Hello lovelies! I know that there are a lot in the “I hate these Spring/Summer trends” camp, but I dunno, there’s something about pastels and neons that I just.. love. Being pale, pastels suit my skin tone, and being a redhead doesn’t hurt either! So to celebrate the advent of Spring (I’m a couple of weeks late, I know), I bring to my readers a review of Ulta3’s new Spring/Summer collection, entitled “Pretty Pastels”. The six shades above are the colours you get in this collection, and I tweaked them slightly from the original press release picture to more closely match the shades you’ll actually get (in the press release, they had some sort of semi-bright orange for example–which didn’t look even close to the shade you actually buy!).
Mine is a little different from other reviews in that I have a lot of different opinions–chief among these is that while lots of bloggers seem to say there is a shimmer in these polishes, I don’t see them at all, so don’t expect them when you’re purchasing because they’re too subtle. I can notice them in the bottles of hydrangea and dahlia, but not on my nails. Looking at them right now in my well-lit room at daytime, all I see is a flat colour. If you go into the sunshine and hold your nails under it and take a photo, there is a slight illusion of shimmer which I get with all of my other cremes when they’re hit by strong sunlight directly, but in ordinary light, it won’t be noticeable.
Corsican Rose
So first up is a very nice shade of mint. Application-wise, it’s probably the streakiest nail polish I own, which made applying it quite a pain (so devastating!)! This saddened me greatly because I do love me some mint. I almost didn’t want to photograph it because I simply couldn’t get the hang of trying to apply it and it ended up looking a bit blobby on my nails. It needed a full three coats to become opaque and I ended up using topcoat on it to smooth out the streaks as well. Some people also report a slight shimmer; I didn’t see it at all.
Soft Hydrangea
As far as application goes, after the Corsican Rose, this was a dream to apply. 1-2 coats to full opacity and an even coverage. I didn’t even need a top coat on these. No shimmer on this one either for me, though you can see it slightly in the bottle if you look really hard. Quick to dry as well. I like it!
Pink Peony
This is a great colour with great application. Probably the easiest to apply and it could have something to do with the fact it is the only non-pastel out of this pastel collection (a bit of an odd choice). Opaque in 2 coats and very quick to dry. I would have liked to see a cream colour in this collection instead of another bubble gum pink since I haven’t seen a cream from Ulta3, but pink is pink and I love all shades.
Lilac Bloom
Everything I said about Soft Hydrangea applies to this one as well. Except this one is definitely a creme, in and out of the bottle.
Pale Dahlia
Oh my glob you guys, I really love this one. It’s my favorite out of the lot. It’s sort of a gorgeous, frosty pink with a slight shimmer. Application is okay if maybe a tad globby, and you need 2-3 coats to reach full opacity. I have looked at other blogger posts and feel that the above colour is a lot more accurate. It’s not a warm pink in real life, more of a cold colour with very slight purple undertones.
Orange Blossom
Last out of the bunch, and I would say this is a faulty nail polish. Not only for the broken brush I found inside my bottle but because of the.. one can only describe it as “watery” and yet gluggy consistency. You have to apply 4 coats before it even begins to gain the full opacity and even then you can still see the visible nail line. As you can see by the pictures!
So to sum up..
Blue, purple and pinks are definitely worth the $2 RRP, but make sure you have a tonne of patience if you’re going to attempt the mint or the orange because they’re tricky to get the hang of! That being said, I like these shades the best–I’ve always been a fan of mint and orange, so I’m going to stick with them and see if I can frankenpolish them into better consistencies for application.
So yeah, if you’ve been hesitant about these colours, I can with full confidence say go ahead and make the investment for the oncoming months. For a limited time too, if you spend $10 on the collection, you’ll get a free designer tote with your purchase!
Which shade is your favorite of the season?
4 Comments
Ooooh I just adore these! Off hunting now :D
Easiest thing to do is call the Heat Group and ask them where they’re stocked–I still haven’t been able to find them in stores anywhere!
Thank you for these swatches!
I love this range and can’t wait to get my hands on them.
Really love Orange Blossom, Pink Peony and Soft Hydrangea.
I love the Soft Hydrangea for Summer too, it really makes your nails look “cool”, which cools you down just looking at them, haha.