Featured General Nail Polish Orly Color Amp'd

ORLY Color Amp’d Swatches & Review

Lisa Heath123.9K views

Purchased By Me

Last weekend I decided to do a little retail therapy and took my son to Target (yeah I know, livin the life over here!) I bought some shoes, my son got way too many new articles of clothing and some Wii U games… and on the way out we swung by the nail area to stock up on more cotton balls.

While browsing the polishes they had I spotted ORLY Color Amp’d polishes.  These seem to be ORLY’s version of the hybrid gel mani craze.  There was definitely a nice color selection and various finishes, but one of my issues with these are mainly that you can’t SEE the polish in the bottle and for most of these polishes I picked up, I didn’t know what I was getting until I actually opened the bottle.

Let’s take a look at the shades I grabbed and then I’ll share more thoughts at the bottom of the post.

To start I bought this set above.  On their own these polishes retail for $9.99 each, but if you buy a color/top coat combo if’s only $14.99, so I bought this to save 4 bucks.  Now I had a pretty neon and a top coat.

LA Selfie

LA Selfie is a pretty intense neon pink.  Doesn’t match the bottle, I thought it would be more coral, but it’s actually a standard neon pink.  Pretty, easy to apply and was almost a 1 coat polish.  I used 2 coats though for these photos and the top coat provided.

Star Quality

Here’s where my issue with not seeing the polish comes into play.  I knew I would be buying a glitter, but I didn’t know if it was a top coat glitter or glitter mixed with a colored base.

Star Quality is a very light rose pink base with a mix of various rainbow glitters inside.  Application was actually decent and the base was thick enough to float the glitters on the nail without it becoming gritty once dried.  I used 2 coats for these photos, and this could be a top coat glitter or a stand alone because the base is so sheer.

Red Carpet Flash

Red Carpet Flash is a beautiful red jelly base with small red glitter scattered in.  I really liked this polish, but again with the label, I wasn’t sure what I was getting until I used it.  I love the juicy jelly look it has though.  I used 2 coats for these photos.

Dynamic Metropolis

Dynamic Metropolis might be my favorite of the shades I picked up.  This is a black jelly base with silver holographic micro glitters mixed in.  From the label I thought it would be more of a brown base though because in person the label looks dark brown, but I’m not disappointed and prefer the black jelly base.

I used 2 coats for these photos.

Hollywood Royalty

Yeah I have a glitter problem and it shows.  36 polishes and I picked out all glitter except for what came with the top coat.

Hollywood Royalty is the one shade that I actually think looks like the bottle label.  This is a mix of primarily gold glitters but also has some green, red and silver holographic glitters mixed in.  I used 2 coats for these photos.

Overview

Overall I wasn’t disappointed with these.  My biggest issue is the surprise factor of what I’m buying since only 1 of these was accurate to the label for me (Hollywood Royalty).  Of course I could have done myself a favor and just peeked in the bottle while at Target, but honestly I hate opening products in a store and find it to be rude.

Quality wise, I wasn’t disappointed at all.  The jelly shades I got (Red Carpet Flash and Dynamic Metropolis) are actually my 2 favorites of the 5 I got.  The creme I received applied incredibly nicely as well.

Would I repurchase?  Probably not unless I had a coupon knocking a few dollars off.  I get the appeal of the longer lasting manicures but I change mine too often to worry about it.  I did do a wear test with Dynamic Metropolis on my right hand and went 4 days before I got a chip.

Removal was easy and just like any other polish.   I used my usual Zoya Remove + and the removal process for both the creme and the glitters was what you would expect from normal shades.

The top coat dried fairly fast, which was nice and did not need the assistance of any type of lamp to “cure” the polish.

As I said, I liked these, but I don’t love them.  For $9.99 each, I would pass since I change my manicure so often.

Price: $9.99 Each or $14.99 for Polish/Top Coat duo pack

Where To Buy: Exclusively at Target

What did you think of the ORLY Color Amp’d polishes?  Is it something you’d be interested in? If you’ve tried them, I’d love to hear which colors you’ve used in the comments below!

*Products purchased by me, all opinions are my own*

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12 comments

Ricky Cole May 10, 2015 - 7:51 pm
I bought Art Walks & it chipped on me the very next day, 4 fingers on both hands...I never have polish chip like this did. Very disappointed.
Lisa Heath May 11, 2015 - 12:29 pm
Oh wow! Mine took a little bit longer than that, but for the price it should last much longer!
Aubri June 11, 2015 - 6:16 pm
So I bought the LA Selfie/top coat as well. I thought I'd see if I liked these as much as the Revlon Colostay Gel -which is the most amazing top coay I've ever used. I LOVED the neon. Dried super quick. But I discovered a serious problem with the top coat- it smells so bad! I use pure acetone remover so I'm used to harsh smells. This Orly top coat smelled like burning plastic. I agree with the repurchase factor-if I have a Target Cartwheel coupon I'd buy another color and see if a different top coat worked instead.
Emily July 18, 2015 - 9:03 pm
YES! The top coat smells horrible! I tried washing my hands twice to get rid of the smell, didn't work so I just took it off. I've tried the Sally Hansen brand of gel polish, as well as Revlon Colorstay Gel and Revlon is by far the best! And it's way less expensive!
Andi @ The Weary Chef June 24, 2015 - 6:33 pm
Love all the colors you chose! I just picked up one color and top coat of this today, but I'm wondering: should I apply a base coat under the color or just put it directly on the nails? Thanks!
Rhonda June 27, 2015 - 5:33 am
I bought this polish at Taget last weekend. I finally had a chance to do my nails two nights ago. I applied two coats of the color, let it dry and then applied one coat of the top coat. The lighting wasn't great when I applied the top coat be hey it's clear. I didn't think it would matter. I let them dry , which was pretty fast compared to some of the 'no light' gels I've used recently. I went to bed and when I got in my car to head to work the next morning I looked at my nails and three had faded streaks where the top coat removed the polish. There were also two nails that were chipped already. No housework. Just showered, hair dried, and makeup applied. I thought Huh? Maybe I was only to apply one coat of color. So I took it off this morning and went through the steps again but only applied one coat of color. Still got streaks of polish removed when I applied the top coat. What am I doing wrong!??!!!!??
maricela June 29, 2015 - 8:39 am
Is there a special process you do to paint your nails? I always get nail polish all over my cuticles.... smh, IDK how to paint my nails and I bought a ton of these, AND the Sally Hansen ones at Walgreen's!!!!
10nicenails June 29, 2015 - 8:42 am
I've had LA Selfie on for all of 5 minutes. Ha! The color went on really nicely but that top coat had some serious stink! I couldn't tell if it was strange citrus or something more sinister. We'll see how long it lasts. I jist love a good neon!
Jenelle August 1, 2015 - 9:37 am
I bought Dynamic Metropolis yesterday and I did open the bottle at the store because I couldn't tell exactly what I was getting. The bottle makes it look more like a galaxy effect than it actually is. I've had to put on three coats to get the level of base color I was hoping for but really think that it'd look best over another color (black or a dark purple or blue). I did put it over some turquoise polish on my toe nails and it looks nice like that but not galactic. I didn't buy the top coat so can't speak to the smell. But, what I would compare the color to, by itself, is Flint Lockwood's shoes from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. My men said it reminded them of a fishing lure. Potential fail from what i was hoping for.
Amanda August 15, 2015 - 6:23 pm
I HATE this nail polish. I used it and had very huge chips the next day. I've tried it multiple times now and it just doesn't last for more than a day before it begins to peel off. The top coat also leaves awful streaks. This is the worst nail polish I've ever bought.
Rose Anderson August 20, 2015 - 10:12 am
Hi. I really like this polish. I've never been able to wear polish 24hrs before it chips. This polish stays for about 3-4 days before I get a small chip. I usually fix the chip and am good to go another day. The secret to getting it to stay is applying orlys rubberized basecoat. Yes, the topcoat smells different like plastic raspberries but I thinks it's better than most nail polish smells. It's not a fumey smell.
Kaayla September 26, 2016 - 3:09 am
Almost two years ago I had foot surgery to permanently cure a problem with ingrown toenails. My doctor scared me silly about the dangers of pedicures and I have not been back to my fabulous pedicurist since then. After struggling to do my own toenails, I feel so fortunate to have found Orly Color Amp'd because the polishes are said to be smudgeless (and this i can attest to), the brushes are designed perfectly to create a professional looking result and they are extremely long wearing. I agree that the top coat is not the greatest. For a topcoat I use Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Topcoat. I end up with an excellent pedicure. I am so grateful to have these polishes and it makes me miss much less the world's best manicurist, Carolina whom I had to leave behind when I moved from Florida to Arizona.

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