Thursday, October 8, 2015

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips

In my ongoing leisurely exploration of what I’m now calling the YNBB (Your Nails But Better, modified from Mannequin Hands) polish genre -- pale neutral nudes, basically -- I have for you today Taupey Tips from Michigan-based indie polish maker Carpe Noctem Cosmetics. From the online reviews I’ve read, I gather that this was released as a stand alone polish in January 2014 at the latest and reformulated, I believe, early this past summer. It is a greige or pale milky taupe linear holo. I find this shade particularly lovely. It’s a beautifully balanced mix of ash grey and sand that hints at pinkishness, warmer than cement but still cool overall, a delicate shell-like hue that is profoundly graceful on the nail. As a pale creamy holo, the effects are naturally subdued, rendering a vestigial prismatic display in pastel colors under direct sun. But my favorite effect of the holo in this polish is the nacreous look it confers upon the finish in indirect light, a perfect partner to the shell-like aspect of the coloring. It gives this pale neutral an exquisite glistening quality that adds a certain freshness to its soothing, gentle elegance on the nail.

Application was very nice. The consistency of Taupey Tips is fluid and supremely creamy with an even, buttery glide over the nail and very good self-leveling properties for a white-based shade. There is a certain amount of built-in translucence to this polish that is actually quite stunning as it has the endearing quality of camouflaging polish staining while still permitting visible nail line at two coats. But if you’re into opacity, that can be accommodated by adding an additional coat, which I did. The first coat went on with some streakiness thanks to my ever-annoying nail ridges, but the second coat evens up the coverage beautifully. Cleanup is easy. Taupey Tips dries naturally in very good time to a glossy finish. Topcoat will help to eliminate any lingering unevenness in the surface.

Photos show three coats of Taupey Tips over treatment and basecoat with a topcoat of Seche Vite.
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips
Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Taupey Tips

 A very pretty creamy neutral holo, no?

Sadly, Fuzzy does not share my affection for the YNBB variety of polishes. Apparently she finds them amorphous and nebbishy. “Neither here nor there” were her exact words. Well! At least she has a well-defined, if exclusionary, aesthetic.

love,
Liz
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Location: Chapel Hill, NC, USA

2 comments:

  1. MelissaOctober 8, 2015 at 7:22 PM

    LOL!! Fuzzy's verdict is how I feel about many shades like this. The only ones I can ever get away with are minus tan and infused with pink or lavender. I like them on other people though. And the gentle holo sparkly is quite nice in this.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownOctober 8, 2015 at 8:19 PM

      For some reason my eye just loves these wet-sand milky-tea-like taupey greige shades, expecially when they have a little translucence to them as this one does. I can't even properly evaluate whether it's a good look on me, I just go straight to the color and bask in it.

      The irony of Fuzzy's comments is that she is the QUEEN of nebbishy colors in house paint. When she was looking for the right greenish greyish paint for her living room, the search was endless, it went on for months and she ended up having the color custom mixed. The guest bedroom, same thing, only this time the target was a milky brownish color. Such a glass house woman!

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