Hello my little bookworms,
Hooray! It's May. And... everything is pretty much the same as it always is. I'm drowning in a sea of assignments and future exams... and about to graduate in less than a month. Hopefully. What better time could there be to discuss Alex By The Books, the polish supposedly inspired by Alex Dunphy, as part of the relatively new Nicole by OPI Modern Family collection. I say "supposedly" as if you take a look at the entire collection it seems like they just randomly assigned characters to colors. And the names aren't incredibly inventive. Anyway, moving on...
Color: Alex By the Books is a light green creme polish. Is it a pastel? Is it a mint green? Is it sea foam green? Is it a For Audrey dupe? I don't know. Why are you so full of questions today? Ask me again when there's a worldwide standardized lexicon for discussing colors. All I can say for certain is that this polish is a mix of blue and green that leans towards the green end of the spectrum and chances are you'll probably be able to find a dupe for it. It's more demure and subdued under certain lighting conditions and a bit brighter under other conditions but it never really approaches the intensity of something like Essie's Mint Candy Apple which I think of as being a bit too harsh.
Formula: The formula was a little thick, especially compared to regular OPI polishes. I think this may be the first Nicole by OPI polish I'm reviewing on this blog and I can't say I was all that impressed with the formula.
Application: The first coat was a bit streaky, but that's usually the case for most polishes. The second coat was relatively smooth but I noticed that the brush was causing streaks to form. I had to be very careful to hold the brush so that it was perfectly flush with the nail. By the third coat the polish was opaque though I could see a few bald stripes near the tips of my nails where the brushstrokes overlapped and I could see where the brush strokes overlapped at the nail bed and on the sides of my nails. Which is all to say that it isn't easy to get even application with this polish.
Wear: I wore this polish for four days and during that time I didn't experience any tip wear or chipping or dulling of the polish (though to be fair, I rarely experience any of those things with my manicures).
CONCLUSION: Alex By the Books is a pretty polish if you're looking for a polish in this color family that leans a bit more green. But though the formula is manageable, I would probably suggest looking for a dupe with a better formula and especially a better brush.
SWATCHES
Hooray! It's May. And... everything is pretty much the same as it always is. I'm drowning in a sea of assignments and future exams... and about to graduate in less than a month. Hopefully. What better time could there be to discuss Alex By The Books, the polish supposedly inspired by Alex Dunphy, as part of the relatively new Nicole by OPI Modern Family collection. I say "supposedly" as if you take a look at the entire collection it seems like they just randomly assigned characters to colors. And the names aren't incredibly inventive. Anyway, moving on...
Color: Alex By the Books is a light green creme polish. Is it a pastel? Is it a mint green? Is it sea foam green? Is it a For Audrey dupe? I don't know. Why are you so full of questions today? Ask me again when there's a worldwide standardized lexicon for discussing colors. All I can say for certain is that this polish is a mix of blue and green that leans towards the green end of the spectrum and chances are you'll probably be able to find a dupe for it. It's more demure and subdued under certain lighting conditions and a bit brighter under other conditions but it never really approaches the intensity of something like Essie's Mint Candy Apple which I think of as being a bit too harsh.
Formula: The formula was a little thick, especially compared to regular OPI polishes. I think this may be the first Nicole by OPI polish I'm reviewing on this blog and I can't say I was all that impressed with the formula.
Application: The first coat was a bit streaky, but that's usually the case for most polishes. The second coat was relatively smooth but I noticed that the brush was causing streaks to form. I had to be very careful to hold the brush so that it was perfectly flush with the nail. By the third coat the polish was opaque though I could see a few bald stripes near the tips of my nails where the brushstrokes overlapped and I could see where the brush strokes overlapped at the nail bed and on the sides of my nails. Which is all to say that it isn't easy to get even application with this polish.
Wear: I wore this polish for four days and during that time I didn't experience any tip wear or chipping or dulling of the polish (though to be fair, I rarely experience any of those things with my manicures).
CONCLUSION: Alex By the Books is a pretty polish if you're looking for a polish in this color family that leans a bit more green. But though the formula is manageable, I would probably suggest looking for a dupe with a better formula and especially a better brush.
I normally don't do bottle pics but I found that these two bottle pics were the most color accurate. This polish likes to photograph lighter and more blue than it appears in person. I threw out so many swatches when I was combing through all the pictures to write this post.
You can see what I mean about the overlapping brushstrokes here. It isn't too terrible but it's something to take note of.
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