Space Cadet made it into my Top 20 despite the problems with its formula. This polish most definitely gets by on its looks alone. So sparkly it's almost blinding in the sun, and a beautiful color and multichrome foil finish – so beautiful that they make up for the fact that it’s a complete pain in the ass to apply.
Very sheer, cuticle drag, patchy even after three coats (I used four coats plus Seche Vite in the photos)… not to mention that clean-up is more difficult because of the foil finish – it sticks to everything. And I had drying-time issues. Even with quick-dry top coat, I got a huge dent on one finger after 15 minutes and had to reapply.
HOWEVER, once it’s on the nail all is forgiven. Really, how can you stay mad at this?
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The duochrome shows up better if you enlarge the photos, but they still don't do this polish justice. I really need a video to show all the colors that Space Cadet flashes. It starts as a rosy mauve foil, then flashes copper, amber, green, and in some lights purple. The metallic particles are suspended in a sheer dark blue-green base.
Space Cadet was part of the Fall 2010 Cosmic FX collection. This quickly became the must-have color from this collection, so I was really surprised last weekend to see that my Ulta still had four bottles on the shelf. I also still see random bottles pop up in CVS on occasion. The Cosmic FX polishes retail for $10, which is a little pricey for Orly. Totally worth it, though, considering their generous size (0.6 oz compared with the 0.5 oz you get with most other brands) and the awesome rubberized cap.
