Doesn't it figure...

...I get turned on to Revlon Colorstay nail polish, right as it's getting ready to be a thing of the past?

Revlon is getting ready to replace the Colorstay with the Colorstay Gel Envy, so heads up - if you haven't stocked up on your favorites from the Colorstay line, now's the time!

At any rate - this line promises 11 days worth of high gloss, chip free color. And I am nothing, if not willing to test that sort of thing, so I was hoping against hope for 11, but I made it 7. After a week, I started getting grow out, like you would with a set of acrylics. And, just like with a set of acrylics, the grow lines were snagging in my hair when I took a shower. So that was the end of the Colorstay colors. But I will say - at the end of the 7 days? Just as beautiful, and glossy and chip free as it was at Day 1!

I purchased two colors - "Trade Winds", a nice neutral tan, and "Rich Raspberry" which was, well, a rich raspberry color. I actually picked out these two in particular, because I thought they might look nice together. I've been reading up on nail art, and thought these might be a nice pair to try it out with.

I was quickly shown the error of my ways though. Both products come with the same brush - wide, thick, allows you to maintain a nice level of control of the polish. But where Rich Raspberry was thick, rich and pigmented (one coat could *just* about get the job done, you'll see that in the pictures later), Trade Winds doesn't boast the same thickness. In fact, if a good French Manicure is your thing, Trade Winds is probably a color you need to own. So, they do both look very nice, but they weren't a good match to try out my nail art skills on.

The beauty shot. Nice big portion of color for the price, good handle to hang on to. The colors have a nice wide, thick brush, which gives you a nice control of the color. And see what I mean, about thinking they'd look nice together? They do, don't they? And I think I mentioned this already, but if you're a Colorstay original formula fan, stock up, because they're getting swapped out for the Gel Envy line.

The Rich Raspberry, in action. With this one, there's enough of a color payoff that one coat will just about get the job done, I just like my raspberries a bit higher voltage, so I went in for two. So if you like the color, but without the high wattage, one coat might do it for you.

The nails. With the one coat, you can see that there's still some transparency, one coat would probably make a excellent base for a french manicure, if the pink isn't your thing. I went in for two, and it bubbled a little bit, unfortunately. I kept looking at it, dismayed, but my seven year old son (and you can trust boys to keep it real, haha...) told me that no one else noticed but me, so I'll have to take his word for it, that I was just being fussy.

The colors looked great, and held up impeccably, so I'd absolutely recommend them. Target has just about cleared out of their stock, Wal-Greens just started, and Rite-Aid still has their full supply, at full price. If you're a decent enough couponer, you can get a great deal on some polishes!

I will also point out - this raspberry color removed cleaner, and easier, than any color I've removed in a while. I was well and truly surprised that I didn't end up with raspberry colored toes! Clean and easy, right off!

More beauty tips from Pinterest!

This week, as much out of necessity as it was anything else, I tested another tip off Pinterest!

The last polish I had on my toes was the Rimmel "Red, Steady, Go!", and while that is in fact a gorgeous polish, taking it off was kind of a mess. Will I never learn to wear a base coat? It created such a mess, that it prompted my son to ask me if I'd been bleeding. :O

So the tip from Pinterest said to take whitening toothpaste, and a nail brush. Apply the toothpaste to the toe nails, and go to town. That sounds crazy to me, I'll sacrifice my toes to the cause!

Unfortunately, I didn't end up with a good enough before picture (I always take lots of pictures, so I've got choices, but none of them came out great...), but like I said. My seven year old asked me I were bleeding. So you can imagine.

The tools I used. Crest Complete toothpaste, available at any drug store the world over, and a nail brush, that might have cost me a dollar or two at the beauty supply.

In action! Apply the toothpaste to the toes, and scrub! And that's every bit as tough to hike your leg in to the sink and stand still enough to take a picture as you'd figure it'd be. But if I wasn't going to have bloody toes anymore, it was worth it!

After! No more bloody toes! Hooray! Another swipe at them with some nail polish remover, and I was ready to go for a new pedi!

We all know Pinterest is a little hit and miss, information wise. Sometimes, it's solid, sometimes, not as much. So I've been pleasantly surprised to find out I've gotten two good tips in a row so far! :)

I'll keep looking for interesting tips and tricks - these have been as surprising to try out as they have been successful, so far - and you keep looking beautiful!

See you next time!

Yes, another pedi...

Does my current nail polish obsession know no bounds?!

And will I ever remember to trim my finger nails, so I can paint them too?!

Let's find out together!

This weeks find was 60 Second Nail Polish, by Rimmel, which promises to dry in only 60 seconds. I hardly got out a timer, but it did seem to dry pretty fast. So, on the question of "does it live up to the promises?" My answer is a solid, "Um...maybe?"

The color I selected is called "Red, Steady, Go!", and is a bright, neutral red. Not especially warm, or cool. Bright, and solid. The color has a nice brush, and goes on smoothly, evenly, and streak free. It's really a fun color, another one that was a little outside of my realm. My seven year old picked it out - he's got a real eye for color, he wanted me to try this one. I like it! I might let him pick more often!

The packaging is clearly written, and easy to read. The bottle, like most, is the color of the product inside. Which means for a bright, neutral red, this one would be easy to find, just about anywhere! The bottle is small though. Like, surprisingly small. But having said that, I'll tell you this. Actually, I'll tell you two things:

1)This polish is cheap. It retails for $1.50 (USD) at my local Wal-Mart. So they're charging the right prices, not to mention, for that price, you can change your polish a lot!

And 2)Rimmel puts out coupons a lot. Like, a lot. In fact, the whole reason I bought this color was because I had a good coupon. I had a coupon for $1 off any Rimmel product, so I got this tasty little viddle of nail polish for 50 cents! Can't beat that!

The beauty shots:

The bottle! Easy to read, easy to find in the dark (lol...)

The polish, on my toes. Goes on smooth and extra glossy. My husband and son, both of whom profess to not be nail polish guys, have really enjoyed my testing out all these colors, and I've only had on this color about 10 hours, and it's already drawn both of their attention.

Will update next week with the chippage alert!

Until next time!

Chip Update: 6 days, which actually puts it right up with some of the best that I've tried from the drug store. Although, there was some staining on my toes when I took it off, and that's no good. It prompted the joke that I'd been "stomping strawberries" at the Memorial Day Cookout my family had. So pretty, long lasting, gonna stain your toes. You take the good, you take the bad, you know?

Just another pedi Monday!

Today, I went to the well that is Wet N Wild, thanks to some good couponing and a pink I couldn't resist (serious - I usually go with blues or purples, this is way out of character for me...), and tried out Fergalicious, from their Fergie collection.

First, let's chat about the good:

This color is super fun, and super summery. If you can't wear bright pink on those June (err...middle of May), 90 degree days, when can you wear it?! Some colors aren't particularly seasonal, but pink says summer, all day long!

This polish also comes with a wide brush. In fact, I did my whole pinky toe in one stroke!

Since I mentioned being a bit of a packaging junkie in my last post, I'll also point out - this packaging looks fantastic, it's one that will fit in nice on your vanity. I was having a few technical difficulties that were making me think you wouldn't get to check it out, but I worked it out! So, see?

So fun and summery, and in nice, pretty packaging to boot!

Now let's get to the downside. That great big brush? Delivers really runny product. Like, I know I'm not dealing with super glue or anything, but I ended up with as much polish around my toes, as I did ON my toes, just for working with this runny polish and big brush. As much as I initially loved the big brush, I feel like if the formula is so runny, the brush needs to be smaller, otherwise you just end up with polish smeared from one end of your foot to the other. And that's no bueno. :/

There's the shot you've all been waiting for! It looks great on, but I've only had it on about 20 minutes, so I can't speak to chipping, yet. I'll update when I've got more information on that front!

Later, beautiful!

Chipping Update! Made it to day 5 before I started noticing chipping! So not great, but none too shabby either.

I've been binge buying nail polish lately...

...and figured someone may as well benefit from my efforts! Hah - Wal-Greens had a couple of good sales on nail polish, and I ended up with four different bottles in one week. How many nails does one girl have to paint?! Let's find out!

The color I'm here to tell you about today is Sinful Colors Professional in "Let's Talk". This color was inspired by wanting a purple to go with a teal that I'd bought earlier in the week, but after seeing this, I can't tell this baby no!

This polish comes with a standard issue nail brush, and it's medium in thickness, as far as nail polishes go. It wasn't runny like some can be, but went on smooth and easy.

The color is a deep, rich, marvelous purple. No sparkle or glitter in it anywhere to be found. And I don't have a lot of experience with the Sinful Colors brand, but so far, this stuff is wearing like a BEAST. I'm on...I think day 4? And not a chip or nick in sight. And I teach dance classes, and have been rocking the open toed shoes this week (warm weather!), so my feet have gotten some use!

The important stuff...

My toes. I think this color actually makes my toes look kind of slim. LOL! And I didn't notice until after I'd taken these that there was a bit of polish on the cuticle as well. Oops. :D

A different shot, so you can see how the light hits the purple. It's fantastic, I love it. I'd recommend it! And last week when I went to fill my prescription, Wal-Greens had it on sale for 99 cents!!

My only tiny beef, that even I acknowledge is silly? I like beauty product packaging, and the purple is so dark, you can't read the writing on the bottle. So if you're a packaging junkie, this one isn't all that satisfying. But other than that tiny problem? This polish would be a steal at twice the price!

Gave myself a pedi today...

...let's talk about it. ;)

I'd spied Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in Mermaid's Tale at Wal-Mart, and kind of couldn't stop staring at it. It's a navy polish, with small bits of navy glitter, and bigger bits of greenish blue glitter. Funnily enough, it looks a whole lot like what you'd imagine a mermaid's tale would actually look like.

So I finally decided I had to have it, and the deal was done.

Now, let's chat about the things about this polish I found sort of surprising:

-The brush was wider than I expected to see. It's no paint brush or anything, but it was no dainty, tiny brush either. I used the polish to give myself a pedicure, and could get across my big toe in about four strokes.

The polish went on smooth. It was a little thin, but not overly runny. Why is the polish being smooth a surprise? With two different kinds of glitter, you'd expect the polish to go on a little chunky, this didn't. Although I've not yet removed it, so I can't speak to that.

The polish wasn't as dark as I expected. To look at the bottle, you'd expect an opaque navy. To look at Google reviews, it looks like an opaque navy. To look at Pinterest, it looks like an opaque navy. To put it on, it's not opaque navy. It'd probably be a fun top coat for another color, actually.

But, as a positive - the color did seem to layer well, and dry reasonably quickly. As a bonus too, the glitter isn't really the stand out star of the polish - it's not navy with green flecks, it's navy that you can see green flecks in certain light. So, if you're of an age where you probably shouldn't be wearing glitter (which, if we're being honest with each other - I may not be at that age, but I'm comin' at it fast), but you want a little something funky for your summer pedi, you could work this polish, without feeling too young.

When I looked closer at a lot of the Google reviews that looked a lot darker than mine, trying to understand why they all looked so much darker than mine, I realized that a lot of them were using this color as a top coat. These pictures are this polish only, no extra colors.

The first picture is both feet, my left foot had one coat, and the right had two. In the second picture, there is a close up on two coats. You can see that there really is a nice depth to the color - it looks like I've got on multiple layers of color. The third picture that you see is a close up of one coat. You can see by looking at this picture why I keep saying that this would make a nice top coat - you can easily take another color, and punch it up with a little glitter over the top.

I'm very happy with this polish. It layers nicely, seems to wear well, and the glitter makes me feel kind of sassy. :D My opinion might change slightly when it comes time to take it off, but as of right now, I'd recommend it to a friend. :D


ETA: Woke up this morning to a couple of chips. The most physically exerting thing I did yesterday was pick my son up from school. That's pretty frustrating.