Review: Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect polish

Everyone loves glitter.  And what's better than regular glitter?  HOLOGRAM GLITTER!

This is a review of Layla Cosmetics Hologram Effect polish. 

After reading reviews of other holos and looking at photo swatches, I decided on Layla Cosmetics brand.

All of them looked really pretty, but at $15 each I limited myself to 3:

"Mercury Twilight" which is a silver holo, "Flash Black" which is a charcoal/black holo and "Ultra Violet", my personal favorite of the three, a silvery-purpley-lavendar-ish holo.

The thing about holographic glitters is that they're really weird to work with.  The first time I'd used these, I was so excited to have holographic glitter nails that I skipped all of my normal pre-mani steps - file, buffer, base coat - and it came out really dull and streaky.  

Apparently, you're supposed use an "aqua base coat" (wut?).  I thought maybe another coat would help because more glitter is always better right?  Alas, it only made it horribly streaky and just not very pretty.  Then I put a coat of Seche Vite top coat over it, because it's super glossy and that should make it better... except it made it WORSE!  The top coat actually made it less prismatic.  What gives?  Why are holos so different from any other polish?!

After some research, and trial & error I found out a few things:  

If you are painting on natural nails, it's best to use a high shine buffer to smooth out ridges on the nail, and acrylic nails don't usually require any base just normal buffing.  

Seche Vite top coat is easier to find and a good alternative to aqua base coat.

Apply a heavy first coat, and wait at least 5 or 10 minutes before applying a second coat, otherwise the brush starts to pull off the bottom coat and it ends up very streaky & patchy.

I also discovered that the holos look very different in different types of lighting.

I painted 3 coats of each color on a nail tip, and took photos in various types of light.  I also painted the right half of the nail lengthwise with top coat so you can see how dull it makes the holo.  This kinda sucks because no top coat means it will chip or flake a little faster than a regular polish.

These photos below are from when I took my acrylics off for a week or so.  

I buffered my natural nails and used Seche Vite as a base coat, and no top coat.  The top one is a tape mani with all 3 colors and the bottom is just 2 coats of "Ultra Violet".  

They lasted pretty well for about 3 days, just a few small flakes came off on the free edge of my nail.  

 Pros:

It's absolutely beautiful!  

There is no other way to get that super crazy pretty glittery prismatic shine. 

If you can get a decent looking thick first coat, you don't have to use a second, so it will last forever.

If you have Seche Vite on hand, you don't need to buy an aqua base coat.

Layla brand was on the cheaper end but still really good quality and very prismatic.

Cons: 

They're hard to find, so they are a little pricey;
These were $15/bottle on Amazon, and I've seen Gosh holo go for $50 and up on eBay. 

Long wait time to dry between coats.

Top coat kills the hologram effect so it flakes off more easily.

Can't use normal base coat.

Conclusion:

They're really pretty, but definitely take some getting used to working with. 

If you have some extra cash to splurge and you love shiny things, go for it!

Have you ever used holographic glitter polish?  What are your thoughts?