Nail Polish Stress Test: Claire’s Money Bags

Last year I tried Sally Hansen Color Foils nail makeup. Color Fail would have been a better name. They sucked at everything except water marbling Christmas ornaments. I still haven’t given up on the concept though, so when I found the Liquid Metal polishes at Claire’s, I figured I’d give it a go. Was that a bad idea? Let’s find out!

Money Bags is a terrific minty metallic green. It seems very similar to the Color Foil polishes in that it comes in an opaque bottle and has the same chrome finish. However, unlike the Sally Hansen polishes, it doesn’t say anything about not using base or top coats. The formula is more like traditional polishes and dries in the same amount of time as the average lacquer. I strongly recommend using a base coat or buffing your nails before you use this as it’s going to highlight any ridges you have on your nails. I buffed mine a couple times before I was ready to take pics with this stuff on. Spoiler alert: This polish will stain too.

I used two coats with one coat of Seche Vite on top. Since this polish was so similar to the Color Foils, I strongly suspected it wasn’t going to hold up well, so I decided to try this one out on a weekend as well. 

 

The very best thing about this polish is that it stamps beautifully and reliably. It has yet to fail me in this regard. It will watermarble, but care has to be taken with what polish you pair this up with. Money Bags spreads out a lot. I’d pair this with polish that spreads out just as much or you’re going to end up with goopy results. 

 

So, was I right to test this on a weekend?

Yep! It got wrecked by the end of the day. I’d even made sure to do all my housework and cleaning before I put it on! I guess this breed just isn’t very hardy.

 Verdict: Party Polish

If you’re not into nail art, I wouldn’t bother with this. If you’re into stamping, you need this polish, and the other colors in the series; they all work the same way. They’re a decent price at their regular price of $5.50. I’ve found them on sale more than once at $2. That’s awesome for stamping polish! Honestly, I wish they’d make these in a few more colors. I’d totally buy them!

Nail Polish Stress Test: Candie’s My Kinda Teal

Ever have a store you visit on a regular basis, never buy anything there ever, and then wonder why you bother going? For this lacquerista, that store is Kohl’s. I stroll through their nail polish section every time I’m in there, but they never seem to put any on sale. I’m not familiar with most of the brands they sell either. Imagine my surprise on my last pass through when I saw actual genuine for reals clearance! I’m wary of trying $8 polish for science. $2.40 clearance polish? Sure!

My Kinda Teal is…well… my kinda teal! It’s pretty close to the bottle of Head Over Teals I picked up recently, My Kinda Teal is more green. The cap makes me think of Ring Pops.  

Application was easy enough, although this polish appeared to be on the crelly side. I went with three coats plus my usual layer of Seche Vite on top. I kicked in some glitter on my ring finger just for fun.

As for wear, it didn’t do well at all. I lost a good amount of polish over the course of my shift. By the end of day one it was definitely game over for this mani! I found it stained my nails somewhat when I took it off.

I had no luck stamping or water marbling with this polish. 

Verdict: Loser Polish

Had I paid full price, I would have been super pissed instead of merely disappointed. I expect more from $8 polish. I'm sorry to say this one’s another bottle of fail.

Nail Polish Stress Test: NYC: Queen’s Jewels

NYC is one of those drugstore brands I tend to ignore. I don’t associate them with much of anything new or interesting. However, I spotted their Crystal Couture collection on my last pass through Rite Aid and thought I’d give it a try. Was that a good idea? Read on to find out!

I chose Queen’s Jewels, which is a green jelly full of green glitter. There’s so much glitter that I wasn’t expecting it to be a jelly. It was nice and smooth after it dried too, no 30 grit sandpaper finish here! I used three coats, although two probably would have been enough. I used one coat of Seche Vite on top.

So how did it do?
 

Turns out this polish holds up like a champ! It lasted a full three days at work with minimal damage. All things being equal, this isn’t the easiest polish to remove, but I’m okay with that. It did stain a bit too.

Verdict: Excellent

This was a pleasant surprise. Clearly, I need to pay more attention to this brand. I also need to go back and see if any of the other polishes in this collection are left!