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Nail Polish Stress Test: Revlon Gel Envy All In

Ahhh, wannabe gel polishes. I want to believe in them so much, but every one I’ve tried so far has been loser polish. I keep trying them, because I keep hoping one of them will actually work! That brings me to today’s polish, All In, from Revlon’s Gel Envy line.

All In, is a dark gray base with a strong blue shimmer. It looks like it should be a duochrome, but it isn’t. I used two coats here with the Gel Envy topcoat over that. It dried fairly quickly, no issues there. If anything, I found it was easier to apply than traditional polish.

I did try stamping and watermarbling with it. Watermarbling was a fail; it dries too quickly. It’s too sheer for stamping. The results just aren’t worth it.

The really important question is how well did it hold up?

To my supreme disappointment, it didn’t. Once again, I had tip wear on the first day that can’t be ignored. *sigh* To be fair, this is the least damage one of these wannabe gel polishes has suffered on me, but this doesn't say long wearing to me.

Verdict: Loser Polish

Once again, a polish that claims to last up to seven days fails to last even one. I guess this is another one for Team Office Job. At least I didn’t pay much for it. I grabbed it during a rare 40% off Revlon sale at Rite Aid. At least that eases the pain of my disappointment. 

Nail Product Stress Test: Sinful Colors Henna I Do Nail Wraps

Continuing on my nail wrap journey, I came across this set from the Sinful Colors Bombay Nights display for $2.99. As of this writing, it’s still available in Rite Aid and Walgreen’s.

I honestly wasn’t sure how to use these. The directions on the package said how to apply them, but I was unsure how these would look on bare nails. Was this supposed to be like a negative space manicure? I debated for a bit and decided to put them on my nails straight. Nail wraps traditionally don’t go over polish, right?

The designs themselves are pretty, and have a little bit of sparkle in them. I was hopeful when I applied them, but when I was done, I got……..

…that.

These look awful.  Application was difficult. These things wrinkle like crazy for one thing. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t avoid it. The fact that the wraps are clear helps make it less noticeable, but I know this looked bad. Then there’s the design. It’s not nearly dark enough so it looks…..well…..like crap. There’s no way anyone with a darker skin tone could wear these on their own.

Then there’s the matter of trimming them at the end. I tried using a file left over from the Essie wraps, a nail file, my buffer, it didn’t matter. I ended up with horrible looking ragged edges.

They reminded me of Essie’s wraps in that it feels like I coated my nails in a heavy layer of glue. At this point, I really didn’t like how they looked or felt on my nails. I was thiiiiiiiiis close to taking them off, but I figured I’d wear them to work and see how they held up.

The fact that they’re mostly clear helps, but the tips got pretty messed up by the end of the day. Granted, they had a head start, but this was total fail.

Just for science, I thought I’d try using a couple of the leftover wraps over some neutral polish. This is more like it. You can actually SEE the design, but application is still a problem. I found there was no way to reposition the wrap if I wasn’t happy with how it looked. They seemed to stick to the polish somewhat, and when I peeled it off afterwards, the wrap lost its adhesion. Basically, if you can’t nail it the first try, it’s not happening.

Using the wraps over polish had no bearing on their durability, they still got messed up after one day. If you do decide to buy these, using them over polish is definitely the way to go. 

Verdict: Loser polish

This is a great concept, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Don’t buy this. For $3 you could get three bottles of their polish instead. 

Nail Polish Stress Test: Claire’s Money Bags

Last year I tried Sally Hansen Color Foils nail makeup. Color Fail would have been a better name. They sucked at everything except water marbling Christmas ornaments. I still haven’t given up on the concept though, so when I found the Liquid Metal polishes at Claire’s, I figured I’d give it a go. Was that a bad idea? Let’s find out!

Money Bags is a terrific minty metallic green. It seems very similar to the Color Foil polishes in that it comes in an opaque bottle and has the same chrome finish. However, unlike the Sally Hansen polishes, it doesn’t say anything about not using base or top coats. The formula is more like traditional polishes and dries in the same amount of time as the average lacquer. I strongly recommend using a base coat or buffing your nails before you use this as it’s going to highlight any ridges you have on your nails. I buffed mine a couple times before I was ready to take pics with this stuff on. Spoiler alert: This polish will stain too.

I used two coats with one coat of Seche Vite on top. Since this polish was so similar to the Color Foils, I strongly suspected it wasn’t going to hold up well, so I decided to try this one out on a weekend as well. 

 

The very best thing about this polish is that it stamps beautifully and reliably. It has yet to fail me in this regard. It will watermarble, but care has to be taken with what polish you pair this up with. Money Bags spreads out a lot. I’d pair this with polish that spreads out just as much or you’re going to end up with goopy results. 

 

So, was I right to test this on a weekend?

Yep! It got wrecked by the end of the day. I’d even made sure to do all my housework and cleaning before I put it on! I guess this breed just isn’t very hardy.

 Verdict: Party Polish

If you’re not into nail art, I wouldn’t bother with this. If you’re into stamping, you need this polish, and the other colors in the series; they all work the same way. They’re a decent price at their regular price of $5.50. I’ve found them on sale more than once at $2. That’s awesome for stamping polish! Honestly, I wish they’d make these in a few more colors. I’d totally buy them!

Nail Polish Stress Test: Julie G Tangerine Dream

I love textured polish so much. Yeah, I’ve said that before, I know. Bear with me. I haven’t accepted that they’re old hat. I’m hanging on until they finally go the way of magnetic and crackle polishes and become nigh impossible to find.

My nail polish BFF understands this, and sent me this gem; Tangerine Dream. This nice score was found at Rite Aid for the awesome clearance price of $1.99!

Tangerine Dream is an iridescent orange. The texture is more abrasive than average. I definitely wouldn’t wear this with pantyhose, I think they’d get shredded, reinforced toe or not. As is usually the case for textured polishes, you can’t stamp with this. I’m not into gritty water marbles, so I didn’t bother attempting that here.

I used three coats with no top coat.

So, how did it hold up?

It did very well. It went a solid three days before the tip wear was noticeable.

Verdict: Excellent

This polish is a great value and a solid performer.

I’m going to add even more incentive to look for this one; it’s a nearly exact dupe of Zoya Beatrix.

The only real difference is that Beatrix is a bit smoother. In these swatches, Beatrix is on the left, and Tangerine Dream is on the right. Can you tell them apart?

Considering Zoya’s textured polishes run $10 per bottle, and the performance of the two polishes is identical, I’d say definitely grab Tangerine Dream if you come across it! 

Nail Polish Stress Test: Nicole by OPI I’m Stucco On You

In my world, textured polishes have been one of the greatest things invented since sliced bread. They’re easy to apply, and are some of the longest lasting polishes I’ve used. I’m sad their moment is pretty much over. However, I’m going to enjoy them as much as I can before they vanish off the face of the Earth for good.

As the name implies, I’m Stucco On You is a textured polish from Nicole by OPI’s Roughles collection. It’s got a lavender crème base with red and blue specks.  

I like how they labelled the caps on this series in that they make it clear there’s something different in the bottle. For bonus points, they also put the instructions on the cap; no top coat needed here. I wish more companies did this. Mouseprint on the bottle can be difficult to read!

I’m Stucco On You gave me full coverage in three coats. I let each coat dry before I used the next one. The texture is noticeable but not distracting. As per the directions I did not use a top coat.

 

The red specks kind of threw me. At first I thought I’d missed spots, but on closer examination, I was relieved to see that wasn’t true

I’ve heard polishes like this can be used for water marble, but something about having gritty swirls on my nails doesn’t appeal to me, so I didn’t go there. This would definitely be a good canvas to stamp on. Stamping with? Definitely no.    

So how did it hold up? 

 I was a bit disappointed with the durability of this one. It only lasted two days. I’m used to getting three or more out of a textured polish. All things being equal, this was much easier to remove.

Verdict: Good

While this isn’t the best of its class, it’s still a decent polish. I got this from TJ Maxx as part of a set of two for $6.99.

  

Based on how long it didn’t last, I’d say grab it only if you can get it for $3 per bottle or less. It’s a decent polish but not a must have.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Orly Color Blast Frozen

A couple months ago, I reviewed Snow Queen, a polish from the Color Blast Frozen collection. I wasn’t really happy with it, although it is good for nail art. If you follow my Instagram feed, you may have seen pics I took of other Color Blast polishes that left me seriously not trusting the brand. However, on a recent trip to Walgreen’s, I saw the Frozen collection was on clearance for $3.59. Oh what the heck, one more bottle for science!

Frozen has a blue base with a duochrome shimmer. The shimmer is beautiful, shifting from green to aqua, to purple depending on the light. It reminds me quite a bit of mother of pearl. It practically looks luminous on!

As much as I like this, I do wonder about the name. This doesn't make me think of the movie, or anything icy at all. Oh well, if I ever start my own polish line, I'll make sure the names are relevant to the polish.

This polish is on the sheer side. It doesn't show in my pics, but I could see nail line even after using three coats. I added my usual coat of Seche Vite on top.

It’s worth noting that because of the sheer aspect of this polish, it’s not good for stamping or water marbling.

So, how did it hold up?

It went a good two days before the damage was noticeable.Something about the texture of it made me think it was going to be brittle. I wasn't too far off in that it chipped in odd places. With that said, it definitely surpassed my expectations.

Verdict: Good

This is more like it! I would have been sad if this had ended up as loser polish. It’s good to know this product line may have decent polishes in it, but I’m still wary. I still think the price is too high. However, if I can find more Color Blast bargains, I’ll try some more!