Thursday, August 19, 2010

Milani Bare it All

Milani has been doing a great job getting me to part with my nail polish dollar this year, between the holos and the wonderfully squishy Rad Purple from the neons, then the Liquid Metals, both cool and hot, and Nail Flash (though I managed to get only one from that display—so far). Now they've got two more limited edition displays out. The one with the Chanel Jade dupe has been getting a lot of attention, and it will likely get some from me, too, just not today, because today I have the quieter collection, Bare it All, described on the display as "neutral, universal flattering shades". (Not universally flattering, universal. Okay then.)

Milani
Left to right: Teddy Bare, Bare Necessity, Bare to Wear, Bare with Me, Bare in Mind, Truth or Bare.


Mindful of how very many pinks I have, as discovered in the great stash re-org, I left Bare with Me at the store, but got all the others.

Milani
Left to right: Teddy Bare, Bare to Wear, Truth or Bare, Bare in Mind, Bare Necessity.


Nail board gals noticed that Teddy Bare looks a lot like Chanel Particulière (more on that in a bit); it's a lovely milk chocolate creme that covered in two coats.

Milani

Bare to Wear is a greige creme that took three coats (the display said these were "medium coverage" which I thought meant they'd maybe be a little sheer, but all were two or three coats to get bottle color, so not so sheer at all). This was my favorite of these five.

Milani

Bare in Mind, a three-coater, is rumored to be quite similar to Chanel Jade Rose, something I cannot confirm because I didn't think Jade Rose was worth the money so did not buy it either time around. I can tell you Bare in Mind is a warm pink with a hint of bright pink shimmer that shows up in the bottle but is shy when on the nail.

Milani

Truth or Bare, a brownish peach creme, also took three coats. This was my least favorite of the five, though I could see it looking great on someone with a darker and/or yellower complexion than I have.

Milani

Bare Necessity surprised me. It's a brownish clay creme, and I thought it would be too orange against my skintone, but I quite liked it once I put it on my nails (only took two coats).

Milani

And now it's time to address the Teddy Bare/Particulière issue. I didn't get Particulière when it first came out but ordered it months later, after deciding that yes, I did like taupes that much and no, there really weren't any dead on dupes. Is there one now? Is Teddy Bare the polish to fill that gap? Let's see:

Milani

Top to bottom: Teddy Bare, Particulière, Teddy Bare, Particulière.


Milani

Top to bottom: Particulière, Teddy Bare.


They're close, no doubt, but I can see a difference in many lighting conditions—Teddy Bare is ever so slightly cooler/greyer in tone. Would a muggle (or my husband) notice? No, I would bet not. If I didn't have Particulière I think I'd be perfectly happy with Teddy Bare, which retails for $4.49 at CVS compared to $23 for the Chanel.

16 comments:

  1. oh wow! I love all of these! i can't afford that chanel...stuff.. but one day. I might buy one.. I'm not really a nail polish snob.. to me np is np..even if one is better quality or not..i love them all.. i will try some of these colors though!

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  2. Good comparison post! I do not have the Chanel, but the Milani is certainly in my sights! :)

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  3. I love that they managed to think of all those sayings with the word bare in them! Karen - is Orly's Prince Charming close to Teddy Bare/Particuliere or is it a bit darker? I've always wondered if it was close to the Chanel.

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  4. I am glad that i only *like* these colors...wallet is screaming as of late!

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  5. Great swatches. Now I only hope that this collection comes to Canada. It's hit and miss with Milani over here, some collections did arrive, some didn't :)

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  6. I normally don't wear nudes but I see Teddy in my future, lol. Great swatches, thanks so much :)

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  7. Awesome post. I've been wondering what Milani would come out with next and I wasn't expecting the bare collection, but I'm actually liking some of the calming colors. And I love your Chanel comparison.

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  8. this is great! i need to try a taupe polish!

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  9. I feel like I am really going against the majority by admitting that these shades are really unappealing to me. I think they look amazing on some people, but I just can't pull neutrals off.

    I am also always more inclined to go with colorful polishes, for some reason! I have never been a nude or neutral girl. The most neutral things I'll wear are grays... like SH Wet Cement lol

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  10. Oooo! Teddy Bare and Bare to Wear must be mine.

    I would get the Chanel, but $23. for a bottle of polish is just not in the old budget for me.

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  11. AH! thanks for this post! im going to hunt down some Milani's now!!!! :)

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  12. gosh, all so pretty. total laughing my a off at universal flattering, not universally flattering!

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  13. I love finding chanel dupes. muwhaha!! but one day I will own a chanel.

    the milani colors are alright..I mean nude colors don't really appeal to me that much... but the chanel dupe I will get!!

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  14. Thanks for posting about this collection- I honestly would have never thought about it! I have the Chanel one and love it for the cooler weather. Your nails have a lovely shape- makes me want to try to grow mine out a bit.

    Great blog too- I'm following and put you on my blog list ;O)

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  15. Thanks, everyone!

    Tilly, Prince Charming is warmer and a bit darker than Particulière.

    misscarley, that's the great thing about polish lines these days; there's something for everyone. I hope we never go back to the days of only pinks and reds and nudes and corals, but it's nice to have options. :)

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  16. I need to get all of these!! why are they so pricy in France I will have to choose only 2 or 3...

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Thank you for reading and commenting! I greatly appreciate knowing I'm not just talking to myself here. :) I'm moderating most comments now due to the spate of spammers who claim to be looking for sexy times.