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
