I am so excited with how well my swatch-a-palooza project is coming along. And, although this might sound pretty goofy, I’m also excited by the fact that I’ve managed to keep it going for this long. I just checked back in my blog archives, and my first Swatch My Stash post was on June 12, 2017. So I am almost at the 1 year mark for this swatching and destashing project. I knew, going into it, that it would take a long time. I’m not sure I ever thought it would take quite this long, but, as my husband loves to say: It is what it is. I am swiftly approaching the end of my mainstream brands. Today’s post should bring the bulk of my mainstream collection to an end. I have some brands that I can group together because I never purchased many from them. Because of this, I feel like I’m getting down to what I think of as “the stragglers”. Yay!
Today, I have my Fingerpaints polishes to share. I’ve always liked this brand. In my late teens and early to mid-twenties, I was into nail polish in an obsessive way. Back then, I didn’t shop any indies. I’m actually not sure there were indies. Internet access wasn’t widespread. And it was mostly dial-up. Yes, I am THAT OLD — ha, ha! Anyhow, my nail polish habit back then consisted of all mainstream brands, and Fingerpaints was a brand I enjoyed a lot. When I got back into nail polish two or three years ago, I remembered this brand. And I started buying them when I saw them at Sally’s. I didn’t buy tons of them. I mostly purchased OPI and China Glaze. But, I would sometimes buy Fingerpaints if I saw interesting ones at the store, or if I found them on clearance.
When I swatched through my stash the first time, I had 18 Fingerpaints. I destashed 6 of them on the first round, which didn’t appear in the blog. The colors I destashed previously are: Wild About Hue, Been There Scene It, Great Graphite, Exotic Emerald, Composition Silver, and Amazon Sky.
Today, I have 12 polishes from this brand. Much as I love Fingerpaints, I am hoping to be a little bit brutal with destashing from it. So, I guess I’ll take a deep breath and see how it goes! Jumping into it is always a little bit scary, but also a little exhilarating.
RED & PINK:
Folk He-Art is a cranberry red with silver shimmer running throughout. This polish has a lovely formula that is opaque in 2 easy coats.
This is a really pretty color. I like how it is deep and a little bit elegant or luxurious on the nail. The glitters have a beautiful sparkle, and I like how the base color gives them a lighter pink or reddish-purple color. I went into this post planning to destash this polish, but I think I’m going to keep it for a little while longer. Red isn’t a color I’ve worn much in the past, but I have recently begun to warm up to it more. And this is a beautifully rich color. I think it might be particularly pretty in the Fall/Winter or around the holidays.
He-Art Auction is a pink or rose gold glitter polish. I am pretty sure this is holographic — possibly a mix of plain metallic and holographic micro glitter. I don’t see a lot of rainbows in my swatch picture, but I do see them when I look at the polish in the bottle. This polish has a good formula. It can be opaque on its own in 2-3 coats, and it is also nice as a topper at 1 coat.
This is a really pretty and delicate polish. If I am remembering correctly, it is rather soft and not textured or gritty once it dries on the nail. I don’t have a lot of pink glitters. In fact, I think this might be the only one I have. Or, do I have a couple in OPI and China Glaze? I don’t remember. Whatever the case, I have a few indie polishes in different tones of pink. They aren’t full-out glitters like this one, but they contain glitter or holographic in one form or another. Pink isn’t a color I wear a lot. So I think I’m happy sticking with my indies and destashing this one.
YELLOW & GOLD:
Beverly’s Touch is from the Project Runway Collection, which was designed by the Season 14 Project Runway winner, Ashley Tipton. It is a gold metallic, with some silver tones. This polish has a great formula. It was nearly opaque for me in 1 coat, but I ended up needing 2 on some nails.
This is a pretty gold. It is bright and yellow-toned, without looking brassy or hard. Overall, I like how it has a soft, almost foil-like look on the nail, although I don’t think this is a foil. This polish shows some brush strokes, but they largely disappear as the polish dries down. I like this polish, but I’m going to destash it. I have a soft spot for golds. I like gold polish a lot, and I end up buying quite a few of them. But it’s not a color I wear very much. I have a couple of Zoya golds that I adore, as well as (I think) one or two from China Glaze. I think I need to admit to myself that these are enough.
GREEN:
Party Teal Dawn is from the Project Runway Collection. It is a dusty, slightly muddy or grayed-out green. It is kind of pastel, but also kind of not pastel. It’s kind of turquoise, too, but, perhaps way on the green side of this color. Could this qualify as a jade green? Maybe. This polish has a good formula. It has a crelly consistency, and I needed 3 coats for full opacity.
This polish has a nice finish on the nail. I like the color. I like how it is soft, dusty, and kind of muted. This is also a shade of green I enjoy. Even so, I am going to destash this one. It reminds me a lot of Zoya, Wednesday. I don’t know if they are dupes for each other, but I know they are close enough that I am okay with letting this one go to a new home.
Vintage Vincent is from the 2015 ‘Tis the Season to Sparkle Collection. This is a green-blue. I think it could qualify as a dark turquoise or even a blue-leaning teal. I’ve seen online photos of it where it looked quite green, but it tends to look more blue for me in real life. It has a soft and subtle shimmer running throughout it. I think the shimmer is silver. This polish has a good formula. It was nearly opaque in 1 coat and fully opaque for me in 2 coats.
This is a pretty polish. I like the shimmer, and I like the finished look it has on the nail. I have come to realize I am not crazy about this color. It’s a little bit too green-blue for me, which probably makes no sense. But it makes this polish a destash.
BLUE:
Be Still My Beat-nik Heart is a dark turquoise/teal/blue-green. I think this one is more blue, but it kind of rides the line between blue and green. This polish has a great formula that was opaque for me in 2 easy coats.
This is a pretty and rich color with a good formula. Even so, it’s not at all unique. And it’s not unique in my stash, either. I know I have other polishes that are similar to this, but, possibly, lean even more blue. So I’m going to destash this one.
Tiffany Imposter is a blue-green or turquoise that leans heavily toward blue. It is a “Tiffany Blue” type of color, which you probably already guessed, based on the name. This polish has a great formula. It is a straight up creme, with no bells or whistles. It is pretty much opaque for me in 1 coat. I generally wear 2 coats of everything, and I think I would need a second coat if my nails were longer.
There’s not a ton to say about this one. It’s a pretty color, and I think it’s a nice Tiffany Blue sort of shade. I have China Glaze, For Audrey in my stash already — because, really, pretty much everyone has For Audrey, right? I don’t love For Audrey. I like the color of it and want to love it, but there is something about that polish that leaves me feeling flat. I don’t know quite what it is. Anyhow, I really like this Fingerpaints polish. My original thought was that I could keep this one and destash For Audrey. But I compared them on a swatch wheel and discovered they are not the same color. Or even that close. Boo. I am still keeping this one, though. At least for now.
Asymmetrical is a bright blue with a purple or magenta flash/shimmer. It has a good jelly or crelly formula. It applies with little to no mess, and it is opaque in 2-3 coats, depending on nail length, application technique, and how much VNL you want to see. Even at 3 coats, I still see a hint of VNL in most lighting.
I wish this polish was slightly more opaque. I’m mostly okay with seeing some VNL when a polish is a jelly or crelly consistency. But, at 3 coats, I would like for my nail line to be covered. With that said, I like this blue a lot. I like it enough to overlook the fact that it’s not quite as opaque as I want it to be. I like that the blue is bright and vibrant. I like the purple or magenta flash in here, which is visible on the nail. I’m going to keep this one.
PURPLE:
Lavender Love is from the Project Runway Collection. It is a pastel purple or, as the name suggests, lavender creme. This polish has a great formula. It was opaque for me in 1-2 easy coats. It was really close to being a 1-coater on my shorter nails, but I think I would definitely need 2 if my nails were longer.
This is a beautiful, pastel purple. It is soft and very pretty on the nail. This polish has a great formula, especially for a pastel. Even so, I’m going to destash this one. I have a couple of light purples in other places in my stash, and this isn’t a color I wear often.
Gogh With the Flow is a purple glitter. There is a mix of purple micro glitters and silver small glitters in here, and this polish has a steely blue sort of undertone to it. This polish has a good formula. It is opaque on its own in 2 easy coats.
This is a pretty, pretty polish! It’s a great tone of purple, and I love how sparkly this one is once it dries. But … I also don’t wear it very much. I can’t see myself reaching for this one any time in the near future. This pretty polish is a destash for me.
GLITTER TOPPERS:
Tinsel & Tidings is from the 2015 Tis the Season to Sparkle Collection. This is a glitter topper. It has a clear base with a mix of gold, purple, and blue glitters in different sizes. You might be able to get this opaque on its own in 3-4 coats, but it works great as a topper at 1 coat over a base color.
This is a nice topper. I didn’t find it to be too base-heavy. I like the mix of shapes and sizes in the glitters. I also like the color combination. I really like how the blue glitters seem to pop right out of the polish, like bright little zings of color. Really pretty and festive. I don’t wear a lot of glitter toppers, so I am going to destash this one.
Th-Ink Outside the Box is a clear base with a mix of black and white matte glitters. The glitters are different-sized hexes and bars. This polish has a decent formula. I found it to be a little bit base-heavy, but not impossible.There is a decent glitter payoff at 1 coat, and even better at 2.
Generally, I don’t like bar glitters. At all. And yet, I love this topper. I think it’s the mix of black and white, as well as the fact that all the glitters are matte. It is graphic and playful at the same time. This one is a keeper for me.
THE WRAP-UP:
That brings my Fingerpaints adventure to a close. I still look at this brand every time I go to Sally’s. And I still find myself tempted by it from time to time, particularly when they are on clearance. I can admit this. But, generally, I manage to stay strong. I don’t purchase much from this brand now, probably because I have started getting more and more into indie polishes to feed my addiction.
I feel like I did a pretty good job of destashing from this brand. I feel absolutely okay with letting go of the colors I decided to destash. And I feel like I will wear and enjoy the few I kept. In today’s post, I destashed 8 polishes and kept 4. This brings my final tally to 14 polishes destashed (between the first and second round) and 4 that will stay in my collection.
Next week, I think I will move on to CND and Color Club. I don’t have many from either of these brands, so I am going to combine them into one post.
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