Holy Moly, TonyMoly! Out of This World Galaxy Glitters
I know a lot of you requested reviews of the Fall collections and I’m working on them, I promise, but I could not wait to tell you about these incredible glitter polishes from TONYMOLY.
A few weeks ago I saw a shot of a gorgeous green glitter go by on my Tumblr dashboard and it was labeled as Tony Moly Galaxy. A little eBay search brought me to these treasures from the South Korean brand TONYMOLY, which means “a place to put style into packaging.” I couldn’t resist those little glitter bombs so I ordered a few to try out and WOW are they glitztastic. |
Formula & Application: I have no clue about the ingredients in TONYMOLY nail polish except that their website claims that it, “does not contain harmful ingredients, so it is safe to use!” Take that as you will. I suspect that means it’s 3-Free but you never know. The round 10ml bottles remind me of Nails Inc with a more stylized cap that has the brand name embossed in it.
The round brushes are pretty average in length and width with flexible bristles that put down a lot of product without much effort or dragging.
All three glitters have semi-opaque bases that allow you to achieve full coverage in two coats. They dry with a lot of texture so to say they are masters at the art of top coat suckage would be an understatement. They drink up thick top coats like Seche Vite, which I rarely use, so be prepared to use at least two layers of top coat. I applied a coat of Gelous to act as spackle underneath Out The Door top coat and still ended up with some bumpiness.
Tonymoly GT04, aka Neptune, is a lush verdant green glitter that has a smoky forest base packed with a range of gold and green micro-glitters and larger green sequins. Something about this polish reminds me of these little dolls I had a child called Glitter Girls. Each one came in a different jewel-toned lamé gown and there was one called Jade that came to mind when I saw Neptune. Speaking of Glitter Girls, anyone remember Glamour Gals? I was obsessed with them because the line included a cruise ship!
Tonymoly GT02, aka Earth, has a blue tinged graphite base with light blue and grey micro-glitter and larger pink hexagonal glitter, though the pieces aren’t as large as the ones in Neptune and Jupiter. Can’t you just imagine this as the asphalt in a sparkly world like Oz. Like maybe in the seedy back alleys or industrial downtown.
Tonymoly GT05, aka Jupiter, is a bright purple glitter with flecks of blue, purple, pink and red running throughout. The larger blue sequins and smaller purple hexagonal glitter really are the stars of this show which the pink and red particles add depth.
Bottom Line: Earth and Neptune are both phenomenal colors. I love the vibrancy of Neptune and the unique, gritty charm of Earth. Though for some reason Jupiter comes off as if it’s trying too hard. Like it’s too much glitter or a bit immature or something. I wanted to love it but, on my nails, it felt like overkill. Per usual, be prepared for a messy removal no matter which method you choose (foil, felt, etc). It’s the nature of glitters. My glitter removal tip – add a layer of top coat or clear polish prior to removing. It will help soften the layers beneath and speed up the process.
I found Tonymoly Galaxy glitter nail polishes on eBay. HSC Imports is the seller I purchased from. The nail polishes retail for $9.99/ea for a 10ml bottle with free shipping to the US. Mine arrived in a little over a week.
Have you heard of or tried TONYMOLY nail polishes before? Thoughts on the Galaxy line polishes? Do you plan to pick any of these up? If you have experience with other lines from the brand, what are your “must have” shades?
Disclosure: I purchased these nail polishes. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
Lisa N.
Ms Meatballhead
Birdie
Spa pediccure chairs
My boyfriend is Korean, and he goes to South Korea about once a year with his mom. At some point I’ll get to go, and I know I’ll be in BIG trouble if polishes like these are everywhere! Earth and Jupiter are gorgeous!
OMG Claire, you are in trouble….the Nfu Oh factory is there and you can shop at it. FUN.
Korea ia FILLED with lots of neat polishe brands. The good news is- they are mostly inexpensive. They do have their “high end” brands as we do, but they also have TONS and TONS of gorgeous DS brands….
Im military and have friends that are stationed there and have had lots of polish sent to me. Super fun.
Ive even had a few friends just go out and get me a few bottles with no input from me….and even just their random grabbing of colors I probably wouldnt have chosen for myself…was fun and interesting….nice colors, finishes, bottle shapes.
Id say even with just a few extra dollars set aside as an NP budget…you will have a ball.
good lord, man! I need these, especially the first two!
My thoughts exactly, right down to the “good lord, man!” ;D
All 3 of these colours are awesome!!!
I kind of like Jupiter and it’s glittery overkill.
Wow! Gorgeous colors. I’m with you–I like Neptune and Earth best, and I am usually drawn to purples. They are really all 3 quite spectacular, though.
I’d take a whole universe of these polishes. Gorgeous!
ohmygawd they are all gorgeous!!! O.O
so pretty!
OH. MAH. GAH. Must have!!!
Never seen/heard of these… they’re amazing! Super neeed.
I haven’t heard of TonyMoley before today. These glitters look stunning!
Ooooh…i want Earth!!
these are really nice
good to see a new brand 
I wouldn’t know to say which is more beautiful between them… I’m speechless. I always say a lot of useless things, but this time I’m with no words. Amazing.
“Masters at the art of top coat suckage” is an excellent phrase.
These colors are fab but the texture is meh.
Love these polishes and thanks for bringing up Glamour Gals! They were like mini-Barbies. I loved them AND I had the cruise ship! Then my mom went and sold them all at a garage sale
I think my mom still has my cruise ship. She packed up all my old toys, including my Barbie and Cabbage Patch Kids, and put them in the attic at her house. I keep meaning to go over and dig through it all. She has all my Sweet Valley High books as well.
All 3 are smokin’– I’d be most likely to wear the green! Fantastic, love ‘em!
I have never ever heard of them, but these are sick. Love them!!
I just ordered Earth off of eBay!
How did you specify which polishes you wanted to the seller?
Send them a message through ebay.
From my very rusty Korean and from the image on the eBay seller’s page, this is a 4-Free product.
These are soooo gorgeous. I think I really like the Jupiter one even though it’s kind of something you’d see on a 10-year old. lol. I may have to crack down and get these.
Don’t quote me on that though! No toluene, no formaldehyde, no phthalates, no phenol, no bisphenol A, etc.
I’m in Singapore, where there are a couple of Tony Moly beauty stores. I’ve only tried a metallic shimmery purple before. I found it to be of higher quality than the lacquers from other South Korean brands like Skin Food and The Face Shop. Where East Asian nail polish is concerned, I tend to prefer the Japanese brands like Estessimo TINS and Dear Laura.
Omg they have these in singapore!?! Could you list me a few places please I’d really appreciate it thanks!
*drools* These. Are. Gorgeous.
that’s so funny! i live in seoul and i’ve actually looked at the tonymoly glitter polishes and wondered if they would be something you’d like! i never thought you’d actually review any, though!
now that i’ve read your glitter removal tip, i might have to go buy neptune now. (love glitter, HATE the removal process.) thanks!
Thanks for the removal tip. I’m wearing a glitter polish right now and I’m already dreading the removal. Good thing I have this one top coat which I actually wanted to throw away. Now it has a new purpose.
Haha…same here on the crappy top coat that now has a new purpose! I knew it would come in handy for something someday.
These are really beautiful, i loved the 3 colors! And yes i plan to pick all of these up
I know of the Tony Moly brand since I am South Korean, but I only knew about their skincare (which they’re most known for), but I never knew about their polishes! They’re fabulous! And free shipping too! That’s such a plus!
Another makeup brand that has great nail polishes is the Face Shop! They’re really good! ?
Love these. Yet another global brand that is not in the US – boo hoo – I need to develop more global friends who are lacquer heads!
These are amazing !!!! Definitely checking it out !!!
I’ve never heard of this brand before, but they look great. I think Jupiter is my favorite, though I tend to buy a lot of glitters like this, then rarely wear them.
I think I had one or two Glamour Gals, but I definitely missed out on the cruise ship!
I’m Korean and never knew there’s such a wonderful glitters at Tonymoly*.*
I must get this whole collection!
They are usually $2~5 each in Korea and basically all limited collection from Tonymoly, MISSHA, Face shop etc(they’re all Korean cheap cosmetic brand like drugstore cosmetics)except some basic colours.
I’m not sure about Tonymoly’s 3free but they have nice colour range. My favourite is ‘sad green’.
I recommend ‘innisfree’, it’s 4free(3+dehp), easy application and nice colours!
okay, those Innisfree multicolor glitters are to die for! Might get one of those now and then splurge on the Deborah Lippman glitters later.
I partially blame Michelle and her fabulous blog for my new addiction to glitters. I guess it was only a matter of time before I caught the bug though
Oh my, these look absolutely stunning! My fav is Earth. ?
I’m waiting for these in the mail! Already losing patience
they’re gorrrrgeous.
Man. I’m going to have to look into these!
AWESOMESAUCE!!!!
Wow, these are some gorgeous glitters! I was hoping for more from Jupiter but Neptune is quite pretty and Earth is blowing my socks off!
I’ve only seen these on Lizard Lady’s blog. They’re awesome!
Great removal tip. I did it once one I didn’t have polish remover with me. It wasn’t great, but it helped.
So pretty! Thank you for the swatches!
I think Earth is my favorite!
I just bought tony moly snake skin polish a few weeks ago. It gives a crackled effect that looks like snake skin
It kinda spoils when I apply a top coat though… The pattern almost dissapears. But without top coat it’s really great! The brush – that’s another story. But if you handle with care, it works.
I will def try these glitters! L
My sister taught in Korea last year and I went to visit her and bought a ton of nail polish from Etude House, Face Shop and Skin Food, but none from Tony Moly though. The polishes were like $2 each and the store gives you a free box of cotton pads for nail polish removal.
Nice!
Just wondering, why dont you like SV?
I havent tried too many QD TCs thats why I ask. I just sort of tried SV one day years ago….and stuck with it. I do like Nubar Diamant….and have a bottle but have only used it when I ran out of SV lol.
Is there something out there that is better?
What others do you recommend and, why?
thanks
Deborah
I’m not a fan of Seche because it thickens so fast and I hate messing with the thinner. Plus it tends to shrink on the nail making it look like you have tip wear the next day. I prefer thin QD top coats like Sally Hansen Insta Dri, Prolana Quick & Slick, Deborah Lippmann Addicted To Speed and INM Out The Door.
Lovely! Can’t wait to get my hands on these!
Oooh just found these on Gmarket for about $4.00. Def picking up a couple in my next order!
http://english.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_goods/goods.asp?goodscode=214399402