Why, you ask? All shall be revealed shortly, I promise...
Before I set up Little Pierrot, I lurked around the blogs of other makeup artists on here, and one in particular I came across was Nikki's Nails - a blog I love for her writing style, good humour and in depth reviews of nail varnishes, plus the gorgeous photos she takes of the products she reviews. Amongst these was Gosh "Holographic" - one that caught my eye immediately for two reasons. The first of these was due to the brand name, which I've been familiar with for a little over a year or so due to their beautiful lip glosses and dusts. The second was due to the photos which, when I saw them, my jaw kinda dropped with the epicness.
Naturally, this varnish was soon top of my "To Buy and Try" (TBT) list.
Unfortunately, after a little research into "Holographic", I found out to my dismay that the product had been discontinued and allegedly you could only find it for sale on Ebay for stupid amounts of money - we're talking between £12-16 for a pot of £4.99 nail polish! That's over 100% markup!! So I resigned myself to waiting until one came on the market for less than those prices...and I figured I'd be waiting a while. Until I went into Superdrug the other day, just on the offchance that they might have some left in stock...not actually expecting anything.
Not only did they have it in stock. But it was marked down half price at £2.49! I grabbed it, bought it and walked home feeling rather pleased with myself lol!
I finally got to try it out tonight and I this is what I found.
Application
This was quite possibly the 2nd most frustrating downside of the polish. I've read in various blogs that it takes up to 3 coats to get a decent layer of colour across the nail. Not only that, but Gosh recommend you buy their own "Special Formula" base coat for "Optimum Wear".
I didn't - which might possibly be the reason I had so much difficulty applying the varnish, but equally it may not, who knows. I certainly don't feel the need to rush out and buy it though as after an initial clear base coat of my own, followed by 4 layers of the 'Holographic' and a final top coat, I had a decent coverage. The problem I found with it was that you could apply one layer, let it dry, and then as you applied the next, some of the previous layer would just come off on the brush! Frustrating to say the least - and as varnishes go, it's a bizarre concoction which I've never come across before.
Colour
Now, this is interesting. I was initially disappointed when I inspected my nails after the topcoat had dried, because they looked nothing more than a faint dull silver. Sure the holographic effect was there, but it was nowhere near as vibrant or colourful as I'd seen in other users' photos.
And then I went into the kitchen where the lighting was a lot better and......WOW!
What I will say here is that trying to capture the true look of this nail varnish on film is a PAIN IN THE BUM! I tried taking photos on both my phone and my camera, but none of them really capture the detail of the nails. I can vouch for the fact that the holographic effect IS, in the right light, THAT striking and bright. It definitely is a "make a statement" varnish for sure. What these photos don't capure though is that under the holographic effect, there is also a slight grainy, glittery texture which is overall pretty smooth to the touch. Whether that is a good or a bad thing, I'm not sure, but it certainly doesn't distract from the overall effect of the varnish. :)
Value for money
Now, I'm a pretty big fan of Gosh's varnishes. The other ones I own I find you only need one or two coats max to get a decent coverage, and Gosh always seem pretty generous with the amount they give you in each £4.99 bottle. Taking into consideration though the amount of coats you need with 'Holographic' to achieve the full effect, I can see that you might get through the bottle a lot quicker than you might want. Then again, whilst I love stuff like this and think nothing of wearing such bold, vibrant makeup on a daily basis, I can very well see how other people might prefer to keep this varnish for a special occasion, party etc and thus it may balance out that whilst you need a lot of it in one go, the amount you use it may mean it still lasts you a long time. Therefore, I would say that 'Holographic' is good value for money at or around the £4.99 retail price.
Longevity
Having only had the polish on for a couple of hours, I can't really comment on it's staying power right now. However, I will come back to this in a couple of days and let you know then how hardy it is.
Thanks for reading and all the best!
