Comparison Review: Mint Nail Polishes

While I was compiling my nail polish collection series, I noticed that I had a lot of mint nail polish shades from different brands. I decided to compare all of the mint polishes that I've acquired. Honestly, I got a little nervous that some of the colours might be similar, if not practically the same.

Essie "Absolutely Shore"; China Glaze "Re-Fresh Mint"; American Apparel "Office"; Essie "Mint Candy Apple"; Essie "Turquoise & Caicos"

Mint is a huge trend for spring and summer this year! An easy, and inexpensive way to wear this trend is to wear it on your nails. I'm happy to report that all of the mint shades of nail polishes I own are dis-similar enough so that I can get honest wear out of all them this season. Now I don't feel as bad for owning so many :)

Finger by finger, I'll go through all of the colours and conduct a small review for each of them. Now keep in mind, as I give mini reviews to these shades, I'm comparing them to MINT. Some people have gotten this idea that mint is a light blue. MINT is technically green. Like the herb. Think about it...Anyways, on with the nail polishes!

And don't judge me on the cruddy painting job. I wasn't going for perfection, more just to show off each individual colour.

Thumb: Essie "Absolutely Shore"

A really pale, minty-blue. This colour is the least like any of the other mint polishes I own. It's so light and milky. It's also much grayer-green than some of the other shades. I did a previous NOTD post of this polish which can be read here (Essie "Absolutely Shore" NOTD)

Index finger: China Glaze "Re-Fresh Mint"

This polish is definitely truer to it's "mint" name. It lies on the more green side of things. China Glaze polishes apply opaquely and thickly so the colour payoff is very rich. This colour is also has an almost neon quality to it: it's very bright! If you're looking for a real mint colour, this is it. I also have a NOTD post of this polish found here (China Glaze "Re-Fresh Mint" NOTD)

Middle finger: American Apparel "Office"

I think this is the colour that I thought that China Glaze's "Re-Fresh Mint" would most be like...and boy was I wrong. If you look at them singularly, on their own, they look the most similar. But if you compare them side by side they are much more different. "Office" is a much more subdued shade of mint, appropriate to wear to the office as its name would suggest. American Apparel polishes aren't the most fun to apply, not nearly as opaque as China Glaze, but their line has a good range of colours. This was the second mint polish that I ever purchased...almost 2 years ago!

Ring finger: Essie "Mint Candy Apple"

Way before MINT became a fashion trend, there was this nail polish. As far as I know, this is the polish that started the uproar! I remember that it was impossible to get a hold of at the time when it was released. THIS was the FIRST mint polish that I ever owned. I remember I was so happy when I got my hands on this and I haven't been disappointed by it. As you can tell, this shade is a lot bluer than the others. It's got more sky blue qualities to it rather than mint, but I still love it. This is the nail polish that started my love affair with mint-y-ness

Pinky: Essie "Turquoise & Caicos"

Much darker and much more teal than the others polishes I've reviewed thus far. I mean just look at it! Haha, pretty self-explanatory. But I still categorize this polish in the "mint" category. This is a really fun and bright polish to wear in the summer. It also goes really well with a tan.

So that's it, my mini mint nail polish collection. It was interesting to see all the different shades of mint that nail polish companies have created. After doing this post, I felt a little less bad about owning so many similar colours because I realized that there is actually a lot of variety depending on the brand and shade. Mint is going to be huge this summer, so start stocking up on anything and everything mint

xoxoDarlingBuds