ALU’s 365 of Untrieds – Nails Inc Porchester Square & Electric Lane Holographic Top Coat
365 of Untrieds is my personal challenge to weed through the polishes in the ALU stash that I’ve been wanting to try but just haven’t gotten around to.
Given my love for all things sparkly I couldn’t resist popping open Nails Inc Crystal Colour in Porchester Square. I’m sure there are some who feel an embellished cap is a waste of money but I love having bottles I’m proud to display. It’s one of the reasons I adore the shape of Lippmann’s bottle. The design is so high end and vanity table worthy that you just want to show it off. Since I’m leaving for Cosmoprof Saturday morning I’m already in Vegas mode so I blinged out Porchester Square with Nails Inc Electric Lane Holographic Top Coat. Check it out! |
Formula & Application: The Nails Inc formula varies in terms of ingredients. Porchester Square is 3-Free and Electric Lane is 4-Free (including formaldehyde resin) and free of camphor, which can be an irritant. The round glass bottles are topped with a thick, round, smooth cap of the same width. The brush is round and pretty thick with bristles that give some resistance when you try to fan it out.
Porchester Square is thick with pigment but it spreads out easily on the nail and is self leveling, giving great coverage in two coats. Electric Lane contains holographic glitter so it dries with a bit of texture. I used one coat of the Kensington Caviar Top Coat and it wasn’t perfectly glassy so I added second coat. I’m sure a thicker top coat would only require one layer.
Nails Inc Porchester Square is a pale mushroom taupe creme. It’s a cool toned neutral, like a lighter version of the “greige” hue that has been so big the past couple years.
Adding a coat of Electric Lane Holographic Top Coat is like sprinkling the surface with tiny multi-colored twinkle lights and the best part is, the glitter shows up in most lighting. This combo is what I hoped the glitter in Butter London All Hail McQueen The Queen would look like. The particles are “scattered” so they don’t create a prismatic or “linear” pattern on the nail. The particles are much larger than China Glaze Wireless but smaller than OPI Paris Couture For Sure, two popular holographic top coats.
Bottom Line: I have quite a stash of these “new neutrals” but very few of them offer the coverage and ease of application of Porchester Square. Even if it wasn’t in special packaging I would want this shade. I can’t even begin to describe how full of win Electric Lane is. It’s not a super holo so it’s a great way to amp up an everyday color without going over the top. The fact that you can see the sparkles indoors in poor lighting makes it even better.
365 of Untrieds Stash/Share Verdict: You can’t hear it but I’m chanting “STASH STASH STASH” at home.
Nails Inc Crystal Colour Porchester Square and Electric Lane are available exclusively in the US at select Sephora stores (see full list) and online at Sephora.com. Nails Inc nail polishes retail for $9.50/ea for a .33oz bottle. The Crystal Colour polishes retail for $19.50/ea & the Electric Lane Holographic Top Coat retails for $10/ea.
Thoughts on Porchester Square? Do you like it better with or without Electric Lane? Will you pay more for an embellished bottle? What is your favorite holographic top coat?
Also, if you have any questions you want me to ask your favorite nail brands at Cosmoprof, hop on over to the ALU Facebook Page and leave a comment.
Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for Nails Inc. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
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How does Porchester Square compare to Rescue Beauty Lounge’s Grunge (one of my favorites)?
In my opinion Grunge is actually quite alot darker than Porchester Square and leans much more to the tan side of taupe while Porchester Square is more toward the lighter grey side of taupe a la Deborah Lippmann Waking Up in Vegas and Fashion.
Oh I absolutly love Nails Inc’s polishes. They’re probably one of my favourite brands ever. Is the colour in Porchester Square similiar to RBL’s Grunge, Butter London’s Yummy mummy (although both of them contain shimmers) or Nfu-Oh’s 406?
The price of the Crystal Colour Polish is ridiculous, and probably all because of the (fake) blinged-out cap! Porchester Square is a lovely colour but at that price, I’d rather buy another Chanel polish.
You can always get Porchester Square without the crystal cap.
I’m so glad Nails Inc has gone over to you guys in the US! It’s my favourite brand, I’m in the UK, I think their colours are unique and the quality of the polish is fabulous! I love the glitter top coat, we don’t have that yet! The prices are great too, we pay
Love this look! I can’t wait to try Nails Inc polishes.
I am definitely buying Electric Lane!
Gorgeous colours!
So pretty! (With and without the topcoat) And I would definitely pay a bit more for the bling and then display it somewhere. Have an awesome time at Cosmoprof!
Electric Lane reminds me of $OPI’s “Celibacy Club” from the Glee collection. Just the right amount of pizazz.
The new nail section at my Sephora is amazing! They didn’t have that lovely blurple that you reviewed though
I revisited your review of the Nails Inc topcoat and plan on getting it soon. Have fun in Vegas… bring back lots of goodies!
Wow this is so beautiful! Enjoy your trip
LOVE THESE! I forsee myself going bankrupt in the very near future as soon as I get my Sephora account fixed so I can start ordering online again.
This is all kinds of FANTASTIC!!!! Love the blinged-out bottle! Cannot wait to try Nails Inc. – especially the top coat!
so pretty!!!
I got a few Nails Inc. polishes the last time I was in the UK and while I liked the colors and quality of the polish, I really had a hard time working with their brushes. The brushes I got were kind of floppy and splayed, not the kind of brush I’d expect from a fairly upmarket brand (keeping in mind they cost about $17 in the UK). Were my brushes flukes, or are they all this bad?
I really like this look! I just may have to check out Nails Inc next time at Sephora! =)
Electric Lane is SO PRETTY but not on the Sephora website anywhere.
I’ve checked multiple times.
I’ve looked for Electric Lane on the Sephora website as well. There’s an Electric Avenue – is that it? (I LOVE this look!)
Kathy, I thought that mught be the case but Electric Avenue is silver IIRC :o)
Nice colors! how does Electric Lane compares to Fairy Dust?
Electric Lane kinda reminds me of China Glaze Fairy Dust and Porchester Square looks a bit like Rimmel London’s Steel Grey, but lighter.
How funny to see this post because I just did a very similar pedicure with OPI Bare it in Trafalgar Square and some Cover Girl glitter topcoat that I found in my stash and didn’t even know I had because I must have bought it years ago. (I have a lot of old polishes.) AND I am in LOVE with the look of the two together! So pretty!
The final look here with both reminds me of the 2 lightest shades in the Nubar collection called Prisms. While I think the bling on the cap is cute, I don’t leave my polish bottles out (no sun, keep them in the dark), who is going to see it? I also think it would distract me when putting it on, looking at it and not my mani/pedi work – also kind of hard to hold vs. a smooth surface end of a brush. Novelty is fun, but in the end, it’s function and how the formula works for me. I will play with this brand when i finally am in a Seph store that has them (which might be some time before the smaller ones I see have this line). $17 is pricy but I pay that for an occasional Deb Lippmann. I would put this brand in that same pocket book class as in try it for the formula, pick a shade or 2 that I think is fun. I don’t buy the $1.99 brands because I end up tossing them – they chip, don’t have the depth of glow/shine or something I want. My comfort price point however is around China Glaze and OPI in that range because I can get the most shades if I stay in that range and yet still have good formula (most of the time). I do like holo overcoats. They help a nothing base coat just like you did here. But than all my fav overlays do that. I just helped a friend out with an overlay pick for her OPI Steady as She Rose which looked beige/grege/blaugh on her and she wanted to take it right off. We ammed it up with Kisses & Bisses by Essie and played with OPI I Juggle Men and made it work for her. But now thinking, I should have pulled out my Fairy dust or Wireless to play with as well too.
I ordered the two 4-packs of Nails Inc and Piccadilly Circus…I also wanted Electric Lane but didn’t see it. Electric Avenue description says it’s clear with chunky silver glitter. Looking forward to trying this brand!
OMG – I am in LOVE with these colors. Love them together and I love Porchester Square alone. I like them together best, but wearing PS alone would be great for work.
I will definitely check them out and probably buy them both. I really love “greige” polish on other people but have not found one that looks good with my light, cool-toned skin. I think a lighter color is probably what I need
I love the crystal cap.
I’d stash both, too.
These look so pretty, I love the packaging cant wait to give them a try!
After reading your post I went directly to the sephora website to see all the colors they had because I like desperately need to have that holo topcoat like yesterday… But sephora didn’t have it, they had glitters and the crackle/shatters/whatever they are called but no holo
maybe I missed it but do you know where I could find this polish??? Please and thank you 
I don’t know why it’s not on the Sephora website. That’s odd. Though a reader commented saying that she was able to buy Electric Lane at an actual Sephora store. Hmmm
I really these the way these polishes look and am excited they are now selling them at Sephora! Awesome!
Wow, Porchester Square looks exactly like those nude-colored high heels all of the celebrities have been wearing!
I can’t find electric lane on the UK website or Sephoras. I ordered electric avenue and it is DEF not the electric avenue. Could it have been renamed? or yet to be released?? HELP! I love this color and cant find it!!
I know a reader commented that she found it in stores. I don’t know why it’s not up on the website. I’ll see what I can find out.
Thank you!! I have to have it!!!! Btw, appreciate the heads up on Nails Inc being available stateside through Sephora
I’ve not seen Electric Lane on UK sites either and it is definitely different to Electric Ave, which is a straightforward silver glitter polish.
If you can’t find Electric Lane, I’d suggest INM Holographic Top Coat in Silver which is a dead-on dupe for it (and a bit cheaper), though it is not big-3 free for those that care