REVIEW of Deborah Lippmann Strike A Pose

Hello bunnies,

It's time for dark polish review. I tend to save up all of my dark polishes and glitters for fall and winter so look out for those in the coming months. Or don't. I'm highly unreliable unpredictable. If you're wondering why there have been so many Deborah Lippmann polish reviews, don't worry, I'm not being sponsored. Dear God, why won't anyone give me money for this quality work? No, I just happened to pick up a bunch of minis and they're in dramatic colors that are more appealing to me right now than the other polishes lying around waiting to be reviewed.

Color: Deborah Lippmann Strike A Pose is a very dark teal creme polish. It's a green leaning teal but for all intents and purposes it could be black or at least very dark green. It did make me a little crazy. Sometimes I thought it was green. Sometimes I thought it was blue. I think if you like a sort of goth dark color, but you don't want to wear an actual black polish, this might be a good choice. If you want a teal or a dark green or blue, there are better options.
Formula: The polish was a little thick.
Application: The first coat of polish applied smoothly without any drag. It went on very dark and very shiny. It reminded me a good, inky black polish. The second coat also went on smoothly. The polish was a little thick but it was easy to even it out. with the brush. On short nails, I thought two coats were enough for opacity. On my right hand, I found the polish forming more ridges but it was fairly self-leveling. Also, the polish was threading (forming a long thread of polish when you pull the brush from the bottle) but it didn't seem to affect application.

As part of my application, I tried out Simply Peel for the first time. It didn't work for me. I didn't get the Simply Peel close enough to the nail to get it where the polish got on my skin. And when the polish did end up on the Simply Peel, it didn't pull up when I pulled the dried layer off. I'm going to try and revisit the Simply Peel when I do some kind of nail art and I'll let you know how I get on with it.
Wear: I wore this polish for 5 days. At the end of the 5 days, I definitely had tip wear. It wasn't horrifying. No major chipping though it wasn't just regular wear or shrinkage because the tips didn't wear away in that clean half-moon shape of my nails. The wear was definitely noticeable.

CONCLUSION: If the color of this polish sounds appealing to you, I think the formula is fine. Personally, I'd rather wear a true dark polish or a true teal and I think there are better formulas that are cheaper. I would not buy a full price regular sized bottle of this polish and 5 days is not great wear time for me so if you struggle with your polishes chipping, I don't think this would work well for you.

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REVIEW of Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer in My Boyfriend's Back

Hello angels,

Did you know that Broadway production of Jersey Boys is closing in January? It feels like it's been running forever. I remember when it first came out and I really wanted to see it. Instead I just got the album and listening to it over and over. It's still a great listen and available on Spotify if you're interested. I know that seems like a weird transition into a polish review but like most (all?) Deborah Lippmann polishes, My Boyfriend's Back is named after a song. This one was first performed by the Angels. Ah. See? Everything makes sense now.

Color: My Boyfriend's Back is a medium blue creme polish. It's a dusty blue like cornflower but maybe two or three shades darker. But it's still lighter than actually dark shades like Prussian blue and royal blue. I think it's pretty unique in that respect. I don't think I have a shade of blue that's an exact match. Most of the blues I have are similar but either lighter or darker.
Formula: The formula is a little thick but not gloopy.
Application: Application started off well with my first nail. The polish went on very smoothly. Moving forward, the polish seemed to get thicker and it was applying streaky so I had to even it out. It was still absolutely manageable though. I was able to even out the polish with the brush without destroying my manicure. The second coat of polish also needed to be evened out. The results were a little streaky and uneven but... not the worst. It just wasn't the prettiest manicure, though I did like the color of the polish. Two coats was fine for short nails so I left it there. Things were similar when I moved to my right hand. The brush seemed to be causing some of the streaks. The polish went on smoothly without drag. It was a little patchy on the first coat but I touched it up. The second coat also applied OK. Again, they weren't the best results or the worst.
Wear: I wore this polish for four days. I was also testing top coats (I'll get around to explaining that eventually). The two nails I used the Korres top coat on got a little messed up and you could see the imprints made before the polish fully dried. The two nails with Poshe had experienced shrinkage or tip wear. The nails that I applied Zoya's top coat to had experienced clear tip wear. So in general, I wouldn't say this is a polish that holds up exceptionally well.

CONCLUSION: I think the application of this polish is manageable and the results don't look terrible if you're in love with this color. But if you need a perfect manicure, this polish is not for you. It's a somewhat unique color but in all other aspects of performance, it scores average marks.

So angels, if you're planning to do any shopping at Amazon... and of course you are, because it's Amazon, please consider starting your shopping trip from one of the affiliate links on my site. You don't have to buy what's pictured in the ad. As long as you start from one of my links, I'll get credit for anything you buy during that Amazon shopping trip. It won't cost you anything extra and it would help me out greatly. Aside from leaving a comment, it's the best way to let me know that you like what I'm doing with this site and want more of the same.

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