My swatch sticks came, so, as promised, here are the swatches I promised you guys of the Models Own Hypergel collection! After all, I always keeps the promises I makes.
Confession time: I've never really swatched nail polishes (or anything!) before, so I apologise if they aren't the greatest swatches in the Universe. Still, I've done my best to show the colours as true as I can. And the shine too. Oh, the shine... So pretty! Nothing beats a nice shiny, glossy, gorgeous manicure.
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Cornflower Gleam, a slightly dusty cornflower blue.
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| 'Blue Glint, an azure-type true blue. |
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| Turquoise Gloss, a green-toned turquoise. |
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| Naked Glow, a light, nude beige. |
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| Whire Light, a pure white. |
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Lilac Sheen, a milky, pale purple.
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| Pink Veneer, a soft, baby pink. |
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| Cerise Shine, a bright, Barbie-style pink. |
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Coral Glaze, a more-orange-than-pink coral.
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| Red Lustre, a cool blue-toned red. |
All swatches have two coats. The majority could have covered in one coat, but I like to even them out with a second. I don't know, I just have a thing where I don't like having just a single coat of polish.
I have to admit, I was pretty blown away by the shine. While I was applying the polishes, I couldn't help but think that they didn't really have that gel-like sheen - it seemed to be nothing more than the shine you can achieve with a good topcoat. Once they were dry, however, and in the natural light... WOW!
I've worn some of the shades on my own natural nails over the past few days, and noticed there are a couple of things to bear in mind about these Hypergels. One is that drying time is a little slow. They stay in that awful smudge-prone stage for absolutely ages. I have yet to apply one of these to my nails without them smudging at some point. Another thing is they chip terribly. Well, more peel. In great big pieces. I was so disappointed! Personally I change my polish most everyday so it doesn't really effect me, but I was genuinely hoping to get more than 12 hours out of these.
On the plus side, most of these are one coat polishes. The only exceptions, I found, were Lilac Sheen, Naked Glow, and Pink Veneer, although this is to be expected with pastel shades as they do tend to be more sheer.
Another thing I couldn't help but notice was that a couple of the shades seemed very similar to some of the Hi Shine Gelly shades that Barry M released in 2013, notably Cornflower Gleam, Naked Glow and Lilac Sheen. I don't own Blueberry, so I can't compare, but I'd hesitate a guess that it's pretty close to Cornflower Gleam. As for Naked Glow and Lilac Sheen, I can compare.
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| Models Own Naked Glow vs Barry M Lychee |
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| Models Own Lilac Sheen vs Barry M Prickly Pear |
Although both comparisons are quite close, I wouldn't go so far as to call them dupes. Both Barry M shades are slightly darker, plus I found the formula to be very slightly thicker on the Barry M Hi Shine Gelly's. Not to mention Prickly Pear needs about twelve coats to be opaque, and Lilac Sheen is opaque in two.
Overall, I'm excessively impressed with the Hypergels, their shine, and colour range.
What do you guys think of the swatches? Which colour is your favourite?
