Mirror, mirror, on the wall - Layla Metal Chrome, Revlon LilyChrome, Maybelline Mirror Image

My Layla order that I did through Cathy arrived, which means it's time to play with nail polishes!

[Index finger: Revlon LilyChrome
Other fingers: Layla Metal Chrome]

I first started with a comparison between an oldie, Revlon LilyChrome, compared to Layla's Mirror Effect Metal Chrome. It's obvious from the above picture that the index finger is the odd one out here. I bought LilyChrome about 5 years ago I think, and I have been using it as my most adored chrome polish. It does have a very nice 'metal look' to it, but as you can see, it's been beaten by Layla's Metal Chrome!

LilyChrome is discontinued now anyway. It's pretty as a silver chrome, but the brush strokes are still visible and its finish is a sort of semi-dull burnished metal finish. Metal Chrome in comparison is this bizarre nail polish that looks dull when it's drying, but once it completely dries, the brush strokes start vanishing! And it finishes with such a reflective shine!

[Index finger: Revlon LilyChrome
Middle and ring fingers: Layla Metal Chrome
Pinky finger: Maybelline Mirror Image]

Now, I have changed things up here, but you're not going to notice unless you look really closely I think. I actually redid everything and was a lot lazier this time. But the main thing is that my pinky finger now has Maybelline Mirror Image on instead, and isn't that an amazingly close dupe to Metal Chrome? (Or would that be Metal Chrome being a dupe for Mirror Image, since Maybelline launched it first?)

Maybelline's Mirror Image is on a loan from Ev, so that I could do this swatch. She bought it probably around 5 to 7 years ago, and it's discontinued now. There is a very slight difference between Maybelline's Mirror Image on my pinky, as compared to Layla's Metal Chrome on my middle and ring fingers.

You can still see very faint brush strokes on Mirror Image, and its shine is just slightly less than Metal Chrome. Considering how old Mirror Image is, and how cheap it probably was back then, I would say that's pretty amazing! It looks like Metal Chrome is a slightly upgraded version of Mirror Image. Maybelline's came with a base coat (which is probably a ridge-filler) but I found it wasn't very good at  providing a perfectly smooth finish for the next coat.

[Index finger: Revlon LilyChrome
Middle and ring fingers: Layla Metal Chrome
Pinky finger: Maybelline Mirror Image]

I just wanted to take this outdoors, under natural lighting. The index finger look smoother than it really is because it has been blurred, as the focus was on the middle and ring finger.

[Index finger: Revlon LilyChrome
Middle and ring finger: Layla Metal Chrome
Pinky finger: Maybelline Mirror Image]

Taken through a distance shot, the shininess of Metal Chrome and Mirror Image are amazing! Even LilyChrome looks rather pretty. This is probably how it looks like regularly, without the unforgiving macro shots of my camera. I had someone I didn't know ask to see my hand at work because it was so metal-like and shiny apparently. :)

Alright, so what's my final take on Layla's Metal Chrome? Is it worth the money?

I think if you want the best chrome polish out there, with the smoothest finish, then Layla's is it. That it's gorgeous is undeniable. The chrome polish costs AUD15.40, which I don't regret paying.

However, if you do see Maybelline's Mirror Image somewhere and it's going for cheaper? I think it would make a more than sufficient replacement.

The one thing I didn't like about Layla's Metal Chrome is the amount of effort you have to put in before you can apply the polish. I just buffed my nails a few days before getting the polish, and I didn't want to buff again. Nuh uh. That doesn't work. Metal Chrome is utterly unforgiving and picks up every little tiny imperfection on the nail. To some extent, all chrome polishes tend to be like this, but Layla's seem to be most unforgiving of the lot. I think that's the downside in an attempt to get an almost mirror smooth finish.

After one day of easy wear, I also spotted a small chip on one of the nails so it doesn't last very long. You can't use a top coat over Layla's chrome, because that actually brings out the brush strokes and dulls the colour.

Here's another tip: If you don't want to buff your nails, a very good ridge-filler might do as a base coat, or even, a self-leveling topcoat (the quick dry top coats usually self-level very well.)

Have you bought one of your own, and what do you think?