Chunky Holo Bluebell from Kleancolor… or is it?
So I’ve had this SERIOUS lemming for Chunky Holo Bluebell (#235) from Kleancolor since forever, but up until this year I had no idea how to get it short of ordering it on eBay, and I hated the prospect of buying it for 10 USD and paying shipping (another 10 USD) when Beauty Joint was selling it for $1.75!
So, when I heard about Kleancolor Philippines, I was ecstatic. I went to their facebook page, chatted them up, and they were really accommodating. Chunky Holo Bluebell wasn’t even on their list of polishes available, but I messaged them privately and asked if 235 was ever going to in stock. Surprisingly, they replied that they had it!
It was more expensive at P140.00 per bottle, plus P65.00 for shipping, but I wanted it enough to pay P205.00 for ONE bottle. And I knew it would be worth it.
When the bottle arrived though, I was a little confused.
Was this really Chunky Holo Bluebell?
I knew that Bluebell had a blue jelly base, not orange. This looked like Chunky Holo Poppy!
However, when I checked the labels, they firmly said Chunky Holo Bluebell, #235. *headscratch
Is there a different formulation for Chunky Holos in the Philippines? Or did i get a mislabeled bottle?
When I swatched it, the base color really was orange, not blue.
I was kinda ready to get all lip quivery and stuff (ok I exag) but I knew from posts I read on the internet that the Chunky Holos are pretty much identical when layered on dark base polishes…
(photos from here)
(l-r: Purple, bluebell, black)
(l-r: candy, poppy, fuschia)
All these polishes were layered over a black base polish. As you can see, they’re pretty much all identical, even though the bottles look really different from each other.
(photos from here)
….so maybe I could still get a Bluebell effect with this weird bottle I got.
I put on a dark blue duochrome base polish - my L.A. Girls Rockstar Laquer in PunK:
It’s a duochrome glittery polish that shines blue or purple, depending on the light.
Then I layered two coats of Chunky Holo Bluebell on top of it, and took better DSLR photos. Here are the results:
(fluorescent light)
Depending on the angle you hold your hand out, the photos can look pretty different. Here the red and purple holos stand out.
(halogen lights)
Here’s a blurry photo to show how many colors there are when you shift your fingers around.
All in all, I’m happy with the end result, but it was as much a choice of the colors for layering as it was the contents of the Kleancolor Holo polish. If I had chosen an orange or red base color, I wouln’t have gotten this satisfying range of colors. So, I’m happy that this polish looks great with the right choices, but disappointed that I got a bottle that doesn’t look anything like Chunky Holo Bluebell!
What do you think? Do you think it’s a mislabeled bottle?
UPDATE:
Okay, so I messaged Kleancolor Phils and they said it’s absolutely not a mislabeled bottle, but they could be doing it for good business, right? Deny all mistakes and all that? Anyway, I’m tired of feeling bad about a bottle of nail polish lol.
CONSISTENCY:
I’m updating to blog a little more about the formula and consistency of this polish - the consistency is average, and if you buy the glittery kind, it will go on thick and goopy after a couple of coats. Which is normal. It’s also crazy long-lasting.
DRYING TIME:
Longer than average. I had to use my insta-dry topcoat just to make it dry faster, but I didn’t mind. If you’re impatient, this polish might frustrate you. It took like 10 mins for my hand to dry, and even then it still felt mushy-wobbly when I touched my nail. I made sure to spend the next hour just typing or surfing the net instead of eating, washing my hands, or handling any linty stuff.
SMELL:
The smell is really strong, in the paint-thinner range kind of strong, so if you’re sensitive, this polish might not be for you (and I heard it’s not 3-free).
I also found the smell REALLY familiar. I’d bought a couple of other bottles from a different brand called Max Makeup Cherimoya that smelled EXACTLY the same as this bottle of Kleancolor polish. So I rummaged through my nail polish bin and held it side by side with the KC bottle.
WAT, IT LOOKS EXACTLY THE SAME AS MY MAX MAKEUP CHERIMOYA BOTTLE
Same smell, same shape, same consistency.
Same drying time, same holographic glitter sizes (with the exception of the stars, also holographic)
Sister company? I know nail polish companies totally produce a bazillion different lines of the same polish formulas, renaming them, re-inventing old colors and combinations and just releasing them under new marketing ploys, so I’m thinking this is one of those things. *shrug
Here are the names of these two polishes. The Max Makeup Cherimoya one, a clear jelly base with holographic glitter (small round ones and big stars) is called Silver Star.
Swatches of the Cherimoya polishes soon!
<3
More nail stuff here.
