Swatches & Review: Mentality Jellychromes!

*Press sample*

Hi everyone! Sorry for the silence for a few days there - I was busy swatching away to bring you this post, so fair warning - this one is very pic heavy!

I got the notification awhile back that the Mentality Jellychromes were on their way to me. I'm waiting, waiting...then I start panicking that my beauties are lost in the abyss somewhere because Mentality packages always arrive to me super quickly. So, I email Hillary to check on tracking...and it turns out the package had been delivered a couple of days before then - to the apartment front office! No note, nothing - and the office doesn't call us to let us know we have a package, GRR! Anyway, by the time I found out it was there, it was after closing time, so I thought, I'll get it in the morning. WRONG - the next morning was Thanksgiving!! AND, they were closed the entire rest of the "long weekend" so I had to wait until Monday to get my package - it was torture! To make matters worse, when I picked up this package, they handed me another one that had been delivered - in August. >:o

Anyway - I'll get to the point - the Jellychromes! Waiting to swatch these was tough, but once I looked at them, I couldn't even be mad anymore - they are gorgeous! There are 4 polishes so far in the Jellychrome collection (but I hope there will be more!!), two mattes and two holos. I am going to start with the holos first.

From the Mentality website:

"Detonate is a blue holographic jellychrome with glass flecks that shift red, orange, yellow, to green." 

Direct, natural sunlight

Detonate is a truly stunning polish, and it has great coverage! I used 2 coats here, but I think on shorter nails, this could be a one-coater! Formula was great, it applied perfectly with no issues to report, and no staining for me. I received Mentality's Fast-Dry topcoat along with my Black Friday order, so I tried it out over Detonate. It didn't seem to dull the holo effect at all. We only had a few minutes of sun on the day I took these, but I ran out into our stairwell like a crazy person (it has big windows) to catch what sun I could. I wasn't able to totally do this polish justice in photos - it was way better in person!

Direct, natural sunlight

The holo effect in these polishes was very strong - I love it! Detonate really gives me the urge to do some icy winter nail art... ;)

Indirect natural sunlight, with flash for filler

I found my macro lens recently, so I've been playing a bit! :) I love all the colors that come out when Detonate is in different angles. I think the red flecks in this one kind of turn purpleish when paired with this blue base. I love the flash of pink/purple/magenta you get sometimes!

Artificial lighting, macro lens

Artificial lighting, macro lens

Next up is Detonate's sister, Shatter!

Mentality's description:

"Shatter is a red holographic jellychrome with glass flecks that shift from gold to silver."

Artificial lighting

I know this is described as a red base, but it leaned more fuschia to me, like a cool, blue-toned dark pink. Maybe that's just me though! Whatever color you call it, this is a striking polish!

Artificial lighting

Just like her blue twin, Shatter has an amazingly strong holographic effect - we had zero sun when I took these, so I had to use the lightbox, but it didn't matter! Rainbows everywhere! :) I used 2 coats here and Mentality Fast-Dry to top it off. No formula issues to report, it went on smoothly and applied perfectly, but I did notice some very light staining after taking it off, nothing that a baking soda scrub won't remove. Staining doesn't really bother me, because I never have naked nails, but I know it's important for some people, so I thought I would mention it. And so far, I'm the only person to report this problem, so I think it might have been the basecoat I used. I used Seche Clear base coat for this mani, and for the others I used HK Girl Stuck on Blu, and this was the only one I had any staining with. So, I'm thinking Seche Clear might just not be a very protective basecoat. 

Artificial lighting

Flash

Again, I've included a couple macro shots. I couldn't even begin to count the colors that show up in this holo Jellychromes, it really is amazing to look at them up so close!

Artificial lighting, macro lens

Artificial lighting, macro lens

Now for the two matte jellychromes. First I will be showing you Gala! Here is the description from Mentality's website:

"Gala is a blue matte jellychrome with glass flecks that shifts red, orange, yellow, to green."

Artificial lighting

Gala was the polish in this collection to me that felt most like a jelly. I needed to build it up a little bit more than the holos. I used 3 coats for full opacity, and no topcoat. The formula itself was great -  matte polishes tend to have a quick dry time, and Gala definitely did. I also had no staining, which can happen sometimes with blues. This polish was definitely matte in person, but the photos in the lightbox are still showing a bit of shine for some reason. You can really see the matte finish in the natural lighting photos below. 

Artificial lighting

I do see the orange and green glass flecks mentioned in Mentality's description, but the first thing I notice when I look at Gala is a strong pinkish shimmer. I think again, the red flecks come across as pink/purple to my eye. This might just be me though, I'm beginning to think I'm colorblind lol! 

Indirect natural sunlight

Indirect natural sunlight

The macro photos of this one are so cool! I love how you can really see each color of glass fleck in the polish. This is one of those polishes that looks different in every angle and every kind of lighting you look at it in. I loved that it was always surprising me. :)

Indirect natural sunlight, macro lens

Indirect natural sunlight, macro lens

Last, but certainly not least - in fact, I think she may be my favorite of these four! - is Spree.
Mentality's description:
"Spree is a red matte jellychrome that with glass flecks that shift from gold to to silver."

Artificial lighting

I absolutely love colors like this, Spree reminded me a bit of a supercharged, shimmery, matte version of Zoya Happi, which is one of my favorite pink shades! Speaking of pink, I'm so sorry to have to say it AGAIN haha, but this really came across more pink than red to me. 

Indirect natural sunlight

I used 3 coats here, but I probably could have gotten away with 2. No topcoat here, I just love the look of the matte finish with all the shimmering glass flecks. It's such a pretty contrast! No issues with formula whatsoever, and I had no staining. This one also felt like it had the quickest dry time for me. Just a perfect formula overall!

Indirect natural sunlight

Direct natural sunlight

And again, I've included a couple of macro shots so you can actually see all the little glass flecks in gold and silver. The base is so packed full of flecks that it creates a really stunning overall look when the sun hits it. Spree is just happy and bright and cheerful - it's one of those polishes that just brightens your day and puts you in a good mood when you wear it. I love those! :)

Indirect sunlight, macro lens

Artificial lighting, macro lens

You can purchase the Jellychromes here for $8.25 apiece for the mattes, and $8.50 apiece for the holos, or just check out the entire Mentality shop for all sorts of lovely polishes. I bought a few new ones on Black Friday that I will be swatching soon and I'll have those up for you. In the meantime, be sure to follow Mentality on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up to date on new releases and collections! I know I'm personally hoping for more Jellychromes - no clue if that's even remotely a possibility but a girl can dream, right?!

I'd love to hear what you think of these!! Let me know below! :D

<3 Kelly

The products in this post were provided to me in exchange for my review. This review reflects my full and honest opinions of these products. Please see my Disclosure Statement for more information.