ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – Hello Kitty Banana Cream
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
One of the cult classic pale yellows is Maybelline Banana Puddin, a color that I covet but have never owned. My friend Christine has a bottle so I’ve seen its gorgeousness in person, I have just never worn it. From what I hear it’s a real bother to work with but oh is the color worth it. Since I first saw Banana Puddin on MUA many years ago I’ve had this inner yearning for the perfect pastel yellow. Something that isn’t too chalky, pale or golden. Hello Kitty Banana Cream just may be it. |
Formula & Application: The Hello Kitty Liquid Nail Art polishes are a Sephora exclusive and neither the bottle nor the Sephora website list the ingredients. They simply state, “This polish is formulated without toluene, formaldehyde, or DBP,” so take that as you will. The adorable Hello Kitty shaped bottles come with a long, flat brush that is average in width. Nowhere near as wide as OPI’s brush. The bristles are flexible but give some resistance.
Anyone who has worked with a yellow nail polish knows that they are notoriously difficult to apply. It’s the nature of the beast people. You want yellow nails, you deal with streaks or super sheer polish that needs numerous coats. Given my expectations going in, Banana Cream impressed. The lacquer leveled out well on the nail, had good pigmentation and only needed three coats. I probably could have gotten away with two but I ended up with a bit of dragging near the cuticle that I couldn’t ignore. I thought I waited long enough between coats to avoid that so it’s hard to tell if it’s operator error or the formula.
Hello Kitty Banana Cream is a buttery yellow creme. You caught a glimpse of this color when I dotted it on my Easter manicure a few weeks back but this is the first time it’s been on my nails on its own. Something about it makes me think of buttercups and fuzzy baby chicks. It just screams Spring. It’s textured like a typical creme in that it isn’t squishy or jelly-like. In fact it can look a bit chalky going on but once you add a top coat that goes away.
Bottom Line: I was very skeptical of the Hello Kitty polishes when they first launched. So skeptical that I only bought one in case it sucked. I figured ordering the yellow would be a true test of the brand considering the problems that plague the color family. I’m pleased to say that unlike a lot of lines that draw you in with packaging or branding, the Hello Kitty line put out a pretty great product and I highly suggest investing. Especially if you are a HK fan.
365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: No doubt about it, I’m STASHing it.
Hello Kitty Liquid Nail Art in Banana Cream is available exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com. In store availability will vary. Hello Kitty polishes retail for $10/ea for a .304oz bottle.
Have you tried the Hello Kitty polishes? Which colors are your favorite? Thoughts on Banana Cream? Does anyone have Banana Puddin to compare? I hope to check out my friend’s bottle soon to see if they’re a match in person. What is your favorite light yellow?
Disclosure: I purchased this nail polish. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
I only bought the clear Hello Kitty polish. I refilled it with Nubar Foundation. That way, it’s on my desk at all times and I can enjoy the bottle all the time instead of hiding it in my Helmer.
So far, my favorite mellow yellow is KOH Baby Yellow. It’s similar to OPI Banana Bandana but the formula is easier to work with. I’m also loving Lippmann Yellow Brick Road because of the jelly formula.
I had no idea these existed! I loved Hello Kitty as a kid, but when I got older I preferred her frog friend, Keroppi. This polish looks fun, but I’ve already got CG Lemon Fizz, so I don’t know if I’d go for more than one yellow polish.
I have the green and the cornflower blue. I confess, I don’t think I’ve worn either (although Mara wore the green after I got it and she loved it!). I mostly bought them for the cute bottles. Yes, I’m lame that way.
I like the yellow, but I’m not nearly skilled enough to deal with the problem applications that yellow polishes bring, so it’s not for me.
Although I don’t really like the bottle and am not really a fan of yellow nail polishes, I think this one looks gorgeous!! If they had it somewhere around here, I would even consider buying it..
when I first heard about this polish, I was surprised because I called inglot 968 “banana cream” on my blog when I swatched it a year ago =) plus, I’ve also been reminded of baby chicks and buttermilk like you =DDD
http://www.emeraldsparkled.com/2010/08/notd-banana-cream.html
inglot has the pearly sheen to it, though, like her baby blue and mint green sisters you used for your easter manicure. plus, it has a very slight green tinge to it, which I love! I definitely recommend it, such an interesting color!
OPI Banana Bandana is my favorite yellow.The only problem I have with it is that I have to apply way too many coats. But it’s worth it.
When are you going to post up swatches of collections? Essie st tropez, chg tronica, island escape, OPI POTC, Orly precious, Zoya summertime and sunshine.. etc.
I used to be a huge fan of your website cos u always have the swatches when i need them. Now, its like i have to wait 1 or 2 months for the swatches when other bloggers have already post up theirs.
I’m not sure about what others think about your 365 untrieds series thing but honestly, im really not a fan of this. Its kind of useless for me though. Im not trashing you in anyway cos i know you love posting the untried polishes up and others might like it as well. Im just putting out there that maybe im one of the few others that don’t like this series.
I’m sorry you don’t like what I’m doing but I did this challenge for me. At the end of the day this is my blog and I have to enjoy it. I have reviewed and plan to continue to review collections. If my reviews don’t meet your timeline, that’s unfortunate, but I can’t please everyone.
I appreciate your feedback and understand if the way I am blogging doesn’t suit your needs. I will try to post collection reviews more often but my process is very time consuming and I will never be a blogger who can throw up a new collection review every single day. I take time and care with my reviews and I am not going to modify that in order to compete with other bloggers.
I think I prefer the 365 challenge. That way there’s new content daily, and it’s not the same material as all the other blogs.
Seems like everyone’s getting my message wrong. Im just giving feedbacks about what i think about her blog. And as i said earlier, i used to be a fan of this blog, i would come here DAILY to check on her latest post. But all these were one year ago.
So far, there’s only one person who agrees with my feedback. And what? EVERYONE’s saying ignore the haters, and telling me to go down to ulta to get the swatches of the polishes, etc..
But what you guys don’t get is that im not even a bloody hater!! U don’t create a blog expecting ZERO negativity. I definitely love michelle for posting up so many posts lately and being so active. I don’t HATE her. When you have a friend, you dont expect her to always tell to the good things about something, say, your blog. If she constantly tells you +ve stuffs about ur blog and no constructive criticism, then whats the point of having that friend?
Im totally being honest and btw, im not even from the states. I don’t have free access all the time to go ULTA and get swatches of these polishes. Yes, michelle can post wtv she wants on her OWN blog. Everyone feel that this untried series makes her stands out from the rest. Well, to me, what draws me in to this blog last time was becos of the accuracy of the swatches. Yeah, everyone is saying i can just google for images of the polishes around and get so many swatches from various bloggers. But what they don’t know is that i feel only michelle posts up the most accurate swatches. Take CHG FOUR LEAF CLOVER for eg, very few bloggers can show the actual color of that on pics.
I definitely don’t come here to type one chunk of hater comment. I just wanted to come up with a feedback and just one -VE feedback makes everyone so worked up.
And i’m only 19 and im sure u guys are older than me. Why so serious in life? Take everything with a pinch of salt! If my comment was a real hater comment, i dont know what’s gonna happen.
I wasn’t bothered by your comments. You weren’t even that negative. I’d just rather have regular content than part 1 collection posts once every two weeks that are never completed. At least now there are a million other blogs covering all the new collection, and with ALU’s huge stash of untrieds, it’s always interesting.
I hear what you are saying. I prefer the collection swatches too, although I’m also enjoying the 365 project. I’ll read this blog regardless, but my favorite 365 posts have been the ones where newer colors were tested (for example, No More Waity Katie.) If something is swatched and is already not being made anymore, it’s a disappointment because I’m not really the type to go for it on ebay.
Well, anyway, the point is that I can see both sides, but I just wanted you to have some support.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think anyone was being that critical of you.
And i also realised that you have not even post up your swatches of OPI hong kong collection part 2? It’s been a year….. :/
I decided I didn’t want to review the other half of the collection which is my prerogative.
I just wanted to tell you how much I’ve been diggin the 365 challenge. It’s been fun to read and get reaquainted with some colors / lines.
And, I *love* a pale yellow. Gorgeous.
I love Hello Kitty but I had heard from a friend that the formula was a pain. I don’t know what color she tried, but I’m glad you had a good experience… With a yellow, no less! I don’t have a pale yellow cream in my stash yet besides RBL Squarepants – which is jelly-ish, so Banana Cream might find its way home with my if I see it in stock at my Sephora. So cute!
Curious, how does this compare to China Glaze’s Lemon Fizz (Up & Away)?
Love it! Gotta have it. I was too scared to buy these for the same reason. Thanks hun!
I’m not a big lover of yellow polish but the bottle is freaking adorable! I was going to go haunt the Hello Kitty stores over here to see if I could find these but then I read the Sephora exclusive part. Oh well, I’ll still go see if they have adorable Hello Kitty polishes anyways lol.
That is such a pretty yellow. The one yellow I own is OPI The It Color.
I’ve been looking for a pale yellow cream, and have China Glaze Lemon Fizz on the way to me. If that doesn’t work, I’m definitely giving Hello Kitty a try! It looks great on you!
Not a fan. It’s still too chalky for me. I find a lot of these pastels too chalky however. I think that is only improved with a bit of ‘dirt’ added into them – but have to say, not a fan either of POTC collection – despite they are ‘dirty’ pastels for the most part. I just don’t pull off that chalky look well at all. And since I was a kit, yellow is been my fav color to wear, do my bedroom in. Today I still have passion for yellows and all hues of it along with most greens. Love the HK bottle however. I will be popping over to Sephora.com to take a look at the other shades. The store closest to me is super small and does not carry it.
I have been a hello kitty fan forever and I love everything about her. I play hello kitty games and always wear hello kitty clothes. I guess you could say I am obsessed, hehe.
Just wanted to say that I am enjoying the untried series and I love this color.
I agree I miss your posts on the newest collections before or when they hit…This 365 un tries is so annoying …It took too long for you to review Chanel’s Morning Glory…Please get back to more of what makes your blog so fantastic….
I’m sorry that my posts are so annoying to you but I’m not going to stop my challenge. This is something I want to do and I’m going to finish it.
I really like your 365 of Untrieds–gives some fun variety and also introduces me to more brands. Don’t let the hataz get you down.
So pretty! I can’t find a yellow that I like anywhere locally.
Don’t let the haters get you down! Viva the untrieds!
Seriously, I love the 365 of Untrieds posts. There are a ton of other places to find swatches of current collections. I like that you’re digging out things I might have missed (and adding to my ever-growing wish list).
Juat wanted to say that I also love the 365 untried experimemt – not least because it gives me a blog post to read every day!
And I have a friend who would go completely barmy for those Hello Kitty bottles. I’m starting to feel the urge for another visit to the USA!
I’ve been really into pale yellows lately (even though they give me lobster hands).
Your swatches are, as always, beautiful. I wasn’t sure about the Hello Kitty polishes, I love HK but sometimes her cosmetics collabs can end up being a bit tacky. I am definitely going to pick up a few of them now though! I love that you’re doing this challenge for yourself and if it’s bring back your enjoyment for blogging I wholeheartedly support it! Honestly, I follow a lot of polish blogs and it can get tedious seeing the same collections posted over and over. It’s great to find out about polishes I may not have known about without your posts! Keep it up, it’s your blog so do what you feel like doing!
I’m personally loving your decision to feature your untrieds. At the moment you’ve covered some polishes I own, but never see swatches of, so I value your take on formula, length of wear, etc. Plus, it’s just interesting…new collections are not really all that hard to come by online, or so is my experience. Keep up the good work!
This looks a lot like a Sinful Colors yellow, “Unicorn”, and since this is triple the price, I’ll just stick with Unicorn.
Speaking of Sinful Colors, do you happen to have any of them in your untrieds? I’m on a budget, and they have so many interesting looking colors I’m wanting to try, but I would rather see a review first.
I also wanted to say, I disagree with the people who don’t like the “365 of Untrieds”. I love it because you’re blogging more than before. Plenty of other blogs are reviewing new collections, you’re doing something different.
I suppose if the posts are so annoying to people, they don’t have to read them! LOL!!! I’ve been considering a Hello Kitty polish just for the sake of adding the cute bottle to my nail polish collection….I’m thinking I might go for this yellow!
I have the pink Bubble Gum shade in this collection and, yeah, it’s kind of a pain to apply, too. But I think part of that problem is the brush. That little silver cap is hard to hold and doesn’t help application. But overall, I don’t find the formula to be that different from other pastel polishes I’ve used, such as Essie. The yellow is pretty!
To the negative posters–There are *plenty* of other nail polish blogs that are reviewing the latest collections and posting swatches. It’s fine to disagree with or not like the polishes Michelle’s blogging about right now, but you don’t have to be so rude about it.
Personally, I think it’s fun to read her opinions on different polishes. After all, you can just go to Ulta or other department stores to see the latest polishes if that’s all you want.
Oooo, this is so pretty. Yellows do not look too great on my skin tone, but I may have to check this out. I LOVE the bottle.
Also, I love your blog! It is my nail lacquer Bible. I also like your 365 untrieds. It showcases some polishes from the past that people may have never heard of or forgot about. I know I have bought a couple that I wouldn’t have ever known about because of your personal challenge. If people have a problem with it, then they can look elsewhere or start their own.
I for one really appreciate what you’re doing!! It is a chance to see some polishes that did not get a proper chance to be blogged out when they first came out. I also think that it helps stave off the “redundant collection fatigue” that most bloggers seem to be afflicted with these days. I look forward every week to seeing what you have to bring and your wonderful explanations. Thank you Michelle!
I can understand what some readers are saying because you have done such a great job of reviewing current collections in the past, and people are obviously missing that. But, I for one, am loving the “365″ series. It’s inspired me to work through my stash of “untrieds” and enjoy them (rather than hoard more). There are many other nail bloggers posting the current collections, but your challenge is unique. Bottom line is that it’s YOUR blog, and you should do what makes YOU happy!
p.s. I have CG Lemon Fizz and don’t really care for the look of it, so I’ll probably skip Banana Cream. I don’t think these yellows are for me.
I absolutely love your blog!! I’m glad you’re not going to stop because some people dislike it. The first think I do when I wake up is check your newest post. Even before I check my email or twitter!! This color is gorgeous! I saw these the other day in Sephora and I want them! I just need to wear some other polishes before I purchase even more!
I LOVE this series!!! I suppose everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but at the end of the day, this is YOUR blog! For the “Fanatics” who are comparing ALU to other blogs or don’t enjoy the new content, they clearly have the option to visit the hundreds of other blogs that have followed in your footsteps. Michelle, your blog has been an inspiration to many… keep up the challenge and your passion for polish!
Amazing! I have two of the HK polishes, and I love them. This one is very surprising though. I didn’t think it would be so pretty!
I’m not sure I can pull the yellow off. Everytime I wear it clothing-wise people tell me I look ill. LOL.
However, these bottle are so stinkin cute! I may have to get one in a different color just for that.
Don’t let the haters get you down! I’ve been loving the untrieds, you’ve shown us a lot of fun colors and cool ways to wear them! Your reviews (whether they be collections or singles) are always top notch and it shows. Keep it comin’ lady!
I love your blog and the untried series, probably since I have a slew of “untrieds” myself and I’m inspired to use and not just acquire more.
I’m sorry but it’s rude to comment on someone’s blog telling them how to write (and what to include on) THEIR blog. If you don’t like it, check the blogs on the blog roll or google the collections like I do. I’ve found a ton of great bloggers and a variety of swatches on various skin tones (like my own complexion)that way. If you can think of a better way, create your OWN blog and do what you wish the others would do. Otherwise, chill….it’s just nail polish. Sheesh!
Also, loving the yellows, just got Square Pants and I refuse to take it off! I’d love to get my hands on this one!
I love this color so much!!
Ive been reading your blog for a while, but just recently started to comment. I have to say, I LIKE the 365 untrieds thing you’re doing. I find myself clicking on the bookmark to your site everyday now, just to see if you have posted something new. Usually it reminds me of that polish that I bought way back when that looks sorta like what you posted, or reminds me that I have that one too!… somewhere in the boxes of polish I’ve amassed with my addiction (it isnt bad as addictions go) For example, I painted my nails with Sinful black on black, one of my faves, after I saw your review of the CND one- it had been sooo long since my nails were just black, I remembered how much I like it. It reminded me that I dont always have to be in season with nail color- whatever you like works whenever you want it to. Keep it up because your posts are great. You should always put passion into what you do, and I think it shows in your posts because you find it fun, as you obviously do with your new series.
I love your blog. Ignore the haters!
I like this yellow! I tried my first yellow polish last night and it was not cute, to say the least. I may test this one out!
such a pretty color! I’ve always really want a shirt in that same color but could never find it
Please don’t stop this series. It is what makes this blog different from other blogs. I can simply google swatches of new collections and find 20 different pics, but I haven’t seen a lot of these older polishes and it makes me appreciate some older polishes that may not otherwise come across my radar.
I first starting reading this blog because of the collection reviews but I find myself enjoying this 365 challenge.
On the yellow note, I’m tempted to try Yellow Brick Road but don’t know how it would look on me since I am not of fair skin.
Thats a fantastic colour, I don’t know if I could wear that though myself. Your untrieds series is great though. Its inspired me to try all of my colours I own that I have never worn. I’m sure I don’t have a much as you, but I have a lot!
Also, just wanted to mention : Have you seen the Travelling America OPI collection yet? Hello! There is more then one greyish colour in it!!
Negativity first thing in the morning! Blah! You do your thing girl. I enjoy your blog so much. It’s informative, fun and very well done.
I’m interested to know what polish remover you use. Since you are changing your polish everyday I wondered if you were having issues with your nails, dryness etc? I use Zoya’s and love it.
I was a devoted Zoya Remove+ user but my nail beds were getting really dry so I switched to Nubar’s
I actually have no pale yellow shades in my arsenal! I have two neon yellow’s (that really only work with white underneath due to how sheer the neons are) and I’ve been afraid to try the pale yellow’s for fear they may make me look like I have a disease because I’m so pale!
I might actually have to try this one though! I’ve stayed away from the Hello Kitty because I thought they were just a gimmick but now I may need to invest!
I love the colour of this nail polish. The only thing I hate is the formula! Although it’s worth suffering through to get the final product.
The Hello Kitty glitters are adorable! Love your website!
I love this sort of pale yellow; right now, ChG Lemon Fizz is my favorite, but I really like this one! It seems softer than Lemon Fizz. I’ll have to add it to my list.
And FWIW, I really like the 365 challenge. Maybe it’s because I’m a newbie to the polish world, but most of them are new to me, and I always like looking at the swatches.
I don’t usually comment, but I love the series! It’s so much fun to see the older (and newer) polishes and then go hunt them down. I have CG’s Rapture in my shopping cart right now and it was all because you posted the swatch a few days ago.
I love the yellows but they are so difficult to apply, like you said. Why is that?
I’m going to have to check out the Hello Kitty polishes – I had no idea they existed! I got a sample of the Hello Kitty fragrance at Sephora, and it came in the same adorable bottle. It’s actually really nice for summer, very fresh with kind of a grapefruit smell.
I got the glittery purple in this collection and was also pleasantly surprised at the quality. That yellow is lovely.
I like yellow nail polish, and it’s in an adorable Hello Kitty bottle. I’m not sure why I passed on this one!