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: 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.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Walgreen’s $2 Beauty Bin Four Pack

As I continue on my journey to find out which polishes are worth buying, and which are not, I’ve learned that some cheap polishes are excellent. That’s enough to encourage me to buy more brands I’m not familiar with in the hope of finding more good bargains. That brings me to today’s subject; a four pack of no name polishes I found in the beauty bin in the back of my local Walgreen’s. Was this a good purchase? Let’s find out!

 

There were a couple varieties to choose from. I went with a set with orange, pink, blue and green polishes. The first thing I noticed once I hacked the package open was the caps. They looked as if they were missing something. I guess I'm just used to solid black or white ones. 

 

The second thing I noticed is that these polishes smell bad. I mean really bad. It was as if they’d gone rancid or something. I was seriously regretting attempting this test in mid-winter. Being able to open a window would have been really nice right about then! Breathing shallow, I foraged on ahead.

These polishes applied okay, the pink polish was a bit thicker than the others. All of them took three coats for full coverage. That terrible stink didn’t ever really go away, even several hours after it dried and a coat of Seche Vite on top! At least they did dry quickly.

Did the wear justify the smell?

Simply put, no. One day of work and it was the end of the road for this mani! Amazingly enough, none of the polishes stained.

Water marbling was a complete fail. Even if it did work, I’d recommend against it because of the stench factor! As for stamping, it’s doable, but difficult. These polishes dry pretty quickly. I had trouble with finer lines and details drying out before I could transfer it to my nail. It’s not worth the struggle. 

Verdict: Loser Polish

Anyone would be within their rights to give up on this set based on the smell alone. Its overall poor performance insures it’s not worth even the $2 I spent on it. The only use it might have is as a diet aid. That stink is definitely an appetite killer.