Brand: L’Oréal
Extraordinaire Gel-Lacque is drugstore stalwart L’Oréal’s foray into “gel-like” nail polish. It’s part of a three-step system including base coat (“primer”), nail color, and top coat (“glaze”) for long-lasting performance.
Right off the bat, I’m letting you know that I am only reviewing the nail color, not the 3-step system. I didn’t buy the 1st and 3rd step products.
I actually wasn’t at all interested in this line, until I spotted the display in-store and for some reason, the shade Meant To Be (706) called to me like crazy. I didn’t even buy it on sale (~CA$7.99): that’s how much it appealed to me.
It’s an intense, deep cranberry sauce red that seems to glow in the bottle. I’m a big red lover, and this bottle instantly jumped into my shopping basket.
Sadly, however, I didn’t like the formula at all. I found it thin, with a tendency to pool up against the cuticle, and coverage was quite uneven. You’d think that a formula aspiring to be a gel would be…more gel-like! Two coats (as pictured in my swatch below) didn’t give me the anywhere near plush look I wanted for a color of this richness. I think I would probably need four coats to get close to that kind of look.
So, despite the luscious, autumnal berry red color, I don’t recommend this polish. I suppose if the 3-step system works as well as L’Oréal claims, it could be worth the hassle of using four or more coats of polish. I’m not keen to spend more time or money on this line, however.
L’Oréal Extraordinaire Gel-Laque Gel-Color is 0.39 US fl oz / 11.7 mL and retails for US$7.99 / CA$8.99. The polish is free of toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). It is made in the USA.
L’Oréal was founded in 1909 and is the largest cosmetics company in the world. It is based in Clichy (a suburb of Paris), France. Its first product was a hair dye called Auréale, which presumably led to the development of the company’s present name. The company currently owns a number of brands, including Biotherm, The Body Shop, Clarisonic, Decléor, Essie, Garnier, Kérastase, Kiehl’s, La Roche-Posay, Lancôme, Maybelline, NYX, Redken, Shu Uemura, Urban Decay, Vichy, and YSL Beauté.
How disappointing! I haven’t tried any L’Oreals but I do feel like they’d be thin and lack-lustre. I’ll have to try one just to see. I wonder if they’re all consistently bad.
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The funny thing is I really liked the initial launch of L’Oreal’s Colour Riche nail polish (several yrs back)! Those were pretty…they were thinnish, but they did apply evenly, for the most part. Brilliant colors, too. I haven’t tried the newer version; not even sure if the formula has changed. Just the cap color is different.
I’ll be interested to see how you like this Gel-Lacque, should you try it!
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That’s disappointing, I’ve been hardcore contemplating on buying one of these every time I’m at the drugstore, a deep berry colour called out to me too, but I resisted the urge. I enjoyed the regular Colour Riche polishes I bought over the summer though!
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Yeah, the funny thing is I liked the Colour Riche polishes a lot!
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Oh no, the color is just so pretty! (I already own a couple of similar ones, but you can never have enough berry polish)…too bad. xx
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Ooh, I’d love to know which similar ones you have 🙂
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Max Factor Glossfinity in Raspberry blush and Rimmel Salon Pro in Urban Purple both seem really close 🙂
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I have exactly the same colour from L’Oreal Color Riche nail polish in the shade plum addictive.https://lifestylebites3.wordpress.com
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I will definitely check that one out, thanks!
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