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Sunday, March 6, 2011

Swatches: Revlon Grape Icy

I just have to brag for a moment about how much I paid (or did not pay) for this polish! Yesterday I went to CVS, and when I scanned my card at the red scanner box, I received an instant $3 off any Revlon purchase coupon. When I went over to the Revlon display, I noticed that the polishes were on sale for $3.99 with $3 back in Extra Bucks (remember, this was last week's sale). THIS week's sale is slightly different since Revlon polishes are $4.99 with $3 back in Extra Bucks.

So I decided to pick up Grape Icy, which I've had my eye on for a while now. When all was said and done, this polish was a money-maker! 

In other words, I MADE two dollars by purchasing this polish!

Let's break that down:

I purchased one Revlon polish for $3.99 with $3 Extra Bucks.
Out of pocket I paid $0.99 because I had a $3 Revlon coupon
Then I received $3 back in Extra Bucks.
= I made $2 during this transaction!

So let's take a look at the polish CVS paid me to own, shall we?

The following pics were taken after three coats of Grape Icy with one layer of top coat:

Revlon Scented Polish in Grape Icy
(retail: $4.99)


The second picture is a tad more accurate in terms of color. This is such a gorgeous, deep violet-purple it almost makes me drool just to look at it. The shimmer in this polish reminds me the shimmer in Perplex, in that it has a lit-from-within quality that I just couldn't capture in a photo. This one's just warm enough to work my skintone and it would be in my top five purples of all time IF, it didn't have applications issues.

If you look closely at my middle finger, you'll see bubbling. And let me tell you, it was far worse the first time around. I had bubbling on all ten fingers the first time I used this one, so I had to remove the manicure and try again. The above photos were taken after round two, and you can see still bubbling on a few fingers. 

The issue with this polish is that, if I apply it too thinly (to avoid bubbling) it is extremely sheer and streaky. So then the dilemma becomes: apply it thinly to avoid bubbles (and get streaks galore), or apply it more heavily for consistent opacity (and bubbles galore)?  I just couldn't find a middle-ground during application, but maybe with more practice it will become easier. 

But that said, it's a stunning purple, and I'm VERY happy that I made money while buying this one.

Oh, and of course the fact that it smells like grape candy when it's on my nails is a definite bonus.

Do you own Grape Icy? Do you find it difficult to apply? Maybe I just got a bad bottle?

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17 comments

  1. Oh.my.word. I NEED this in my life! I do believe a CVS run is in order after Church!

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  2. Really pretty color! But I am curious: How do the scented polishes smell? Like candy or just plain toxic?

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  3. Maureen: for a $1.99 this week, I'd say YES, you need this one. lol! :)

    Lina: Like candy! Well, I only have a few of them so I can't say they all smell like candy, but the two fruit-scented polishes I own smell just like fruit-flavored candy to me. Not toxic at all. The key is, the polish has to fully dry before the scent develops, but you can even smell it through a layer of top coat! :)

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  4. i recently bought this as well as the mad about mango one. i was so excited to try it & luckly i already had opi's funkey dunkey on, so i just put one coat over it. i got tons of compliments on it! i haven't tried it by itself yet, so atleast i know to not to use it when i'm in a rush!

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  5. It's a gorgeous colour! Shame about the bubbly formula.

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  6. Its a pretty color, too bad about the application issues tho'. Isnt it funny how this can change between colors from the same line? I have the Not so Blueberry and it applies beautifully but the scent is too overwhelming! But the color is gorgeous so I suffer the nasty (IMO) scent!

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  7. What a beautiful color! I love all things purple. Sucks about the bubbling but it's too great of a deal to pass up! :) Great post!

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  8. Oh man, I saw this at the store on Friday and said "scented?! nahhh" but now, i am definitely going back for it! It looks so gorgeous on your nails! Will def keep in mind the application issues.

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  9. I thought this was such a pretty color and wanted to buy it but it comes off really sheer which meant i would have to put on multiple coats so i just skipped it

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  10. I have the blueberry one and it smells soooo good :)

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  11. That's the exact thing that happened when I applied their Top Speed polish in Ocean! I waited quite awhile to even try Not So Blueberry because I was dreading having two that applied that horribly--luckily the second polish applied better.

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  12. I've worn Grape Icy around 5 times, and it hasn't bubbled on me so far - I usually apply 3 coats. The scent kind of reminds me of grape pez candy!

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  13. so i went to my cvs today because i had 5 tearpad coupons for the new revlon fast drying enamels (from rite aid), and i picked up 5 (the limit on this deal is 6!! i would urge all revlon fans to get on this deal asap!!). just to break it down, i had a few $1 EB from using my green bag tag. so in my first transaction, i used $1 tearpad coupon, $1 eb (green bag tag) and the $3 revlon credit from the red box machine. i paid just tax (20 cents) and got a new nailpolish! i repeated this deal except in place of the $3 credit, i used the $3 EB that printed out. in the end i paid less then $3 total for $5 nailpolishes, and i still have 1 $3 EB from the last nail polish i bought! i hope i didnt confuse anyone in my explanation! and i would like to note that there are some gorgeous colors to be had in the fast drying collection! the black one reminds me a little or chanel black satin. theres a dupe for chanel jade, and the teal colored one is a chanel dupe too i think, but the name escapes me.

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  14. I just bought 5 of these at Walgreens with their sale this week. I am so excited to try them all out! I have not so blueberry on right now, it smells great! Can't wait to see if they ever come out with new colors.

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  15. I am wearing grape icy now, it is wonderful!

    I tried mad about mango and even with three coats it was very streaky. Anyone else experience this?

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  16. Great Review, I just applied grape icy n my nails and went on a google search to find out what other people think about this. And I also have the bubble problem which makes me mad because this color is gorgeous. Anyways, i think the bubbles probably has something to do with the fact that its scented but overall I love the color myself! (:

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