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Friday, March 22, 2013

Review: Color Club Halo Hues Nail Lacquer in Eternal Beauty

The product featured in this review was purchased with personal funds.

When I first heard that Color Club released a new collection of Halo Hues for 2013 (not to be confused with the original 2012 collection), I sort of thought I didn't need them. But then I started to see swatches, and I quickly discovered that there were darker shades in this new collection (most linear holos tend to be lighter colors). And when I saw the shade Eternal Beauty, I knew it had to be mine. 

Since the 2013 Halo Hues are not yet available on the Color Club website, you have to look elsewhere for them. A friend of mine was making a large order for several of these shades on Amazon so I gave her my eight bucks (they retail for $7.95 on Amazon) and a week later, it was mine! Take a peek...

Color Club Holo Hues 2013 Nail Lacquer in Eternal Beauty
(retail: around $8, 0.5 oz)


Keep reading for my full review, with lots of swatches...


(two coats, no top coat)




As you can see, there is NO struggling to see the holographic effect of this polish, and it's visible in all forms of lighting. Here are some shots taken in darker lighting:



I'm not an expert when it comes to holo polishes, but I do know that top coats can lessen the holographic effect of some holo polishes. So I wanted to show you what this polish looks like WITH top coat (for this photo I used Essie Good To Go top coat):

With top coat

And again, for comparison, here is Eternal Beauty WITHOUT top coat:

Without top coat

As you can see, top coat definitely dulls the crispness and diminishes the holographic effect.

And because I've always wanted to do holo polka dots, here you go:

Color Club Eternal Beauty polka dots over Wet n Wild Megalast polish in On A Trip

Like I mentioned above, I'm no expert when it comes to holographic polishes. I know they can be finicky and they're prone to chipping easily, and I don't own any of the special base coats created to extend the wear-time on holo polishes.

That said, here's what I can tell you about this particular polish:

The formula is a bit thick and goopy, but it's not impossible to work with. I find the thinner the coat the better with these types of polishes, and I was able to lay down a fairly thin first coat, no problem. Dry time on the first coat was excellent--it dried within just a few minutes. The second coat went on a bit thick, but this polish does self-level easily so no problems there. Dry time on the second coat was good as well. It was dry to the touch in minutes, but it did take a little while longer to completely dry because that second coat was thicker.

Since I don't recommend top coat with this polish, you're obviously not going to get excellent wear (unless you have a special base coat that works well with holos). I recommend applying this polish to clean, oil-free nails to help keep this polish in place a bit longer. I was able to go about twelve hours before I saw my first chip, so this could be the type of polish you reserve for a special night on the town (if you don't own a special base coat to help extend wear).

Worn as polka dots, this polish obviously lasted a lot longer on my nails, but it was hard to contain my compulsion to apply a top coat after applying my dots. I love a smooth surface, but I knew that the top coat was going to diminish the holo effect so I stayed strong and didn't use one.

FINAL VERDICT: I think this is a unique shade when it comes to the world of linear holographic nail colors, because it's so dark and and jewel-toned. I don't think it has a dupe out there (but I could be wrong and I'm sure one of you can correct me on that!) and for that reason, I'm super happy I purchased it. As with all holos, you really need to see this one in person to appreciate how beautiful it is. The formula is a bit goopy but it's not difficult to work with, and dry time is pretty good as well. The only issue I have with this polish is that it can chip within the first day of wear (typical for a lot of holo polishes) and you have to resist the urge to apply top coat. If there is a special top coat that works for holos, without diminishing their effect, I would love to hear about it--I don't personally know of one. 

Do you own any of the older or newer Halo Hues from Color Club? What do you think of them?
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24 comments

  1. I love that you posted this today! I just bought the entire 2012 & 2013 collection today! I am so excited to add them to my collection!

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  2. Sooooo pretty! I definitely want to find some of these color club holos. They look a lot better than the china glaze ones and cost less too.

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  3. Oh, my. Wow. That is beautiful. My first thought was I'd love to see this polish used in a space theme design :D

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  4. I think that it's similar to China Glaze's LOL, but not quite exactly. These polishes are more durable than the OMGs, I like them better in terms of application and durability. They're a little more fragile than most other nail polishes, but not "look at it sideways and it flakes away" fragile (like the OMG polishes seemed to be.)

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  5. I've had little to no loss of holofabulousness with Seche Vite, nor with the OPI silver-handled topcoat that came out with the DS line.

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    1. I think "holofabulousness" should be in the dictionary! ;-)

      Seriously, I love this nail color and keep meaning to get it, along with the black and the copper shades in the set.

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  6. Oh, now I have to get the purple one! I got Cherubic, the "work appropriate" holo, and its nice, but not necessarily a must-have. On the other hand, I have the green one, Angel Kiss on my nails and I can't stop staring! I got at least four days with only minor tip wear using Seche Clear base coat. As much as I live Seche Vite topcoat, it destroyed some of the linear rainbow effect so I'm just wearing it bare. I get a kick out of watching it flatten out with wear.

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  7. Love it - it's so blindingly holo! I'm a holo h00r...I bought all 12 CC holos, and 5 of the new China Glaze ones, not to mention the "old" ones I have, lol.

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  8. I wore Cosmic. Fate for four days with no chipping and tip wear.The color is a rose gold holocaust and I just love it. I an on a total no buy from today til Easter but I will buy 2 more I think, no has to ge this shade. It didn't look that amazing in the bottle but I know now tharlt it is! Beauty Supply Plus sells them for 6.95

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  9. Too pretty. I'm going to look for this collection.

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  10. Aw, recently sported WnW, On a Trip and wanted to do something more. Unfortunately I removed it yesterday without doing anything to it...and I have Eternal Bliss...and the other 11 Halo Hues. Meh! Maybe next time ^__^
    Thankies for your swatch and reviews!!

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  11. Wow, that is gorgeous! I just received all 6 today from this 2013 collection. Got them on Amazon for $39.95 with free shipping...not a bad deal. You're right about these being darker, more saturated colors than the usual holos, that's why I had to have all 6 from this collection. They even have a black one and it looks stunning.

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  12. Ok, this seals it. I need this color! Or set...

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  13. I don'town any holo nail polishes,but I like to own that particular color you have.It looks nice on your nails.

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  14. eternal beauty is so pretty one of my favs!

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  15. Not all top coats dull holos! I thought this too till this week when I was doing some reading about them. Turns out some are ok like Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Clearly Quickly. I just tested it out to be sure and I can't even tell which one has the top coat and which doesn't except the top coated one is a little shinier. I have also heard that NYC Grand Central Station won't dull them either but after checking 6 stores I couldn't get my hands on any to test it.

    Your review has convinced me I MUST get my hands on this polish!This is what I was hoping for when I first got my hands on Wild At Heart.

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  16. I just happened to put on Blue Heaven last night :) I haven't been able to find the second collection yet, hopefully they show up soon!

    A trick for holos that dull with top coat: apply your first coats, add top coat, and then apply the last holo coat over that. what I really like about the halo hues is they don't get patchy with regular base coat. For patchy holos, I use a matte top coat as base coat, works great!

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  17. Ive heard that the Essence top coat (i think the "gel" one) doesn't do anything to holos and makes them last way longer and makes them all shiny and stuff (I've never tried it because i can never find Holos at the stores)
    Btw what stores can u get this at?

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  18. Why do all the brands start putting out collections of my biggest weakness (holo) RIGHT AFTER I go on a no-buying challenge??? >.<

    I'm going to have to cheat. I've wanted a good set of holos for ages. :(

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  19. I was lucky enough to find all six from an Amazon store for $40 about a month ago. I did use Nfu-Oh Aqua Base first, but the chipping was still pretty bad after a couple of days. I will definitely have to look for one of the topcoats that isn't supposed to dull the holo.

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  20. I found some LA Girl holos at Rite Aid and they ARE dark. I got some and the orange is MAD!!! I wish I could find these CC at Ross. ;)

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  21. Pretty sure I was just blinded by the beauty <3____<3

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