Nail Polish Stress Test: Finger Paints Violaceous Vase

Ever see a polish in the store, and want it, even when it’s not on sale? That was my reaction to Violaceous Vase, a recent release by Finger Paints. Was this a foolish and impulsive move? Let’s find out!

Violaceous Vase is a purple shimmer with small and large hex glitters. I would argue this is almost a duochrome in nature. I noticed it looked more pinkish or bluish depending on the light. This would obviously make a killer topper, but I was able to get full opacity with three coats. Is it ever pretty. This is one of those polishes where it’s hard not to keep staring at it. The shimmer is almost luminous!

The only downer is that polishes like this are no good for stamping or water marbling. Ah well, someday maybe. 

As for durability, it did great. I was able to wear it for three days before it got noticeably damaged. 

Verdict: Excellent

I feel totally justified for jumping on this one as soon as I saw it at Sally’s. I can’t speak to the chain as a whole, but I find waiting for my local store to get in polishes I want (if they ever do!) is no end of frustrating. I’m glad I don’t have to regret my impulsiveness!

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.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Bonita Penny for Your Thoughts

Bonita is yet another drugstore brand I’m not familiar with. I’ve only seen them for sale at Rite Aid, and they range in price between $2 and $3. One color that recently caught my eye was Penny for Your Thoughts, from their Greetings Earthlings collection. Time to get to know Bonita a little better!

 

Penny for Your thoughts is a gorgeous copper foil. I found the formula to be quite a bit thicker than the average lacquer, but that’s not a bad thing at all! It’s a lot easier to apply that way. Had I been more careful putting this one on, I could have done it without having to do any cleaning up around my nails afterwards. This was nearly a one coater, but not quite. I used two coats plus my usual layer of Seche Vite on top. 

I do have to gripe about the bottle design a little. It’s the tall, narrow, and easy to knock over kind.

Anyways, how did it hold up?

 It did pretty well. After one day of work it was showing signs of wear and tear. I think people who don’t work in a warehouse like I do would get it to last much longer.

It won’t water marble, but stamping? Oh yes! 

  

Verdict: Good

While it’s not the most durable polish out there, it’s still worth buying at $2, especially since it stamps.

I was so happy with how well it stamped, I went back and bought more from this collection. Most of it works equally well, specifically; Truth Fairy which is pink, Greetings Earthlings which is blue, and Sea Me which is green. These are also pastel foils like Penny for Your Thoughts.

Nail Polish Stress Test: Cult Cosmetics Hollywood Blvd.

Cult nail polish is a brand I’d never heard of before. I acquired a couple bottles from an awesome friend of mine, so of course I’ve got to do a stress test!

Hollywood Blvd. is a pale gold color with a foil finish. It’s nearly a one coater, but I ended up using two to get full coverage, with my usual coat of Seche Vite on top. To my surprise, several people commented on this one. I’ll put just about any color on my nails so I expect those around me to be somewhat desensitized by now. I guess I’m wrong!

Looks aren’t everything though. How did it hold up?

This did superbly. After two longer than usual days of work, it had some tip wear, but it wasn’t noticeable at all. 

It won’t water marble, but it will stamp. It works best on darker or lighter colors. 

Verdict: Excellent

Speaking as someone who has a ridiculous amount of gold polish, I’m really impressed with how well this polish did. Absolutely a worthy purchase. Since this brand goes on sale a lot, I’m definitely going to be buying more. 

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.

Stamping Plate Stress Test: Hehe Plate 013

I love nail stamping. I happen to really like Sailor Moon. When I learned that Sailor Moon stamping plates were a thing, I had to investigate!

Hehe is a new to me stamping plate manufacturer. Their plate designs take somewhat after Pueen’s Stamping Buffet series in that the different designs usually cover the entire plate. I really like this type of versatility as it makes them more accessible to people of different skill levels and nail sizes. I got my plate from Amazon for about $5. 

As is usually the case, this plate has blue film on top that needs to be removed before you can use it. I would handle it with care. There is no backing on this plate; the edges are a bit sharp.

Stamping wise, I was very happy with how it performed. I played around with stamping in different polishes, making sure I hit all the major areas on the plate. Everything picked up and transferred nicely. The real test came when I decided to try and use Sally Hansen Color Foil in Liquid Gold; the most aggravating polish I have that will stamp. It dries very quickly, and doesn’t always want to play nice with what I’m stamping on.

It worked beautifully! I got what I wanted on my nail the first try, every time, even with all the lines and details. 

Verdict: Excellent

I wasn’t sure what to expect from an unknown manufacturer using a licensed property, so I’m really happy I didn’t waste my money on this! Based on this experience, I wouldn’t mind checking out some of their other plates.

UPDATE: This plate can be found on the Born Pretty website.