The latest addition to the Nails Inc. Special Effects line: Mirror Metallic. Mirror Metallic polishes have a shiny, reflective, chrome-like metallic finish with some wicked duochrome color shift. The Mirror Metallics line will be expanding with in the next few months (two new colors are listed but unavailable on Sephora's website*), but is currently available in two colors; Cheyne Walk, which is a purple duochrome metallic, and Stratford, a champagne pink duochrome metallic.
Nails Inc. Special Effects Mirror Metallic in Cheyne Walk. This is a purple metallic that shifts from darker, cooler, more blue-toned purple to warmer, sightly lighter red-toned purple, with orange, yellow and green flash at extreme angles. This is very similar to Deborah Lippmann's Mirrored Chrome polish in Private Dancer, just with a slightly frostier finish and more duochrome. I have a hunch that the upcoming China Glaze No Plain Jane polish from the New Bohemian collection will be similar as well.
Nails Inc. Special Effects Mirror Metallic in Stratford. Stratford is a shiny mix of pink, champagne, gold, green, yellow and orange with a reflective metallic finish. The duochrome effect of this one is very strong and it shifts quite dramatically with changes in angle and lighting. Again, similar to one of the Deborah Lippmann Mirrored Chrome colors: Sugar Daddy. The duochrome on this one is stronger and the finish is a little more frosty. May also be similar to the upcoming China Glaze shade Swanky Silk.The formula on these was decent, but not perfect. They weren't too thick and dry, nor were they watery and runny, but they still had an odd texture. Airy, oily, almost foamy, even. The unusual texture made it tricky to get the polishes to apply in a flat, even layer on the nail. I needed to wait at least five minutes in between coats to avoid bubbling and ensure a flatter, more even result. I used three coats of each and I like them best at three. The dry time is average and they look good even without topcoat.
I like these. Yes, they are similar to the Deborah Lippmann Mirrored Chrome polishes, but with a few distinct differences. The most obvious difference being the price; $9.50 for the Nails Inc., $18 for the Lippmann. The other differences I can see are that the Nails Inc. have stronger duochrome, but they don't seem to dry as flat/smooth/chrome-like as the Lippmanns. The Nails Inc. Mirror Metallics seem to stay a little frosty and a kinda puffy after they've dried. Nails Inc.'s creme formula is nicer than their shimmer formula, but these colors are really very cool and a much more affordable alternative to the very pricey Lippmann chromes. I have not seen the China Glaze New Bohemian collection polishes in person yet, but I assume that there will be a few near-dupes in there as well.
Upcoming Nails Inc. Mirror Metallic shades Primrose Park (left) and Swiss Cottage (right).The Nails Inc. Special Effects Mirror Metallics in Cheyne Walke and Stratford are $9.50 each, available now at Sephora. Swiss Cottage and Primrose Park are listed, but are temporarily out of stock.*
*EDIT: When I posted this, Primrose Park and Swiss Cottage were out of stock. I've just checked Sephora's site again and they now both appear to be IN STOCK!! Woohoo!
(Cheyne Walk was sent for review. Stratford was purchased from Sephora.)
oooh, soo pretty : )
ReplyDeleteNice Scrangie! I Love your swatch of Cheyne Walk. I think duocrome is my fave type of finish. Cheyne Walk & Primrose Park look like they will be my top picks. Also I need to add that I cannot wait for the ChG's collection!
ReplyDeletePretty polishes!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I look forward to seeing your swatches of the teal one!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see Nails Inc releasing more polishes at a cheaper-than-all-those-magnetics price point!!
ReplyDeleteWT actual F? You pay $9.50 for Nails Inc in the US? They are nearly $18 in the UK and it's a British brand!
ReplyDeleteI know we get screwed royally don't we. The sets on QVCUK.com are usually really good value and these colours are part of the TSV wed/thur at midnight :0)
DeleteThey are part of their TSV coming up on QVC but not sure I like the foamy thing, hmmmmmmm do I get these or wait for CG decisions decisions :0)
ReplyDeleteI love duochromes! The Stratford color reminds me a lot of Attitude Adjustment by Nicole.
ReplyDeletehappy i can pass these up! have private dancer & sugar daddy... wont be surprised if they are duped again in the chg bohemian!
ReplyDeleteI do love that we're getting a lot of duochrome polishes coming out - different brands, formulas, price points. I'll probably stick with the China Glaze Bohemian, to start with - only because they're lower priced, and I won't feel so pressured if I want to use them for nail stamping. (Don't know how well that will work - a duochrome polish as a nail stamp - but I should get some interesting effects if I choose stamps with wider lines / sections as opposed to lots of fine-line details.)
ReplyDeleteI do love that we're getting a lot of duochrome polishes coming out - different brands, formulas, price points. I'll probably stick with the China Glaze Bohemian, to start with - only because they're lower priced, and I won't feel so pressured if I want to use them for nail stamping. (Don't know how well that will work - a duochrome polish as a nail stamp - but I should get some interesting effects if I choose stamps with wider lines / sections as opposed to lots of fine-line details.)
ReplyDeleteI have both of these and had no problem at all with the formula. I actually found them quite easy to apply, maybe because I was expecting brush strokes. Weird!
ReplyDeleteI should note that Stratford stayed on my nails for a full 6 days without any chipping whatsoever, and I type all day. I was really impressed.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Swiss Cottage swatched! It looks like it's going to be the star of the show.
ReplyDeleteso pretty, but too pricey. :o/
ReplyDeleteThis makes me want the New Bohemian collection even more! Can't wait
ReplyDeleteHopefully Swiss Cottage isn't another Peridot/Spotted the Lizard/Iridescent Eye/etc... dupe! It looks so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI wonder what's up with the foamy airy formula thing. Cheyne Walk is simply gorgeous. Being a China Glaze addict, I'll probably wait for that Bohemian Collection too.
ReplyDeleteThese look okay but I don't think the duo-chrome looks strong enough..but the colors are pretty. I'm really excited for the Bohemian collection as well, even though I have a few duo's now I would really like to see how China Glaze did there's.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how these are in a line called Mirror Metallics. Essie has a collection of chrome-type polishes called Mirror Metallics, too!
ReplyDeleteNeither of those set me alight. I only tend to buy Nails inc on offer or in the multiply buys. I like that it's a British brand but I am so knocked out by A England at the moment (thanks to you divine Ms S!!) that I've ignored them. Especially today when I bought five mythicals - Camelot you will be mine :) thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteJust a minor complaint on these but I saw them and I thought they were pretty, but saw "Special Effects" and immediately thought they were crackle polishes. I think they need to differentiate a bit more - they use "special effects" for a few things and I get confused. Call me blonde. Great swatches, but I am probably holding out for those ChG polishes!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty, but I think I'm done with Nails Inc., at least for now. So far their duochromes have been disappointing and I've found the formula too sheer for my taste. Nice review and swatches, as usual.
ReplyDelete