Review: E.L.F. Disney Villains Nail Polish Set 2013

Greetings from the Dark Side!

For those of you who have not heard the news, Walgreens is going to be getting a bunch of different collections based on four beloved Disney villains: Maleficent, Ursula, the Evil Queen, and Cruela De Vil. In 2012, ELF released three Villain palettes, and the trend continues this year. Except there is now four palettes, one nail polish set, four makeup bags, four sets of Ardell lashes, and four sets of Scunci hair ties. One of the first items I was able to find is the Nail Polish Set by ELF which is $9.99. This set has 12 polishes, three polishes for each of the four villains. To see swatches and hear my thoughts about this keep reading~

                                                                             Swatches                                                                      

*I used two coats of polish with a top coat for each polish.

Maleficent

-Bubble Gum Pink: creamy bubble gum pink.

-Mod Mauve: deep brown-toned mauve.

-Gina Girl: sheer grape purple base with purple, orange, green and red glitter.

.

 Ursula
-Coral Dream: bright coral cream.
-Mint Cream: bright mint cream.
-Sea Escape: black base with fine blue and green shimmer.

Evil Queen
-Pot of Gold: metallic gold.
-Cranberry: metallic ruby red.
-Thunderstorm: smokey dark green cream.

Cruela De Vil
-Smokey Brown: dark mushroom brown cream.
-Smoking Hot: bright red crelly
-Nude: pink-tone nude cream.

                                                                              Review                                                                           

 Let me preface my review by saying that I do not own any other ELF polishes, so I can't compare these with any other polishes in the line. But from what I know, these colors are just mini sizes of colors that already exist in the permanent ELF line. That's kind of disappointing to me. When I see a fantastic collection like this, I would expect the colors to be unique or at least to have been renamed to suit the set. However, these still have the same non-Disney-fied names that the permanent full-size polishes have. This is a detail that really bums me out. The outside is very Disney-fied, but the polishes themselved lack the Disney magic. How tragic, indeed.

Although the polishes themselves are not special packaging-wise, the container of the polish set is so beautiful. The set comes in a square box, and each of the four sides has a watercolor picture of one of the four villains. Each side also has a little "window" to the inside of the box and you can clearly see the three polishes for that respective villain. I am very impressed with the outcome of the packaging. It is definitely the best thing about the set and it is an awesome colletor's piece for all you Disney fans!

Now, onto the nail polishes. Like I said, all (or most) of these colors can be found in the permanent ELF line (which is good in case you really like one of the polishes and want to buy a full-size), but I can't say if the formula is different. Overall, these were pretty good. This is my first experience with ELF polishes and, for the price, they are not bad at all. There's a few colors that are troublesome. Bubble Gum Pink, Coral Dream, and Nude are a little thick and they were a bit difficult to apply. Gina Girl was the only sheer polish, but it is a glitter so that was not a big surprise. Cranberry is a gorgeous shade but it was really messy. When I first applied it, it looked like soemthing died on my finger and bleed all over the place. But I just cleaned it up and then it looked beautiful. My favorite shades are Sea Escape and Smoking Hot. Sea Escape is AMAZING. I was so suprised to see how beautiful it looked on my nail. It has the most subtle but stunnign shimmer. It is a color I would definitely consider repurchasing. Smoking Hot is a really bright red that has a crelly (cream/jelly) finish. I only used two coats and I didn't see a visible nail line which I find is a problem I always have with crellies. It is great because it is asuch a classic color and it will never go out of style. I would also consider buying a full size of this one. The best thing: the full sizes are only $2.

                                                                              Verdict                                                                        

I am a sucker for packaging, so it is reallt hard for me not to be drawn to this set. The box is so cute and it has Disney Villains! Maleficent and Ursula are two of my favorite Disney characters and I am so happy to see them together in the same box. However, when rating such an atincipated product, you reallt have to look at the small details. Personally, the fact that these are permanent colors that still have the same names really disappoints me. It makes me thing that the creators were being a bit lazy. This is just a small detail, but it is a detail that I, as a consumer, was really bothered by.

If you are interested in this solely for the nail polishes, I would only recommend this set if you want something with a bit of diversity. Overall, it is a great deal; you get 12 various nail polish shades for $10. And heck, if you don't want this for yourself, you could pick one up to have as a gift. It would make an awesome gift for any Disney-loving nail polish fanatic!

Rating: 8/10