Nail Polish Stress Test: Republic Nail Gel Effect Coral

My 50^th review! Whoohoo!

The most popular review I’ve written since I started blogging here is the one I did for Republic Nail Gel Effect Monaco. It was loser polish. Polishes from this brand have been showing up off and on at TJ Maxx since then. This made me start to wonder. Did I get a dud bottle? Maybe I should have done a better job applying it? I can’t believe a company could continue to make a polish that bad and stay in business! I was curious enough to go into the breach one more time, so I bought another set.

My initial impression is still the same; I just don’t trust a product when the manufacturer can’t put an actual product photo on the packaging. It’s also worth noting the pic on the box wasn’t exactly color accurate either. This coral is definitely more pink looking in reality than it looks on the box.

You’re supposed to use one coat of the colored part, wait six minutes, apply the top coat, wait six minutes, done. Guess what? I ran into the same application problems. This stuff looks streaky as all get out. It seems like that’s just how this product rolls. I stuck to one coat. As badly as I wanted to add a second one, I decided to adhere to the directions. Things started going uphill when I tried to apply the topcoat. It was really stringy and goopy. 

 I had to redo a couple nails, but I managed to get a somewhat decent job done. Well, make that barely passable.

I didn’t even try to stamp or water marble with this. I mean, if I can barely get it on my nails, there’s no way it’s going to be good for anything fancy!

So, how did it hold up?

The damage wasn’t quite as severe as before, but it still only lasted a day. I even got big ol’ chips on my right thumb in places it shouldn’t even chip just like last time.

Verdict: Loser Polish

I think it’s safe to say this brand is to be avoided. Did I mention this stuff actually went up in price? It’s now $4.99. There is absolutely no reason to buy this polish whatsovever.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Republic Nail Gel Effect Monaco

When I first came across this product in T.J. Maxx, I must have picked it up and put it back like six times. I’m always suspicious of companies that don’t put photos of the actual product on their packaging. However, since it was only $3.99, I figured I’d potentially waste some money for science.

 

This is one of those polishes that claim to last a long time without using a UV lamp. I was really wary as the last time I tried a product with that promise, it was Nutra Nail. That was a disaster. I decided to do only one nail at first, just in case this polish worked the same way. 

According to the directions, you put one coat of nail polish on, wait six minutes, put the gel effect top coat on, wait six minutes, done. The colored part went on streaky as heck. I tried to go over it again but it didn’t help. Once I applied the top coat and waited the required six minutes, it was completely dry, so I took the plunge and did a full manicure. 

The results were not pretty, but I foraged on. So how did it last?

This stuff was definitely on the fragile side. After one day at work I had chips at both ends of my nail, and a major chip on my thumb too. Long wearing? Um, no.

Verdict: Loser polish

This polish fails in every way possible. It’s a pain to apply, it looks terrible once it’s on, and it doesn’t last. Do not buy this.

Update 8/30/15: I gave this brand another go.