Thursday, October 29, 2009

Revlon Runway Collection Nails Review

To promote the Revlon Runway Collection nails the Assistant Brand Manager from Revlon, Janet Lai, sent out the nails to various bloggers to try and review. Lucky for me, I was one of them as well. Even though a lot of bloggers have reviewed the nails already, I think some people might be interested in this particular review because it was my first time trying out glue-on nails! Let me start off my review with a picture of the result.

[Click images to enlarge]

The review is a bit long because I wanted it to be detailed & filled with pictures, so I've added a little summary of my review (list of pros & cons) as an introduction or for those who don't have the time to read it all.

PROS:
  • Looks like you just got a manicure done - simple & from the comfort of your own home
  • Many designs to choose from - simple, to glittery, to bold
  • Medium length is just perfect!
  • Many different sizes provided, so you're bound to find sizes that match your nails pretty closely
  • Great price
CONS:
  • Annoying air bubbles - people might not be able to tell from far, but I know they're there & that's good enough to bug me!
  • Glue dries a bit too fast to apply an even layer of glue on your nail & the fake nail & then figure out how to put it on, causing a bigger mess
  • Glue got on my fingers & wasn't easy to take off
  • The maroon colour of the Mystic nails wore off the edges - I suspect that this might happen to the Studio nails as well
  • Gems weren't all centered in the Mystic nails
  • Like all glue-on nails, they're hard to take off (you have to soak them in acetone or an acetone based polish remover) & they damage your real nails

Here I've attached the PR flyer that Janet Lai e-mailed me before sending me the nails. I was excited to try the nails just after seeing the flyer!
From looking at the flyer, the collection sounds pretty good, doesn't it? The price seems reasonable for the product that they're offering as well. Keep reading to see more pictures of the nails & read my review on them.


When I opened the package that Janet Lai sent me, I found not only 1 or 2 packages of the Revlon Runway Collection nails, but I found 6 different designs! Of course, I was stoked! There's a close-up of the nails later on, so you can have a better look. But for now, here are the nails that I received.
Each package includes the following items: buffer, nail glue, manicure stick, & 24 nails (although, Starlet has 28 nails).
Glue - dries a bit too fast to give you the opportunity to apply an even layer on both your nail & the fake nail & then apply the nail.
Manicure stick - was very useful in trying to separate my skin from getting glued on to the fake nail, since I put too much glue at times that oozed out all over & made a mess by getting on all my other fingers & nails.
Buffer - a bit rough so I ended up using my own since I didn't want my nails to go through any more damage that they would be going through already.
More nails - a variety of sizes available, which is amazing because you can find a match that fits closely to your real nail without having to worry about filing the nail down to match sizes.

Here's a close-up of the 6 designs that I received
The designs range from simple that you can wear everyday, to bold that you can sport on a night out. Mystic was the first set that I tried because it matched my outfit on Eid (religious celebration, which was a few days away). I didn't think I'd like the dark colour so much for everyday wear, but surprisingly, once I had them on, they actually looked awesome & matched most of my outfits! However, they didn't look that great just after 4 days of me having them on...
I don't have a picture of them on, but I have the nails that I wore so I just took a picture of those. In the picture you can see that the edges of the nails are worn off, which was quite disappointing. Another disappoint was that all the nails with the gems didn't have the gems centered, but I got lucky & found nails with centered gems in the sizes that I needed. I wore the nails with the gems on my index & ring finger & both of them fell off within just 2 days!! Of course I wasn't going to sport these worn off nails on Eid, so I decided to try out my favourite design of the bunch: Sequins (91087).
I thought since it's my second time applying the nails, I would get better at it & there would be less air bubbles, but no such luck! (For reference, look closely at the picture above). Others couldn't really tell that I had air bubbles from far, but I knew better & saw my nails up close all the time, so the air bubbles looked disgusting & really annoyed me!

What I loved about the nails is the medium length. It is perfect! They're not too long to interfere with your daily activities, such as texting, typing, &/or writing, especially if you're not used to having long nails or having fake nails on. They really don't take long to get used to at all. They're not too long to look tacky either & you don't have to waste time trying to file them down to the right size.


& here's a little snippet of information, that's not directly related to the review:
Most people don't know that Muslim women can't pray with nail polish on. Actually, that's a lie... you can't perform ablution with nail polish on & you're supposed to perform ablution before your prayers. That's a whole different story, so I wont talk too much about that besides saying that the only time I can wear nail polish is when I'm menstruating. This is also means that I can only get a manicure during that week & the timing never works out, so I've never gotten a manicure done either!
I didn't mention all that just 'cause. I said it because the Revlon Runway Collection nails made my hands look like I just got a manicure & I could do it at home without having to worry about going to get a manicure done when I get my period. Now that was an automatic bonus for me!

Now, the question that's left is would I buy the nails again?

Personally, I don't think I would just because I don't like the damage that is caused to my real nails by the glue. Also, to take the nails off, you have to soak the nails in acetone or an acetone based polish remover. Acetone dries out your skin & I wouldn't want to use too much of it.

However, I still look forward to trying out the rest of the nails. I'm thinking I'll be bold & try Studio first. Or maybe Stella for a very simple look? Just hope I can keep the air bubbles to a minimum this time around.


Have you tried these nails before? Which one is your favourite design? How did you like the nails?

Hope this review helps anyone who wants to try these out.
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Friday, October 9, 2009

M.I.A

Hi everyone,

I know I said I'd try to blog once in a while even though school has started and I'm busy but I haven't really been doing that. I would have but there's just a tiny little problem.. I don't have my laptop! It took 4.5 weeks to repair it and when I got it back, it was still giving me problems so I've sent it back again hoping that it will be repaired and returned to me before I have to start researching for and typing up my essays, research proposals, papers, etc.

I miss blogging so much that I'm blogging via my iPhone now. It would be a pain to edit pictures on here though, so even though I'd love to share some pictures with you, that will just have to wait till my laptop is fixed and running properly again!

I do have a picture on my phone that I'd like to share with you though. It's a picture of me of course. I decided to go back to my blunt bangs/fringe because I think they really suit me and I have received TONS of compliments on them when I've had them before. So here I am sporting the new (well, not exactly new anymore) hairstyle...


I've also been wanting to blog for a while now, especially about the smudgeliners by Annabelle cosmetics that I've been using recently! Also, I want to do a picture post of all the different haircuts that I've had to date which should be neat. And I've also had the chance to try out the Runway Collection nails by Revlon which most bloggers have had the chance to try already, but I still want to review them. Maybe the review will be a little different than the other reviews since it was the first time that I've tried glue-on nails, so it's from the perspective of a beginner.

All that and more coming up. Just don't know when though.

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving weekend!


- Posted using BlogPress from my fabulous iPhone
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