Battle of the Blues

I've written about this before - I'm on a blue kick this year!  I've been more and more intrigued/obsessed with getting perfect blue nail polishes.  It's my favorite color, it's featured prominently in my upcoming wedding, and it's a school color for both my high school and college.  I think even my graduate school has blue as one of its colors!  So, I love blue.  Head over Heels love.

My newest acquisitions

Today I broke and purchased Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue.  I'd been looking for it for a while, but was having a lot of trouble finding it.  I happened to be over by my all-time favorite Rite-Aid (I can find everything there!) today, and I spotted it in all its beautiful brightness.  I had to get it.  Of course, when I got home, I noted this:

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pacific Blue and Essie Mesmerize

They look pretty similar huh?  I took one look and thought, "okay, these are really similar... but I could have sworn they looked different!"  To anyone who doesn't care about nail color, these two are probably interchangeable.  But we know better!

Then I realized there were two other blues that look alike in my collection...

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blue Me Away and Essie in Beach Bum Blu

If you thought the first two looked alike - check these out!  I was scratching my head again... did I duplicate colors?  Hmm...

Well, I decided to put them to the test and see - are they dupes or are they different?

The verdict is...

Left to right: Pacific Blue, Mesmerize, Blue Me Away, Beach Bum Blu

Different and distinct colors!

Pacific Blue is a creamy, super bright blue with almost violet undertones.  The brush is wide and flat (not so much round), which helps with a smooth, quick application.  The formula is thick and I only needed one coat.

Mesmerize, which I've had for a while, reminds me of denim.  It's a creamy darker blue, tends to be more understated (as understated as blue nail polish can be!).  Essie polishes tend to last a good while... well, the darker ones anyway.  This isn't quite navy, it's lighter than that.  But it's not near as bright as Pacific Blue.

The next color is Blue Me Away!  I'm actually surprised this one isn't getting a ton of love in the beauty community on YouTube.  It's another Sally Hansen color, so it's a thicker formula, but is smooth and creamy in color.  The brush is wide and flat, so application is easy and quick.  I love this color - the perfect bright, happy, Carolina blue.  I have a feeling this one will be an easy favorite, especially this spring and summer.

Last but not least is Essie's Beach Bum Blu.  This color is actually the most different from the others because of its metallic finish.  It applies more transparently than the others, and it actually bubbled a bit on me with one coat.  I've blogged this color before in a NOTD, but I've since found better shades (like the ones previously mentioned).  I think this is probably the shade I recommend the least, but if you are looking for something a little different that's reminiscent of sunny Caribbean sea, this is probably one you'll like.

In the meantime, I have GOT to start cleaning up my cuticles and nail beds.  How do you keep your nails looking their best?  Got any suggestions for me?  Please?