theBalm Pink or Swim

I have a fun summer polish for you tonight! A few weeks ago, a makeup company called theBalm had a great deal on their eyeshadow palettes-- basically, buy one and you got two for free. Since the palettes go for $39.95 normally, that was a great deal and I got all three palettes. But they also included a nail polish from their Hot Ticket nail polish line with your purchase! I got Pink or Swim, which is described on their website as a "bright pink."

Pink or Swim is indeed bright coral pink with fairly strong red tones, so in certain lights it does take on a more reddish appearance. The formula is pretty nice-- it's thin and nicely pigmented so it flows nicely on the nail and is easy to control. However, this polish does have some streaking issue so you do have to be careful when applying-- I tried to use a light touch and tried not to use too many brushstrokes to prevent dragging. In my pictures I used three coats to get everything perfectly even and no top coat.

Artificial light with flash:

Artificial light:

Of course, again, the incandescent light makes this polish look orange, which isn't the case in real life.


Natural light:

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised with this polish! And I love the name. There's not much info (or swatches) out there on theBalm Hot Ticket polishes, but I am definitely a fan. I think theBalm has a decent range, though the polishes aren't necessarily ground-breaking. I want to try a few more these, though. Hot Ticket polishes are available for $10 at theBalm. So far I've been impressed with the products I've bought from theBalm, both the eyeshadows and the nail polish. I will definitely by purchasing some more items from them in the future.