I received a few new nail polishes in some of my beauty box subscriptions a while back. They were brands I'd never tried: Illamasqua and Color Club.
I'd heard great things about Illamasqua from a fellow beauty blogger, but Color Club was completely new to me.
I'd heard great things about Illamasqua from a fellow beauty blogger, but Color Club was completely new to me.
In my August Glossybox...
I got an Illamasqua "Nail Varnish"...
in "Taint"...
Truth: When I saw the color, I thought "gross". I was bummed. What a perfectly horrid shade of poop. Seriously. I put it away and kind of forgot about it.
Fast forward.
In my September Birchbox...
I received a polish from Color Club...
In the shade "Status Update"...
Yeah, it actually says "Status Uptade", but I'm guessing someone was careless in the printing department?
Truth: another bummed reaction to another weird color. At least this one doesn't look like poop, though. Am I right?
I threw them both into my nail case and toted them with me to South Florida. Eventually, I have try them out so I can "review" them on Glossybox & Birchbox (you get points for reviews). So, first off, I tried the Color Club($8 at Birchbox.com, or try 2 for $10 with the "sample pack" deal).
I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I got great coverage with just 1 coat. I went ahead & did 2 coats so it wouldn't chip so fast. It went on smoothly, easily, with really nice texture. There was some shine, but not lots. Kind of a slightly shiny matte? Does that make sense? It wasn't glossy, is my point. I felt kind of hip and moody in the dark bluish gray. I decided I actually like this polish color. It's for my "weird & moody" days.
It didn't really have any exceptional staying-power. It lasted about 24 hours before it started chipping. That's pretty much standard for me.
The results I got from Color Club gave me hope for the Illamasqua ($14 at Sephora) that I would be pleasantly surprised, too. So, about a week later, I applied it to my toes.
This polish was thin, runny, and didn't provide even coverage. I put on 2 coats and still had streaking. If you look at the photo above, you will see on the left big toe that there is a streaky spot, even after the 2nd coat.
So, I wasn't pleased with it's performance, and I have to say, I could NOT embrace the poop color. Sorry. I like brown ~ honestly I do. But not this icky shade.
In an effort to not have to immediately take this back off and be wasteful, I grabbed my Ulta mini nail lacquer in "High Roller" and layered it over the top to salvage my pedicure.
It helped, somewhat, although I still wasn't crazy about the look.
It lasted pretty much the same as any other polish I apply to my piggies.
So, to summarize:
APPLICATION PERFORMANCE
Color Club Nail Lacquer - yes
Illamasqua Nail Varnish - no
COLOR
Color is highly subjective, so "to each her own".
DURATION PERFORMANCE
Color Club Nail Lacquer - average
Illamasqua Nail Varnish - average
There are polishes at the drugstores that perform just as well for less money. But if you want a "high end" polish, I'd recommend Color Club over Illamasqua based on this experience.
Happy polishing, ya'll!
Which polish brand do you love?
