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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Spotted and Swatched: NEW Bonne Bell Nail Lacquers, Lip Lacquers and Lipsticks

I spotted not one, but TWO new Bonne Bell displays at Kmart this week and I have tons of pics and swatches for you. First let's take a look at the new American Landscape collection (I'll be posting pics and swatches from the other new collection, which contains new balms and glosses, either today or tomorrow).

NEW Bonne Bell American Landscape Collection
Nail Lacquers, Lip Lacquers and Lip Colors

As you can see, this collection is inspired by the American landscape. There are shades in this collection that are NOT featured in this display (there are only four shades each of polish, lip lacquer and lipstick in this display). For example, I'm seeing some polish shades in the photo on the display (see arrow below) that are not in the actual display. So I hope that means that this entire collection will be moving to the permanent Bonne Bell display soon and that we'll see the full range of shades at that time.


There are four shades of Lip Lacquer in this display. Here's a closer look at them:

 NEW Bonne Bell Lip Lacquers

Sorry, I didn't get a price for these, but I'm guessing they're around $3 each.

  NEW Bonne Bell Lip Lacquers

Next, there are four shades of lipstick in this display:

 NEW Bonne Belle Lip Colors
(four shades)

Reader Vicky spotted this exact display in Canada recently, and she said that these lipsticks were $5.99 each in Canada, so I'm guessing they're about $3.50 or so here in the US (sorry, my display didn't have price tags so I can't confirm). Vicky purchased two of the shades (a peach and a taupe) and shared some pics and swatches with us:

image credit: Vicky for Nouveau Cheap
 Hollywood Beige 

image credit: Vicky for Nouveau Cheap 
Cruise Coffee

image credit: Vicky for Nouveau Cheap 
 Hollywood Beige, Cruise Coffee

Vicky said that both shades are pretty sheer.

Next up, I purchased all four of the polishes in this display, and I have to tell you that I was SO happy to see these full-size bottles!  For years, I have only really seen the occasional mini-polish that's featured in a lipgloss set, etc. from Bonne Bell. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the last time Bonne Bell had a real nail polish range was back in the 90s with their Nail Gear polishes. So I'm happy to see that they're back in the polish game! Here are some swatches:

 NEW Bonne Bell Nail Lacquers
(retail: $2.95 each, 0.27 oz)

(For some weird reason, the bottles look slanted in my pic above--I didn't have a fish-eye lens on my camera or anything, so I'm not sure what's going on there. Anyway, they're not slanted in real life!)

Taking its cue from the Americana theme of this collection, all of the polishes in this display are named after places in the United States (Paradise, CA, Venice Beach, the French Quarter, etc.).


My one complaint about the packaging is that the shade name is only printed on the removable label. Other than the smaller white label above, there are no permanent labels on the top or bottom of the bottle, so once that larger label is removed, you won't have any indication of the shade name.


This formula is 5-Free. Here's a look at the brush:


The brush is very nice. It's cut very cleanly at the edge and the brush shape is flat, thin and wide. It's not a "fluffy" brush and even though it's wide, it's not super wide. I'd say it's pretty perfect, as far as my tastes go. 

Swatches:

Venice Beach

Venice Beach is a coral creme with no shimmer, sparkle or glitter. 

Three coats, no top coat

This polish was a bit sheer, but not terribly so. I needed three coats for what you see above, and I apologize if my swatches look blotchy--that's just my camera. In real life, this color is smooth, even and not blotchy at all. This polish was very easy to apply and it also dried VERY quickly (even after the third coat). It's got a great shine to it, and the only issue I had was that it didn't self-level much, but that's nothing that a coat of clear top coat can't fix.

Paradise

Paradise is a warm pink creme with hidden violet shimmer.

 Three coats, no top coat

I stared at this shade in the store for a while and NEVER saw the shimmer, so it can definitely be classified as a hidden shimmer. Just like with Venice Beach, this one required three coats, but it wasn't finicky to apply. The only issue I had was with leveling--it didn't quite self-level but, again, you can fix that with top coat. This one dried VERY quickly even after three coats, and it's nice as shiny as well. 

French Quarter

French Quarter is a warm beige creme with tiny golden flakes. 

 Two coats, no top coat

Application-wise, this polish was flawless. No issues at all and I got perfect opacity after two coats. Again, this polish dries VERY quickly, and it dries to a nice, shiny finish. I normally can't wear warm beiges (they bring out the red in my skin and give me "lobster claws") but this one works for me. Good thing, since I absolutely love this color.

Miami

Miami is a clear polish with tons of tiny iridescent gold flakes.

Top nail: Three coats, no top coat
Bottom nails: One coat over a black creme, no top coat

This polish is along the lines of China Glaze White Cap and JulieG My Private Palace but the base is pretty much clear, instead of that milky translucent white that you get with the China Glaze and JulieG polishes. This makes Miami easier to use a layering polish, since you don't have a color interfering with your base color.

Application-wise, this one was great as well. Very easy to apply, very quick dry-time and easy to layer over a base color.

And because you know I love to mattify:

 Miami with one coat of matte top coat

On the whole, I am pleasantly surprised and extremely pleased with the quality level of these polishes. Bonne Bell has been out of the polish game for a while, and I'm happy to see that they're back and better than over. These polishes are 5-free, apply very easily, have a great brush, quick dry-time and dry to a very shiny finish. For $2.59 each (0.27 oz) I think they're worth every penny and I'm so excited to see the rest of shades in this collection (which are featured in the pic on the display at the top of this post). Hopefully these make their way to the permanent Bonne Bell display at the drugstores SOON!

Have you spotted these new Bonne Bell polishes, lipsticks and glosses in your area yet? Thoughts?

Thanks again, Vicky, for the great pics and swatches of those lipsticks. I really appreciate it!

The products featured in this post were purchased with personal funds. For more information, click here.
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16 comments

  1. G, these polishes are quite pretty. I really like them all. I haven't seen Bonne Bell cosmetics in ages! In fact, I was surprised to see this post. None of the stores in my area carry BB, including my Kmart.

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  2. I saw the lipsticks and lip lacquers in a permanent display at Meijer. I'm in Ohio.

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  3. The lipstick packaging looks very similar to NYX matte lipsticks packaging.

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  4. I used to love this brand as a teen. I hope it has a revival.

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  5. I had always thought of Bonnie Bell as kids makeup but I picked up some eyeshadow quads from them completely on a whim at Big Lots and they are very nice.

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    1. I also only thought of it as kid make up! The last time I purchased BB was in middle school. I'm pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the new polish is!

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  6. I love the swatches for Paradise and French Quarter. I'm going to look out for those.

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  7. I have not seen these specific colors yet, it seems rare to see a freestanding Bonne Bell display around here that's a specific 'collection' but Meijers doesn't have a whole slew of new Bonne Bell products out on their regular display now.

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  8. Wow, I really like those polishes, particularly French Quarter and Miami. I'm going to have to check around for a store in my area that carries these. Thanks!

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  9. I like them all and I usually don't even read the BB reviews b/c I too thought it was for kids (teens and such)

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  10. I loved this brand as a teenager and I like the look of all the polishes and you sure can't beat the price! Look forward to seeing these in person. On a side note, does anyone remember the tube of pink gel blush? It is kinda of like the forerunner for Benetint. Right now the name is escaping me which is funny because it was my very first blush in the 70's and I wore it for years! I always wondered why Bonne Bell discontinued that!

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    1. I totally remember that cheek gel! Actually, Bonne Belle has a section on their website called "Heritage" where they sell the vintage items and the gel tint is there as well as the Shower 2000 body wash and an after sun lotion that looks like it boogied right out of a groovy 70's summer pool party, lol!

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  11. Oh yeah, and I'm hoping to find French Quarter. Those shades tend to give me Lobster Claws too, so nice to know it worked for you, G.

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  12. I wish I can find these in the US already lol

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  13. Thanks for this post! Bought French Quarter asap. It's a pretty interpretation of the mannequin nail effect; chic and great for work. Try layering Miami overtop for a subtle accent nail.

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  14. I cant find these anywhere in my area! Walmart and such sells Bonnie Bell but i cant find the nail polish for the life of me:(

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