American Apparel - Peacock

 Diffused Light

I gave you guys a break from my American Apparel fetish but it's back!

This time, it's Peacock which is a fabulous teal. Two coats and it's opaque and super shiny (this is sans topcoat).  So shiny, in fact, that you can actually see me in the photos - I'm on the left and you can see the camera on the right.  I love it when I can use a lacquer as a mirror.

When I tried this, I instantly wondered if it could be a dupe for Mecca Cosmetica's Lychorinda.  I've lined the two up side-by-side after the jump.

American Apparel - Passport Blue + A Little Special Something

What can I say?

I'm in love with these lacquers.  Some would say obsessed.  I'd be inclined to agree with that assessment.

Passport Blue is  magnificent.  Creamy.  Opaque in one coat.  And you can see my reflection which gives you an indication of the uber shine factor.

But wait..... there's more!  Check out a little special something after the jump....

American Apparel - Hunter

Sorry, guys, I just have to get these American Apparel lacquers out of my system.

Thankfully, Hunter is a beautiful colour so, hopefully, it won't be too much of a chore to drool over this one.

Like all the others, this is utter perfection.  Two coats and you're done.  It's creamy and leaves my nails with the type of shine that makes me want to look at, and feel, them all day long.

Whoever is in charge of formulating the colours at American Apparel deserves a freaking medal.  So far, it's been all killer - no filler, with these.


Is Hunter appealing to you? And, tell me, if you wear a lacquer that is super shiny on the nails, do you end up playing with your nails all day? I'd like to think I'm not the only one around here who does that.

American Apparel - Poppy

Now, when I think of a flattering orange, American Apparel's Poppy is it.

Man, this is a fabulous colour.  It has just the amount of red to stop it looking like tomato soup, but is still a loud and proud orange.

As with all the other American Apparel lacquers I've trialled this week, the formula is sublime.  Smooth and easy.  Brush is a nonsense but I'm sure you're all sick of me whinging about that.

If you haven't tried these, you need to.  The formula is - ok, yes I'm going to go there - as good as Illamasqua and RBL.  No fooling contender.

American Apparel - Mount Royal

Be still my beating heart.  Oh, what the heck, beat away dear heart.  This lacquer is worth the palpitations.  I'll see you in the next life.

American Apparel's Mount Royal is an amazing blue-purple.

Like Berry, the brush on this was bad.  I tried to do the swatch with it - thinking maybe if I practiced enough that it would work ok - but it didn't.  Lather.  Rinse.  Repeat with an OPI Pro-Wide.

Other than the brush, this is just a dream lacquer.  It is opaque in one coat (although I've done two here) and is shiny, shiny, shiny.  I think I might have to adopt it and leave it something in my will.  Sorry to my children, Chuff and Boo, this doesn't talk back nor does it wake me at 6am to watch Postman Pat. It wins the favoured child race.

Just because a few of you have asked, here are all the lacquers I recently purchased from American Apparel.  From left to right we have: Peacock, Berry, Mount Royal (see the purple come through more here), Passport Blue, Hunter and Poppy.

I'm interested in your thoughts about these.  A reader, Kiki Chaos, has mentioned that hers streaks badly.  That hasn't happened to me but I'm interested to know your experiences.

American Apparel - Berry

We all recall the drama from a couple of months ago about American Apparel, right?

I literally had my order ready to go when I found out about the recall.  Which disappointed me no end because I had heard such amazing reviews for their lacquers.

Well, they're back!  And, in Australia anyway, American Apparel have reduced the price (from 3 for $28 to 3 for $22).  So I naturally went nuts and picked up six.  I'll be showcasing three of them throughout this week, and save the others for over the next couple of weeks.

Berry is just the kind of deep and rich plum I have a billion of, but never get sick of. 

Formula wise, this is wonderfully creamy and smooth.  Two coats and you're opaque.  And it dries to a high shine, as seen here.

My only qualm?  The brush is a lame duck.  It's uneven (which makes getting close to the cuticle hard as you inevitably get a rogue hair ruining a good finish) and way too long (which makes it hard to balance).  In the end, I resorted to my old 'use an OPI Pro-Wide Brush' trick in order to clean up the finish.  You can see smudging on my index and middle finger where I struggled along with the American Apparel, before resorting to the Pro-Wide for the ring and little finger, with a resultant better finish.

But, other than the brush, this is a super lacquer.  I can see myself wearing this alot for the upcoming autumn and winter here in Australia.

Have you guys tried American Apparel?  What did you think of them?  Do you find the brushes problematic, or is that an operator error on my part?