Perky Purple was introduced a long time ago as a part of one of those summer neon collections.
I am not into neons at all. I never was.
It is not a typical neon, and that's probably why I bought it in the first place.
To me, Perky Purple is just a strikingly pretty thing that doesn't look neon nor purple.
Essie Perky Purple
Only the bottle flashes a bit of purple, but the color itself is not so purple on my nails.
A true oddball.
My picture could be totally misleading cause it does look much purpler under bright sunlight, but it certainly is not one of those in-your-face neons.
Indoors, it reads a dark cherry red with just a bit of pink/purple tinge that makes my skin look incredibly bright and clean against it.
No matter what I do with the camera settings, it is a red under the neutral white lighting I use.
Now I am even thinking my Perky Purple might have turned because I've had it for so long..?
Have you had any similar experience with neon nail colors?
I am truly puzzled.
I tried searching swatch pics on google only to find they were all over the place as well.
This picture, however, is quite close to what it looks in real life before topcoat.
(Perky Purple is on the far left in the pic. Truth to be told, it doesn't look all that perky.)
Perky Purple IS a neon color since it quickly dries to an ugly uneven matte finish.
Unless you're into that look, you definitely need a nice glossy topcoat.
Even with something like Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat (that adds glorious shine to any nail color), it tends to look dull after a few days. Maybe neon colors eat up top coat, too. I don't know.
Despite of all that, and whether turned or not, Perky Purple still is an eye-catcher.
Yesterday at work, I got a few compliments on my nail color from my colleagues.
They all added "Oh, so you celebrate Chinese new years, too?"
So I guess it looks red to other people's eyes as well.
What a nice, unintended choice it was!
(But we Koreans don't particularly associate red with new year's celebrations..and "lunar" new year would be politically correct since many doesn't always make things right.)
Today is going to be another work day for me followed by regular weekend although I want to try this recipe of a traditional Korean food for New Year's day.
After all, Perky Purple being not purple but red, is just an excuse.
I guess I wanted to wish everyone a prosperous and healthy new year.
Happy lunar new year! :)
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