Milani High Speed Fast Dry Nail Lacquer in 27 Instant Pearl
Three Free formula and made in the USA
Just like with the other polishes in this line, the brush is flat and wide, but not as wide as the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure or Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro polishes (which should come as a relief to those who feel those brushes are too wide to work with). The edge of the brush is cut cleanly.
Three coats, no top coat:
There's something simultaneously retro and modern about a frosty white nail polish. It's both a callback to the 70s and 80s when frosty whites filled drugstore polish displays, but it's also a bit futurist as well. Anyway, I haven't worn a frosty white in a while, and this reminded me of why I love them so much, but it also reminded me of the particular application issues that you tend to experience with polishes of this nature.
When I applied the first and second coats, I wasn't hopeful that I would ever get a streak-free finish. Instant Pearl was pretty streaky on both the first and second coats, but the third coat was a major improvement. After the third coat, I felt that things were opaque enough for me to stop at three. While applying this polish, I remembered how tricky frosts can be--they tend to enhance any imperfections on your nails (I really should have lightly buffed my nails before swatching this one--you can see the less-than-smooth surface of my nails peeping through in the pics above). Also, you have to take care with your brush strokes when you're applying a frosty polish because every brush stroke will show (an even, steady hand will help keep your brush strokes nice and straight so, if you've got coffee jitters, proceed with caution!).
Dry time was crazy with this one. I know I've been saying in this series that the first coat is true to Milani's claim and dries in 60 seconds but with Instant Pearl, I swear my first coat was dry in less than 60 seconds. Both the second and third coats dried quickly as well and were both dry to the touch within just a few minutes. The high-gloss finish that you get with the cremes in this collection is not as visible with frosts, but it's still there.
FINAL VERDICT: I know that frosty whites aren't for everyone, but if you're in a retro or futurist mood, this might be a fun one to pick up, especially if you prefer quick-dry formulas (this one dries very quickly). I love that this particular shade of white, which is true to its name and more of a pearl than a winter-white, makes my skin look tan when even when it's not. If you get this one, just remember that, for the best results, you need to have smooth nails to begin with, and a steady hand to ensure that your brush strokes are nice and straight.
I've heard from some of you that you've spotted counter displays for the new High Speed Fast Dry Nail Lacquers at CVS over the past month or so, but I'm not sure yet if these new shades have made it to the permanent display yet. If you've seen them in the permanent display, please leave a comment and let us know (and thank you!). You can also purchase this polish via the Milani website.
Do you own any High Speed Fast Dry polishes? If so, what shades do you own and how do you like them?
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My CVS had all the colors in the permanent display (CVS in Solana Beach on the 101!)! Definitely need to grab some by the end of the week while they're still on sale.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely LOVE this color! I just went to a dollar tree the other day and found some Milani nail polishes!
ReplyDeleteOoh I love this! I have been into white polishes lately, and I like the frostiness of this one :)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I probably won't be picking this one up, I still wanted to share a tip with your readers. For frosty nail polishes, try applying the last coat with a sponge to avoid brushstrokes.
ReplyDeleteI want to try this since I didn't have too much luck with a plain white polish. It was a little weird for me but maybe a pearl-y shimmer would be a bit better!?
ReplyDeleteHigh-tailed it to cvs right after reading this post yesterday. Your swatches are beautiful! You're so right about the time period, my mom was married in 1970 and on her nails she wore a pearly shade by Charles of the Ritz. I still remember the bottle...she kept it in the medicine cabinet till the mid 90's when I convinced her to trash it...boy to I regret that now, as I would love to have a collection of vintage varnish bottles.
ReplyDeletePs- this range has been part of the permanent display in my area (LI, NY) for around 2 months now. I tried to comment under todays Milani post, but I'm never able to be the first commenter...not sure if it's my phone or what, but I always have to wait it out for someone else to go first...?
ReplyDeleteTo get rid of streaking, I sponge my final coat of frosty polishes with a makeup sponge. Like doing a gradient, except just the one color. Makes a nice streak-free finish!
ReplyDeleteI will definitely get this one. (I'm already heading to CVS today to get the Milani Eyeshadow Primer and a new bottle of Seche Vite).
ReplyDeleteThis polish looks so much better than another frosty white I tried: Sinful Colors Tokyo Pearl. In the bottle, Sinful looks frosty white, but on the nail, it goes silver frost and is SUPER hard to apply.
I had gotten it to try as a base color underneath Sinful Showstopping, for white/light holo glitter fest for my toes.