NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel

I like NYC polish, but I feel like I buy them more than I actually wear them.  They caught my eye again when they added several new colors to their Long Wearing line and I accumulated a few.  A couple of these shades have been in my swatching bins for most of this year.  I bought Tudor City Teal because of lacquerlove over on the Makeupalley Nail Board.  I'm not sure how it started, but we've been influencing each other lately and this time it was her turn.  Tudor City Teal just glowed on her and looked so gorgeous that I had to pick it up too.  I swatched it for her and the rest tagged along, finally escaping from the swatching bins!


Tudor City Teal is a medium soft teal crelly.

She was right!  So pretty!  The application wasn't the best though.  It was thick and a bit streaky, but thinning might fix that.  At two coats it was almost right, but I added a third to be sure.


Empire State Blue is a sheer blue shimmer with a hint of green.

two coats over Tudor City Teal

Too sheer to wear on its own, so I layered it over Tudor City Teal.  The first coat was a bit streaky, but the second coat evened out really nicely, with only the minor brushstrokes you'd expect with this finish.


Boat Basin is a true blue cream.

Not a new shade like the other three, but I have moments of madness where I suddenly feel I need EVERY blue cream, and Boat Basin was conveniently at CVS in one of those moments.  I had some issues with application on this one.  Can you see the bubbles?  I'm not sure who's to blame here.  It went on thick, but not one-coat thick, so I added a second and it bubbled.  This is another I'll thin before wearing again.  Still, love the color, especially for $1!


Rock The Party! is a very sheer green-to-violet duochrome shimmer.

two coats over Boat Basin

When I say "very sheer," I mean it!  It's like an even sheerer Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy.  I doubt you could ever build it enough for it to look like much on its own, but it's terrific for layering.  It goes on very smoothly and evenly.  In person the shift to violet is MUCH stronger than you see here.  My camera always has trouble with that.  You can see it a tiny bit more in this second photo, but it's really a lot bolder.

two coats over Boat Basin

I wasn't completely honest when I said that a couple of these had just been sitting in my bins.  I did swatch them months ago, but for whatever reason, I was never satisfied with the resulting photos.  I like the newer photos of them more, but it does help show off the layering abilities of Empire State Blue and Rock The Party! more than just one combo would.

Empire State Blue over Sinful Colors Innocent

Empire State Blue has a mind of its own, so it's not that changeable when layered.  Over a bright chartruese like Sinful Colors Innocent, it still retains its own look.  It might change more over a drastically darker or lighter base though.

Rock The Party! is far more changeable.  Its base doesn't seem to have any tint to it at all, beyond the shimmer itself, so it doesn't obscure the base color at all.

Rock The Party! over Sinful Colors Sweet Tooth

I loved watching it shift in this combo, again, the result was more violet than it looks here.

Rock The Party! over Sinful Colors Sweet Tooth

Of these four, I think my strongest recommendation goes to Rock The Party!, even though I have similar stuff.  I love its potential.  Tudor City Teal is great too.  I like Boat Basin enough to give it another chance sometime, and Empire State Blue is really eye-catching, but probably not that unique.


Hooray!  I managed three whole posts this week...and I baked a cake and made a taco feast!  Today is Nichole's birthday AND my roommate's.  Happy happies to both of you!