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: Sinful Shine Prosecco

So over the past few months, I’ve tried various polishes I consider wannabe gels. These products claim to have extended wear and gel like shine for a fraction of the cost. So far, I have yet to find one that wasn’t loser polish. I keep hoping I’ll find one that actually works though! That brings me to today’s test subject; Prosecco from Sinful Shine.

Prosecco is a cool toned beige with golden glass flecks in it that have quite a bit of sparkle. It looks more iridescent up close. I used three coats, and the Sinful Shine topcoat you’re supposed to use with these polishes. It went on as if it were ordinary polish.

Let me be up front; this shade is not my thing. The main reason I went with Prosecco is that by the time I was aware my local Walmart finally got these polishes in, the display was pretty bombed out, and my choices were down to this, and basic colors like red and pink. I’d rather avoid reviewing the same color in twenty different brands, so Prosecco it was. Enjoy, because you won’t be seeing much of this kind of color here!

Furthermore, I’d just gotten a couple new stamping plates in the day before. Based on my track record, I figured I’d throw this on, fail it, and play with my new stuff. Did that happen?

NO! Not even close! I put this on Monday, and although it did get some tip wear, it was still looking acceptable on Friday, when I took this pic. Just to be clear about what I do to my manicures, this was on through two showers a day, washing dishes, cleaning, sticking my hands in boxes eight hours a day, and getting pretty filthy in the process, so the fact that this looked passable after all that is amazing! In fact, I kept it on through Saturday, when it finally started to chip.

Sadly this won’t stamp. Water marbling isn’t impossible. This polish takes significantly longer to dry in water for some reason, so I would recommend using the decal method if you want to do this.

Verdict: Outstanding

This is THE best polish I have reviewed so far. At $2.99 each for the polish and top coat, it’s also a fantastic value. Obviously the color hides some of the damage, but still….wow! I am totally checking out more of this line!

You know what the funniest part is to me? Sinful did not make any claims about wear time; believe me, I checked. If you see this polish, GRAB IT.  

 

Nail Polish Stress Test: Colour Prevails Date Night

Colour Prevails is a relatively new line sold at Walgreen’s. At $8 for a bottle that’s half the size of a standard bottle of polish, my expectations are very high. It’s also comparable to brands like Essie in that they never ever seem to go on sale. Because of this, I didn't purchase any at first, but after a while, my curiosity got the better of me. I chose Date Night as my test subject.

First of all, I want to talk about the bottle. As you can see, the cap has an unusual design. The idea is to give you more control when applying polish. I get what they’re trying to do. Oddly enough, I found it awkward to use. I actually ended up holding the bottle below the butterfly wing so I could apply the polish the way I'm used to. I know there’s a proper way to hold it and all, but should I really have to use Google to figure out how to hold a nail polish cap? For me this was the equivalent of trading in a fork and knife for a pair of chopsticks. My understanding is that the butterfly wing can be pulled off the cap, but mine seemed to be on very tightly.

The other minor gripe I have, is that the entire bottle has a safety seal on it. I do like the idea, but the plastic is thick enough that it makes the polish harder to see clearly. I wish they'd found a way to do that so it didn't cover the whole thing.

On to the polish. Date Night is a metallic bronze color. Cap issues aside, it went on nicely. I only needed two coats for full coverage, so I hit it with my usual coat of Seche Vite and called it done.

I couldn’t get this to water marble, but it stamped great! I have to note though, the cap is definitely a problem. Anyone who stamps knows that you need to work fairly quickly. I found it hard to put the brush back in the bottle quickly since the weight on the cap isn’t equally distributed. Definitely take the wing part off if you plan to use this in nail art.

So, how did it hold up?

It lasted a solid three days before I felt it was time to take it off. Keep in mind that if it lasts three days on me, it will last even longer on someone who doesn't work in a warehouse like I do.

Verdict: Excellent

Even though I’m not a fan of the fancy cap, the polish itself was great. The fact that it’ll stamp makes it even better. This was definitely a worthy purchase, and I plan to go back and see what else this brand has to offer.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Orly Color Blast Follow Your Path

Orly Color Blast polishes haven’t exactly blown my socks off yet. I feel that at $6.99 for a bottle that’s half the size of a standard bottle of polish, the quality had better be up there. However, when it goes on clearance for $1.65? Bring it! That leads to me today’s test subject, Follow Your Path from the Disney Dare to Dream Pocahontas collection. Was it a worthwhile purchase? Let’s find out!

Follow Your Path is a neon purple crème. I don’t have many neons in my collection, so I was hoping this one would do well. This went on in three coats. The finish was kind of on the matte side, which isn’t unusual for a neon. I threw my usual coat of Seche Vite on top and rolled with it.
 

I was a little concerned about the durability of this polish early on. As you can see from this pic I took as I was leaving for work, there’s already tip wear. That’s not a good sign.

It only got worse from there. This is the damage I got from half a day of not that much work.

I didn’t have any luck water marbling with this polish, but it does stamp nicely.

Verdict: Party Polish

Well, that’s another Color Blast polish that falls short. I can recommend it for stamping, but that’s about it. It’s a shame; I was really hoping this one would do well.  

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: 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!  

Nail Polish Stress Test: Sinful Colors V.I.Peach

One of the major gaps in my polish collection is yellow. More specifically, I need a good pastel yellow. There aren’t many of those out there, so when I saw V.I.Peach, I snapped it up right away.

V.I.Peach is a pastel yellow “demi-matte” polish from Sinful Colors’ Class Act collection. The first thing I thought when I looked at the name is that they might have mixed up the labels during production. I don’t associate peach with pastel yellow. Checking the Sinful Colors website, it turns out they really meant to do that. This is supposed to be a “Spanish Peach” color. Googling “Spanish Peach” did not convince me, but hey, when I start my own polish company, I can use whatever color names I want. The color makes me think of the yellow chalk my teachers used to hate using in school.

This polish went on in three coats. The demi-matte finish winds up being what I would call an eggshell finish. It’s not glossy, but it’s not fully matte either. I did not use any top coat with this one.

It will water marble okay. Stamping…..I tried using a bunch of different plates with it, hoping I’d get a decent amount of opacity, and with it, a chalkboard look. Didn’t happen. It does work, and depending on what you’re trying to do, it might work for you. However, in my opinion,  this polish really isn’t ideal for stamping. I used a matte top coat on two of my nails, and a glossy one on the others to try and get different looks

So, how did it hold up? It did well considering I didn’t use a top coat, and the finish. It went two days before it was done in. It chipped strangely; I got more damage closer to my cuticles than the tips of my nails.

Verdict: Good

This did better than I expected given the circumstances. I like the fact that you can make it go all the way glossy or matte with the right top coat. For $2, this is an easy purchase to make, although ideally, you should wait for Walgreen’s to put it on sale for $.99.