Wave Professional Nail Lacquer, Color Gel, and Mood Color Formulas Review & Swatches

Find the product here!

*These polishes were sent to me by the company for review considerations. All opinions are always 100% honest and my own. I am not being paid to tell you about this product.

I was sent both traditional nail polishes and gel polishes, so I've broken down the review between the two kinds of polishes.

The "Matching Gel & Nail Lacquer" duo packs are meant to be used both on toenails and fingernails at the same time. They suggest using the traditional nail polishes on your toes (so you don't have to stick your toes into your UV/LED device, I assume) and the gel on your fingernails.

Their recommended gel application is to roughen up the surface of your nails with a nail file first. Apply the base coat and cure, then apply one coat of color and cure, another color coat and cure, then finally the top coat and cure. Once the nail application is complete, you then need to take some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and rub it over the surface of your nail polish to set the top coat and make it extra shiny (otherwise it is slimy and has a bit of tackiness to it). The cotton ball won't ruin your nail polish because it will already be dry after curing it under your UV/LED device.

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Professional Polish Review 

(the traditional nail polish formula)

Color Matching Professional Polish -  Discotheque

I really like the glittery topcoat Discotheque because it has all different multiple sizes of glitters. I have a few glitter topcoats from the drugstore, but nothing quite like this one. I'm in love! :) It has a great consistency so you don't get spots with too much glitter and then spots with not enough. This is very unique and I love it.

Color Matching Professional Polish - Green Matcha

Application:
This particular shade is a light and bright neon green. It did take three layers to build up the solid opacity that I wanted. However, for a neon color like this, I think that's not asking too much. If you have seen any of my previous nail polish reviews here on this blog, you know that oftentimes I end up doing 3 coats of a lot of polishes anyway. It was somewhat streaky on second application and it seemed if I didn't let the first layer dry enough, the brush would create bald spots on the nails.

Dry Time:
This polish actually dried really quickly, one of the fastest drying polishes I think I've ever tried. It dries almost to a semi-matte finish if you aren't using a top coat. (I always use Seche Vite topcoat though).

Wear Time:
I paint my nails right before bed, so to me "Day 1" is the day after I painted them.
On day 1, I had very minor chipping on two fingers (middle of left hand, index of right). You wouldn't even notice it unless you were examining your fingernails for review purposes lol.
Day 2 the chips have grown to the point that I want to remove my nail polish and start over. The polish definitely chips, instead of gradually wearing down. If you try to pick at it, it keeps chipping off, instead of peeling off in chunks.

Removal:
This traditional nail polish can be removed with a typical nail polish remover. This polish sticks to the nails really well though and it can take quite a bit of scrubbing and pressure to remove with nail polish remover.

Overall, I am impressed with this green nail polish. I've always loved neon green, but I haven't been able to find a good polish that I can actually get to look opaque. So I'm really glad I was able to try this one out.

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Color Gel & Mood Color Reviews

(the gel polish formula)

Mood Color Gels - Pink Tutu & Sweet Potatoes

Application:
The recommended two coats turns out to be perfect with the gel polishes. The Mood Colors can get away with just one coat, but the effects of the color changing polish work much better with a second coat. The green can also benefit from a third coat, but it doesn't look bad with just two.

Mood Color Gels - Sweet Potatoes

Wear Time:
They recommend you use a file on the top of your nails to roughen up the surface and I find that it really makes a big difference on wear time. When I applied the polish on my natural nails without any filing, it was very easy to peel off the multiple coats of nail polish. I am really bad about picking at my nail polish, so it's hard for me to resist in that case. It peels off in one perfect piece, making removal super easy.

On a 1 coat application, after 3 days, there is some minor chipping. Chipping never becomes a major problem if you do more than 1 coat of color. There is only slight wear on the very tips of the nails after a few days.

With too many layers, after a day or so, you may see some peeling at the sides of your nails. It does not occur as quickly if you do less layers of polish. When I see them starting to peel, I can't help but remove them. That's typically in 3-4 days time. If you have the patience to ignore the very slight peeling, I can see these polishes lasting a good week or more for many people.

Mood Color Gels - Sweet Potatoes

Overall, the concept of the Color Matching traditional and gel polishes packaged and sold together is an intriguing sale point. I love the idea that you can wear the traditional polish on your toes and the gel on your fingers and match them both. I love the color changing gel polishes because they show a drastic difference between the two colors and temperatures and go together nicely. Although I'm somewhat disappointed in the wear time on the traditional nail polish, I was only sent one color to try and perhaps the other nail polishes from this brand work better. The lime green is a unique color anyway, the wear time might just be a sacrifice you have to deal with for the color. 

Huge gel polish color selection!

Find the product here!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Mood Color selection

*These polishes were sent to me by the company for review considerations. All opinions are always 100% honest and my own. I am not being paid to tell you about this product.

Mood Color selection (Mood Color - Sweet Potatoes on my nails)

Milani Color Statement Nail Polish Review & Swatches

Pink Beige, Spotlight White, Imperial Purple (left to right)

Pink Beige:

This nail polish went on somewhat sheer upon first coat. You could get away with just two coats of polish, but I really feel that this polish benefits a lot from a third coat.

Spotlight White:

This color went on pretty streak with the first coat, as have pretty much all other whites I have ever tried. However, with a second coat, it looked fine but I think it benefits from a third coat.

Imperial Purple:

This polish went on really nicely and was opaque and ready to go after just two basic coats!

This polish actually dries in a good amount of time as well. I waited about three minutes between coats and they turned out great. I always like to seal my nails up with some Seche Vite though.

The following wear test with no base coat and Seche Vite Top Coat. 

Perhaps you may be aware that I have recently moved in with my fiance Justin and we have purchased this home together (you can watch our adventuresome lives on my vlog channel)! It was a foreclosure and we have been fixing it up like crazy for the past couple of months. During this time, I have done SO much cleaning. This above picture shows my nails after a day of cleaning and working on the house. Not too bad, if you ask me, but if you have a job where you clean and work with your hands all day, this polish is not going to cut it for you. 

When I first purchased these polishes, they applied really well and were a great consistency. However, within just a couple of weeks, these polishes began to get thick and difficult to work with in consistency. I'm unsure if the polishes are just old (they were on clearance at Walmart), but it's strange to me that they behaved well at first but within a short amount of time, have gotten significantly worse.

The wear time if strange to me. They show a bit of wear on the tips after just the first day, however, they do not get progressively worse every single day. It's almost like the polish retracts away from the tips of the nails as it dries, leaving the very edges exposed and vulnerable to chipping later on. They get that initial little bit of wear and stay like that a couple of days before they start to really chip away. I was not impressed with the wear time on these little polishes. I feel like these issues may be attributed to them being old since it looks like they are being discontinued, that is what I'm thinking the case is. 

Have you tried these? What do you think?

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Whet Nail Polish Review & Pictures : Facetious

This nail polish has its pros and its cons...

PROS

- zero chipping after 5+ days

- very little wear on the tips after this time period as well

- dries quick

CONS

- streaky and sheer, needs at least 3 coats

Overall I really do like it though.  It's a beautiful color and it lasts really well. 

Have you tried this polish? What was your experience with it?

I got mine in the July Ipsy glambag. 

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Revlon Parfumerie Scented Nail Enamel Polish Review - Wild Violets & Fresh Linen

Wild Violets
This polish is very opaque and perfect after two coats.  The first coat is very streaky and crappy, but two coats is just great with this polish.  I absolutely love this color! It is a dark dark purple, almost black.  It makes it look like you're wearing black nail polish from across the room, but when you look close, you realize it is actually super dark purple. It also has tiny shimmers in it that can help enhance the purple hue when in the sunlight.  It is just a beautiful nail polish!

Fresh Linen

This one took three coats to get it opaque and I honestly went back later on to apply a fourth coat.  That kind of sucks, but this polish is beautiful.  It's a pretty off-white pearl, but not too pearly.

In conclusion...

While applying these, they don't smell as strong of a traditional nail polish, but when the polish is still wet, it doesn't smell as great as the scent will once it's dried.  The scent is perfect on the first day, but it does fade quickly after that.  It's just a subtle scent that, with these two polishes, almost gives off a scent like you just freshly washed your hand with a scented soap.  They are both nice, fresh scents.

These polishes also last awesome on the nails!  After 7 days, there are still no chips an hardly any wear.  Love!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Pacifica 7 Free Nail Polish Review - 1972 Pool Party & Dark Desert Highway - Pictures

See my Pacifica haul video here!

I was so excited to try this nail polish out.  I just love testing new polishes.  This one here may be taking over from Flower Beauty as my #1 favorite nail polish!

It is very opaque.  You could definitely get away with one coat if you're in a hurry, but two coats looks perfect.  That is super awesome.

It also dries pretty quickly too.

I put this polish through one of the ultimate tests - I wore it to my grandpa's property in the country.  Swimming in the creek, riding fourwheelers, picking up firewood, and plenty of other fun stuff can really put some wear on your polish.  But this one survived pretty well.  I saw zero chipping all weekend and only minor wear on the tips by Sunday evening.

Wearing this stuff in a normal setting also proves the wear time.  It can get some small scratches into the surface, but it doesn't effect the color.  Another layer of topcoat would fix that right up.

After three days' wear, this polish holds up well, especially compared to so many others that just start disintegrating at the three day mark.  After 6 days, it has significant wear on the tips, but still zero chipping.  Only after I had to apply a BandAid on my finger and had to take it off, did the polish chip because that bandage pulled some polish off.  But under normal conditions, this stuff lasts all week if you want it to.  Just adding another layer of top coat everything couple days would make it perfect.

Overall, I am super impressed with this nail polish and can't wait to get more colors!

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Circus by Andrea's Choice Nail Polish

Covergirl Nail Polish - Grapevine : Review

This polish took three coats to get a great opaque finish. Two coats looks decent, but three coats really makes it look its best.  Even my favorite nail polishes can still take three coats, so that's not the problem I have with this polish.  The deal breaker, as usual, is the wear time.  After just one day, you can already see noticeable wear on the tips of the nails and on day two they start to chip.  The chipping isn't crazy drastic, but it's just enough to make you want to take it off.

The formula is not super streaky, but it does come off somewhat sheer in the first layer.

This polish is also difficult to remove with nail polish remover.  The formula makes it stain the skin around your nails and it took me 4 cotton balls to remove!  One polish that is super easy to remove and has a great formula are the Zoya nail polishes.

For my final thoughts, I would not recommend this nail polish.  The wear time is just plain bad, and that's the deal-breaker for me.  If you change out your nail color every other day or like to repaint coats everyday to keep them vibrant, then go right ahead, but for the drugstore price range, I'd skip out on this brand of polish.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Julep Nail Polish Review

I tried out this little subscription service because you can usually find a free code.  I got the box for free, then added a few little extras, and cancelled the subscription.  I would like to get more polishes, but I don't really like the idea of spending $20 a month on polishes.  (at least I think that's what the price was... I can't remember).  I like the idea of surprises in the mail, so not knowing what colors you're getting is tons of fun for me, so I picked an extra surprise polish when I purchased these.

This is actually a pretty decent nail polish.  I get no chipping or serious wear by day three, which is the breaking point for so many nailpolishes in my experience.

I also put this polish through quite the test.  I applied it the night before then spent several hours at work the next day rearranging shingle sample boards.  Shingles are hard, heavy, and grainy and they will ruin your nails.  I chipped a couple fingernails, but never saw any chipping or peeling of my nailpolish.  They did get some dimples or indentations in the polish, but the color did not come off.  For normal everyday wear, they can still get some indentations in the polish, but they don't chip or peel.

I must admit, the indentations are weird, but it's fine by me.  You can really only see the marks when you look really close, and I much prefer that over chipping.

Overall, I say give the company a try.  I was impressed with the stuff I got, but like I said, being a college student, I don't really have $20 every single month to spend on nail polishes.  Plus I enjoy trying new stuff instead of getting the same brand over and over again.  I like blogging about my experiences with different products. :)

I hope this was helpful.
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Maybelline Color Show Nail Polish Review - Pretty in Peach

     Three coats to get this polish opaque.  One coat definitely won't do it and two coats can still be a little too streaky.  If you don't wait long enough for each coat to dry it can cause problems.  Wherever you lay the brush down for the next coat, it can remove product and create a mark at the base of the nail, which is a pain. This polish chips after about three days and the tips are pretty worn by then too. 

   I am not impressed with the formula. There are so many nail polishes out there that I have tried and it seems like every single time I write one of these reviews, the "three day" time frame is when so many polishes fail me.  Maybe I'm just tough on my nails.  Or maybe all of these polishes really are just crappy.  But whenever I come across one that lasts over that three day mark perfectly, that's when you know it has a great long-lasting formula.  Then you'll know what the really great nail polishes are. 

     

     Overall, the color is beautiful and great for spring and summer, but the formula isn't the best.  If you don't wear your polish for more than three days, you might be interested, but I wouldn't really recommend this line of nail polish. 

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

OPI Nail Polish Review : A Woman's Prague-ative

This polish is a beautiful color and I had no major issues with it; however it is still not really a favorite.

It did not chip or peel horribly, but after about three days I did just want to take it off due to its small wear on the tips.  It is definitely too sheer with one coat and it's too streaky to leave it even if you like a sheer polish.  Two coats was still not super awesome but on the third coat, it looked wonderful.

For the price, I much prefer Zoya.  And for an even more affordable polish, I still love Flower Beauty the most.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

Nailtini Nail Polish Lacquer Review : Caviar Cocktail + Bloody Mary

BLOODY MARY

"Blood Mary" was a big disappointment as far as wear time goes.  I was wearing this polish for three days and on day three, I was at working, working as a cashier, not tearing up boxes or putting out product or doing anything that should have damaged my nails and all of a sudden I looked down at my nails and I had chips everywhere! (see pic below)  I was super disappointed.  "Bloody Mary" goes on pretty opaque and looks perfect in two coats, but obviously the wear time is pretty crappy.  And in my opinion, wear time is pretty much the #1 most important aspect of a polish.

CAVIAR COCKTAIL

I never noticed hardcore chipping with "Caviar Cocktail" but it did have significant wear on the tips after day 3.  It is less opaque than "Bloody Mary" and I do need to apply three coats to get it to pop like I want it to.  It can also be streaky at times, you really have to work with the brush a lot in order to get all of the streaks out.  I assume this is because it has a metallic finish, instead of a straight creamy color like "Bloody Mary."

I get these polishes in my Ipsy Glam Bags, but I would not purchase them on my own.  I hope this review was helpful and you enjoyed.

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Another Nail Polish Review :: Salon Perfect - Playful Plum

This is my favorite favorite color right now since fall has finally arrived!

It's a gorgeous dark purple color with shimmers of blue and purple.

 

This picture is taken after 2 coats and this stuff is so even and perfect at that point!  I don't think you can get away with one coat of this polish, but two is definitely perfect.

Although this polish is so gorgeous and super opaque, the wear time isn't really great.  After two days you can see wear on the edges and after three days (or so) I always end up with a significant chip on one nail (even with a base and top coat; I use Sinful Colors Base & Seche Vite Top). 

 It's sad because it's such a gorgeous fall color!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Essie Nail Polish Review

 I came across this little duo at Walgreens for $8, the price of one regular Essie nailpolish, pretty much.  I know everyone loves this darn brand sooo much, but I never really wanted to spend that kind of money on a single polish, so I'm glad I found this little set.  I think these are both really good color for fall too, and colors unlike any others I own.  These are the teeny tiny mini bottle of polish, but I honestly don't think I've ever used up a full size nail polish anyway, so minis are good enough for me. :)

Now on to the actual review... Are these polishes exceptionally great, that all the beauty community online has to go crazy over them?  I wanted the answer to be, "no, they aren't any better than any other cheapo drugstore stuff," because I could not justify their price to myself, and surprise surprise, I was correct.

I was not super impressed with this polish.  And I gave it plenty of chances.  Each time I wore them, my results came out the same.  I don't understand what the big hype is over these polishes.  For the price, I was definitely expecting MUCH more.  This stuff was chipping after four days.  And it wore at the tips much sooner than that.  The one pro I have is that they are good to go after two coats, the darker color could even go after just one.  But honestly, that still doesn't mean much to me if the manicure is only going to look great for two days.

I know people just swear by these polishes, but I honestly was not impressed, especially for the price.

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Lainamarie91

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Lainamarie91

New York Color - In a New York Minute - Quick Dry Nail Polish - 203 - Precious Peacock

Forumla - 3/5 - This stuff is a runny, almost watery consistency which makes it super thin and streaky and sometimes a real pain in the butt to apply.
One coat will not do for this polish. After 2 coats it's alright, but 3 really makes the color deep and it totally stands out.  When you do the first coat, you think it's going to be the crappiest polish ever, but it gets WAY better after the second lol.  It's a big difference between the first and second coats.

Dry Time - 3/5 - I would not consider this a "quick dry" polish, even though it states it in the name.  It doesn't take way too long, but it's just not an awesome dry time.  If you do really thin coats and wait about 2 minutes between each one, you might be able to get away with calling it "quick dry" lol.

Wear - 1/5 - Every color I've ever had has chipped before day 4 of wear, even with a base and/or topcoat such as Sinful Colros Basecoat or Sally Hansen Insta Dri Top Coat.

I've been using these polishes since my middle school days and honestly, they just aren't worth it.  Even with a good base and top coat, they will chip after just 2-3 days.  I loved them when I was young because they are some of the cheapest at the drugstore, however, since I've gotten older I've realized, it's just a better deal to spend the extra $2-3 and get a polish that actually lasts more than 2 days.  If you'd like to see some reviews on other polishes please check them out here... I would definitely recommend the New Flower Beauty polishes, they are terrific and still inexpensive.

Flower...http://lainamarie91.blogspot.com/2013/03/flower-beauty-nail-polish-review.html
Revlon...http://lainamarie91.blogspot.com/2013/04/revlon-nail-enamel-sunshine-sparkle-089.html
Loreal...http://lainamarie91.blogspot.com/2013/04/loreal-nail-color-greycian-goddess-560.html
Sinful Colors...http://lainamarie91.blogspot.com/2013/04/sinful-colors-professional-nail-polish.html
Sinful Shine...http://lainamarie91.blogspot.com/2013/06/sinful-colors-sinful-shine-wisp-review.html
Zoya...http://lainamarie91.blogspot.com/2013/06/zoya-nail-polish-blu-review.html

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Lainamarie91

Sinful Colors - Sinful Shine "Wisp" Review

   While at Walgreens the other day, I decided to try out these new Sinful Shine polishes by choosing a simple color - white.  I enjoy reviewing nail polishes because they are inexpensive and there are some basic aspects about them that make it very straight-forward for reviewing.  I believe opacity and wear time are the two most important parts of judging a good polish.

Let's begin by saying I used Sinful Colors Base Coat & Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat with this polish.
  

PROS    
Two coats and it's totally opaque.
No major chipping.

CONS
The thin, liquidy formula coupled with the funky brush that can leave uneven edges, can really make it difficult to get a nice crisp line around the nail edges.
Shiny but not crazy shine like you would think from its name.
Not quick drying.

WEAR TIME:
DAY 1: Minor chipping on 3/10 fingers (teeny tiny)

DAY 2: Chipping didn't worsen.

DAY 3: Slightly more chipping around edges.  (see picture taken on day 4)
DAY 4: Chipping from Day 3 hasn't worsened, which is good, but just by pushing on the tips of my nails, I can tell the polish is starting to peel.  If I did anything other than office work, I don't think this would hold up very well.  I am ready to take it off.
DAY 5: Took this polish off because it began peeling.  The edges were starting to wear down pretty bad and it was time to take it off.

     Although these polishes are $1 more than the original Sinful Colors line, I do not find them to be any better than the originals.  The formula is very similar as far as the consistency, dry time, etc, except these are all glossy/shiny.  They don't wear any better than the originals either, which is somewhat disappointing.  I know they are still inexpensive, for a dollar more I was honestly expecting at least a slight improvement in the wear time.
     (also, I just wanted to note that this is such a stand out color that any imperfections show up more easily, so that could also contribute to the look of the chipping)
    Overall, this polish did hold up alright, at least the chipping was very minor and not noticable from a distance, you really have to be inspecting the nails to see it.  However, this particular manicure did not last me all week.  For $2.99, this is a pretty decent polish, but I don't really find it to be exceptionally better than the original $1.99 Sinful Colors line.
 
  I really hope this was helpful, let me know if you have any other review requests!

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Lainamarie91

Zoya Nail Polish "Blu" Review

 Let's begin by saying this polish takes two coats to get a perfect, opaque finish.  It looked wonderful after two coats and I'm usually a three-coater.

I did use Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat on this polish, but honestly, I have found that this particular top coat really doesn't help out those polishes that are crappy anyway, so I can faithfully say that the wear on this polish is great with or without this top coat.

DAY 1:
Looking good! No signs of wear.
DAY 2:
Still looking amazing! Maybe the tiniest bit of wear right on the tips of a couple nails, but not noticeable.

I wore this polish for four days and it looked wonderful the entire time. (four days is usually my typical length of time I'll keep the same polish on)  But I have total confidence that this polish would have lasted a couple more days because it was still flawless on day 4.

Hope this was helpful, let me know if you have any review suggestions!

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Lainamarie91