August 18, 2010

Paint Scheming


My latest obsession: virtually painting my fingernails on OPI using their vast palette of audacious hues.

Why don plain old red when you could rock Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It? You could scrap a shade of red altogether and try Who the Shrek are you? Or, you could really splurge with Extravagance. Hard Candy makes seductive shades like Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong, Hypnotic and Frenzy.

On my own personal fascination scale, that activity is followed closely by this game.

Why paint your walls a basic blue when you could coat them with a Fragrant Cloud or take an Aegean Cruise or dip into an Inky Pool? Why brown when Labrador Sands is an option? Or, how about Enigma from Sherwin-Williams? Valspar’s Ancestral Haze?

The verbal branding of these types of products is challenging (seriously, how does one delineate between I Think Pink and Pink-a-Doodle?), but it is clearly a powerful tool. Color naming takes advantage of the subjectivity and emotional responses of customers. These names help to paint a picture (no pun intended, I promise) for the consumer; they are buying not just a can of paint, not just a bottle of nail polish, but an entire experience created from a single shade. These special names make the customer part of a secret, a little wink-wink in an up close and personal world.

Perhaps you would like more than just warmth for your family room; try Buttered Toffee. If you wanted, you could turn your cabin den into a rustic getaway with help from Wild Frontier. Maybe your sunroom could be accented by Pool Party.

Did I recently have Mrs. O’Leary’s BBQ brushed on my toes? Why, yes. Yes, I did. Because for me, summertime isn’t just about the vibrancy and heat, it’s about family gatherings and pulled pork sandwiches. And, I had thought about moonlighting at a nearby diner for the summer, but I’m Not Really a Waitress.

One Comment

  1. Kathy   August 23, 2010 12:15 pm / Reply

    Makes me want to come up with my own palette of colors, perhaps from song or movie titles — Smoke on the Water, Blue Velvet, Mellow Yellow, Purple Haze, Lady in Red, Dancing in the Moonlight, Breakfast at Tiffany’s…wait, how about, I’ve Got a Headache, Not Right Now-Maybe Later, or Go Ask Your Mother– those evoke endless memories (ah, another color name) that make you want to dip and dabble your toes in too.

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