Nail Polish Stress Test: Hearts & Glass Cloud Nine

On one of my regular nail polish hunting trips through Ocean State Job Lot, I found another brand of nail polish I’ve never heard of before: Hearts & Glass. The packaging seemed to promise an awful lot, but since they were only $1.50 I had no problem buying one for science.

First of all, I need to comment on the bottle. Is this not the most adorable bottle ever? Even the cap is heart shaped! It’s not just cute though. It’s actually very easy to work with. The bottle is nicely weighted at the bottom, so there’s little chance of accidentally knocking it over. Trying to take a picture while holding it was a bit awkward, but that’s not a problem the everyday lacquerista will have.

As nice as the bottle design is, the important thing is the polish within. Cloud Nine is a pretty sky blue crème. I used three coats with one coat of Seche Vite on top. The formula was nice but it was too sheer for stamping. I didn’t have any luck with water marbling either.

My expectations for durability were fairly low. The packaging made a lot of big promises. The polish itself didn’t exactly keep them. It went two days before I felt I had to remove it. That’s a day longer than I thought it was going to last though!

Verdict: Good

This didn’t knock my socks off, but for what I paid, that’s fine. I have no idea where this polish is traditionally sold, but if you come across it for the price I paid, give it a try.

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: Pretty Woman Love Boat

One of my favorite places to go hunting for nail polish is Ocean State Job Lot. They’ve blown me away more than once with unexpected bargains on polishes like OPI, China Glaze, Sparitual, and more. On occasion, they’ll get in a brand I’m not familiar with. That leads me to today’s test subject; Love Boat from the brand Pretty Woman.

According to Pretty Woman’s website, their polishes can be found in select Wal-Mart, Rite Aid, and Party City stores.

Love Boat is a beautiful textured red polish. It’s got an awesome iridescent sparkle to it that is hard to stop looking at. I used three coats with no top coat.

As a textured polish, it’s a no go for stamping or water marbling. I can’t help thinking this would be fun to use with nail vinyls.

So, how did it hold up?

Not so great. It was pretty beat up after one day.

Verdict: Party Polish

This definitely is on the disappointing side. I’m used to textured polishes holding up way better than this, but Love Boat is so darn pretty that I’m keeping it in my collection anyway. I don’t have a textured red quite like it. I paid $1.50 for my bottle, which I’d say is a fair price. It sells for $7.99 on their website. No way should you pay that much. Only buy this one on a good sale.

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.