FingerPaints Once in a Wild Collection Swatches & Review

I may not be ready for fall weather, I mean we’ve barely had a summer in Cleveland, but I AM ready for fall sparkle on my nails. The FingerPaints Once in a Wild collection blends three existing crystallized shades with three new micro-glitters. It’s apropos that I’m posting this on a Thursday because the glitters feel like a throwback, in a good way. They’re reminiscent of the top-coat-eating fine glitters that made me fall in love with sparkle polish years ago.

Formula & Application

FingerPaints nail polish is 5-Free (Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP, Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor) and produced exclusively for Sally Beauty. The FingerPaints bottle is unique in that it’s kind of an oblong shape with a long, slender, slightly taped cap.

FingerPaints revamped their polish line last year, including the brush. The bottle now contains a long, flat, wide brush with flexible bristles that easily fans out without putting too much pressure on the nail.

The three existing shades have a crystallized glass-fleck style finish and dry super smooth and glossy on their own. Two have semi-sheer jelly bases that require two coats, while Titian Tint is a ONE-COAT metallic. The three new shades have smooth pigmented bases packed with fine micro-glitter. Each one feels a little thick during application so use very thin coats to avoid polishing build-up at the tips. I used two very thin coats for full coverage.

I mentioned above that the glitters eat top coat, so I apply a coat of Gelous as spackle, between the polish and top coat. Doing so gives a super sparkly finish with just a tiny bit of texture. Granted, I used Out the Door instead of a thicker top coat like, Seche, which would probably dry perfectly smooth.

FingerPaints Once in a Wild Swatches

FingerPaints Amazon Sky is a cross between royal blue and navy and packed with fine blue and silver micro-glitter. I own nothing like this and I am totally smitten! It is a little darker, with better coverage, than Zoya Dream and not as deep or greyed as China Glaze Midnight Mission. And you could totally wear it as a texture by skipping top coat.

FingerPaints Amethyst Accent is a red grape crystallized shimmer. When comparing this to other shades, I feel like I’m part of that scene in The Devil Wears Prada when they’re trying to choose nearly identical belts and the red-head says, “they’re so different.” It sounds totally crazy to say that the four colors below are not all the same.

Can I see slight differences, for sure, but you know anyone outside of our nail polish world would laugh at the thought, just like Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs. Formula X Equinox is the only one that is decidedly lighter, but not enough to need both.

FingerPaints Exotic Emerald is a blackened emerald green micro-glitter. It leans more blue than green, so it’s not a Christmas-y green. It’s not quite as dark or blue as Sally Hansen Insta-Dri In A Flurry, but nowhere near as bright or green as China Glaze Emerald Sparkle.

FingerPaints Once in a Wild is a mauve micro-glitter. It’s really unique in that it has a smoky purple base offset by bright pink and silver glitter. Morgan Taylor Who’s That Girl has a more greyed, duo-chrome feel, while China Glaze Put a Bow on It is a more vibrant fuchsia.

FingerPaints Titian Tint is a rosy burnished gold foil metallic. Like I said, it’s a one-coat wonder and really smooth. It’s not quite a true rose gold, it has more sandy tones than that. You can really see that difference next to Orly Rage, a pale rose gold, and China Glaze Meet Me at the Mirage, a deeper rose gold. JulieG Liquid Metal is very close in color, just a bit brighter.

FingerPaints Vermillion $ Painting is a fiery red jelly with gold flecks. It rides the line between red and orange, not belonging completely on either side. You can really see that in my comparison below. OPI Friar Friar Pants on Fire has an orange-red, and China Glaze Riveting is a coppery orange and Vermillion fits perfectly between then.

Bottom Line: All three new glitters are beautiful, though I wish Exotic Emerald was a bit brighter. I can creep in on “almost black” territory. Though I would call the other two “musts.” If you don’t have any of the shades I compared Amethyst Accent to, then you need to get on board. I normally don’t find warmer purples flattering, but I make a huge exception for this shade.

The FingerPaints Once in a Wild collection is available for a limited time, through August, at Sally Beauty stores and online at SallyBeauty.com. FingerPaints is exclusive to Sally Beauty and retails for $5.49, but they go on sale a lot, so be on the lookout for deals.

Thoughts on this collection? Which ones do you plan to pick up? Are you with me on loving fine micro-glitters?

Disclosure: Product samples were provided by reps for FingerPaints. Affiliate links appear in this post. When you purchase through an affiliate link, you help support this site. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.