail polishes as having a "3 free" formula, and explains that this means that they are free of DBP, toluene, and camphor.  I'm not looking to start a debate, but here are my thoughts on this. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) has, according to Wikipedia, been phased out by all major U.S. nail polish producers since 2006.  So that's not a very special claim, but I suppose it's a good thing. Toluene is sort of like the weak younger brother of benzene, a carcinogen.  Toluene itself has very little carcinogen potential, and only causes significant effects when inhaled in large quantity. Most major nail polishes are also toluene free.  Again, I suppose it's a good thing not to have it, but still not a unique thing.  Finally, camphor. This claim confuses me. We use camphor as a flavoring in food! It's very aromatic.  It's also soothing for inflammation and is in many anti-itch medicines.  Camphor is only toxic in large doses.  So again, I suppose good for them for not including it, but I wouldn't run away from the ingredient in everything.

Application: These applied pretty well.  I found that I needed to put on a thicker first coat with Gorgeous Gerbera than what I would ordinarily use because of some streakiness. But what's weird is that Fanatical Botanical was not streaky at all and I was able to do thin coats! So maybe I got a bad bottle of Gorgeous Gerbera or maybe it just varies from color to color. The consistency is very smooth and the brush size is perfect in my opinion. The second coat went one much nicer than the first with Gorgeous Gerbera, and as you can see below, I was able to get a nice finish.  In the future, I will likely use a base with Gorgeous Gerbera to see if that helps the first coat go on a bit more evenly. I don't think I would do that with Fanatical Botanical, as I was quite happy with that application.

The brush is shaped like a traditional nail polish brush as opposed to the wider brushes that some companies are doing now (like Sally Hansen Complete)  The cap to the polish is quite large, which I don't mind but it could hinder application for some.  The coats dry quickly and are touchable within about 3-5 minutes, even with the thicker coats I was using with Gorgeous Gerbera.

Gorgeous Gerbera: First Coat

Gorgeous Gerbera: Second Coat

Fanatical Botanical First Coat

Fanatical Botanical Second Coat

Final Results: I think that the colors on my nails, for once, looks better than in the bottle.  The colors on the nails really pop! I can't stop looking at them, but in a good way.  Very pretty shades.  You may be able to see some brush strokes when it's all said and done though. Gorgeous Gerbera was truly opaque.  Fanatical Botanical is a little bit more sheer (you can see if you have dirt under your nail).  They dry very shiny on their own.  I did not feel a need to use a top coat.

Gorgeous Gebera (Note to self..Clean up edges before pictures!)

Staying Power:
A picture is worth 1000 words, so here's the time lapse! In the interests of getting this post published sooner rather than later, I am only showing the staying power pictures for Gorgeous Gerbera.  I have thus far not had any early peeling or chipping with Fanatical Blossom.

At the end of Day 1

Late in Day 2

End of Day 3

End of Day 4. One little chip.
I took the polish off after this photo to put on Fanatical Botanical

Bottom Line:  

I think these are good for the price.  The application may vary by color, but the shades are gorgeous and very on trend yet wearable.  I will purchase more of these.  I'm anxious to try one of the red shades.