LAQA & Co. – in ‘WTF’ | ommorphia beauty bar

I have an innovative product to show you from a new player in the nail polish field, LAQA & Co. Nail Polish Pen in ‘WTF’ (I know, I know….what a scream!). They presently have 8 colours in their product range, as well as a topcoat in pen form and nail polish remover pads.

Now apart from the pen itself, I point your attention to the unique artwork covering the box it came in. Every single colour has had its accompanying box designed by an up & coming young talented artist looking for recognition, and LAQA & Co. is supporting these endeavours by giving them each a cut of the profits from every colour purchased. Beauty & philanthropy combined…..how cool is that, I tell you?! As well, the formula of the polishes themselves is 3-Free, containing no formaldehyde, toluene or DHP.

The company lists these polish pens as high gloss, do-your-nails-anywhere products and as far as convenience goes, they certainly are that. The only other nail polish in pen form I’ve ever tried, was one from Sally Hansen and I was left very disappointed by the formula and application. Not so with this one, I’m happy to say.

WTF is a delicate sheer neutral with muted beigey-pink undertones (the name vs. the colour threw me at first, but upon reflection, I totally get it…..as in “WTF – where’s the colour?”!!!), which can build to decent opacity by applying 3 thin coats. After a brief quick shake, as the inner leaflet that comes with the box states (which, by the way, is a totally fun extra in itself) you pump the top of the pen approximately 7 times, and voilà….the first bead of lacquer appears. Now, I have to say that painting your nails using a pen does take some getting used to, but somehow feels natural once you get the hang of it.

in sunlight

After playing around some and trying different combinations, I found what works best is if you wait at least a minute between each coat, otherwise you could wind up with some streaking. I also suggest having a napkin handy to dab the pen on if too much polish appears on the brush, as well as after you’re finished, to remove any excess lacquer prior to re-capping it. After the third coat was applied, I initially continued to see a touch of streaking but to my surprise, by the time the polish dried, it seemed to have all levelled out….a bonus! And yes, the finish is indeed very glossy, even without a top coat. The brush is long & fairly flexible but just a tad on the thick side; I would have preferred it to be slightly thiner for easier control but then again, I do tend to like the thinner brushes more. The dry time seems to be excellent as well, and again, that was tested without any fast drying top coat.

in natural lighting

Final thoughts: this is an excellent work-friendly shade and for those who prefer a more ‘natural’ looking nail. It reminded me strongly of OPI’s ‘Bubble Bath’ but with seriously more shine (really, really shiny!). You need to play around with the pen to figure out how much pressure to apply or else you can wind up with a few bald patches and some streaking but as a quick fix, quick-drying, on-the-go polish, it works amazing!

You can purchase LAQA & Co. products on their website here, with each pen retailing for US $14.95 and they even throw in free shipping on orders over $20.00!