Colorbar Magic Mirror Kit - Swatch & Review

Firstly, please pardon me for uploading pics before I could clean up the messy powder from my fingers and cuticles. Hopefully you'll understand why I couldn't post pictures post cleaning up as you go through this review. First things first, do you get a mirror effect with this kit? Yes you do, but not the kind of mirror you're hoping which is super shiny, reflective and smooth. It's more like this.




Price - Rs.650, I got it for Rs.550 as Colorbar currently have a Rs.100 off coupon code on their website.

The kit comes with a  water based top coat, 1 gram of chrome powder and 2 applicators. (1 applicator not pictured)

You can't fathom how excited I was when I saw this latest offering from Colorbar. For years western nail bloggers have been raving over chrome powders, dare I say the trend seems to have passed in the west. Then a mainstream Indian company brings forth a chrome powder which can be used with a regular polish and they even give you a top coat to work with the powder. That was like the icing on top of the cake. I must say I was more excited about the water based top coat since no other Indian brand offers one. You can't even get your hands on imported water based top coats unless you pay 5 times their original price. Too bad it turned out to be such a disappointment.

2 coats of black polish + chrome powder. As you can see the powder leaves behind bald spots and you can see the black polish underneath

So did this kit live up to my expectations? Honestly, NO!! Now I must give props to Colorbar for being honest about the fact that the chrome finish only lasts up to 12 hours. But I was so eager to get my hands on this kit, I didn't read the fine print. I also assumed I would be able to use a regular top coat on top of their water based one to prolong my manicure, as I'd seen some other nail bloggers do.

2 coats of black polish + chrome powder. As you can see the powder leaves behind bald spots and you can see the black polish underneath

Imagine my disappointment when I saw the chrome finish ruined the moment I put on my trusted Sally Hansen Insta Dri on one of my nails. I used Seche Vite on a different nail and the same result, chrome finish ruined. The only top coat that worked (temporarily/on some nails) was Maybelline Superstay 3D Gel Effect. When I say ruined, I don't mean that the chrome cracks, it seems to turn into powder again rather than the polished effect it had before top coat.

with magic mirror top coat - notice the bubbling particularly on my ring finger

with magic mirror top coat

Application
Colorbar has uploaded an instructive video as far as application goes. Here's the written version by Colorbar included in the kit.

I applied this a couple of different ways. I applied the powder
Index and Ring Finger - Two coats of black polish + a coat of the Colorbar magic mirror top coat + Chrome powder + Colorbar magic mirror top coat + Maybelline Superstay top coat.

Middle and Little Finger - Two coats of black polish + Chrome powder + Colorbar magic mirror top coat + Maybelline Superstay top coat.

It's interesting that the package insert mentions that just washing hands in water is enough to remove residual powder. In my experience I had to wash my hands twice with soap and scrub quite a bit and even then I was left with some powder on my hands. 

I used Essence the gel nail polish in the shade black is back as my base colour. I waited till it was tacky but not completely dry before applying it on my index finger and for the rest of the nails I waited for it to dry completely. Somehow the powder seemed to apply patchy either way. It didn't matter if I used more powder or rubbed it on longer, used the applicator provided or my finger to rub the powder in. It just wouldn't cover evenly.

mirror magic top coat + maybelline top coat - notice the blue tint on the middle finger and ruined chrome effect on the ring finger

As you can see from the pictures,  the chrome effect was mostly ruined on my index and ring fingers. Maybe because they had an extra layer of water based top coat and probably hadn't dried fully before I applied the Maybelline top coat. The chrome on the index finger was ruined almost immediately and the ring finger showed signs of turning powder-y after half n hour or so. By then I was so annoyed, I just took off the entire manicure.

Formula of the Magic Mirror top coat
This has to be hands down the worst top coat I've ever used. It was so bubbly and no I didn't shake the bottle or anything. You can actually see large bubbles in the bottle. If you've somehow managed to get a decent chrome finish with the powder, you can bet your bottom on the fact that this top coat will ruin it. It not only pulls a little powder off the nails, but also leaves your manicure with a ton of bubbles.

Furthermore, it leaves a weird blue tint in certain patches and dries white in some areas. I don't know what this top coat is formulated with, but it is a mess in itself. I'm wondering if I got a bad bottle somehow, because I didn't see any other nail bloggers mention this horrid bubbling effect in their reviews.

I was looking forward to using this top coat on nail foils in the future, but I think it'll ruin the finish there too.

mirror magic top coat + maybelline top coat - notice the blue tint on the middle finger and ruined chrome effect on the ring finger

Longevity
Colourbar themselves claim that this may last for up to 12 hours, up to being the key words. I cannot attest to that claim as I didn't leave it on for more than an hour. Once I had finished my manicure and washed my hands clean of all the excess powder, I couldn't bear to look at my nails. The ruined chrome on two nails, the bubbles, the patchiness of the chrome with a bit of black polish peeking through just irritated me. I took it all off right away. It comes off easy with even non acetone remover. No need to scrub your nails like with glitter.

Final Thoughts
My final thoughts about this kit aren't good at all in case you haven't guessed by now. I would absolutely not recommend it if you're looking to buy this with the intention of getting a professional looking, decent, long wearing chrome manicure. If you just want to have some fun with nail powders that don't require gel polish then you could give it a shot.

And if any of you who've used this kit have managed to get a decent manicure from this kit, please do share your tips. Until then, this is going to get tucked away at the back of my polish drawer.