Vinylux

So the new buzz product right now is CND Vinylux.  It's a regular polish that claims to last 7 days.  Not 'UP TO' 7 days, the top coat clearly states on the box 'lasts 7 days without chipping'.  There is no UV light required with this polish and it comes off with regular polish remover.

I found it at my local CND authorized nail supply on launch day.  I think it's supposed to retail for $9.95 US.  Many of the colours match Shellac so I purchased 2 of the Shellac shades - Masquerade and Cake Pop and I also purchased Scarlet Letter, a nice dark red.  Unfortunately I now have to keep my clients in mind when purchasing colours.  The Weekly Top Coat was the same price as the polishes.  This system requires no base coat so of course I'm going to try the red one first to see if it stains right?

Please note that first of all, I am wearing Shellac underneath this so this may affect my wear since I usually do get extra wear out of my regular polish on Shellac.  So I painted 2 coats of Scarlet Letter and 1 coat of Vinylux Weekly Top Coat.  The Vinylux formula was really nice and almost a one coater.  I had doubts about the staining though when I applied the top coat and noticed some red on the brush.

And just for comparison I grabbed the closest colour in China Glaze - Red Satin and painted 2 coats on my other hand with a top coat of Seche Vite.  First impression is that they look pretty much identical although I did get a couple of small sheet marks on the China Glaze hand which is my non-dominant hand.

This is the China Glaze hand at 3 days.  No chips but the top coat has dulled quite a bit.

And the Vinylux hand at 3 days in.  There is more noticeable wear at the tips and scuff marks on the top coat.  Honestly after being used to the lasting high shine of gel polishes it was painful to continue to wear this scuffed up manicure for the rest of the week.  And although it looks like my manicure made it chip-free to day 3...

I got a tiny chip in my thumb nail.  To be fair, it did chip my Shellac underneath as well.  I did take extra care when doing Clients nails this week to not get any acetone or product on my manicure.  However if I hadn't been doing a test of this polish I would have taken it off at Day 3.

So here's the China Glaze hand at Day 7.  Not much going on here other than some cracking and dulling of the top coat.  The cracking is pretty typical for me with regular polish on Shellac since my natural nails are weak and bendy.

There really wasn't much tip wear to speak of either.  This is the typical sort of wear I get out of regular polish on top of Shellac.

And here's the Vinylux at Day 7.  No cracking like the China Glze but the polish is completely dull and looks dirty.

No chips here but I did have a problem with tip wear.  Unfortunately it's a bit difficult to see in my photos as I'm wearing a dark sparkly purple underneath.  In all fairness, this is my dominant hand so a little more wear and tear is expected.

So now for the removal.  As I previously mentioned I was wearing gel polish underneath.  This is the China Glaze hand - no staining, nothing unusual.

And here is the Vinylux after removal - no staining either.  I will say though, that the Vinylux came off slightly easier than the China Glaze which surprised me.  I used non-acetone remover for both hands.

So my overall thoughts on Vinylux:
I know I sorta cheated by wearing it over gel polish but I don't really have a choice.  The formula was really nice, the price was the same roughly as OPI.  Not having to use base coat was a bonus.  The dry time was better than traditional polish.  The wear didn't impress me.  The top coat dulled and scuffed so quickly.  Removal was a breeze.  I'd like to try this out over bare nails sometime.  Would I wear it again over gel polish? No unless I really loved the colour.  This will probably be a good choice for my clients who don't wear gel however I'm hesitant to offer it before I've tested it on bare nails.

And on the flip side if anyone was still curious or on the fence about gel polish, just take a look at those photos of my China Glaze hand!  It's absolutely worth it to invest in a gel manicure, even a clear or neutral colour and paint any colour in regular polish over top for extended wear and extra strength!  I think every girl should try out a gel manicure from a good professional Nail Tech who knows what they're doing and uses pro products only (there's so many garbage knock-offs out there, but that's a rant for another time).

Later
P