Max Factor Fantasy Fire Max Effect Nail Polish Review Swatches

Max Factor Fantasy Fire Max Effect Nail Polish (Rs 305 for 4.5ml ) available from Nykaa.com Once I started following nail polish blogs, I kept coming across the name Clarins 230, also dubbed as “unicorn pee” being one of the most sought after and talked about nail polishes amongst nailphiles the world over.  Clarins 230 is now discontinued and bottles are available on eBay ranging from US $ 100 going all the way up to US $250.  Yes, I did get the number correct – you can Google “Clarins 230” to learn more about this polish.

Do I posses this? No! Can I afford to? NO!! That’s where Max Factor fantasy fire comes in, it is supposed to be a pretty close dupe of the elusive Unicorn pee.  Since I don’t have both, it’s obvious, I cannot do a comparison post, however there are a lot of bloggers out there, who have already done this.  Max Factor Fantasy Fire comes pretty close based on the images I have seen.  Clarins 230 is supposed to have more sparkle in the colour and a greater intensity of red and green shimmer, but we’ll just have to take someone’s word for it.

Shade – In the bottle Max Factor Fantasy Fire looks very dark,  however it is extremely sheer.  It is a purple jelly base with a truckload of red shimmer particles.  The shimmer particles change colour from burgundy red to toxic green as you move your hand in the light.  This morphing of color is what has lead this to be one of the sought after dupes available today.

You will not be able to achieve opacity by adding layers of polish, it is that sheer.  You need to layer this over a base polish, preferably black or royal blue, or deep purple.  I have swatched over black, white and on its own to give you an idea of the actual shade of the polish.

Do not go by the swatch that is put up on nykaa though, it looks dark and ugly.  I would never had bought this, had it not been for the blogs describing this particular dupe. Texture and Formula – Being a jelly, Max Factor Fantasy Fire one flows very easily.  It is extremely easy to apply and is self leveling.  Being a mini, the bottle is rather small though and so is the brush.  The brush is even small compared to other minis, such as Essie or Urban Decay.

Drying time is normal to slightly high.  All jellies do take a little longer to dry than a crème.  All this is unimportant however, since people are buying this only for the similarity to the original

Staying Power – I have normally worn Max Factor Fantasy Fire with top coat to enhance the effect of the multichrome.  It lasts on me for about 3 to 5 days, depending on how much wear I subject my fingers to.

Overall thoughts

I’m rather practical and I don’t think I would ever dish out over a hundred dollars for any bottle of polish.  Having said that, Max Factor Fantasy Fire is not cheap at Rs 305 for a 4.5 ml. bottle.  But I do love the colour and the impact when I wear this.  I may just pick up a back up of this while it’s freely available on nykaa.

Rating:  What can I say 5/5

*Written By Dela