New at Target: tenoverten nail color

I cannot speak for all Targets, but my local Target has spruced up their nail section! A couple months ago, I was browsing and saw they now carry a selection of Ella + Mila, more shades of Piggy Paint, and a new Defy & Inspire line called Vita Fit. The new additions that jumped out at me the most, however, were the tenoverten polishes with their simple and elegant square bottles with a clean label. These are polishes I would love to see sitting on my non-existent vanity! I thought they were a bit spendy at $12 a piece, but I was drawn to some of the earthier colors and had never heard a single thing about this brand, so I decided to take a chance! I ended up with the shades cliff, liberty, and austin (yes, everything is lower case on the bottle, I’m not trying to be annoying). After doing some research, I learned that tenoverten was started by a salon in NYC and that you should definitely buy the polishes from Target because they retail for $18 on their website! The polishes are 8-free, intended to “promote stronger, healthier nails,” and are all named after streets in NYC. Cute! The color selection is not the most unique, but even I managed to find some shades that I probably don’t have exact dupes for. Probably.

For today’s swatches I did not wear a base coat (spoiler alert: bad idea, wear a base coat – not for staining, you’ll see) and I used Seche Vite as my top coat where noted.

tenoverten cliff, 2 coats plus top coat

We are going to start off with the lovely cliff. tenoverten describes it as an “orange rust” which I would 100% agree with. I have a quest to own every burnt orange I can get my hands on. This color makes me want fall to come right now!

tenoverten cliff, 1 coat

cliff has an amazing formula and the best coverage of the three I tried. It is a medium consistency – I had no issues with running and the color payoff is pretty good. This polish, like all the others you will see today, really settled into my ridges as it dried. These are not thick, buttery formulas with a lot of body. Starting off with a base coat would go a long way.

tenoverten cliff, 2 coats

cliff is perfection in two coats! The formula was really easy to work with and it built up very nicely. I cannot wait to wear it again!

tenoverten liberty, 3 coats plus top coat

liberty was the first polish that caught my eye. It is a dusty sage green, turquoise, and sea foam green all mixed together. I freakin’ love it. tenoverten describes it as a “dusty mint” which I do not think does the color justice. I could wear this color 24/7, all year. It is season-neutral.

tenoverten liberty, 1 coat

liberty gets off to a dire start. The formula was very thin and watery, which meant I had to use a thin coat. The opacity was better than I expected based on the formula. As it dried, it settled into my ridges but did dry to a very shiny finish.

tenoverten liberty, 2 coats

liberty looks so much better with a second coat! I even think it could be opaque for me at this point if I use it over a ridge-filling base coat. The formula is much easier to work with when applied over itself, though I did still find myself applying it slowly in case of running.

tenoverten liberty, 3 coats

Liberty is totally opaque after a third coat. I had to fight some bubbling by the time I got to this coat; I’m not sure if it’s a general problem with these polishes or if my dry time while swatching was not quite long enough (I usually wait three minutes, as opposed to the five I wait between coats for a full mani). It does not dry rapidly, so you do have time to try to rid yourself of bubbles if necessary. While I did not have this issue with cliff, I experienced the same thing with the next shade.

tenoverten austin, 2 coats plus top coat

Last up is austin, an interesting shade that I just could not resist. tenoverten calls it a “dusty blue” but there is definitely some teal in there and something about it that reminds me of clay. It’s a really fantastic color, could see this one being fun as a pedicure!

tenoverten austin, 1 coat

austin has a thinner formula like liberty does. I found it best to work with it very slowly using a medium-thin coat. I had to fight some bubbles, which was another reason for working with it slowly. I thought the coverage was really good despite all that. I did find that it settled really well into my ridges and would probably look better if worn with a base coat.

tenoverten austin, 2 coats

On the second coat of austin I got some bits of pigment and bubbles again that I had to fight with a little. It did not feel as runny this time around and gets completely opaque with the second coat.

I was a little underwhelmed by the formula of these polishes. Maybe it is just personal preference, but I always feel that a more expensive polish should have a formula with a bit of body that is going to feel creamy when applied and not challenge your ability to keep it from running. I do also think that I did this line of polishes a disservice by swatching them without a base coat; some polishes just work better when applied over not bare nail. I think if you see a color that really screams your name, you should give it a go, but the color selection is not huge and I do not see myself stopping to check them out at Target with any kind of frequency. I am glad I gave tenoverten a go because I think I scored some beautiful colors, but it’s not a brand that has gotten me super excited.

Have you seen tenoverten at your Target? Had you ever heard about them before?

xx, Ashley

 

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