Drugstore Creme Rainbow – REVIEW

This one is for my candy crayns. This is about you. You know who you are. I love you.

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Hi, friends! I’m back with another review for you, this time focused on primary rainbow cremes that you can (usually) find at a US drugstore. I wanted to do this because cheap doesn’t mean bad, and expensive doesn’t mean good. I know that seems like a really simple concept, but in this community, we have so many options that it can get overwhelming. This is your reminder that you don’t need to spend a ton of money on a basic creme just because it costs more. You can get quality formulas for less, and they might even be better. They might be worse, but we’ve all gotten expensive indie polishes that are an absolute disaster, so I’d say your odds here are pretty good. I mean, white polishes are a perfect example of this, right? Even Holo Taco’s Not Milky White, which has a $12 price point, is just not that awesome (in my opinion). You can do better!

All of these are shown in 3 coats, and I will denote whether or not it actually needs 3 coats for full opacity. There are a fair few 1-coaters in here. I used KBShimmer’s nail strengthening base coat and LynBDesigns’ B Quick top coat.

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Pinky: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri – ASAP Apple | (3 coats for full opacity) This is very close to Color Club’s Proceed with Caution and has a similar formula. I found this one to be a pretty standard bright red — a little on the thin side and needs to be built up. But it goes on really smoothly and I had no bubbling issues. It’s surprisingly flattering on my warm undertones, and it gets major bonus points for not staining my cuticles. I wouldn’t wear it all the time, but I can see this being a staple for someone who loves the pop of color. I found this for $6.69 at Target.

Ring: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri – Time Warmth (2 coats for full opacity) | This one is really similar to ORLY’s Kitsch You Later, for those who already have it. I haven’t used the ORLY one in a while so I can’t compare the formula, but Sally costs more per ml so I always recommend going for ORLY if you can, even if it’s a little bit more expensive. It’ll last you forever. Okay, but we’re taking about Time Warmth, sorry. It’s got really good coverage and I love how rich and saturated it is without being too thin. I’m a fan! I found it for $6.69 at Target.

Middle: Sinful Colors – YOLO Yellow (3 coats for full opacity and smooth build up) | If you’re not aware, Sinful Colors is owned by Revlon, who filed for bankruptcy back in 2022. SC has been gradually phased out of retail stores since then, but are still available several places online, so I truly cannot comment on whether or not it’s discontinued. I will say that they are more expensive now, but considering how cheap they were beforehand, they’re absolutely still a manageable price. Okay, to the formula: yellows are a bitch to work with, and this one is no different. I have never found a yellow creme that wants to play nice, and if you do have one, please share with the rest of the class. They are often either patchy or streaky and don’t self-level very well at all. That being said, the color saturation on this one is spectacular for a $2 polish and is completely worth the hassle. I bought it at Target for $1.99 a few years ago, but it’s only currently available online either used on eBay for $3-5 or new at Walmart for $6, among other places. I have also heard that people have found them at their local dollar stores.

Index: ORLY – Touch Grass (1 coat for full opacity) | Look, ORLY is a really good quality brand. Some of their formulas are a miss (I’m looking at you, Snow Angel), but for the most part, they know what they’re doing. They sell 18ml bottles, which is just huge, especially when you consider that Sally Hansen’s bottles are often less than 10ml. I had a tough time finding a primary green, but this one is absolutely the perfect shade and is opaque enough to layer beautifully under glitters without adding extra bulk to the nail. I had a tiny bit of bubbling, but that was certainly user error (I had a wonky brush!). This one does take a little extra time to dry, so have that quick dry top coat on hand, and make sure to wipe off the brush after because there will be color transfer. ORLY retails for $11 but I found mine for $7.35 at Ulta and you will absolutely be able to find this one on sale if you go looking. No need to pay full price.

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Blue: Sinful Colors – Endless Blue (1 coat for full opacity) | This is another one of those “it may or may not be discontinued” situations, so I’m going to start by saying that China Glaze and ORLY both have primary blue cremes that are probably pretty close to this, although I don’t have either. But because the formula on this one is so good, I really wanted to showcase it. My only complaint about it is that it stained my cuticles. It’s smooth, thin but not watery, and I didn’t have any problems working with it. I did a little lazy gradient with a sponge and this one blended really well with the purple I’m going to talk about next. I found it for $1.99 at Target years ago, but now I’m only able to find it for around $6.75 on Amazon.

Purple: ORLY – All Eyes on Her (1 coat for full opacity) | I’m really, really pleased with this color. Just like the green, this color goes on smooth and saturated and real purtty. I didn’t have any issues with bubbling and it self-leveled well. It’s not watery, which is something that is always a concern for me with drugstore polishes. And with the 18ml bottle, you’ll never have to buy another primary purple ever again. It retails for $11, but just like with Touch Grass, you absolutely can get this one on sale. I got mine for $7.35 at Ulta.

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So what do you think? What other fantastic drugstore finds do you have in the primary rainbow? I’d love to know if the China Glaze and ORLY blues are as good as Sinful Colors, so if you have experience with them, please jump in!

All my love,

🍊clementine🍊