Maybelline Surreal, 2 coats plus Sally Hansen Insta-Dri (more like Insta-Bubble)
The only Maybelline nail polish I had ever seen before stepping out of the country was the Color Show line (which I have strangely never tried). I randomly saw this polish at Superdrug and decided I should grab it, even though there was a chance I would be able to find it at home in the US. Good job I got a bottle because I have not seen these anywhere, and believe me, I have been on the look out (did I sound too much like Trump there with the “believe me”? yikes…). Maybelline’s very long-named Super Stay 7 Days Gel Nail Color is, surprise, not an actual gel polish. It is one of those “gel-like” polishes every brand these days feels compelled to make. They claim seven days of no chips, as long as you do top coat touch ups. Hmmm, okay. I don’t do wear tests, so what you’re going to see is an application review. Not even concrete could last seven days on my nails!
Maybelline Surreal, 1 coat
The instructions for this polish said to apply a thin coat first and then a thicker second coat. Here you are seeing my very thin first coat, not sure I could have done it any thinner while still getting coverage all over the nail. It definitely looks patchy, though I think it would have looked a lot better if I had went in with a more normal, medium coverage coat. It is a crelly formula, but dark enough that I could see it being a two-coater. The paddle brush on this polish is HUGE, think Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure, but possibly even wider. I did not compare them side-by-side, but dang, it was not easy painting my pinky! Luckily it was pretty easy to wipe polish off the stem of the brush so I didn’t have to worry about blobs of polish dripping down all over.
Maybelline Surreal, 2 coats
Here is my thicker, second coat and it is definitely opaque. If you look at the left sidewall of my pinky, you can see that I flooded it a bit. That damn brush. I do not hate it or anything, but it does make it a tad more difficult for smaller-nailed folks like myself. That second coat looks fairly smooth on its own and definitely super shiny. The color does dry down a bit darker in hue than it looks in the bottle, but it also somehow looks more vibrant on the nail than I was expecting based on the bottle. It seems a little bit dustier before you paint it on.
Over all, I am satisfied with this polish. I really liked the color and thought the formula was fine; there does not seem to be any good reason to do the thin coat-thick coat steps, it would definitely be opaque in two if you painted with it normally. The brush didn’t cause my heart to sing, but I can (mostly) deal with that. If I saw a super pretty color in this polish line, I would not hesitate to pick it up!
Have you tried this line of polish from Maybelline? What about the Color Show polishes? Any favorites?
xx, Ashley
short nail swatcher 
Oh interesting – I never really see Maybelline polishes around me, anymore, though I know the Color Shows are still around (online and stuff). I used to love the old Maybellines – they had some awesome shades even though the formulas could be quite bad, haha. Some were fab, though (Wet Shines, Coloramas… I am really dating myself, here.)
I tried one or two Color Shows and didn’t like them. I wish Maybelline would get more into the polish game again!
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I totally remember the Wet Shines, I know I had a bottle when I was younger :] it really does feel like Maybelline has become more boring with their polish offerings, even the Color Show line did have some interesting collections a few years back. I remember liking the look of the ones with the black and white glitters in the color bases, but never got any of them…
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I still have exactly one Maybelline Color Show polish that I got on a whim when I saw it on clearance. I feel like I should try more permanent drugstore polishes but it’s so hard with so many collections coming out all the time to pick up something random. But this blue is beautiful and I love it ok you!
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I’ve not seen this line in Canada either – we also only have those crappy Color Show ones. I found a really good mannequin hands type of shade from the Color Show line but the wear time was mediocre. I am also very averse to the bottle / cap shape of them.
Hmm I would NOT like this super wide brush – they’re only good for the thumb or the big toe!
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Yeah, I feel like super wide brushes are supposed to make application easier but they actually do the opposite… I almost prefer a thinner brush.
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