Sephora Brand Glittering Nail Polish

When I saw these on Sephora.com, I knew I had to have them. Glitter nail polish? Click!

I ordered four shades- Pink Agate, Fuchsia Quartz, Blue Sapphire and Violet Amethyst. So far, I've only swatched two of them. Pics first and then my review.



Blue Sapphire. A truly spectacular dark blue jelly with varying sizes of silver glitter. I almost prefer this shade over the beloved Essie Starry Starry Night. The jelly-like finish of the polish makes some of the glitter appear blue, while the glitter at the top layer of polish appears silver. It's beautiful.



Violet Amethyst. I don't know about you, but this isn't really what I have in mind when I think "violet" or "amethyst". It's a super dark purple, more brown than purple in most lights and it contains NO GLITTER. :( Just a glass-fleck-esque type shimmer. It is very dark, not very sparkly and not very purple.


Now, I really, really wanted to love these polishes, but they're just too flawed to get a glowing review.

First of all, the name of the polish is misleading. They are called "Glittering Nail Polish" and the shade descriptions mention each polish containing glitter. That is not accurate. As far as I can tell, only three of the eight shades contain actual glitter, while the rest have a sort of chunky-type shimmer. When I received my polishes, you can bet I was one sad little glitter addict. No glitter. I think I pouted.

Second, these shrink more than any polish I have ever worn in my life. I can't figure out what's causing it. I know that quick-dry topcoat like Seche Vite or Poshe are usually to blame for polish shrinkage, but I didn't use any topcoat on these! You can tell from my pictures that there is severe shrinkage happening. Why??? Why is this happening? The shrinking was so bad that I had to stop and do another coat of polish to cover it up before I photographed these. Bizarre.

Third, the formula is.... lacking. I don't want to say the formula is bad, it's just weird. It seems dry, if that makes any sense. It was hard to get enough polish onto the brush for it to glide smoothly across the nail. It felt sticky and it was awkward to try to get a smooth, even coat. The brush is very square shaped which makes it difficult to get that perfect curve along the cuticle.

Also worth noting: These are mini sized. They are not full sized polishes. I don't know the exact volume of these, but they are very small.


I will eventually get around to swatching the other two, along with the one Sephora Metallic nail polish I ordered. I think seeing that there was no glitter in half of them kinda took the wind out of my sails and I haven't been motivated to swatch them.

Final verdict: See these in person or at least find swatches online before you buy. Otherwise, you may be surprised when they arrive. Blue Sapphire is a truly gorgeous polish despite its formulary flaws (I think I made up a word!). Violet Amethyst is neither violet nor amethyst and does not actually contain glitter. If I had known this, I probably would have spent my money elsewhere!