Mani That Lasts - Revlon ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel

It's fun to go to the salon and be pampered.  Getting a mani is great.  Sadly for me, no matter what I do, they never seem to last more than a few days. Also, I'm one of those nutty girls who really loves to paint her nails. I have since one of my babysitters first painted my nails when I was a little girl. It's fun for me.  Sitting there watching a trashy TV show or reading a fashion magazine and painting my nails is wonderfully zen for me.

I've tried so many ways to make my manis last.  So far, the only thing that has come close to extending the life of my polish is Seche Vite top coat. It does a good job but even that great product doesn't extend it past four or five days. When I heard about Revlon ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel I admit, I was skeptical.  Revlon claims that the manicure will last 11 days if you wear it with the base and top coats. I decided to test it out.

 
I purchased four bottles during a buy one get one 50% sale at Walgreens and I used a $1 coupon on each bottle.  My grand total was $19.94 for base coat, top coat, Stiletto (black) and Stormy Night (dark gray). If I was truly going to test this product, I wanted a color that would show every chip and all of the wear.  I chose Stiletto.  I love black polish but it never lasts for me. It starts to look crummy after a couple days.

Day 2

Day 5

Day 8

 

 

 

Day 10 left hand

Day 10 right hand

I decided not to reapply the top coat at all during the test.  After five days you can see some wear at the tips. At day eight I got a tiny chip on my left hand pinky.  It's on the outside and you can barely see it. Today is day ten.  You can see the growth at my cuticles and I got one major chip on my right index finger, earlier today. 

I'm beyond thrilled with the result of this polish. The application was easy, just like any regular polish.  It covers well, in only two coats. As you can see the shine lasted the full ten days. I don't know how the polish would wear without the base and top coat but even if you have to pay full price, it's worth every penny. At around $24 (full price) for base coat, a color polish and top coat it's a bargain! But I've been able to find sales and coupons for all of my purchases so far.

I highly recommend getting some for yourself. In fact, I bought three new colors today.  That's how much I love this polish. It comes in thirty colors, so there's something for everyone.

This is my personal review.  I wasn't compensated by Revlon.  It's my honest opinion and the photos have not been altered.

M is for Makeup and Monday

It's supposed to rain for the entire week here in DC.  I guess I can't complain since we had a beautiful weekend and it's supposed to be beautiful next weekend.  Rain really makes me feel blah so I'm going to try to boost my mood this week with some fun and color.  Today I thought I'd share with you some of my new favorite products.

I've made my love of the (fairly) new Revlon ColorStay Longwear nail enamel well known. It's truly the longest wearing nail polish I have ever found. I love the colors they have. Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a nail polish slut and I need more options than just those provided in this line.  I have however, been using the base and the top coat with all of my nail polish and it helps them all last almost as long as the Revlon Colorstay nail colors.  It's amazing!  Right now CVS is selling this polish for $4.99 and you will get $3 in CVS Extra Care Bucks with your first bottle.  It's like getting the polish for $1.99!  If you can find an in store tear pad coupon then it will cost just 99 cents! If you don't live in the DC area, check your local ad for details.

Since I've been wearing Revlon Photoready Airbrush Mousse Makeup, I've had lots of people ask me about my makeup.  I need a little extra coverage to even my skin tone as I've gotten a little older.  But I hate foundation that feels thick and heavy, especially as the weather gets warmer.  It's so light and still covers amazingly well. It gives my skin a pretty finish and I only use a grape size amount. I apply it with a brush.  I got this amazing foundation through a huge deal, using two coupons and also got ECBs back. 

I've been using the Revlon Photoready foundation with L'Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer. I don't use it as an all over primer because I like it more as a highlighter.  I put a tiny drop on my finger and blend it on my upper cheek bone and above my brow.  It gives my skin a pretty glow without looking sparkly.
 

From top:  Show Me Some Skin and Jewelry Heist

Jewelry Heist over Show Me Some Skin - LOVE this combo

Back in the winter, Wet 'n Wild came out with a new line of polishes called Spoiled.  They are sold exclusively at CVS for $1.99.  For inexpensive polishes they are good quality and come in an amazing color selection (link to the selection on vampyvarnish.com).  CVS has had quite a few sales recently (Buy Two get One Free and 99 cents each, on different weeks).  I've tried out several colors and I'm loving them for the quality and price. When I apply them along with the Revlon ColorStay base and top coats, they have great staying power. Without Revlon, they tend to last about the same time as the average polish.

Those are just a few of my new favorites.  Which products are you loving right now?

Inspiration - Manicures for a Monday

Lately, I've really enjoyed playing with neutral bases and glitter in my manicures.  My cousin and I even had a fun girl's night recently with our glitter manis.  We drank wine, created our own glitter mani's and watched The Bachelor.  It was fantastic!  I'm still in love with Revlon ColorStay Longwear nail enamel and I've been adding glitter to their neutrals. A few weeks ago I tried Bones as my base with Nicole by OPI glitter tips.

This week I tried Stormy Night, covered about half of each nail with Essie Luxe Effects in Pure Perfection and then added Spoiled, I Have No Reception to the tips.

These nails, from my Pinterest boards were my inspiration. To get the details for each of these manis, go to my page and click on the picture.

My own glitter inspired mani turned out like this...

left to right - Revlon ColorStay  Stormy Night, essie luxe effects Pure Perfection, Wet n Wild Spoiled I Have No Reception

Finished Product - Fun but neutral enough to pass at work!

Floridays

When I was packing for the warm weather I knew this dress was going in my suitcase. It fun, colorful, and easy to wear. It is everything I love about dressing for a beach vacation.

Dress - Kohl's (no longer available), Shoes - MIA via DSW, Bag - vintage Coach via Goodwill, Necklace - gift, Bracelets - gift, vintage, Until There's A Cure, Watch - TIMEX gift, Rings - JewelMint and VMFA, Nails - Revlon ColorStay Longwear in Provence, Lips - Maybelline Fuchsia Fever

My favorite Jimmy Buffett album is Floridays. There are so many great songs on that album. When the weather is cold and nasty, it always makes me think of the beach.

70's Influenced

I know that this outfit isn't really 70's style but for me, pairing olive and orange together always reminds me of the 70's.  Maybe it's because I really loved the home of our family friends, the McLeod's, that was very modern, mod and full of orange and olive colored furniture and appliances. The color combo always reminds me of that time.  I also decided that Polaroid style pictures would fit with today's 70's theme.

Today I'm sporting two of my favorite wardrobe pieces.  The olive army influenced jacket from Talbots that I snagged at the outlet.  The other is this fantastic orange skirt, a gift from Fashion to Figure.  Orange, as you know, is the color of the season. Unfortunately, the skirt is no longer available. I love that the clothes at Fashion to Figure are so on trend and modern.  They know that curvy girls want to accentuate our curves, not hide them and they always offer the latest in fashion forward clothes.  If you live in the DC area, Fashion to Figure is opening a brand new store on February 12 at the Mall at Prince Georges in Hyattsville, Maryland.  They just opened a new store in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and their grand opening party is this Saturday. If you don't live close to one of their brick and mortar locations you can always shop online.

Jacket - Talbots, Shirt - Kohl's, Skirt - c/o Fashion to Figure, Boots - Silhouettes, Bracelets - Craft Show and Gifts, Watch - Kohl's, Necklace - Gift, Nails - Revlon ColorStay Longwear in Sequin

I'm still trying out all of the lipsticks I purchased in my search for the perfect red lip.  I thought it would be good to test each one by wearing it for at least a day.  I think just trying it once doesn't really give me a fair picture.  This color is L'Oreal Color Riche in Target Red.  It's sold only at Target stores.  It's a semi sheer bluish red.  I really like the consistency and the semi sheer finish.  It's also not as matte as some of the other reds I've tried.

Mani for a Saturday Morning

I've been inspired by the glitter tipped manis I've been spying on blogs and Pinterest lately. I decided I needed my own version. I love nude nails and silver glitter so I thought combining the two would be amazing.

I used Revlon ColorStay Longwear nail enamel in Bones, Ulta in Starstruck and Nicole by OPI in Make You Smile.

Dripping Dots Mani

I've gotten so many great manicure ideas from Pinterest that I don't know if  I'll ever be able to try them all.  Recently I pinned a great tip from The Beauty Department. To make polka dots on your mani just push a flat head pin into a pencil eraser and dip it into the polish you want to dot. It makes a perfect dot tool.

My love of Revlon ColorStay Longwear nail enamel continues. For this mani I used Sequin as the base and Stiletto for the dripping dots. I painted two base coats of Sequin. I dripped a small amount of Stiletto onto a disposable plate. Then I dipped the pin head in and created a dotted line across the tip of each nail and added random dots dripping down each nail. I found that bending the pin gave me more control of the dotting tool.

They turned out better than I'd hoped. The sparkly sequin base is a perfect backdrop for the black dots. Using the pin dotting tool was surprisingly easy. The best tip I have is to dip lightly. You only need a small amount of polish on the pin head to create a dot. Too much makes a glob. It also helps to clean off the pin head occasionally with some polish remover. You can use any color combo to make fun polka dot nails. If you try it with different colors, I'd love to see your mani.  Please post it to the Real Girl Runway facebook page.