Jessica Phenom Sheer Showstoppers Review & Swatches

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If you’re a fan of Jessica Phenom polishes then you’ll be excited to see that they have a new range of colours launching this month. The Phenom Showstoppers range has three gorgeous new colours: Angel, Pink-A-Boo and Provocateur. The idea behind the new colours is that they tie in with this seasons underwear as outerwear theme, giving a veil of sheer colour to the nail.

If you haven’t tried the Phenom range before, it’s a three step system with a base coat (not shown), colour and top coat designed to dry in natural light, to have the shine and longevity of a gel polish, but which can be removed with nail polish remover. Not only that, but it’s a system that is “7 free” too- it includes no Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Toluene, DBP, Camphor, Xylene or Ethyl Tosylamide.

Released this month, these would be a perfect option for brides looking for something beautiful and natural looking to wear on their wedding day.

The colour above, Provocateur is my pick of the bunch. Unlike the others there is an opacity to this colour and it gives a beautiful, delicate pink finish to the nails. As suggested by Jessica themselves, you definitely need two coats, one looks slightly streaky, but with two coats the finish is perfect- even and uniformly opaque over the nails, which is something that is really hard to achieve with light, opaque colours. What I particularly like is the shade of pink of this colour- it has just the right hue to look expensive and subtle, but still with a definite prettiness of the lilacy pink undertones.

The second colour, Angel is a totally different kind of shade. This is a real veil of colour, giving the nails a really glossy, healthy shine and adding just a hint of creaminess to the colour. The picture above shows two coats of Angel, more than two would create a slightly more misty layer and add to the cream hue. It’s also a colour that would work well with a very subtle french manicure. If you’re a bride wanting a french manicure effect and are wearing a creamier shade of ivory on your wedding day, this could be perfect.

The final of the shades, Pink- A-Boo is a gorgeous sheer pink. Whilst this doesn’t have the opacity of Provocateur above, the shade is utterly dreamy, perfect as a summery, gentle pink that looks natural and yet still professional enough for work. If I were a bride, this is what I’d wear on my wedding day as I love the sweetness of the pink which is perfectly pitched to look pretty and feminine without venturing into the kind of saccharine pink that would make it only suitable for children. It’s light-hearted but sophisticated- a perfect combination.

In quality terms Jessica Phenom polishes really do give the high gloss finish of a gel manicure, although in my experience they aren’t quite as long lasting as a gel manicure would be. The claim for these polishes is up to 10 days of wear, and whilst my busy life of children, pets and general thousand miles an hour living means I can’t quite manage the full 10 days chip free, they certainly last a lot longer than an ordinary polish would. One thing you do need to be aware of is that they aren’t quite as fast drying as a standard nail polish, I found you need to leave time between coats to let the polish really dry to get the full long lasting effect.

The new Sheer Showstoppers range is out this month. You can find Jessica Phenom Polishes to order online HERE