For those unfamiliar with Blue Cross, they're the same brand that makes the holiday Snowman and Pumpkin polishes, as well as the novelty "light-up" polishes and those milky glitters from last Winter. Also, I believe that Blue Cross makes the Claire's house brand polishes.
Blue Cross Summer Brights Collection
(retail: $2.99 each at Rite Aid, 0.33 oz)
Keep reading for a closer look at this collection, plus swatches of the shades I purchased...
Neon pink: has some fine silver shimmer
Deep lavender: has some fine silver shimmer
Mint green: creme
Neon coral: has some fine violet shimmer
Lavender: Sorry, I can't remember if this one has fine shimmer or not
Teal: creme
Bubblegum pink: creme
Minty green-blue: creme
Sky blue: creme
Let's start with the minty green-blue:
three coats, no top coat
This one is very streaky even after two coats, but three coats yields decent opacity. I experienced some self-leveling issues (as you can see above) but I think a top coat would solve that. The first coat dries to a semi-matte finish, but after three coats this polish has some shine to it. Dry time is very good after three coats.
Next up, the green:
I pulled some light green cremes from my stash just to give you a better feel for this color. It's not as lime as Sally Hansen Spring Green (left) and it's not as dark as Santee Vikini Green (but is has the same type of brightness).
three coats, no top coat
Even after three coats, this polish was streaky. Such a bummer since it's a gorgeous, very bright pistachio green. If you buy this one, I would suggest applying a coat of white creme polish first, and then applying two coats of this color. That way you can avoid having to use four coats to eliminate the streaks. This polish also has some self-leveling issues (like the blue one) but that could be fixed with top coat. Just like with the blue polish, this one dries to a semi-matte finish after the first coat but, once you build additional coats, there is some shine present. Dry time was very good after three coats.
And finally, the neon coral:
three coats + top coat
I think I have a China Glaze neon from a few summers ago that's similar to this, but I couldn't find it to do a comparison. Anyway, this color is STUNNING in real life. It's got a jelly-ish texture to it, and that fine violet shimmer gives it some very pretty dimension. Even though I needed three coats, the coats were SUPER easy to apply and this polish wasn't streaky at all--just sheer. Dry time was excellent after three coats.
I don't usually apply top coat in my swatches, because I want you to see the true finish of the polishes I review. But this one dried to a matte finish after three coats (like most neons) so I really wanted to show you what it looked like with top coat. It's so gorgeous when it's nice and shiny--I had to do it!
I am so wearing this one on my toes for my next pedi. I love neon corals because they make my skin look so tan!
Have you spotted the Blue Cross Summer Brights in your area yet? Thoughts?
The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.
i wanted to purchase this polish today but i had no idea how it performed and what brand it was from :( these swatches are so helpful!
ReplyDeleteI love all 3 of these! Perfect colors for summer.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Small Budget Beauty....
ReplyDeleteWow, all of these shades are lovely! The green surprised me. I would probably overlook it in stores, but I definitely like it a lot now. So bright!
ReplyDeleteI hope a white base coat will help with the streakiness too.
The bottle shapes are cute. Thanks for the swatches. ^^
Love all of these colors! Especially the mint green, even though you said there were issues w. the polish, the color still looks so pretty to me. Question: Are those fake nails ? (that might be a dumb question, sry in advance) If so, do you get them done or maybe buy the nails and put them on yourself? If you do do them yourself, where do you get them and what brand are they? All your nail swatches are BEAUTIFUL and ON POINT!!
ReplyDeleteLove all of these colors! Especially the mint green, even though you said there were issues w. the polish, the color still looks so pretty to me. Question: Are those fake nails ? (that might be a dumb question, sry in advance) If so, do you get them done or maybe buy the nails and put them on yourself? If you do do them yourself, where do you get them and what brand are they? All your nail swatches are BEAUTIFUL and ON POINT!!
ReplyDeleteomg ... that coral ... that coral! *swoons*
ReplyDeleteOoh, I hope to find these! I saw a Blue Cross Mardi Gras collection at Rite Aid but haven't spotted these yet.
ReplyDeleteI just picked up one of the mardi gras nail polishes today! It was just sitting alone by itself, but I did not realize it was Blue Cross. I wonder if I missed the whole collection and that was the remainder :(
DeleteI saw these the other day at RA and just skipped right over them since my mission was that I "needed" a couple more NYC polishes, now I must go back and get that neon coral! It is Gorge!!!!! Thanks for bringing it to our attention G.!
ReplyDeleteLove the swatches! I spotted this at Rite Aid and now I need to go back and look at it again. Blue Cross also had some other display of mostly glitters. Some looked similar to the holiday options but they had a beautiful aqua blue glitter that I'm kicking myself for not getting.
ReplyDeleteThese colors are so pretty! Too bad there is no Rite Aid in Alaska. :(
ReplyDeletethe coral looks like China Glaze Surfing for Boys from last summer!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip about the streakiness
ReplyDeleteI happen to see these at rite aid and I grabbed a bottle to try it out. Surprisingly the quality of the brush and polish itself are very good! I pretty much only use better brands such as opi, china glaze, essie...etc. But these ones surprised me! Will pbly purchase some more!
ReplyDelete