Orly Cosmic FX Fall 2010 Collection Swatches & Review
 2010 is turning out to be the year of texture. Satin, glitter, sequins, crystals, etc. have all been making a splash in the nail world. Orly has certainly stepped up their game with the Cosmic FX collection.
Combining natural rock minerals, crystals, and glass they have taken duo-chrome polishes to a new level. We’re talking the multi-dimensional love child of foil and duo-chrome. Each polish flashes multiple colors depending on the angle and how the light hits it. These are certainly not shades for the color shy. |
Application and Formula: The Orly Cosmix FX formula is 4-Free (which includes Formaldehyde Resin) and comes in the regular Orly bottle with the fan fave rubberized cap. The brush is long and thin with flexible bristles. I personally would like if there were more bristles to get more coverage in each stroke.
There is a drawback to this formula, opacity. To suspend the multi-sized particles, the base is pretty sheer. Due to that, each polish requires at least three coats. Also, there’s something about this formulation that makes the polish take longer to dry. Twice while swatching these I had to start over because I would bump something at least 30 minutes after applying and get a huge dent. That’s with a top coat applied. Granted I was using CND Super Shiney which is not a quick dry top coat but still it shouldn’t be denting that easily after that much time.
Removal: The particles do make removal a bit more cumbersome than a regular creme or shimmer polish but not as bad as a traditional glitter. Watch for staining with Halley’s Comet. You should consider an extra layer of base coat with that one.
FYI: You guys have no idea how hard these polishes are to photograph. Seriously, I’ve had them for over a month and I didn’t swatch them earlier, in part due to the original September launch date but, because they are a bitch to capture. The duo-chrome effect only shows up at an angle so I’m showing all of these with a close-up from the side. I thought about doing photos in sunlight but it just blew out the color and looked really inaccurate. That’s the main reason I rarely take photos in the sun. I don’t think it tells the real color story.
Lunar Eclipse is a vibrant electric blue packed with purple and pink particles. This probably the most opaque of the polishes. This one and the purple, Out of This World. The finish on all these is like the foils we love but on steroids.
Rocket Science makes me think of Swamp Thing, that early 80s flick with Adrienne Barbeau. It’s this mossy, browned green base with gold and ivy green sparkle. It’s more flattering in person than it looks here but it’s still one of those ugly pretty shades that will probably only appeal to small group.
Halley’s Comet is the only real let down in this group for one very big reason. It’s a dead-on dupe for OPI Catch Me In Your Net and its doppelganger Zoya Charla. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a gorgeous color. A stunning turquoise base with gold, green and blue pieces. I’ve spotted the OPI & Zoya versions on people all summer long but I can’t help but wonder what the difference is between the formulas because on the nail they look identical.
Out of this World has an inky blackened plum base filled with purple and pink glimmer. The official description from Orly says there is silver FX in this polish but it flashes golden to me. This color looks like a glitterized grape popsicle on the nails. The golden flash is pretty minimal. This is probably the least duo-chrome of the bunch. What I find interesting is that in the bottle OotW looks a lot like Zoya Julieanne from the Wicked collection. Are we seeing a pattern here?
Galaxy Girl looks like a bruise to me with its mix of berry, blue and green. The base color is reminiscent of dried blood which sounds gross but it’s not. On the nail, the blue FX is the prominent color and the green takes a backseat. I’m not a huge fan of how this looks on me. I feel it brings out the ruddiness I try to mask in my skin tone.
Space Cadet is my absolute favorite polish in this collection and I know that will surprise you but believe me, it’s killer. Photos do it a serious disservice. It’s the most multi-faceted polish in this collection and changes color like a chameleon as you move your hand. One second it’s rosy, then you move and see a coppery flash. At certain angles it looks mauve and others it’s pink. What’s funny is the base is teal so you see this glow of blue-green coming through. In the bottle I was not loving this color AT ALL. On the nail, I couldn’t stop staring at it.
Bottom Line: I don’t know that these polishes necessarily justify the higher price tag. I can only assume that there are some costly ingredients that aren’t normally in Orly polishes. I think I was more excited when I saw them in the bottle because they looked so magical. On the nail, some of them fall flat. The only one I’m dubbing a must-have is Space Cadet. Lunar Eclipse is beautiful and definitely gets the runner-up prize. I love Out of this World but the jury is out until I compare it to Zoya Julieanne.
The Orly Cosmic FX collection was supposed to launch in September 2010 but I’ve already seen it online so I would start checking your local Sally Beauty Supply, ULTA, etc. if you want to scoop these up. The Cosmic FX polishes will retail for $10/ea for a .6oz bottle.
Are you feeling the effects of the Cosmic FX? Do you think the finish justifies the price tag? Will you be running out to get these? Which colors are speaking to you most?
Disclosure: Product samples were furnished to me by Orly. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.
wow, your photos are absolutely amazing.
Oh, I really liked Out of this world and Lunar Eclipse
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I like Galaxy Girl but that Halley’s comet looks pretty too.
Galaxy Girl and Space Cadet are the most interesting to me. GG reminds of Urban Decays Bruise which I never got, but if its true the green flecks take a back seat here, I might be even more interested.
Rocket Science is really pretty when its flashing mossy/golden hues, not so much enjoying the green elements.
I was going to purchase some new Orly polishes on payday but I dont know that these are worth the extra 4 bucks.
Orly Cosmic FX Fall 2010 Collection Swatches-amazing web blog today. The close-ups of the nail polishes really show all the details, the comparisons I really love, what a great time saver over buying the wrong polishes. Your nails always look gorgoeus.
Nameste.
I need them all!!!
I cannot find these anywhere. Has anyone had any luck finding them? I want Space Cadet soooo bad.
Rocket Science, PLEASE! I love this shade. I seriously need to start using nail polish again. AT least I have an excuse that it’s “packed” right now for the move.
Just picked all of these up today (except for Halley’s Commet since I have Charla) at my local Ulta. Absolutely love them! Gorgeous!!!
I think I need all of these!
I bought Space Cadet at Ulta yesterday. I got an Ulta catalog in the mail with a coupon for $3.50 off any purchase of $10 or more, so I only ended up paying $7.04.
How would these be with a black or white basecoat. do you think they’d look any different in a positive way? totally want space cadet and maybe lunar eclipse
Any chance of a comparison between Lunar Eclipse and Sally Hansen HD Laser?
Thanks!
From the swatch on here, I’d say it looks VERY similar. I’ve got Lazer on my nails right now and it looks just like the swatch of Lunar Eclipse.
AND at CVS it was less than $6 for Lazer.
They’re dupes for the most part. Scrangie has a comparison photo up.:D
these colors are fab! come follow me xoxo
How does China Glaze Zombie Zest compare to Rocket Science?
Oh my, these are lovely! I so need to have It’s not Rocket Science and Space Cadet!
And the prices… It’s kinda a shocker. I live in Belgium and I have to buy almost all my nailpolishes online – I’m used to pay to pay about 9 $
(Lucky me, I found a Dutch webshop that sells Orly cosmic fx for 6.95€ – roughly 8.8$. Happy!)
I just bought Space Cadet at Sally’s. They’re retailing for $8.99, but I got $1 off with my Sally Card. I wanted to also buy Galaxy Girl and Out Of This World, but couldn’t justify spending that much on polish right before payday. Maybe later this week I’ll pick up another! My Sally’s didn’t have them out yet, but I asked the nice saleswoman and she went in the backroom and found the display waiting to be put out on the floor and let me buy them!
Is Out of this World similar to the China Glaze purple from the Wizard of Oz collection? I am getting over run with polish and dont wear purple that much. But if its a good duochrome I would get it. Thanks
I could tell right away space cadet was for me! I’ve been looking for a similar shade and sincerely hope the sally beauty supply near me has it
I agree with you, I only want Space Cadet and Lunar Eclipse.
I picked up Space Cadet yesterday and I have noticed it bubbles horribly! The first attempt last night was a disaster, so I decided to wait longer between coats. Last night I applied a base coat, and this morning I applied a thin first coat. I waited an hour to apply a thin second coat, and it’s bubbles all over. Anyone else think this is polish-specific? I have read tips before to prevent bubbling, and I always roll the bottle in my hand to mix rather than shake it, and wait between coats. Am I missing something else, or is it this formula?
I bought it yesterday and applied it right after I got back from the mall, maybe it’s your bottle mine applied nicely.
hola
hoy recibí mi Space Cadet adquirido en MBeauty Lounge en MBeauty Lounge por $6.75. El esmalte es muy Camaleonico y me ha gustado mucho. Vale la pena lo que costó y no se me hacen grumos o burbujas…
una pregunta, ¿que significa Nail Polish PRE ORDER ONLY?
saludos desde México
sallys has them right now for 7.99! i got haileys comet because i missed out on the summer flutter collection
I saw these in my local CVS for 6.99 today and grabbed GG. Might go back for SC now that I’ve seen the swatch here again.
Wow, I’m really glad I saw this! I got space cadet on a whim when I passed it by in CVS this weekend. I was going to go back and pick up a bunch because of how amazing this color is, and how long it lasts. Now I think I might only go get HC simply because its not a color I really have. I love the look of OoTw but I think I have an old Opi purple that is quite similar.Thanks so much for your detailed post!!
I’m so dissapointed. One day and I have chipping everywhere!!! I use the ESSIE Base and Topcoat. What am I doing wrong?!
Just found this post as per my question about Rocket Science – I need every single one of these colors now. Thanks!
Wow these are beautiful shades,i love the blue one.Women love to keep their nails clear and with the best nail designs.I like the content and i have bookmarked the site for reference.
Is Out Of This World still available anywhere?
[...] recommend Nailgal.com, where you can find swatches of almost anything. And as always, Scrangie and All Lacquered Up are great resources [...]
I love the fact that you have dead on the same exact skin tone as me so when I look at these photos I pretty much already know how it will look at me!!
[...] me of the changing colours of autumn leaves. See better photos by the queens of polish blogging All Lacquered Up, Scrangie and Vampy [...]
[...] diria que é um vinho com um pouco de roxo, os americanos chamam esse tom de berry (a Michelle do All Lacquered Up tem uma descrição interessante para ele: cor de sangue seco – “… The base color [...]
I just bought space cadet and had a manicure with it today. I’s AWESOME and yes very hard to photograph! I tried to do that for facebook.
I bought Space Cadet and Lunar Eclipse. I love both. But, I did notice bubbles in the LE, Kris. And you are right, Michelle, very hard to photograph.