Tuesday, September 13, 2016

ESSIE Gel Couture in GALA-VANTING with Top Coat ::: Review & Swatches


I don’t want to be one of those annoying bloggers who keeps oversharing past, present and future personal events :-) But I might be quickly turning out to be one.

Speaking of oversharing, my sister is getting married next month. I could not be with her to participate in all the fun pre-wedding shopping activities (believe me, Indian wedding are all about the shoppings! wink wink) but I have been doing my own shopping here on her behalf. We were looking for a deep maroon/burgundy shade which will go with all her colorful dresses and henna on her hands :-)

After browsing a bit, I finally decided on “GALA-VANTING” from Essie. This is one of the shades from their relatively new “Gel Couture” line. As found in Ulta’s website – “Essie Gel Couture provides up to 14 days of color and shine in unique, couture-inspired shades. No lamp required. Easy removal.”


Price: They have a huge array of shades that retails at a regular price of $11.50 for 0.46 oz. of products. There is also a Top Coat. I found this set for $18.50 at Kohl’s Store and I thought it was a good deal. There are a few shades that can be found in these sets.

Shade: Gala Vanting is not a unique shade. It is deep maroon-y kind of red which is absolutely perfect for Fall and Winter (or any other season really|) It is a very nice shade but I am sure every nail polish brand has a similar shade :-)


Application & Packaging: It was easy; the brush is pretty decent and average but I don’t have any complaint. I also like the twisty-looking bottle. A little difficult to store as it takes a bit more space but it still looks good :-)
One layer gave me somewhat of a sheer application so I did need 2 layers to get a nice, deep and even application. If I want to make it look more “vampy-er” I would another coat. The top coat offers a lot of shine so the overall look definitely mimics that of a Gel Polish. I personally have never tried Gel Manicure so I can’t really compare it for that claim.

Wear Time/Performance:  The very second day, it chipped off at the very tip of my fingernails. After that though, I did not really experience any other major chipping in the first 7 days. The shine started to wear off around 7th to 10th days. I was really impressed by that. I included a picture of my nails on the 13th days. I hardly wear the same polish for 2 weeks so for me so 7 days of wear was more than enough.


On 2nd day
On 13th Day
I love the color and I love the overall look. Do I think if it is worth $11.50? Not really sure. :-) I t definitely lasts a bit more than their regular polishes so may be that justifies the price. I am happy that I got this shade and I am 100% sure that my sister will love this :-)

Love,

~Arrru

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