** This post was written by Fiona. She no longer blogs for Swatch And Learn. However, Mary still continues to blog and will be happy to reply to your comment. **

Don’t you just hate it when you’re wrong about a polish that you thought you’d love? You get all excited about bringing a new color home. Put it on and realize that it doesn’t have that wowness that would knock you over. And then you think you could’ve used that money to get another color.

That’s how I feel about FingerPaints Art Dealer Teal-er. It’s nice and lovely but definitely nothing special. In the bottle, the color looks like an opalescent soft teal. For some reason, I thought of a paradise island… with its clear blue-green water that has a softened glare because the sun is shining so brightly.

I’m glad I got this during a Buy 2 Get 1 Free FP sale at Sally Beauty Supply. It makes me feel better that I didn’t pay full price for it. Let me tell you why!

FingerPaints Art Dealer Teal-er Swatches & Pictures

*~* 3 Coats with Top Coat in Natural Light *~*

*~* 3 Coats with Top Coat in Artificial Light *~*

*~* 3 Coats with Top Coat in Flash Light *~*

Claims: TRUSTED

X High-gloss finish
√ Fast drying
√ Long wear
~ Smooth application

Key Notes

• Name: FingerPaints Art Dealer Teal-er
• Amount: 15ml or 0.5fl oz
• What I Paid: $5.99 CAD
• Price Per Unit: $0.40/ml or $11.98/fl oz
• Other Colors Available: A Heart for Art, Add and Abstract, Art Auction Auburn, Art Deal of Fortune, Art Lofty Toffee, Be A Pal-ette, Blank Canvas Cream, Brushstroke Blush, Color Inside the Lines, Copper Elements, Coral Complement, Drawn to You, Easel Come Easel Go, Etched in Bronze, Expressionist Red, Free Form Fawn, Get Real-ism, Gossamer White, Model Colour, Paper Maiche, Primary Color, Putty in My Hands, Tapestry in Taupe, Well-Cultured Pearl, What an Exhibition!, It’s an Original, Figure of Art, Private Collection, Silver Sculpture, Rose Patina, Pretty as a Portrait, Chroma Coral, Lavender Highlight, Laugh My Art Off, Framed in Red, Brilliant Brushstroke, Artist’s Inspiration, Natural Talent, Gallery Glam, Pink Imagination, Watermelon Watercolor, Wine at the Gallery, Shades of Dark, Tangerine Tint, Drawn to This Shade, Artist’s Sapphire, Picasso’s Puce, Sketch-Y, Bauhaus Burgundy, Whose Hue?, Vermilion Dollar Painting, Gogh Red!, Curator’s Crimson, Art You Blue?, Romanticism Ruby, MichaelTangelo, Black Expressionism, Meet Me at the Met, Art of Theft, Key to My Art, Leonardo Da-Vin-Pink, My Art Belongs to You, Louvre This Pink, Hue Left a Message?, Art You Kidding Me?, Sketch N Etch, Art Nouv-Yellow, Stealing My Beating Art, Easel-Y Entertained, Guggen I’m Lime, Cerulean Seascape, Vintage Violet, Scenery Greenery, Holly-Wood Frame, Tough Art to Follow, Sketchy Character, Tiffany Imposter, Purple Palette, Red Brandt, Avante Gardge Green, Prints and Printsess, Go Van Gogh!, It Baroque, Where Art Renoir?, Hue Are You?, Bronze Sculpture, Warm He-Art-Ed, I Pink I Can, Don’t Make a Scene
• Where to Buy: Sally Beauty Supply online & in-store

FingerPaints Art Dealer Tealer Review

Color & Finish

FingerPaints Art Dealer Tealer is a soft teal color that complements my skintone well. Depending on the light you’re in, the color changes from darker to more muted, but there’s nothing really special about it. It has a very soft pearlescent finish, the only thing that stands out about this hue. I’ve been drawn to unique shades and colors that demand attention lately, so this one doesn’t really do it for me. One thing I like about it though is that it dries completely smooth with no lumps or bubbles.

This color actually reminds me of Rimmel Green with Envy, which I already own. I’ve swatched these two shades side by side for comparison purposes. I like Green with Envy more because of the finish – it almost looks metallic. The shade is also slightly more concentrated and is opaque in two coats.

Opacity

While Rimmel Green with Envy is a 2-coater, Finger Paints Art Dealer Teal-er is a 3-coater. You might be able to get away with 2 if you coats are thicker and you apply carefully, but I saw some sheer spots on mine. My second encounter with FingerPaints, and both times it’s been 3-coaters – I hope it’s not the norm!

Formula & Application

I don’t really love the application of Finger Paints Art Dealer Tealer. I wouldn’t say it’s difficult to apply, just not as easy as many other polishes I’ve tried. Wasn’t expecting this because FingerPaints Laugh My Art Off was incredible.

If your brush goes over an area where you just applied color to, it sort of brushes the polish off. I got the hang of it after a bit by having more product on the brush, which results in slightly thicker-than-normal coats.

Drying Time

Another thing that surprised me with Art Dealer Tealer by Finger Paints is that it takes longer to dry. I would say give it about 10 minutes before applying a 2nd or 3rd coat, just to make sure. I touched my nails after 5 minutes and it felt tacky!

Ingredients

Art Dealer Teal-er by FP is Big-3 Free, so don’t worry about toluene, formaldehyde or DBP!

Longevity

I’m pretty rough on my nails. Unless I’m careful, I usually see a lot of tip wear. Art Dealer Tealer scores a point in terms of longevity because it is resistant to chipping and tip wear!

Pros  Dries completely smooth Lasts a long time Free of toluene, formaldehyde & DBP

Cons  Takes longer to dry Color isn’t too unique Can be hard to apply

Final Verdict: 7.3/10

I think if I don’t already own Green with Envy, I would like this a lot more. It’s a pretty color in its own right. But since I do and I like that more, I feel like I wasted my money on this.

What do you think of this color? Do you think I’m biased because I already have something similar to it?