MIlani Dress Maker

Long ago, in a mystical land far away, there lived an elusive green polish named Jade.  Jade lived in a candy castle with her friend, Baby Unicorn, and she was so sought after that some fanatics spent their rent money on eBay in an effort to obtain her.  A few were lucky enough to own her.  To many, however, Jade was just a myth.  An old wive's tale fabricated to drive us crazy.

Sorry, I've been reading stories to 4 year olds.  :P  LOL

Anyway, more than likely, you are aware of Chanel Jade.  It was released last year, along with Jade Rose, and was quite the buzz in the np world.  I don't own it, but in my understanding, Jade is a soft jade green (like the lighter jade, not the deep green jade) creme with subtle "secret" shimmer.  It was for sale for like a minute last year and since then, has been one of the most lemmed colors in the np world.  NIB bottles of Jade have been going for $200+ on eBay. 

Thankfully, Milani has answered our cheap, Jade-dupe prayers.  Recently, they came out with Dress Maker, a soft jade green with secret shimmer (hmmmm, sound familiar).  Here's a pic:

Now, I don't own Jade to do a direct comparison, but looking at swatches, they look very similar.  If you are interested in a direct comparison swatch, Steph over at Steph's Closet has a good one.  They look like dupes to me, so if you are lemming Jade and don't want to fork over $200 to get it, Milani Dress Maker may just be your answer.

As for the color, I like it, but I feel it doesn't really like me.  One of the reasons I passed on Jade in the first place was because minty/pale greens have a tendency to make the skin around my nails look red and dirty.  There are exeptions, like ChG Re-Fresh Mint, Nicole P's and Q's or BB Couture Hangover Blues (which admittedly is more turquoise than mint).  Sometimes, if I like the color enough, I'll wear it anyway, like I see myself doing with Dress Maker, but for the most part, I either buy them and give them away or I avoid them.

The formula was a little on the thin side, but it had to be thin in order to layer the shimmer.  I used 4 coats, but if I'd been more careful and used a sticky base coat, I probably could have gotten away with 3.  You just don't want too apply this to thick, or you are going to have drag.  Also, this was my first time purchasing a Milani polish and while it seems like the have a good color selection, I'm really not a fan of their bottles or handles (too dang short and skinny).

Dress Maker is available at CVS (and perhaps at other places where Milani is sold), but it is also available at Milani's website (where I got mine).  Polishes on the website are $4.49 and shipping was $5 (I also picked up Milani Totally Cool).

PS... if any np manufacturer is listening, I like Dress Maker, I do.  Jade just isn't my "why in the hell did I pass on it" Chanel lemming, so I'm not completely stoked.   That said, if someone wants to make a dupe of Nuit de Russie (or Ciel de Nuit on the outside chance), then I'll be doing cartwheels in my front yard.