MUG SHOT: Mad about Misa: A Swatchfest

I have a question. Why has nobody grabbed me by the shoulders, shaken me and asked, “Why are you not crazy about Misa? Why?! Why?! Why?!”

Thankfully, someone finally did. Scratch that, two people did. The first was Cat, the super sweet woman behind the pink awesomeness that is Posh Nails. And the second was Des, from Beauty Blends Inc., Misa’s exclusive distributor in the Philippines.

And they didn’t exactly grab me by the shoulders and shake me, they just sent me a lot of love in the form of Misa bottles.

I can’t believe I’ve ignored this brand’s awesomeness for so long. I do have a few bottles of Misa but they’ve been eclipsed by my madness for other brands. Now I’m so glad I spent time getting to know this brand. And after Misa Swatchfest #1, I’m so happy to know the brand is now readily available here in the Philippines. Getting our Misa fix will be easy.

Misa is Big 3 Free, the formula is fantastic and the colors are super pretty. All eleven colors you will see in this post (I will swatch the bottles Cat sent me in another post) gave me zero problems. I love the brush too – Des says the secret is in its 230 strands.

Beauty Blends sent me five colors from Misa’s 9 to 5 Collection along with other customer favorites.

This is Blush Hour, from Misa’s 9 to 5 Collection for Spring 2011.

Blush Hour is a creamy almost-white pink.

And what do we know about pale pinks? They’re usually hell to apply – they streak like crazy. But Blush Hour didn’t. The formula was fantastic.

There was zero streaking.

It wad the perfect two-coater.

I swear, when I saw how easily this polish applied, I wanted to do a slow clap.

And I love how clean this polish looks. So classy.

This is PaintMyNails@Work, also from the 9 to 5 Collection.

The name made me laugh. Because while I’ve never done a full mani at work, I’ve been known to do quick one-finger swatches when I get new bottles in the mail.

PaintMyNails@Work is a light gray with a little taupe mixed in.

I have a ton of grays in my collection but I still love this one.

The formula was fantastic. I used two coats.

This third color is also from the 9 to 5 Collection.

Pay Days Are Happy Days is a grayish taupe color.

It’s the taupier sister of PaintMyNails@Work. Yes I know taupier isn’t a word. But I know you got what I mean.

Again, amazing formula. This could even be a one-coater.

But I did two.

Working Hard or Hardly Working is my favorite shade from the 9 to 5 Collection.

This bluish gray is so pretty.

I love this color.

The formula is fantastic.

You will get sick of hearing me gush about Misa’s formula but it cannot be helped.

It really is great.

And finally, Office Polish-tics.

This grayed out blue is pretty.

It’s a little darker than these photos show.

Pretty pretty pretty.

Again, I used two coats.

But we’re not yet done. Far from it.

Because I still have a lot of beautiful colors from Misa to show you.

This is Delicate Cacao.

Although not part of the 9 to 5 Collection, this pinkish brown is office-safe too.

Great formula. I used two coats.

This is Femme Fatale.

This orange-tinged red is hot hot hot.

It reminds me of RBL Bangin’ which I love.

The formula was great. All I needed were two quick coats.

Love.

I love love love Mauve-Elous.

This reddish brownish pink is just pretty.

I love how this color looks vintage. It would be perfect worn with a pretty floral dress and fabulous shoes.

I don’t need to say this but I will – the formula was great.

Two perfect coats.

Red Valentine is another hot Misa red.

This one is pink-based and sexy.

It’s a gorgeous red.

I used two coats but this works as a one-coater too.

This is Poppy Dreams.

Poppy Dreams is a pretty pink.

It is also the sheerest of all eleven colors.

Two coats were okay but I wanted to use three to really show the color.

It may be a little more sheer than the others but the formula was still great.

I love how easy application is.

Here is the last color and the only non-cream in the set.

Misa Wishing On A Star is a black shimmer polish with silver micro-glitter.

The awesome thing about the glitter is it flashes blue and green.

The finish may be different but the formula is as great.

I used three coats for full opacity.

So yes, it’s official. I love Misa.

If you’re in the Philippines and you want a Misa fix, order from Beauty Blends Inc., the exclusive distributor. Visit their website, call (632)363-6736, (632)363-6739, +63922-8BEAUTY (8232889) or e-mail inquiry@beautyblends.com.ph.