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American Apparel: Nail Lacquers - Review, Photos, Swatches (Part 2)


Palm Springs, Cotton, Manila
Office, Peacock, Mouse
Factory Grey, Hassid

American Apparel:  Nail Lacquer, Part 2

Make sure you check out part 1 for my full review + details on the AA packaging voluntary recall.

Again, the nail lacquer is free of DBP, toluene, and formaldehyde. Each bottle retails for $6 or you can purchase a three-pack for $15. They’re currently sold exclusively in American Apparel store locations and online at americanapparel.com (expect them to be back online in a week or two).

The formula is long-wearing, easy to use, and richly pigment.  All the characteristics I look for in my nail polish!

  • Palm Springs is a soft peach cream. This one reminded me of a lightly more muted China Glaze Peachy Keen.
  • Cotton is a slightly yellowed white. I found this to be the worst of the fourteen shades — it was a little runny and it would take at least three solid coats to go opaque.  It’s not super difficult to work with, but it wasn’t stellar like the rest.
  • Manila is a bright goldenrod yellow. It’s not quite traffic-stopping yellow, but it’s not totally goldenrod either. Two coats was good on this one.
  • Office is a pale minty green Cream. I actually really liked this shade a lot, definitely a favorite out of the bunch. I found two coats was perfect for this shade.
  • Peacock is a dusty medium-deep blue. It’s kind of like a muted ocean blue, because it’s not ultra vibrant, but it still has plenty of color in two coats.
  • Mouse is a taupe-gray cream. It reminded me of Chanel’s Particuliere and OPI You Don’t Know Jacques.
  • Factory Grey is a purple-toned gray cream. It was opaque in just two coats.
  • Hassid is a rich, inky black. Super black. This looks so stunning with an ultra glossy top coat on it, too. Opaque in two coats, like the majority of these shades.

Out of the shades I tried, my favorites were Berry, Hassid, Mouse, Office, Palm Springs, and Peacock.   My top three would be Hassid, Office, and Peacock.

Which are your favorites? Any you gotta have?

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 🙂

  • Product: 28/30
  • Value: 9/10
  • Ease of Use: 4/5
  • Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you love cream finish polishes, you may find American Apparel polishes a nice surprise!

Availability: americanapparel.com


Palm Springs


Palm Springs


Palm Springs


Cotton


Cotton


Cotton


Manila


Manila


Manila


Office


Office


Office


Peacock


Peacock


Peacock


Mouse


Mouse


Mouse


Factory Grey


Factory Grey


Factory Grey


Hassid


Hassid


Hassid

36 Comments

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Maisie Avatar

Do you do all of your nail swatches at the same time? Like do you put one polish on, take pictures of it, and hen remove it to do the next one? How long does it take?

Also, do these nail polishes last without chipping for a long time?

Christine Avatar

Each swatch takes approximately 10-15 minutes to do, and I tend to do them in groups, whether it’s 5 or 10… kind of depends on how long I can stand not doing much, LOL.

Yes, they wear well. I had only minor tip wear after a week of wear (with a top and base coat), and I didn’t have any chipping even without top or base coat for 4 days (that’s when I took it off).

SiaM Avatar

Wow I love this colors!!!! They all look so creamy and opaque.
My faves:
*Hassid
*Factory Grey
*Mouse
*Office
I will wait for them to add them online, but probably they will not be able to ship them here(restrictions of certain items to go by mail or by air etc. etc.)

Thanks as always!!!

marisa Avatar

didn’t they just pull these from all of their stores because they were exploding? i think they have to fix the packaging before they are available again.

Christine Avatar

Please make sure to read part one, which addresses this problem.

They weren’t exploding – some customers reported that their bottles broke, so American Apparel is doing a voluntary recall of all first-run bottles. They are offering customers a good deal, too – if you bring in a first-run bottle or a receipt, you can get 2 shades (in the new packaging) in exchange or a $10 gift card. I have 14 bottles that were shipped to me, and I personally haven’t had any problems with them breaking on me.

They already fixed the problem and expect the new packaging to come into stores in the next week or two.

amy Avatar

I have Mouse, Office and Peacock and love them all! My favourite is Office because it is the perfect mint sorbet green. I can’t get Chanel Jade because it is a American exclusive so I was glad to stumble upon Office a few weeks ago. I look forward getting more AA polishes when they are back on the shelves. I didn’t have any problems with my bottles breaking at all and wished I picked up more before the recall. BTW I love the slim and rectangular bottles because they are unique and doesn’t take a lot of space!

Jenni Avatar

Oooh! Mouse also reminds me of OPI Run With It minus the slight golden sheen. I’m wearing that one right now and am in love with the shade. Might have to look into getting this one!

Almost black. Avatar

I love the blue one though I don’t wear blue polishes. 🙂 I really like that they’re creamy 🙂 And I love their bottles design. Hope they’ll be back soon and that I’ll manage to buy their polish through eBay 🙂

Sara Avatar

I actually own over 30 items of American Apparel clothing (yes, I love this store!) so I’m so excited to try these 🙂 Thanks so much for the swatches Christine! You’re the best.

chibaraki Avatar

Oh dear, I LOATHE Dov Charney to the point that I decline to support his company, but I really, really want Peacock and Factory Grey (and probably Mouse even though I already have a very similar grey and it actually clashes with every article of clothing I own).

I’ve seen lots of companies coming out with nice teals for spring, it seems to be a thing this year!

Tabi Avatar

Hi Christine! How would you compare Peacock to Barielle’s Bouquet for Ava that you swatched a bit ago? If I were to get one, which one would you prefer? Thanks in advance! =)

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