So I have this little problem...

I got hurt while lifting a box at work. According to the doctor I have sprained my left wrist and have an injury of the median nerve at forearm level. One way or this other this will mend, BUT for the time being I'm on light duty and can't lift more than ten pounds. As a result, I can't stress test nail polish. I'm normally a couple weeks on ahead on stuff, just in case. Sadly I've run out of material until I can get back to doing my regular job duties.

I'll be back to posting regularly as soon as I can!

Nail Polish Stress Test: Whim Gone Glamorous

As my search for a wannabe gel polish that doesn’t suck continues, I’ve come across a couple brands where I’ve balked at buying them. This is because in my opinion the cost is too high versus the odds of them being any good. One of those brands is the Ulta Exclusive, Whim. However, my friend came across a shade she really liked from that collection and offered to let me borrow it, along with the necessary top and base coat. I never turn down an opportunity like that, so today’s subject is Gone Glamourous.

Gone Glamorous is a dark vampy red jelly that has iridescent flecks in it. The flecks look awesome in the bottle, but once it’s on, you really can’t see them. I found the formula to be on the thin side, and while it applied okay, I had problems doing it neatly. I think this is partly because of the formula of the polish itself and partly because of the base coat, appropriately named Cover Your Bases. It’s supposed to act as a “magnet” for the polish and it certainly did that. When I went over it with Gone Glamorous, it adhered and dried very quickly.

I also found this polish was on the streaky side, so I used three coats to get full opacity. I finished off my mani with the recommended top coat, On Top Of It. I had to use a heavy coat as it dragged the color off otherwise. It dried pretty quickly. It looked pretty nice, but I really prefer the shine Seche Vite provides.

This is another polish that almost water marbles but dries too quickly to pull it off successfully. To my surprise, it stamped beautifully. It did well enough that I was able to use an image with fine lines for my ring finger accent nail. The sparkly bits didn’t interfere with stamping at all. Since I knew by this point that using On Top Of It would wreck the design, I used Seche Vite on that one nail.

So, how did it hold up?

Business as usual, it was wrecked in one day.

Verdict: Party Polish

The polish, top coat, and base coat cost $10 each. For $30, I want better results than that.This is exactly why I didn't buy them myself. However, if you came across Gone Glamorous in the clearance bin and were into nail stamping, it might be worth picking up.That's the only thing that saves Gone Glamorous from being Loser Polish.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Zoya Tilly

My first introduction to textured polishes was when Zoya first came out with their original PixieDust collection. I loved the sandy finish and the sparkle, and for a time, I had every single one Zoya came out with. Then came the UltraPixie dusts and Magical PixieDusts that I liked a little less. Between the jelly finishes, chunky glitter, and colors that were too similar. I was starting to sour on the concept for a bit. They also didn't last as long as the originals. However, I was still sad when they announced they weren’t coming out with any more Pixies though. Then, Zoya announced their Seashells collection which is made up of all PixieDusts. I went and ordered the whole set, including today’s test subject, Tilly.

Tilly is a silver textured polish with some holographic glitter and darker silver particles thrown in for extra sparkle. It’s a great combination of sparkly and shiny. I used three thin coats to get full coverage and let each one dry before I applied the next one. I did not use any top coat. The texture is fairly abrasive, but it smooths out a bit after you’ve worn it for a while.

As a textured polish it’s not suitable for stamping or water marbling. It’d be fun to use with nail vinyls though.

So how did it hold up?

It did great! I made it three days. This is the PixieDust I know and love. It didn’t chip at all, merely wore down. Mostly it was at the tips of my nails.

Verdict: Excellent

If you love textured polishes, holographic glitter, or silver, you need this polish! It can be ordered from Zoya’s website for $10, although they have promotions often enough that there’s no need to pay full price.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Pacifica Abalone

Recently, a friend of mine came across a brand of polish I’d never heard of called Pacifica. She ordered one called Abalone, and asked me if I wanted to take it for a test drive. Would I? Heck yeah!

The interesting thing about this brand is that it’s 7 Free.  According to Ulta’s website, that means it’s formulated without parabens, phthalates (dibutyl phthalate), toluene, xylene, camphor, formaldehyde, resin, and animals. The less bad stuff in there, the better, right?

Abalone is a gray based polish with duochrome iridescent shimmer. It’s one of those fun polishes that looks different depending on what kind of light hits it from which angle. It shifts between pink, green, blue and purple. It reminds me of Sally Hansen’s Silver Scallop without the big honking pieces of glitter.  Application was a breeze. The formula was nice and smooth, if a bit sheer, but I got full coverage in three coats. I used my usual coat layer of Seche Vite on top.

This polish can water marble, but it’s sheer enough that I don’t know that it’s worth it. Stamping wise, it can work. However, when I stamped it over white, it mostly just looked gray. Now to me, the whole point of using a polish like this in nail art is to be able to get a shimmery design. So, I tried it over black. I got shimmer, but it was subtle. I’d probably pass on stamping with it and reach for something else instead.

So, how did it hold up?

It did great! It lasted a solid three days before I felt it needed to come off. A person on Team Office Job could easily get a full week out of this.

Verdict: Excellent

It’s always nice to discover a new to me brand of polish that turns out to be worthwhile. I’m looking forward to trying out more from them. I ended up ordering my own bottle of Abalone after I returned the one I borrowed from my friend. As of this writing, you can order it from Ulta for $6.75.

Nail Polish Stress Test: L’Oreal Too Dimensional?

The other day I was cruising through Rite Aid looking for new polishes, when the L’Oreal display caught my eye. It had several items, including nail polish on 50% off clearance. I bought a couple including today’s test subject, Too Dimensional? Was that a good idea? Let’s find out!

Too Dimensional? is a hard polish to describe. It looks significantly different depending on the lighting. It’s a textured polish that seems to have duochrome properties. It can look more purple or gray depending on the light. It has iridescent shimmer and purple hex glitters mixed in to make it even more interesting.  I never got tired of looking at this one.

Here it is in LED light.

Here it is in sunlight.

And here it is in the indirect light I usually use.

This was easy to apply and I had full coverage in three coats. I let each layer dry completely before I added the next one. I did not use any top coat. The texture was somewhat abrasive but not distractingly so, and that always wears down a bit as soon as I start living life.

As a textured polish, it can’t be used to stamp or water marble. I bet it’d be fun to use with nail vinyls though!

So, how did it hold up?

It did pretty well. It made it two days before it was time to take it off.

Verdict: Good

This was a good find. I love textured polishes and unexpectedly finding this one makes me happy. You should pick this one up if you come across it. 

Nail Polish Stress Test: Color Club Rays The Bar

I love color changing and other gimmicky polishes. When Color Club came out with their new Heat Index collection, I had to try at least one.  I chose Rays The Bar. Was that a good idea? Let’s find out!

Rays The Bar is a thermal polish that is supposed to change from pink to orange depending on temperature. Looking at the label on the cap, that color change is supposed to be pretty distinct. It isn’t. Most of the time it looked like a bright coral to me. Occasionally it’d look slightly more orange or more pink. If you’re looking to buy this polish for the color changing aspect, don’t do it. 

The formula was on the streaky side, not to mention sheer. It took three coats to get everything looking even, which dried to a matte finish. There was still visible nail line afterwards. I used one coat of Seche Vite over it to make everything nice and shiny.  I used a different color changing polish on my ring finger because I wanted to see some color changing action darnit!

Stamping is possible with this polish, but I found it to be very frustrating to work with. I had a lot of trouble getting images to fully pick up to the point where I eventually threw in the towel. Water marbling was a complete fail as the polish wouldn’t spread.

So, how did it hold up?

It did pretty well. It made it two days before I had to take it off.

Verdict: Loser Polish

I can’t recommend buying this. If it was ordinary polish I’d rate it Good. However, it fails at its job of being a color changing thermal polish. There are better options out there. If you must try it, at least do what I did and wait for a sale as it usually sells for $10 on Color Club’s website.                     

Nail Polish Stress Test: L.A. Colors Ever After

I was cruising through Walmart the other day when I happened on a new L.A. Colors display. One of polishes stood out to me as being really pretty, so I thought I’d give it a try even though it’s a wannabe gel. That polish is today’s test subject, Ever After. Was this a good idea? Let’s find out!

Ever After is from L.A. Colors’ Color Last collection. In the bottle, it looks like a lavender polish with a really nice iridescent shimmer. Heck, the bottle design on this line has the cap matching the polish, so I was all set for a knockout mani. However, it turns out this polish is quite sheer. It still looks pretty, but not what I was hoping for. Application was easy. I used three coats hoping for opacity that never happened, and used one coat of their Crystal Top Coat as recommended.

This polish is too sheer to stamp. It can potentially water marble but it’s so sheer I don’t know that I’d bother with it.

According to the sticker on the cap, this polish is supposed to last ten days. Did it?

Of course not. This polish chipped big time on the first day. It’s easiest to see on my index finger where I have polish missing all around the edge of my nail down to the cuticle, plus big chips at tip. The same thing happened to my middle finger. I’d say this stuff is pretty brittle.

Verdict: Loser Polish

I was super disappointed this polish came out as sheer as it did. It’s shades of Hurt No Living Thing all over again, without the excellent wear time. With that said, I think this would look good layered over other polishes, and I’ll keep it around for that. Otherwise it’s another polish that makes promises of long wear that it can’t keep. You don’t need this one.  

Nail Polish Stress Test: Hard Candy So So Sequin

Ever have one of those busy weeks where you want to do your nails and need something that’ll get you through the rest of the week? When that happens to me, I reach for a glitter polish. This time around I went for So So Sequin from Hard Candy. Was that a good choice? Let’s find out!

So So Sequin is a very sparkly polish made of silver holographic microglitter, with large blue hex glitter and medium holo glitter. It’s another case where photos don’t do it justice. This is bling in a bottle. 

I am not a fan of the brush this polish comes with. I felt like I was using one of those cheap watercolor brushes you used as a kid. As a result, I found this polish was difficult to apply neatly. I was able to get full coverage in three coats in spite of the challenges. I used one coat of Seche Vite on top. It was still a tad rough, nothing a second layer of top coat couldn’t have fixed.

As a glitter, stamping is out, and the larger hex glitters make it less than idea for water marbling. I think it’d be fun to use with nail vinyls though.

So, how did it hold up?

Badly. I had major chips on the first day, and I’d barely even started working!

Verdict: Loser Polish

Considering I paid $1.50 at Ocean State Job Lot to get this, I can only complain so much. I think it’d be fun to use in nail art, or making Christmas ornaments, but I don’t see me using it on its own again.

Nail Polish Stress Test: CND Vinylux Black Pool

CND is a new to me brand that a friend and coworker of mine discovered at Ulta. As a fellow lacquerista, she was curious about it, so she picked up Black Pool. She was nice enough to offer me the chance to try it out too, and that’s an offer I can’t refuse!

Black Pool is from CND’s Weekly Polish line. It promises seven days of wear. That puts it in the wannabe gel category as far as I’m concerned.  As the name implies it’s a black crème. The first thing I noticed when I opened the bottle is that it’s got a pretty strong smell to it. Anyone who is sensitive to stinky things should consider themselves warned. It’s not the worst thing ever, but it’s definitely a thing.

Application was pretty nice. It went on in two easy coats. That’s nice to see in a black polish. I used one coat of the Weekly Top Coat to seal the deal. That’s where things got tricky. I found I needed to use a pretty heavy coat or it would drag some of the color off, which it did in places. Yet, if I used too much, which I did on my other hand, I got air bubbles that stuck out quite a bit.

Water marbling with this polish did not go well. It spread okay, but when I tried to do the actual marbling it got goopy and stringy. Stamping didn’t go much better. It can potentially work, but I had a lot of trouble picking up the image on the stamper. I’d say this one is not good for nail art.

So, how did it hold up?

It made it two days, which is well short of the week it promises, but pretty good for this type of polish, especially considering it’s black.

Verdict: Good

Based on how expensive it is, I wouldn’t get this unless you’re on Team Office Job. Otherwise I’d say it’s another polish that doesn’t stand up to the retail or warehouse world. This was $10.50 at Ulta. The Weekly Top Coat goes for the same price. 

Nail Polish Stress Test: Orly Color Blast Wonder Woman

I used to be really into superheroines as a kid. I thought Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Supergirl and such were awesome. I even had this sleeping bag! So, when I saw the Orly Color Blast Wonder Woman collection, it definitely hit me in the nostalgia. There was one polish that stood out to me from the collection, and that’s today’s test subject, Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman is a polish comprised of small metallic red glitter, matte yellow stars and matte blue hex glitter. As an Orly Color Blast polish, I would normally wait until it went on clearance before buying , but anyone who knows me is aware I have something of an obsession with stars, so I was really interested in trying this baby out.

Be prepared to shake this up a LOT, as all the stars tend to sink down to the bottom of the bottle and stay there.  Once I had it properly mixed up, it wasn’t too hard to fish the stars out. The red and blue glitter covered evenly without having to be patched up.The finish was pretty smooth although the stars stuck up bit in places. I used four coats to get full coverage, with my usual coat of Seche Vite on top.

As this is a glitter polish with big glitter pieces in it, water marbling and stamping is out of the question.

So, how did it hold up?

Not so great, I wrecked it in one day. The main problem is the stars. When they catch on things, they get pulled off, taking a big chunk of polish with it. *sigh*

Verdict: Loser Polish

I hate, hate, hate, to give it that rating, but I can’t let personal bias get in the way here. I think if a member of Team Office Job wore it, it’d last longer, but those of us with retail or warehouse jobs should save this for a day off, or use it as a topper.  I bought mine from Walgreen’s for $7.99.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Bonita Leaf Me Alone!

Bonita Colors is my favorite budget priced nail polish. The only store in my area that sells it is Rite Aid, and they’ve been known to miss entire collections. Grrrr! Imagine my delight when my friend surprised me with a full set of their new Candy Fix collection which she found by going to a different Rite Aid. Today’s subject is from that collection, Leaf Me Alone!

Embarrassing story; the first time I ever heard of Bonita, I was experimenting with making my own color changing polish by adding thermochromic pigment to existing nail polish. I bought some Bonitas to sacrifice. I figured they were cheap enough it wouldn’t matter if I ruined them, which I did. Had I known what I was destroying I wouldn’t have done that! The extra pigment eventually turned into goop at the bottom of the bottle, and I ended up tossing them. I’ve learned some things since then. I’ll be writing a post about that before too long.

Leaf Me Alone! Is a Granny Smith apple green with a pearly shimmer to it. At first I thought it looked a lot like Bonita’s Honey Dew Your Thing from last year’s Turq It! Collection, but next to each other I’d say the difference is strong enough to merit owning them both. In this picture Honey Do Your Thing is on the left, and Leaf Me Alone! on the right.

I like how Leaf Me Alone! is right between being a bright color and being a pastel. This went on easily and was opaque in three coats. I put my usual coat of Seche Vite on top.

I found when I tried to stamp with this one that technically it works, but it’s really sheer. I wouldn’t bother using it for that purpose. Water marbling is a different story. I’ve found Bonita polishes are generally very cooperative, and Leaf Me Alone! is no exception. It worked beautifully!

So, how did it hold up?

It did quite well. It went three days before I felt it was time to take it off. I was happy to see this one didn’t stain my nails.

Verdict: Excellent

This is another worthy polish, and at $1.49 a bottle, there’s no reason to let it get away. If you live near one of the Rite Aids that has this collection, buy it! Grab the rest of the collection too!

Nail Polish Stress Test: Claire’s Spring Fever

If you’ve ever stopped in a Claire’s, you may have noticed their layered polishes. If you did, I bet you wondered “what does that look like on?”  Let’s find out together!

I chose Spring Fever, a nice combination of pastel pink, blue and lavender cremes. The pink and blue make me think of Pantone’s 2016 colors of the year. I figured I’d go with colors that would go well with each other. 

Application was interesting. The polish came out predominantly pink, with a few faint blue streaks.  I didn’t see any lavender until I’d almost finished the last coat on my right hand. I’d consider the formula to be on the thicker side. It took three coats to get full coverage. I used my standard coat of Seche Vite on top. All in all this didn’t look like I’d used some groovy polish. It was more like I’d painted my nails with a brush contaminated with a different color. I’m assuming the streaks would look more colorful and pronounced over time, but you only get one chance to make a first impression. This did not impress.

Spring Fever didn’t do well water marbling. I suspect the thicker formula that allows it to stay layered in the bottle is the reason. It was just too goopy to work, but it came close! Stamping didn’t fare much better. It didn’t do well with fine lines and details. Even the designs that did stamp okay were ruined as soon as I applied top coat. That’s a major bummer.

So, how did it hold up?

Better than I expected. It lasted a solid two days before I decided it had to come off.

Verdict: Good

I’m not crazy about how this polish looks by itself. I guess if you wasted some or just kept on using it, you’d get more interesting results eventually. I think this would best be used as a backdrop for nail art. It usually sells for $4.50. If you’re really curious about this one, hold out for a good sale first.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Revlon Sky’s The Limit

This week’s test subject was an impulse buy. I was cruising through Rite Aid the other day when I saw they’d put a bunch of cosmetics on clearance. Of course I had to scope that out. As I did, I saw one bottle of Sky’s The Limit marked down to $4. The poor thing looked lonely so I thought I’d give it a home. Was that a good idea? Let’s find out!

Sky’s The Limit is a really pretty sky blue microglitter polish. (Okay, I say that about most blue polishes. I love the color and make no apologies for it.) Depending on the light it’s possible to see some purple glitter scattered in there too.  Application was a breeze. Three coats gave me full opacity. I like that it was thick enough to be able to apply it evenly, but not so much that it went on too thick. It’s part of Revlon’s Gel Envy line, so I used one coat of Gel Envy top coat over it. This is not a quick dry, so it needs more time to set up.

Stamping was a no go with this one. Technically it does work, but it’s so sheer you really can’t see it. It’s possible to water marble with it but it never really dried. I think it ends up being too much polish.

So, how did it hold up?

It did okay. I got two days out of it before I noticed damage. Considering this is a wannabe gel, that’s quite respectable.

Verdict: Good

Being as I already had the right top coat and I got this on clearance, I’d say this was a good pickup for me. However, I can’t recommend buying this at full price. This product still falls well short of the long wear this line promises. People on Team Office Job would get the most out of this one.

Nail Polish Stress Test: A England Hurt No Living Thing

A England has been on my list of brands I want to try ever since I first saw one in action. A good friend of mine knows this, so when she bought one for herself, she asked me if I wanted to borrow it. I of course said yes! That polish is today’s test subject; Hurt No Living Thing.

Hurt No Living Thing is a sheer grey polish with pink shimmer that can look purplish depending on the light. My friend and I were actually surprised by how sheer this was. She ordered hers from Color4Nails, and on their site, the polish looks opaque. Heck, it looks opaque in the bottle! The formula was really nice. It went on smoothly, and was nice and glossy on its own. However, even after four coats it was clear (no pun intended) this was meant to be a top coat. I am not a fan of visible nail line, but I decided I was going to do the full test drive anyways, so I put a coat of Seche Vite on top and let it ride.

Hurt No Living Thing is far too sheer to stamp. Water marbling isn’t a good idea either. It technically did work but the other polish bled into it like crazy, so unless that’s the effect you’re going for, don’t bother. I didn’t think to try this at the time, but I bet this would be great to use in French manicures.

So, how did it hold up?

I was impressed. It lasted a full three days before I spotted any chips.

Verdict: Excellent

Being as this is the same friend who got me hooked on Sparitual polishes, I’d say she knows how to pick ‘em.  If you’re into sheer polishes or want something nice to layer with, definitely snag one.

Nail Polish Stress Test; Nails Inc Shoreditch Lane Paint Can Polish

The Latest Big Thing in the polish world seems to be polish that comes out of a spray can. It’s supposed to be easier and faster to apply than traditional nail polish. Is it really? Let’s find out!

I chose Shoreditch Lane, which is silver. I also bought Paint Can’s Best Friend, the base/top coat that was marketed to go with it. While using their top coat isn’t mandatory, I figured I would try to give this product the best possible chance of succeeding. I was highly skeptical of this polish from the concept alone. That bottle of top coat is kinda small too. Here’s a shot of it next to a bottle of Bow polish, which has a similar shape. See what I mean?

According to the directions, you need to apply Paint Can’s Best Friend (or some other base coat or polish) to your nails first or the polish won’t adhere to them. Once that's dry, you shake the can, hold it about four inches away from your nails and spray the polish on.  You let it dry, apply Paint Can’s Best Friend (or another brand of top coat) over it, let that dry, wash off the excess and call it done.

Applying this polish wasn’t as easy for me as they made it sound. First of all, I had to protect my kitchen counter with newspaper so I didn’t cover it in spray polish. This is something I don’t have to do with traditional polish, so already I questioned whether or not this was “easier”. You absolutely, positively must do this, because it will go where you don’t want it. It even got on my fingertips somehow. I had to keep shaking the can to keep the product coming out evenly. It’s also worth noting this stuff is COLD. I wasn’t expecting that.

After you spray the polish on, you have to wait a bit for it to dry before you apply Paint Can’s Best Friend/your own top coat. That was a long couple of minutes. Because I had polish all over my fingers, I couldn’t touch anything. That was kind of a drag. I also noticed that Paint Can’s Best Friend’s brush picked up some of the polish as I used it, even though I’d made sure it was completely dry beforehand.

Washing the excess polish off afterwards was a pain. I have curvy nails, so getting the polish cleaned up took some work. I don’t think this is easier at all. I had to resort to using a cleanup brush dipped in acetone to get it all off my cuticles. I will say, it is a nice pretty shiny silver. It felt like normal polish once it was all said and done.

As you would expect, this polish is not suitable for stamping or water marbling. I did try using it with nail vinyls. It works, sort of. I noticed the color of the polish bled into the silver, and I didn’t get clean lines.

So, how did it hold up?

 

By the end of a full day of work, it was totally done in.

Verdict: Unacceptable

This is NOT easier than applying traditional nail polish. If you don’t protect your work area, it’s getting spray painted. As I noted in my Profusion nail polish review, I shouldn’t have to protect my work area just to polish my nails. How exactly am I supposed to use this on the go as Nails Inc suggests without my getting arrested for vandalism? Part of me wants to try this again with a different base/top coat. The reality is I just don't want to deal with the mess and hassle of it all over again for polish with the wear of the silver stuff they use on scratch off tickets.

It's also crazy expensive. I bought mine from Sally Beauty Supply, where I paid almost $12 for the can of polish, and about $5 for Paint Can's Best Friend. Ouch!

The excess polish didn’t “just wash off".  Again; this is easier, how?

Unlike hair spray where you have a sense of how much is left in the can, this polish is very lightweight. There’s a good chance it’s going to run out mid mani with no warning.

At the end of the day, this is a gimmicky, overpriced, waste of money. Save your money for normal polish. I know I’m bringing mine back for a refund.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Bonita Green Crush

I really like Bonita brand nail polishes. The only store near me that sells any is the Rite Aid next door, but they don’t have a dedicated store display for them. I have to wait for a new collection to be released and hope Rite Aid gets it in. My friend and I checked there nearly every single day for months to see if anything new came in. Our vigilance was finally rewarded when we found Bonita’s latest Gel On collection display. We nearly bought all of it, including today’s test subject: Green Crush.

I was particularly interested in Green Crush because my polish collection doesn’t have many neons in it. Even though the color suggests this is green, I see it more as a highlighter yellow neon creme. As you can tell from my tag cloud, I don’t do much with yellows in general, so I’m happy to be able to give the warm side of the color wheel some love.

The Gel-On! label suggests this is a wannabe gel polish. Wannabe gel is my term for polishes that claim to last as long as actual gel polishes, and frequently need a specific top coat to go with them. More often than not, they also suck. However, since this display didn’t contain any top coats at all, I’m treating this like it’s traditional nail polish.

Application was a bit tricky. The formula is on the thick side. I found it was hard to apply evenly and neatly near my cuticles without flooding them.  Still, I was happy I was able to build it up to full opacity in four coats. I am not a fan of neons that require me to use a base coat or white polish underneath, so this was fantastic! I used my usual coat of Seche Vite on top.

Green Crush doesn’t really stamp well. It’s too sheer and dries too quickly, so I’d say don’t bother trying to use it for that purpose. Water marbling is another story. I used it with the other cremes from the collection and found it worked beautifully!

So, how did it hold up?

It did great! It made it a solid three days before I felt it had to come off.

Verdict: Excellent

All those days of stalking the polish displays for this Bonita was totally worth it, even if the cashiers at Rite Aid think I’m a weirdo. I think this is one of the best neon polishes I’ve ever used, in spite of the tricky application. If you see this polish, grab it! For $2.99, you really can’t go wrong.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Azature Coral Diamond

Azature is one of those brands that is hard NOT to be curious about. Curious as in at $25 a bottle, how good is it? Since I managed to score a couple bottles during their $6 sale, we’re gonna check out one today; Coral Diamond.

Coral Diamond is a really nice coral creme. It’s not too orange, not too pink, nice and bright without being neon. The formula was nice and smooth. I used three coats with my usual coat of Seche Vite on top. I gotta say, I really liked how this one looked on me.

As you can see, it stamped no problem. It also water marbled well too. This was one of the more cooperative polishes I’ve tried to use for that purpose. My brain was screaming “DON”T WASTE IT! THIS STUFF IS EXPENSIVE!” while I was testing it. I need to cover all the bases though, right?

So, how did it hold up?

I was impressed. It lasted a solid three days before the damage was noticeable.

Verdict: Excellent

At $25 a whack, it better be excellent, right? I’m definitely happy with this one. This may be my go to coral polish. Would I spend $25 on it? Nope. At that price I expect it to last at least two weeks and give me super powers!

IMPORTANT!  I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating; whatever you do, be careful about interacting with this company from work. Azature puts out some sexy pics to advertise their polishes. I’ve seen the same racy images on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even in emails. One of them was flat out NSFW. Here’s a link to Coral Diamond that’s safe. 

Nail Polish Stress Test: Sinful Colors Sugar High

Two things I absolutely love to see in polish are the color blue, and texture. That means today’s subject, Sinful Colors Sugar High should be perfect, right? Let’s find out!

Sugar High is a gorgeous royal blue textured polish from Sinful Colors’ limited edition Sugar Crushin’ collection. This is the color of joy.  Even better, it has a duochrome shimmer that shifts between blue and pink. I’ve never seen that done before, and I love, love, love it. Unlike its sister Sweeten The Teal, this polish is more on the sheer side. As a result, the color isn’t as deep on the nail as it is in the bottle. The texture isn’t overly abrasive and isn’t distracting as this kind of polish can be. I used three coats with no top coat.

As a textured polish, it won’t stamp. As for water marbling…well, this is the reason I don’t consider doing it with this kind of polish.

So, how did it hold up?

Sadly, it was a done deal after the first day.

Verdict: Loser Polish

While I’m sad this isn’t a repeat of Sweeten The Teal’s success, it’s still one of the prettiest polishes I’ve acquired in some time. I plan to keep on wearing this one; I’ll just stick to doing that on weekends. I picked this up at Walgreen’s for $1.99.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Claire’s Frosted Metal Blue

Ever buy a bottle of nail polish you thought looked cool but wasn’t what you expected when you put it on? That’s the story behind today’s test subject, Claire’s Frosted Metal Blue.

In the bottle, it looks like what it says on the bottle; a frosted metallic light steel blue polish, albeit one that needs to be shaken up a little. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to have glitter inside! If you read my review of Sea Temptress a while back, you’ll know I am not a fan of this kind of thing, so I wasn’t very happy to discover this. You can see the glitter in my bottle shot below, but at normal not magnified viewing range, it’s not obvious there’s stuff in there.  

Nonetheless, I foraged on. I will say this polish was easy to apply. The formula was on the thicker side, which was more like paint than lacquer. There’s micro glitter and bar glitter inside that gives more of a lumpy effect rather than frosty.  I used two coats and no top coat. Drying time was very short. This would be a good polish to put on if you wanted to do your nails just before heading out.

With all that glitter, there was no way this was going to be any good for water marbling or stamping. That’s a real bummer because I really wanted to try doing some nail art with it. I doubt one could even stamp on it!

So, my complaining aside, how did it hold up?

Not well. One day did it in. However, it’d be easy enough to put another coat on top to extend its wear.

Verdict: Loser Polish

As long as I’m griping, I’m also going to note that Claire’s really, really needs to do a better job of labeling their polishes in general.  *cough*ombre top coat*cough* If I’d known what was in that bottle, I never would have purchased it. At least it’s not terribly expensive. It normally goes for $4.50, but they run sales often enough that there’s no reason to pay full price for this. And you shouldn’t.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Sinful Colors Sweeten The Teal

I’ve loved textured polishes from the day they first came out. However, I’ve been wanting a nice bright green one, and up to this point, I haven’t been able to find any. Then last weekend, I saw a new display of Sinful Colors polishes at Walgreens. I snagged a few new limited edition polishes, including today’s test subject: Sweeten The Teal.

Sweeten The Teal is from Sinful Colors’ limited edition Sugar Crushin’ collection. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a textured polish, but it was so pretty I didn’t care. I was thrilled when I discovered it was! This polish is a lovely teal green, with a duochrome shimmer that shifts between green and gold.  As I type this, it’s currently Green Nail Polish Season, so it definitely got noticed at work. It’s quite sparkly when it dries. Application was a bit messy as the formula was on the thin side, plus not realizing it was textured, I was too heavy handed at first. Light coats are the way to go here. It has a sandy finish but it isn’t overly abrasive. I used three coats, and no top coat.

As this is a textured polish I did not try to water marble with it, and it definitely can’t be used for stamping.

So, how did it hold up?

It was awesome! It made it four days before it started to look beat up. It wore down pretty evenly, and even though it lost sparkle, I was able to revive it with a fresh coat on top for the weekend.

Verdict: Outstanding

This is the green textured polish I’ve been dreaming of! I’m delighted it held up so well too! If you love textured polishes or green, you need this one! It’s a fantastic value for $1.99!

Nail Polish Stress Test: Revlon Artsy

Blue is my very favorite color, and it seems like it’s been ages since I reviewed anything in that shade. I’m going to take care of that today by reviewing Artsy by Revlon.

Y’know, it’d be funny if there was a companion shade named Craftsy.

Aaaaaaanyways, Artsy is a dark blue jelly base packed with large hex, small, bar, and micro royal blue glitter. So gorgeous!  It reminds me of Revlon’s Scandalous, except I think the glitter in Artsy shows more as the base and glitter match. It was easy to apply. The glitter distributed nicely, no need to patch up bald spots with this one.  I used three coats total. They dried to a somewhat rough finish. One coat of Seche Vite helped with that for the most part. A second coat might have been helpful, but I want to keep testing conditions consistent.

This one isn’t useful for stamping or water marbling because of all the glitter.

So, how did it hold up?

Not so great.  Unfortunately, this is the type of polish that’s on the brittle side, so it chipped big time on the first day.

Verdict: Party Polish

I was really hoping this one would do better. At least it’ll still be a good weekend polish.