Showing posts with label Nail Polish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nail Polish. Show all posts

July 24, 2011

Review: Revlon Just Tinted Nail Polish

I was in Duane Reade recently and saw a Revlon display with the "Just Tinted" nail polish collection. I had only heard of the "Just Bitten" lip tint markers so I thought I would try it out. It took me a while to actually paint my nails with it because I had a bunch of other new polishes to try out so I was really excited when I finally got to it. The shade I got was "Victorian."

First Impression:
I hated this polish with the first application.
I don't even remember how much I spent on this item and I already thought it was too much.
In one coat it made my nails look like I had some really cheap nail polish on before and it stained my nails horribly (definitely not in the good sense of a "color stain").
I got so frustrated with the one coat looking so crappy that I did not even think to continue painting my nails.
I thought that the name suggested it should only be applied sparingly so that your nails could have "just" a "tint" of color.
It was supposed to be a jelly-like color and it did come out something like that...but more like a matte jelly that resembled the finish of a Gap purse I had when I was about 10 years old (I had a pink one exactly like the one below).


SO... I will have to say that after I figured out that I should put on 2 or 3 coats of this stuff and then a shiny topcoat, my opinion completely changed and now I am really enjoying this polish! This really goes to show how different nail polish can get with a few coats' variation!

Pros:
1. The color is so cute and (with 2-3 coats, topcoat) looks exactly like what you expect from the bottle.
2. Gives a really unique translucent look to the nails, unlike traditional polish.
3. Makes a french manicure a bit more fresh, summery and young!

Cons:
1. One coat will probably make you want to take the polish off immediately as I did.
2. The finish is matte, which I don't think goes with a translucent polish. Needs topcoat.

<-- This is a progression of (1 coat) (2 coats) (3 coats) (3 coats+topcoat) from pinky to index finger. 
The quality of the picture came out a little odd since I cannot find my regular camera. 
But you can still see how the index finger looks a lot better than the pinky. 

Overall, I'm glad my initial opinions of this polish changed completely. I was all ready to hate this polish completely and I'm glad I don't. I even want to pick up a few of the other colors!
I think the topcoat is the essential part of this. Depending on your preference, the perfect way to get this polish to look great is either adding a few coats, adding topcoat or both!





July 06, 2011

Trend: Ombré Nails

So I decided to do something with my nails besides just painting them one color. I have tried this trend a few times but only now have I actually come up with results I've liked. Ombré nails! I have no idea when this became popular but I have definitely seen it in some advertisements and on some celebrities.  Here is what they looks like:



Basically its as simple as picking a few different shades of the same basic color and arranging them in order from light to dark on the different fingernails. I chose to do a blue shade color story because I had the most different shades of blue polish in my collection. I thought at first that I would need 5 different shades which could prove rather difficult if you are not particularly as obsessed with nail polish as I am and have only one or two shades of each basic color of the rainbow. What makes it easier is that you really only need 4 different shades. Any ombré design can be done starting with a simple white color (usually on the pinky) and building up darker and darker as you go towards the thumb. So using white as a starting point it is so easy to create really lovely looks with any shade family!!!

I actually went a step further and added Essie's Matte About You topcoat to make all the shades matte so they look a little more like they belong together in a very creamy shade collection even though the polishes were from several different brands. I think this added the perfect finishing touch! So here is what the polish looked like before mattifying and after:


This effect just made all the colors very frosty and creamy, I definitely enjoyed the finished product.
Here are all the polishes that I used...

1. (Base) Orly Bonder
2. Sinful Colors: Snow Me White
3. Essie: Borrowed and Blue
4. OPI: What's With the Cattitude
5. OPI: Suzi Says Feng Shui
6. Sephora by OPI: Opening Night
7. (Topcoat) Essie: Matte About You