Alchemy Nail Potion

As a Mother's Day gift to my mom I ordered her some perfume at Sephora but was $10 short of free shipping so I bought this. Boy has this been a find in my family!
I expected it to be a dark-brown but it's a beautiful dark-burgundy, so sophisticated looking. I find the quality of Alchemy nail potions to be far better than that of Essie.

Very nice, high-gloss finish, lasts 4-5 days w/o topcoat w/o chipping! I got this in Meadowsweet, a very natural pink shade. Very decent price. Better than Chanel, IMO.

This line has some interesting out-of-the-ordinary colors and is formaldehyde- and toluene-free (a big selling point for me). They also get high marks for streak-free coverage, chip resistance (a week-plus on fingers and at least a month on toes, with Seche Vite top coat) and high shine. At $10 a bottle, however, the price is a bit steep, so I'd say go for it if there's a color you must have. Favorites so far are Hemlock (rich, deep red-brown) and Black Walnut (dark purple-burgundy with no brown tones).

UPDATE 1/3/04: I had originally given these only 4 lippies because their price was nearly twice those of other quality brands like OPI. But after using them for more than a year (alternating with other brands), and trying a $16 chip-happy Dior Addict polish, I've decided they really deserve the 5th lippie. Everything is relative ..

Purchased this online in Shiitake b/c I had tried it on at the store and obsessed ever since.
Shiitake is a nude beige with silver micro-micro glitter. I wouldn't call the polish shimmery -- it's like a beige cream, with the silver particles in it. The beige strikes me as coffee/tea with a lot of cream in it -- reads cool next to my med. GGG brown hands.
I think L'oreal also does a pretty Nude Beige, lighter and more shimmery. So I don't know if it's worth the $10, but the Shiitake color struck me as unique. A warning: the Shiitake lipstick is an opaque light beige, might be hard to wear if you're darker skinned. Alchemy does have some gorgeous colors -- check them out if you have a chance. continued >>

I bought this at Bigelow Pharmacy in the village because I liked the color the SA was wearing. I got Corn Silk--a very shimmery silver-white. Very nice for the summertime or winter for that snow colored effect.