Nail Polish Stress Test: Color Club Rays The Bar

I love color changing and other gimmicky polishes. When Color Club came out with their new Heat Index collection, I had to try at least one.  I chose Rays The Bar. Was that a good idea? Let’s find out!

Rays The Bar is a thermal polish that is supposed to change from pink to orange depending on temperature. Looking at the label on the cap, that color change is supposed to be pretty distinct. It isn’t. Most of the time it looked like a bright coral to me. Occasionally it’d look slightly more orange or more pink. If you’re looking to buy this polish for the color changing aspect, don’t do it. 

The formula was on the streaky side, not to mention sheer. It took three coats to get everything looking even, which dried to a matte finish. There was still visible nail line afterwards. I used one coat of Seche Vite over it to make everything nice and shiny.  I used a different color changing polish on my ring finger because I wanted to see some color changing action darnit!

Stamping is possible with this polish, but I found it to be very frustrating to work with. I had a lot of trouble getting images to fully pick up to the point where I eventually threw in the towel. Water marbling was a complete fail as the polish wouldn’t spread.

So, how did it hold up?

It did pretty well. It made it two days before I had to take it off.

Verdict: Loser Polish

I can’t recommend buying this. If it was ordinary polish I’d rate it Good. However, it fails at its job of being a color changing thermal polish. There are better options out there. If you must try it, at least do what I did and wait for a sale as it usually sells for $10 on Color Club’s website.                     

Nail Polish Stress Test: Color Club Sorry, Not Sorry

I’ve been having a lot of fun reviewing Color Club’s Oil Slick collection. I’ve been gradually working on completing the set every time Color Club has a sale. So far I've reviewed Burnt Out, Cash Only, It's Raining Men, and We'll Never Be Royals. Next up is Sorry, Not Sorry.

Sorry, Not Sorry is a duochrome that shifts between pastel pink, peach and gold. I actually managed to get a good shot of the color shift on my nails without a fuss this time!  I’d say this is the most conservative polish of the collection, yet it’s still fun to look at. It looked mostly peach to me indoors. Outdoors the color shift was more pronounced. I think this would look great with a tan. The formula was nice and smooth. Only two coats were needed to get full coverage. I used my usual coat of Seche Vite on top.

This polish stamped and water marbled beautifully. I mattified it so it’d be easier to see here.

So, how did it hold up?

Fantastic! It made it a solid three days before I needed to take it off.

Verdict: Excellent

I think everyone needs a bottle of this polish. This is good for any occasion, and I love the fact that it’s nail art friendly. I’m totally not sorry I bought this, and you won’t be either! It's available from Color Club's website.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Color Club We’ll Never Be Royals

I’m gradually test driving all the polishes from Color Club’s Oil Slick collection. So far I’ve tried Burnt Out, It’s Raining Men, and Cash Only. Today’s subject is We’ll Never Be Royals. How will this one stack up next to the others? Let’s find out!

We’ll Never Be Royals is a gorgeous duochrome which shifts from a metallic red, to pink, to a deep magenta with a strong purple flash. The color shift is very noticeable. This is one of those polishes where it’s fun to walk around and see the colors change.

The formula is on the thick side and went on smoothly. I only needed two coats, to which I added my usual coat of Seche Vite on top. I was a little worried when I put it on, as the application reminded me an awful lot of my experience with It’s Raining Men, which turned out to be party polish. 

I didn’t have any luck water marbling with this polish, but it stamps very nicely. The stamping does retain some shimmer. I can see me doing some nice Valentine’s Day nail art with this one.

So, how did it hold up?

Not well. It had substantial tip wear in just one day.

Verdict: Party Polish

 I love the color shift, and I’m totally doing nail art with it, but its poor durability is a major disappointment.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Color Club Cash Only

I’ve been super curious about Color Club’s Oil Slick collection. So far, I’ve tried Burnt Out, which was excellent, and It’s Raining Men, which was party polish.  Next up is Cash Only.

Cash Only is a duochrome with a lot of color shift to it. This one shifts between a cool brown, gold, silver and green. I saw the brown shift the most. I would almost call this one a neutral. I’ve never seen a polish quite like this one, that’s for sure.

The formula is a bit thicker than average, but goes on smoothly. I used two coats with my usual layer of Seche Vite on top.

This polish is great for stamping. It looks absolutely amazing on black! Even better, it water marbles!

So, how did it hold up?

It did great! It went a solid three days before I needed to take it off.

Verdict: Excellent

Cash Only is definitely a worthwhile addition to anyone’s polish collection. I’m especially happy that it stamps so well. It’s not every day I come across a duochrome polish that does!

Nail Polish Stress Test: Color Club It’s Raining Men

As you may have noticed, blue is my very favorite color, with purple being a fairly close second. When I saw It’s Raining Men from Color Club’s Oil Slick collection, and they just happened to have a 30% off sale at the same time, I decided I’d give it a go.

It’s Raining Men is a blue jelly with a strong blue shimmer. It occasionally shifts to purple, but not often. Sometimes the shift looks pink, and I’m sad to say it doesn’t look as pretty as I’d hoped. Most of the time, it looks like the dark blue polish with blue flash every collection has. I used two coats here, with my usual layer of Seche Vite on top.

This polish will stamp, although it’s a bit…smudgey. Interestingly enough, the shimmer does show a bit in the design. A tiny bit. It didn’t work for water marbling.

So, how did it hold up?

Not well at all. It was a one day affair.

Verdict: Party Polish

I was really disappointed in this polish. After the awesomeness that was Burnt Out, I was expecting more of the same great color shift and durability. I don’t think you really need this one.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Color Club Beyond

Linear holographic nail polishes are awesome. For some weird reason they seem to be hard to find in major drug store brands around me though. They’re also on the more expensive side, so I’m inclined to proceed with caution when it comes to buying them. The last one I bought is today’s subject, Beyond by Color Club. I ordered this one during a rare 25% off sale. Was this a good idea? Let’s find out!

Beyond is a black linear holographic polish. I can’t think of anyone else (that isn’t an indie polish maker) that’s come out with one of these, so I thought it’d be fun to try. I used two coats, with one coat of Seche Vite on top.

One really nice thing about this polish is that top coats don’t kill the holo, although it really doesn’t show much indoors in this case.

You really need to go outside to appreciate this one so I did.

As you can see from my accent nail, this will stamp. It looks best over darker colors in my opinion. Water marbling is a no go sadly.

So, how did it hold up?

It did okay. It lasted two days before I felt it needed to come off.

Verdict: Good

If you’re into holographic polishes, this is a worthwhile addition to your collection, even if it’s not the most 

durable polish ever. I think its ease of use and the fact that it stamps balances things out.  

Nail Polish Stress Test: Color Club Burnt Out

Color Club has been producing “microbatches” of limited series polishes. What does that mean? From what I can tell, it means the only place they can be purchased is on Color Club’s website, and good luck getting it on sale.

I’ve been ogling their latest microbatch, the Oil Slick collection. I wasn’t sure about spending $10 on it though, especially since the description and product photo seemed to be ambiguous. Then just in time for Independence Day, there was a 25% off sale. Gimme!

Burnt Out is a fascinating duochrome polish. It has more color shift to it than one usually sees in this type of polish. I saw it shift from a rose red, to copper, to green to gold, not unlike the colors of fall leaves. This is definitely a polish that will attract attention. A couple random ladies actually asked me where I got this one from! Driving while wearing this polish is risky. The urge to admire the color shift as the light changes is nearly irresistible

Application was a breeze. I got full coverage in only two coats! One coat of Seche Vite on top and I was good to go.

Burnt Out stamps beautifully and will also water marble……as long as you do it over black polish. I tried it on a bunch of different colors, maroon, beige, dark brown,  white, hunter green….the polish just didn’t stand out enough in my eyes, unless it was on black. The fact that it stamped on anything was pretty impressive though. In my experience duochromes generally aren’t good for that.

So how did it hold up?

Beautifully! It lasted a solid three days before I felt like it needed to come off.

Verdict: Excellent

If you like duochromes, fall colors, or polish that will attract attention, you need Burnt Out. Even though it’s challenging to use in nail art, it’s got plenty going for it on its own. I know I need to buy more from this series the next time a good sale opportunity comes up!