Monday, February 6, 2012

CND Tutu banishes Monday blues with childhood nostalgia.

I used to own a bunch of tutus. Not the Halloween costume kind, but honest to goodness ones, along with the tights, leotards and ballet whathaveyous. See, my mom had me take up ballet when I was 6 but it was such a demanding activity that my grades started to slip. I enjoyed it, yes. But it got so tiring that when my very concerned parents asked if I still wanted to do it, it was an easy choice.  This is how my weekday schedule looked like: 7:30am - 3:00pm school, 3:00pm - 5:00pm academic extra curricular activities, 5:00pm - 7:30pm, even 8:00pm sometimes, ballet class. Looking back, that does seem like a pretty tough schedule for a 6 year old to keep. So by the time I got home at about 8:00pm, I would be so tired that I'd end up skipping dinner and crawl into bed. Suffice to say that I got no homework done, either. I ended up quitting when I was 10 and one step away from toe shoes level. I would have wanted to keep doing it, if only to finally get toe shoes, but I just wasn't that good (unfortunately, I lacked the flexibility required so no Black Swan here :P) and it was interfering with my academics. Besides, I'd be so tired that the prospect of more sleep seemed a better choice. No regrets, but I would definitely want my future daughter(s) to try their hand at it. Now, continuing in the vein of Valentine-esque colors, I whipped out this soft, pale pink that reminded me so much of the color of my tights:

A soft pretty pink!


The Quick Take

Brand/Name: CND Tutu
Color: Pale pink
Finish: Creme
Price: $8.00 CDN for 9.8mL
Seen at: Nail Polish Canada and wherever CND is sold.
Note(s): I purchased my bottle when it was on sale at Nail Polish Canada for $5.50.


The Fun Facts

From left: Front of the bottle, side of the bottle.

Back of the bottle.

Serial at the base.

Your average CND brush.

Ingredient list.

Sugary sweet pastel pink.

I'm usually not a fan of pastels because I can't stand the chalkiness of the colors. I prefer my colors vivid and deep. Luckily, Tutu doesn't share that same chalkiness. Sure, it's a very pale pink but it doesn't have too much white in that it loses its pinkness. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it doesn't feel like it's washed out at all. Instead, the white tones only serve to brighten the pinkness of Tutu without drowning it out. The label at the base sure makes it easy to spot that Tutu leans a cooler pink. It's a lovely opaque creme finish that dries to a rather glossy texture. Top coat might not do much for this lovely other than to protect the finish!
***All nail swatches were done with Orly Bonder Base Coat and two coats of  CND Tutu unless stated.

Natural light/No top coat/No flash
Shiny, no?

Natural light/No top coat/Flash
Even with flash, it's still very much pink.

Sunlight/No top coat/No flash
Love how dainty it looks in the sunlight!

I've become a huge fan of CND. The first time I used this brand was when I donned Scarlet Letter, but even then, it was already clear to me that there's good reason that CND dominates on the fashion runways. The formula is stellar; just the right amount of viscosity for a good flowing polish. Most of the darker shades are opaque in one coat while the paler shades require two (maybe even just one if you use a thick coat). The brush has a rubberized handle which makes for an easy grip with just the right width of bristles to allow for getting into the nooks and crannies without sacrificing the ability to fan out the brush to get a smaller nail covered in one stroke (I can do it with my pinky). Because of the lesser number of coats/need for thick layers, dry time is inordinately fast. It's dry to the touch after you've finished application on one hand.

Natural light/Top coat/No flash
It looks strangely warmer here.

Natural light/Top coat/Flash
Hammie says: Ooooh. Preeettty.

Sunlight/Top coat/No Flash
Hammie says: Are you sure you put top coat here?

While top coat usually amps up the shine, Tutu is glossy enough by itself that top coat only looks moot with it.


The Lowdown


This is another of those colors where it's hard to find dupes. I'm starting to think that because pinks are some of the more prolific colors (heck, every brand out there has at least one pink!), chances are there will be dupes out there. But because there's so much of them, it's almost like looking for a needle in a haystack. In my collection, the only one that comes close to being a match is A England Iseult. Both share the same base color although Iseult is a few shades lighter and has a hint of shimmer. The closest I could find (basing it on just photos as I don't own the color) is OPI Mod About You. Unless I can compare them in person, I can't really say they're exact matches. Though I have to admit, they do look pretty darn close.

CND isn't the cheapest brand out there. Barely 10mL and retailing for $8.00 or so means you're paying 80 cents for each mL you get. That's easily double of what you'd be paying for an Orly polish (assuming you buy it for $7.00)! But while it is on the higher end of the scale, it's nothing like paying premium for a Chanel or Dior polish. I'd say for the great quality you get, it's money well spent. (Hammie says I'm biased because it falls well below my imposed $10 limit. Maybe I am.)

Hammie says he was surprised to like Tutu so much as he shares my aversion to pale shades. He says it looks so feminine and dainty that it's really hard not to like. The wonderful opacity of the formula adds to his fondness, but this frugal hamster takes issue with the price and amount of polish you get. He's not too happy about how it makes my hands look strangely dark either so he scores Tutu:

8 Hammie Points!

Happy Monday! We hope this week brings lots of good things for you! What did you do for extracurricular activities when you were younger? Do you like to dance? What's one color that you love but can't seem to pull off?

12 comments:

  1. Well, Essie has that many pinks, I'm sure there's a dupe for this... I own Pop Art Pink, which seems similar to me. But it requires three coats to get opaque, boo.
    I have no CND yet, but I'd really like to! There are some shades on my wishlist, including all of the sparkle overlays ^^

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  2. This pale pink looks really sweet on you, and I initially thought of ballet when I saw it. :)

    Your schedule sounded heavy, but it's great that you were exposed to many different things so that you could find out what you wanted to continue pursuing and what you did more for fun.

    I also took ballet when I was around the same age as you - it was more for fun, but I never wanted to be a professional ballerina. (Actually, ever since I was little, I wanted to be an international spy. I was obsessed with studying people's behaviour and coded messages.)

    Hope you're doing well, today, Carmela! So sorry that I've been so behind catching up on your blog.

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  3. Agreed! There's just way too many out there that finding an exact match is difficult.

    Would you like to do a swap, Sophie? :) I can get you CND colors you like and you can get me whatever obscure brands that are nonexistent on my part of the world! Please email me if you're interested. :D

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  4. Thanks, Mary! Doesn't it make my hands look strangely darker though? Hahaha, that's probably my only issue with it! And yes, they definitely nailed the name on this one.

    It was! But I guess I didn't realize it then because everyone else was doing it, too, only with different activities like gymnastics or varsity practice. That's true. I guess age and time brings about that sort of wisdom. ;)

    Really? That's so cool! I was too much of a girly girl that I never wanted to be an international spy. I guess the closest I got to it was wanting to be a detective much like Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys! :)

    I am, just been busy tidying up around the house (every weekend, without fail, the house always ends up messier than during the week!). Don't worry about it, I've been there, too. :) Hope your Monday is treating you well!

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  5. Oh i love this pinks and your nails, love the shape too

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  6. It truly is pretty, Naomi! Aww, thanks so much! I've been trying to do a more square-ish nail just to mix things up. I usually wear them a bit more rounded. :)

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  7. This is such a beautiful pink!! So ladylike ;0).

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  8. Thanks, Marisa! Ladylike is very accurate! :D

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  9. thesmalllittlethingsinlifeMarch 18, 2012 at 2:03 p.m.

    I love this color so much! I'm not a HUGE pink fan but the fact that this isn't too chalky wins a lot of points for me. I'm definitely going to put this on my "to buy" list!

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  10. It's easily my favorite pale pink creme and that it isn't chalky is exactly why. I find it perfect to wear for those days when you're all colored out. :D I hope you get your hands on Tutu soon, Annick. I'm pretty sure it'll be love at first use. ;)

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  11. I love this color! I bought it a few days ago and painted my nails the same day :) The only problem I have is it looking streaky. How do you get yours to look perfect without streaks?

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  12. Hi Jennifer! Thanks for dropping by! First off, make sure that the polish is completely mixed. I suggest shaking the polish maybe a few hours before you'll use it, just so you don't end up with air bubbles during application. I also try to use less strokes as possible with medium coats. Once you're ready to paint, take the excess polish off the stem so it doesn't drip down the brush by wiping it off the edge of the bottle. Then do one stroke in the middle, starting by dropping a bit of polish close to the cuticle area and pushing it up then dragging the brush down. (be careful you don't have too much polish that you end up flooding it!) Then do the sides in a similar manner, except fanning the brush. (I have a visual of it here: http://polishedindulgence.blogspot.ca/2012/03/nail-art-wednesday-green-slim-silhoutte.html) I try to do just 3 strokes as much as possible and if it's still streaky, I'll opt to do an extra coat to even it all out. Hope that helps! Let me know if you need anything else. :)

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