A Creative Fantasy in Purple Jelly

China Glaze Creative Fantasy Nail Lacquer ($3.25 for 0.50 fl. oz.) is described as a “grape neon.” It’s a brightened, medium-dark purple with red undertones and jelly finish. I was very surprised that I wasn’t able to find anything that was really close in color, but in particular, nothing that was close in color and in texture within the purple polishes I’ve reviewed previously. Illamasqua Jo’mina (much, much lighter, more of a lavender) and Illamasqua Poke (closer in color but has shimmer and no jelly texture/finish) were the only shades that came close to the same tone of the color.

I applied two coats, and the color coverage was semi-opaque; there was visible nail line and some translucency across the entire nail–pretty much the kind of translucency you’d expect (and what tends to define) a jelly finish.  It did have an interesting finish when dried down, as it wasn’t fully matte, but it wasn’t really glossy; I’d fully recommend a top coat to get this to look like a jelly if desired.  My biggest gripe with this was that it was very streaky, even after two coats. It didn’t level or help itself while it was drying, unfortunately, which left a part-streaky, part-marbled look in the end.  The consistency was on the thinner side but not watery.  I tend to get seven days of wear with minor tip wear but no chipping with China Glaze’s polish formula.

China Glaze Creative Fantasy Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Creative Fantasy Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Creative Fantasy Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Creative Fantasy Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Creative Fantasy Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Creative Fantasy Nail Lacquer