ORLY Cosmic FX Collection Review, Photos, Swatches

Christine — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:00:05 +0000

Nail Lacquers: Out of This World, It’s Not Rocket Science, Haley’s Comet

Intergalactic, Planetary, Planetary, Intergalactic

This September, ORLY’s Cosmic FX Collection will launch. According to ORLY, these polishes have a textured finish that have multi-dimensional flashes of shine as a result of “MINERAL FX” technology. This technology uses a mix of natural rock minerals, crystals, and glass that give these shades an optical effect. All six shades will retail for $10 each and are limited edition.

From ORLY…

The MINERALFX technology includes specialty mica, that allows for a clearer, vibrantly bright lustrous shimmer. Crystals allow for a multi-dimensional color transformation. Glass particles carefully controlled in shape and size create a luminous phenomenon. This combination infused with the Silica and specific colors selected create this exclusive technology that gives nails a unique optical effect that’s magnified as the lighting source intensifies or viewing angle changes.

Nail Lacquers

Out of This World is a deep purple base with shimmer flecks of violet purple and green gold. Three coats.
It’s Not Rocket Science is an olive green base with darkened chartreuse and teal shimmer. It looks rather chartreuse-y at some angles, while in others, it almost looks emerald green as the teal comes into play. Two coats.
Haley’s Comet is an aqua-blue color base with flecks of green, teal, and blue shimmer. It looks bluer at some angles, more mermaid-esque at other angles. I found that this one had the least powerful duochrome. This felt like the least pigmented, so it definitely needed a full three coats. This also bears a strong resemblance to Zoya’s Charla.
Space Cadet is one of the coolest shades of the six. It has a very strong duochrome finish/effect. It looks like a mauvey plum but then it glints a chartreuse-y green with strong gold undertones. I can’t think of anything I have that’s quite like this. Two coats.
Galaxy Girl is a beautiful deep wine-purple base with red undertones. It has flecks of teal and darkened fuchsia-purple shimmer. It’s dark and a little vampy, but I absolutely love the subtle but noticeable duochrome effect. Two coats.
Lunar Eclipse is a glowing indigo blue that flashes violet, electric blue, and inky blue. It’s incredible–it’s my personal favorite. This was the most pigmented shade of the six, and it only needed two coats.

ORLY completely hit a homerun here for me. Not only was this the collection I was most anticipating personally, but it fulfilled all my expectations. It did not disappoint at any point. The formula was nicely pigmented and not too thick, easy to work with, and the shimmer and glass flecks distributed evenly. I didn’t have any issues with drying time when I used Zoya’s Color Lock System, including their quick drying drops–I was typing away just minutes after applying the Hurry Up drops. I also love the rubber caps of ORLY’s polish, because it makes handling them foolproof.

There’s only one downside and that’s the price–these are more expensive than your usual ORLYs (which retail at $7.50). Don’t get me wrong, considering I’ll happily fork over $23 for a Chanel shade, I think these are completely worth it. They’re interesting and complex shades that apply well, which is what makes a polish worth it for me.

But in the end, there’s really only one word to sum up this collection: BADASS.

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

Product: 30/30
Value: 7/10
Ease of Use: 4/5
Packaging: 5/5

RECOMMENDATION: If you love pops of color on your nails, ORLY’s Cosmic collection is NOT to be missed!

AVAILABILITY: September 2010 at orlybeauty.com, ULTA, and Sally Beauty

I want to warn you about the flash photos: I do not think they really accurately depict the shades, because the flash firing causes each shade to lose its duochrome nature.

Nail Lacquers: Out of This World, It’s Not Rocket Science, Haley’s Comet

Nail Lacquers: Space Cadet, Galaxy Girl, Lunar Eclipse

ORLY Out of This World Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

ORLY Out of This World Nail Lacquer (Flash)

ORLY It’s Not Rocket Science Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

ORLY It’s Not Rocket Science Nail Lacquer (Flash)

ORLY Haley’s Comet Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

ORLY Haley’s Comet Nail Lacquer (Flash)

ORLY Space Cadet Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

ORLY Space Cadet Nail Lacquer (Flash)

ORLY Galaxy Girl Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

ORLY Galaxy Girl Nail Lacquer (Flash)

ORLY Lunar Eclipse Nail Lacquer (Natural Light)

ORLY Lunar Eclipse Nail Lacquer (Flash)

Temptalia

ORLY Cosmic FX Collection Review, Photos, Swatches

Intergalactic, Planetary, Planetary, Intergalactic

From ORLY…

Nail Lacquers

But in the end, there’s really only one word to sum up this collection: BADASS.