Product Review: BYS Graffiti Polishes

Hi lovelies,

I'd like to introduce you to some gorgeous new polishes from the BYS Graffiti range! We all know how much I love BYS, they are a great budget brand that offer fantastic quality for a very affordable price. What I also love about BYS is they constantly bring out really funky products for eyes and nails, and these polishes are no different.

BYS Graffiti polish in Banksy Blue and Activator.

The Graffiti polishes have a metallic/foil finish and come packaged in a neat, clear box with the Graffiti activator. The idea behind the Graffiti polishes is it makes nail art easier as you can get a two-toned effect by applying the Graffiti activator over the Graffiti polishes, to create any design of your choice. The fine brush of the activator makes it easy to create designs that change the affected area to a deeper shade.

The fine Activator brush.

I received three of these Graffiti polishes (red - Caught Red Handed, gold - Tag It Gold and sky blue - Banksy Blue) to try, and here is my verdict, together with application tips. Firstly, the Graffiti polishes are stunning, they all apply beautifully and easily and are opaque in one layer (however, out of habit, I applied two). Secondly, the Graffiti activator has a great design as it comes with a really fine brush, allowing you to create anything from the most simple to the most intricate designs.

Now, here's where I failed. I began with the Gold and all went well initially; I did the base layer, applied some pretty patterns with the activator, and then admired the effect when the pattern, albeit subtle, showed up. Then I applied topcoat and the whole thing got messed up!

BYS Graffiti polish in Tag It Gold.

This was my failed effort after applying topcoat, it changed the colour
of the entire mani! You can just, barely, make out the design.

I thought it was due to the top coat re-activating the activator, so I took it all off and tried again with the red. This wasn't as successful as I'd hoped as the shifting effect of the red polish was so subtle, it barely showed up.

BYS Caught Red Handed - the colour change was so
subtle I couldn't get it to appear on camera. :(
Still a stunning shade though!

Back to the drawing board I went, and tried the blue, and behold, success at last! I tried out a few different designs just for kicks, and they all showed up clearly and strongly, and this time I decided to skip using topcoat. The polishes showed pretty good wear, lasting up to four days without significant tip wear (which is fantastic given I skipped using topcoat).

BYS Banksy Blue (named after graffiti artist Banksy,
whose work I love).

Look how clear the designs are! ♥

Awkward claw photo of all five nails.

I also decided to try the gold one last time, skipping the topcoat. It worked much better this time around and I was quite happy with the result.

BYS Tag It Gold applied properly (without topcoat).

Here is a summary of what I learned about these polishes, together with some pointers for application:

• Be careful to not pick up too much activator before applying it to your nail, as the fine brush can cause a pooling effect and ruin your carefully designed manicure.
• The more applicator used, the deeper the colour, so you can go over the same areas to deepen the colour and cause more contrast (see photos below).
• Don't use a topcoat, as it simulates the activator effect and changes the colour of the entire manicure. In fact, you can probably skip the activator altogether and just use normal topcoat, as it seems to achieve the same purpose, but the benefit to the activator is the fine brush.
• Lay the activator brush flat along your nails for a striping effect and draw in a quick motion across the nail. 
• The strongest effect was observed in the blue, followed by the gold and lastly by the red, but all three polishes are absolutely stunning on their own.
• It might be better if the activators were sold separately, as you could end up with multiple bottles (when you only need one), if you purchase more than one of the Graffiti polishes.
• There are six shades in the Graffiti range (gold, violet, red, blue, purple and green), and each Graffiti set retails for $8.95, with the polish containing 14 ml of product and the activator containing 10 ml of product.
• Available from discount stores carrying the BYS brand, Kmart, and online from Fashion Addict.

Last but not least, here are some snaps of a manicure I created with the blue (once I perfected my technique) and wore for a few days. It actually got lots of attention, with no less than EIGHT people stopping me to complement my nails and ask me if I'd really done it myself! I think that has to be a record for me, having my hand grabbed that many times so people could have a closer look at my nails!

The manicure I created using Banksy Blue and dotting tools.

I also featured a sneak peek of it in my post about channelling Lady Gaga, and some of you eagle-eyed beauties noticed it immediately! There you go, lovelies, a professional looking manicure all for the affordable price of $8.95! Bottom line, I love these polishes, they are simply gorgeous on their own and even more stunning with the dual toned effect, and it's such an easy way to get into nail art if you're new to the scene but would love to experiment.

The gorgeous Vita from Making Up For My Age has also done a great review on these polishes. She received different shades from me so be sure to check her review out! I am already lusting after Grab The Loot, a gorgeous greeny gold polish that comes up dark green when the activator is applied to it.

What do you think, lovelies? Will you be rushing out to buy this?

Much love,
MM.
x


Note: This product was kindly provided for my consideration. This has not affected my opinion in any way. For more information, please refer to my Disclosure Policy.