American Apparel Neon Red

Here's my first review/swatches from the American Apparel NEON collection; Neon Red. I don't know that I would call this color Neon Red, it goes on as a mix between hot pink and orange, but it rocks, so no complaining here. This set of colors got a new treatment when it comes to packaging. The bottles are the same AA shape, but now come with White caps and NEON scrawled across the front in a sort of Deco font.


The color in the bottle looks VERY pink, but on the nails it is more orangey, maybe even red-orange, although I hesitate to call it that. The color goes on very opaque for a Neon polish, but because it is very jelly like, you can still get some visible nail line. I read online that putting White underneath would make these pop more, so I did a white coat underneath my ring finger. As you can see in the pictures, it made BARELY any difference. The notable difference is no VNL, it does pop a tiny bit more but that is only to the naked eye and when you are REALLY looking for it. I didn't like how this came out because I used OPI Alpine Snow, which was super runny, so I couldn't get a smooth layer beneath the Neon Red. Basically if you prefer a creamier look then you can do this but make sure you have an even coat of White underneath, and try to keep it thin because AA make there polishes a bit thick. If you like that jelly finish, then just stick to what's in the bottle. I did 2 coats on all nails, but maybe a third coat would also hide VNL.


The formula was a little thick, not as thick as previous AA offerings. A few other blogs are calling it a "one coat formula" but I never do one coat of AA, especially not this one which is a tiny bit sheer. It went on smooth and bubble free. Its a real punch to the eyes, it's SUPER bright which I love! The brush is long and thin, which I find harder to use then, for example, OPIs brushes; but it does the trick and gets the formula on smooth. All in all, I loved it. I found it really unique and playful. It looks really great paired with a white dress or white tshirt, or some silver jewelry. Very cute.