Revlon Blue Lagoon (+ a matte blue gradient manicure)

This is an old favorite I ran across when I was going through one of my Melmers the other day. It was originally from Revlon’s Summer 2011 Summer Romantics collection though is now part of the permanent line. There was so much gorgeous is such a small bottle I just had to put it on!

Blue Lagoon is a light baby blue with iridescent shimmer. The color is gorgeous (and a very close dupe of Chanel Riva) but the formula isn’t the best. I had to use 4 coats in my swatches to even out the color and get a level of opacity I was happy with.

I ended up wearing the polish for a couple of days and my manicure began to show tip wear. Instead of doing an entirely new manicure I sponged OPI Just Groovy over Blue Lagoon and then topped it with a matte top coat to get a matte blue gradient manicure. It was fun and certainly different! There are additional swatches of Blue Lagoon as well as swatches of my matte blue gradient manicure below the jump!

 

Revlon Royal

Way back at the end of 2010 Revlon came out with their then new Top Speed line. It hasn’t turned out to be my favorite polish line from Revlon but I do have a few Top Speed polishes I quite like. Royal just happens to be one of them.

Royal is a deep royal blue jelly. It’s not quite navy and never looks black. Quite a perfect blue for this time of year!

The formula is on par for a jelly. I used three coats in my swatches. It’s worth noting that Revlon claims their Top Speed polishes set in 60 seconds and have a built in top coat. Neither of these claims I find to be true. Without a top coat this dries sort of dull and it takes FOREVER to dry. As a matter of fact, I didn’t use this polish for a long time because when I used it the first time I ended up with bed nails despite the fact I did my nails several hours before I went to bed (this was of course without a top coat). You can see that debacle by clicking here.

I found the wear time with this polish was great. I actually ended up topping it with PISTOL polish Run The World which turned out to be GORGEOUS! I’ll post those swatches when I do a full post on Run the World but you can get a little sneak peek of that over on TDV Twitter.

There are, of course, additional swatches of Royal below the jump!

 

Revlon Eclectic

When I first saw the display for Revlon’s new polish releases this year I wasn’t overly impressed with the new colors. I immediately picked up both of the new glitters from their Top Speed line (Hearts of Gold FX and Celestial FX) but none of the new regular polishes were really calling my name. Even when I saw a different display for the same collection at Rite Aid I was really only attracted to Urban due to the fact Olivia Wilde is wearing it on the display!

But then (yes, this is where the but comes in…) the weather started warming up and I was beginning to wear brighter colors. I passed by the display several times and picked up Eclectic. Finally I decided I needed to give it a go.

Eclectic is a soft almost mint pale green creme. The color really is quite lovely and is a bit of a fresh take on the mint nail polish trend. Unfortunately, the formula is a nightmare! It is watery, thin and runny. None of these things make for an easy manicure!

I used 3 coats in my swatches and as you can tell, especially in a couple of the swatches below the jump, there are definite bald spots. Granted, they weren’t all that noticeable in person but it did bother me.

The formula issues are really too bad because this is a lovely color! I just can’t see myself reaching for this polish when it takes so much effort to get a decent looking result.

Make sure to check out the additional swatches below the jump. If you know of a similar polish or dupe of this polish please let me know in the comments below!

 

Revlon Urban (+ a comparison to OPI…Eurso Euro!)

At the beginning of the year Revlon released a slew of new polishes. I spotted them at CVS and was seriously distracted by the new glitter polishes; Hearts of Gold FX and Celestial FX. Not until I spotted the display for Revlon’s Bubblegum Days and Urban Nights collection was I sold on Urban. Olivia Wilde is wearing it in the display picture and I just had to have it!

Urban is a deep blue creme with some purple undertones. It’s trying to be navy but it’s just not quite there. It fits very nicely in the deep blue category of my Spring 2013 Must Have Polishes post.

The formula gave me a bit of trouble. It’s on the thick side and bubbles easily if you are not careful. Despite the formula being thick(ish) I still needed 3 coats in my swatches.

While I was wearing this I thought it was similar to OPI OPI…Eurso Euro. As it turns out it’s really not. Urban is a few shades deeper than OPI…Eurso Euro. For a few comparison swatches (and additional swatches of Urban) check below the jump!

 

Revlon Hearts of Gold FX

Revlon released a bunch of new polishes the beginning of the year. I spotted the new Top Speed polishes at CVS in January and fell in love with both new glitters. At first I only picked up Celestial FX but eventually they both were added to my collection!

Despite what Hearts of Gold looks like in the bottle it’s not really gold at all. The small glitters are goldish but pull much more silver once on the nail. The heart glitter is silver with a bit of a holographic effect.

A review of this polish can go two ways. If you just apply the polish expecting the large heart glitter to be perfectly placed on every nail you will be very disappointed and will conclude that this polish is a waste of time and money. But, that is not the best way to approach this polish

To apply this polish I did one coat over Essie Butler Please on each nail not allowing any of the heart glitter to stay on my nails. This is not really a difficult task as it’s hard to get the heart glitter off the brush that way. Next, using a toothpick, I applied the heart glitter where I wanted and topped it with a top coat. I loved the result.

The biggest issue I had with this polish was the heart glitter wasn’t entirely flush with the nail. One of the hearts actually came off my nail after I got it caught on something. But otherwise, I have no complaints.

There are a bunch of swatches below the jump (including a more color accurate picture….Essie Butler Please does not get along with my camera!).

 

Revlon Steel-etto (+ Impala Na Mira 3D)

Way back when I was in law school (and by way back I mean 2006…) Revlon released an entire Dark Pleasures collection. It came out right around the time I was really getting into dark nail polish (plus I fell in love with the bottles…) so of course I ended up with a couple. The other polish I have from this collection, Purple Pleasure, is a favorite. So when I was looking for a polish to wear under Impala Na Mira 3D this immediately came to mind.

Steel-etto is an almost frosted steel gray. I say almost because it’s not full on offensive frosted but it’s packed with a whole lot of microglitter! The color is lovely and doesn’t lean green like so many steel (or gunmetal) gray polishes do (I’m looking at you OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous).

The formula is a bit on the thin side but not difficult to work with. I used 3 coats in my swatches.

Despite the fact that this polish was released quite awhile ago it is available on Amazon and does show up at Dollar Trees on occasion  I’d really like to eventually get my hands on the rest of the Dark Pleasures polishes. They all look so lovely!

Anyway, after I wore Steel-etto on its own for a day or two I topped it with one coat of Impala Na Mira 3D. It was magic! Nail polish magic. I was so excited I had to share it on TDV FB page. Make sure to check out swatches of that below the jump 🙂

Revlon Emerald City (+ a comparison to OPI Here Today…Aragon Tomorrow SUEDE)

Lets just be real about this. I’m never rocking a matte manicure unless I was seriously running late and needed a quick manicure. It’s not that I don’t like matte polishes, because I do, they’re just not something I wear often.

This time the lucky winner was Revlon Emerald City! Not too long ago I wore Fire Fox, which was released along with Emerald City as part of Revlon’s Suede Rhapsody collection, and ended up just loving it. The finish of these polishes is pretty unique. It’s not a matte finish, but it’s not a shiny finish either. It’s somewhere right in between.

Emerald City is a deep emerald green packed with microglitter (that matches my current handbag perfectly!). Considering the 2013 Pantone color of the year is emerald this polish is right on trend!

This polish applied beautifully in two coats and dried quickly. At least to the touch. It will dent for an hour or so after application.

If I had to pick between Fire Fox and Emerald City I’d definitely go with Emerald City. The finish on Fire Fox didn’t look quite right. But I really love the suede finish on Emerald City.

Way back in the fall of 2010 OPI released a suede version of Here Today…Aragon Tomorrow. The nail polish community was going crazy over it but it was difficult to find. I was lucky enough to spot it at Beauty Brands but never saw it at any other retailer (and it is nowhere to be found online at this point). Emerald City, while not a dupe, is a good alternative to Here Today…Aragon Tomorrow SUEDE and is part of Revlon’s permanent nail polish line.

Along with more swatches of Emerald City, there is a comparison of Emerald City and Here Today…Aragon Tomorrow SUEDE below the jump!

 

Revlon – Girly

After I posted my palette cleansing polish of the moment: Cruisin’ Nude, I seem to be jumping back on the glitter train!

I had originally bought Girly for a giveaway but last week it was cold, dark, and rainy and I really needed something to pep me up! I couldn’t stand staring at it’s glittery goodness day after day and finally caved (Sorry! There is another giveaway in the works though!)

I tried it on it’s own and much like it’s blue sister, Whimsical I found it to be a bit more sheer and decided it’s much better suited as a layering polish. I dug through my light pinks, purples, and lavenders and finally decided it’d look great over Essie’s Splash of Grenadine. We have a winner! For this look, I used one coat of Splash of Grenadine and two coats of Girly.

It is worth noting that this is not the original Girly that was released as part of the Edgy Elegance Collection in 2011 –  I must say I think the name fits this polish much better!

What do you think? Check below for some more pictures!

 

Katie’s Top 10 of 2012!

Happy New Years Eve!!!

I can’t believe it’s time for a top 10 already! I really feel like I just pressed “publish” on my Top 10 from 2011! Personally, 2012 has absolutely flown by and it’s been an up and down crazy ride but all in all I’d give it a thumbs up.  Anyways, I’m really excited to share my favorites of the year with you!

Though I didn’t realize it when I was whittling down my list from 15 to 10, it seems my favorites for 2012 are for the most part filled with sparkle, shimmer, and shine – which matches my feelings on 2012, and represents my hope for a beautiful 2013. I hope you enjoy!

I’d absolutely love it if you left your Top 10 in a comment below!

Have a safe and happy New Years!

Wear Test: Revlon ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel

Color me impressed!

Revlon’s ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel line has quickly become my favorite drugstore brand polish line. I’ve had nothing but good luck with all the polishes I have tried from the line but since Revlon claims this line is a longwear line I wanted to do a wear test.

On their website Revlon claims this polish wears up to 11 days and is “shatter proof”. I didn’t make it 11 days, but I did make it 6.

I applied Revlon ColorStay Provence on a Wednesday and wore it until the following Tuesday. For a base coat I used Julep, and for a top coat I used Revlon ColorStay.

Overall, I am exceedingly impressed with how well this polish wore. I had no major chips or cracks, just tip wear. The biggest difference between my day 1 manicure and my day 6 manicure was the amount of shine. The manicure did dull quite a bit over the 6 days.

Below the jump there is a picture of my nails on day 6 along with a macro shot. The tip wear really is quite minimal for the amount of time I wore this manicure.

One thing is for sure….this turned out a heck of alot better than my last wear test!