Fast alright, but... (Maybelline Ultra Lasting Nail Polish)

Member Name: salgirl

Product:	Maybelline Ultra Lasting Nail Polish
Date:	27/05/01 (104 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick-drying

Disadvantages: Chips easily

Maybelline Express Nail Finish is definitely one of the quickest drying nail varnishes on the market. I've seen tests on TV which back up the claim that is certainly deserve the title of Express, and it takes about 3 minutes to achieve a totally dry finish.

The But?

Well, the but is that this stuff can chip off as quickly as it dries. It's not particularly long lasting, and if I'm really careful I can get a coat to last about 24 hours without losing any of it. This means taking care to not overwet the hands too often, resisting the urge to use the nail as a scraping tool in certain situations and generally wearing gloves to do all the housework.

Applying a top coat will prolong the life of the varnish somewhat, but again, it won't last as long as your run-of-the-mill lacquers.

Apart from this, there is a great range of colours, some are clear like Plum Water, which gives a wonderfully reddy/pink tinted glazed and Lemon Water which gives a slightly yellow clear varnish when on the nail. I don't like this one much because it gives the vague impression of a 20 a day smoker, and could have done with having a more pronounced colour, more like it looks when it's in the bottle.

I've also got Twinkle Twinkle, a deep metallic and glittery blue, and New Year's Blues, a lighter and slightly more turquoise colour, although again with the glittery effect. (These may sound tacky, but the glitter isn't immediately obvious, it just looks incredibly shiny).

Then there's Night Affair, which turned out to be a curious chocolatey brown with copper glints so again, not one of the favourites. Violet Aluminium is a clarety sort of colour with the usual glittery mix, although this time it's silver. This is a good colour and has drawn a number of favourable comments.

The two wildest colours are Goldlights, and pale yet bright solid gold colour, smooth in look and with the right outfit,
looks reasonably classy, and Aqua which looked a solid bright pale blue, but turned out to be a clear varnish that gave a green/blue tint to the nails.

Shame really, because I'd bought the Aqua to go with the Violet Aluminium, and by alternating the colours on the nails, add myself to the list of saddo West Ham fans, who dressed themselves all over in as near to claret and blue that they could get for the FA cup quarter final.

I have worn the Aqua since, but it's definitely one for the clubs as opposed to picking up the kids from school in.

All in all, I like the product enormously, I just wish it would stick with me for a little longer than it does at present.

** Price is difficult for me to say accurately. Loyds Chemist have been selling off certain colours for £1 per bottle, but I believe the general costs to be in the £2-£3 range. Thanks for the reminder Ben!!

Summary: