Hello lovelies,
We're finally having more and more sunny days here in England (YAY!) so I'm taking out holographic polishes! But today I won't be reviewing regular holo polish, I'll show you holo gel polish! That's right, they are out there and who better to make holo gel polish other than Color Club! I'm sure most of us have their Halo Hues polishes in our collections so I was very excited to see they created gel polish version too.
I've tested two Color Club* shades in a marble nail art on my non-swatching hand so please excuse my super short nails...
What I was looking for was a strong holographic effect and a full rainbow - I think I got it :)
I started with a coat of regular base coat and Bundle Monster Gel Off, peelable gel base coat because I wanted to test if it really works with gel polish (more on it later in the post). Then I've preceeded with a thin coat of Color Club Foundation + Primer. I hear you ask - why did you use it when you've already applied the peelable base coat? I think that you should always apply the gel polish system's base and top coat because the product has been deveoped like that. The coloured gel polish works best in between base and top coat. The base coat acts as a protection for your natural nails and as a sticky layer for the colour to adhere to. Without it, the colour might not apply as smoothly, might not last as long etc.
Next step was the colour application. Normally I would just apply two coats of gel polish but I knew what nail art I wanted to do so I painted half of the nail with Eternal Beauty (lilac holo) and the other half with a coat of Cloud Nine (pink holo). I've used just the brush in the bottles, the line where the colours met didn't have to be perfect. Then I cured the first layer and applied second coat of colour in the same half and half way. Do not cure yet! Then I've used a small brush and applied a white Colour Club French Tip gel polish in the middle of the nail as a line between the two holo polishes. Next I've taken a regular pin and marbled the middle section of the nail in an 8 pattern. Then I've cured the nails again and applied the Color Club Seal + Shine Top Coat. The description might make it sound intricate but this was very simple to do so just try it! ;)
The gel polishes were easy to apply and I haven't had problems with curing or anything else. They were well-pigmented and opaque in two coats, especially the white French Tip gel polish (the nail polish version is my go-to white creme polish).
And the PACKAGING! The boxes that the gel polish duos come in are holographic and so are the gel polish bottles! My lamps don't show the holo effect but trust me, it's amazing, especially the boxes.
Now let's have a look how the Bundle Monster Gel Off worked. I've bought it back in November 2015 but didn't get to try it till earlier this year. I've followed the instructions and applied regular base coat and then the Gel Off base coat. I've peeled the gel polish off after about three days (I was so curious). It was a bit difficult to remove it because I had to find a place where it would lift up and I think I've done too good job of sealing all edges. After I managed to lift up a bit I started to lift up the gel polish around it. Unfortunately some places were stuck more than others and I've ended up with some nail damage. Sometimes the top layers of my nails peeled off with it and here you can see the final damage:
It is safe to say that I probably won't be using it again and I'll stick to the UNT Ready For Takeoff which works a treat (only for swatching though).
On the other hand I was very happy with the Color Club gel polish system because the holo effect was very strong and beautiful and opaque in two coats. If you'll be purchasing anything from Color Club UK, you can use my discount code STASH15 for 15% off (not affiliate).
So what do you think of the holo polishes? Have you tried Color Club gel polish or the Bundle Monster Gel Off base? What are your thoughts?
Have a lovely day! Lucie x
*PR sample