Butter London Macbeth

Butter London describes Macbeth as an orangey coral, but I think one of the reviewers on Macbeth's webpage described it better. "A perfect combination of pink, red and orange that goes with all three and never clashes. How is that possible?" she wrote. "Bright and pretty yet sophisticated, it looks every bit as good with my sepulchrally pale skin as is does with my sister-in-law's gorgeous California tan. Again, how is that possible?"

Macbeth has a deceptively subdued milky pinkish look in the bottle, but once you get it on the nail this medium-toned vibrant combination of deep hot pink, blood orange and red springs to life as a bright and beaming rosy coral. It's one of those floral fruity corals that make your nails look like delicious little candies and really hits that sweet spot between warm and cool, making it wearable and flattering across a large spectrum of complexions. Engaging and vivacious with an overt nature and a clean, fresh, chic delivery, this is a lovely and versatile coral creme.

Application was pretty nice. Macbeth has a fluid, smooth, creamy consistency with a bit of pull to it. I found it to go on best with a well-loaded brush for smoothest slip over the nail. It's a good self-leveler and very well-pigmented, delivering even opaque coverage in two coats. That said, I had to use three for this manicure, the third to cover a few mishaps that occurred with the second coat, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the third coat brought a richer, less pink more orange depth of color. This is another polish that's a creme with the soul of a crelly, and has a bit of translucence to it. Cleanup was easy but left a few trace tendrils of color on my skin. Macbeth dries naturally in good time to a shade that is slightly brighter and more red than bottle color and a glossy finish.

Photos show three coats of Macbeth over Seche Rebuild treatment and Pretty Serious All Your Base basecoat with a slightly bubbly topcoat of Seche Vite. Please excuse my poor tiny pinky nail. I'm still not ready to bring down the length across all of my nails to match it.

Butter London Macbeth

Butter London Macbeth

Butter London Macbeth

Butter London Macbeth

Butter London Macbeth

Butter London Macbeth

Butter London Macbeth

Butter London Macbeth

Butter London Macbeth

I was in our local Whole Foods last week and admired my cashier's nail polish, a vibrant corally red that looked so bright and pretty under the halogens they light the place with that I just had to comment. She told me she was wearing OPI Cajun Shrimp. I went home, placed Macbeth in my swatching chute and have been anticipating wearing it ever since. Finally getting it on my nails is most satisfying! I've read that Cajun Shrimp and another OPI, My Chihuahua Bites, are similar to Macbeth, albeit a bit warmer in tone. I have neither OPI so I can't say for sure how like they are to this polish, but from swatches online I would say that although they are all bright saturated corals, Macbeth does stand out as being more rosy and having a crelly's delicious delicate translucence. 

During the latest episode of Nail Newscast, Courtney commented that coral is a big trender this summer, even more so than usual. It does seem like most of the collections released for summer have included a coral, and why not? Coral seems to be universally accepted as a color for the warmer months, it's tropical nature in line with temperatures, blossoms and edibles of the season. Checking back over my blog posts, I've logged about five corals this summer, way more than last year.

Is coral one of your summer staples? Do you save it especially for the warmer months or do you feel comfortable wearing it year round?

love,
Liz