I recently picked up a set of Mariposa nail polishes at Dollarama and was impressed with them so when I saw they had a new set of gel like nail polish, I had to try it. Mariposa Gel is just $3 for three polishes and the long wear top coat. As with other no UV light needed faux gels, it promises up to 14 days wear.
They only had one set of colours at my local Dollarama. Neutrals with a hint of shimmer. The Mariposa Gel set includes miniature sized bottles of pink, beige and dusty purple with a pink shimmer nail polishes.
The pink has a slight silver shimmer to it, almost unnoticeable on the nail but takes away from that chalky pastel look that some paler polishes suffer from.
Like the pink, the beige has a silver shimmer. This is slightly more noticeable on the nail due to the darker tone of the polish, but isn’t sparkly or overly noticeable.
The purple was the standout for me. It is a darker dusty purple that leans almost brown in some lights but has a beautiful blue, red and purple shimmer. Sadly, the shimmer was less noticeable on the nail unless looking very closely or in bright sunlight – something we are short on in the winter months.
I have tried several long wear polishes, from CND Vinylux to drug store versions and none have lasted 14 days. Many were removed after 5 due to bad chipping so after a few days I was surprised to see that my Mariposa Gel mani was still holding up.
Here it is on day 10! Some tip wear but I have dealt with that much tip wear after a single day with some polishes. While not super shiny, it wasn’t dull. If I was wearing it without reviewing later, I probably would have added a high shine top coat on day 3-4.
I was really impressed by Mariposa Gel polishes. The polish has a slight candy smell to it, compared to some of the overly chemical gel like polishes from other brands but the dry time is slow. They felt touch dry after about 10 minutes, but 6 hours later, I still got pillow dents while sleeping so I recommend painting your nails early and planning not to do much. The brushes are decent, especially for a dollar store mini bottle and all three polishes were opaque in two coats with little streaking.
At just $3 for three polishes and top coat, you probably are not going to find cheaper, even on clearance. Like the other Mariposa polishes, their Gel like is not 4-free but removed easily with no staining (applied using Essence The Gel base coat).
Have you tried any of the Mariposa polishes or beauty products?
I like the purple shade, but denting after 6 hours? No bueno.
I know, and pillow dents are the worst because they take away the shine but are not quite bad enough that you have to do it again
Interesting. Would spraying a quick dry make any difference I wonder? Or does that not work on “gel like” polish.
I’ve always wondered about those dollar store polishes. I guess it’s not much $ to give it a try!
It really only works on the top layer to make it touch dry, but really thin layers may let the polish dry better
I actually saw this at Dollarama today and wasn’t sure if I should purchase it, I’m glad I found this review , I’m gonna try it!
Best Gel nail polish ever!
It stays on my nails for 10 days!
What a great price… bought them all.
IMO, you get what you paid for. $3 for the kit and less than 3 days of wear before the paint started chipping and with the chips, the nail polish started peeling off. Not worth it. Maybe for kids, I remember having peel off nail polish like this when I was little. Took nearly the entire nail off in one go!
I recently had a couple of Zoyas peel off in one nail sheet, only on my left pointer finger lol
The best I every used, went back to buy more colours. Never did a nail polish that lasted this long. Did a lot of work with my hands without using gloves for a full ten days and it was still intact!! I just took it off as I wanted to try a different colour. As for my toes it stayed on for a month!!