Mainstream Mondays: Maybelline New York Color Show Polka Dots

He-lloooo everybody!! I'm baaaaack! I missed last week's Indie Thursdays due to this little holiday called Independence Day  ;) I did a patriotic mani but didn't have time to post them (read: the boyfriend and I watched movies at the theater THE WHOLE DAY.) Anyway, today is another week and let's get back on track!

For this week's MM I have the new Maybelline New York Color Show Polka Dots nail polish.

The collection comes with four jelly-based polishes with black and white multi-sized hex glitters, plus a glitter topper in a clear base. Have you noticed that lately, mainstream brands have ventured into making polishes that look like indie polishes? It's a hit and miss, but I think this one's a hit. Let's jump right to the swatches and you can judge for yourself. ;)


First in line, we have Pretty in Polka.

With shiny top coat

With matte top coat

Pretty in Polka is a bubblegum-pink jelly base with black and white multi-sized matte hex glitters. Formula was pretty decent. It got gloopy after sometime, but maybe it's because I was working in a room with a fan. I used three coats for this swatch; one pic with shiny top coat and one with matte top coat.

Next, we have Dotty.

With shiny top coat

With matte top coat

Dotty is an orange jelly base with the same black and white glitters. This color kinda reminds me of orange soda! Formula was the same as Pretty in Polka. Again, three coats, and one with shiny top coat and one with matte top coat.

And then we have Drops of Jade.

With shiny top coat

With matte top coat

Drops of Jade is a blue-leaning minty green jelly base with the same black and white glitters. Looks like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but more blue-green. Heh. The base on this one was also more color-saturated. Again, three coats, then with shiny top coat and with matte top coat. Could probably be good with two but I like doing three.

The last of the colored bases, Blue Marks the Spot.

With shiny top coat

With matte top coat

Blue Marks the Spot is a sheer sky-blue jelly base with the same black and white glitters. I found this the sheerest out of the four. I did three coats for this one. It could've used four, but it was so glitter-loaded that another coat would've been too much. Maybe layer this over a similar creme base? Again, one pic with top coat and another with matte top coat.

And here is the glitter topper, Clearly Spotted.

Jelly sandwich using O.P.I. Glints of Glinda

Jelly sandwich using O.P.I. Don't Burst My Bubble

Clearly on Top is a, well, clear base with black and white glitters. The glitters in this topper is smaller than the colored bases, which I love. Reminds me of Hard Candy Black Tie Optional but without the bar glitter.

I did a jelly sandwich for the swatches since I haven't really done any before and thought this polish was perfect for it. For those of you that don't know what a jelly sandwich is, a jelly sandwich is where you layer a jelly polish, glitter, and then the jelly polish again, hence the name "sandwich." I put the names of the polishes I used in the caption. Then, I tried doing jelly sandwiches using more bold colors. For each jelly sandwich combo (except the one with CG Red Satin where I did one coat only,) I used two coats of polish, one coat of Clearly Spotted, then two more coats of polish.

Jelly sandwich using China Glaze Red Satin

Jelly sandwich using NYC Midtown Mimosa

Jelly sandwich using China Glaze Are You Jelly?

Thoughts? I really liked these polishes. I like "organized" glitter polishes and these are just right. They might not be the first black-and-white-glitter-in-a-colored-base polish you've seen, but they certainly are pretty enough to justify owning them too. At least for me, they aren't like any I own. The glitter payoff was also good; no fishing for glitters needed. If anything, it coud use less glitter, if that's even possible. The formula was also pretty easy to work with. The brushes are your standard thin, round brushes, although Drops of Jade had a fluffier brush than the rest. If I have any issues with these polishes, is that I wish the blue was a bit more saturated. It was too sheer for my liking. Also, I wish it came in more colors!

Would I recommend these polishes? Mostly, yes. Yes because they are pretty and fun, and easy to work with. But at $2.98 (or $4.50 depending on where you buy them) for a 7ml bottle, it might be a bit much. I personally do not mind, but some might have issues with it. This is actually the cheapest of its kind I found, so I think it's a pretty good deal. I'm also not sure if this will be a part of their core line, but at Walmart they had these in the regular display. Availability might also be an issue, since not all Walmarts carry this. I know Rite-Aid and other drugstores carry this so check your local stores for availability.

And that's it for this week's Mainstream Mondays! I hope you enjoyed this post, and please stay tuned for the next one. :)

*I bought these polishes with my own money. Pretty in Polka, Blue Marks the Spot and Clearly Spotted were purchased at Rite-Aid for around $4.50 each bottle. Dotty and Drops of Jade were purchased at Walmart for $2.98 each bottle.*

*Disclaimer: Due to variations in screen displays and resolutions, polishes may appear different to each reader. I try my best to capture colors as accurately as I can, and if I can't, then I try to describe the color/s to the best of my ability.*