Valentine's Day Mani - A Quickie



Revlon Colorstay Nail Color in Ripe Raspberry with a Stiletto accent nail. Accent nail stamped with Color Club Halo Hues Eternal Beauty, other nails stamped with Color Club Halo Hues Kismet.

I can't remember the names and numbers of the stamping plates, so I'll add those later. Accent nail from Cheeky CH15 from the Vibrant Collection, and others are from Vivid Lacquer plate VL001

I wish it were better, but it's only the 2nd or 3rd stamping mani I've done.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Revlon Royal Cloak

This is the second polish of the set I picked up at Big Lots for $2. I was Googling like a mad woman in the aisle and saw all sorts of rave reviews online about this polish, so I snatched it up with a quickness. Then I put it on. Blech. Well, maybe not blech, but it wasn't as impressive as I'd hoped.

Royal Cloak is an opaque purple creme with small, clear-ish flakies. The formula wasn't bad at all, but the thing that made this polish stand out in the bottle was the flakies, and they lost their oomph on the nail and ended up looking like shimmer particles. Boo! Was it worth $1? Absolutely, but I still wish it were just a bit more fabulous.

2 coats Royal Cloak

Revlon Devil's Candy

Revlon Devil's Candy is a bright red jelly from their Fall 2011 Masquerade Collection. It isn't anything special or unique, but is a very classic, warm-toned red. Below are 2 coats over Orly Bonder and under Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat.

So why did I buy it if it's nothing special? I mean, I do own several reds. Several red jellies, in fact. I got it because I happened to read over on Nouveau Cheap that there were $3 philosophy cosmetics and $2 Revlon 2-packs of polish at Big Lots. Big Lots? What? Yep. If you have one near you, don't discount it for cheap beauty supplies.

I went to check it out and found a rack of $3 philosophy powders, eye shadows, blushes, lip glosses, and brighteners. Also, several Revlon polishes. This one came with Royal Cloak, which is a totally cool purple with clear-ish/silver flakies. I'm stoked to try it.

Revlon Starry Pink - Expressionists Collection

I passed on this one twice. Once when it originally came out last fall, then a second time when I spotted it in the regular Revlon display at Meijer. Stephanie blogged about it (My wallet wants me to stay away from Short n' Chic) and I was sad I didn't get it. 

So, I looked in every store I went to... Meijer, 3 CVS stores, Walmart... Nothing. Then, I remembered Walgreens. And nothing. I was super bummed, and found a basket of clearance polishes. I was hoping to find something to cure my sad, and I did when I saw one lonely bottle of the original Starry Pink marked down to $2.57! Score!

I really, really love this polish. It is a little sheer, but there is enough glitter in there to make it barely noticeable. This is three coats with one of Seche Vite and it is perfectly smooth. The shade of pink is milky and very feminine, and it surprisingly seems less girly with the glitter. This isn't a five-year-old's glitter. It's a night-out-with-your-friends-in-a-club glitter, but is also tame enough to wear to work if your boss isn't a douche canoe (Holla Bloggess!). All in all, full of win. I'm soooo happy I got it.

Revlon Scandalous, or Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance for $3.99

 Happy February! How better to ring in Valentine's month than with a cheap dupe of a polish called Bad Romance? This is the only Deborah Lipmann polish I've been tempted to buy, and was very excited to see the Revlon dupe out last summer/fall. So why didn't I buy it when I saw it at Meijer? I have no clue. Because I'm silly? All I know is that I went back to get it, and they were gone. There are some people with fabulous taste in polish on this town.

So, of course I was super excited to see it again, in the new Revlon display for only $3.99! So much win I can hardly stand it. I saw a dupe for DL Glitter in the Air on the same display and snatched it up, only to realize that I didn't even want to pay $3.99 for that one. I just don't get the appeal. Too sheer. But, Scandalous... zomg, it's fantastic.

The photo below is 3 thin coats of polish with a coat of Seche Vite. I debated stopping at 2 coats, because the base isn't as sheer as I thought it would be, but I'm glad I used a 3rd because it gives a great depth. The finish was fairly smooth with 1 coat of Seche Vite. So, so glad I got this one!

Revlon Alluring Amber

I found this picture when I was sorting through my photo albums, and I don't think I've posted it yet. I know this one was found on a dusty shelf at Meijer for $0.99. I thought I'd give Revlon's formula another go for less than a dollar. 

I can't remember if this was 2 coats or three, but I think it was only 2 coats and lasted 3 days before getting a chip, which is unheard of with Revlon and I. 

This shade of orange was really nice as well. I'm not big on orange, but this one was nice and dusty. I was afraid it would look like I had traffic cones on my fingers!

What I've Got...

My collection so far. Please excuse the crappy pictures. It was nighttime and I've got fluorescent bulbs.

Topcoats, l to r: Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love, Poshe Quick Dry Topcoat, Seche Vite Quick Dry Topcoat, OPI RapiDry Topcoat

Purple: Mary Kay Intensity

Duochrome: Hard Candy Beetle

Browns, l to r: Zoya Cola, China Glaze Ingrid

Greens, l to r: China Glaze Peace on Earth, Rescue Beauty Lounge Anne

Pinks, l to r: China Glaze Heaven, Zoya Skye, OPI Polar Bare

Blues, l to r: Hot Topic Blue, Hot Topic Periwinkle, Rimmel Marine Blue, Zoya Ibiza, OPI Yodel Me On My Cell

Greys, l to r: Rimmel Steel Grey, Zoya Kelly, Zoya Harley, Zoya Freja, $OPI Just a Fairy Tale, OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

Reds, top to bottom & l to r: Zoya Blair, Zoya Kalista, Essie Wicked, OPI Color So Hot It Berns, Revlon Crushed Crimson, OPI You Make Me Vroom, OPI Red Like Roses, China Glaze Phat Santa

Orly Bonder

I tried to flip that reds picture, but my blogging skillz are lacking. :) I hope it can only go up from here!