Showing posts with label holographic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holographic. Show all posts

Review: Sephora Formula X Nail Polish

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On my recent Ohio trip I bought these two polishes from Sephora.

The holographic effect on this one is subtler than the other holo polishes I've tried. It has to be in direct sunlight for there to be any noticeable effect.

Here is "Surreal"



And OH! Zone:


OH! Zone had a more noticeable effect than Surreal and can be used as a top coat because it's basically clear. But it's an actual glitter polish, which means it's harder to remove than cream polishes. That also means I won't use it often because it shreds my cotton polish remover pads.

At $10.50 a bottle, I'm not sure I'll be buying more of this brand unless there's a decent sale or they come up with something unique.

Maybelline Color Show Trend Effects - Holographic & Polka Dots

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Melissa heard about Maybelline releasing Trend Effects polishes including "Holographic" and "Polka Dots" a few weeks ago. Since then I've been stopping by the beauty section at every Walmart I visit, impatiently waiting for them. Finally I spotted them yesterday.



At the cheap price of $2.97 I bought two of the "Holographics" and one "Polka Dots". The two holographic polishes I bought were "Lavender Lustre" and "Mystic Green". (Note: The lighting made the lavender look silver in the bottle, but it looks more like lavender.)



I did two coats of Lavender Lustre, here they are in order:

Lavender Lustre One Coat

Lavender Lustre Two Coats

I did two coats of Mystic Green, here they are in order:

Mystic Green One Coat

Mystic Green Two Coats


And the Polka Dots color I bought was "Clearly Spotted", the black/white glitter polish.


I did three coats of this, here they are in order:

One coat of "Clearly Spotted"

Two coats of "Clearly Spotted"

Three coats of "Clearly Spotted"

Findings

Holographic -- The holographic polishes are not truly holographic like the Layla, Julep and even the China Glaze I've tried. Melissa read somewhere that these were actually duochrome instead. I'd classify them more as a metallic polish with fine glitter. But as you can tell, they do require at least two coats of polishes. Most metallics I get are full coverage with one coat. However at $2.97 a bottle, they're pretty damn nice whatever you call them.

Polka Dots -- The color I bought definitely requires a base coat. It's clear with black and white glitter of varied sizes. It seems the other colors cover better than this one--check out Melissa's post on the Jade color to see what I mean. And like most glitters, this is not fun to remove.

China Glaze - Holographic - "Don't Be a Luna-Tic"

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Saturday we were in Indy for Ironman 3, that meant a shopping trip. I already posted about the Ulta Nail FX kit. Here's what else I bought:

China Glazes's Holographic polish in "Don't Be a Luna-Tic"



It's hard to tell in these photos but the effect on this is much more understated than the Layla holographic or the Ulta holographic top coat. (The flash on my camera really made them pop.)

The effect is more along the lines of the Julep holographics.

These were buy 2 get 1 free but the price was a whopping $14. That's way, way too much in my opinion especially given the "understated" nature of the effect. I think Ulta may have been gouging...

Ulta Nail FX Kit

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Yesterday we headed up to Indy for Iron Man 3 and I stopped at Ulta on the way back.
I discovered this intriguing set of top coats for $15. I'll confess I specifically wanted it because it claimed to have a holographic top coat. These are full-sized bottles so for $15, that's a pretty good deal.

Their web site says:
Set includes 4 topcoats with benefits ranging from extended wear, increased shine, and intensified color. Choose from matte, smokey and holographic finishes.

Here's what the box says:
  • Color Enhancing topcoat - Brightens and intensifies any nail enamel. Pops in direct sunlight and glows under black light.
  • Matte topcoat - Create a matte effect when applied over any shade.
  • Holographic topcoat - Futuristic rainbow holographic effect when used alone. Silvery holographic frost when used over any colored nail enamel.
  • Smokey topcoat - Gives any shade of polish a dark smokey effect. Extends wear and increases shine.



Here's a swatch of one coat on Julep's "Rose". 
  • Thumb = no top coat
  • Index finger = color enhancing -- this one doesn't seem to do a whole lot but I didn't try it under a black light and I didn't try it in direct sunlight.
  • Middle finger = holographic -- nice effect but it does partially cover the underlying color. I'd expected it to be a little more sheer than it is.
  • Ring finger = matte -- disappointing matte effect compared to every other matte top coat I've tried.
  • Pinky finger = smokey - Darkens the color. Supposedly makes it shinier and last longer? I didn't notice extra shine, mostly because its darker than the original color. And I didn't leave it on long enough to test the durability.

Findings:

As I mentioned, this was only $15 for 4 bottles. It's a pretty good value.
Though I'm a bit disappointed the matte wasn't better with one coat but the holographic top coat probably makes up for that.

Julep Cupid's Mystery Box

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After the last Julep mystery box came with tons of products and some sweet polishes, it was a no-brainer to order the latest box -- Cupid's Mystery Box.

It claimed it would come with at least four Valentine's Day colors plus a mystery holographic or a gift code for the color of my choice. They said I might get a VISA gift card and maybe jewelry by Baublebar. All for $19.99.

What I got in the box was five colors and a product, "Lip Vernis" in a pale pink color called "Camellia" (one I'll never use).

As well as the following nails:

  • Emma (silvery glitter)
  • Evangeline (pumpkin holo)
  • Charlotte (lavender)
  • Maya (pearly shimmer)
  • Rose (red)

Swatches of these colors shown in order left to right and on the lovely wrapping paper I got from my favorite Welsh authors:



Piper Polish - Flash Mob

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I've always had my eyes on holographic nail polishes but never bought one. I finally took the plunge and decided to go with an Indie nail polish company on Etsy.

Piper Polish Co.
Color: Flash Mob
Price: $10.75 + $2.50 shipping
Size: 15ml
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PiperPolish

Needless to say, I'm in love with it.

Onto the pictures!

Without flash
With flash
Close up with flash

Julep February Box - Bombshell

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For this month I switched up my style profile from my polish-heavy "It Girl" because I wanted this month's product. I also really wanted a holo so I picked "Bombshell"

Here's what came in my box:
  • Oxygen Nail Treatment
  • Ginger (beige holographic) 
  • Laura (olive creme)
  • EXTRA - Freedom Polymer Topcoat
  • EXTRA - Eye lash curler
  • EXTRA - Candy hearts ;)
A closer look at the products:


I pre-ordered the Freedom Top Coat back in December so I already had an open bottle. It's not bad. I don't think its worth the extra money beyond other salon-type top coats. It doesn't set particularly fast ( it suggests you wait 5 minutes). And it has chipped within days. Definitely not gel-like as it promises. But it does have a nice glossy finish.

I've yet to try the Oxygen treatment because it suggest you not use it with any other polish and I was too eager to try out the holographic polish. As always, if I find the oxygen treat is amazing, I'll dedicate an entire post to it :)

A closer look at the polishes:



A closer look at the lash curler:


To be honest I've never really understood this whole lash curling concept.


Here are a few shots of the polishes. I usually do at least a few nails with only 1 coat but I forgot this time around. The olive creme did well with only one coat. The holo needed at least two. The holo nails in the photo have three coats (two coats, polymer on top of it and then another coat of holo). 




The holographic effect on this polish isn't quite as noticeable as the Layla Hologram Effect polish I showed a few months back. That said, I like the color on this polish. It's a nice neutral, understated holographic that will be really nice in the warm summer months.

Here's a (poor) video of it: 



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