Review: Maybelline Flash of Gold Nail Polish

So I finally did a manicure with one of the new Maybelline Express Finish Flash of Gold polishes (you can see pics of the Flash of Gold display with all of the available colors here)! The color I purchased is "Golden Plum" which is anything but plum in color.  To me, it's a medium melon/coral (the photos make it look a bit lighter than it actually is) with subtle golden micro-glitter.  When I say subtle, I don't mean that there's not a lot of micro-glitter, I mean that the color of the micro-glitter is subtle gold.  In fact, indoors, the micro-glitter looks coral in color, not gold.  Basically the micro-glitter looks to be almost the same color as the polish.  This pretty much sucks since the whole concept of the line is "Flash of Gold".  I really wanted gold micro-glitter but unless you're in bright, direct sunlight, it's just not happening.

This polish is pretty streaky when applied, but it's sheer, so I would go ahead and classify it as a jelly.  (For an excellent definition of  jelly polishes, click here.) Looking at all of the other colors in the display, I think it's safe to say that they're all jellies so, if that's your thing, you're in luck! Because this is a jelly, I had to apply three coats to make the color opaque, and still, my nails did show through the polish a tiny bit.

 Now if you've been reading my blog for any length of time now, you know that I do not have the patience to apply three coats of color to my nails. So I'm really glad that this formula is "Express Finish" because the drying time in between coats is just a minute or two.  It was actually tolerable and I have to say, Maybelline polishes have excellent staying power so the payoff was well worth the effort.  I used Orly Bonder as a base, three coats of Golden Plum, and one coat of Seche Vite on top.  This combination gave me almost 6 days of chip-free wear.  Pretty good for $3.33 a bottle (the regular price of Flash of Gold polishes is $4.19 at Rite-Aid but there are $1 off coupons at the display).

Final Analysis: If you like jelly polishes, I definitely recommend these. But even if jellies aren't your thing, you can get a pretty opaque look with three coats instead of two. These polishes have great staying power and the color selection is fabulous. But if you're looking for a "Flash of Gold", I'm afraid it's actually more of a whisper of gold.