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Two things about me and this blog:
1. Starrily is a brand that’s always hovering around in the edge of my brain, as I keep up with their newer releases, hoping for a collection to grab my eye. (Although their recent Love Spell set was INSANELY GORGEOUS and also sold out SO fast).
And, 2. for the longest time, after I first started wearing nail polish consistently, I just plain avoided neons. I just couldn’t be bothered with swatching them over a white base, they were streaky, they were sheer, and they just didn’t feel worth it to me.
BUT with that point, we have been so blessed as neons have continually improved over the years, and we’ve been getting more and more opaque formulas. We no longer need white bases to get that intense brightness, and so my interests have changed. I’m a new person, with new nails, and these nails understand the beauty of a neon nail in the summer sun.
And so when Starrily reached out to send over their newest set of 6 new neon shades, both of those scratches above were wonderfully itched, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Said collection is the ‘Noble Gas Neons’ collection from Starrily. As you can tell, it features 6 more squishy, yet still bright neon shades. We’ve got the more “typical” neon shades, from the bright pink and orange, to a highlighter yellow and green, so these could be a fantastic neon foundation for anyone’s collection.
These are of course available on the Starrily nails website (along with 3 other neon shades filled with holographic sparkle). Time to jump on into the swatches!
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I did notice these all had a very similar formula, so I’ll sum it on up right here first, and note any individual differences underneath each swatch. While swatching, I noted these were more squishy than a normal cream formula – with more jelly mixed in with the pigment. Because of that it gives a more sheer 1st coat, but I then was able to get them fully opaque, without a white base, with just 2-3 coats!
I did prefer thinner coats for application, as too thick of coats could cause the polish to feel goopy and pool at the end of the nails – so 3 thinner coats overall. These polishes dry slightly more satin, which I expect with neons, so a coat of top coat will of course bring out that shine. With those thinner coats, I found they were smooth and easy to paint on overall and, most importantly, passed my test of not needing a white base. I really enjoyed these a lot, and the photos will help speak for them.
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We’re starting right out with ‘Helium (He)’. This one is a warmer toned, almost coral pink neon shade.
As noted above, I used 3 thin coats for this one, preferring a thinner application – especially with this shade I found it could pool at the end of the nails with thicker coats. But overall it’s so bright and lovely on the nails.
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This next shade is definitely the brightest of the bunch, and it’s most appropriately named ‘Neon (Ne)’. And this is a bright, well, neon, orange. Absolutely searing.
Again, 3 thin coats with this one and you get that insane brightness and saturation. Of course with all of these, you can choose to put a white base underneath it. With that you’ll get a more pastel-like neon with fewer coats, so they can be worn different ways. I just personally always prefer when I can use neons on their own, and choose to swatch testing for that aspect.
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Of course we have to have that typical highlighter yellow shade in any sort of neon release. This is ‘Radon (Rn)’ and it’s that bright yellow that I love on my nails in the summer.
Just like the others, I used 3 thin coats and it’s fully opaque and smooth. Especially for this one, without a white base, it’s still super bright and smooth on the nails and I’m impressed. If you don’t yet have a highlighter yellow neon in your collection, this is a great option.
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Next up, this is ‘Krypton (Kr)’ and it’s another “classic” neon shade. It’s that bright warm toned lime green neon, and it just makes anyone look automatically so summery. (And wearing super bright shades like this is the only way my super pale skin is looking more tan).
Just like the others, 3 thin squishy shades and it’s fully opaque and smooth – even on my super ridged nails.
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Now this next shade is the deepest and least “neon” of the bunch. This is ‘Xenon (Xe)’ and it’s a rich saturated deep cobalt blue shade. Obviously a deeper shade like this will be harder to make a true neon, but it still has that squishy look to it that the others have.
With this deeper color, it does build up well with just 2 coats. But I did notice a 3rd coat continued to smooth it out and deepen up that color and make it richer on the nails.
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And rounding out the set, we have ‘Argon (Ar)’. This is a warm toned, saturated grape purple shade, and I think it’s the closest we’re getting to a deeper neon purple. Again, not as bright as the first shades, but it still feels bright on the nails, you know.
I built this up with 3 thin coats and it was smooth on the nails. You can notice more of that satin finish on these deeper shades, so a top coat will bring back that shine.
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And that’s the set! I always love finding new neons – listen, I can’t be bothered with white bases anymore when there are so many good formulas – and I’m glad these passed the test! They’re bright and saturated and I was able to easily build them up to fully opaque on my nails. Yes, they take 3 coats, but that tracks for a more squishy neon formula, and the formula dries more quickly to really make those coats go by quickly. I have no complaints here.
Overall I’m impressed and this is a great set of neons if you’re looking to add to your collection! Are you interested in these?
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Upcoming Posts!
ILNP Something Sweet collection • Orly The Great Escape Summer 2023 • Glam Polish Eras collection • China Glaze What’s the Scoop Summer 2023 • KB Shimmer Plant One On Me • Essie Summer 2023
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PR Disclosure: Though the shades in this post were sent to me, I was under no obligation to post from the brand. I never guarantee positive reviews, and all thoughts and opinions are my own. I review these shades thoroughly and in the same manner as I would with any polishes purchased with my own money.
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I’m of the opinion that you can never have too many neon polishes. That means I have this collection, and it’s insanely bright.
Yeah, the colors aren’t anything majorly new, but Starrily gets points for how few coats you need–without white undies. And even more points for that formula. Really impressive!
Can you tell I loved the collection?
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I’m so here for it, I loved them so much too! Always here to add more beautiful neons!
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