Brand: Maybelline

In my last Maybelline nail polish post, I wrote this:

Back in the early 2000s, and possibly the late 90s, as well, Maybelline nail polishes came in these cute, squat little bottles. No matter what line it was (Express Finish, Wet Shine, Wet Shine Diamonds, and so on), this was the bottle. The exception was, if I recall correctly, Colorama polishes, which came in teeny and hilarious looking bottles with little dunce caps. And you know what? Maybelline nail polishes totally rocked back then. They were some of the best nail polishes in the drugstore, for my money. Apart from Express Finish—those were kind of crap, albeit with some awesome colors.

Last month, I dug out some boxes of my drugstore oldies. Can you recognize any of the brands?

Yup, some of those little white/grey dunce caps belong to Maybelline Coloramas. So, today, I have another old Maybelline for Throwback Thursday, this time from the adorable Colorama line.

Sunrise Sensation is a coral tangerine with silvery, frosty, microglitter. It’s very fun for summer, though I understand if you’re not totally on board with frost finishes.

This polish still applies pretty nicely, and I only needed two coats for fairly full opacity.

Honestly, if you see any Coloramas lying around in dusty dollar stores, do pick them up. They were super fun little polishes, and mine seem to have held great.

Maybelline Colorama 5 Day Nail Color was produced around 2004 and discontinued about in 2010 or so. It was 0.3 fl oz / 7.5 mL and retailed for about US$2–3. They probably weren’t 3-free, though I haven’t peeled off the back label to check out the ingredient list.

Maybelline’s parent company, L’Oréal, now claims that, with a caveat, they no longer test on animals:

L’Oréal no longer tests on animals any of its products or any of its ingredients, anywhere in the world. Nor does L’Oréal delegate this task to others. An exception could only be made if regulatory authorities demanded it for safety or regulatory purposes.

They also have a comment regarding testing required in China.

Maybelline was started in 1915 by a teenage boy named Tom Lyle Williams. He named the company after his sister Mabel, who inspired him to create a mascara-like product. The company has been owned by L’Oréal since 1996, and is based in New York, NY, USA.