Revlon Nail Enamel - 230 Popular; Review + photos

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My review today is about a much-loved nail enamel from Revlon, which is suitably named "Popular"! I'll try to keep this one short and sweet.

"Revlon Nail Enamel delivers gorgeous smooth, chip-resistant colour to nails." - Revlon

(Source: http://www.revlon.co.uk)

This glitzy, girly polish is ideal for almost all year round. It's a pastel pink hue which is perfect for Spring and Summer, and it's packed with various sizes of sparkly silver glitter, which also makes it a winner for the party season! So, with Christmas approaching fast, now's a good time to share the shade with you. :)

"Revlon's exclusive silk-protein shield works to instantly help even out the surface of the nail while rising above colour to automatically smooth away bubbles, streaks and brush marks." - Revlon

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(Source: http://www.revlon.co.uk)

                           

***

Let's talk about the looks you can achieve by using different numbers of coats. I've attached photos of my nails after using one, two, and three layers of this polish...

One coat: Just a single coat gives a subtle, nude, pinky tone with a touch of glitter. The added sparkle makes this sheer, understated shade more interesting. It's has a slightly glossy finish. The result is perfectly even - no streaks in sight! (See image - right.)

Image - right: A single coat gives a subtle, nude, pinky tone with a touch of glitter.

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Two coats: Adding a second coat of polish partially covers the first coats' glitter making it appear white-ish rather than silver - this creates an interesting mix of shades. The pastel pink hue is stronger, but still lightly sheer with a glossy finish. (See image - right.)

Image - right: The pastel pink hue is stronger, but still lightly sheer with a glossy finish. The mulit-layered glitter appears white and silver, which makes an interesting mix of colour.

Three coats: Three layers of polish results in a soft, delicate, "candy floss" pink, infused with lots of eye-catching glitter! The shade is no longer sheer, but completely solid and opaque. The result is an smooth, even, high-gloss, professional-looking manicure. Impressive! (See image - below-right.)

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Image - right: Three layers of polish results in a soft, delicate, "candy floss" pink, infused with lots of eye-catching glitter!

***

Now let's discuss the drying time, consistency, and wear...

One coat of this enamel has an exceptionally fast drying time - it's touch-dry in seconds! However, as more layers were added, I found I needed to give each coat longer to dry. If you want to use this shade in a hurry, I'd advise that you opt for the understated look that one coat provides (see image - ). If you want to add more coats for a stronger result you'll need to set aside some me-time to get your nails looking salon-perfect.

The polish has quite a thin consistency, but not so thin that application becomes difficult - there's little worse that ultra-runny polish that gets everywhere and makes a mess of your manicure! The thickness also makes little mistakes easy to remove. When you want to remove the polish completely, you may find it takes a while. A lot of glittery nail shades can be difficult to remove, and this one is no different. The pink enamel is quick and easy to remove, but I found that the glitter was pretty stubborn! A good way to remove glitter polishes is to soak a cotton pad / cotton ball / some tissue in nail polish remover, wrap it around the nail, hold in place for about 30 seconds, then try to wipe away the glitter - repeat if necessary. I've previously used some super-stubborn glitter polishes that have needed to be scratched away with an orange stick, which is pretty unpleasant (thankfully, "Popular" isn't that bad) - I'm sure I'll get some complaining to me about how this can be bad for your nails, so I assure you I'm not advising people to remove polish in this way, it was simply a last result.

The wear of this shade is pretty impressive. I wore 2 coats for 4 days before any signs of wear appeared, and my hands do a lot of work! The light colouring of this shade makes it ideal for ladies who don't have time to keep touching-up or re-doing their nails, as small signs of wear are barely noticeable and it has decent staying-power.

That's all I have to say about Revlon Nail Enamel in "Popular". I hope you've found it helpful! If you want to know more about Revlon or purchase this polish or any other Revlon shade, use the links below.

Click here to view Revlon Nail Enamel on the Revlon website.
Click here to purchase Revlon Nail Enamel from the Boots website.
Click here to purchase Revlon Nail Enamel in "230 Popular" from Amazon.

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
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By Tuesday T. Bryan.

Revlon Vital Radiance Moisture Boosting Lipcolor; 4 shades; reviews + photos

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I really like Revlon's cosmetics. Their all-round quality never fails to impress me. I was browsing online for make up to buy and review, and I came across these little beauties; Revlon Moisture Boosting Lipcolor from their Vital Radiance collection. Apparently, Revlon decided to sink Vital Radiance in 2006, but they're still easy to find on the internet. I had high hopes for these "lipcolors" (I'm British, so spelling it "color" rather than "colour" doesn't feel right), and they didn't let me down!

As the name suggests, they're super moisturising; they come in a range of shades that look great all year round, but the moisturising quality makes these ideal for the cold dry winter air. They work wonders on my dry lips! They have a sophisticated glossy creme finish, especially "Cabernet", which gives my lips a lovely shine without them feeling uncomfortable; it appears have a thinner consistency than the lighter shades. However, this does make the darker shades a little difficult to apply without the use of a lip brush (I use Mac's 209 which is really an eyeliner brush), and I was constantly using my mirror to check I hadn't smudged my lips!

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Revlon claim these lipsticks "brighten your face and leave your lips looking noticeably fuller". The colours are lovely, but I didn't notice any "brightening" effect so I can't really comment on whether they "brighten your face" (honestly it sounds a bit silly to me; brightening highlighters and foundations? Yes... Brightening lipsticks? No). However, they defiantly made my lips appear smoother which I love.


All four of my shades have fairly good staying power, some better than others. "Cabernet" needed quite a few minor touch-ups due to it's thin consistency and dark colour, where as I only needed to re-apply "Tea Rose" twice throughout my 18 hour day! I suppose it depends on how you apply it, your lip condition, and what you do during your day. Staying power isn't something these products boast about, so it wasn't my main concern.

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Included with each lipstick is a little piece of paper with information about the product, tips on how to apply it, and a bit of info about other Vital Radiance lip products. I've added an image of the back and front of it to save me typing it all out (see image on the right).


Now, let's talk colours. I have this product in four shades; 002 Bare, 026 Tea Rose, 042 Glistening Berry, 048 Cabernet. Below are images of my lips sporting each shade and my short opinions on them...

002 Bare

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026 Tea Rose
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002 Bare: I do like this colour, but it's not bright enough for me to want to wear. It's has a fully opaque and super glossy finish.

048 Cabernet
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042 Glistening Berry
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026 Tea Rose: I really like this "pinky-nude" shade. It's an absolute winner for all year round. It's still not quite bright enough for me to feel comfort able to go out in though; beautiful as it may be, I don't quite feel myself in it.
042 Glistening Berry: This colour is stunning! It's a gorgeous dusky pink shade packed with golden shimmer, resulting in a beautiful opalescent finish. An amazing winter lip colour.
048 Cabernet: I really love this dramatic shade, deep bold reds are my favorite lip colours! However, the thin consistency makes neat application difficult without my MAC 209 brush (yes, I know it's for eyeliner, but it makes a killer lip brush), and I constantly worry about it smudging. If it had a matte finish rather than creme it would be perfect for me!

So, all-in-all, I think these are great little lipsticks. They may have their bad points, but for me, the pros outweigh the cons. As I said, Revlon scrapped Vital Radiance, but their Moisture Boosting Lipcolour lipsticks are still available from many places online. I found mine on Ebay. Get searching!

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
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By Tuesday T. Bryan.

Below: Myself in my bathroom mirror sporting Revlon Vital Radiance Lipcolour in "026 Tea Rose". Please note that I've toned down the colours in this image, the shade comes out more vibrant than it looks in the photo below! See the image above to see it's "true colour". My nail polish is No7 Speed Dry in "Iced Mocha". Also, notice I've taken my bridge piercing out? I got it done in 2007 and I got sick of it. :)

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Revlon ColourStay Overtime & Maybelline 18h SuperStay - lip colour reviews + photos

To give my lipstick staying power, Lipcoat is an absolute dream (it defiantly needs a review soon). And I pretty much hate lip gloss, the vast majority of them anyway, particularly the "wet look" ones that look like they're melting off your lips.
However, I quite like lip colours that are almost "a cross between lipstick and lip gloss". I understand that sounds quite vague, so I'm writing a review of two of the cosmetics I place in this category. These are Revlon ColourStay Overtime Lip Colour and Maybelline 18h SuperStay, both in two stunning shades of red. The photos just don't show how amazing these colours are. Click the photos to enlarge them and you'll get a better feel for what they're like.
(I've had both these products for quite some time, as the photos show!)

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© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
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Revlon ColourStay Overtime Lip Colour in "On-Going Flame":
This colour is incredible. It's one of the most classically beautiful shades of red I own, and I own a lot. It's completely matte, so if you like a bit of sparkle this one probably isn't for you. You can also layer the colour; if you only apply a light coat it looks a slightly "pinky-red" colour, or you can apply a full coat to reveal a gorgeous bold red (see the "swatch photo" below for the colour variation).
I also like how quickly the colour dries. Some of these products take ages to dry before you can apply the top coat, which can be a real pain as you're meant to keep your lips apart while it dries, however this is not the case with Revlon's ColourStay.
The glossy top coat is great, too. It's completely clear with no shimmer or sparkle, and it gives a lovely shine to the red. It's non-sticky which is always a winner (I think sticky lip glosses were what made me dislike lip gloss so much).
It has incredible staying power; I apply mine in the morning and take it off before I go to bed, and even after 18+ hours wear that fabulous red is still as good as when I first applied it. You will need to touch up the gloss top coat after you eat, though.

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
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© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
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Maybelline 18h SuperStay Lip Colour in "538 Crimson Crystal":

Now, if you're a lady who prefers some sparkle, you have to try this colour. It's the ultimate party shade of red - bright, bold, and packed with hot pink shimmer and has a bronzy undertone. You can layer this colour just as you can with Revlon ColourStay, but this is slightly less opaque so you will need to apply a bit more (again, see the "swatch photo" above for colour variation). I always wear two or three coats before applying the top coat.
Unlike the Revlon's product which drys quick as a flash, this product is pretty slow drying which is quite disappointing.

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This colour does actually dry out my lips quite a lot, but this is where the top coat comes in. It's a fantastic moisturising balm which instantly hydrates your lips and gives a healthy looking shine. I prefer it to the Revlon ColourStay gloss top coat by far. I do find myself needing to reapply the top coat a lot throughout the day which can be irritating, but at least you'll never run out as can buy the top coat separately.
This product has some epic staying power, too. It does me proud on my 18+ hour days just as Revlon ColourStay does, however I do find it starts to flake a little if you don't keep reapplying the moisture top coat, especially after eating and/or when I've had it on for about 10 hours.

So, all in all, two great products in two gorgeous shades of red, both with amazing staying power. I love them. If I could combine the two, I'd take the Revlon product and replace the glossy top coat with Maybelline's moisturising top coat!

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
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By Tuesday T. Bryan.