The “Jeans” To An End — Sinful Colors Kylie Jenner “Denim & Bling” Matte Collection
For her third collection with SinfulColors, Kylie Jenner derived inspiration from the denim-on-denim trend both she and her sister Kendall have mastered. The SinfulColors Kylie Jenner Denim & Bling Collection, then, nods to denim pieces in various colors and washes — from summery white denim to deep indigo blue, lived-in vintage periwinkle and cornflower blue, and even a retro red shade with a burnt sienna feel — most of these featuring matte finishes. And, since the Kardashian and Jenner clan loves opulence and excess, Kylie added a range of holographic, glitter-packed shades to the collection meant to dress up the jean-themed tones and add some “bling.” She also incorporated two duo-chrome nail lacquers, which have an iridescent quality to them that’s intriguing and mysterious. Each nail polish bottle in the collection, available at Walgreens and Walgreens.com, retails for $2.99.
I tried out three of the nail lacquers in the collection and, in the end, I had mixed feelings about the line as a whole — mainly because I loved one of the lacquers (Kameleon), despised another (Acid Wash), and was indifferent toward the third (After Dark). Below, you’ll find images of each nail lacquer, photos showing what it looks like on nails, and more details.
KAMELEON
This is by far not only the best shade in the Denim & Bling collection but, most likely, the nicest polish in any of the Kylie Jenner lines for SinfulColors. The shade is a duo-chrome metallic teal green with moody grayish purple undertones — reminiscent of an iridescent scarab, but with cooler green and blue tones as opposed to warmer golden olive hues. The Kameleon’s coloring does, in fact, seem to morph depending on the lighting, and you’ll likely find yourself staring at your nails in wonderment. The shimmery finish and all-over sheen, meanwhile, makes the shade feel sophisticated. Check out some photos below:
ACID WASH
When I looked at this nail lacquer in its bottle, I was positively smitten — that baby blue shade did, in fact, remind me of acid wash jeans, and I was intrigued by how the matte finish would manifest itself. Unfortunately, this polish quickly became my nemesis. The polish itself is overly thick, gummy, and even goopy, so that it’s difficult to brush on even one thin coat and even more difficult to layer on a second or third coat to achieve full coverage. The finish, meanwhile, is bizarre at best. In this case, “matte” seems to be a synonym for “grainy.” Each shade has these sandy grains in it — perhaps an attempt to imitate what Zoya accomplished with its PixieDust range — but, rather than create this intriguing texture (as Zoya did), the specks only make the polish appear messy and clumpy. In fact, the polish itself still appears to have a creamy finish, with the “matte” element deriving solely from those specks, thereby defeating the whole purpose of the operation.
I remember when I first reviewed Zoya’s PixieDust line, I marveled at how the color looked like this amazing sandpaper, how it looked like colored sand had been perfectly deposited atop my fingernails. With the SinfulColors Kylie Jenner Acid Wash polish, there was no such sense of wonderment. I actually wound up adding a shiny top coat just so the polish wouldn’t look too sloppy (but it still did).
After trying the polish out on three separate instances, I realized it hadn’t been a fluke — the polish is just not up to snuff. Check out the pics below — if you look closely, you’ll notice those bumpy bits that make it look like I’m experiencing a bubbling situation and how it looks really gooey and gross along the sides and edges.
AFTER DARK
Like the Acid Wash polish, the Sinful Colors Kylie Jenner After Dark nail lacquer has a “matte” finish which again here does not mean that it’s a color devoid of any luster and shine but, instead, that it’s saturated with grainy specks to give it a gravely texture. This definition of “matte” is a bit misleading since, in essence, it’s SinfulColors’ interpretation of the original Zoya PixieDust collection – before the brand started experimenting with adding glitter and sparkle to its matte textured finish. In other words, there should be some mention of that mealy, gritty, granulose texture. This particular polish wasn’t as viscous and uncooperative as Acid Wash, but it was still too thick and gooey for my taste. That said, since the color resembles asphalt, the grainy texture is almost fitting here. But again, I found that the nail polish looked messy and uneven without a top coat and that it chipped remarkably easily sans that protective layer, so I applied two coats of Sêche Vite (that said, this also imparted a shiny finish on the nails, so keep that in mind when perusing the images below).
Overall, this shade isn’t terrible, but it’s also not particularly novel, edgy, or beautiful. It’s just very middle-of-the-road. Check out the photos:
All in all, I’d say the Denim & Bling collection fell short of my expectations, but I would definitely suggest that you pick up the Kameleon shade since that one is the shining beacon of hope in this line-up!
