Water you thinking about this?
The Quick Take
Brand/Name: Suncoat Sienna
Color: Frosty rust with more red to it
Finish: Frost
Price: $9.79 CDN for 15mL
Seen at: Well.ca (Update: Get $10 off any purchase of $40+ at Well.ca with code: 10WINTER for a limited time only!) or direct from their site, Suncoat
Note(s): Suncoat is a Canadian brand from Guelph, Ontario that makes organic cosmetics that are also vegan. Water-based nail polish was one of their first products. Recently, they've branched out into other cosmetics like mascara and lipstick that are also organic and vegan.
The Fun Facts
Good sized bottle.
Product serial and color name.
Ingredients at the back.
Huge plastic brush handle with an average sized brush.
It looks more like a shimmer in the bottle, doesn't it?
When I was trying to decide which color to go with, I wanted to go all the way and get something that was also vegan. Apparently not all the colors are, so that immediately narrowed down my choices. I opted for this rusty, red orange shade as it was something I knew I didn't have in my stash. It also looked like something that would be pretty versatile without pandering to just one season. I thought it was going to be a creme since nothing on the product page indicated it would have any sort of shimmer. Imagine my surprise when I finally got it in the mail and it looked shimmery in the bottle. I wasn't too concerned until I finally saw it on the nail. It looked downright frosty in most lights. It was still a pretty orange-y red but it was FROSTY. The only time I would like something to be frosty is if it were a talking snowman or a cold drink. Otherwise, just..no. Another thing of note is that the polish dries a shade or two darker than the bottle color. It also dries with a satin finish, almost matte really.
***All nail swatches were done with three coats of Suncoat Sienna unless stated.
Natural light/No top coat/No flash
Excuse the index fingernail.
Natural light/No top coat/Flash
The color is actually really nice, except for the slight frostiness here.
Sunlight/No top coat/No flash
More frosty looking in bright light and under the sun.
Notice how I wore it alone, without any sort of base coat. I wanted the full experience and figured adding base coat might change adhesion to the nail or something, as the formula is much different to the ones I usually work with. The brush in itself works as you'd want it to. It's pliable enough to fan out but the handle is a bit of an issue. It's a tad bigger than what I'm normally used to so application with it was trickier than usual. The consistency was...let's just say, different. It doesn't flow at all. It has a thick, creamy consistency to it that takes more than the usual amount of patience to work with as it can get goopy. I'll admit, the first time I put this on I was more than a little upset. It was such a streakfest and not just with the color, you can actually see raised streaks in the nail that looked like welts. That's taking 3D to a different level. I decided to thin it out with a few drops of water and it eventually became somewhat easier to deal with. It does dry fast though, especially if you use thin coats, but you're not allowed near hot water for at least 4 hours after you've done your nails with it. Why? Because it's water based so any exposure to water before the polish has properly cured would be tantamount to a melt-y mani. Removal is supposed to be painless. You just need to either peel it off or soak it off with water. I found neither to be very effective (this reeeeaaallly sticks to the nail!) so I tried it with non-acetone nail polish remover. Same thing. It comes off in rubbery bits, not unlike dried paint. Strange.
Natural light/Top coat/No flash
Hammie says: Maybe top coat can make it better like it always does?
Natural light/Top coat/Flash
Hammie says: I think it looks good here!
Sunlight/Top coat/No Flash
Hammie says: Okay, maybe a bit frosty but maybe it can pass as metallic?
See the weird 3D streakfest? Even top coat couldn't make it better. Sorry, Hammie.
Top coat definitely added some much needed shine to the finish. It also made the color seem deeper. Full on, it's a little hard to find fault in the manicure but from the side, you can clearly see the strange ridges on the surface. At this point, I'm not sure if I should still thin it out with more water to make the consistency more workable or just give up.
The Lowdown
$9.79 is a bit pricey for a 15mL polish. It does happen to be water based so that changes the stakes, making the price well worth it. Healthier product options are almost always a little more expensive than the run of the mill ones and it helps that even if you have to order this online, you don't have to pay for shipping so the higher price might also be part and parcel of a higher mark up. Offhand, I can think of some other water based polishes like Sula although color-wise I'm not entirely sure if there's any that would be considered an exact replica. I did a quick search and the interwebs gave me nothing. That's not conclusive though, so I will have to update this once I find out more.
I really, really, really wanted to love this polish. It's water based, natural, organic and vegan. It doesn't stain your nails even without a base coat and should allow for less interaction with potentially harmful chemicals. Nor do they test on animals or contain nasty parabens. But it's frosty. And ridge-y (3D streaks), no matter how carefully I applied it or how much I tinkered around with the formula. Hammie hopes this is an isolated case and I got a dud because we do want it to work so bad. Or maybe the idea of an organic and vegan water based nail polish is still too good to be true. While it probably deserves a lower score, Hammie thinks that the pros still outweigh the cons and gives Suncoat Sienna:
What's your experience with water based nail polish? Do you ever think about the possible harmful effects of nail polish (inhalation of chemical fumes, among other things)? What would you score Suncoat Sienna?
