Two makes it better - Essie Ballet Slippers & Mademoiselle

(or four, I might say)

From left to right

Essie Color Corrector Primer, Ballet Slippers, Mademoiselle, and Gel-Setter Top Coat

I have been wearing Essie Ballet Slippers for over a decade now. Whenever I feel like a light nude pink on my tips, I reach for it and it never fails to fetch compliments. Ballet Slippers is a shade with both good and bad, though. It goes with everything but I need to moisturize my hands like mad otherwise, the dry spots and cuticles look more obvious. It is the epiphany of a mod and posh nail color but is incredibly streaky and difficult to apply. 

So, what would be the solution? You can go to the nail salon. Or, employ a base coat that provides some coverage, a topcoat that fakes gel nails, and one of those Essie sheer polishes. I chose Mademoiselle which I would say the sheer version of what is Ballet Slippers to me. Mademoiselle is a tiny bit warmer but doesn't differ much that it only smooths out the uneven spots and streaks without altering the color. If you have warmer skin tones or want a bit more blushed hues, try Essie Sugar Daddy instead.

Here I started with Essie Color Corrector Primer which adds a sheer veil to the nails. I think it is an affordable alternative to my all-time favorite base coat, Deborah Lippmann All About That Base. I applied carefully two coats of Ballet Slippers plus one coat of Mademoiselle, then finish off with Essie Gel-Setter Top Coat. It's been five days now but my nails still look fresh. I believe this would bring out the most beauty of Ballet Slippers rather than applying thick three coats aiming for a smoother finish (You will most likely end up with sheet marks later on). When you deal with something like Ballet Slippers (or Topless and Barefoot - a pink beige creme, another fave of mine but also very difficult to handle), this does matter because excessively thick coats of white-based nail colors look alien on human hands.

I meant to do a breezy NOTD post, but somehow it turned out to be a geeky one. Thanks for reading and wish you all have a great weekend!