Review: Illamasqua Paranormal UV Nail Polish

Hey all!

This post has been in the works for a while, and I finally have it complete, yay! A little while back I was invited to a blogger launch for Illamasqua's new collection and received all 4 polishes for review. This is going to be very picture heavy so you have been warned!



There where 4 new items added in this collection, 3 new UV glow colours consisting of Seance, violet, Ouija, pink and Omen, green as well as Geist, a clear UV glow topcoat to apply over any polish. All 3 of the colours have a nice shimmer to them, I quite like it as it makes them a tad more interesting than a regular neon that would glow under UV.


First we have Seance, a bright violet purple that leans a bit pink. The swatches below are 2 coats. They have a slightly satin finish on their own which I thought was quite nice so I didn't bother with a top coat. Dry time was quite fast.




Now the fun photos! The below images are under a black light. Seance has a bubblegum pink UV glow.




Next is Ouija, a bright barbie pink. Again 2 coats with no topcoat to show the lovely finish.




And UV photos, Ouija has more of a red leaning pink appearance under blacklight.




The last of the new colours, and my personal favourite, is Omen a vivid green. 2 coats, perfect application, lovely satin finish.




Under UV it has a bright acid green glow. Love.




And finally Geist, a clear UV topcoat. As you can see it has a slight blue tint, but you cannot see it when it is on.


I figured the easiest way to show it was to do a little simple creative nail art :P I started doing it under regular light, but it was way to hard not being able to tell where I had the top coat, so I reccomend doing it under a blacklight where you can see. It has a white/blue glow, but I think it may change colour depending on what you put it over.




Overall I was pleased with these polish, their formula is flawless and they apply very evenly. The top coat is a bit thick but it was still quite managable.

I love the fact that Illamasqua didn't do this at Halloween as most brands have a tendency to do. Do I find these colours unique? Not really. Do I see the UV aspect being a big sell? I would expect these to appeal more to people that go clubbing or to raves where black lights are abundant, but to a regular audience, probably not. You can find cheap $3 polishes that will glow under UV, such as Kleancolor Tangerine Burst and if people go and get gels that need to be cured under UV light they would get the same effect. I however can see the fun in creating nail art that can only been seen under blacklight and I do think it fits the theme of 'Paranormal' very well.

Illamasqua nail polish can currently only be bought in Australia at Myer Illamasqua counters or on Myer online.