Linear Holographic Madness!

I received an awesome nail mail just the other day and it was my Nfu Ohs!!! I got #51, #61 and their aqua base and today, I'm showing you #61!

There's been rumours floating around that they made a new #61 that is less holographic than the original one and there are even pictures to prove it. Sadly, I seem to always be late to the holo party and end up getting the dud versions (that right, MPJ, Worth the Risque and Revvvolution, I'm talking about you three!) so the #61 I got was the newly formulated one.

So first, let's talk about the aqua base. I didn't notice a difference in terms of application of the holographic polishes. I still had to use 2 coats of Make Up Store Greta and 3 coats for Nfu Oh #61. The aqua base didn't really help in terms of bringing out the holographic effect more either. So really, unless it helps the polish last, I don't see why you need to buy the aqua base. At $20 a bottle, you can really spend the money on something more worthwhile. I must mention though, if you're gonna skip the aqua base, then just paint the holos in your base nails. Don't use any base coat because it will make the nail too smooth and application will be hard, with quite a few bald spots. I have heard though, that using Orly bonder as a base coat helps, so perhaps you can try "sticky" base coats.

Now, on to the main event, pictures! I have on the aqua base, 3 coats of #61 and Seche Vite on my index; aqua base, 2 coats of Greta and SV on my middle finger; no aqua base, 3 coats of #61 and no SV on my ring finger; and lastly no aqua base, 2 coats of Greta and no SV on my pinkie for all the pictures.





















All the pictures above were taken indoors, under my table lamp and the holographic effect seem to be more obvious under the lamp than in the sunlight, as you can see in the next two pictures.







This last picture was taken under my table lamp, with flash.

So here's my weigh in on #61 and Greta.

Firstly, top coat seem to not really affect their holo goodness and since holos have a very bad reputation of not wearing that well without any topcoat, I'd suggest applying a top coat on top. SV did dull the holo effect just a little but I'd rather get longer wear then just a tiny tiny bit more holo, especially considering how pricey most holo polishes are.

Secondly, Greta is definitely mush much more holo than #61. That's not to say that #61 isn't holo but if I had to choose, I'd pick Greta. Now if I didn't already own Greta, I'd still be very much impressed by how holo #61 is but next to Greta, #61 just doesn't shine as much.

Thirdly, cost wise, #61 is DEFINITELY much more worthwhile to buy. I paid $20 for 17ml of #61 and $22 for 8ml of Greta. If I calculate the cost per ml, Greta actually costs more than all my polishes, including Chanel! It's actually the most expensive polish I own per ml. If cost is a concern, then I'd suggest getting #61 because it's still pretty holo and it's a linear holo, unlike the  scattered holo of the dud Worth the Risque.
Forthly, the holo particles in Greta seem to be just a little bit finer than those in #61. I'm not really sure if it makes a difference in terms of holoness.

Fifth, the base colour of #61 seems more obvious. It kinda looks like Millenium (which also incidentally makes me curious what would happen if I add some spectraflair powder into Millenium, or any silver foil polish) whereas I can't really see the base colour of Greta. I'm not sure of I'm making any sense but Greta just seems more "cohesive". This means that in low lighting, #61 tends to appear more silvery than Greta would.

Lastly, with regards to wear time, SV definitely helped. I have a bad experience with Greta and the worst thing that happened once was that the polish chipped off when I was sleeping. I went to bad with nicely polished nails and when I woke up, there was this huge chip! I don't see how much more violent or rough I can be when I'm sleeping. In fact, I'm probably more tough on my nails when I'm awake. and it isn't just me. When I was with my friend at Make Up Store, my friend swatched Siw (the blue version of Greta) on her nails and by the time she got home, there was already chipping! So, the main point is, wear a topcoat!
Oh, and since we're already talking about holographic polishes, I might as well show you some swatches of China Glaze 2nite and DV8, which I by some miracle, managed to buy second hand (but totally new) from a fellow polish-aholic from Singapore. I saw someone in HK selling LOL but I resisted because I know I wouldn't really wear it. With holos, they're more trophies I keep in my helmer than something I'd wear out. DV8 is the teal one and 2nite is the cornflower one!







2 coats each under my table lamp.



This one was taken in sunlight, and that's Glamazon (my holo franken) on my index finger!

As you can see, I'm currently very much into the whole holo craze. I really really really want to buy some spectraflaire and I'm wondering if anyone's interested too? We can save on shipping because shipping's a flat rate!

You can check out how spectraflair works by clicking here, here, here and here. Let me know if you're interested!!! :D