Essie A Cut Above

So we've arrived at the end of our Luxeffects journey on Nailed. The last one I bought from the collection is A Cut Above, a clear-based pink glitter with three sizes of hex glitter and small round microglitter as well. This one doesn't scream "must-have" to me as much as the other Luxeffects I have, but I still really like it. You could probably build this to opacity on its own with about three coats, but I think it's truly meant to be worn layered. So I put one coat of A Cut Above over three coats of Sally Hansen Barracuda, a pastel blue creme that's a virtual dupe for Chanel Riva. Take a look!

And then this is Barracuda by itself. Please excuse the bit of red around my cuticles left over from my previous mani, China Glaze Ring In The Red (swatches HERE).

I love the way this combo turned out! It's not wintery looking at all, but I like how the pink glitter looks like robin's egg spots against the blue of Barracuda. The formula on A Cut Above is thick; I'll likely thin it for future use. (If you are in need of a good thinner, I use Orly Nail Lacquer Thinner and it gets the job done well.) I would sometimes have to place the larger pieces of glitter in order to try and get equal coverage across the nail.

If you get just one of the Luxeffects, the undeniable star of the show is Shine Of The Times (bask in her glory HERE), but I really think you can't go wrong with any of them. I didn't get Set In Stones, the silver version of A Cut Above, because it didn't really call to me but maybe I'll snag it in the future so I can complete my set. Essie should be congratulated for doing an excellent job on this collection and filling a gap that was glaringly missing in their core product line. Given the immense buzz surrounding Luxeffects, I hope they will continue to give us some more glittery goodies in the future!