Friday, February 19, 2010

Jazz in my pants.


Essie Jazz is my go-to polish when I'm not sure what to wear. Sometimes I get in a rut and this happens - I just stare at all of my pretties and I can't pick one! This is one that always works no matter what - but doesn't bore my out of my skull. (Love my Essie sheers, but sometimes I am in no mood to tolerate their sweet lacy femininity!) Jazz is another one of those 'neutrals with an edge' that I just love! It's a coffee-with-too-much-cream nude that isn't too warm for me because it has a drop of grey and an even smaller drop of lavender in it. Luckily, no pink undertones...(you'll see why later)....

Behold, the gorgeousness:




This is what I was hoping OPI's Tickle My France-Y would look like on me, but I was sorely disappointed! It looks so pretty on other people and I loved it in the bottle, but ugh it looked terrible on me! Truly vomit-inducing. I think it is because it has a small pink undertone that comes out in certain lights. Pink undertones + me = no go. (I am really embarassed to show you a pic of TMF on me...I tried it three times just to make sure it was *that* bad - because so many people love the colour!) So here is a bottle comparison - in most lights they look virtually identical, but if you get them in the right light, you can see the slight pinkiness in TMF:




Not too terribly pink, right? Looks super pretty in the bottle, but the mauve tone takes over on my hands. Honestly, I think it takes on this character because I am fiercely cool-toned, so any warm tones in a polish become extremely exaggerated. ...but trust me on my nails in certain lights it just takes on this....OK fine, I'll show you the picture...

Behold, the ugly:



*runs and hides in embarrassment*

Luckily, I found Essie Jazz. Jazz is basically TMF will all of those pink undertones ripped out of it. *Much* sexier on me. Want another pic of Essie Jazz to refresh your aesthetic palette? Here ya go:




Whew! Nothing like (three coats of) smooth Jazz to sooth your soul...

I love this because while its a nude, its not boring because its got a bit of that dirtied-up, just got-out-of-an-underground-concert-at-4am, gritty grey-ness to it. I feel like this is Essie's answer to RBL Grunge. (I would show you a comparison, but I don't own Grunge - yet.) I find that whenever I wear this, I keep wanting to stare at my hands! It's simple, but perfect. (To me at least.)

Did OPI Tickle My France-Y work for you? Have you ever tried Essie Jazz? Do you have RBL Grunge? How do they compare?? (Sorry for all the questions! I just find that the people who read and comment on my posts are super knowledgeable and helpful with comparisons!)

kittytokaren


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19 comments:

Stephanie said...

I have Jazz but I haven't tried it yet...maybe I will! Tickle My France-y is one of my favey-faves.

Arrianne said...

This is so pretty, I almost jazzed in my pants. :P Okay bad joke.

Sadly I've never tried any of the last 3, so I can't help you, but I think I might have to get this lovely.

x said...

First of all, I wanted to say that I love the name of your blog! It's so clever. :)

Secondly, I have a very strange relationship with coffee flavored, edgy nudes. Both Jazz and TMF look weird on me O_O Jazz looks like stark lavender, and TMF is super mauve. I really don't have a clue why they don't work on me. I was so excited for Jazz, too! So I'm glad it can work on certain people (like yourself) because it's a great color.

mKat said...

I would never have said it first, but since you did, I have to agree with you... No go on TMF. Sorry!

Jazz does remind me of a creamy coffee though.

How do you think it would look in a french mani?

Jacie said...

Oh Lord, now I have that song in my head. You're bad, oh so bad!

Paige said...

Jazz looks beautiful!

kittytokaren said...

@Stephanie - So jealous TMF works on you!

@Arrianne - hehe I couldn't resist with the name!

@lauryl - I think these nudes are really difficult, because unlike darker colours where you skin tone is sort of in the background, your skin tone comes more to the foreground and really meshes with the colour (or doesn't mesh...) it really is a battle to find one that works for you! I'm glad I'm not alone with TMF turning crazy mauve though!!

@mKat - yeah...no go for sure. I think its a little dark for a french mani, but I'm super pasty. It does go on evenly even at 1 coat so it would 'work' in that respect!

@JacieO - hehehe!! my plan worked!

@gilded - thanks!! <3

<3 kittytokaren

kelsealaurel said...

Hahahaha I love the title of this post!!! =)

The color is super awesome. I love colors like this. I especially like ones that lean a tad lilac. Mmm. Makes me want to go nail polish shopping haha

~Kelsea

Anonymous said...

Have the same problem. I'll be sure to include this Essie for my next haul.

kittytokaren said...

@kelsea - hahaha thanks!! I keep thinking of andy samberg rocking the polish! also it sounds like we need to go shopping together because we seem to have similar taste in polish...

@laquermanic - i hope Jazz works out great for you too!!

Anonymous said...

This is so cool: I was just going trough my untrieds to find out what to swatch, and guess what i found??? Essie Jazz!! I have got to start remembering what I haul, or else I will end up with two of everything. :D

kittytokaren said...

@laquermanic - Hooray for shopping in your own stash!! Hahaha! Let me know if you like it!!

PolishedSheep said...

The Essie looks great!! Will have to snatch that one ... how many coats did it need?

I tried TMF this weekend and I was very disappointed - the color was nice but the 4 coats did not dry at all, even INM Out the Door did not help anymore.

Anonymous said...

It's adorable. I swatch it today, and with CND Effects it turnes into the most gorgeous polish ever. *woot*

kittytokaren said...

@PolishedSheep - It took about 3, but I do super thin coats. Also its not streaky so if you like it sheer you can do that. TMF made me really sad too but not bc of dry time....thats crazy!

@laquermanic - Yay!!!!! Which effect did you use??? I would love to see pics!!

<3 kittytokaren

Jen said...

has anyone tried "moon over mumbai" as a neutral? I have similar skin tone, and have been looking for some neutral tones. I'm loving the look of "Jazz" might have to pick one up.

Anonymous said...

@ kittytokaren - As you saw, I used the Gold Sparkle. Again I have to thank you for bringing Jazz to my attention. <3
It's my new favourite neutral. :)))

@ JayDee: Pick it up, pick it up!!! It's really something special. It almost changes shade in different lighting. :D

Paula said...

hi!

is Essie Jazz similar to Run with it? ... just without the shimmer?
How would you compare the two?

thank you!!

Yogi said...

I got Jazz now and really like it! Tickle my francy was my favourite for so long, but Jazz is just as good!

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