Maybelline Color Show - Street Artist Top Coat

I saw this new, to me, range in Superdrug the other day on offer - buy one get one half price - and couldn't resist picking up a couple.  I chose White Splatter and Alley Attitude.

 

 

Today I have pictures of White Splatter, the polish on the left.  It's a clear base full of different sized and shaped glitter.  There are various sizes of hexagonal glitter, some long strands and some tiny tiny pieces which look like glitter specks.  The colours are a mix of purple, blue, green and white.  I decided to try it out over a light purple base (Kiko 331).

 

 

These pictures show just one coat which I think you'll agree gave great coverage.  Although you have to dab the glitter on rather than brush it on like you would a regular polish one dip into the bottle and dab on the nail leaves you with tonnes of sparkly pieces on the nail.

 

You could probably build up a few layers for a more 3D glitter look but I think it's rather lovely with just the one coat, it definitely lives up to it's graffiti name, to me it looks like paint splatters on the nail, I can't wait to try it out over other base colours too.

Models Own - HyperGel - White Light

The final HyperGel swatch today!  This time White Light which is the white polish of the collection.  Again I like the look of this polish, it's opaque and shiny and looks good on the nail.

 

 

The downside is that it took 3 coats to get this way and you can get a shiny opaque white look with almost any white polish after 3 coats so this is definitely not the one coat wonder I was hoping for.

 

Initially when I read the descriptions of these polishes I was hoping for a super opaque non streaky white in two, or maybe even one, coat.  Sadly although the effect is there you do need to layer to get it which could be a pain if you don't have the time or patience to wait for 3 coats to dry.

 

I'll definitely use this polish as it's a decent, bright white, but I wouldn't be telling anyone to rush out and buy it as I don't think it's that much better than many other on the market aside from maybe being a little bit more shiny on the nail which isn't a major decider for me as white tends to be a base for something else like stamping or neon polishes.

Models Own - HyperGel - Naked Glow

The penultimate swatch from the HyperGel collection today (only the white left after this post!), this time Naked Glow, the nude shade of the bunch.  Unfortunately these aren't great photos.

 

I decided to wear Naked Glow while I was away for the weekend to see how well it lasted, I've been changing the HyperGels pretty much daily as I've been testing them out so most of them haven't had more than 24 hours wear, since I was going to be away for a couple of days it seemed like a good opportunity to test wear.

 

I painted my nails late on Thursday evening, these pictures are taken early Saturday afternoon (so less than 48 hours after painting) and as you can see the polish didn't last well.

 

 

As well as a bit of tip wear the polish has cracked quite badly in several places - the corner of my index finger and right across the tip of my middle finger - I don't know if the cracks are down to the polish's thick formula or that fact that you do end up with thicker layers than you might with a regular polish but whatever the cause it was rather infuriating and also happened to my friend who had one of the blues from the collection on at the same time.

 

As well as the cracks the polish also seemed to discolour a bit, the tips took on a short of yellow colour (which you can kind of see in the photo below, but was more apparently in real life), the discolouration was actually more unpleasant than the cracking as it made my nails look dirty and stained which is not what anyone wants, particularly not if you've chosen a chic nude polish!

 

Naked Glow WAS a nice colour when first applied but it's hard to positively review a polish which ends up looking stained and cracked in less than two days.  I like to change my polish almost daily but a regular polish user would really hope to get more than a couple of days from a manicure particularly one with a polish which claimed to be gel like and long lasting!

 

There are loads of other nude shades on the market so I definitely wouldn't be recommending Naked Glow as a first choice for a nude if you're looking for one, yes, it's a nice colour but the wear time and less than simple application of this range mean that it's probably best to pass it up.

 

Models Own - HyperGel - Cornflower Gleam

Models Own HyperGel in Cornflower Gleam today.  This polish reminds me of Kiko 339 or Barry M Blueberry from the Gelly collection colour wise, it's the same sort of pale sky blue / cornflower shade, not anything new or different but pretty.

 

 

Again the formula is very opaque after two (thick) coats, this shade in the collection seemed a little less streaky than some of the others but still needed two coats to even out fully.

 

It's another nice polish, with a good finish but again it isn't anything amazing that I think you would need to own, if you are without a cornflower blue in your collection then you could definitely do worse than buy this one but if you already have a few it's not special enough to bother.

 

You may also have noticed the sudden change in nail length, my index finger went horribly peely and split on me so I chopped them all down to match which I am a little annoyed about as I'd like to have tried this colour on longer nails.  On the plus side there's less horrendous staining to worry about on my newly chopped nails. :D

 

Models Own - HyperGel - Red Lustre

Red Lustre from the HyperGel collection today, this polishes formula seems to be the odd one out in the collection, it's nothing like the others AT ALL.  Instead of the thick very opaque shades of the rest of the colours it's a thinner almost gelly like polish, because of this I needed three - still pretty thick but not opaque - coats to cover up the blue staining left from a previous trial of this collection (watch those blues and turquoises, people!)

 

While this is a nice, shiny, red gelly I can't bring myself to love it, I have plenty of other nice reds and nice red gellys and pretty much all of them apply nicer and dry faster than this one.

 

If you're short of a red polish then this isn't the worst you could buy but it's also not a polish formula to rave about when there are so many other reds on the market that do a better job.

 

It's strange that the formula is so different for this one polish in the collection, if it was similar to the rest of the collection I think I might have liked it better.

Models Own - HyperGel - Pink Veneer

 

Another HyperGel today, this time Pink Veneer a pale pastel pink shade.

 

 

The polish applied the same as the rest of the collection, it was thick and a bit gloopy and the first coat looked streaky but a second thick coat evens it out and leaves a pretty opaque colour.

 

As with the others it has a super shiny finish, I still use a quick drying top coat though, mostly because I'm not patient enough to wait for those thick layers to set hard without it!

Models Own - HyperGel - Coral Glaze

Still working my way through the HyperGel collection, today's offering is Coral Glaze.

 

 

Coral Glaze is, to me, the perfect traditional coral, the sort of colour your gran might have worn in her younger years when she was feeling a bit out there.  It's a sort of wilder, more risky nail colour for a very conservative polish fan.  I'm a fan of a good coral so I really love it, it's a good mix between pink and peach and orange and just bright enough without being too out there.

 

I found application a bit tricky, the formula of this polish is the same as the rest of the collection meaning it's thicker than regular polish, for some reason I found this one harder to control though and it took two thick - very slow drying - coats to get a decent even colour.

 

I still can't quite make up my mind about these polishes, they look great but they aren't easy to apply and I can imagine that would put some folk off.



Models Own - HyperGel - Blue Glint

Continuing the HyperGel swatches today with Blue Glint.

 

 

Blue Glint is a bright, bold blue which will be perfect for summer or holidays.  It dries to a super glossy finish which really adds to the colour.

 

This colour is almost opaque in one coat but still really needs the second to even it out and make it look perfect, it's wearable without a top coat but I still prefer to add one for quicker drying.

 

A quick word of warning about this polish, I had it on for around 24 hours and it stained VERY badly, properly blue nails underneath when I took it off.  I noticed a little bit of staining with the Turquoise when I had it on but nothing too major, this blue however really left it's mark so keep that in mind if you don't want your nails dyed!

 

 



Models Own - HyperGel - Lilac Sheen

Another HyperGel to show you today, these polishes are growing on me the more I use them.  I do find the thicker formula a bit more tricky to work with but the finish on them is lovely.

 

 

Lilac Sheen is a pure pale lilac colour, it's a nice soft tone and very wearable.

 

Again the polish dries to a thicker, very glossy finish which is definitely reminiscent of a gel polish finish.  HyperGel polishes are, for me, a little more tricky to apply as you have to be careful not to flood your cuticles and the first coat is often very streaky but a little care and a second coat do leave you with super shiny, rather impressive result.

Models Own - HyperGel - Turquoise Gloss

Another polish from the Models Own HyperGel Collection to show you today, this time a gorgeous bright pop of turquoise.

 

 

I love this polish, the colour is great; really vivid and bright.  You can definitely see the gel-like effect with this shade too, it looks more opaque and thicker than regular polish.

 

Again this is a two - fairly thick - coat application.  The first coat was slightly streaky and didn't look great but once the second coat is on and settled it really comes into its own.

 

I did use a thin layer of top coat but this polish is glossy on it's own so you don't have to top coat if, unlike me, you can be trusted to sit still while the polish dries totally.

 

I'm really impressed with Turquoise Gleam, it definitely lives up to Models Own's claims that this range look like gel polish, it's hard to say exactly what it is about this colour that make sit different from a regular polish finish but something about the depth of colour, slightly thicker look on the nail and super shiny finish means this manicure could quite easily pass for Shellac or Gelish or something similar.  If you're not bothered about the gel look then it's still worth picking up for the super shiny gorgeous colour.

Models Own - HyperGel - Cerise Shine

I've posted about the Models Own HyperGel Collection a couple of times now and I decided it was about time to properly road test one of the polishes, on it's own, as a full manicure.  I was torn about what shade to try first but in the end Cerise Shine, a bright, glossy, hot pink won and here it is:

 

 

First off, this is a gorgeous colour.  A really bright, bold in your face cerise pink.  There's a definite hint of Barbie about it.  These pictures are two, fairly thick, coats.

 

The polish applies pretty nicely, it's thick and one coat can look a little streaky so it really needs the second one to even it out.  Saying that once the two coats are on and dry they do look great, rich colour, totally opaque and super shiny.  I still used a top coat on mine, old habits die hard, but if you didn't want to then the polish does dry to a lovely shine on it's own.

 

I'm pretty impressed with this polish, it's not exactly how I expected it to be from the description but it does live up to it's gel-alike claims.  Once it's on it looks thicker and shinier than a regular polish which does give it a gel nail sort of look. 

 

I can't comment on wear time as I whipped this manicure off to try another colour after a little more than 24 hours but while it was on it looked great.

 

 

 

Models Own HyperGel Skittles

I posted about the Models Own HyperGel Collection the other day when they arrived in the post, I couldn't wait to try them out so I did what any sensible person would do, skittles, meaning I got to try all 10 colours at once.  Although not the best way to see how the polishes would look as a full manicure I thought it would give me a good idea of the colours and a rough idea how they applied.

 

 The colours are (left to right, then thumbs): Pink Veneer, Cerise Shine, Coral Glaze, Red Lustre, White Light, Lilac Sheen, Cornflower Gleam, Blue Glint, Naked Glow and Turquoise Gloss.

 

They're all thick polishes and the photos of them are two coats, sadly I didn't feel like any of these were one coaters which is a shame, especially considering how thick the polish is.  They all look pretty good in two coats though and they do dry to a glossy finish.

 

The paler shades (Pink Veneer, White Light and Naked Glow) were very streaky with just one coat and needed a second thick coat to even them out.

 

Although they probably don't need top coat - they do dry to a nice glossy finish - I still used some, I find quick dry top coat is the only thing that keeps my polish from chipping.

 

I'm still pretty impressed with the range of colours and although the application wasn't exactly what I had hoped (I had my fingers crossed for one coaters) they did apply pretty nicely and look good on the nails. 

 

Without using each colour for a full manicure it's hard to properly judge them, I think, so keep your eyes peeled over the next few days for more posts on how I'm finding these polishes.

 

It's also hard to tell with all the different colours whether they do really look like gel polish so I'll hold off commenting on that until I've tried full manicures in one shade too.

 

Models Own HyperGel

Today I have a post about the latest offering from Models Own - The HyperGel Collection.

Models Own describe them like this: 10 brand-new mega-shine shades that are highly pigmented, long-lasting and chip resistant. Enriched with lotus flower oil, the gel-like finish gives the professional shine of a salon manicure. The collection is completed with limited edition colour caps, topped off with colour-matched high-shine swatches on the lids that reflect the gel effect finish of the polish so you can select the perfect shades!

I really liked the sound of these and the swatches I'd found online so far made them look very pretty so that combined with Models Own having a half price sale meant that I couldn't help myself and had to place an order, rather than trying to choose my favourites I ordered the whole set, we'll just file that under Pay Day Treat, shall we?

 

Models Own have changed their packaging since I last ordered and I was pretty impressed, the polishes came in a box covered with a branded slip cover, then wrapped in tissue over some bubble wrap, so fairly secure but also rather pretty and lovely to open.

 

 

The colours on the stock photo are pretty spot on, so you can have a look at that rather than my badly lit attempt at a photograph of my actual bottles.  It's always good when a website photo portrays the colours in a true to life way so this collection gets a tick for that.

 

The swatched tops are a nice addition too, not only do they look pretty it will make them super easy to identify on my helmer drawers which is always a bonus.

 

There are no earth shattering new shades in this collection but as a basic range I think Models Own have done pretty well, they've picked a really good selection of popular wearable shades with something to suit everyone.

 

First impressions are good, I'm really looking forward to trying out these polishes and posting some swatches for you to see.  I'm particularly excited about the white and the nude shades, although the coral and pale pink are also calling to me; decisions, decisions!

 

Check back over the next few days for a full review and some swatches.  I'm also hoping that these will stamp well which would be another plus point!

 

 

Gosh Frosted Sand - Purple Frosted

I showed you the Gold from this collection the other day, there's also a silver which I don't have...yet.  The purple is similar to the gold in finish and effect but instead of gold it's purple toned, although in some lights I think it looks quite grey.

 

 

Again it's beautifully sparkly and the chunky glitter adds an extra interest to the polish, I think this one looks a little like certain types of tarmac on frosty mornings.

 

The application is nice and easy and the polish is fast drying, so all in all I can see this being a polish I wear again very soon; it's pretty, sparkly and a little bit different.