Review and swatches: Revlon Moon Candy Nail Enamel

I finally found the Revlon Moon Candy display at a local Rite Aid the other day and, after careful deliberation, I purchased four shades to share with you. I wanted to get this review up as soon as humanly possible so that those of you who live near a Rite Aid can take advantage of the 40% off Revlon sale going on now through Saturday (7/21). This sale includes ALL Revlon cosmetics and beauty tools, and I had absolutely NO issues getting 40% off these polishes--they rang up 40% off in the system!

Instead of the regular retail price of $7.99, I paid $4.79 each for these, which is not bad at all, in my opinion!

UPDATE: thanks to reader Yesenia for reminding us that there's also a $2 off Revlon nail enamel coupon on the Rite Aid Video Values site! If you haven't already used this coupon, your final price for a Moon Candy polish will be $2.79 if you buy it this week ($7.99 retail, down to $4.79 after 40% off and then $2 off with the coupon)!

So now I'd like to tell you everything you need to know (hopefully) about these polishes--I've got LOTS to say about these so let's not waste another minute:

 Revlon Moon Candy Nail Enamel

(retail: $7.99 each, 0.26 oz)

Left to right: Orbit, Moon Dust, Cosmic, Milky Way

For all of my swatches I applied the following:

First two nails: one coat of the base color that came with the duo followed with one layer of the flakie polish and one layer of clear top coat

Third nail: one coat of black creme polish followed with one layer of the flakie polish and one layer of clear top coat

Fourth nail: one coat of white creme polish followed with one layer of the flakie polish and one layer of clear top coat

If you were to only buy ONE Moon Candy duo, I would suggest Milky Way. Why? Because it's the most unique of the collection when compared to other easily-accessible flakies on the market. This top coat consists of silver flakes and true holographic flakes (not iridescent; they're holo). Also, the dark gray creme is wonderful even on its own--it only requires one coat for full opacity and the formula is beautiful. Dark almost-black grays are hot for fall, so you've got two polishes you can truly get lots of mileage from in this duo.

The holographic flakies are more colorful and vibrant in certain lights, but overall the effect is stunning in person, no matter the lighting. 

The flakes in this formula sit nicely on the nail--they don't curl or make the surface of the nail jagged or bumpy after a layer of clear top coat.

If you don't own the original Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, China Glaze Luxe and Lush or Essie Shine of the Times, then this would also be a nice one to own. It's got the same "smoldering embers" effect of the flakie polishes I listed above (though it's not identical to any of those three polishes). Size-wise, the flakes in Cosmic are larger than the flakes in Hidden Treasure, though I think they're a little bit smaller than the flakes in Luxe and Lush. As for the base color, this is a deep, rich mossy green jelly that is sheer on the first coat but perfectly opaque after two coats. I don't have another color like the green in this duo, so I'm VERY happy to own it. I will definitely wear the base color by itself this fall.

My photos make the flakes in this polish look pretty much blue and teal. BUT IN REAL LIFE, the combination is purple, blue and teal, with the purple flakes being MUCH more pronounced than what you see in these pics. Honestly, if you already have a blue-based flakie like Sinful Colors Green Ocean, PLEASE don't think Orbit is just another Green Ocean! There are true purple flakes in Orbit that come out when layered over black or the accompanying purple polish. And the purple base color is another winner: perfectly opaque in one coat and a joy to apply.

The only downside to this one is that, unlike the two duos I showed you above, the flakes in Orbit are thicker, more shard-like and don't always sit flat on the nail. They can create a jagged, bumpy surface that even one or two layers of Seche Vite can't smooth away.

I love the soft seafoam green, peach and gold combo of Moon Dust. Over white, this one resembles Orbit, but over black, it truly comes alive and I think Revlon was smart to pair this with a plain black creme. I own some decorative wall art from the 60s (molded plastic seahorses) that have glitter JUST like this embedded into them. Embedding glitter into things was quite popular in the 60s--you can see it in bathroom tiles, lamps, jewelry, purses etc. and I just LOVE that this look evokes that retro feel for me.

And if you plan on buying this just for the flakie polish, you'll be happy to know that the black creme polish is not a throw-away. It's a perfect one-coater that you could definitely use with any of your layering polishes. 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: 

• These are not gentle, snowflake-like flakies such as the kind you'll find in Hidden Treasure or some of the other polishes I showed you in this post. They don't softly conform to the nail in a passive manner. The flakes in these polishes are angular, shard-like, large and aggressive, so the effect is bolder and not as soft as other flakie polishes you might be used to. Orbit in particular contains flakes that are so thick and jagged that even two coats of Seche Vite can't make the surface of my nail smooth to the touch.

• These are not densely-packed formulas. In other words, the flakes float loosely in their clear (or lightly-tinted) base, which means you won't be able to use a few quick strokes for application like with other flakie polishes. You'll need to "fish" for the flakes with your brush and placement can be challenging. You'll definitely find yourself coaxing these flakes a bit with your brush to get them where you want them, but once you get the hang of it, they're not as bad as certain chunky glitters out there that take forever to apply. They just take a bit longer than other flakie polishes out there. But the good news is that dry time isn't bad--especially if you use a quick-dry top coat after application.

• Don't be fooled by the tinted base colors. This is really important, because I've been duped by tinted bases in the past that look so pretty in the bottle but barely register on the nail. Take another look at the white nail in each of my pics above to see that the tinted bases are so subtly tinted that they barely register even over a white creme.  So when you see this display in-store, try to focus your attention on the actual flakes when determining which polishes you want to buy. If the FLAKE colors look similar to polishes you already own, you might want to skip them because the tinted base colors won't add anything extra to the colors of the flakes. 

• Unlike some of the polishes in the Frenchmix duos, the base colors in the Moon Candy duos are wonderful even on their own. Three of the four I purchased were absolutely perfect after ONE coat. I literally didn't need a second coat for full opacity, and the formulas were so easy to apply (not too thick and not too thin). The only base color that required a second coat was the mossy green jelly in Cosmic, but two coats gave me perfect opacity. These polishes are the polishes I WISH came in the Frenchmix duos!

FINAL VERDICT: If this will be your first experience with flakie-type polishes, you should know that not all flakies are created equally, and these are sharper, larger and more angular than other flakies out there. Please don't think that all flakies require "fishing" with your brush for application, because many do not--but these do. If you're a flakie veteran, then you probably already have a pretty good idea what these are going to be like, and if you're like me, you'll be instantly attracted to Milky Way for its lovely holo flakes. In fact, whether this is your first of 25th flakie in your collection, I think Milky Way is the must-have here. But if you can catch these on sale this week at Rite Aid for 40% off, the mossy green jelly in Cosmic is worth the $4.79 alone. The base colors in this collection truly surprised me, and if you were expecting them to be like the Frenchmix duos, I think you're going to very pleasantly surprised by the formula and opacity of these base shades.

Do you already own any Revlon Moon Candy polishes? If so, which duos do you have, and how do you like them? If not, do you plan to pick some up this week while they're on sale at Rite Aid? I'd love to hear from you!

SHARE: