Tag: Revlon
Freak Show Spectacle
I feel like I’ve been gone forever! I usually paint my nails every other day, but I went three days on “Misty Day” because it looked so good…
This is Delush Polish “Freak Show Spectacle” from the “Scream Supreme” Collection. This polish is inspired by Season 4 – Freakshow. It’s a purple jelly filled with bright circus-y micro-glitter. This one is all tiny glitter and doesn’t have the bigger glitter like the others. It’s very patriotic – almost like Julep “America”.
I used Revlon Quick Dry Base and Top Coat. It did well enough, better than NYC “Grand Central Station” – but not as smooth as Sally Hansen Diamond Flash.
The Walking Dead
So The Walking Dead is back tonight, so I made blood-spattered Zombie Apocalypse nails for the occasion. I’m not all crazy about the show, but I do watch it fairly religiously. I’m not going to riot if they kill Daryl or anything. I will, however, riot if they cancel Talking Dead.
I used RUFFIAN “Naked” (from last month’s Birchbox) for the flesh tone. It’s the most perfect nude polish ever. It is a bit streaky in one coat, but two coats are perfect, with no visible nail line. I used Maybelline Street Art “Wild at Heart” for the blood and gore splatters. I tried a kind of splattered gradient effect by applying a second coat of “Wild at Heart” to the right side of each nail. I went back to using the Revlon Quick Dry Base and Top Coat, because they are WAY better over non sparkly glitters and polishes than the NYC.
It reminds me more of the comic book than the show…
Bruise Violet
I couldn’t NOT try out Julep “Logan” first.
Julep’s site describes the color as sultry aubergine shimmer – I would replace sultry with earthy. There’s a vegetable like brownish undertone – this color feels very organic.
Well, duh – aubergine is a fancy word for eggplant. It’s not as inky as “Padma” and has a subtle shimmer, but could still be mistaken for black at first glance.
I went back to the Revlon Quick Dry Base and Top Coats. There’s something about Julep polish that doesn’t mix well with base coats – bubbles, no matter what brand I try – even Julep’s own base coats. I only got 2-3 bubbles this time, but each one is like a pinprick to my soul.
I also painted my toenails with “Logan” last night…right before I broke my pinky toe, tripping over my daughter’s metal lawn chair.
(Yeah, we keep metal lawn chairs in our living room. That’s normal, right?)
I was astounded at how well the polish matched the violet bruises – I couldn’t have planned it better!
The last time I broke a toe was during Hurricane Ike, stumbling around in the dark. As clumsy as I am, that’s a pretty good record.
September Beauty Box 5 – Balancing Act
My BFF and I felt like we weren’t just getting enough samples in the mail, so we both signed up for Beauty Box 5! It’s $12/month, $30/quarter or $99/year for 5 beauty product samples. I signed up for the 3 month pricing, because I wanted to check it out first. My BFF signed up first and gave me a code to get the August box free!
September’s theme is “Balancing Act”. I received a Nicka K New York Eyelight Crayon in “Violet”; 2 foil packs of Natural Style by FUBU Deep Conditioner & Co-Wash; Sally Hansen Toe Spacer (Ugh, another pair); a bottle of My Beauty Spot Nail Polish (color not labelled, so I’ll call it Gunmetal?); and Revlon Bold Lacquer Mascara in “Blackest Black” (plus a $1 off coupon).
August’s theme was “Radiant and Remarkable” I received yet another Pur~lisse “Pur Protect SPF 30”; La Fresh Travel Lite Facial Cleansing Wipes; Nancoco Lip Gloss in “First Kiss” (SO DAMN PINK); a foil pack of Novex Brazilian Keratin; and a bottle of Style Essentials Nail Polish (again, no name on this one – white and aqua glitter).
Although there are a few Dollar Store Brands (Style Essentials, La Fresh, My Beauty Spot for sure) in the boxes, I am not freaking out yet. I’m pretty annoyed by polishes without names – what the fuck is up with that? I’ll give it a few more months and see what else pops into the box. Ipsy and Birchbox have me spoiled!
If you’re interested in trying Beauty Box 5, let me know and I’ll get you the code for a free box that I got. Their referral program isn’t live yet, so I cannot beg for referral yet!
Copycat!
I wish I could say that I came up with this combo on my own, but I totally stole it from my cousin, Jess. She posted a pic with this exact combination of polish and I had to steal it. Just like I stole the Day of the Dead Converse…she better keep an eye on those Kah Tequila bottles…
After Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, I used one coat of Pacifica “Red Red Wine” and two coats of Maybelline Color Show Street Art “Wild at Heart”. I finished with Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat, for extra shine – and to smooth down the glitter bits.
Since I was lazy and only did one coat of “Red Red Wine”, I already have a good bit of edge wear. Grumble, grumble, grumble…
Moldy Charms
So…I was not overly excited when I received 100% Pure “Seafoam” in my CEW Prestige Box. Not because of the brand – I’d never heard of it before – but because of the color. It looked not like seafoam, but like mold. Not that tangy greenish/gray mold you find on your bread, but the scary greenish/white Penicillin that you find on leftovers in the refrigerator. (Why yes, that DOES happen to me a lot. I’ve found fossilized mold in my fridge before.)
Starting with Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, the first coat of “Seafoam” was super streaky. The second coat was perfect though. It actually didn’t look bad on it’s own, but I decided to pretty it up with a top coat – Revlon Top Speed “Celestial FX”. I love the base, but the tiny moons, stars and diamonds were far too sparse in the polish. (Lucky Charms, but without the hearts and horseshoes!!!) I had to do major digging to get any on my brush. I only got 2-3 pieces per nail, which kind of defeats the point. I tried to place the shapes, but it started sinking into the “Seafoam”, so I stopped. I finished up with Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat.
It doesn’t look bad – the surface was really smooth and shiny, but it just wasn’t me. I took it off so I could try something else…
Impossible Purple
It’s not black…it’s purple. Impossible to photograph – I tried every room in my house, outside and finally just gave up in my bathroom. Even if you can’t see the purple on the nail – you can see it on the bottle. Impossible PURPLE!
My BFF is obsessed with Julep “Padma” – she had her nails done with it and when we went to lunch on Monday, she handed it to me and said that I’ve got to try it. “Padma” is a true one coat polish. I cannot imagine how black it would seem with two or more coats. To avoid staining, I started with Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat. “Padma” is shiny on her own, but I used Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat so I could go to bed without smudges. It’s one of the shiniest polishes I’ve ever used.
“Padma” is a Classic with a Twist from the September 2013 box – “The Cityscape Collection”. (I also have “Kristy”, “Tatiana”, “Candace” and “Reece” from that collection.) My BFF must have gotten it in a Mystery Box, because that was before we joined. I am going to have a hard time giving it back…
From Scab to Fab
The scene of the crime was improved greatly by adding a coat of Julep “Kirby” on top of Julep “Mary Lee”. Instead of a boring pool of scabby blood, my nails now look like a shattered antique mirror…in a pool of scabby blood. Or maybe a shattered Disco Ball – Disco Bloodbath! I would totally watch a movie called Disco Bloodbath. Somebody make that happen…
Julep describes “Kirby” as silver jagged glitter top coat. There’s glitter, but also mirrored flakies. The flakies actually lie flat and don’t peel up from my nails like most other larger glitters. It’s almost a perfect top coat.
I want to put “Kirby” on top of every polish I own. You’ll definitely be seeing more of “Kirby”…
CSI: My Nails
Julep “Mary Lee” is the first Satin Finish polish that I’ve tried. Satin is somewhere between matte and shiny. To me, this polish looks like a pool of coagulating blood – like there is a skin dried on top – think a murder scene that is a few hours old. “Mary Lee” is a very sensitive polish…barely brushing my nails against the wall while drying my hands left scratches across the finish.
Julep describes the color as oxblood satin. I’ve never seen a bleeding ox, so I’ll have to take their word for it. My husband said it looks like raisinettes. I have to give it to him – that’s much more creative description than I came up with.
Even though I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, I got one or two bubbles. *SIGH* Julep – what’s with all the bubbles? On the positive side, the polish dried very quickly – even without a top coat. The polish also pulled away from the tips of my nails. It isn’t chipped – it is a uniform shrinking along the free edge.
I cannot stand the lack of shiny…I need GLITTER.
God Save the Queen
If I ever have a passing thought about canceling my Julep Maven subscription, polishes like Julep “Queen Anne” make me remember why I love Julep polishes so much. I’ve never encountered another microglitter like Julep’s. No other polish has the fine glitter texture that Julep has…
“Queen Anne” is Julep’s Third Anniversary polish. It was released as part of the August Collection, but was only available in 2 special boxes outside the main collection. I was sad in August, but happy when it popped up in September as an add-on! Julep describes it as lilac microglitter, but there are a few hints of the rainbow in there, too. Again, Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, but no top coat so I could feel the rough texture.
I wonder what it would look like with “Claudia”?