5FF: Medium Browns

Hello Lab Partners!

Welcome to another Five Finger Friday (5FF). Today, we'll be taking a look at five medium-dark browns. I don't often wear brown polish, but autumn is the one time of year I like to put them on, either on their own or as a base color for fall-themed nail art. Here's the five I chose to look at:

From left to right: Sinful Colors Nirvana, OPI A-Taupe the Space Needle, Bettina 185, Sonia Kashuk Chocoholic, and Barielle Make it a Latte

And here's how those same colors looked when applied (we'll look at the color on the thumb a little later):

From top to bottom: Sonia Kashuk Chocoholic, Bettina 185, OPI A-Taupe the Space Needle

Starting with the pinkie, I applied Sinful Colors Nirvana, which applied smoothly and free of streaks. It's a nice, neutral medium brown. I reached opacity with two coats. I've said it before, but please allow me to say it again: I love Sinful Colors!

On the ring finger, we see OPI A-Taupe the Space Needle from the Touring America collection. This polish was nearly opaque in one streak-free coat, and completely opaque in two.  A-Taupe has is a slightly greenish brown, which I like because it fits in nicely with the olives and khakis that are popular this fall.

On the middle finger, I applied Bettina 185, a slightly warm brown with strong red undertones. It, too, applied smoothly and streak-free. It was nearly opaque in one coat, and completely opaque in two coats.

On the pointer finger, you'll find Sonia Kashuk Chocoholic. I'd never purchased a Sonia Kashuk polish before I bought this one along with two of its siblings from the fall collection. There's a story behind why I felt the need to console myself with a new polish purchase that particular day (as if I need an excuse), but we'll save that tale for another day. I had my doubts about how well it would apply, and to a small extent, those doubts were warrented: I had to apply three coats to get even coverage. Still, three coats isn't awful, so I can't say I'm displeased with this polish. It applied much darker than I had expected, leaning almost toward an espresso brown.

Now, let's take a look at Barielle Make it a Latte, applied on the thumb:

Barielle Make it a Latte. Inside, artificial light, no flash.

Make it a Latte, like Sonia Kashuk Chocoholic, also went on a little darker than I had expected. But the similarities don't stop there: like Chocoholic, Make it a Latte also required three coats for even coverage. In the bottle, the polish appears to have quite a bit of shimmer, yet when I applied it, I saw little shimmer until I applied a top coat. The shimmer really comes out when this polish is in direct light, such as in the photo.

Overall, I'd have to say Barielle Make it a Latte, despite the need for three coats, is my favorite of this lot. I adore the way the gold shimmer comes out in direct light. But I'm not unhappy with any of these browns and look forward to putting them to good use this fall. One way I like to add a bit of interest to brown polish is to create a tiger's eye effect, and in a future post, I'll show you a piece of cake way to do just that.

Until next time, sending you lab love!

Allison