Battle of the Minty Green Nail Polishes!

I hope everybody is enjoying the bank holiday weekend! It's sunny again here today but I got burnt yesterday:( I now am sporting two bright red (and sore) stripes on my cheeks. No where else. Just there.  No need for blusher so :D 

Todays post is a nail varnish comparison that I did last week, when I was trying to avoid college work. That avoidance tactic worked fyi. I paid for it the next day though.

Mint green nail varnish is making the rounds again this year. I wasn't really that much into nail varnish this time last year so I wasn't really aware of the 'trend' at that time but from what I've read, it seems to have been quite the thing last year, with everybody raving about Revlon's Minted in particular. Unbeknownst to me this surge for Revlon's Minted was increasing and when I was doing some shopping on holidays, I happened to fall in love with Revlon's Minted when I spotted it in Boots in London last summer.

That's what I love about really getting into beauty related stuff this year, discovering that I've bought little gems of products that were so revered at the time. Although of course now, I believe that Minted is a permanent addition to the collection, (Although, I still haven't seen it in my local Boots in Ireland)  so the hunt for it is no longer frenzied and there are many alternatives, I still get a little swell of pride when I look at my bottle of Minted and know that I spotted a good trend without even knowing it. Whoop!

Enough of my big-headedness and on to the polish comparisons! (I'm very rambly today, I'm sorry) I've 3 to compare for ye and they are Revlons Minted (Shockingly enough) Essies Mint Candy Apple and China Glazes Re-Fresh Mint. Apologies for the claw like hand in the photo but those are my only long nails. My nails on my index and middle fingers on both hands have decided to quit their job and won't grow any more. Fair enough.

1st Coat

L-R Thumb  -  Revlon Minted; Ring Finger  - Essie Mint Candy Apple; Little Finger  - China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint

For this 1st coat Minted on the thumb was very streaky and watery when applying. Mint Candy Apple on the ring finger was fairly good and opaque when applied and Re-Fresh Mint gave brilliant opaqueness for a first coat and was very smooth to apply. While I wouldn't wear any of them with just one coat, if you were pushed you would get away with wearing Re-Fresh Mint as a one-coater.

2nd Coat

L-R Thumb  -  Revlon Minted; Ring Finger - Essie Mint Candy Apple; Little Finger  - China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint 

Minted has been rectified but it was still a bit streaky to apply and in appearance. I wouldn't wear it out like that. Both Mint Candy Apple and Re-Fresh Mint were on par with each other here, both giving very good coverage and I would have no problem wearing either of them with just the two coats.

3rd Coat 

L-R Thumb  -  Revlon Minted; Ring Finger - Essie Mint Candy Apple; Little Finger  - China Glaze Re-Fresh Mint 

By the 3rd coat, Minted had become opaque but still seemed a little sheer in comparison to the other two. There was definitely no visible nail line though. Both Mint Candy Apple and Re-Fresh Mint looked  great and consistency and opacity wise there was no difference in them. The only difference with them at this stage is their colour. While undeniably all three are mint greens both Minted and Re-Fresh Mint are more green with Re-Fresh Mint hinting towards a lime shade and Mint Candy Apple is a more blue toned green.

As a personal preference, Mint Candy Apple is my favourite shade. I was disappointed with Minted's performance compared to the other two but it may be because it has been open for nearly a year whereas the other two are quite new.

 

Have you tried any of these 3? What did you think? Let me know if you have any other Mint Green recommendations!