Nail Polish Stress Test: CVS Pop-Arazzi Lovely In Lilac

Earlier this year I reviewed a couple of CVS’ Pop-Arazzi polishes. They were Good.  Since it’s been a while, I thought I’d try another one that’s been in my stash of untested polishes; Lovely In Lilac.

This one does what it says on the bottle. It’s a lovely shade of lilac. It has a slight shimmer to it in the bottle, but the reality is that this is a crème polish.

Pop-Arazzi polishes have something of a reputation for being foul smelling. It definitely smells stronger than most polishes. If you’re sensitive to this kind of thing, it’s worth being aware of, but I found it to be well within my tolerance level. I’ve dealt with worse for sure.

I used three coats here, with one coat of Seche Vite on top. The formula was nice and smooth. It was a bit streaky but it went away with that third coat. I have to say, I really liked how this looked when I was done. My collection doesn’t have a lot of pastels, so I was hoping this one would do well.

Sadly, it’s too sheer to be of any use in water marbling or stamping.

So, how well did it hold up?

Unfortunately, it didn’t do well at all. It was game over after one day. Normally I get better wear out of lighter colors, but that definitely didn’t happen here. I also got a surprisingly large amount of chipping on my thumb for some weird reason. That's unusual for me.

Verdict: Loser Polish

Lovely In Lilac doesn’t wear well, stamp, or water marble.  It’s a crying shame because it’s such a great color. At $2.99 (which no one should pay for this brand ever), it’s just not worth it. Hopefully I can find something better in the same color.

Nail Polish Stress Test: CVS Pop-Arazzi Surf or Turf and Head Over Teals

CVS recently came out with their own exclusive line of nail polish called Pop-Arazzi. I haven’t heard much about it. What little I have heard has been overwhelmingly negative. When I heard it was on sale for $.99 instead of the usual $2.99, there was only one thing to do – go get some for science!

I figured the polishes’ reputation was in full play when I got to CVS on the last day of the sale. I was expecting to find little more than top coats and boring colors. Instead I found a pretty good selection to work with. I was tempted to load up, but the knowledge that I was potentially buying loser polish made me hold back. I chose Surf or Turf which is a minty pastel green with a slight shimmer, and Head Over Teals. Betcha can’t guess what color that is? 

Both these polishes have a stronger smell than average. I can see where this could be a problem for some people, but after the misery that was the Walgreen’s Four Pack, I really didn’t think it was bad at all. I definitely didn’t feel like I needed to air out my apartment afterwards this time. I was able to get full coverage in two coats. One odd thing is that after they both dried, they smelled kind of like candy for a few hours. The next day the smell was completely gone though. 

Head Over Teals will stamp no problem. Surf or Turf was a bit odd. When I was testing it out on a practice wheel, it stamped quite well. 

When I tried stamping something else on myself, not so much. I threw a coat of Seche Vite on top and left it at that. 

I had no luck water marbling with these polishes.

So, how did it do?

 Pretty well all things considered. 

I noticed after it dried (but before I top coated) it had the same finish as Zoya Thea, and Republic Nail Gel Effect Monaco, two polishes that didn’t do well, so I was expecting epic fail time. I did have some noticeable chips and tip wear by the end of the day, but nothing outside the norm.

Surf or Turf Verdict: Good

This one held up pretty well. I have no regrets spending $.99 on it. Would I spend $2.99? Probably not, especially since it’s not as versatile as other polishes I’ve bought in that price range. 

Head Over Teals Verdict: Good

Like Surf or Turf, I think this is best purchased on sale, although this one has the added benefit of being good for stamping. I was also pleased that it didn't stain.