Addiction Mistress Nail Polish

During my last trip to Tokyo, I picked up two Addiction Nail Polishes in 022 Mistress and 009 Code Grey. I was curious to try these as since their introduction, Addiction's polishes are often ranked highly in the Japanese beauty magazine awards. In the Vogue (Japan) Beauty Award 2012, they took the gold in the Mode category. Factory Girl took the top position in Voce Beauty Awards 2013 for Spring/Summer while Girl On Fire placed second. In the Biteki Best Cosme awards for the first half of 2013, Factory Girl, Yellow Cab and Girl On Fire placed top. (See other Addiction winners here.)

Addiction's polishes retail at 1890yen each (for 12ml) and come in three finishes: Sheer, Color and Pearl. Both Mistress and Code Grey are Color types. Mistress is described as a non-pearl creamy mysterious rose grey. The lacquer applies smoothly and evenly without any glooping, despite the fact that I've not touched it since purchasing it about ten months ago. With two thin coats, there was still a tiny bit of my nails showing through, so it's not quite opaque coverage unless you go for three coats.

I was impressed by how fast it dried in under five minutes with a reflective shine. There's a small nick on my index finger but that was from after applying the Canmake gel coat. There is also no strong scent, unlike Jill Stuart nail polishes. According to So Lonely in Gorgeous who has reviewed a number of their polishes, these stay chip-free for four to five days.

The only minor flaw with Mistress is the separation of these orange swirls in the bottle which do not vanish no matter how many times I shake the bottle. Nevertheless, it does not affect the color when applied.

The closest dupe in my collection for Mistress is Sephora's popular Metro Chic. Mistress has a slightly darker brown tone than Metro Chic which is more greyish. If you own Metro Chic, you can afford to skip Mistress. Although they are pricey, Addiction's polishes are well worth checking out if you happen to visit Japan.