Ooh, more minis! Minis are so cute. This time they're mattes. Just your standard colors, nothing exciting, but they might be a good choice for someone who wants to try mattes and doesn't want to commit to a full bottle of just one color.
Here's the set. The first bottle is supposed to be a matte topcoat, mine accidentally got swapped for regular topcoat. Smoke and Mirrors, Alabaster, Dark Romance.
Dark Romance. Matte black creme. This is a pure black, no shine, no shimmer. Well, okay, it has a little shine. Mine was more of a satiny finish than a matte. If you prefer a totally shine-free matte, you could always top it with some matte topcoat. Great coverage on this one, was opaque in one coat but I did two anyway.... Cause I'm like that.
Smoke and Mirrors. Matte foil silver. A matte foily metallic, like a matte version of... say... Zoya Trixie? This reminds me a lot of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Spanglemaker- a metallic silver that's neither sparkly nor shiny.
Alabaster. Pure matte white. This is bright clean white, no undertones or hints of color to it. White-Out white. Unexpectedly smooth for a matte white. This has the most matte finish out of all of them.
I wish I had a bottle of Color Club Matte Topcoat to show you, but my kit had a little mix up and I ended up with shiny instead of matte, like I mentioned above. If I do get my hands on a bottle of Color Club Matte Topcoat, I'll definitely review it. I was waiting to get *all* of the matte topcoats until I did my comparison, but there's still a few I don't have, like this and the Barielle.
The formula on these was good. I had no problems. They were smooth, didn't dry *too* fast while applying (mattes have a tendency to thicken while applying) and the end result was a matte nail that was completely smooth and dry in under 10 minutes.
I love the mini bottles, I think they're adorable. The packaging is super cute. The colors aren't really unique or exciting, but I'd call this the Entry Level Matte Kit. It's a good way for a first-time matte user to test the waters. The mini bottle of matte topcoat makes this even more versatile. For less than the price of a bottle of OPI, you can try three matte shades and a matte topcoat. Or, if you're like me, you'll just take them out and admire them cause the little bottles are just too freakin' cute.