Midweek Mani: Covergirl's Satin Mauve

Midweek Mani Maven Meade brings the bright back into fall! She reports on a pretty shade:

This week's mani comes from the Covergirl 3-in-1 collection, and the color is called "Satin Mauve." I was in the market for an understated red tone that I could pull off with pretty much any outfit, and this one seemed to fit the bill. Admittedly it looked more mauve in the bottle than on my nails, but I'm still a fan. Let's review the four categories of consideration for this polish.

Durability: This polish doesn't really set like a lacquer, so it has average durability and will last 3-4 days without chips if you use a sturdy topcoat like OPI and/or Seche Vite. Durability score is 6/10.

Color Appeal: I really enjoy the range of reds and pinks that this line has to offer. Frankly I prefer this line when it comes to the red/pink scheme even over some of the fancier lines like OPI. However, this was the first time I came across a polish in this line that looks different on the nail than in the bottle. This color definitely comes off as mauve in the bottle, which is defined as a pink/purple combination or even a grayish purple. On the nail however, this polish appears much more pink and almost has an orange undertone, which isn't what I was going for. In fact, it's more of a coral color, which is why I chose to wear my blue sea-shell thumb-ring! It's also completely matte, which isn't really what I think of when I think of satin. Despite that, it's still a nice color. 7/10.

Application: This line comes with a narrow brush (which used to be standard, but most polishes have moved to the wide-brush applicators) so it takes several more strokes to cover each nail, and you're more inclined to put too much polish on your brush so that you don't have to double dip for each nail. Most people who regularly do their nails will tell you that several thin coats are better than thick ones, so the fact that skinny applicators tend to push you toward thick layers is not especially conducive to a clean look. Additionally because this is a bright color, mistakes are both easy to make and difficult to fix, so you need to take extra care either avoiding your cuticles or cleaning them up after the color coats. The formula itself is a nice consistency and has excellent opacity of color. Overall application score is 6/10.

Affordability/Availability: Unfortunately this line has been discontinued, so availability is very limited not only for this color but every other color in the line. Despite this, those colors in the line which are available on ebay are pretty nicely priced, ranging from $3 to $6 per bottle on average. 7/10.

Although this review doesn't add up to much as far as purchasing a polish from this line, I still gotta say that I'm happy with this week's mani and keep catching myself admiring my nails!