So here's Icing by Claire's Choco Chip, which... Reminds you of something, doesn't it? Definitely a polish created in efforts to mimic the Illamasqua speckled polish collection from the I’mperfection spring season line. Choco Chip in particular doesn't resemble any of the Illamasqua line so it's unique in itself - it sports micro and sparse solid black hex glitters in a pale grey crelly. Formula wise, it was pretty cooperative! No streaks, no pulling - two easy coats. I found the larger hex glitter a little more sparse than the Illamasqua but I did get a few on some winning strokes. The only issue I had was that I had a brush hair fall out and apply on my index. Agh. Didn't have any problems asides that, though. Here's my swatch - it's two coats, with no top coat:
A top coat would have given this a more even look but I suppose I was feeling disgruntled due to my broken nail. I had broken my middle finger nail when I was doing some shooting on Friday so I cut them all off. Agh, hate it when that happens.
Here's how Icing by Claire's Choco Chip looks with a matte top coat. I'm using Revlon's Matte Top Coat, to stick to the theme of Cheap Polish Tuesday:
I actually really love the formula (and the price!) of this one. I hope that Mint Choco Chip (the other Icing by Claire's polish that I picked up) follows the same suit, and I'll be on the look out for the third one which is a pastel pink. Icing by Claire's Choco Chip is a little dull, but for some reason I like the subtlety of it. Definitely awesome for a low key look, or some fun when you are sporting shorties like how I am now.
What do you think of Icing by Claire's speckled polishes? Would you rather splurge for the Illamasqua? (Also what the heck is the difference between Claire's and Icing by Claire's? Seems like they have the same inventory!)
Can I please have your "shorties"? I think your nails still look amazing. I'm not sure how I feel about this polish, I like the premise but I guess I wasn't wowed by the colours, its, as you said, a bit dull. That's great you got 2 for $7.50 though, I haven't been into Claires forever. May have to check out some of their cheap polish! Do you know if it's 3-Free?
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This is actually how short my nails go! Well, maybe 1mm of growth - can't cut em all the way down or it would hurt too much. I have slightly longer nail beds but seriously: IT'S AN ILLUSION MICHAEL. (Ahhh Arrested Development reference in case that was missed, lol.)
DeleteAnyway, I would say this is the dullest of the three that are available. The other two are quite pretty: a pastel pink (thinking about strawberry ice cream) and a pastel mint (mint chocolate chip ice cream, hehe SO MUCH ICE CREAM!).... I really want the pastel pink one. The pastel mint one is definitely passable as something similar to Illamasqua Mottle (which to my knowledge are now discontinued and sold out).
As for the 3 free, I am not entirely certain. The advertised ingredients are:
"Butyl Acetate, Ethyl Acetate, Nitrocellulose, Acetyl Tributyl Citrate, Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer, Isopropyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Phthalic Anhydride/ Trimellitic Anhydride/Glycols Copolymer, Polyurethane-11, Acetone, Stearalkonium Bentonite, Lecithin, Silica Silylate, Black 2 (CI 77266), Aluminum Powder (CI 77000)."
To my knowledge, the big 3 are Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde and Toluene and they aren't listed so I assume they are 3 free? But they are not being advertised as "3 free", I guess it's buyer be cautious.
Oh! Do you have the mint one already? I remember you swatching the original of that it was SO PRETTY. I would definitely buy a dupe at a fraction of the cost, I'm okay with not having the original haha. And the pink one sounds pretty too! But I love mint!
DeleteThanks for sharing the ingredients, that does look safe anyway, I'm not sure that all cheaper brands really know to advertise the fact, it seems like it's more common with more expensive brands even when the cheaper ones are in fact 3-Free these days.
(Also I want ice cream now, thanks)
I do have the mint one! I picked up the mint one and this one. I wanted to keep Mottle but didn't want to pay $18 for it (I save money to keep that Rainbow Honey collection intact, lol.) I'll try to highlight it next week! I want to do a comparison of Mottle vs. Mint Choco Chip but I don't own Mottle - I might be able to borrow it again from my boyfriend's sister but don't really want to hassle her. I guess a side by side might suffice.
DeleteI am also surprised that Joe Fresh polishes are 3 free! They don't advertise it though.
Yeah I feel like there quite a lot of cheap polishes that are taking the 3 Free route but just don't advertise it. Although I feel like on your blog you showed that Joe Fresh was actually the same price as OPI just smaller bottles! Ridiculous. But I've been trying to Google polish before I buy it to check, at this point it seems so easy to buy 3-Free that I might as well.
DeleteOh, this is beautiful! $5 is a very good price in Sweden :D I wish we had American prices on nail polish here :D
ReplyDelete$5 is a good price here too, hehehe. Usually OPI is about $10 a bottle here and Deborah Lippmann is $25. :/ It's the Americans that always get the cheap polish, don't you think? ;)
DeleteI think the polish looks very pretty! I love the colour combination of black and white.
ReplyDeleteI really like solid black glitters and I think the pastel creme-jelly is wonderful with it! :D
DeleteOoo I like this! It feels very subtle, but still has a little bit of fun in it.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I am trying to be so good at NOT buying any more polishes (I have 1 order in transit, but after that I need to take a break *cries*), and all I want to do is run to the closest Claire's to buy some. Must... resist... urge to buy!
Oh I know how you feel. I went off the deep end last week and just bought a whole wackload of polishes. To be fair, I don't have a clothes buying addiction like a lot of girls. I am really, really trying to cut down. I am not saying anything but... I pretty much have enough polish to keep this blog going for over a year without buying any more. Yes, that's how crazy the stash is. At least this blog is forcing me to use them. I quite enjoy that part of keeping one. :)
DeleteThis is pretty cool I usually steer clear of Claires due to all the tweens and I always feel the garbage they peddle is seriously overpriced. I'm glad you could find an alternative to Illamasqua :)
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