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
DO NOT USE IMAGES WITHOUT PERMISSION. Copyrighted material

By Tuesday T. Bryan.

Avon Nailwear Pro+ in three new shades + Avon Nail Decoration Tool; Reviews + photos

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
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I've decided to write some short but sweet words on my three latest shades of Avon Nailwear Pro+, "Apple Of His Eye", "Grape Goddess", and "Seduce Me Strawberry"; three of the six new fruit-inspired nail polish shades that "look good enough to eat"! They're super summer shades, and I loved the look of them all, but these were my chosen shades as I thought they were the ones I'd wear the most.
I also want to briefly share my thoughts on the new Avon Nail Decoration Tool.
First I'm going to discuss each of the colours individually, then I'll go on to comment on their wear, and finally I'll mention the Nail Decoration Tool.

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
DO NOT USE IMAGES WITHOUT PERMISSION. Copyrighted material

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
DO NOT USE IMAGES WITHOUT PERMISSION. Copyrighted material

"Apple Of His Eye" was love at first sight for me. If you've read my previous blogs you'll know that red nail polishes (and red lipsticks) are firm favorites of mine. This one is a modern twist on the classic retro red.
It's a stunning bright red/coral shade, packed with eye-catching gold and bronze glitter. It's very versatile  Being slightly on the coral side makes this red polish light enough to enjoy in the spring months, when pastel shades are in, but being a red it's also suitable for the rest of the year (although personally, I'd opt for something deeper for autumn/winter). The glitter looks heavenly in the summer sunlight, and it's glamorous enough for a night out.


I thought that, due to me being a red-nail enthusiast, "Apple Of His Eye" would be my favorite of the three shades. However, "Grape Goddess" is even more breath-taking.
From the Avon brochure I thought this polish looked a lot like another of Avon's Nailwear Pro+ shades (which I also own) called "Decadence", but it actually has a very different finish. "Grape Goddess" is a bright, rich purple infused with fuchsia sparkles. It's a fun and party-perfect shade, but it's also sexy and seductive. The shade is colourful enough to pull off in the spring and summer months, but it also has more than enough depth to enjoy in the autumn/winter. This polish is a clear winner for me. I am certainly very pleasantly surprised!

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
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I'm not usually one for pink polishes, but in the brochure "Seduce Me Strawberry" caught my eye. It's a vibrant pink, loaded with eye-catching pink and silver shimmer. This shade is super-girly and perfectly flirty! After studying  this polish for some time (and trying to "ignore" the light-reflective glitter particles), the main pink shade looks slightly on the pastel side to me, making it a fabulous colour for spring. The added sparkles also make this polish perfect for those long summer days.

Now, let's discuss the products' other qualities. All three shades are perfectly opaque after 2 coats. I highly suggest you don't use these shades in a hurry; any smudges, scratches and fingerprints are very visible due to their high-gloss finish (especially "Grape Goddess"), I always try to set aside some "me time" to do my manicures! As for the wear, Avon claim up to 12 days of lasting colour from their Nailwear Pro+ polishes. I don't think I've actually ever kept the same shade on for 12 days, I love changing my nails so much that I usually change my polish at least weekly, but you certainly do get some decent wear out of them as long as your nails are in fairly good condition. I used to have real problems with all of Avon's polishes wear on the thin areas of my thin peeling nails. However, since using Avon Nail Experts Gel Strength Base Coat (see below for price and purchase details) my nails have been in much better condition, and using it as a base coat boosts longevity by fighting colour fade and helping to prevent chips and peeling - I will be doing a review for Avon Nail Experts Gel Strength Base Coat very soon; the stuff is a miracle and I can't wait to share more about it with you!

I've added images to this blog entry and the polishes really do look great, but photos still don't do them justice. You really need to see them for real to witness just how dazzling they really are! They're dirt cheap, too, so what are you waiting for!

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
DO NOT USE IMAGES WITHOUT PERMISSION. Copyrighted material

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
DO NOT USE IMAGES WITHOUT PERMISSION. Copyrighted material

Finally I want to share my thoughts on the new Avon Nail Decoration Tool. It's a neat little accessory for creating unique nail art designs. It's sort of two-tools-in-one, with a thin brush on one end and a "cone" (for dots) on the other. As with most Avon products, the price tag is tiny, so it would be great for practicing nail art.
I'm not a huge fan of massively fancy nail art on my own fingers...not when I have to do it myself anyway. As you can probably see from the photo, God didn't bless me with perfectly steady hands, hence why I never pursued my dream of becoming a tattoo artist. I think the dots look quite cute, but I knew the "plumes" I did using the brush weren't going to end well before I even started. Never mind though, I was just experimenting!
The base shade is "Seduce Me Strawberry" and the detail shade is "Inky Blue" (both Avon Nailwear Pro+). I also added a silver nail art gemstone for a bit of sparkle.
Overall, it's a nice piece of kit for manicure enthusiasts, but steady hands are ideal - get practicing!

Avon Nailwear Pro+ nail polishes are available for £6.00 each. The Avon Nail Decoration Tool is available for £3.00. Avon Nail Experts Gel Strength Base Coat is available for £5.00. Avon's products can be purchased via your Avon Representative or online from the Avon website: http://avonshop.co.uk/shop/default.asp?

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

Below: A recent photo of myself. My hair is getting far too long and I'm not fond of my facial expression, but my make up is looking good! :)

© Tuesday T. Bryan Photography
DO NOT USE IMAGES WITHOUT PERMISSION. Copyrighted material