Hey friends! I am slowly getting back into my normal schedule after being sick all last week. Today was the first day that I didn’t pass out from exhaustion halfway through the day and I am so damn happy about it. I am not 100% YET but I am getting there.
Today’s blog post is for the newest Holo Taco collection. This is a 6 piece release of all pastel cremes. I believe this is their Spring collection for the year? Long time readers will know, pastel cremes are my least favorite type of nail polish collections. I am just not a pastel creme girly, sorry not sorry.
I’ll save all of my thoughts for the end of the post. As always, links and sale deets can be found at the end of the post.
Live Swatch Video
Holo Taco is a US based nail polish brand. Their polishes are in 12ml bottles, 10 free, cruelty-free, and vegan.
Pinky Swear
Description: a vibrant pastel baby pink polish with a crème formula
Pinky Swear was one of the two polishes that I expected to have the worst formulas. Pastel pinks are notorious for being a streaky, uneven mess.
While this was streaky at first, it did even out for me in 3 coats. Again, if you aren’t as picky as I am about dark spots coverage is ok in 2 coats. I just can’t deal with dark spots, especially in a creme polish.
Just based on my own color preferences, I wasn’t a fan of this color. It’s not bad but I am just not a baby pink kind of person.
My photos show Pinky Swear in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
For comparison, Pinky Swear on my pointer finger, China Glaze Here For The Candy (Hello Sugar Spring 2023) on my middle nail, What Do You Pink on my ring finger. I thought this was going to be a lot more similar to Here For The Candy but it’s pinker and slightly darker.
Rest In Peach
Description: a vibrant pastel light peach polish with a crème formula
Rest In Peach was the color that I expected to like the least out of this release. Not by any fault of its own, I just really don’t like pastel peach shades.
I was really happy to find that I did actually end up liking how this looked on me. Particularly, out in natural lighting.
This polish was very streaky but self leveled well. I did need a good three coats to get even, dark spot free coverage.
My photos show Rest In Peach in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
For comparison, I pulled out One Melon Followers and China Glaze Sweeta Than Suga (Hello Sugar collection).
Banana Medicine
Description: a vibrant pastel light yellow polish with a crème formula
Banana Medicine is the first of two polishes that I expected to have incredibly streaky formulas. While this was streaky and on the thicker side overall the formula was great. It self leveled well but a little slower than some of the other cremes in this release.
I do want to note I do think if someone has issues with formulas in this release, this polish will likely be the tricky one. The slower self leveling and the thickness might be difficult for less seasoned polishers. I would recommend floating you brush for application and using the 3 stroke method.
My photos show Banana Medicine in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
For comparison, I have Banana Medicine on my pointer finger, China Glaze Holy Sugar (Hello Sugar Spring 2023) on my middle nail, and Banana Hacks on my ring finger. Color wise, this is very similar to Holy Sugar. Not quite dupes, Hello Sugar is brighter and has a thinner formula but they are close.
Crime and Punishmint
Description: a vibrant pastel light mint green polish with a crème formula
Crime and Punishmint was the first polish I tried from this collection/bundle. I was pleasantly surprised at how good of a formula this polish had!
It self leveled perfectly and applied buttery smooth. The base color is exactly as described. It has that extra oomph to keep it from being what I think of as a boring pastel.
I originally thought that I was good in 2 coats but looking at my photos, I feel like I could have used a third coat to even everything out a bit more.
My photos show Vibrant Crime and Punishmint in 2 coats plus glossy top coat. This will likely be a 2-3 coater depending on your application, personal preference, and nail length.
For comparison, Crime and Punishmint is on my pointer finger, China Glaze Shore Enuff is on my middle nail, Holo Taco Here For The Payday (Work/Life Balance) is on my ring finger and Matcha Maker (Tea Cremes) is on my pinky.
Too Good To Be Blue
Description: a vibrant pastel light sky blue polish with a crème formula
Too Good To Be Blue also had a fantastic formula. It was slightly streakier than some of the other polishes in this release but overall still a great polish.
This was one of the colors that I knew I would like. Pastel blues are generally my favorite of the pastel rainbow.
My photos show Too Good To Be Blue in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. This will be a 2-3 coater depending on your application and personal preference. I found in 2 coats, I had some light spots on some nails but not all of them.
On my pointer finger is Too Good To Be Blue, on my middle nail is Cyantific, on my ringer is Bep Bep Blue (Julien Collab).
Cereal Killer
Description: a vibrant pastel light purple polish with a crème formula
Cereal Killer had my favorite name in this release. Out of all of the colors, this was the polish that I expected to like the most.
This polish had the exact buttery smooth formula and application that I have come to expect from Holo Taco’s cremes. Just slightly on the thicker side but again, what is typical for this brand.
My photos show Cereal Killer in 2 coats plus glossy top coat.
For comparison, I have Cereal Killer on my pointer finger, Party Of One Purple on my middle nail, Laven-Duh on my ring finger.
Final Thoughts
I had 2 major thoughts when I saw this collection was going to be pastel cremes. The first being “Ugh…” and the second “At least the formulas are going to be good”. I feel like if I am going to like a pastel creme collection, the formulas have to be on point and Holo Taco makes one of my favorite creme formulas.
I loved that these made a rainbow. A quick way to get me to like a collection is for a rainbow to be involved. I am starting to feel like I should stop saying that I don’t like pastel cremes because apparently, I do under certain conditions.
No real complaints from me. I feel like all of these are different enough from some of the past pastels that Holo Taco isn’t venturing into dupe territory. I am sure a lot of people wish Too Good To Be Blue was a better dupe for Bep Bep Blue though.
My top picks are going to be Too Good To Be Blue and Cereal Killer.
Holo Taco
12ml, 10 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Sale Information
The Pastel & Don’t Tell collection is available right now on the Holo Taco website. Each polish is priced at $12 for a 12ml bottle. There is also a bundle listing up if you would like to save $6. This collection is not limited edition and will be restocked if they sell out.
