Fingerpaints Military Green

A lot of Fall's trends this year include predictions of colors that are going to be big during the season. Some said navy and electric blue will be big, along with honest to goodness greys. (I can totally get with that!) Others said gold greens reminiscent of the widely lusted after Chanel Peridot was going to make a splash while I've noticed dusty looking colors in almost every single Fall release. When I last surveyed my stash for on trend colors, I realized that I was seriously lacking in the green department. Shame! Of course, you know I had to remedy that!

FingerPaints' answer to Fall fashion.

The Quick Take

Brand/Name: Fingerpaints Military Green
Color: Dusty pale army green
Finish: Creme
Price: $6.99 CDN for 15mL
Seen at: Sally Beauty
Note(s): according to the Sally Beauty website, this is a limited edition from the Fall Fashionista collection


The Fun Facts

Yeah, that bottle color looks icky. Mr. J said "poop-y".

Serial at the base.

Seriously one loooong brush.

I was so happy it didn't look so brown/yellow tinged on the nail!

Do not let that bottle color fool you! I wasn't supposed to get this gem of a color because I kept looking at the bottle thinking how amazing it was they were able to bottle essence of poop. Good thing the display came with color swatches. On the nail, it doesn't quite look so brown. Or yellow-y. It looked like such a lovely, yellow toned sage green. I had nothing even remotely close to it so I knew I had to have it. Bonus points that it was my first bottle of FingerPaints polish! This is a great opaque creme that dried relatively glossy. If you look really close, you can see some brush strokes but I'm thinking it had to do with my base coat since on bare nails it dried smooth and streak free. I might have to experiment a little to find a base coat it'll play with well.
***All nail swatches were done with Nail Tek II Foundation Base Coat and two coats of Fingerpaints Military Green unless stated.

Natural light/No top coat/No flash

It looks darker here.Very sage green, no?

Natural light/No top coat/Flash

The truest color match as in real life.

Sunlight/No top coat/No flash

Yes, it dries shiny.

I'm not a fan of long brushes. The long handle, coupled with a long, thin and floppy brush made it tricky to apply the polish. Add to that the thickness of the formula. It was more on the thicker side of the spectrum so I had to lay each coat thicker than usual lest I end up with a dry brush halfway through application. Be careful that you don't make it too thick or you'll end up with nasty bubbling. The good thing about the formula is the opacity. This can be a one coater with careful application although I still went with two. This dried longer because of the thick coats. I'd say about 20 minutes before it was dry to the touch.

Natural light/Top coat/No flash

Just a bit shinier than without topcoat.

Natural light/Top coat/Flash

Hammie says: I can't believe that color in the bottle turned out so pretty!

Sunlight/Top coat/No Flash

Hammie starts singing: "..In the Navy!" (Um, you must mean army, Hammie..)

The top coat definitely takes away any trace of brush strokes that might have become more obvious after the polish dried. This makes for a smooth and high shine finish that's just pretty.


The Lowdown

I'm not sure if this is an actual dupe of any color, although it reminds me of Chanel Khaki Vert and Essie Sew Psyched. Similar base colors but not altogether exactly the same. This brand happens to be a Sally Beauty exclusive so I'm not aware if it can be purchased elsewhere. For some, that might be an issue especially since this is part of a limited edition collection that is only available in stores. Value for price is pretty good. You get a decent amount of nail polish for the price and a fairly unique color to boot.

I really wanted to fall finger nails over toe nails in love with this polish. The color is gorgeous and just perfect for Fall. I've worn this a few times now in hopes that my initial bad impressions with the formula and the brush would change. I've gotten better at using the long brush but the formula still leaves much to be desired. I've heard a lot of glowing reviews of this polish so I feel bad that I can't say the same. Maybe I've been too spoiled by self-leveling formulas that take the guesswork out of application. Maybe a bit of thinner to make it flow better will help. I love the color so much though, that I'm wearing the heck out of this anyway!

Hammie wasn't very pleased with the formula as well. But we both agree that it's the perfect army green to wear throughout Fall. Ease of application (or lack of it) and limited availability costs points in Hammie's book. The final score for this polish?

7 Hammie Points!

Are you big on green? What's your experience with FingerPaints polish? What's a deal breaker for polish that you'd return it to the store or pass it on to the next willing friend?