Wheels B1 & C1: Mauves, I Think

Mauve is one of those tricky in between hues. When sorting my stash by color, a lot of these bottles gave me trouble; I couldn't decide if they were pink or purple or or what. I'm not the only one confused, evidently, since only some of these are called mauve and a few have taupe in their names. To me, taupe is much more brown than purple, but I agree that taupe, like mauve, is confusing. Today I have two wheels of polishes my mom might call "old rose". First, the cremes.



(all 3 coats unless otherwise noted)

1. Borghese Milano Taupe
2. Goldie unnamed mauve
3. Eyeko Tea Rose (2 coats)
4. L'Oreal Whimsey Pink
5. Models Own Vintage Pink
6. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Chocolate
7. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Oasis Dawn Creme
8. Sally Hansen New Lengths Wood Violet Creme
9. Essence Multi Dimension Spot On (2)
10. NYX Sheer Lavender (2) [you may note this is neither sheer nor lavender]
11. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Earth Violet Creme
12. Borghese Poema Orchid
13. Sally Hansen Beyond Perfect Chocolate Therapy [this used to be in my Top 20; I wore it a lot, pretty sure this is my second bottle]
14. L'Oreal Future Rose (2)
15. Essie Angora Cardi (2)
16. Pure Ice Taupe Drawer
17. Barielle Tight Knit
18. Sally Hansen New Lengths Rustic Violet Creme
19. Rescue Beauty Lounge Bruised (2)
20. L'Oreal Color of Hope (2)

Bottles 1 through 5:


6 through 10:


11 through 15:


16 through 20:


Mauve polish has a reputation as a "grandma color", especially frosty ones like you'll see a few examples of on this next wheel.



(all 3 coats unless otherwise noted)

1. Anne & Florio Glorious
2. Revlon Street Wear Prissy
3. Sally Hansen New Lengths Pale Lilac Frost
4. L'Oreal Steel Colour Energized
5. SL New Lengths Mauve Lamé Frost
6. Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Uplifting Lavender
7. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Rose Wine
8. Maybelline Express Finish Truly Mauve
9. Sally Hansen Beyond Perfect Peaceful Plum
10. OPI Windy City Pretty
11. L'Oreal Jet Set Last Dance (2 coats)
12. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Diamonds Amethyst Diamond
13. Borghese La Strada Rose
14. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Rockstar Candy (2)
15. L'Oreal Jet Set Amethyst Kiss (2)
16. Orly Absolutely Orchid
17. OPI Silent Mauvie
18. Sally Hansen Maximum Growth Vibrant Plum
19. OPI Meet Me on the Star Ferry
20. OPI mystery polish [I bought this at what was probably not an authorized distributor, and the bottom label had been removed)

Bottles 1 through 5:


6 through 10:


11 through 15:


16 through 20:


I don't mind mauve, probably because it was very popular when I first started wearing polish (there's a reason so many of the bottles here are old school). I wonder what will be consider "grandma colors" in the future: crackle? Charla-esque blues? greens?