I recently received some polishes from Sephora, including the Makeup Academy Nails set. However, the set was already on sale when I received it and is now out of stock – so instead of reviewing the set as a whole, I’ll be reviewing the included polishes. Not all the polishes are available alone at the moment, but hopefully my thoughts on the formula, brush, bottle, etc will be helpful!
Sephora Collection Color Hit polishes retail for $5 each and are 5ml each – they also tend to be available in a variety of sets for a discount; e.g. this set of 5 that is currently selling for $12. To get a sense of the size, OPI minis are 3.75ml; Sally Girl polishes are 5.3 ml, Color Club minis are 7ml, and Zoya minis are 7.5ml. Full size polishes are generally 10-15ml. At $5 each, these Sephora polishes are very expensive for their size – if they were the same size as OPI polishes, they would be $15 each. Now, if you’re more concerned with variety than with quantity (as I am, since I don’t expect to ever finish a color polish), you’d probably rather pay $5 for a mini than $8 for a full size polish! But, the size and price are something to keep in mind.
While the bottles are small, the shape is fantastic. I often have trouble opening polish bottles, especially with wet nails (I try to open everything I need in advance, but frequently forget). The oval shape means that these are very easy to open – you get a lot more leverage than with a round handle! The caps tend to line up nicely when you put the top back on, but if they don’t, you can pull the black cap off of the top in order to reposition it.
The brush is on the wide side and has a tendency to pick up a lot of polish, so I found that it was important to wipe it off thoroughly before applying polish. The shape works well for my nails though – I have fairly wide nails – and I found it easy to use and especially easy to get a nice clean line near the cuticle. However, if you have narrow nails, this brush shape may not work well for you.
Spread the Word // Pole Dance // Banana Split // Sugar Coated // Happy Hour
Pole Dance // Banana Split // Happy Hour // Spread the Word // Sugar Coated
All of the creme polishes applied smoothly and took two coats to be opaque (I know it’s hard to tell, but the pale pink is opaque as well). The colors are basic, but nice.
Keep Me Posted// New Year’s Resolution // Never Say No
Never Say No // New Year’s Resolution // Keep Me Posted
I love all three of the shimmers, especially Never Say No (which I can wear to work, and is available to purchase as a single). They also took two coats to become opaque, and had smoothly flowing formulas.
Black Lace // Party Animal // Get What U Want
Party Animal // Party Animal over Black Lace // Black Lace
The black creme is a two-coater as well, which means it’s not my favorite – I have several one coat black polishes, which I definitely prefer since I’m almost always using black to layer. The glitter, Party Animal, is great. It flows smoothly and has fairly even glitter coverage. It’s dense enough to wear alone at about 3 coats (the leftmost swatch), but can also be layered (the center swatch). The clear I have, Get What U Want, is actually a clear polish and not a top coat. Sephora does sell a base coat and top coat, and I’m glad to see they come in larger bottles (9.7ml) for only $1 more each (so, $6 each).
Overall, I would recommend these with reservations. They’re nice polishes in fantastic bottles; a great choice if the price & size works for you, but it won’t work for everyone.
*The Sephora Color Hit polishes in this post were provided as a press sample. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.