Morgan Taylor Island Treasures for Summer 2014 – Swatches & Review
As I told you when I named my Top 10 Summer Nail Polish Collections, Morgan Taylor Island Treasures made the list for its mix of “me” colors with more mainstream shades like pink and fuchsia. The brand really hasn’t gotten enough attention for its top notch formula which you’ll get to see in a new video series I’m testing out.
Formula & Application
Morgan Taylor nail polish is 5-Free (Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP, Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor). The tapered glass bottles have a weighty, substantial feel and the smooth plastic cap has a bit of a curve at the base which rests comfortably between fingers. The brush is long, flat, dense and medium in width. The bristles are firm but can fan out to give good coverage.
The formula isn’t quite as watery as Essie’s but it’s not thick and creamy either. The pigmentation is strong though some lighter shades require three coats for full coverage on camera. It was only the peach creme, Beach Babe, that gave me any streaking issues but after three coats it’s nice and smooth.
So about this video I mentioned above. As much as I try to give you a good picture of how polishes apply through words, I thought a visual may be more useful. That prompted me to film this “Try It On” video of the collection. I hope it’s helpful and I’d love your thoughts on whether I should do these for more reviews.
ps my camera was set on a lower quality when I filmed myself so that’s why it’s not as clear as the nail shots. Mistakes were made.
If you can’t view the video below CLICK HERE.
Morgan Taylor Beach Babe is a peach creme. It’s not at all pastel or chalky and has quite a bit of orange in its base. It reminds me of the old school “flesh” Crayola crayon that was representative of no one’s actual skin tone.
Morgan Taylor Beach Babe
Morgan Taylor Going Native is a sea green creme. It’s a perfect blend of turquoise and teal in that it doesn’t lean too blue or too green. Something along the lines of Essie Where’s My Chauffeur?
Morgan Taylor Going Native
Morgan Taylor Making Waves is yet another one of those power blue cremes that I’m obsessed with this season. It’s a slightly lighter version of Milani Blue Zoom and more purple than JINSoon Cool Blue.
Morgan Taylor Making Waves
Morgan Taylor Sarong but So Right is a vivid fuchsia with a metallic shimmer and tiny tonal flecks. It’s deeper and richer than CND Sultry Sunset.
Morgan Taylor Sarong but So Right
Morgan Taylor Take Me To Your Tribe is a periwinkle creme. It’s a lighter, brighter China Glaze Secret Peri-winkle, an all-time fave of mine.
Morgan Taylor Take Me To Your Tribe
Morgan Taylor Tropical Punch is a hot pink creme. It’s festive and, in spite of my general aversion to pink, I kind of want to wear it on my toes.
Morgan Taylor Tropical Punch
Bottom Line: I’ve had nothing but good experiences with the Morgan Taylor polishes I’ve tried. The application and wear have been on par with the top brands and I love the color range of this collection. Making Waves, Take Me To Your Tribe and Going Native are my obvious standouts but Tropical Punch has given me wandering eye syndrome. The only shade that didn’t impress me as much as the rest is Beach Babe.
Morgan Taylor Island Treasures is available now. As a professional brand, they are only sold at salons and spas so locating it locally can be a challenge. LoxaBeauty.com is an authorized online retailer where the polishes sell for $8.50/ea.
Have you tried Morgan Taylor nail polish yet? Has it popped up at a salon near you? What do you think of the Island Treasures collection? Was my application video of help? What would make it better?
Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Morgan Taylor. Affiliate links appear in this post. When you purchase through an affiliate link, you help support this site. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
I love the video. It’s a great way to see potential polish application issues and if they are a dealbreaker.
They make some gorgeous cremes. Great swatches on them.
I haven’t tried it or heard of it before now. The colors look gorgeous and I love that it’s 5 free. Price seems fair! I’d love to try it sometime. Will keep my eyes open for it. Thank you for sharing!
I must say that when I first read the beginning of this post I thought “Hey, a video to show the formula, will this really be interesting?” But it really was! Great video! It was interesting to see how the different polishes applied and you showed it great. And fun to see you “live”. I vote for more videos like this one.
Thanks! I wasn’t sure how it would be received but I enjoy watching live swatch videos so I hoped others would too.
so right is so pretty
Very nice color
I liked your video, but I’m not sure how long you waited between coats to apply more. I have heard of the brand, but at the time it wasn’t available at retail. The website listed as an online merchant is under construction at the moment. Do you know of any other sellers? Thank you.
Hi Gwen! Sorry, I didn’t respond earlier. I wait a minute between coats and, thanks to your comment, I included that info in my latest video. The website seems to be working now and, unfortunately, it’s the only authorized online seller I know of. I’ve seen the brand on Amazon but I don’t know if this collection is listed. I hope they up their distribution soon because it’s a great line of polish.
That was fun to watch, and you look so pretty!
Thank you friend! I just wish the quality had been better. Lesson learned.
I want them all!! Are they available in stores?
I wish they had a salon locator on their website because I’m not sure where to buy them in stores. They’re only carried in salons. Hopefully a big chain will start to carry them soon.
I love the video! Fun music, and it offers a little insight into your techniques for applying color. I still can’t apply with three-stroke confidence yet. I’m glad you provide swatch pics, because my phone loads those quicker than the video, and they’re great for side-by-side comparisons of other colors you have reviewed. Thanks for changing it up and keeping it comfortably familiar!
You’re welcome Abbi! It took years of practice to perfect my polishing technique and I still jack up my nails on the regular.
Loving the concept of the video series. So great to see how the polish applies.
Thanks doll! Happy to hear you like it.
I own about 30 bottles, think thats a good hint if I like Morgan Taylor?
Yes, it is my all time favorite!!!!!
That’s great to hear. I’m so glad you like their polish. Any favorite colors?
I love the video idea! Thanks for dedicating so much time. I know that’s going to difficult to do all the time, especially for large collections, but I hope you might continue to do at least a few from most (especially for any particularly great or troublesome polishes).
This colors in this collection are so lovely-beachy. Except for maybe Sarong but so Right, which I don’t feel is beachy but still love the glowiness (huge purple fan).
Thank you Elisa! It is time consuming to do videos but if it’s helpful, I will try to make them as often as possible.
Yes! More video reviews, please! It’s very helpful to see how the color changes with each layer of polish.
You got it! I can’t say that every review will include a video but I’ll try to do them as often as I can.
I like the video – it gives an even better sense of how the nail polishes go on and how thick/thin they are.
Thanks Hilary! I appreciate the positive feedback.
Going Native, Making Waves, and Take Me To Your Tribe are my kind of colors! I haven’t tried this brand. Haven’t seen it locally. I’m gonna have to find this!
Yeah, I hope they get better distribution since a lot of people prefer to buy polish in person. I’m a big online shopper but only having one site to purchase from makes it difficult.
how can i buy this nail polishs
You can purchase it on LoxaBeauty.com
I think the names “Going Native” and “Take Me to Your Tribe” are a little offensive to Aboriginal people. Surely they could have come up with other names for these colours. Especially when the theme of the collection is Island Treasures – there has to be hundreds of cool names they could have chosen.
I have been using the going native for a while and love it. Morgan Taylor puts out good products that don’t contain a lot of sketchy ingredients.
I agree. I’m very impressed with the line.
I absolutely Love the video! What a wonderful idea.!!!
My sister-in-law just recently introduced me to Morgan Taylor polish and I LOVE it. I went from having the one she gave me to 6 in the course of a month. I just wish I could purchase locally instead of online. Thanks for the reviews and I love the video idea!
I know! I wish they were carried in more stores. I hope a store like ULTA picks up the line.