Elianto: Navy

I never really noticed how much Elianto makes up the bulk of my stash until today. Must be because there's a store near the MRT station I take coming home from school. (Note: The Metro Rail Transit is one of our train systems here in Metro Manila.)

This is an almost-black blue that reaches bottle color in 2 quick coats. I like it for when I'm in the mood for dark nails that aren't black.

The blue is very noticeable in strong light, as you can see here:

The Face Shop: PP406

Shimmery purple! This polish reminds me of outer space.

It took 3 coats to achieve bottle color.

Bobbie Pinacolada

This is a frosted, buttery yellow. (I must have been channeling Brooke's ebay post when I bought this!)



Application (3 coats) was smooth, but drying was pretty weird. There were bumps all over when the polish had finally finished drying. Maybe I didn't wait enough for the polish to set in between coats?



Such a pretty color, though.

Brand Info: Others

Here you'll find details on other Asian polish brands that aren't as established and specialized as Elianto, TFS, and Skinfood. This list will be updated as I encounter them.

Bobbie - PHP20.00, found in most grocery stores and drugstores. Comes only in frosted finishes. Limited color spectrum that neither focuses on funky shades nor neutrals.

Caronia - PHP25.00, found in grocery stores, drugstores, department stores - everywhere. This is a very common, relatively old Philippine brand. (It was already around when my mother was in her teens in the late 70s!) Comes in frosted and creme finishes, but the color spectrum tends to focus on pinks, reds, and neutrals.

Colortrends - PHP23.00, found in some grocery stores and drugstores. Comes in frosted and creme finishes. Extent of color spectrum unknown, because I've been to stores that stock certain colors, and other stores that stock other certain colors.

Ever Bilena - PHP38.00, found in drugstores. Comes in frosted and creme finishes. Color spectrum focuses on pinks, reds, and neutrals, with the occasional pastels thrown in.

Careline - PHP10.00 for the small bottle, PHP32.00 for the big bottle, found in grocery stores, drugstores, department stores. This brand is owned by the same company that makes Ever Bilena polishes. Focuses mostly on creme reds, pinks, and neutrals, with some funky purples thrown in.

Caress - PHP12.00, found in some drugstores. This brand has a small color selection composed of some work-safe colors and some other funky neon colors. Finishes are mostly creme.

Chic - PHP30.95, found in some drugstores. This brand seems to offer only neon colors. Finishes all appear to be jelly.

Elianto: Shimmer Pink

Like its name implies, this is a shimmery pink. It's slightly darker than Candy Pink from the previous post, but still needs 3 coats to achieve bottle color.


I think I like how this looks on my hands better than Candy Pink, actually. Excuse the messy painting. XD

Brand Info: Skin Food

Skin Food is another Korean cosmetics brand. It is considerably older than Elianto and The Face Shop, having been established in 1957. Products from Skin Food are inspired from and include real food ingredients. Very few malls in the Philippines have Skin Food outlets, and even fewer department stores carry it. Despite this, Skin Food stores are almost always well-stocked.

Most nail polish from Skin Food is worth PHP185.00 (about $4.00), although some variants can reach as high as PHP425.00 (about $9.00). The brand offers plenty of colors not only in the usual creme, frosted, and shimmery finishes but also in milky and holographic ones.

Brand Info: The Face Shop

The Face Shop is a Korean cosmetics company that also began in 2005. It is a brand that strives to use all-natural ingredients in its products while retaining affordability. This brand has many standalone shops in most, if not all, malls in the Philippines.

Nail polish from The Face Shop costs PHP95.00, again roughly $2.00. The color selection focuses mainly on reds, pinks, and neutrals, but there are some funky shades too. The Face Shop does not offer many creme finishes, prioritizing frosted and shimmery ones instead.

Brand Info: Elianto

Elianto is a Malaysian cosmetics company that began in 2005. The brand can often be found in department stores in the Philippines, although it has standalone shops of its own in some malls. The word "elianto" is Italian for sunflower.

Nail polish from Elianto costs PHP99.00, which is roughly $2.00. Many colors are available, and there is a wide selection of creme, frosted, and shimmery finishes.

Currently, Elianto makes up the bulk of my stash because of my easy access to it. (There's a store near the train station I use.)

Elianto: Candy Pink

This is a bright and happy pink with microglitter. It applies sheer, so it takes a lot of coats to make it look exactly like the bottle color. I used 4 coats in this:

Close-up: