Catrice

Catrice ICONAILS Gel Lacquer [129 - Bee Mine] Review

By Maychiri's Thoughts - August 08, 2024

I cannot even express how long I’ve been searching for this nail polish, here is the Catrice ICONAILS Gel Lacquer, in the shade 129/Bee Mine!
 
 
I have literally been looking for this particular nail polish for months. I first noticed it when it was already too late, as it was being discontinued. And that meant that it was impossible to find, even on Notino. And then, somehow, I looked at DM's Catrice shelf and... oh my god. It’s there! And double reduced in price, so this must be literally the last one. I grabbed it sooner than you could say ‘honey’, no way would I let someone else take it from me now that I finally found it! Now, why create so much commotion over a light orange nail polish, you might ask? Surely there are others that are similar enough? Sure, maybe. But I needed a good honey-like colour, which is harder to find than you may think. Often, the colour is too yellow or too orange. This colour is almost ideal, and the name is super cute! Plus, I had a situation in the past where I found literally the perfect mustard yellow Catrice nail polish at BIPA – the last of its kind – and it had some error which prevented me from purchasing it. From then on, for these kinds of special colours I vowed to not let that happen again. That’s why I felt immense joy and relief when I saw this polish on the shelf. Now that the search for a good honey colour is, hopefully, over, let’s see how good this nail polish is... ICONAILS have been pretty good in the past, but is this one good?
 
 

Packaging: like all the other ICONAILS, it’s got a robust glass bottle and a system of two caps, both black. The bottle is rectangular, and there’s not much in terms of details, just the Catrice logo, in black. There’s some info in the back. There’s two caps, so don’t be surprised when you open the cap and see another one inside! The outer cap is glossy black and closes incredibly tightly, but not nearly as tightly as the inner cap. The inner cap is ribbed so that you have a secure grip while painting your nails. The design, overall, is very modern, but man is the combination of colours slaying here! Black/honey orange? Hell yeah! This is a timeless combo, and one you might know from a certain media franchise with automobiles... yup, it’s giving Bumblebee!
 

Source: www.catrice.eu

Ingredients: açaí (Euterpe oleracea) fruit oil for nourishment. 3-free (DBP, formaldehyde, toluene). The scent is like any other nail polish, nothing too special. The expiration date is 36 months after opening.
 

 
Colour: way more orange than yellow; it’s very close to a bee yellow or a bumblebee yellow. And yes, Bumblebee from Transformers is pretty much this colour, only slightly more yellow. This is a rich, intensely vibrant honey/amber-like yellow that looks sooo good on pale skin! The orange tones make it look even richer and give it a certain dash of sophistication. This is a phenomenal colour for spring... no wonder, it is bee/honey yellow, and bees are most active in spring! I love this colour, it’s the perfect honey colour! And I adore how it looks on my pale skin, it’s sooo vibrant! 
 
 
 
 
The brush is phenomenal, but rare are the Catrice nail polishes that don’t have such a good brush. This is a wide flat brush that picks up way too much nail polish for one nail, so don’t forget to tap off the excess. The brush applies the nail polish evenly with ease, and it is quite precise around the edges, so it’s easy to avoid making a huge mess while painting your nails. And because it is so large, I only need a few swipes to coat my nails in colour evenly. Superb brush!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The formula is, like with most ICONAILS, very nice. It’s definitely a gel formula, but it is easy to use; it applies evenly and isn’t one bit runny or too thick. It’s almost the ideal thickness, in fact! Although, the gelliness of it can be a bit annoying sometimes if you apply a slightly thicker coat.
 
 
 
 
 


 
One coat and it’s almost opaque, I can just barely see my nails underneath. The colour is already pretty vivid, though! And it is even! The nail polish is opaque with two coats, and looks perfectly even and rich! Now, the colour is just right, perfectly bright and intense. However, don’t apply more than two coats, it was already becoming a bit difficult to spread with two coats; the formula is thick, after all! The texture is glossy, which makes it really look like honey. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Longevity is actually very good! I did have some issues with bubbles inside my nail polish, but I am pretty sure that this is due to the summer heat. My hands are sweating even more now, which does make applying nail polish properly a bigger challenge. Besides that, the nail polish doesn’t really get all that scratched up, to be honest. Only one nail suffered some light scratches, all the rest were in excellent condition! The glossy finish was preserved for days! And I didn’t have any chips until day 4! Although, that’s when it really started to chip; I chipped off a few larger pieces that day, and it only got so much worse during a hair wash. Not trying to sugarcoat it, the nail polish was destroyed while I was washing my hair. 
 
 
 
I literally saw huge pieces flake off as I was rinsing my hair... in the end, the nail polish looked quite, quite bad. But I am surprised it held out this long before any chips!
 
 

 
 
Umm, excuse me?? This nail polish has no right being so extremely easy to remove! Literally, one swipe and that’s it! This is great for my poor nails! However, like most yellow and orange nail polishes, it does discolour nails. My nails looked more yellow than before, so it is a good idea to apply a base coat to prevent this.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
All in all, a stunning nail polish! This is everything I wanted and then some! Look, I know ICONAILS tend to be great, and this shade is all the proof you need! The formula is definitely gelly, but it is usually easy to work with, just make sure you don’t apply thick layers. Or too many. Two is more than enough, it starts to feel too goopy and too gelly with 2 slightly thicker coats. The brush is standard stuff for Catrice nail polishes, so, a fantastic brush that applies the polish evenly across the nails. The polish looks best with two coats, it really looks intense and bright! Just like real honey! Seriously, this is exactly the kind of colour I have been searching for! It’s not too yellow or too orange; it’s very similar in colour to the one Bumblebee from Transformers has. It also doesn’t get very scratched up, and doesn’t chip much... until day 4. There was a bit of chipping on day 3, but it really started to chip more severely on day 4. A hair wash completely destroyed it. Still, without any base or top coat, this is very good longevity! And it is also super easy to remove, although, given that it is, you know, yellow, it does end up staining nails. Bummer. But everything else is excellent, truly! I wanted this nail polish to Bee Mine... I just had no idea it would be so, so good in the end! I will happily recommend it, although it’s going to be hard to find because it seems that it has been discontinued. That is so sad... 
 
 
 
Rating: 8/10
 
 
Would buy again? YES


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