Orly Plastix Satin Finish Nail Polish Swatches & Review
“Gretchen, stop trying to make FETCH happen! It’s not going to happen!” – Regina George leader of “The Plastics” in Mean Girls.
For the past year now nail polish brands have been trying to “make fetch happen” with a seemingly never ending barrage of matte nail polishes. My lazy, always-running-late self loves mattes for their quick dry time and I know I’m not alone but the detractors seem to be in the majority. I get it. The wear issues and flat wall paint finish aren’t exactly selling points and most certainly deal breakers for a lot of you.
Enter Orly’s twist on the game, the Plastix Collection, a set of four satin lacquers. Like their Nails For Males and now discontinued Matte Top Coat these polishes dry with a semi-gloss “plastic” finish. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this type of finish but it hasn’t come in fun colors until now. The Fall runways featured lots of satin nails as well which is why I’m declaring Satin is the new Matte.
Formula and Application – Just like the matte polishes these are meant to be worn without top coat. There was no warning about using a base coat so I suggest doing so. Just wait until a few minutes for the base to dry to avoid any unevenness in application. A tacky base coat like Orly Bonder or CND Stickey would be my preference.
The formula on these is thin and flows well. It has a bit of a squishy, jelly texture similar to Orly Charged Up. The pigmentation is better with the purple and teal shades requiring only two coats while the red and orange look best with three coats.
Viridian Vinyl is a cool blue-green teal that is very similar in color to Sally Hansen Fairy Teal. Since this is a Fall collection I see this as being great transition from the turquoise hues that have been so dominant this season.
I ended up wearing Viridian Vinyl for five days because I was so smitten with the color. The cashmere like finish feels both retro and futuristic at the same time, kind of like how I think of The Jetsons. I wore the polish with a base coat of CND Stickey and as you can see, after five days of showers, hand washing and various other chores it’s very well intact though the finish has changed some. Lotion and water will do that.
Purple Pleather actually looks a lot like Charged Up when you apply it. Of course when it dries it tells a completely different story but it still has that cool blue-based purple hue to it. Though I have to say the word pleather does not bring up positive images though I get the whole alliterative angle.
Old School Orange is pretty straight up. We’re talking true Sunkist orange. It’s the perfect blend of red and yellow with no undertones of either in the final mix.
Retro Red is more of a bright strawberry pink than it appears below. It looks more cherry in my pic and I just couldn’t get it to look quite right. It’s got the look of red leather interior in a 50′s Corvette Convertible that’s been weathered by the sun.
Bottom Line: The satin finish is a perfect middle ground for those who are turned off by mattes but want to switch up their nail game. A satin finish top coat would work as well though they tend to lighten the base color. Viridian Vinyl gets my pick for “must-have” in this group, shocker I know, with a surprising honorable mention for Retro Red. There’s just something about that plastic red look that makes me think of Grease and old school diners. You know Rizzo totally would have rocked it in her day.
The Orly Plastix Collection launches in July 2010. Orly polishes can be found in salons and stores including Sally Beauty and ULTA and online at OrlyBeauty.com and Head2ToeBeauty.com.
Are you feeling the satin finish? Will this make the matte haters cave? Are you standing your glossy finish ground? Do you like seeing more “fun” colors in a non-traditional finish?
Disclosure: Product samples were furnished by Orly. For more information view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
thanks so much for this review.. i have been eyeing these since i first saw the teaser photos on other blogs. Purple pleather seems like the perfect new “blurple” and i would love to have Retro Red for a pretty summer pedi!
I bought these when I saw them at Ulta, but I’ve been waiting to see swatches before I crack open the bottle! Retro Red looks great, but I’m not sure about the others.
Most Ulta’s are already carrying them. I got all the colors from there a couple weeks ago =)
My Ulta has had these out since the beginning of June. I wonder if they got the wrong release date or something? I have been debating on getting these. I am not a big fan of the matte finish though. I am totally digging Viridian Vinyl though. I might have to pick that gem up.
Thanks for the lovely review!!!!!
Oh excellent, thanks for letting me know. I have a couple ULTA’s here but they are so inconvenient to get to. The official launch date from the brand is July. They must have shipped out early. I wonder when Sally’s will get them
I love the red & orange <3
I was wondering if you had any problems with Viridian Vinyl staining at all. I used Fairy Teal the other weekend, had it on for less then 24 hours with a base coat under and it stained my nails pretty bad. It made me very sad because I love the colour!
It didn’t stain my nails at all with a base coat though I was in a hurry removing it and got a bit on my skin and that did stain. But that happens to me with almost every blue/green. But my actually nails were fine. I’m sorry Fairy Teal got through. I know that one of the blue OPI Diamond Series polishes (Glamour?) is notorious for that and people wear two layers of base coat with it.
I’m “standing my glossy finish ground.”
Although not for me, I have to say Retro Red totally works and I would like it on other people.
Eh, I am just not feeling them. I want my nails shiny.
These look great. I love matte finishes and if the satin finish provides great wear plus a non-glossy finish I’m all for it. Thanks for showing us these. Looking forward to when it actually hits a store near me.
I usually go for glossy over matte or satin, but I might just have to pick up Retro Red – maybe it’ll make me change my mind.
Same here! I really like Retro Red, maybe I can get over my need for a glossy top coat with it.
I’m in the shiny camp too, but I love that they are doing something new. The only one that interests me though is the red.
I thought they would be more ‘plastic-y’ I think of plastic being more shiny, like the side of a brand new Lego brick!
My reaction to these polishes was pretty much my reaction to all matte and matte-like finishes: there’s nothing wrong with that polish that a good shiny top coat wouldn’t fix :).
love them! i will keep my eyes out for these!
they look like those nail patch tabs you stick on nails.
I am generally anti-matte but I like these!!
Thanks for the swatches!!
I think I’ll be sitting this round out though.
I like either flat matte or shiny goodness.
Nothing in between…although I do love the color of Viridian Vinyl.
Honestly, these just aren’t doing anything for me…I was never really into the matte trend anyway, but it’s nice to see brands breaking out into all sorts of matte colors.
And VV reminded me of the Jetsons before you said anything…how weird haha!
I love them! They all look great, I am almost never drawn to red or pink polishes but that one is special!
I love these! I don’t normally go for reds, but Retro Red is gorgeous. I might have to start stalking my Sally’s. We don’t have an Ulta in Columbus, so I just have to hope that my Sally’s actually gets these (they don’t always get the special collections for some reason).
I love the finish- do they do a black as well or is there another company that does a black polish in the same finish?
I kind of love these! I don’t like matte finishes at all, but I’m digging these satin finishes! And I love the colors. These may be on my “to buy” list!
I really like the look, it’s different. I like the teal one, but I really love the red one. I might have to go by Sally’s or Ulta and pick them up.Plus these polishes look like they will last a bit longer then the matte ones. Could you do a comparison test on which one lasts better matte or the plastic look? Love the review.
I loved your description of the red. You were very poetic about it. It makes me want to buy a bottle and then a corvette.
Also, is there anywhere to order these online if they’re out already? That red is growing on me
I really like all of these, even the orange one. =)
These remind me of Claire’s Mood polishes. The two I have are satin finish like these Orlys.
Aw I’m kinda disappointed with these. I guess I should have known there were not many possible finishes achievable on a nail polish, but when I read their description of the new collection I was expecting some sort of groundbreaking new finish, not just a good old satin. Satin always feels like a matte that didn’t make it. The colors are very pretty though, but nothing we haven’t seen before.
Btw, is it me or ever since you created your purple RBL a lot of companies are coming up with purples very similar to yours?
Wow, I love all four of these
Your swatch for Viridian Vinyl looks really green on my monitor. I’ve worn this and it’s just not that green. It’s more of aqua-turquoise blend.
I waaaaaaaant Retro Red. It’s beautiful.
Ooooh. I hate straight up matte polish, but these are FANTASTIC.
I’m pretty new to the blog. I must say, I don’t know how I feel about the satin finish. I really don’t know how I feel about the matte finish ones.
I think I’d like to find a satin finish or matte finish mini to try first so that I wouldn’t be stuck with a big bottle of polish that I never use.
For example I saw the Essie’s Mint Candy Apple on display and thought it would look great. Found out it was extremely popular.
On me I felt like a walking advertisement for Martha Stewart Cookware. I just wasn’t diggin’ it.
Sara maybe you should try buying a satin finish top coat so you can experiment with your current polishes. Orly Nails for Males, Barielle Matte-inee and CND Super Matte are all satin finish top coats. You should be able to find the Orly product at Sally Beauty Supply.
I’d love to see a mini set of the satin or matte polishes. Hopefully that will be next from one of the big brands.
Sara: My Sally’s is really small, so they don’t carry the specials either, but I did ask them to get me one from a nearby store. Sometimes they can do that.
This is an awesome collection!
I’m a shiney girl too but I love the retro red. I hope my sallys gets them.
Wow! these are cool!
@ Stephanie Yes, a black would really rock!
I’ll probably get one just to try out. I am leaning towards the purple.
Actually, the polishes are in Ulta right now. They have been there for about a week or two. I am glad you did a blog on them. The manager of the Ulta had no clue about them.
I absolutely love the matte and satin finishes. I’ll have to grab Viridian Vinyl and Purple Pleather. They’re both totally my sort of colors.
The colors are far from unique and the finish is begging for some shine or for some more matte – no, these are not for me.
ohh I like these!
Love the colours especially the Old School Orange
I think I’ll get Viridian Vinyl and Old School Orange. I’m really not into the matte trend, but these look cool.
I’m one of the matte finish “haters”… and I hate this polish too.
Sorry, but I am a die-hard glossy finish lover all the way!
So thid doesn;t have much to do witht eh actual polishes in the post, but as a recent college graduate, I have to say that I really enjoyed this post because of the “intro” and the clever tie-in to Mean Girls. Maybe my spanish professors drilled me a little too hard when it comes to writing papers, but I sat here reading this and thought to myself, “How clever! A post about plastics that opens with a quote (and explanation) of fetch, BY a plastic!” Good grief.
Thanks for making my day!
I have some mattes, but they really aren’t my thing. I think I’ll try these though… they’re a little different and I like that.
I love the look, but none of the colors speek to me…
Hey thanks for swatching these! I’m a matte lover but i’m not sure i’ll love a “satin” finish-it’s kind of here nor there. I’m game for anything so I’ll still try it! (prob the red and green) Any word on their next collection? I’m REALLY excited for those!!
Viridian Vinyl is very pretty. Too bad Orly is hard to find here.
sorry, but i think the finish is less than attractive… there’s nothing like a shiny nail!!
The red and the purple one looks lovley!
I LOVE Orly polish! If you use their bonder first, then the polish and Revlons top coat it lasts for days without chipping!
Purple Pleather is my pick, I love the color and the name!
These have been in my Ulta local stores for 3 or more weeks in Oklahoma and many folks at the nail board have also found them at Ulta.
I just bought some Orly for the first time, and it lasted forever! I was really happy, and they have some great fun colors.
LOOOOOVVVVVE these!!! I actually love Mattes and Suedes, despite the fact that they last for 5 minutes. These look amazing, I’ll probably buy at least 3 of them!
I went to Ulta today for the first time after I heard they have this collection already, I was amazed! I got the Viridian Vinyl which I was looking for based solely on this post, and it does not disappoint, I love it! Thanks for posting!
I like the satin! It’s perfect for novices like me who can’t get the matte or shiny finishes to look good.
I’ll be getting the purple one for sure.
I like Vintage Vinyl the best.
i want all of them except for the teal color because i dont like teals much. the bad thing is, i dont know where to get them! =O
Honest, whats wrong with gloss? I just donnt get these mattes and satins. They dont look right to me… To each her own i suppose.
I bought Retro Red an hour ago and am applying it now =] I normally try not to buy polishes at regular price, but made an exception to try one of these! Now fingers crossed I don’t screw it up.
i bought purple the other say, as sally had one left – it applies WIERD… also, unlike the mattes i have, even if it looks dry – it’s not…. that said, I like it. Wish I had found the teal though
love matte colors!! I saw your Swatches and bought the hole collection!!!
I bought Retro Red, and I honestly hate it. It seemed to never fully dry, even after a week, and every time my hands come into contact with an odd substance (such as when I put sunscreen on my kids), my nails turned into a sticky mess, and some of the polish would come off.
If I had kept my receipt, I would be returning it…
I get a mani pedi with Purple Pleather three weeks ago, and it is still on my toes with very little chipping. I love the color, but it was definitely a little too matte for me, and I used a top coat to take the shine up a notch. I was happy with the result.