Revlon Jaded

Self-purchased

Revlon Jaded is a delightful, neutral-toned mint creme. A perfect color for spring! 3 coats. The formula was a bit thick, yet slightly runny. It didn't level out too well when it dried, but that was fixed with a good top coat. Overall, a standard mint creme that you can find in any brand.

Thanks for looking!

Michelle

Le Lacquer Hook Up Turns 4!: Revlon Plum Seduction + Essie Penny Talk

Self-purchased

Le Lacquer Hook Up turns 4 today! I can't believe how long this journey has been, and how long I've been doing this hobby! Though nowadays I've been destashing to achieve a more "normal"-sized collection, I'm still very much in love with nail polish: the array of colors, finishes, and endless possibilities that only exponentiate with nail decorations, stamping, and acrylic paints! Thank you for joining me on this journey. I hope to continue it as long as I enjoy it.

I've finally updated the blog's design to celebrate! I really like the minimalist/modern theme since it's the sharp, clean look I've been wanting.

Revlon Plum Seduction is a vibrant pinky plum crelly. It looks far pinker in the swatch since it's actually a bit of a deeper purple in real life. It's a very pretty berry shade, and was perfect for the holidays! 2 coats, but it was super close to being a one-coater. The formula was AMAZING. It was super easy to apply, very pigmented, and dried shiny. No top coat. I can say no more, except that I totally recommend this polish!

Essie Penny Talk (accent nail) is a rose gold chrome. 3 coats. Because it was a chrome, it was difficult to apply. I had to make sure not to go over areas more than once and to paint quickly because the paint would curl up and come off once it was partly dried. (Chromes dry fast!) Brush strokes also showed once it dried, though that could be remedied by sponging on the polish to blur the strokes. But the great thing with chromes is that they're wonderful as stamping polishes! I think I'll start using Penny Talk more for stamping, though I think it's still great for the occasional accent nail. With top coat.

Thanks for looking! Happy New Year!

Michelle

ABC Challenge: Q - Claire's Queen Bee + Revlon Celestial FX

Self-purchased

Claire's Queen Bee is a blue-toned lilac creme that's great for spring. I used 3 coats. The formula was creamy, but thin and slightly runny so I had to apply the polish carefully. It surprisingly dried to a satin finish and didn't level well so I used top coat to smooth it out and add some shine.

Revlon Celestial FX has silver star, moon, and diamond holo glitter, along with iridescent glitter, in a clear base. It's a whimsical polish that reminds me of fairytales! I used 1 coat over Claire's Queen Bee. The formula was not very good, but workable. Even though I set the bottle upside-down for a while, I still wasn't able to get the silver holo glitter out unless I swirled my brush and fished for them. Also, I could only get the iridescent glitter if I dabbed it. The polish had a lot of clear base that got a bit thick and gloopy so I recommend sponging this polish onto the nail instead of applying it normally. The large glitters weren't flexible so I couldn't bend them to match the curve of my nails. With top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Revlon Vixen

Self-purchased

Revlon Vixen is a gorgeous oxblood creme with a smidgen of brown to it. I used 2 coats. The formula was wonderful, not too thin or thick and very easy to apply. It dried really shiny, but I still used top coat. This is definitely a must-have if you love oxblood polishes like I do!

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Rimmel Candyfloss Cutie + Revlon Starry Pink

Self-purchased

Rimmel Candyfloss Cutie (index and middle fingers) is a warm, rosy pink frosty texture. For some reason, the polish reminds me of cherry blossoms! I used 4 coats in case it appeared patchy in swatches, but it's actually opaque in 3 coats. The formula was good, but the big brush make it a little tricky to apply. The textured finish became apparent almost as soon as I finished each coat. It dried quickly. I didn't use top coat in order to preserve the textured finish.

Revlon Starry Pink (ring and pinky fingers) is a darling pale pink crelly packed with silver glitter. It's super princess-like! It has since become a part of Revlon's core line and been renamed "Popular". I used 3 coats, finishing with a thick third coat. It would have been better if I had done 2 medium-thick coats. Fail, lol. The formula was good, though I had to dab on the silver hexes. Alternatively, I could have set Starry Pink upside-down before applying it in order to get the hexes out. It dried shiny. No top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Revlon Whimsical + Sally Hansen Barracuda

Self-purchased

Revlon Whimsical (index and middle fingers) has rosy pink, sky blue, and iridescent glitter in a very sheer, pale blue base that's greenish. It's so, so pretty! I already knew Whimsical was going to be extremely sheer when I purchased it so I wasn't disappointed when I wore it. I used 3 coats. The formula was good and easy to control. I needed to dab a little in order to get the bigger glitters out, but it wasn't a big deal. :) It dried shiny. With top coat.

Sally Hansen Barracuda (ring and pinky fingers) is a wispy sky blue creme. I used 3 coats. The formula was really good! I found it easy to apply and control the polish even with the huge brush that the Complete Salon Manicure line is notorious for. It dried shiny. With top coat.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Revlon Parfumerie Wild Violets

Self-purchased

Revlon Parfumerie Wild Violets is a very dark purple creme with red and blue shimmer. The shimmer was much more noticeable in the sun in real life. I'd put the color in the same family as the magnificent Chanel Taboo. I believe I used 2 coats. The formula was good and it was easy to apply. Since it was very pigmented (enough to slightly stain my cuticles even after clean-up), I used 2 coats of base coat. It dried very shiny so I didn't have to use a top coat; it lasted until I removed it. Wild Violets, in my opinion, smells like very candied so it is a sweet scent. On the first day, I felt that it was strong and, at times, I felt a little overwhelmed. Generally, I don't wear perfume or body spray because I'm sensitive to some scents (especially those in cologne). However, by the second day, the scent died down considerably. Since I didn't use a top coat, I'm not sure if it would affect the scent, though I've read from other blogs that it doesn't.

Thanks for looking! See you on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Revlon Cloud + Essence Julia

For the next two weeks (with the exception of today), I'll be posting some of my indie polishes. I really loved them, and I hope you guys will too! :)

Revlon Cloud

Cloud is a pale periwinkle creme. 3 coats. I don't know why it was in my untrieds mountain for so long because it's such a pretty color! However, the formula left much to be desired. It was watery, but was neither thin nor thick. The first coat was a bit sheer; opacity built up with each additional coat. To top it all off, Cloud didn't level well either. However, I bought this about 2 or so years ago. I think Revlon might have improved the formula because my replacement for Jaded (also from the same Top Speed line) had a much better formula than my first one, which I bought at the same time as Cloud. I bought the replacement a week ago. Anyway, contrary to the fast-drying claim, Cloud dried in an average to slow length of time. It dried with a nice gloss.

Essence Julia

Julia is an enchanting mix of holographic silver small square and small and fine hex glitter. I layered 1 coat over Revlon Cloud. The combination was SO pretty and delicate! I didn't want to remove it, but I had to for swatching purposes. :( Anyway, the formula was really nice. Fishing for glitters wasn't necessary. I did have to dab a little though. It also dried slowly. As far as I know, the Essence Nail Art Glitter Toppers were never released in the U.S. I'm so lucky I got Julia from a blog sale! If I can find another bottle, I'll definitely purchase it. Julia is back-up worthy!

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Revlon Royal + Essie Shine of the Times

Revlon Royal topped with 1 coat of Essie Shine of the Times

This manicure was SO BEAUTIFUL! I kept it on for this whole week! The dark, vibrant blue crelly of Royal perfectly complimented and shown off what flakie polishes like Shine of the Times are known for: green, red, orange, and yellow (and intermediate colors too!) flashes at various angles. Because Royal is a dark color, the flakies are not hard to discern and the color flashes are very prominent. I loved looking at my hands and seeing the colors reflect.

This manicure lasted the whole week with very minor wear; I used Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Strengthener as my base and top coat. It really depends on your body chemistry because certain top coats that work for others tend to chip off in flakes on me.

And here are some gorgeous close-ups...

The green shift is much more prominent in real-life, but red, orange, and yellow are the dominant colors. The camera I used just did not want to cooperate with this manicure (too beautiful, maybe?) and I could not get any decent pictures of how the manicure really looks. You have to see it in real life to see its beauty!


And here is a swatch of Revlon Royal...

Revlon Royal

Just look at it! Royal is soooo beautiful. It is a vibrant blue creme jelly and took 2 coats to become opaque. Because it is jelly-like, there is a little visible nail line. It is not very noticeable because the polish is dark enough to hide a lot of it. The formula was alright; the polish was a bit hard to control and was runny. When it dried, there was a little bubbling. The polish dried slower than Revlon Mistletoe though. However, I did not experience any thickening of the polish like I did with my first purchase of Revlon Jaded (also part of the Top Speed line). I got it a couple years ago, when the line was still pretty new so I assume Revlon improved its formula (thank goodness!). Let's hope Royal does not separate as quickly as Jaded!

Royal is available wherever Revlon polishes are sold. Shine of the Times, however, is much harder to find. It was released as part of Essie's Luxeffects Collection that had people going WILD! As far as I know you can still get Shine of the Times from e-tailers such as transdesign.com. There are also many polishes similar/the same as Shine of the Times, like Nubar 2010 (online on bynubar.com as far as I know) and Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure 2010 version (released in a 2010 collection and impossible  to find except on maybe ebay). Be careful! Sally Hansen reused Hidden Treasure to name a recent polish that is similar to Sally Hansen Ring My Shell.

I hope you guys enjoy the weekend! (I will be sleeping and studying for my next bio exam... x__x) I got some VERY good and exciting e-mail today from TOMS: I won a bottle of Essie Barefoot in Blue! I am SO excited to receive it and I want to swatch it as soon as it gets here! Hopefully, it ships to the right place because I remember the address line was so small...

See you guys on the other side of the day!

- M

Revlon Mistletoe

Revlon Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a blackened green packed with gold, green, and brown-copper shimmer. It applied beautifully and was opaque in 2 coats. If you were more careful than I was, you could have gotten away with 1 coat, but it wouldn't have been as green. True to claim, the polish did dry relatively quickly (around 1 minute or so); I have not bought any Revlon Top Speed polishes since Jaded because it had such a horrible formula and slow dry time (a painfully slow one at that). Revlon has definitely improved its Top Speed formula and I am very impressed! I am very excited to swatch Royal now! As Mistletoe is loaded with shimmer, be careful when you remove it so you can minimize the amount of shimmer left on your nails and cuticles.

Here are more pictures of the beautiful polish! You can see the light green, gold, and brown-copper shimmer here.

Mistletoe was released as part of a limited edition collection. As far as I know, you can still purchase it on ulta.com. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! See you guys on the other side of the day!


P.S. Please ignore my slightly lobster hands. I think the camera made my hands appear so red.


- M