Cover Girl Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss

There are a lot of good reasons to live in Toronto and one of them is that it’s not uncommon to get free stuff while walking down some of the city’s busier streets. Last week, while I was walking down Queen, just past John, I was handed a bag that contained several goodies from Protector & Gamble, including a small bottle of Cover Girl’s Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail Gloss.

Cover Girl is one of those brands that I used to regularly buy when I was in high school but since turning 18, I rarely pick it up. I have no idea why; I guess there are just so many other, shinier brands out there that I don’t really think about Cover Girl. But after trying this polish, it might be my go-to brand for cheap, glossy nail enamel.

My freebie polish is in an absolutely gorgeous bright, sea blue shade called Constant Caribbean that I love.  It’s shimmer and sparkle-free, which sets it apart in my nail polish collection, and also makes it highly versatile. While this colour looks very “Easter-y” in the bottle, it actually works perfectly as both a practical daytime colour and a fun night-time one. It also has just the right amount of shine.  

Constant Caribbean is just one of 27, accurately described “high gloss shades” that Cover Girl offers in this collection.  While the bulk of them are your usual pink and nude shades, there are some really pretty and eye-catching colours available, an orange one called Go-go Mango and a dark one called Black Diamond.

Cover Girls boosts that one can “dare to go topless” with this polish because it, “…combines a base coat, high gloss colour, and a chip-resistant top coat in one simple step,” delivering “Glossy colour lasting as long as one week.”

I took Cover Girl up on its dare and while I didn't get one week of no-chip colour, I did make it to day four before a few small chips appeared. And really, these chips were the type that could easily be touched up.

While four days isn't an amazing record, it’s not a bad one considering that you can pick this product up at almost any drugstore for around $6.

It also goes on reasonably smoothly. While you do need to apply multiple coats to get a vivid, consistent colour, you don’t need to apply so many that they don’t dry properly and you end up with a mushy, crappy polish job.

Will I buy this product: Yes! I’ll definitely be picking up a full-sized bottle of Constant Caribbean and probably a couple other colours.

Should you buy this product: Yes! While it’s not the best polish out there, for the price it does a great job at delivering beautiful colours for at least a few days.