Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Project Red: Ulta Professional What a Maroon


I couldn't resist this little beauty when I found it over in the clearance section at Ulta.  Yes, perhaps I have too many reds already.  But quite honestly, it's really hard to resist a great shade of red, especially at a bargain price.  I admit it, I am weak to bargains.  I think that may be my problem too.

What a Maroon definitely is lighter than what the name may suggest.  Not nearly dark enough to be called "maroon", but it is a very beautiful, medium toned red with a slight brown base.  It's a crème that is "jelly-like", with definite transparent quality to it.  I have no idea if the color is part of any collection, but it looks like Waht a Maroon may have been a limited color, or it was discontinued.



I used three coats here.  My nail lines are still somewhat detectable, especially under direct sunlight. 


From the bottle, the color looks to be a bit darker than it does on the nails.  Perhaps if I added another coat I would reach that deeper color. 



The formulation was terrific, not too thick or too watery.  It applied beautifully onto the nail, and dried to a very nice glossy finish.  I did use Poshe here since I'm helplessly addicted to quick-dry top coat.  I cannot go without it because I have very little patience for waiting for my nails to dry.  When it comes to having pretty painted nails, I'm all about instant gratification.

Ulta actually has two different nail polish lines: Ulta Salon Formula and the higher-end Ulta Professional.  I own quite a few colors from both lines, and I find them both to be nicely formulated.  I think they are good solid nail polish and I have yet to be disappointed.  The color selection is somewhat limited, so perhaps that's way they haven't received as much love and attention from the general nail polish community.  

11 comments:

  1. You wear red so well! I also cannot stand waiting for polish to dry.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm still annoyed with Ulta for making the salon line smaller bottles for a higher price. Ounce for ounce, they're as much as Essie or OPI now, and I just don't think that's right for a store brand. Not that I refuse to buy them--I'm far too tempted by pretties to keep up any kind of boycott. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Ulta Salon bottles are small, but new round ones looks a little bigger, but I never checked the oz on them. They go on sale a lot, so I never buy a bottle at regular price.

      Delete
  3. I love that red! I have to agree with KarenD, I was a little disappointed when I saw that the new bottles were more expensive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The round bottles are more money? Last weekend my friend picked up some Ulta Salon colors; they were buy 2 get 2.

      Delete
  4. Usually Ulta has AWESOME promotions going on with their products. Thats the only time I purchase them. Btw, this is such a beautiful red! How much was it?

    -Anna
    Please check out and follow my blog as well!
    http://www.goingtotheshowing.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I found it in the clearance bin, so around $3 or $4. :)

      Delete