Showing posts with label nail polish reviews. Show all posts

Revlon by Marchesa 24k Brocade Review

In Bloglovin' news, I emailed them about the issue I mentioned in my last post, and was pleasantly surprised to receive a very prompt email from them, letting me know that they are having technical issues with followers, but are sorting it out, and are sorry for any inconvenience caused. Normally companies take FOREVER to respond, if they do at all, so it was nice to get a response in such a short amount of time! This is why I like Bloglovin'. So if you're having issues too, know they are working on it.

In nail news, today I have a design for you, though not of my own creation. During my most recent trip to Ulta I picked up a package of Revlon by Marchesa Nail Appliques in pattern 24k Brocade. I was so excited to find them, -Since I couldn't find them anywhere before then.-, and was even more excited to share them with you. Though my high expectations did falter a bit...


Even though it was a very hard decision, and I would have much rather walked out of Ulta with every single pattern, - Though my wallet wouldn't have appreciated it!- I chose 24k Brocade, a teal base with metallic gold damask detailing.



Like most nail applique sets, this one comes with 18 appliques of varying sizes. This set also comes with a weird little spatula thing that I didn't get the point of, and a terrible mini file.
After sizing my nails, I gently buffed them, then cleaned them with some rubbing alcohol to remove any dirt and oil. -Nail polish remover can leave residue.- After that I began the annoying process of applying the appliques.  I first applied them just past my cuticle, then tried to gently smooth them onto the rest of my nails. Then I used the tiny file to buff the remaining applique from my free-edges.
Based on the promises listed on the box, I was hoping for an easy application. Wrong... No matter how gently, or slowly, I applied them, I could not get the appliques to lay flat! They just continued to pucker and bend around the surface of my nails. They also would not stay where I put them! within minutes there was lifting and curling around my cuticles and free-edges.
The box states that these appliques have "UV cured technology that's made to last." I don't know what that means, but I do know that within the very first day of wearing them I already had a chip, and two other nails already had rips and tears!
But I have to admit I am still a sucker for the pattern, and at a distance my nails looked gorgeous.






Sorry, I got a bit picture happy.
I have short, curved nails, so maybe these are better suited for people with long, flat, square nails. Either way, I was disappointed with the application process. Though I was thrilled with the pattern and color. But sadly that cannot make up for the poor application and staying power.
On a more pleasant note, I will say that the pattern itself was very vibrant and pretty, and I did receive many compliments on it. And while the applique itself did chip and split, the pattern never faded.

I still have extra pieces left, so I may try to get my money's worth and use them in some fashion, maybe as an accent nail in a design or something.
I have not given up on nail appliques! I have heard of plenty that have received great reviews from other bloggers, Including the Sally Hansen line. So I may have to give them a try. Though I think I will have to take a pass on the rest of this collection. As a total perfectionist, not being able to get them to lay flat and smooth just makes me crazy, no matter how nice the pattern may be!

Thanks for reading! To check out other reviews I've done click here, and to check out designs I've done myself click here.
-xo Brittany

Have you tried this line of nail appliques? What did you think? Would you recommend the line from Sally Hansen? Let me know in the comments!

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Revlon Parfumerie Wintermint Swatch & Review

Since my day today consists of laundry, watching DVDs of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, laundry, and, oh yes, laundry, I thought I would break up the day, and share some swatches, and my opinions, on the new scented line of polishes by Revlon.
I was a bit uncertain when I first heard of the line, all I could think of was those Crayola scented markers everyone had when I was a preschooler. So basically, I was thinking this line was going to be childish, and cheesy. But the bottles looked adorable, and I can't pass up testing out a new polish if I can get my hands on it. Even if it is on the gimmicky side. So during my latest Ulta shopping spree I picked up the shade Wintermint to give these polishes a try.


Revlon Parfumerie Wintermint - $5
I love the bottle, the round cap pays a cute homage to a perfume bottle, and is actually pretty comfortable during polish application.

Wintermint close up.
Wintermint is a shimmery, creme, wintergreen shade, with gold micro glitter, and blue metallic round glitters.
The bottle states that the fragrance becomes apparent when the polish is dry, which is good, because in the bottle all I smell is nail polish.
As the first coat dried I got an immediate waft of mint, quite stronger than I expected! It smells like spearmint gum. And while the strong mint smell does make me feel like I washed my hands with toothpaste, the scent is actually quite nice. Though it does fade after a couple hours, and when used with another polish, the scent fades even quicker.
Formula wise, the first coat is on the sheer side, but the tint is lovely, and it has good coverage. I love the cool mint green shade, and the gold microglitter looks beautiful with it. The larger blue round glitter isn't very dense, but it is very workable, and I prefer the subtlety.
I used four coats over bare nails, and finished it with my Essie Super Duper top coat.

Revlon Parfumerie Wintermint under lamp.


Revlon Parfumerie Wintermint in natural light.
Revlon Parfumerie Wintermint with flash.
I love this shade, even without the perfume gimmick. The color combination is beautiful and elegant, and has a lovely, soft, metallic sheen. I was also surprised by how much I liked the scent. I was expecting to find no scent at all, or something sickeningly sweet, like the aforementioned Crayola markers. But this scent, as well as the others in the collection, fall more under the line of candle scents than sweet scents.
I liked this polish so much, that when this line finally came to my local drugstore, I took the opportunity to buy two more. I couldn't help myself! So keep an eye out for some swatches of those soon.

I think the reason why I like the collection so much is that while at first I thought the fragrance thing was a gimmick, the scents are actually very grown up -No bubble gum candy smell here.- , and the shades are also very subtle and mature. It's like Yankee Candle created a polish line!

Thanks for reading! To check out past Swatch & Reviews click here.
-xo Brittany

Have you tried the parfumerie line from Revlon? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!

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Wet n Wild Magnetic Polish Swatch & Review

Even though my previous post was only three days ago, it feels like I haven't been on this blog in a month. I think that is because an hour after my last post, something happened that has changed my and my family's lives forever, and I still have not been able to wrap my head around it...
I honestly was not going to even write this today, but I love this blog, and frankly, writing it gives me this sense of normalcy that I really need right now. Sorry if I sound so cryptic! I just really don't want to talk about it yet, I will in the future, but for now, I like that I can continue to get lost in polish and beauty here at I Heart Nail Art, and forget the rest...

So anyway! Before the Christmas season I picked up this polish set at my local CVS. I was there for more practical things, like shampoo and cleanser. But the pull was too strong and I couldn't pass up this cute little set. Plus, even though the magnetic trend has gone by the way side, I never got to try it! The price tag was just too steep for me just for one polish, especially since a lot of people would complain that the magnets wouldn't work. But at only $6 for three, how could I not get it!

Wet n Wild Drawn Together by Force & I Won't Repel You.
The set includes three different shades, each with their own built in magnet in the cap.
The first two I have to show you are Drawn Together by Force (Green.) and I Won't Repel You (Copper.). Though the names are god awful, the shades themselves are quite good.

Drawn Together by Force is a shimmery, metallic, forest green, creme formula. I used two thick coats on bare nails, followed by my old Revlon Quick Dry top coat. The color also has a slight holo-shimmer of light green and silver, which is really nice to look at. The coverage for this color was really good, no streaking, and I frankly could have gone with one coat, but I needed the second for the magnet. I was very surprised, at the price I got this set for, I was expecting spotty coverage at best, and broken magnets.

I Won't Repel You, again, who wrote these names! -Bleh.- Is a metallic, shimmery, copper, creme formula. It also has a holo-shimmer of gold and silver. I applied two coats onto bare nails, then finished it off with a coat of my top coat. I don't have many copper shades in my collection, so I was quite happy to buy this color. I really loved the way it looked on my nails, even before I used the magnet!

Under lamp.


In sunlight.
Wet n Wild No-Gas, Electrically Charged.
The final polish in the collection is No-Gas, Electrically Charged, a ridiculously named shimmery, metallic, charcoal, creme formula. It is also a holo-shimmer, with shades of light grey, and an almost green color. I used two coats over bare nails, and finished it with a coat of my Revlon top coat. I like this color, I like that it isn't all black, it's a dark tar color. Who would've thought I would like the color of tar, but I do!

Under lamp.

With flash.
To create the magnetic effect, all I had to do was apply one coat of the color, then apply a thick second coat after the first coat had dried fully.
Before the second coat had a chance to dry, I put the magnet right up against the nail for around 20 seconds.
While the box said to leave the magnet for only 10 seconds, I left it for 20 to make sure it actually worked.
The magnet included is an oval shape, so it took two tries to get the look pictured. I found that turning the magnet sideways created a candy cane stripe effect, while holding it straight created a slightly boring vertical stripe effect.
Though it did take two tries to get used to using the magnet, I really like the effect. I know the magnet fad is over, but I think it looks really interesting. And I even got a few compliments on it!
The green shade was perfect for the Holidays, since it had the look of a candy cane.

In case, like me, anyone was curious on what these polishes look like before the magnet, here is a swatch of all three:


Obviously, they're not as holographic, but there is still a nice shimmer that makes them worthwhile polishes, even without the magnetic gimmick.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised, not only by how well the magnet actually worked, but also at how nice the shades and formulas were for such an inexpensive set of polishes. I just hate their names!

Thank you so much for reading, I'm so happy I started this blog, especially now. My life feels normal in this moment of writing, which is a blessing right now.
- xo Brittany

What do you think of magnetic polish? Do you like it? Or do you think it is just a fad? Let me know in the comments!

To check out other Swatch & Reviews I've done, click here.
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O.P.I Oz the Great and Powerful Collection Swatch & Review Part. 2

To check out part one of my Oz the Great and Powerful Collection review click here.

Hello again! Today I will be sharing swatches of the last two polishes from this O.P.I collection. If you read part one of this swatch and review, you'll know I wasn't that impressed with the first two polishes. While these last two did raise the bar, it wasn't by much.

L-R I Theodora You, Don't Burst My Bubble, Glints of Glinda, & What Wizardry is This?
O.P.I Oz the Great and Powerful Collection - From Amazon for $10
Today I will be reviewing Glints of Glinda, and What Wizardry is This. I will say that I love the names O.P.I chose, frankly more than I liked the collection itself.

First up is Glints of Glinda, which is a semi-matte creme polish in a nude/light tan shade. Similar to Don't Burst my Bubble, just darker. I used a base coat of white polish to help coverage, then finished the look with a coat of my Revlon Quick Dry top coat.

Glints of Glinda under lamp.


Glints of Glinda with flash.
Another thing this shade has in common with Don't Burst my Bubble is the fact that they are both very thin. I quite like this shade, more so than Don't Burst my Bubble. But frankly I have other polishes that are easier to work with, in identical shades. - Maybe I'll create a Dupe post on them! -
The formula is a bit watery, but covers better than the aforementioned Don't Burst my Bubble. But it is very streaky and annoying! I had to use over five thick coats just to get the minute coverage pictured. I think it would have taken over a dozen coats to make me happy with the results.

Saved the best for last! What Wizardry is This is a holographic glitter creme polish, is shades of green, gold, brown, and copper. - Not that you will be able to tell! In pictures the pretty holo-glitter turns into an unattractive shade of mud. - I also used a base coat of white polish for coverage, and finished the look off with a coat of my Revlon Quick Dry top coat.

What Wizardry is This under lamp.



What Wizardry is This with flash.
This is the polish that caught my eye the most out of this whole collection. I hoped when applying it that it would meet some of my expectations, low as they were, and it did! Sort of...
Not as thin as the other polishes, which is a plus. I also love the holo-glitter, and interesting color palette. I currently have nothing like this in my collection. I used to dislike holos, but now they are really growing on me.
Formula wise, The coverage is much better! No streaking, and pretty good coverage. I was able to use only four thick coats. An improvement from the previous three polishes.

All in all, I think the idea behind the collection was nice, and I really like the polish names. But the shades were too hard to work with, and frankly were too similar, and have been done before. I wish the collection was more colorful! When I think of the Wizard of Oz  - Even the Prequel, which this is based on. - I think of bright greens, reds, beautiful emerald glitters, etc. Not two basic nudes, a pastel pink, and a slightly dull holo-glitter. The only glimmer of hope was What Wizardry is This, with its better formula, and interesting look and color. That shade would be the only one I would repurchase once this mini collection is gone.

Thanks for reading! Sorry this post was on the negative side. I have plenty more polishes to swatch, so I'm sure the reviews will be more on the positive side... Hopefully. To check out my previous Swatch & Reviews click here.
- xo Brittany

What do you think of the O.P.I Oz the Great and Powerful Collection? Do you have a more favorable opinion? Let me know in the comments!

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O.P.I Oz the Great and Powerful Collection Swatch & Review Part.1

Hello!
Today I will be swatching the first two polishes from the Oz the Great and Powerful Collection from O.P.I. I mentioned buying this set in my recent Favorites post (here), and I have been dying to swatch it ever since.
I wish I could have swatched the whole set at once, but I didn't have the time. So I have broken the review into two parts. The second part will be up in the next couple of weeks.

O.P.I Oz the Great and Powerful Collection - $10
L-R I Theodora You, Don't Burst My Bubble, Glints of Glinda, & What Wizardry is This?
I picked up this mini collection on Amazon for only $10. That may seem like a lot for such little baby polishes, but if you price the full sized collection, $10 is not bad at all. Plus, they're so cute!
Today I will be swatching the first two polishes, I Theodora You, and Don't Burst My Bubble.

I Theodora You is a semi-matte, soft, pale pink pastel creme polish. I am not a big fan of pink, but this color is very cute and quite pretty. I applied it over a base of white polish for coverage.

I Theodora You under lamp.


I Theodora You with flash.
This polish is very sheer, it took about five thick coats to get the opacity pictured. But it applies smoothly, and has a nice formula, which is to be expected from O.P.I.
One thing I dislike about O.P.I though is that they don't label their mini bottles. So if you remove them from the packaging, you have no clue what the shade name is! That makes it difficult to recommend it, or repurchase it.
I know I bought the mini set, and paid much less than the large collection. But I was disappointed to discover that the brushes shed and leave little fibers in the polish, which I then have to fish out and subsequently smudge my most recent coat of polish.

Don't Burst My Bubble is a semi-matte, nude, almost taupe -Though you can't tell in photos-, shade of creme polish. I applied it over a coat of white polish for coverage. Both polishes were finished with a coat of Revlon Quick Dry top coat.
I quite like this shade. While I have other nude shades in my collection that I like a lot more, this color is still cute.

Don't Burst My Bubble under lamp.


Don't Burst My Bubble with flash.
Like I Theodora You, this polish is incredibly thin. The first coat was all but nonexistent. I applied five thick coats to get the opacity pictured.

Because of my love for my other recent O.P.I purchase (here), I was sad at how much I dislike the application of both of these shades.
There's two more polishes to review in this collection, including the one I'm most excited to swatch -  What Wizardry is This? - , so maybe they will be an improvement. Because right now, I am not impressed.

Thanks for reading! To check out my previous swatch & reviews, click here.
- xo Brittany

What do you think of this collection? Are you a fan of O.P.I? Let me know in the comments!

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