Revolution Neon Nail Paint

 Who among us doesn’t have ‘the one that got away’ beauty stories of love and loss? The one that was your beloved, then ultimately discontinued? The one where we never quite worked out what the shade name was and are doomed to lifelong Google Image searching, our thirst forever unquenched? Or even just the one that is all but a vague memory of perfection?

Many years ago, my mother, who is really not a neon sort of person in any way, got her hands on an Issada nail polish in a properly fluorescent orange. A can’t-miss-it-if-you-tried colour. In my mind, it even glowed in the dark… which some neon polishes really do – this isn’t necessarily just a strange rave-esque fever dream of mine. It was THE most fabulous pedicure shade on tanned tootsies in the summer. (And yes, back then, that was a real tan. Ugh.) Sadly, not only did Issada eradicate the shade, but they no longer make nail products at all.

It's a dragon I have been chasing ever since. I don’t know why neon is such a hard polish type to find. Every so often the big ranges do a little capsule collection, often gone in a matter of moments, but even if it’s just not a look you’d personally do on your hands, it really is such a fun pop of colour with a faux tan and bare feet. Summer holidays in Ibiza, in a bottle. 

I was trotting down one of these memory lanes and idly Googling just where we were at with neon in 2023, with very little hope, when up popped a picture of a range that is not only still being made, and available in Australia, but in stock at Priceline! I ordered the shade ‘Bang On’ then and there, and waited impatiently for my little $9 bottle to wing its way to me. When it arrived, the cap was much more neon than the juice in the bottle, and I must admit I felt a moment of deep trepidation. However, I can joyfully report that this is one of those fairly rare instances when the polish goes on a completely different shade to how it appears in the bottle. It’s not even pink, first of all, and it’s not just ‘bright’ or ‘very pigmented’, but really and truly neon. Finally.

Now, the only real downside of having found a replacement colour I love so much, and that is also great value, is that the wear is only so-so. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great. With a good base and top coat (I vary base coats all the time, but top coat is almost always Essie Gel Couture), I’d say I got four or five days without chips. Neon generally is one of those polish types that doesn’t have the best wear. This is presumably some sort of technical issue to do with pigment types, about which I couldn’t know less and shan’t be researching, but rather just choosing to live with. I am still very happy with what I have found, and encourage you to get this on your toes – or your hands, if you’re feeling a bold look – immediately. If you’re nervous about the latter, then you should know I saw a woman the other day that totally sold it to me. In her fifties, she wore her blonde hair slicked back into a low bun, a white midi dress with white flat sandals, and had this sort of pinky/orange/coral neon colour on her immaculate, short nails. Let me tell you, the overall look was just so good.

Sample/purchase info: purchased in 2023 via Priceline (link here). At the time of writing, I am devastated to report that my shade, Bang On, seems to be out of stock. Hot Stuff seems much pinker, but would be your next best bet.