Color Club's Backstage Pass Collection - Revisited.

I've been wanting to reswatch the Color Club 'Backstage Pass' collection for a few weeks now and I finally decided to just stop thinking about it and do it. I felt like I may have not given them a fair chance even though the night I swatched them I really disliked them.

Here is the link to the original swatches in case you missed them:
http://hauloffame.blogspot.com/2011/08/color-clubs-backstage-pass-collection.html

The one thing I wanted to do the most was swatch it over a color other than black, which I think may have been taking away from the polishes. I reswatched over a basic white and I do like the look better, I think the black may have been too harsh. I think it's easier to see the beauty in the glitter now.

The one thing that didn't change was my feeling about the formula. I thought I may have been being unfair the first time around which is the main reason I wanted to reswatch.

Here are my feelings the second time around.

1 - Like the first time around, I found the large hex glitter difficult to apply, even during the first coat. It drags towards the end of your nail and doesn't spread evenly (ex: like the easy application of Deborah Lippmann glitters). It takes some patience and a second coat to get the glitter some what even around your nail.
(Obviously, I'm aware the Color Club polishes won't spread like the $18 Deborah Lippman polishes, I'm just using it as an example. I do think that Color Club polishes are fantastic, which is why I didn't anticipate complications with the formula.)

2 - In order to pick up a decent amount of glitter on the brush, you have to pick up a large amount of clear base as well. I tried to leave as much clear base as possible in the neck of the bottle. Also, the glitter isn't the easiest to get out of the bottle. When I first pulled the brush out of 'Backstage Pass' I thought the bottle had dried up due to the fact only 1 piece of glitter came out with it. We'll get to my concern about the clear base towards the end of this list. 

3 - This time I tried to apply the polish in the normal sweeping motion and not 'dotting' it like I did the first time around. During the normal sweeping motion the glitter applied to my nail but mainly towards the ends. I found myself going back and trying to swirl/dot it around like I did the first time I tried the polishes. Without doing so I wouldn't have been able to cover some bare areas of the nail.

4 - The glitter is still curled at the edges which you can see in almost all of the pics if you look for it. I was hoping it would flatten out over time.

5 - IMO one coat is just not enough, especially with the large hex glitters. They look awkward. Two coats looks better but it doesn't look 'done'. Two coats also starts to become a little clumpy during application. Three coats become a mess. I feel the only polish you can get away with 1 coat with is 'Wish Upon a Rock-Star'.

6 - By the time you get to the third coat the polish is INSANELY THICK due to the amount of clear base that has come out with the glitter. Since I knew I would have some issues with the polish I waited 10 minutes before applying each additional layer. After the third coat and about 40-50 minutes from the start of the swatching I did not have to use nail polish remover to remove most of the polish; I was able to wipe off mostly everything except what was stuck around my cuticles. If you liked the look of three coats of this polish, I couldn't imagine how long it would take for it to dry. I tried to apply the polish as thin as possible but you don't grab much glitter, so I had to resort to thicker coats.

7 - At the end of swatching I realized I wasn't as aggravated as last time. Then I remembered that I swatched more than 3 nails. I only swatched 3 nails this time to avoid the aggravation. I don't think I would be able to finish a full 10 finger mani with three coats of polish on each. I don't mind putting extra effort into a polish if I know for sure the outcome would be fantastic. I would be extremely disappointed to do a full 10 finger mani and have it not dry, flake off, etc.


I took my photos in three stages this time so you can see what each polish looks like at 1, 2 and 3 coats.  The white polish used in these photos is Jordana's 'White' polish which I found at KMart for $1.99 (and I like it!)

Like the first time around these polishes were applied without base or top coats. Please excuse the nubbins, my ring finger nail broke really bad and they all had to be filed down. Please also excuse the dryness, because the polish was still so wet I couldn't moisturize.
(Reminder - you can click the photos to enlarge)

(In order) Backstage Pass, Wish Upon a Rock-Star, and It's a Hit! at ONE coat each.

(In order) Backstage Pass, Wish Upon a Rock-Star, and It's a Hit! at TWO coats each.

(In order) Backstage Pass, Wish Upon a Rock-Star, and It's a Hit! at THREE coats each.

'Backstage Pass', 'Wish Upon a Rock-Star' and 'It's a Hit!'

Have your opinions on this polish changed at all?

Will you be purchasing any of these?

Would you like to see these over a different base color?

Thanks for stopping by!