Milani Rockstar Heavy Glitter Nail Lacquer Swatches & Review
Milani has a new, yet seemingly hard to find nail collection called Rockstar Heavy Glitter.
I lucked out finding these at the second CVS I went to (where these are being found most often). They were also on sale, buy one get one 50% off, so score!
The rumor is these aren’t limited edition, they will be part of the core 2011 collection, but I haven’t confirmed that with my Milani contact yet.
These are all glittery “top coats” meant to be opaque in one coat. I did two coats of all to get the most coverage, but you could probably do one thicker coat. The formula is pretty nice; not too thick and not “gloopy” as some thick glitter polishes can be. I thought for sure the finish would be super gritty and chunky feeling because they look that way without a top coat, but they were surprisingly pretty smooth.
Removal isn’t THAT bad, it does tend to leave tiny sugar-sprinkle like glittery bits all over, but you can get them off. The two larger glitter ones (Gold & Jems) are super easy to remove since they have big chunks.
Blue Flash
Blue Flash is a bright opaque blue with blue glitter. Wow! The coverage on this is totally amazing and I love the blue color.
Gold Glitz
Gold Glitz is a pretty gold with red and gold glitter. Hawt!
Silver Dazzle
Silver Dazzle is a dark charcoal silver color with silver glitter. It can look kind of blue-ish depending on the lighting. Very nice, I think it’s my favorite one here.
Red Sparkle
Red Sparkle is a gorgeous bright red with red glitter. Wow again! I wasn’t expecting this to be quite this amazing, it’s so opaque and pretty!
Purple Gleam
Purple Gleam is a bright royal purple with lighter purple glitter. Another gorgeous color, super saturated and so nice!
Gold
Gold is a clear base with large hexagonal gold glitter chunks. This is kind of a pain to be honest. It’s one of those that you have to kind of place the glitter where you want, and the glitter tends to want to all move to the tip of the nail as you brush it on.
Jems
Jems is a clear base full of different sized and colored glitter pieces. We have tiny gold, green and red, pieces and then larger hexagonal also. This one was easier to apply than Gold, the glitter stayed in place better. I haven’t yet compared it to Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday, but when I look at my swatch of it and look at this, they look pretty darn close!
Overall:
I think this is a pretty cool collection, but not something to go crazy for, for me. I feel like most of these glitters have been done before, although these are most definitely super opaque, compared to most. I very rarely find myself actually wearing a glitter polish for more than the time it takes me to swatch it though. So there you have it!
Ok folks I want to know, which ones are you loving here?
Stay tuned for a giveaway of this entire collection!!
-VV
Welcome! My name is Kelly and Vampy Varnish is a animal friendly beauty blog.
Yeah, Jems could give DLs Happy Birthday a run for the money. Making a run to Walgreens today to see if I can pick them up! I’ve been on the hunt for a glitter polish with a smooth(er) texture.
Hi Esilenire,
Good luck finding them!
WOW these are soooo pretty!!
Love them!!!
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Hi Danny,
Glad you like them
Well that answers my question, haha… It’s still a nice purple though! I think Gems is a winner for me since I don’t have Happy Birthday.
Hi Naomi,
Yep it’s a great substitute and way cheaper!!
I love Blue Flash and Silver Dazzle, but all of them are absolutely gorgeus, except Gold&Jems, they’re not really appealing to me. Too bad I can’t get my hands on to them…
Hi Natalie,
Oh I am sorry! Maybe you can win them when I do a giveaway
Ooooh, I ended up finding the two Jewel FX after tweeting to you about them. I love them! Nice swatches!!
)
Goose´s last post…Milani Jewel FX Swatches and Review
Hi Goose,
Cool, so glad you were able to get them!
I love the Red, Gold,and Purple! Even though glitter polishes are hard to get off I love them.
Hi One Witchy Woman,
Yeah the glitter in these is so fine it just gets all over. Oh well, the price we pay
love these a LOT more than i thought i would! are the dense glitters truly one coaters?
kelliegonzo´s last post…Broadway Fashion Diva Chrome Nails
Hi kelliegonzo,
Well I used two for everything, but yes they can definitely be one if you do it thicker than I did.
I think the last one is a dupe for Happy Birthday! That is great!
nailsbybellan´s last post…China Glaze Channelesque
Hi nailsbybellan,
Yep I think so also, and if not so close it doesn’t matter for the price difference!
I found these the other day in my CVS, they had at least one of each of them. I picked up Jems, Gold, and Purple Gleam (and a silver Liquif’Eye to finally check them out! but that’s another story), and I have yet to try them! I’d be interested to see the Happy Birthday/Jems comparison. Do you think Gold is similar to Sephora OPI Only Gold For Me (except for the lack of the microglitter in Gold)?
Hi Christina,
Yep it’s very similar to Only Gold For Me. The difference is the microglitter, like you said and also the gold in that is cooler, this is more yellow.
Wow! I really like all of these!! Great price point, too!
Well since I have DL’s Happy Birthday, I’m loving Red Sparkle and Silver Dazzle. There is just something different about Silver Dazzle! I’ve had no luck here finding these – hopefully soon though!
I’m loving golds here lately. I might have to try and get my hands on Gold Glitz! Love them all though!
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i agree on the lippmann happy birthday dupe its close enough for me . gotta get to cvs and grab em..if its core 2011 i’ll walk not run lol
I love these!! I might have to cruise my local CVS today…. I really like the Gold chunky glitter. I have Happy Birthday, so I’ll probably pass on the other gem. But I’m loving the red, purple, and blue! Great swatches!
i saw these last night as i was hunting for perplex but i passed them up. i like the purple gleam and gold.
They’re so pretty!!!!
Times like this I really don’t like living in a country where almost no company wants to ship….
Annie´s last post…Recycle & Party
Gold Glitz and Silver Dazzle. The gold is warm and fun. I like the blue/black of Silver Dazzle.
Jenni´s last post…Accessorize Mermaid
Purple Gleam reminds me of Nubar’s Violet Sparkle. And Jems falls in a similar vein as China Glaze’s Party Hearty, too. Love these, so the more, the merrier!
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I like Blue Flash, Purple Gleam, Gold Glitz and Silver Dazzle. I think I’m in trouble because I want them now!
More glitter for me to get, yay!! I’ve been buying more drugstore polish lately. I will be buying these.
Hi Kelly,
Silver dazzle is my favorite, but I think the whole collection are winners. I hope this is easier to find that the Revlon Perplex!! ( :
They all look great on you. Thanks for swatching!!
I am loving Purple Gleam! I so hope they do become part of the core, because Milani is unobtanium around here, and any of their seasonal/special collections just might as well not exist at all. (We don’t have CVS in this state, nor does Target carry Milani here. Only a few, select, inconveniently located Walgreens stores carry it.)
Gems is my favorite, with the Silver one-coat my second. I don’t care for the chunky gold at all, so won’t be getting that one. The only once that wasn’t at my CVS yet was the purple glitter. I run in there a couple times a month, so I’m sure I’ll be able to find it soonish.
I want these! Gems is my favorite I think!
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P.S. Are they pretty gritty?
Kitty´s last post…China Glaze First Class Ticket
Hi Kitty,
I talked about that in the post.
Ooh, sorry…..I missed that line. Glad to know it’s smoother than it looks. Thanks!
Hi there! My favourite color here is Silver Dazzle. It’s the most original. Almost all the others look to me similar to some OPI and China Glaze polishes…. Anyways, I’m definetly going to buy Silver Dazzle! Fact is, that I’m not sure if Milani brand will ever reach the tiny island of Malta…. Tell me VV, do you think I’ll be able to find it on line?
I love the red and the silver! So freakin fantastic!
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I love silver dazzle and I already bought 2 bottles. I may go back and grabb the Happy Birthday Dupe.
I also have the the gold hexagon glitter one and purple one, but I had application issues with botj, I’ll try gaain later.
Thanks for the swatches! I picked some of these up last week at CVS during the BOGO, and wanted to know what they looked like on before I bought the whole collection.
i love the dark silver one.. so pretty and it has so much depth! i cant believe those are all one coaters.. thats nuts! i have lippmann HB but the multi colored glitter looks amazing! my CVS was all sold out of the chunk gold and chunky rainbow glitter
Dori´s last post…Dior Nude Chic
aww, i l9ive in canada. i dont know where to but this. i want it sooo much!
oh my god!!! i love every single one of it!! just need to find a way to get my hands on those, too bad the brand’s not locally available here.
great post as always!=)
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LOVE them all. But Blue Flash & Silver Dazzle are definitely my favorites.
I love me a good CVS deal!!!
I think I need Jems and blue flash… if I can find them. lol
Hi VV. I’m loving the red! Perfect for the holidays…Do you happen to know if Milani polish is a 3 free formula? Thanks for your post.
Hi Kristina,
Yes they are big 3 free.
They are so pretty! I love glitters until I have to remove them. I wish I had a cvs nearby.
these colors are awesome! can’t wait for the giveway!
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Man! I got the red one today and it took me THREE COATS of Seche Vite to get it smooth-ish, and it’s still slightly gritty. Not sure if I have a bad bottle or what! And without top coat it wasn’t shiny at all. Almost matte-ish, but not in a good way. In a “where the hell’s the shine?” way.
I also got Jems, but I haven’t tried it yet!
Thanks for the swatches. I picked up all but the red glitter, and now I wish I had grabbed that one. Of course now I can’t find them in town anymore so I’m hoping after the holidays they will be more readily available.
I think I’m going to go have to use the silver now. I’ve been trying to decide what I should use tonight.
Anyone who has problems with glitter removal, you should definitely try the foil method. The glitter just slides right off with much less runaway glitter on your fingers.
Michele´s last post…Nicole by OPI Holiday Magic Part 2
Gorgeous! I want Blue Flash and Silver Dazzle so bad!
I bought Gems because I’ve been wanting Happy Birthday, and I’m really happy with it. The only thing is that HB had pink glitter in it. I’d really like to add pink glitter to Gems… can I just throw some extra glitter into the bottle, or will that not work?
I poured out a little and dumped in one of those mini Sally Girl bottles- Chunky Pink Glitter. I like Gems a lot more with the pink in there!
I really like Jems as a Happy Birthday dupe! But, I think my favorite is Gold – I already have Milani’s Gold Dust and think that Gold would be a beautiful, unexpected twist on a gold holiday manicure
)