So, I ordered a whole bunch of nail polishes to test out and ended up having more than one favorite! I’ll mark my personal favorites with *stars throughout the text.
I really like how this polish looks when it reflects light. It’s kind of like the inside of an oyster’s shell. It’s really pretty and subtle. For me, maybe just a little bit too yellow though.
I’m a person who loves packaging and this isn’t the prettiest bottle. With that said, it was actually my favorite iridescent polish because it was so light and reflective. In this photo I am wearing a coat of lavender under it. I think it would be really pretty with a base of white as well. Legit mermaid nails!
This is super pretty, but I’m not sure I would call it iridescent. It’s more like a shiny pearl color. It was less dramatic on my nails than in the bottle.
This polish is the only one I found at Walgreens. It’s got a really weird, fun glow to it. I’m on the fence with matte polish (sometimes I love them, sometimes not so much). Personally, I love it even more with a shiny top coat like this:
This polish read more as dark silver than holographic (in any light), but Emma complimented it when we had lunch one day. So I guess it gets some bonus points for that.
This polish read more as silver/purple too UNTIL you went outside in bright light, and then….
Sadly, this Etsy shop stopped selling before I completed this post, but another polish that I got from Amazon was SO similar that I didn’t even take new photos. They’re basically identical—Color Club Holographic Halo in Blue Heaven
This is also highly holographic in direct sunlight. But I love this one even more because indoors it reads as light silver instead of dark silver. It’s a keeper!
Credits// Author and Photography: Elsie Larson. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess Actions.
46 Comments
You’ve got to try ILNP Nail Polish. She has an etsy shop, and an online store with new seasonal collections. The silvery MEGA polish has varying degrees of holographic-ness – it’s really interesting. I’ve tried two and one is subtle glittery rainbow inside and one is light silver inside, but in good light they are both radiant and you can really see the holo. I always use Laura’s DIY gel manicure and this polish lasts a long time with that technique. Thanks for this post – ILNP hooked me and I want all the holo polish.
I have a total weakness for buying polishes! I think I must get more now, these are so pretty!
xoxoBella | http://xoxobella.com
Perfect, as I’ll be getting my nails done this weekend. I really dig the silver. All this reminds me of Jem and Holograms–anyone else date back to the 80s? 🙂
Analog House
http://theanaloghouse.blogspot.com/
Oh my, I love the holographic look. So pretty and chic! Xo
http://www.midwesternmamalove.com
I love the look of these nail polishes. They’re such beautiful colours. xx
http://unicornlashes.blogspot.co.uk/
You should try butter London ‘all hail the queen’….it’s like the mullet of nail polishes. Business indoors (its a nude taupe color) & then it’s a party outside! In the sun you see tiny beautiful holographic glitters! Perfect for fall!
OPI Rosy Future is my favorite ever. It’s got that same “mermaid nails” effect in pink!
these are so pretty! I love the Mac Lacquer one! so pretty! will have to get!xxx
Just That DIY
Love the Revlon one and the one that changes when you go outside. These are all so fun! But my favorite part might be the furbaby photobomb 🙂
-Molly
http://www.modcircus.com/
what a fun post. I love nail polish (a bit too much) so this was super fun for me. thanks for sharing! 🙂
I’m all about the shimmer… my inner 90s teen is too!
Kisses,
Sarah
EverydayStarlet
The Color Club nail polish is the best! I bought it on Ebay a while ago. I love it!
whitewallsandwanderlust.wordpress.com
blue haven is my favorite! Do you know if there are any options for shellac nail polish? Love you guys!
Ursula @ http://kraftmint.com {lovely quick crafts}
So cool! I love the matte pearl glaze
Laura
http://thefoxtrails.blogspot.com/
Tough research project. 😉
Carrie
http://www.wearwherewell.com
Hello! Im actual super excited about this post. Ive been following your blog for quite some time and this time, i feel so relevant! Haha i, like mod lacquer, have an indie nail polish company called Nvr Enuff Polish! We sell holographic, color shifting, and even glow in the dark colors!! We have a website on Bigcartel and an Instagram which we post updates on! If youre interested , itd be awesome to have you guys check out our shop or IG! 🙂
Nvrebuffpolish.bigcartel.com
Instagram.com/nvrenuffpolish
Nail polishes are some of the most toxic cosmetic products on the market, and can contain carcinogens like tuloene, formaldehyde and phthalates. If you are going to review cosmetics like this, you should at least refer people to the Environmental Working Group’s Skindeep database (http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/) so that they can look up these products themselves and determine whether or not they want to expose their bodies to the toxic chemicals these products can contain!
Love any polish with shimmer and shine! These are great colors.
♥Heather and Melissa
The Mod Lacquer High Strangeness looks so cool in the different lighting!
Monica – Mocha and Moccasins
Mermaid nails! That looks so pretty! I wonder how often you changed up your polish to complete this post. 🙂
http://annescribblesanddoodles.blogspot.com/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChiralityNailPolish
Chirality has some amazing holos and glitter polishes. They are all hand-mixed 3-Free polishes. I have many different colors, and they are all beautiful. She usually throws a little toy or something similar in her shipments too for fun!
Woaahh that color club polish looks seriously awesome! I think I need to order some!
I’d love to know your favorite nail stickers!
Ohhh i totally love holo polishes! These are so pretty. Also, i really like the first picture in this post, very creative!
Love this type of nail polish http://www.hannamarielei.com
Umm, going to raid my caboodle for my holographic nail polish to create a zenon girl of the 21st century vibe tonight because of this post!
I was coming to comment the same thing. I am addicted to the silver mega holo polish. I haven’t painted my nails any other colors since I discovered that polish. On top of that Barbara (the owner) provides excellent customer service.
Yay! I’m so happy to see this post. I’ve been obsessed with the iridescent look lately and I bookmarked a polish long ago but haven’t been able to find it again-I think one of these will be a perfect replacement!
Did you use a white (or other light color) base with each of these polishes, or just by themselves? I love a couple of these and think they’re going to have to make their way into my polish stash! This was such a fun post!
Looking at her shop now- it’s amazing!! Thanks for the suggestion. 🙂
-Elsie
Yes- totally! :))
-Elsie
ooh- that sounds awesome!
-Elsie
Nice! looking it up!
xx- Elsie
I haven’t really gotten into shellac at home yet- so I’m not sure!
xx- Elsie
Hehe! Right?
xx! Elsie
Very cool! Thanks for letting us know about your brand! xx- Elsie
LOVE holographic nail polishes. China Glaze used to do really spectacular ones, but now I am all about the indie brands. They have gorgeous shades and are usually so smooth to apply!
xx Jia, honeyandgazelle.wordpress.com
LOVE holographic nail polishes. China Glaze used to do really spectacular ones, but now I am all about the indie brands. They have gorgeous shades and are usually so smooth to apply!
xx Jia, honeyandgazelle.wordpress.com
Do a tester post on the new matte metal textures, please. I bought the Formula X Brushed Metallics polish in Spectacle but haven’t tried it on, yet. {so excited!} I’ll report back – but do a post on them in the meantime. What incredible textures they’re making in polish these days!
i am back again because I wanted to tell you about a nail polish that I use as a topcoat that basically turns any color into mermaid fin color. ha. it is Essie and called shine of the times. it is so fun. i have put it on top of basically every color in the rainbow and it totally changes the color in the most magical way.
http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?skuId=2238632&productId=xlsImpprod3970045&navAction=push&navCount=1&categoryId=cat80068
meanwhile, I ordered the color club polish from this post and cannot wait for it to arrive tomorrow! 🙂
I keep trying to find the perfect wine color for Fall. Not black, like Vixen, or red, or brown, but burgundy/wine. I would love to see a comparison of several colors. It’s a color that looks completely different in natural light, also….
I’ve never been the type of girl to paint my nails but these are definitely tempting me! I think i might be making some nail related purchases very, very soon….
Ahh! I love holos!!! Bear Pawlish is my absolute favorite and it’s an indie polish so your supporting an artist!!! https://www.facebook.com/BearPawlish There is there Facebook page, they have a website but it is down just right now because they had a major sale. Seriously best holos EVER.
I absolutely love the one from the etsy shop, so sad they don`t sell it anymore…
I absolutely love the one from the etsy shop, so sad they don`t sell it anymore…
I am desperately looking for a Mirage brand color (no idea the name or #) that is similar to the cotton candy, but has a light rose or plum color with a bronze or gold shimmer to it. Anyone know what the name might be? I have pics but not sure how to upload them to this forum.