Mad About Matte

by Lena — Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 4:00 pm

in Nail Corner, Tested and tagged with Barry M, China Glaze, Essie, OPI, Zoya

A few months ago we blogged about the matte nail polish trend. After getting a chance to try the trend, it seems that, for many in our FD forum, the answer is a resounding yay!

To get the matte effect, you basically have a couple of choices: use a matte nail polish; or put on a mattifying coat on top of your regular polish. Since the matte nail trend is big, most big nail polish brands have produced at least a matte top coat, if not a few nail polish in matte colors.

I chose to try some matte polishes from Zoya; they don’t look too chalky compared to other brands’ polish, retaining a frosted-glass quality that looked lovely in the bottle. My favorite so far is Loredana, a matte gray that’s both neutral and edgy.

ZoyaLoredana

Then I got myself a mattifying top coat, in this case Essie Matte about You, which in the picture is layered over various purples.

EssieMattePurp

In the picture above:

Thumb: Essie Viva la Vespa (VLV) only
Middle finger and pinkie: VLV topped with Essie Matte about You
Ring and index fingers: VLV topped with China Glaze Grape Juice (ring finger, very shimmery)), then with Essie Matte about You (index finger).

The verdict? I think matte is here to stay, rather than being a seasonal trend. It’s surprisingly easy to wear, and allows you to get more than one look from the same nail polish. Layered over glittery or very dark colors, the matte finish will tone down the color down slightly. You can also experiment with having different finishes at the same time (glossy, matte, glittery all on one nail).

The ladies of FD Forum seem to also have embraced the matte trend, as the swatches below show. Still in doubt? For more examples of ladies gone mad for matte, check the FD nail polish discussion thread.

OPI Russian Navy Matte swatched by forum member dhea_luna

DheaLunaBlog