I’m kicking off my Monday (and my May — how the heck is it May already?!?) with a review for FingerPaints Bamboo Brights Collection. I haven’t seen much of anything about these online, and I had a difficult time locating information on them when I went to research the collection. I found these as I find so many nail-related things: on a random browse through my local Sally’s Beauty Supply. Because it was something new from FingerPaints, I got super excited and picked them all up. I love me some FingerPaints, y’all!!
So what’s special about the Bamboo Brights, you might ask? Well, you might not ask … But I’m gonna tell you, anyhow. Because I did the internet sleuthing to locate this paltry bit of information. These little pretties are infused with bamboo extract, which is supposed to help your nails grow stronger and help prevent breaking and peeling. The polishes in this collection are advertised as being one coat wonders, and they are, apparently, limited edition. I’m not sure if this is a new line that FingerPaints is testing out, or if this collection is a one-off. They are also advertised as having intense color. I will talk about the formula for each individual polish as I go along, but one thing they all had in common was that the formulas for these felt different to me from a normal nail polish formula. There was more of a “slick” or “oily” sort of feeling to every one of these as I was applying them. They all look like straight-up cremes in the bottles, but most of them had a rubbery or squishy sort of appearance on the nail — more like a jelly or a crelly. I don’t know if this is a factor of the bamboo extract in the formula, but it might be.
So, with all of that background stuff out of the way, let’s get into some color! We all know that’s the only reason we’re here, right? Right!!
First up from the collection is I Knew You Wood. She is a bright, yellow-toned green. I feel like this one looks more green in the bottle, but leans more yellow on the nail. It still reads to my eye as a green and not a yellow, but definitely in that area of yellowy, “spring” greens. I needed three coats to get this one opaque. I found it super streaky on the first coat, and it left low spots wherever I put too much pressure on the brush.
I like this color a lot more than I thought I would. Surprisingly, I like it a lot on my nails — even more than I did in the bottle. I like that it leans a bit more yellow, which, believe it or not, makes it kind of unique to my collection. It’s a really pretty, spring-appropriate shade. I like how it is bright without being an eye-searing neon. It’s bright but soft at the same time, if that makes any sense. I also like the appearance of the polish on the nail once it dries.
With all of that said, I found this polish to be finicky as heck when it came to application. Maybe it was user error on my part. I do my nails a lot (a LOT lot), and I found this polish to be challenging when it came to getting it even. I was super excited about the possibility of a color like this being a one-coater. I should have known that was too good to be true. Honestly, the main reason I’m holding application against this one is because it fell so far short of what was advertised. For this type of color, a streaky first coat and needing three coats to get it even is not anything unusual. But you told me it would be one coat, FingerPaints. Argh!! I’m not sure if I like this color enough to deal with the formula.
Shoots and Ladders is a vibrant, mid-tone pink with a reddish undertone. I feel like I can see some orange in there, too, but maybe I’m just imagining that. When I saw this one in the bottle, I thought it was a straight up, soft coral shade. It is much brighter on the nail. The formula on this one is nice. It was NOT a one-coater. I needed two to get this one even and opaque, although it built up easily.
I liked this pink, which surprised me. In the bottle, I thought it would be a total fail for me, but I liked it more than I expected on my nails. It is bright but not too bright. I like the finish on the nail, as well as the vibrancy and depth to the finished color. Again, I was slightly disappointed that I needed two coats for this one, but that was only because it was advertised as a one-coater. Overall, I don’t feel like this is a super unique color, but it is also a pink I could see myself wearing from time to time.
Wood I Lie to You is a medium purple with a pinkish-reddish undertone. Formula-wise, I found this one to be close to a one-coat wonder. I still needed two coats to get this one opaque and even, but I might have been able to do it with one if I had used a slightly thicker coat. I felt like this one was closer to a creme formula, although it still had a rubbery, sort of “squishy” appearance on the nail.
I like this color quite a lot! It is much more vibrant and bright on the nail than in the bottle. On the nail, I feel like I can see the pink/red undertone a lot more. I think this color is fun, and it would be great on my toes for the Summer. I don’t think this is a terribly unique color, although I don’t have many (if any? I’m not sure now that I sit here and think about it) purples similar to this one in my collection.
Reed My Mind is a vibrant, hot-toned melon-orange. Formula-wise, this one was okay. I had a little bit of pulling, which left some low spots. It was not a one-coater. I needed two for full opacity, but it did build up and level out pretty well. It has a slightly rubbery appearance on the nail, but I think it looks more “creme” than some of the other polishes in this collection.
I can’t decide if I like this polish. My picture shows it being a bit darker and more “orange” than it looked in real life. In real life, I felt like it was a lighter, softer sort of orange — more the color of a cantaloupe. I liked the color a lot in the bottle. When I first applied it, I instantly thought, “No way am I gonna like this.” The more I wore it and looked at it, the more it started to win me over. And so, I decided to try it out on my toes. When I put it on my toes, I liked it at first, but, then, it started to bug me. I ended up taking it off my toes after about a day and a half. Usually, I change my pedicure about once a week or every other week. So … yeah. I’m not sure of my final verdict on this polish, but I am leaning toward donating it. If I have such a hard time making up my mind on it, that has to mean something.
I’m not sure how unique this color is. Because it’s actually lighter and more “melon-like” than my picture shows, I tend to think it’s a little more unique than some of the others in this collection.
Blue Hue Bamboo is a bright, vibrant sky blue. This one, also, was close to being a one-coater. I did two coats for full opacity, but I might have been able to get it in one with a slightly thicker application.
I LOVE this color. No big surprise there, as it’s blue. I found this blue to be more vibrant and bright on the nail than in the bottle. But it wasn’t eye-searingly bright to me. For me, that’s a positive. It might not be a positive for everyone. So, yeah … not much to say, really. I mean, it’s beautiful. It’s blue. It wasn’t the advertised one-coater, but it also wasn’t impossible to apply.
Even though I liked this one, it’s not a unique color. I buy a LOT of blue polish. (Blue nail polish addict, here!) I probably have at least five in my collection that are at least close to duping this color, if not actual dupes. I probably have more than five, but I’m a little ashamed to admit that.
Feeling Bamboozled is the glitter topper for this collection. It has a clear base with a mix of light and dark pink, blue, and green matte hexes. I tried it out over the purple, the orange, and the blue from this collection. I didn’t try it over the pink, as I thought the pink glitters would totally disappear, much as the dark ones tended to do over the purple. Formula-wise, the base on this one is thick. It’s so, so, sooooo thick — to the point of being annoying.
Can you tell I don’t like this one? Yeah. I don’t like it at all, and that kind of hurts me. It’s so pretty in the bottle. The color mix is vibrant and fun, and I was super excited about it when I first saw it. I also love matte glitters. Sadly, our love affair was not meant to be. Maybe it was just my bottle. I don’t know. But the base on mine was so thick that it was impossible to brush it on and get anything other than base on my nails. I resorted to picking out glitters in order to apply them. And, even that way, I couldn’t get what I felt was a good look on my nails. One of the things I love about glitter toppers is how they can look playful, random, and effortless on the nail. With this one, I didn’t feel like any of those things happened, particularly after I had to fish out glitters and stick them on my nails. Once I had the glitters out on my nails, I didn’t like the size of them. I tend to wear my nails shorter, so that might have something to do with this, but I would have preferred smaller glitters … or a mix of larger and smaller glitters … or a mix of shimmer and glitters … or a mix of matte and metallic glitters … Well, you get the idea.
I will say, whatever their individual qualities, these polishes look really pretty water marbled together. I’ve wanted to do a tie-dye water marble for the longest time, and these colors seemed perfect for that kind of look. I used Wood I Lie to You, I Knew You Wood, Reed My Mind, and Blue Hue Bamboo. I was happy with how my marble turned out, although I ended up with a few popped bubble white spots on a couple of nails. These look huge in my picture, but they were hardly noticeable in real life.
These polishes had their huge plusses and equally huge minuses for water marbling. They spread pretty well, and they didn’t dry quickly at all. But they also left a lot of residue in the water after each dip. I think this is because of the bamboo extract/oil. I’m lazy about changing out my water, so I made it work. It’s not impossible, but it wasn’t the easiest water marble I’ve ever done. If I had changed my water after every dip, I think they would have spread better without as much work on my part.
Overall, I feel more than a little bit “meh” about this collection. I don’t hate these polishes, but I also don’t love them. None of them — not even the blue — gave me that little thrill of nail polish junkie excitement when I applied them. And I honestly couldn’t wait to get the glitter topper off of my nails. I don’t think there is anything unique about any of these colors. I feel like FingerPaints was banking on the formula to make them stand out: the advertised one-coat wonderness and the addition of bamboo extract. I didn’t think these lived up to the advertised promises at all. None of these were one-coaters for me. And I’m not sure I care about the fact that there is bamboo extract inside of these. I felt like the formulas were a little bit slick and oily. It wasn’t enough to make them unworkable, but it was there. I wouldn’t have been that interested in buying these if I hadn’t wanted to review them in here. And you know what? I don’t think I would have missed them all that much.
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