Nail Polish Stress Test: Claire’s Color of the Year

Let me admit this up front: I’m not a trendy person. When I picked up Color of the Year from Claire’s, it was because it was on sale for $2 down from $5.50, and a color I didn’t already have, Marsala. I’d completely forgotten that it’s Pantone’s color of the year for 2015.

Pantone defines Marsala as “a naturally robust and earthy wine red”. Yep, that description works for me!  According to the cap, this polish is supposed to have a “gel effect”.  I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean, and neither did the store associates when I asked them. I noticed the formula is very similar to Revlon’s All In from their Gel Envy line. It’s thicker and seems to have a powdery texture to it that makes it easier to apply neatly. When it dried, it looked slightly glossier than their average polish, but in the absence of any other instructions, I applied one coat of Seche Vite on top of it anyway.

Color of the Year can potentially stamp, but you have to work really fast. The color....urgh..... Instead of a "naturally robust and earthy wine red", it came out as an ugly bright rust red that doesn't look pretty. Assuming you're happy with how your design came out, odds are good it'll get trashed when you try to put top coat on. This happened to me multiple times with different top coats. It's just not worth the hassle. 

Trying to water marble with this polish will break your heart. Initially I thought it was going to work great, but it shriveled afterwards. A lot. The first time I tried it, I thought I'd dinged it without noticing. Nope! I had the same results the second time. I don't know if it's because the formula was incompatible with the other polish I used, but it was bizarre. The pigment also bled like crazy. I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd used it with a contrasting color!

It held up about as well as the average wannabe gel polish, taking on major tip wear over the course of one day.

Verdict: Loser Polish

I’m inclined to be kinder to this polish because of the price. At $2, my expectations are far lower than they would be for $8 polish. Nobody said anything about this polish being longer wearing, which is a consideration. Still, this got beat up pretty quickly, and it's useless for nail art.  There are better quality polishes available in this color, so I’d pass on this one.