Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Revlon Nail Art Wildflowers 3D Jewel Appliqués

Dear Revlon, while this might not be the most flattering review, it was a good move to send me a free sample of your Nail Art Wildflowers 3D Jewel Appliqués as part of your Revlon Selects program as I have now discussed this product with easily two dozen people, likely more, more than a few of them are interested in trying this product out for themselves. While some people were interested in the details of this product, most just wanted to know what was on my nails. Hope this creates the buzz you were looking for.

Lindsay

Okay, now that I'm done with Revlon, back to you, regular readers. The reason why so many people were interested in this product is because the design I was sent, Bow-quet, is quite eye-catching and clearly something a little more advanced than your typical polish job. I know I could never create this pattern using polish, nor could I create any of the patterns that are available as part of this collection (Note: The images linked to might just be available to Americans). And while some of these patterns are a bit, let’s go with flashy, some are quite pretty.


While the patterns were the first thing that interested me about this product, the second is that it sounded so easy to use. Of course, the truth is a bit different.

According to Revlon, after you clean up your nails with a bit of nail polish remover, you just apply the whichever appliqués fits your nail shape best, taking care to avoid contact with your skin, and then buff off the overhang, using the provided nail buffer.

My first challenge was to select stickers that fit my nail shapes. Almost all of them were too narrow, and left some of my nail exposed or too wide and did end up touching my skin (which in the end proved to be no big deal).

The appliqués were also all way too long for my nails though I get why Revlon would opt for decals that were on the long side. There was no way I was going to be able to buffer several centimetres of "UV cured" plastic off so instead I trimmed the stickers down with nail scissors, then buffered them smooth. This idea worked well for my left hand but it wasn't something I could do for my right hand (I don’t own any left-handed scissors) so I had to get husband to trim that hand’s stickers.

It was also a real pain to try and get the appliqués to apply smoothly; they kept wanting to ripple or fold up near the tips of my nails. Thankfully, because of the busy-ness of the pattern I received, my screw-ups weren't that noticeable but I can see how these stickers could look like crap if their design was quieter.

Still, while they were a bit of a pain to apply, using the appliqués was certainly much quicker than getting this design, or even a basic polish job, done.

Unfortunately, my appliqués didn't last much longer than a basic polish job. I first applied the decals on Thursday night and by Sunday evening, the edges on some of them were starting to bubble up. Then on Monday morning, I discovered that the appliqués were starting to peel off on two of my nails. And unlike small polish chips, there’s no real way to save a nail once the appliqué starts to peel.

So on Monday morning, off they came. Removing the decals was surprising easy, I just peeled them off. And while they did leave a bit of residue, it washed on easily and I was left with happy nails that were in no way harmed by their decorative stickers.

I have no idea how much this product costs though based on what these things go for in the US, I'm going to guess that they’ll retail here for about $12.99. I also don’t think they’re available for sale in Canada yet though I imagine they should be rolled out soon (Revlon, if you’re reading this, this is all info that I would love to see included in my next Revlon Select package).

Would I buy this product: I can see myself buying a particular pattern, for a particular event, but I won’t be regularly wearing these appliqués.

Should you buy this product: This answer really depends on your personal tastes and the shape of your nails. If you like the available patterns, and their shape works with your nails, give this product a try. Just make sure that when you go to apply them, you have someone nearby who can trim the appliqués on your dominant hand.

2 comments:

  1. Great review! They're something I guess you'd use for a special occasion. Do you know if the Revlon selects program is still going?

    I just tried these stickers in '01 About a Pearl'. I found that when the tips chipped you could hardly notice it because of the colour/design.

    I'm new to blogging so I'd appreciate if you could look at my blog post and leave me a comment :)

    http://missmel7.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/revlon-nail-art-3d-jewel-appliques-wild.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sure Melissa! And thanks for stopping by.

    ReplyDelete