Deborah Lippmann “The Mermaids” Summer 2013 Nail Polish Swatches & Review
“You know what a mermaid’s dream is? [wait for it] Legs!” That’s pretty much the extent of the boyfriend’s take on Deborah Lippmann’s The Mermaids, a collection of four new nail polishes based on last year’s hit Mermaid’s Dream.
An amalgamation of metallic shimmer and glitter, The Mermaids, are a dreamy take on the Deborah Lippmann glitz party we’ve come to know and love.
Formula & Application: Deborah Lippmann nail polish is 5-Free (DBP, Toluene, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor) and cruelty-free. Her signature glass bottle is one of the most recognizable shapes in the industry. The curved cap was designed with professional manicurists in mind as it is shaped to rest comfortably between your fingers. The Lippmann brush is short, round and average in width with flexible bristles that easily fan out over the nail plate.
The Mermaids all have a thin, watery, semi-sheer texture to them which helps suspend the multiple types of glitter and shimmer and makes application a breeze. Given that, you do need three coats of color to achieve full coverage. Also, because we are talking glitter, removal is a chore and the polish eats top coat. I used two coats of Deborah Lippmann Gel Lab top coat and that results in a smooth, not slick, surface.
Deborah Lippmann Do The Mermaid has a shimmery pale lavender base packed with royal purple micro-glitter and sequins.
Deborah Lippmann Do The Mermaid
Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Eyes is a metallic, almost chrome, cyan peppered with gold micro-glitter and larger electric blue sequins. Thankfully, unlike traditional chromes, there is no streakiness in Mermaid’s Eyes underbelly.
Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Eyes
Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Kiss has so much complexity it’s almost hard to nail down all its components. This twinkling blush-based shade mixes champagne and baby pink micro-glitter with blush and raspberry sequins. It’s the champagne glitter that gives it a slightly metallic look.
Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Kiss
Deborah Lippmann Million Dollar Mermaid is a pale tangerine semi-sheer shimmer filled with orange and gold micro-glitter and metallic orange sequins. This along with Do The Mermaid are the least metallic shades in collection.
Deborah Lippmann Million Dollar Mermaid
Of course, attention must be paid to the shade that started it all, Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Dream. A metallic turquoise base incorporates bright blue and gold micro-glitter with blue sequins.
Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Dream
The semi-sheer nature of The Mermaids lends itself to glitter gradient nail art and two of the shades from the Deborah Lippmann GIRLS collection are perfectly suited to a tonal gradient. Using Deborah Lippmann Marnie and Shoshanna as the bases for Mermaid’s Kiss and Do The Mermaid, respectively, makes for a sweet and sparkly look.
Deborah Lippmann “The Mermaids” Glitter Gradient Nail Art
Bottom Line: I hope you’re sitting down for this because I’m about to shock you. I’m having a serious love affair with Mermaid’s Kiss. It’s my favorite in the collection. “A PINK!?!?” is exactly what the boyfriend exclaimed when I wore it to dinner last night. I know, I know, I’m just as surprised as you are but it’s got me under its spell. Something about the mixture of glitters and its overall ethereal quality drew me in. Who would have guessed?
Million Dollar Mermaid is definitely my runner-up fave in the collection with Do The Mermaid nipping at its heels. Now, as if I haven’t dropped a big enough bomb on you, I’m actually not that big of a fan of Mermaid’s Dream or Mermaid’s Eyes. They’re beautiful, yes, but something about their texture and metallic quality feels heavy and clunky to me. They do, however, draw up visions of my favorite merman (yes I have Zoolander on the brain), so I leave you with this gem.
Deborah Lippmann “The Mermaids” nail polishes are available now at DeborahLippmann.com, Beauty.com, Barneys New York, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom. Nail polishes retail for $19/ea for a .5oz bottle.
Thoughts on The Mermaids? Are you happy Deborah Lippmann expanded the line past Mermaid’s Dream? Which of these do you plan to pick up? What kind of a glitter gradient would you create with these shades?
Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Deborah Lippmann. Affiliate links may appear via a third party link service. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
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These are gorgeous! My favorite is Do The Mermaid but I also really love Mermaid’s Kiss.
The original Mermaid’s Dream has been on my wishlist for years and now I have to add the new Mermaids as well. They’re simply pretty!
The way you used these in a gradient is just brilliant!!!
Thank you so much Amy! I’m still not great at applying glitter fades but I guess practice makes perfect.
Oh, wow! I love all of these. They look great on you. I think Mermaid’s Dream is my favorite. Wonder how long til Revlon puts out dupes! Haha!
No kidding! Should we start a betting pool?
OH WOW. I want!! Mainly Mermaid’s Kiss and Do the Mermaid! Gorgeous!!
The gradient is perfect
Thanks! I’m not that confident with my feeble attempts at nail art so I really appreciate the feedback.
Holy Mother of God, the gradient is awesome!
Thank you! Let me know if you try it or something similar
These are really pretty!
Love the colors, but even with a double discount at work, they are not worth buying because they chip really bad. Unfortunately, Lippmann glitter polishes all chip bad for me.
I’m sorry to hear that. I’ve never had issues wearing any of the DL shades; glitters, cremes, etc but wear can vary so much based on the other products you use and your own chemistry. Bummer
Oooh, these are nice. I always have trouble with the glitter ones, the glitter tends to clump up in one place in my nails. Do you have a tip for avoiding this? Or does it depend on the formula? Thanks!
It really depends on the formula. Typically if it’s a clear or super sheer based glitter with really large particles or multiple sized particles that aren’t super packed in the base, they won’t spread out easily. With those, I dot the polish at the base of my nail, re-dip the brush and then spread it out. If needed, I’ll dot the glitter from the brush.
These particular polishes don’t have that issue so, even though sequins don’t lay down perfectly uniform, they don’t get all clumped up much either.
I’m wearing Mermaid’s Dream for the first time right now, and I LOVE it so much! I think I agree that Mermaid’s Kiss is the best of this new collection, and I’m also not a pink girl. I don’t own a single bottle of pink nail polish, but I’m going to have to make this my first!
Look at us, embracing new things! I love it
Not crazy about the shimmer, but looks cool!
I love the gradient you did. I am playing with the mermaids using multi-colored polka dots. Love your blog!
Best swatches I’ve seen on these! Way to go! (fist-bump) I’ve been wanting Mermaid’s Dream but have to add more!
Great review which put a smile on my face with the video at the end :-)) I totally agree with you, I was not such a big fan of mermaid’s dream but I still bought them all, as they are original and I don’t have anything like these in my stash. When they arrived, I was a bit disappointed with mermaid’s eyes because it didn’t show the glitter as it should. But I loved the pink and the purple. I think the tangerine one will look better once I have a bit more tan going on. If I would buy just two, these would be the pink and the purple for sure
Love love love this collection!! Beautifully swatched too :o)
I have tried a couple of glitter polishes and have problems with big chips coming off. How is everyone finding this polish? and any tips to stop the chipping? It could be the polishes I used but it doesn’t look good when you look down half way through the day and half the polish is missing.
I wore Mermaid’s Kiss for a few days and saw a bit of tip wear but no major chipping. I used the Lippmann Gel Lab with it. What base and top coat did you use?
Hi Michelle,
I was trying Nails Inc coats, I’ll try the Lippmann Gel Lab and see how I get on.
I like the pink and lavander color! It looks so cute and girly!
OMG, I’m lovin this Deborah Lippmann collection. I especially like “Do the Mermaid” and “Mermaid’s Dream”. They’re gorge!! Can’t wait to try them out. Awesome blog!
Hi Michelle,
Do you always use the DL Gel Lab top coat, or did you only use it for this particular mani? It sounds like this top coat worked well for you – would you say that it’s a good one?
Hey Henna!! I just used it for this one but in general it’s a nice top coat if a bit pricey. I wouldn’t say it’s a replacement for gel polish and I hear the Essence gel-like top coat is amazing for only a $1. You should see if they carry that in Canada.
Hi, I really love Deborah Lippmann’s nail polish, but for me they chip quite fast (I might as well also say that I rarely use a base coats)… And well I was wondering if you would recommend anything to help stop the polishes chipping as fast, e.g. like one of her base coats or any other tips and tricks?
Thanks in advance!
Using a base coat will make a difference. It helps adhere the polish to your nail bed. Any base coat will be better than nothing but I’m a fan of tacky base coats like CND Stickey or Orly Rubberized Bonder.
I loooove Mermaid’s Dream on my toes in the summer, makes me feel like I’m constantly sitting with my feet in clear, green sea water
The chunkyness is less appearent on the toes, and with a couple of layers of top coats, it nearly disappears. And also, it makes the polish last three weeks!
Now I’m craving Mermaid’s Kiss, looks interesting!
How is the removal on toes? I’ve never worn any of these for that length of time.
This week I found Mermaid’s Kiss in my local Ulta. I was like “WHAT?!?!?” and snapped it up so fast! I’m wearing it right now into its second week and it looks so pretty and amazing; best $20 I ever spent. I shall find Million Dollar Mermaid somehow.