Swatches: Orly Starburst and Milky Way from the Spring 2014 Galaxy FX Collection

Purchased by Me 

In honor of the BOGOFREE sale on all polishes except for OPI currently happening at Sally Beauty (now through 2/27--click here for details), I wanted to get some swatches up of the polishes I purchased a few weeks ago at my local Sally. In this post, I'll be showing you two of the Orly polishes I purchased from the Spring 2014 Galaxy FX Collection. I purchased these when Sally Beauty was having a 2/$11 sale on Orly, but the BOGOFREE sale is even better, since I think these retail $10 each. Let's take a look:

Orly Starburst and Milky Way

from the Spring 2014 Galaxy FX Collection

(retail: around $10 each, 0.6 oz)

If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you probably know that I have a weakness for milky glitters. I love both matte and metallic glitters in a milky base (I'm an equal-opportunity milky glitter lover!), and I picked these two polishes because I don't have any other glitter combinations in my stash that look quite like these.

Orly Starburst

Starburst contains varying sizes of red, orange and gold metallic hexagonal glitter in a milky white base. It also contains jumbo matte white circle glitter.

Two coats + top coat

This polish really benefits from a thick top coat--otherwise it looks bumpy and uneven. This was almost a one-coater in terms of glitter coverage, and I did not need to dab the glitter onto my nail--I could easily brush this polish on like a regular polish. There was no need to go "fishing" for glitter and in fact, my one complaint was that I sometimes had too MUCH glitter on my brush when I pulled it out of the bottle. Dry time was great for both coats.

Here is Starburst in lower lighting:

I'm so mad that I could not capture the sparkle in Starburst in my photos. The milky white base does not dull down the sparkle, and this polish really comes alive in sunlight. Another interesting thing is that some of the the jumbo white circle glitters in this polish seem to have a dark edge to them. I didn't plan it this way, but if you look at the top finger above, you can see that black edge is really visible. On the next finger down, there's only a slight black edge to the white circle glitter on that finger. And then on the finger below that, there's no dark edge at all. Interesting.

Orly Milky Way

Milky Way contains varying sizes of metallic orange and holographic hexagonal glitter in a milky gray-blue base. This polish also contains tiny hexagonal metallic teal glitter.

Two coats + top coat

Milky Way is one of those polishes that looks so much better and more interesting in person than in photos. There is holographic glitter in this one that sparkles so beautifully in person. But what I don't like about this polish is that the milky blue-gray base distorts the color of the orange glitter and turns it into an odd reddish-salmon shade that looks kind of weird against the blue-gray base.

Here is Milky Way in lower lighting:

As far as coverage, again, this was almost a one-coater. I had the same issue as with Starburst--there was sometimes too much glitter on my brush when I pulled it from the bottle. I did not have to dab the glitter onto my nail--I could brush it on like a regular polish. However, this formula was quite thick and goopy, so I will definitely be adding a few drops of polish thinner (this one is my personal favorite) to this polish for future manicures. Dry time was good for both coats, despite the thick formula.

All in all, I'm glad I got these two shades because, for me, they're truly unique and unlike any other milky glitters in my stash. However, unless you're OK with a bumpy finish, be warned that you might need two or even three layers of top coat before these become smooth to the touch. These are definitely "top-coat-eaters" and I suggest applying a layer of a thick base coat like Gelous on top of these polishes, followed by a coat of a thick top coat (NYC Grand Central Station, Seche Vite, etc.) to really smooth them out. 

Do you own any of the Orly Galaxy FX polishes? If so, which shades do you own and how do you like them? Remember, Orly and all other polishes (except for OPI) are BOGOFREE right now at Sally Beauty (through Thursday, 2/27). Click here for more info about this sale.

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