American Apparel Nail Polish Reviewed

* Please note that hours after posting this entry, I became aware that American Apparel has pulled their nail lacquers from their stores and online retail store, citing that the glassware is dangerous. There's no official word just yet but here's where I heard it: http://www.fashionmagazine.com/blogs/fashion/fashion-news/2010/01/26/fashion-news-dellacqua-coming-back-to-the-runway-american-apparel-pulls-polish-and-headgear-consternation-at-couture-week/#more-12306


The direct quote is here: American Apparel is pulling their line of nail polishes. The official line is that there’s a problem with the glassware, but an employee is now saying the company is telling them it’s “hazardous material.”

It appears to be the bottles and not the product that is the problem. I will keep you updated as I learn more. 
C - 01/26/2010 




I blogged about the new American Apparel nail lacquers last month and finally picked some up. They retail for $7.50 CDN or three for $18.50 so I picked up three - Factory Grey, Peacock and Hunter.

 L to R (here and above): Hunter, Peacock and Factory Grey (view of bottle sides)

Hunter is a deep forest green and if you're looking for the perfect on trend polish, this is it. Peacock is a turquoisey blue that just screams peacock. Factory Grey is a cool soft grey, very on trend as well.

All of American Apparel's colours are matte. There's no sparkle, glitter, shimmer or iridescence to them. They're all colour, gloriously so. I adore these polishes. They're deliberately different and appeal to me since I like dramatic, sophisticated, edgy, creamy colours over glitter and girliness. Give me a black-red or dark blue short nail over a French manicure or neutral nail anyday.

With that being said, onto the review. My thoughts on these three polishes? I wore each shade until it began to chip or wear and wore 2 coats plus bottom and top coats. Each lasted about five days which is about average for me. With reapplication of top coat every few days, it'd last longer.

The scent is very light, markedly less so than other polishes. The consistency is smooth and creamy and goes on well. I needed two coats and no more. The first coat could be enough but with two the colour is more intense and the application fully opaque. I love the rectangular shaped bottles (easier to store!) although the script is of course, a bit too Miami Vice for me. My only complaint is that the brush is too long and difficult to navigate over your nails.

Of the three, my favourite was Factory Grey. I just love how it's neutral but not brown! I got the most compliments when I wore this shade as well.

Photos of the polish in action! (click on the image for a closer look)

Hunter Green

Factory Grey

Peacock

I recommend these polishes if unconventional, matte colours are your thing. American Apparel, it should be noted, carry more traditional shades like red and pink but these polishes are more like model car colours than nailpolishes. Would you expect anything else from American Apparel, really?

C.