Nail Polish Stress Test: KB Shimmer Ruby

I love checking out independent nail polish makers, or “indies” as they’re called. They seem to drive the innovation of the nail polish world, and make more fun polishes than traditional brands like Revlon do. I don’t actually buy many because they’re also pricier. This is fair and understandable, yet I hesitate because I don’t want to spend $$$ on loser polish. However, I’m finding as I blog that if I’m wondering if something is any good, other people are too. So, let’s find out together if today’s polish is any good; KB Shimmer’s Ruby.

Ruby is from their recently released Birthstone collection. It’s an incredible looking polish! They put metallic flakes in a cool toned red base, with a little holographic glitter added for spice. Photos do not do this justice! It is much shinier and sparkly in person! I used the recommended two coats with one coat of Seche Vite on top. It’s not quite smooth when it dries, but top coat takes care of that.

As you can see, this polish can stamp. Before you try this yourself, I want you to be advised of a couple things. First of all, the flakes in this polish are actual metal, so you do run the risk of scratching your stamping plates. This didn’t happen to me, but if it concerns you, maybe don’t use this polish for that purpose. Also, Ruby doesn’t play nice with every stamping plate.  It didn’t work with any of my Bundle Monster plates, but I had pretty good luck with my Pueen Stamping Buffet plates. The ones with the deepest etching seemed to work the best. The results to me are totally worth it. All of the sparkle transferred to my nails. This is as close as I’ve ever come to the look of stamping with glitter, and I totally love it!

Water marbling didn’t work. I so wanted it to, but this polish dries way too fast. Such a pity, that would have looked amazing!

So how did it hold up?

Not so well, it got big chips in one day.

Verdict: Party Polish

This may be Party Polish, but this is one party you want to be invited to! Realistically speaking, Ruby is not something I would normally wear to my warehouse job.  This is something I would totally wear for special occasions, and because I know it has stamping potential, I would absolutely wear it for nail art. This is a polish I will enjoy using in the appropriate situations.

I paid $8.75, and I have no regrets about it. You can order it from kbshimmer.com or Amazon.com. It’s available outside the US through Harlow & Co.