Hello my dears,
I was toying around with calling you "vamps" or "harlots" but it seemed like a bit much. I've benched this review of Deborah Lippmann Lady is a Tramp for a while because it was a pain in the arse to photograph. I do not know why I bother with red polishes sometimes. This is another one of the Deborah Lippmann polishes I picked up in a beautybrands.com sale. They're not a sponsor, but they can call me anytime they want. Seriously, I'd love to have sponsors. I was looking for a fancy, grown up shade to wear to Carnegie Hall and Lady is a Tramp just felt like the perfect thing.
Color: Deborah Lippmann Lady is a Tramp is a red creme polish. After applying it, I could see why so many bloggers call it their go-to red polish. Outdoors in natural lighting I would say it's just a hair darker than a true red. It reads a little more like a blood red than a true red. Indoors, I find it a bit darker and duller like more of a brick red. As you apply the polish you can see that it's actually a bright red that darkens as you layer on additional layers of polish, as opposed to a polish that is actually just a dark red.
Formula: This polish has a thicker formula.
Application: This is my first creme polish from Deborah Lippmann so I was paying very close attention during application. The first coat applied smoothly without any drag. The formula was noticeably thick. It wasn't gloopy or difficult to work with but I did have to even it out and it wasn't self-leveling. The second coat also went on very smoothly. I again had to even it out a little but I would actually say that it was easier to even out the second coat than the first. At this point I noticed the polish clinging to the brush as I pulled it out of the bottle. It wasn't enough to form a thread as the polish snapped back almost immediately but it was noticeable. I think you could maybe get away with two coats if you were in a rush. At two coats, this polish isn't opaque enough to block out all the light during a light test but it applies evenly and I only noticed a few patches of lighter opacity on two nails. As I had an event and I was going to be photographing my manicure for swatches, I added a third coat. The third coat went on very smoothly without any resistance or drag on the brush. I don't know if this is true for all Deborah Lippmann brushes but the brush I had was the slightest bit wonky with some of the bristles sticking out at weird angles. It thankfully didn't affect application.
When I applied the polish with my nondominant hand, the polish seemed to be thicker and threading more. It was more difficult to even out the first coat of polish on the nail though it was still manageable. There were some bubbles though and the polish was not totally even. Applying the second and third coats of polish, I started to experience some drag and the polish became increasingly more difficult to even out though I would still say that it was manageable. Even at three coats, coverage was not as even.
CONCLUSION: Lady is a Tramp is a pretty red polish but given the price of Deborah Lippmann polishes, I don't think it's worth the trouble of application. You could very easily find a dupe for this red from a cheaper brand.
I don't know if you'll notice it in the swatches below but I used two different bottles of Seche Vite for this manicure. For my pointer and middle fingernails I used an older bottle that was starting to thicken up and for my ring and pinky fingernails I used a new bottle of Seche Vite. Also, in the process of editing these photos to try and get more color accurate swatches, I gave myself the complexion of a vampire without getting the polish to look perfectly color accurate. I tried!
Color: Deborah Lippmann Lady is a Tramp is a red creme polish. After applying it, I could see why so many bloggers call it their go-to red polish. Outdoors in natural lighting I would say it's just a hair darker than a true red. It reads a little more like a blood red than a true red. Indoors, I find it a bit darker and duller like more of a brick red. As you apply the polish you can see that it's actually a bright red that darkens as you layer on additional layers of polish, as opposed to a polish that is actually just a dark red.
Formula: This polish has a thicker formula.
Application: This is my first creme polish from Deborah Lippmann so I was paying very close attention during application. The first coat applied smoothly without any drag. The formula was noticeably thick. It wasn't gloopy or difficult to work with but I did have to even it out and it wasn't self-leveling. The second coat also went on very smoothly. I again had to even it out a little but I would actually say that it was easier to even out the second coat than the first. At this point I noticed the polish clinging to the brush as I pulled it out of the bottle. It wasn't enough to form a thread as the polish snapped back almost immediately but it was noticeable. I think you could maybe get away with two coats if you were in a rush. At two coats, this polish isn't opaque enough to block out all the light during a light test but it applies evenly and I only noticed a few patches of lighter opacity on two nails. As I had an event and I was going to be photographing my manicure for swatches, I added a third coat. The third coat went on very smoothly without any resistance or drag on the brush. I don't know if this is true for all Deborah Lippmann brushes but the brush I had was the slightest bit wonky with some of the bristles sticking out at weird angles. It thankfully didn't affect application.
When I applied the polish with my nondominant hand, the polish seemed to be thicker and threading more. It was more difficult to even out the first coat of polish on the nail though it was still manageable. There were some bubbles though and the polish was not totally even. Applying the second and third coats of polish, I started to experience some drag and the polish became increasingly more difficult to even out though I would still say that it was manageable. Even at three coats, coverage was not as even.
CONCLUSION: Lady is a Tramp is a pretty red polish but given the price of Deborah Lippmann polishes, I don't think it's worth the trouble of application. You could very easily find a dupe for this red from a cheaper brand.
SWATCHES
I don't know if you'll notice it in the swatches below but I used two different bottles of Seche Vite for this manicure. For my pointer and middle fingernails I used an older bottle that was starting to thicken up and for my ring and pinky fingernails I used a new bottle of Seche Vite. Also, in the process of editing these photos to try and get more color accurate swatches, I gave myself the complexion of a vampire without getting the polish to look perfectly color accurate. I tried!
You can see some tip wear on my ring finger in these photos. This was as bad as the tip wear ever got in the 4 days or so that I wore this polish.
Humm...interesting. I like this colour on you but I agree, given the bit of a struggle you had with the formula and that this is a colour that has been done many times before, I won't be buying it. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Norma. The polish is actually a little darker in person. I had a lot of trouble editing the photos. But I agree, you should skip this one.
Delete