Sunday 29 March 2015

The best peel-off stuffs for nails: Let the peel-off face off begin!

Have you been wondering all like "what's that purple stuff?" or "how do I make that peely stuff" when you see other nail artists just peeling back some polish mess off their fingers? I HAVE THE ANSWERS FOR YOU!! And not only that, but I've evaluated 6 different products and hosted a face-off between the peel-offs to help you decide which one you should buy, or if you should even buy one at all!

Let's get straight to it: Make sure you watch the whole vid below (click the MORE button!) if you wanna hear about my final evaluation ;)

Featured nails:

Color Club Poptastic Pastel Neon collection

 
VIDEO TUTORIAL RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW !




Why did I just waste weeks of my life filming and editing this video? 'Cause I get 2740270464 questions a day about the "peel off stuff I use around my nails", and apparently just referencing it in my FAQ section was not enough. That's okay, I don't blame ya, I too was confused about all these peel-off products out there that are all the rage. Acetone and an angled eyeliner brush are a THING OF THE PAST, LADIES!

Peel-off stuffs for your finger are truly a revolution. We all know I am obsessed with gradients, which are one of the most annoying types of nail arts to clean up, fo sho. Watermarbling is probably messier but... I WOULDN'T KNOW HAHAHA.

I'm gonna keep most of my thoughts on each product to the vid, but here is my summary version.

Remember that the 1-6 rankings aren't product-specific; I ranked them relative to all the other products. So for example, Simply Peel was given a 6 (top points) for effectiveness at peeling off, and Liquid Palisade was given a 5 because it was my next favourite in line. Then the Nail Veil got the 4, DIY peel-off base got the 3, and so on until the one I ranked the worst in the effectiveness category (liquid latex from Amazon).

(all prices in $USD, as of March 29, 2015)

Overall, I think Simply Peel is the most well-rounded product across all categories. It works well, it glitters when it's dry so it's easy to know when you can start being messy, it has a wide brush, a little bit more product in the actual bottle (15ml vs. 8-10ml on the others), and it's the only latex product designed for nails that offers a bulk size option. The 60ml refill bottle will retail at $29.99 which, at $0.49/ml, makes it the cheapest latex product designed for nails. The bulk size bottle is not currently available yet at My Bliss Kiss, but keep checking back and it should be listed in coming weeks/months. For now I recommend trying out a regular-sized bottle first so you can make sure you love it too! :)

The other reason why I love this product is because it is made by a brand that I trust. I have almost all of My Bliss Kiss' products, including my favourite nail and cuticle oil, the Simply Sealed lotion stick, Simply Satin whipped body fluff, and glass nail file. If you wanna know more about my nail care routine, check out my Nail Care page.

Simply Peel latex barrier review
Simply Peel by Nail Care HQ/Bliss Kiss

Liquid Palisade is that well-recognized "purple stuff" we're seeing all up in nail art tutorial land. It goes on a lighter creamy purple and dries a dark purple with a touch of shimmer, so it's easy to know it's dry. It has my favourite brush because it's super thin and short, which allows me to trace the border of my nail with precision. This may not be ideal for everyone though, such as those who do watermarbles (it would take a lot longer to paint large sections of your skin with the tiny brush). Overall this is a GREAT product though, but the only thing that can't be disputed is the high cost. It's by far the most expensive (in fact it's more than double the cost per ml of any other product reviewed here). The $22.00 price tag indeed deters some people, but if money is no object to you then definitely go be an asshole and buy this :D It says it lasts for 50 manis (I think I go through it a bit faster than that), but if you're rich then who cares?!?!

Liquid Palisade latex barrier review
Liquid Palisade by Kiesque

The Nail Veil from Color4Nails fell more or less in middle on every indicator. I mean, it does what it's supposed to do (dry and peel off the polish mess in one pull), it's just that some of the other products did it better, either because it took so long to dry (7.5min) or because it had a super long brush that was too flexible making it difficult for me to contour my nail.

Some might experience shorter drying times than I have in my little experiment - I actually intentionally lay all these products on thick because this decreases the chance of the product breaking up into pieces as you go to pull it off. Generally speaking, the thicker you make it, the better it will peel off in one thick coat. So maybe while others have had the Nail Veil dry in a couple mins, it's probably because they put on a much thinner coat, and maybe had some stragglers as a result, as I've experienced in the past. Lesson learned: when in doubt LAY IT ON THICK.

Crystalline Nail Veil latex barrier review
Crystalline Nail Veil by Color4Nails

This liquid latex I got off Amazon was supposed to be one of those cost-saving efforts where you buy the actual ingredient used in all the other nail-specific products but... it failed. Liquid latex is commonly used in costume body art or something weird like that. Then polish companies realized it served a purpose for nail art cleanup and BAM liquid latex product explosion. In any case, this particular product arrived in my mailbox completely dried up as one solid lump of latex. It ain't liquid. I suppose I could have contacted the company and asked for a fresh functional one, butttt I'm lazy af.

Liquid latex barrier review
Liquid Latex off Amazon

Lots of people are under the impression that an alternative to the liquid latex products is some DIY Elmer's glue and water. Let me just burst that bubble: NOPE. I don't care how many tweens comment "IT'S JUST GLUE AND WATER DUH" under tutorials on Instagram where someone was so clearly using a liquid latex product, they wrong!!! Let's just turn to science for a second here: Liquid latex is latex. Glue and water is glue and water. The chemicals used to make glue are NOT the same as what's in liquid latex. So it shouldn't be that much of a surprise that one doesn't work quite like the other.

In short, glue and water (or even just glue alone) methods may work as DIY peel off base coats, but they just don't get the job done when it comes to creating a barrier for your skin. The glue mix peels up in pieces, it's too thin, it breaks, it takes forever to dry, and ARG IT'S SO MESSY TO PUT ON. Don't be a cheap ass and just spend your next two to three Starbucks fancy lattes on a real liquid latex product for nails instead of resorting to this poor excuse for anything helpful. SAY NO TO ELMER. HE IS NOT OUR FRIEND.

Peel off base coat used as cuticle barrier review
DIY peel-off base coat (Elmer's/PVA glue + water)

And finally, we have the pink one. For such an enthusiastic product (it's name is "Mess no More!" by "Mini... Mani... Moo!!") with too much punctuation, I was not enthusiastic about its application or effectiveness. It had a weird eyeshadow applicator-like brush that was not helpful in getting in the crevices around your nail, it peeled off thin and flimsy, and it even left little pink furry things and a stain behind on my skin. Why cow, why???

This product is apparently available in latex-free if you specify on your order, which has me questioning its overall effectiveness even more. I realize that some people are allergic to latex (sorry dears), but unfortunately for y'all liquid latex products are THE MOST EFFECTIVE for peeling off. I guess the fact that Mess no More peeled off more like the glue mix makes sense then, if there's less or no latex in it (I'm not even sure which version I have, it doesn't say).

Mess no more latex barrier review
Mess no more! by Mini Mani Moo!!

A note about smell:
A lot of peeps comment on how these latex products smell rank. Yes, I agree, they don't smell like roses, but neither does acetone or nail polish. I'm pretty used to strange chemical smells inhaling so much nail polish and all, so the weird chemically-fishy smell of the latex products aren't too bad. I didn't notice any one of them smelling any "better" than the others, except the glue, which just smells like glue (go figure), or the liquid latex that wasn't liquid cause it was solid. It didn't smell as bad... cause it was ALL DRIED OUT.

Da final scores:

Remember that these are all ranked relative to each other for each of the four categories

Back to the nailz..... just a simple continuous gradient, with three colours on each nail, and where the last colour on the end of the nail starts at the base of the next one :) Perfectly simple for summah!! If it will ever come... there's still snow in my backyard (Canada)... so summer probably won't come at this rate.

I used the entire Color Club Poptastic Pastel Neon collection - you can pick up the shades you love most at Live Love Polish!

Color Club Poptastic Pastel neon collection

Color Club Poptastic Pastel neon collection

Color Club Poptastic Pastel neon collection

Color Club Poptastic Pastel neon collection

Look how freakin' tanned I look!! Could not be further from reality!! But I still spy that stupid pink cow stain around my middle nail... grrrr

Color Club Poptastic Pastel neon collection

Color Club Poptastic Pastel neon collection

Polishes used - Color Club's entire new 'Poptastic pastel neon' collection, all available from Live Love Polish:
- 'Feathered hair out to there' (pastel pink)
- 'Diggin' the dancing queen' (pastel purple)
- 'Meet me at the rink' (pastel blue)
- 'Till the record stops' (pastel green)
- 'Under the blacklight' (pastel neon green-yellow)
- 'Disco's not dead' (pastel neon orange)
- 'Hot-hot-hot pants' (pastel neon coral)

Color Club Poptastic Pastel neon collection
Color Club Poptastic Pastel Neon collection
Phew that was a post and a half!! 

Disclaimer time: All reviews are my opinion, and I was not paid by any companies to say one thing or another. If a company sends me a product (in this case almost all the products* I used were sent to me for review), I will review it honestly - it doesn't matter that it was 'gifted' to me! This is stated in my Disclosure Policy. To the companies who saw a less than favourable review here - I hope you don't take my humorous stabs as anything too personal, I like to have a little fun with my reviews (evidently). Please know that I wholly respect your businesses and was only offering my opinion on the particular products reviewed here. 

To all my friends looking for the right peel-off product: Ultimately it's up to you! Use the ratings I've offered above to help inform your decision. All in all I do recommend purchasing a liquid latex product designed for use with nails. Reason being is that these nail companies know what we need - the size of the bottle, the brush style, how the brush cap can easily be held for nail-area painting, and so on. Don't be fooled by Elmer - he's slimy and misleading. I've gone far too long using the stupid acetone and an angled eyeliner brush clean-up method, and now I'm mostly wondering this: LIQUID LATEX, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?????

*Simply Peel was provided to me by Nail Care HQ for my impartial review. Liquid Palisade was provided to me by Kiesque for my impartial review. Mess no more! was provided to me by Mini Mani Moo for my impartial review. Crystalline Nail Veil was provided to me by Color4Nails for my impartial review. Color Club polishes were provided to me by Color Club for my impartial review. 

16 comments:

  1. This is so helpful! Thanks for taking the time to post this! Also love the gradient.

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  2. Thank you for putting this all together! I have been using the liquid latex off of Amazon (though the one I ordered was most definitely liquid and not dried out: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006GESCPY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) BUT....while this is the cheaper option I think I will end up getting one that comes with an applicator, it's just one less thing to have to worry about.

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  3. This is the best comparison video I've ever seen, it had me in stitches and in the end I decided the (semi) liquid latex (after about a month it's turned into rubber) I have should be replaced!

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  4. This is such a relevant post! Thank you for taking the time and expense to put this video together and share it. I had been seeing and hearing (actually, reading) about the various versions of this product that I have been putting off the decision to make up my mind and get one. You have helped tremendously in helping!

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  5. And I forgot to say - WoW, your gradients are magnificent!!!

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  6. Love your post, but you could add the hair glue too from Sally's.

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  7. merci pour le comparatif - si tu est satisfaite du Palissade, je le garde

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  8. I know you had a negative experience with the liquid latex, but I just wanted to share my experience with it with you. I purchased the "Liquid Latex Fashions" brand of liquid latex off of amazon for about 11 dollars for 4 ounces. A lot of nail art youtubers buy the turquoise, but I bought it in white so that I could put glitter in it similar to your favorite, simply peel. It works just as well as your simply peel does and it's WAY cheaper considering how much of it you're getting. Plus you can add whatever glitter you want to it, I added the entire rainbow. I used a syringe to put it into some empty nail polish bottles as well to make application easier, and the smell isn't nearly as prevalent when you put it in a smaller bottle but it can also be applied with any brush. I just wanted to share this info with you because you have a lot of followers and many of them may not be able to afford simply peel but could use liquid latex instead and get the same results. I think it would be fair if you tried the liquid latex again because it didn't get a fair test considering the fact that you got a bad batch.

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    Replies
    1. Completely agree. She needs to try the liquid latex again! It works EXACTLY the same, & it's a fraction of the price.

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    2. About to order from Amazon when I found this post. Does the added glitter let you know better when dry, as the Simply Peel brand? I'm terribly frugal with 2 daughters into nail art. Any savings for me is great!

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  9. Thanks for the informative video! Cute voice!

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  10. You can't buy Simply Peel in England! No!

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    Replies
    1. You can! When ordering off my bliss kiss website you have a $10 flat rate for uk shipping. So order as much as you want from the website and it ships for $10. I ordered their nail oil this way! You just have to select the UK when at the shipping section.

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    2. Thankyou so much! Been looking around for ages to find some way of getting it here!

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  11. okay I have a serious question - my simply peel dried up and Ive only used the product about 5 times. ive had it since cristmas (see what I did there)and im really worried bc I love it so much. any tips? thanks!!

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  12. I simply couldn't leave your site just my reading this blog. I am really impressed with the content and way of writing. Keep sharing more.
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    ReplyDelete