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: 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.

Nail Polish Stress Test: L.A. Colors Dare Devil

It seems like everyone’s getting into the wannabe gel scene these days. Today’s subject is a from  L.A. Colors new Color Craze Gel line, Dare Devil.

Dare Devil looks like a blue toned purple crème in the bottle that’s supposed to have a high shine. The reality is it’s more of a red toned purple jelly on the nails. I used two coats as per the directions. I thought it looked a bit streaky. It also wasn’t particularly shiny. I used one coat of their top coat, which did help somewhat.

This polish will stamp, but not easily. It didn’t do great with finer lines and details. Larger designs came out much better. It water marbles pretty nicely. The color did bleed somewhat, so I don’t recommend using this with contrasting colors.

So, how did it hold up?

 This only lasted one day, which seems to be par for the course when I test wannabe gels.

Verdict: Party Polish

This might be worth picking up if you’re into water marbling, or if you’re on Team Office Job. It actually performed the same as other wannabe gels I’ve tried, and this is one of the least expensive ones out there. This line of polish can be found at Family Dollar and is $2.49 a bottle.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Azature Pink Diamond

Happy New Year! Let’s start 2016 with some bling, shall we?

The first time I'd heard of Azature nail polish was in 2013 when they featured a bottle of polish costing one million dollars created to raise money for charity. I later learned they sold more affordable polishes costing $25 apiece. That’s WAY out of my price range, so I passed on them until I learned they occasionally do some nice sales. I was able to score a few bottles for $6. One of them is today’s subject, Pink Diamond.

The gimmick behind Azature polishes is that each bottle contains a real black diamond. This does not impress me as common sense says nobody is going to grind up a valuable gem and dump it into nail polish. What does impress me is the sparkle this polish has. Pink Diamond is a really pretty bubblegum  pink jelly with tons of silver microglitter. It’s the blingiest non holographic polish I have, and was just about as challenging to photograph as Bonita’s Golden Girl. The formula was very smooth and easy to work with. I was able to get full opacity in three coats. It was a little rough when it dried, but after I added my usual coat of Seche Vite, it was nice and glossy. 

Pink Diamond won’t stamp, and as a lighter colored jelly glitter, it didn’t water marble either. It’s a shame; that would have looked awesome!

So, did black diamonds make this polish last longer?

Nope! It only went two days before I had some big chips.

Verdict: Good

Had I spent $25 on this, I would have been pissed. At that price, I expect more. Lots more. At $6, I’m a bit disappointed it didn’t do better, but at the same time, I’m really not their target customer. This polish is selling a concept of luxury in a bottle. It's still beautiful and I'm totally keeping it.

Also! If you plan to shop for their polish, maybe don’t do it online from work. If you go through their main page, it looks like they’re selling something else that might get you in trouble with your boss! Here’s a direct link to Pink Diamond that’s safe.

EDIT:  Use caution when viewing their Instagram page too! Yowza!

EDIT 2: Er, use caution following them on social media in general! I saw the same racy pic hit Instagram, Facebook AND Twitter this week. 

Nail Polish Stress Test: Bonita You’re My Lobster

Today I have another polish from Bonita’s Forget Me Not collection, You’re My Lobster. I scored this baby from my local Rite Aid for only $1.49. I was lucky to come across this display just as it came in as it was wiped out very quickly!

You’re My Lobster is a festive bright red jelly with loads of small and micro red glitter. I used three coats. I did not love the finish on this one when it dried. It was pretty coarse and semi matte, to the point where it reminded me of some of the final Pixie Dust polishes Zoya came out with like Oswin. One coat of Seche Vite helped somewhat. I think two coats of You’re My Lobster with two coats of Seche Vite might be a better way to go, but I felt that in this case keeping the testing conditions the same as everything else I’ve reviewed was more important. 

As you might expect, this polish can’t be used for stamping. It can almost water marble. I found it did spread nicely, and the results look really pretty in the cup. However, there’s sooo much glitter in there, that the results ended up being rather lumpy on my nails.

So, how did it hold up?

It did pretty well. It went two days before it started to noticeably chip. At first I thought I could push it a third day, but once the chips started there was no turning back.

Verdict: Good

It turns out You’re My Lobster is a bit on the brittle side. Still, it’s a good polish for the money. I have no regrets about buying it. I’ll definitely double down on top coat next time I wear it though. 

Nail Polish Stress Test: Cover Girl #LaserLight

I was cruising the polish section of my local Rite Aid looking for polish bargains when I came across some Cover Girl polishes on clearance. I’ve never tried this line, so I picked up a couple to test drive. One of them is #LaserLight from their Glowing Nights series. It was only $.94, how could I resist?

#LaserLight is an inky black jelly. I’m not sure how this polish got its name. Glowing? This color? Nuh-uh!

It went on easily, taking three coats for full coverage. I used three coats with the usual layer of Seche Vite on top to make everything nice and glossy.

I didn’t have any luck water marbling with this, but it does stamp. Its inky quality gives the stamped design a nice effect. If I’d been thinking, I would have used this for a text design. Next time!

So how did it hold up?

I was impressed with how it did, especially since it’s a dark color. It went a solid three days before it was done in.

Verdict: Excellent

Ignoring the silly name, (seriously, who names a black polish #LaserLight?), this is a good find, especially for the price!

Nail Polish Stress Test: Revlon Scandalous

I love nail polish sales. I really do. I prefer sales where the price is straight up reduced as opposed to Buy One Get One 50% off. Then we get to the slightly more evil sales, where something is on sale for something like 3 for $5, but if you don’t buy 3 you have pay a slightly higher price. Tactics like that make me feel a bit jerked around. Paying less is paying less though!

That brings me to how I acquired today’s target; Revlon’s Scandalous. I picked it up the same time I purchased their Matte Pearl Glaze. It was part of a 2 for $4 sale, and no way in heck was I paying a noticeably higher price per bottle, even if it meant buying one more than I intended. Finding another bottle of polish I want to buy isn’t hard to do though.

Scandalous is a black jelly with large and micro purple glitter. It went on nicely with three coats, plus my usual coat of Seche Vite on top. I was expecting it to be on the rough side considering all the glitter, but it came out nice and smooth.

As you might expect, this polish is not good for water marbling or stamping.

So how did it do? 

This one did well. I’ve had problems with this kind of polish shattering or popping off the nail, but that wasn’t an issue here. It went a solid two days before there was any noticeable chipping.

Verdict: Good

This is a nice addition to anyone’s collection, especially if you’re in the market for something vampy.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Ulta XOXO

Ulta recently had a $2 sale on their nail polishes. Being as they’re normally $6 I had to jump on that. One of the polishes I got was XOXO.

XOXO is an interesting polish in that you really can’t tell what it’s like until you actually wear it.

When I saw it on the website, I thought it was pink and red glitter in a clear base. 

 When I got the bottle, it looked like a red jelly with pink microglitter. 

When I applied it, it turned out to be a red jelly with scattered holographic microglitter!

This polish is really really pretty. Every so often I had to stop and admire it. I was able to get full coverage with three coats. I added my usual coat of Seche Vite on top.

So how did it hold up?

Eh. It was pretty banged up after one day.

I didn’t have any luck watermarbling or stamping with it.

Verdict: Party Polish

I really wanted this to do better, but it is what it is. I still love it and will keep it, but as a weekend polish. I still want to try it in a French Manicure or layered over something else.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Finger Paints Endless Wear I Louvre You

Any time I hear about a polish that is allegedly long wearing, I find myself both curious and suspicious. The last one I tried didn’t fare well at all. Even so, when I learned Finger Paints had come out with their own line of long wearing polish I figured I’d give it a shot. Was that a mistake? Let’s find out!

I picked up I Louvre You, a bubblegum pink polish with a very pretty shimmer and microflakies. I’d say this is a jelly, but it can be opaque in three coats, which is what I went with. I used the matching Endless Wear top coat to finish it off. 

   This polish dries very quickly, which is great in the sense that you can move on to doing other things in the meantime, but also renders this polish useless for stamping or water marbling.

On to the critical part; how well did it hold up?

It didn’t. At the end of the first day I had noticeable tip wear, but I decided to push it to a second day. That was a mistake as I had catastrophic polish failure.

Verdict: Loser Polish

I’m being a bit harsh here as I’ve rated other polishes that have lasted one day higher than this, but they didn’t promise to last up to ten days either. Save your money and buy something else instead.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Zoya Thea

I love Zoya’s Pixie Dust textured polishes. The glittery matte finish is gorgeous, and the wear time has been fantastic.  Sadly, Zoya is discontinuing them. They’re declaring the moment is over, time to move on. I grabbed Thea during a sale Zoya had to clear out some of their Pixie inventory. Was this a good idea? Let’s find out!

From the Wishes Holiday 2014 collection, it’s most definitely not like the Pixie Dusts of the past. I would call this a Pixie Dust in name only. It looks like it should be comparable to one of the Magical Pixie Dusts like Arlo, but this doesn’t dry to a matte finish, nor is it textured. Thea is a purple jelly with lots of different sized holographic glitters. You could say this is what you get when you remove the matte texture and leave everything else. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with this, it’s just that I really liked the texture and I miss it here. 

This polish dried to a somewhat shiny finish. I actually went back to its product page to make sure I wasn’t supposed to top coat this. Sure enough, that’s what it says, so I didn’t. Like most glitters, it's not going to stamp or water marble.

So, how did it hold up?

 Not well at all. It was wrecked in one day. This polish is pretty darn brittle once it’s dried. 

I really wanted it to do better than this. I decided to try again, but this time, I added a coat of Seche Vite on top. In my opinion, it looks better shiny. 

 

This time, it survived two days before it was done in.

 Verdict: This is not a Pixie Dust Good

As long as you use a good top coat, curb your expectations, and only buy it when it’s on sale, this is a solid addition to your polish collection.

Nail Polish Stress Test: NYC: Queen’s Jewels

NYC is one of those drugstore brands I tend to ignore. I don’t associate them with much of anything new or interesting. However, I spotted their Crystal Couture collection on my last pass through Rite Aid and thought I’d give it a try. Was that a good idea? Read on to find out!

I chose Queen’s Jewels, which is a green jelly full of green glitter. There’s so much glitter that I wasn’t expecting it to be a jelly. It was nice and smooth after it dried too, no 30 grit sandpaper finish here! I used three coats, although two probably would have been enough. I used one coat of Seche Vite on top.

So how did it do?
 

Turns out this polish holds up like a champ! It lasted a full three days at work with minimal damage. All things being equal, this isn’t the easiest polish to remove, but I’m okay with that. It did stain a bit too.

Verdict: Excellent

This was a pleasant surprise. Clearly, I need to pay more attention to this brand. I also need to go back and see if any of the other polishes in this collection are left!

Nail Polish Stress Test: SpaRitual Intention

This polish is from their Illuminate collection, which came out in 2013, but has been showing up in TJ Maxx recently. I missed out getting any, but my friend was nice enough to loan this one to me, so let’s see how it does!

This is another tomato red polish, but this one is a jelly with red and gold glass flecks in it. While it’s on the sheer side, three coats were enough for full coverage. Putting this on was a joy. It went on smoothly and dried quickly. I put a coat of Seche Vite on top to make everything nice and shiny. I couldn’t resist stamping an accent design on my ring finger. This polish felt like it deserved a little something fancy. 

So, how did it last?

It did! After two days, it’s sustained minimal damage. It’s very rare for me to find a brand of polish that lasts this long at work. Why did I give it back???

 ….Oh yeah, karma.

Verdict: Excellent

This is one of THE best polishes it has ever been my pleasure to use. I absolutely need to track down my own bottle, and check out what else this brand has to offer!