Ulta Salon Formula Nail Lacquer in Bare Minimum (+Glass Slipper)

Another of these damned Ulta Salon Formula Nail Lacquers... I have had mixed experiences with them! I bought four, and I've used three of them so far... They seem to be thick to the point of making them difficult to work with. At first I thought maybe it was user error, but the more I use them, the more I dislike them. I think I will try to add some thinner to them and see if that helps things out. They're not unusable as it stands, but why not make them easier to work with if I can?

Anyway, I am showing you guys Bare Minimum today. Sounds like a flesh tone, right? Nope, it's a steel-colored frost. Go figure! I really like metallic-tone nail polishes, and I don't have a really nice light silver color, only graphites. This looked perfect; not so bright a silver that it would be unflattering, but light enough that it would look a bit brighter and more seasonal than the dark graphites I tend to lean towards. Unfortunately, this is a bit streaky mess, and not the faintly metallic shimmer I hoped for. Because of that and the slightly thicker formula, I cannot recommend it, unless you are absolutely in love with the color and don't care about the other issues. However, I spent $2 on it (I got it on a 2/$4 sale), so I'm willing to play around with it. I think if I'd spent the full $6 retail price on it, I'd be considering returning it.

In an effort to make the brush strokes less noticeable, I used Sally Hansen Glass Slipper on top. It created a really pretty monochromatic look; the silver frost beneath the silver flakes were very subtle, but added a little bit more sparkle than Bare Minimum would have had on its own.


Here, for your viewing pleasure, is Bare Minimum (2 coats) and Glass Slipper (2 coats) with a base and top coat. My cuticles are still a wreck; welcome to my life. I am constantly fighting a losing battle with my cuticles and nails, and I lately I haven't been winning.

Indoor Light

Natural Light

Summary: I cannot recommend Bare Minimum; I'd say it just meets my bare minimum expectations for a nail polish formula. That being said, not gonna lie... I'd totally pick up more of these polishes in unique shades if they're more than 1/2 off like they were when I got Bare Minimum, but I will not pay full price for colors in this formula. The good news is that the creams in this range seem to do slightly better, so I'll leave you with that optimistic grain of salt.