[Purchased – Post Disclosure Page]
Hey friends! Happy Halloween! I can’t believe the Falloween season is over and that this is the final Halloween blog post of the year. I had hoped to do a couple more (well specifically one more besides this) but this month went by very quickly.
Holiday collections are already trickling in and I am surprised at feeling excited about that. I am not generally a holiday collection kinda gal but maybe I am maturing or something? Or more likely, I see a bunch of glitter so I’m interested.
Anyway, that long as heck intro was to say today’s blog post is for the Witching Hour collection which is a collab between Kelli Marissa and Orly. Kelli Marissa is a fellow Youtube nail account and if you haven’t checked out her channel yet you’re kinda missing out!
These are all available right now on the Orly website and as always, I will have links and pricing at the end of the post.
Live Swatch Video
Orly is a US based mainstream brand. Their polishes are in massive 18ml bottles, 12 free, cruelty free and vegan friendly.
Mystic Jelly
Description: Purple Jelly
Mystic Jelly had a good formula. It was a little bit on the thin side but not so much that I would call it watery. It does have a tendency to flood your cuticle crevices if you go in heavy handed.
Colorwise, I love this shade but I bought this collection knowing that the jellies weren’t going to be my cup of tea. In 3 coats it has enough opacity that I can see myself wearing it.
My photos show Mystic Jelly in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. Despite being a jelly, this does dry dow a little flat.
Oasis Jelly
Description: teal Jelly
Oasis Jelly had a thinner formula. It ran down the stem of my brush quite a bit but I didn’t find application difficult. Like the previous polish, if you go in heavy handed you will get some flooding.
Coverage was fairly even on the first coat but obviously sheer since this is a jelly base. I found in 3 coats, it was opaque enough that VNL wasn’t a major issue but it was still obviously sheer. If that makes any sense.
This polish photographed very blue-ish for me. I would say it is a true teal and doesn’t lean green or blue. I did have to do some color correcting and I am not 100% happy with the outcome to be honest.
My photos show Oasis Jelly in 3 coats plus glossy top coat. I thought this was going to be a stainer but I didn’t experience any staining.
Smoke Jelly
Description: a black Jelly
Smoke Jelly had pretty much the same formula as the other jellies. If you overload the brush, you will get some flooding but I wouldn’t call the formula watery.
Since it is a jelly you’ll want to build it up to get the most opacity. But yanno these aren’t really made to get 100% opaque.
Colorwise, this one was the least of interest to me. But I also generally don’t gravitate to plain black nails.
My photos show Smoke Jelly in 3 coats plus glossy top coat.
Spellbound
Description: Orange / Black / Holo Confetti Topper
Spellbound had a really great formula. It was on the thicker side but I found the application very easy. I did notice that in the time between taking my photos and doing my live swatches the polish seemed a lot thicker when I was doing my live swatches.
I was particularly surprised at how good of coverage it has in just one coat. The glitters all spread out pretty evenly and easily. I did find myself dabbing a few into place with my brush but that was only when I decided that I was just going to wear it in one coat.
The holographic glitters are a nice added touch to the matte glitters. This polish is pretty much Halloween in a bottle and I really really love it. The glitters do give this polish some texture so I opted to pair it with a glitter smoothing top coat before going in with my quick dry top coat.
My photos show Spellbound in 1 coat plus 2 coats of top coat. Removal will be difficult if you decide to scrub this polish off. I used a peel off base coat.
Wild Card
Description: Purple / Black / Green Confetti Topper
Wild Card had a beautiful formula. The base was on the thicker side but I didn’t have any issues with application. Like the previous topper, I did notice that the polish felt a lot thicker when I did my live swatches than when I did my full hand swatches.
The glitter mix in here was super fun and Halloween-y. Coverage wasn’t as heavy in 1 coat as Spellbound but I do think that it will work well as a topper as well as a standalone polish.
The glitters do give this one some texture so again, I paired it with a glitter smoothing top coat.
My photos show Wild Card in 2 coats plus 2 coats of top coat. One more time, I recommend the soak off method or a peel off base coat for easy removal.
Wing It
Description: Bat Shaped Confetti Topper
Wing It had the same formula as the other toppers. I was most excited for this one due to those bat shaped glitters. Sadly I kinda feel like the bats get lost in the small black hex glitters. Like you have to be really look at your nails to see the bats.
I will say it was nice that I didn’t need to hold the bottle upside down or do any fishing to get the bat glitters out. They are really evenly dispersed in the bottle. I did find myself dabbing a few bats into some spots that I thought they would fit but I wouldn’t say glitter placement was done (or needed).
My photos show Wing It in 2 coats plus 2 coats of top coat.
Final Thoughts
Like I mentioned, I bought this collection knowing that the jellies weren’t going to be for me. I don’t do a lot of nail art or jelly sandwiches so sheer plain polishes don’t appeal to me. I 10000% bought this for the toppers.
My only complaints are 1) I wish the bat glitters in Wing It were just a little bit bigger. That way they would stand out more from the black hexes or maybe the black hexes would be a different color? And 2) that in order to get any of the polishes you have to buy them as a set. That’s kind of a bummer.
My top picks are Spellbound and Wild Card. Those glitter makes were really fun.
Orly
18ml, 12 Free, Vegan & Cruelty-Free
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Sale Information
The Witching Hour collection is available right now on the Orly website. The full collection is priced at $72 USD. At the time of posting, they’re only available there and not in store or at any of Orly’s other retailers.
Coupon codes that usually work for the Orly website don’t seem to work with these polishes added to your cart. So unless code Kelli13 is active when you order, you’ll have to pay full price. Which is a bummer but I just checked a few minutes before hitting post and that code is working with $13 off today which is Halloween.
