I got this ELF nail polish in one of the French manicure sets. ELF has recently raised its price on the nail polishes, doubling it from $1 to $2, so individually, this polish would be $2, while a set of three would cost $3. This price change is really disappointing because it is definitely possible to find high quality drugstore nail polishes for the same price, so I don’t actually think the ELF nail polishes are even worth it anymore.
ELF nail polishes come in squarish glass bottles with shiny black tops that are also rectangular. The amount of actual product in this nail polish is not really that much – there is a lot of empty glass space. The container is pretty sturdy, but a little too heavy because of the excess glass.
Nude is a pinkish nude that looks very milky. It would look really nice on fair skin, except for the fact that this polish has almost zero pigmentation. In the bottle, it seems very milky and almost translucent. On the nails, it’s practically clear. I know this is supposed to be a nude polish, but it really doesn’t do anything for the nails because it’s completely see through, even after multiple layers, which is really disappointing. It adds a slight gloss to the nails, that’s it.
For this reason, it’s pretty hard to see how the lasting power of this nail polish is. It doesn’t seem to chip or peel obviously, but it definitely fades, especially at the tip of the nail. I would expect about the same quality as other ELF nail polishes.
I do think this nail polish can be used as a base coat because there’s not really much else to do with it. It seems decent at providing a smooth surface, though it will definitely not fill in all ridges. It’s really not the best at being a base coat in the end. I would much rather use a real base coat than this.
Overall, this was an incredibly disappointing polish. It doesn’t have any pigmentation, so is of almost no use to me at all. I would definitely not recommend this polish, especially because you can find polishes of similar price and much better quality at the drugstore.