The nail-polish game just got even more interesting. There’s a new UV hybrid in town, and it don’t need no stinkin’ UV lamp to cure to a durable, long-lasting finish.
Know what’s neat about UV-cured nail colour like OPI Axxium, GelColor by OPI, CND Shellac, and Artistic Colour Gloss? If you expose the stuff to direct sunlight (hello, UVA + UVB), it cures. That’s why the bottles and pots are all protectively opaque. In fact, if sunlight hits UV-sensitive colour as a technician is doing nails, the stuff hardens on the brush right quick.
Know what’s neat about Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel? Inspired by the current no-chip, soak-off-gel craze, the formula includes UV-sensitive elements so the polish doesn’t just dry — it cures. And it does so in natural light, for a stronger, hardier finish than regular polish. Good, geeky news for the DIY mani fan.
“You still have enough working time to apply the polish smoothly,” says Tips Nail Bar’s Leeanne Colley, our best nail friend and Revlon nail expert. “But it dries much faster than regular lacquer, and in a way shrink-wraps your nail. And the finish is super shiny.”
The polish won’t harden in the bottle, but once it’s on your nails, expect a little nail tingle as it dries. (I’ve never felt a tingle during my Axxium, Gelish, Entity or Artistic Colour Gloss applications, mind you, but maybe it’s because the warmth of the UV bulbs distracts?) Don’t expect the cured finish to be quite as strong as standard soak-off, no-chip types, but certainly expect to get a couple of extra days from your at-home manicure.
The other Colorstay difference is a double-tuft or double-barrel brush — two slender bristle-tufts side-by-each, designed to fan out over the nail as you apply, so you can get the job done in two easy strokes.
And removal? Regular nail polish remover and a cotton pad or two, as with standard polish.
Revlon ColorStay Longwear Nail Enamel comes in 16 shades ranging from soft neutrals to edgy to wow, in a mix of shimmer and non, plus a base coat and a top coat. Leeanne’s favourite shades: Marmalade, a splashy orange; Midnight, a deep turquoise jade; and Bare Bones, a putty colour.
The line hits drugstores and mass retailers in December.
Thoughts? You must have thoughts.
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Well this is exciting! I like all the variety of colours, I had my first Shellac done in the beginning of the month and while I love it, there weren’t too many colour options.
Do you still have to use a base or top coat with this?
The line includes a base coat and a top coat; recommended, I’m sure. Would be fun to use the base and top with your regular favourite polish to see what might happen… yes?
Shellac is a bit slow on expanding their colour options, although it’s doubled at least in the last little bit. You’ll get a wider range from Entity and Gelish, and probably Artistic Colour Gloss, all of which are similar products. We’re getting to the point where you can choose based on colour rather than brand — they’re all good and comparable quality.
Wow very interesting – I’m going to try this… I think I’l ltry the base and top coat with a regular polish and see what happens. Hopefully they expand their range of colours to include all the usual revlon favourites like cherries in the snow etc.
That’s a good idea, actually, to expand the line with some of their classics!
I have 2 thoughts – well one is a thought and the other is more of a question:
1. Gimmie
2. Why is December so far away?
You will love it! When you coming for a visit my polish-a-holic?
Aaaand there are 3 blues!
Oooh! Blue? I likes the blue! But then again, I kinda like all the colours of everything!
I’ma try and get there sooner than later – my schedule is a nightmare and my nails are kind of a nightmare too – all peely and unhappy. I’m hoping they’ll grow out of this stage quickly and be tough enough for us to play on.
Excited! Great concept with the hybrid nature of it. The DIY mani fan in me is uncontrollably giddy. It would definitely be interesting to see how it reacts with regular base/top coats but I’m a little alarmed reading “shrink wraps your nails”. Does that mean there’s some shrinkage involved as it dries (the bad kind where you get white tips) or more like a vacuum sealing kind of shrink wrap?
Hi Carmela!
The product contains a “light curable resin” which creates added flexibility to the natural nail. It’s not at all like “vacuum sealing” and it won’t give you “white tips”. Usually the white tips come from not having enough moisture. If you have experienced this in the past the best way to combat this is to use cuticle oil on a daily basis.
You will LOVE the fast dry and super shine! The application is exactly the same (maybe easier) as traditional enamels and removes the same as well.
Hope this helps!
Have you been testing it? How many extra days do you usually get?
I’m having someone test one for me — I’m still wearing my soak-off mani!
Hmmm… I’m slightly skeptical, but only because the last at-home UV polish I tried (Seche Vite’s UV-activated top coat–which came with a mini UV light) did not work at all. It failed to dry/cure as quickly as promised and chipped like regular polish and then was promptly returned for a refund. (Thanks, Sally Beauty!)
But, of course I will try this one–though how come nothing on the bottle says anything about the UV-sensitive components?
I think the idea is that Colorstay will dry to a more durable finish than standard polish, not so much that it’ll be comparable to UV-cured gels. It doesn’t need a UV lamp to cure; likely why it doesn’t say anything about UV on the bottle, but I’ll check into that.
I’ll be looking for your feedback, Paige!
Hmm, this sounds interesting but like paiige, I’m skeptical. Guess I have to try it before I make a decision.
There are so many “long lasting” formulas out there than claim to be different but honestly, I haven’t found any that are even close to a UV gel nail formula. Sure, some are better lasting than others, but not to the point that such a claim can be make. I’m really interesting in trying this out!
I think Revlon Colorstay is still in the longer-lasting arena, definitely not in a category that claims to compete with UV gel formulas. I need more playtime to know more, but couldn’t resist geeking out over the stuff already!
Will also be curious about your verdict!
I have a really dumb question – what if you live on the West Coast where it rains like 24/7? Will there be enough light to cure your nails if a Twilight Vampire can walk outside there without sparkling?
Ahh ha ha ha! Love the Twilight reference, Jenn!
The polish should still dry just fine. The resin won’t prevent that even in low light.
Besides, you’re still exposed to UV even if it’s overcast. UVB might be less obvious, but UVA is still getting through. That’s sunscreen 101.
Incidentally, salon UV lamps emit UVA only; UVB is filtered out.
This is exciting! I don’t have the money to shell out for a gel mani, but this I can afford. :D
I think you should get a few days longer than a standard mani, but you won’t get the durability of a soak-off gel mani, Meg — be prepared! :-)
Boring question here, but my nails have become much healthier since using 3 free stuff. Whats the ingredient scoop with these babies?
Almost every major nail polish brand has ditched those ingredients; this stuff from Revlon is 3-Free as well. (Would be foolish to release a polish that isn’t, right?)
That “tingle” you feel? It is called curing. And it does happen in the UV lamps. If you have felt it, you know that nothing could distract you from that. In the nail world we call that a heat spike.
So that’s what that is! Thanks, Lynnette!
Gotta say the more I think about this polish, the more excited I am to try it. I stick my hands in a lotta junk at work and a regular manicure doesn’t last much more than a day. It chips, and off it comes. If there’s a new longer-lasting polish that’ll last me more than one day, and is as easy for me to put on and take off as any regular polish, I’m SO in.
While Axxium is quite brilliant, I like the ability to change colours more than I like the 3 weeks of wear. A week of the same colour is about as much as I can stand so maybe this’ll be my happy medium.. or 1/3rd… or sumthin’ to that effect.
Can’t wait! While I love Axxium/Bio Gel, the removal process is a drag. That peachy orange looks like my kind colour.
Have you spotted these out for sale yet? I keep looking and sadly I haven’t seen them. :(
I can hardly wait either, so I just called Revlon’s consumer line. Apparently they shipped product to stores in late November and it is “scheduled” for release December 26. BUT, the woman said a lot of stores don’t necessarily wait for the release date and put product out as soon as they get it. Check your local CVS, Walgreens, etc.
Don’t know where u guys are located but i live in Ontario Canada and just found the nail polish at Walmart. The colour selection wasn’t great, but I’m sure it will be better in the states! I just finished a DIY mani and the polish feels pretty durable…we’ll see I guess!
I was at CVS tonight and they had them on display. It is 12/22 and I am in central California. It was the first I’d seen of them. They were around the $9-10 price point BUT they happened to be included in the CVS Revlon Nail Polish sale where they are $4.99 and better yet they get $3 extra bucks back. I had to rush home and google how good they were and found this blog. I only bought two not knowing I needed the base and top coat. Sale ends in two days so I’ll definitely be going back for MORE! I actually have on my holiday red sparkle Gelish mani right now so I can’t test it out yet. Can’t wait to see how it wears. Oh and I’m hoping to see glitters and holos out later if these truly wear for 11 days like the display says. I remember the old colorstay two part nail enamel they used to have. LOVED how long lasting that one wore so hope this is even better.
I <3 Polish!
Initial reports are promising, Melissa! I wore Bold Sangria over my Shellac/Axxium hybrid mani (http://bit.ly/tq89iz) for two weeks without a single chip or crack. Instead, it wore off the tips so my mani looked like ombre. Results probably aren’t quite the same when the polish is worn over bare nails, but I’m still impressed — regular top coat over soak-off tends to peel away within a few days.
Leeanne Colley, the Revlon spokesperson in Canada, said she used it on a client just over a week ago, and the client has reported zero chips so far — amazing!
Sounds great Janine. You know, it is funny, I kind of get sick of the color from gel because it DOES last so long so layering on a color on top would be ideal for me.
Of course the Revlon Colorstay display says you get the 11 days of wear if you use the base and top coat. Odd thing is, the display had no spot for base coat. Um, huh? So I’m in search of the base coat, and Stormy Nights. I bought 11 colors and the top coat when CVS had the $1.99 sale (after extra bucks). Limit was 6 per card (and hubby has a card). SO excited!!!
Hi Melissa! I had the Revlon Colorstay applied directly over my soak-off mani, sans topcoat — the gel served quite well as a base. I don’t remember whether there was topcoat involved, but that’s just a detail. *grin*
Happy polishing! Do let me know how the polish performs for you, ‘k? And happy 2012, too :-)
I recently puchased two colors of this nail polish. I was really excited because I can never find a polish that lasts longer than a couple of days. Well unfortunately niether does this one. It peeled off (not even chip, it totally peeled off) some of my toes within 24 hours and it is now chipping off of my nails within 12 hours. So much for lasting 11 days, more like 11 hours!!!!
I am just wondering…. for those of you that say your colors are peeling off, do you use a pre nail treatment of any kind. Like Deborah Lippmann’s Nail Prep, or CND Scrub Fresh? If there is anything on the nail, they will peel. I have good luck using either of these before regular polish or the Shellac. I did buy one bottle of the OPI Gelpolish to try with my Shellac base/top coats. Just for kicks and giggles. Maybe I’ll try it on this weekend!
I love love love this polish!!!!! I can get at least 7 days out of it with minimal wear on the tips, and it holds up even better on my toes! I currently have 6 colors….. and counting. I also use both the base and top coats.
My only complaint is that the polish does not dry “hard” like standard polish…. so after day one, I end up with “dents” or lines in my polish. Is there any way to fix this?
Hi Elaine,
I think maybe you might want to try thinner coats of polish, maybe with a little drying time in between. It’s supposed to cure to a durable finish; doesn’t sound like that’s happening for you!
Hi again, Elaine,
I checked in with Leeanne Colley, who is the expert spokesperson for Revlon in Canada. She has a tip to add:
Be sure to swipe nails with pure acetone just before you apply the polish. The slightest hint of oil or any kind of moisturizing agent on your nails (including via a “moisturizing” polish remover) will interfere with the polish’s ability to dry/cure properly.
Hope that helps!
So…. are you guys getting 11 days out of it?
I got the black and lavender (along with the base/top coat). I’m wearing the black, and I’m on a day #1 :)
Will report soon…
I’m very hard on my nails and usually within 24hrs I need to re-polish a few nails. so far the colorstay is fabulous! almost 48hrs and the finish has GREAT shine w/no chipping or peeling. time to buy more colors as well as base & top coat (currently using a different base & top coat).
I just started using the Colorstay polish line and I really like it so far. No chipping or peeling! It does take a while to dry though (for me, anyways).
Although it doesn’t chip, the polish does rub away at the tip of your nails, like as if you had used a nail file. Maybe I didn’t apply my Base coat properly?
However…
My polish cracks like a desert.
It happened with every color I tried (Butternut & Marmalade). It seems that cracks only happen on fingers I use often (thumb, index, middle).
I’ll have to do a round 3 test with the proper Top Coat (been only using their Base Coat with a random Top coat). Hopefully that’ll fix it, because I absolutely love their formula.
Hi Vanny! I’ve heard about the polish pulling back from the tips of the nails — solution would be a quick coat of polish every couple of days, I think. I’m curious about how the formula works if you use the base and top coat too — please let me know?