My first two Barielle polishes from Hautelook arrived today~ Falling Star (deep periwinkle with copper microglitter) and Elle’s Spell (deep scarlet loaded with iridescent flakies!) Can’t wait to search them <3 (Taken with instagram)

Revlon Whimsical ($5.99 for 0.50 fl. oz.)

Okay. So I have to admit something early on…I really didn’t want Whimsical in the beginning. Not until I saw a LARGE demand for this polish, did I actually try to look for it myself, just for the challenge, lol. But then when I did happen to get my hands on it, it is so beautiful! Really! I want to describe EXACTLY like this, a light cotton candy blue, speckled with light blue micro glitter, TINY silver hex glitter, as well as mid-sized copper and light blue hexagonal glitter. What I want to say however, is that this cotton candy blue is VERY sheer, completely jelly-like. In fact, the sheer quality of this polish turns me off! I don’t have to patience for every single layer to dry! I suspect it takes four coats to achieve bottle color and no VNL. I had to use one coat of China Glaze’s Re Fresh Mint underneath two coats of Whimsical, and voila…nearly the same outcome—aside from a tinge of color change…haha.

Another problem is that the drying time was BLEH. Just terrible at drying completely and nicely. I mean, I only did two coats of Whimsical…I can’t imagine four coats of Whimsical. Drying time = horrendous. But the finish was quite nice, very very glossy (: No bumps at all…Seche Vite was technically not needed…but I love Seche Vite! Yay!

All in all, I am in love with this color combination and it works so nicely together. Whimsical is just generally a fresh, springy color with sprinkles of complementary hex glitters~

IN A NUTSHELL

Color: Cotton candy blue sprinkled with glitter (micro blue, tiny silver hex, and mid-size copper and blue)
# of Coats Required: Two if there is a base color under. Four without.
Drying Time (1-5): Five
Finish: Glossy and not bumpy (:
Ease of Removal (1-5): Four, due to amount of glitter. 

ALSO, Did I mention this is a dupe for Deborah Lippmann’s Glitter in the Air?! I’m sure that formula is much better though… 

Zoya Julieanne ($8.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.)

Here’s an oldie I never posted! If you didn’t know, Zoya is one of my most favorite brands that often have promotions. Julieanne is from the Wicked collection, and to my knowledge it’s not very common! It is a dark grapey purple color loaded with glass flecks (similar to Charla and Ivanka). In the bottle, the glass flecks sparkle gold, green and blue. On the fingernails, it a bit less evident, but still! So gorgeous.

At first, Julieanne seemed extremely sheer, but with one more color, opacity was reached and the bottle color was achieved, for the most part—another coat if needed. The drying  time is EXCEPTIONAL and dries in no time if applied in thin coats. The finish was super super glossy, and there’s no need for Seche Vite, but it totally extends the last of the manicure. 

For me, the manicure didn’t last all too long, but I do admit my fingers go through a lot of abuse everyday, but most of my Zoya polishes don’t last particularly long. Overall, I most formulas of Zoyas, including this one! Yay <3

This polish is perfect for the fall or winter time—a bit too dark for spring or summer (or whatever you like, I like change, lol) anyway, the flecks are always something to look forward to!

IN A NUTSHELL

Color: Dark purple concord grape with a massive amount of duochromatic flecks
# of Coats Required: Two
Drying Time (1-5): One
Finish: Very glossy
Ease of Removal (1-5): One 

Revlon Mistletoe ($5.99 for 0.50 fl. oz.)

Mistletoe really caught my eye, especially because it was after the holidays, and I had not seen this particular one before! I simply had to get it…and now I find out that it’s actually part of Revlon’s Limited Edition Spice It Up Collection. Mistletoe is a deep blackened evergreen loaded with micro gold flakies, and the teeniest hints of red and green micro glitter. From far away, it can definitely be mistaken for a deep charcoal—but it is no doubt a very deep green. So gorgeous!

Having only two other bottles from Revlon’s Top Speed Line (Peachy and Royal), I have mixed results…and this polish was different as well. The first application to my first nail was smooth and thin, but as I kept applying polish onto my nails, the polish seemed the get relatively thicker and bumpier. I had to resort to adding nail polish thinner, so that I could achieve a smoother application.

Within two coats I was able to achieve bottle color. And this time, drying time was extremely fast—this one really is top speed! The polish dries somewhat matte, but has some gloss to it. Mistletoe requires at least two coats of Seche Vite (or any top coat), because it seems to drink up the first coat and isn’t as shiny. 

As a side note, Revlon has recently released a new line, Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel, which is meant to stay for 11 days and have a gel-like finish. There’re so many I want to buy! In my opinion, Revlon is really upping their game in the nail polish industry, constantly pushing out new products that are a big hit! (Especially the Deborah Lippmann dupes)

IN A NUTSHELL

Color: Blackened evergreen loaded with micro gold flakies and very small amount of micro red and green glitter.
# of Coats Required: Two
Drying Time (1-5): One
Finish: Slightly glossy, almost matte
Ease of Removal (1-5): Have not removed yet 

Urban Outfitters Taxi ($5 or 2/$8 for .40 fl. oz.)

Taxi is super deep plum creme; applied and dried, it looks like a squishy creme, but I think using flash really emphasizes how great of a color it is. This particular shade of Urban Outfitters’ nail polish, I was able to snag for .99$. 

This was my first nail polish from Urban Outfitters (besides their former smaller squarish bottle). And I wasn’t sure what to expect. My first impression was that this was going to a decent polish! Their bottle has a unique shape, and my favorite part is that the handle of the brush is grippy, making it easier for precision. 

Taxi is quite opaque and dries glossy; with two coats you can achieve bottle color! One downside to the ease of achieving bottle color, is that Taxi is highly pigmented; and was extremely hard to clean off of my cuticles and skin! (As seen in the above picture). Good thing is though, that it doesn’t stain your nail and is relatively easy to remove. Drying time also wasn’t great; but I wasn’t expecting too much. Using one thin coat, and a semi-thick coat, it took about 15 minutes for Taxi to be lightly touched. 

Overall, Urban Outfitters is a great place to find unique nail polishes for a decent price! Their bottle design is useful and new; and I recommend taking a visit to Urban Outfitters for a fresh look at different nail polishes! (They now also have their own crackle line, Stila polishes, and sometimes Butter London!)

IN A NUTSHELL:

Color: Deep plum berry creme
# of Coats Required: Two
Drying Time (1-5): Four
Finish: Glossy
Ease of Removal: Three

Zoya Ivanka ($8.00 for 0.50 fl. oz.)

I want to start off with saying…Zoya is one of my most favorite nail polish brands ever! Most of Zoya’s colors (of those that I own) tend to achieve bottle color fairly easily, have great pigmentation, and are unlike colors I’ve seen. Their bottle shape hold perfectly into my hand, the handles are easy to hold, they wear nicely, and Zoya always has amazing promotions! Well, enough of Zoya itself…onto the review!

Ivanka is described as “mermaid green sparkling metallic”, which is accurate…but doesn’t do it justice! Ivanka is an emerald green, which has A LOT of depth—looking at it from different angles, you’ll witness Ivanka fluctuate between a light and dark hues, with amazing silver/gold glass flecks suspended in the base. 

After applying a thin coat of Ivanka, I was expecting it to be a bit of a disappointment—only because it was so darn sheer! But a second coat…IT WAS MAGICAL. It completely became opaque with a second coat. That’s right! To achieve bottle color, it only takes two coats with AMAZING drying time. It even dries super glossy! What a plus!

After looking at Ivanka, I was absolutely dreading the removal and clean-up of my nails, but YOU GUISE…really…buy this. Because it removed in a jiffy! No staining, and no leftover glitter. 

If you haven’t tried Zoya, PLEASE DO NOW! I highly recommend polishes/colors from their Sparkle, Smokes and Mirrors, and Gems and Jewels collection! They have great promotions, and if you aren’t sure about a color, Zoya offers Color Spoons. Color Spoons are only $0.50, and accurately represent the color you’re iffy about…plus free shipping! 

IN A NUTSHELL:

Color: Metallic emerald green suspended with silver/gold glass flecks
# of Coats Required: Two
Drying Time (1-5): One
Finish: Glossy
Ease of Removal (1-5): One

 

Revlon Royal ($5.99 for 0.50 fl. oz.)

I bought Royal along with Facets of Fuschia, which I haven’t swatched yet—they were BOGO 1/2 off! :D Anyway, I’d seen swatches of this, but I really intended to buy Sally Hansen’s Pacific Blue because I really wanted it…and still don’t have it. Nevertheless, Royal is unlike any color in my collection.

Royal is a royal blue jelly that LOOKS super squishy when applied and after top coat, but definitely not when it’s dried. In fact, when it dries, it dries semi-matte, and has a weird plasticy look. I seriously thought something was wrong. I applied two coats to achieve this look…and should have gone with another coat. As you can see, my nail line is still visible. Anyway, the color of this polish was extremely hard to capture and is still a bit off, and you can’t really see my nail line in real life. But I was disappointed that this polish is from Revlon’s Top Speed line and doesn’t really dry as fast as they claim. Two coats of Seche Vite, and the matte finish of Royal disappears and you have an amazing jelly! :D I do have to mention that this color is quite pigmented and did stain my skin a bit! 

I can’t complain too much though, because I’m absolutely in LOVE with this color (: