The issue, for me at any rate, about trying on so many different nail polishes in one week (or sometimes even in one day!) is that at one point I reach a saturation point. Once in a while I like to take a break from all the varieties of colours, textures, and finishes, and immerse myself in something neutral and well, soothing, but I still want to have some pizzazz on my nails.
Enter my search for the perfect nude polish. Going through my catalog of lacquers, I realized that ‘nude polish’ comes in as many varieties as ‘nude bodies’, with no two alike; there’s grey-based nudes and peach-based nudes, even yellow-based nudes but I finally found what I was looking for in OPI’s ‘Tickle My France-y’ (TMF) from their 2008 Fall Collection de France release. This shade is understated, elegant and sublime ‘nude perfection’. The mauve undertones in its depths, elevate this shade from lifeless to a muted vibrancy and I love the fact that it has such a creamy look to it. The application was excellent, being neither too thick nor too thin and while I saw some ridges at first, it levelled out almost instantly to a smooth finish. The pictures are with base coat, 3 coats of polish and Sèche Vite top coat.
in sunlight
with flash
in natural light
Of course, I couldn’t leave things alone without trying to find at least one comparison, and the closest one I had was another favourite go-to polish of mine, Deborah Lippmann’s ‘Fashion’.
The first thing I noticed, was that in deeper light, the two shades looked very similar, but in regular lighting, you can immediately see that fashion is more yellow-based and with subtle taupe/tan hints. The formula was slightly thinner as well and the Lippmann polish had a superior glossy finish, even without the addition of a top coat. Pinkie & middle fingers: Tickle My France-y, ring & index fingers: Fashion.
Final thoughts: they are both equally beautiful in their own right; TMF has OPI’s patented pro-wide brush which can be more challenging for some people to use, while Fashion comes with a thinner, tapered & more flexible brush. They both work on either cool or warm skin types and they both lend a stunning ‘polish’ (sorry….no pun intended!) to your fingers. Nude shades also have the unique ability of giving your hand an elongated & tapered appearance which is quite elegant. I love the slight pinkish hue of TMF as I find it compliments whatever you’re wearing and it never makes your hands look ruddy. Lippmann polishes, while amazing, are more expensive than OPI, which can be one deterrent for some people. Sophy Robson, Britain’s ‘manicure queen’, lists OPI’s ‘Tickle My France-y’ as her favourite nude polish of all time, so I guess I’m in good (and exalted!) company in my choice as well!
*Photo of nude art courtesy of Night Agency
