Revlon Street Wear in "Gun Metal"

I have to say, it pains me that this was the only one of Revlon's Street Wear collection in that shoe box of vintage nail polishes. After doing some research, I've found that Street Wear was a nail polish found in drug stores during the late 90s and early 2000s that produced many funky colors and, with its cheap price, introduced little girls everywhere to the joys of nail polish. It seems to have its fans, and people still swear by it to this day. Many of its colors are still available today on sites like eBay, commanding outrageous prices (which can be as high as 20 dollars for ONE BOTTLE!!) but I may just have to buy a few. I'm not sure why I'm so enamored with the Street Wear collection -- maybe it's the funky logo, kooky colors, simplistic names, the time period it was produced in, or the fact that it was so groundbreaking. Whatever it is, I'm kind of obsessed with this collection, and I'll definitely be eying some of those crazy pricey listings.

Anyway, the one color I've got is Gun Metal. It appears to me that my mom wasn't a big fan of bold colors until a little later on. Most of the earlier polishes are some form of red, purple (that's always been her favorite color), or a more adventurous metallic shade like this one.

Gun Metal is simply a silver metallic-yet-sparkly polish that has been done about a million times before. This is my one gripe with this polish -- for such a bold and unique collection, this color is something that's been seen before and since. Some of Street Wear's polishes are colors not oft attempted by today's companies -- iconic Street Wear shades like "Toad", "Burnt", "Splash", and "Stain" really exemplify that wacky time period and act almost like a time capsule. Gun Metal reminds me a bit of "Empire Shade of Mind" from this year's (2018) Essie fall collection. Maybe that shiny silver is just a timeless look that many companies think will sell well. I don't know for sure, but that's basically where the complaints end with Gun Metal.

Maybe it's wrong of me to underestimate these older polishes, but I expect most of them to take 3 - 4 coats to get the job done. Not so with Gun Metal! 2 coats was really all it took to achieve my preferred amount of opacity. I'm sure one more coat would've been a nice addition, but I don't think it would have drastically affected the outcome. The formula is really lovely, not being too thick or thin. The brush is decent and just your standard thin nail polish brush.

Turning on the flash shows off the shininess and metallic qualities of Gun Metal, but it does appear a little more translucent. However, in regular lighting, you really can’t see any nail underneath, but it doesn’t appear too thick either. I really gotta say, the formula of this one is outstandingly good, especially after all these years.

Overall, Gun Metal is a nice color but not my favorite. I could see myself wearing it again, though. It sparked my interest in Street Wear, though, and if you see any Street Wear reviews in the future, you know why.

Wet n Wild in "Jade"

Hello! It looks like this is my first post. I know it's so 2011 to have a nail polish blog, but recently I've become fascinated with nail polish and I want to share that with anyone who stumbles upon this site!

So yesterday I happened upon a shoe box full of vintage nail polishes that belonged to my mother. She's still alive and well, but just doesn't have a use for this old nail polish anymore. Me being the vintage lover I am, I took the polishes and I've now got a ton of funky old colors! The exact time periods of these nail polishes is not entirely clear, but my best guess is early 1990s to late 2000s. Some of my favorite childhood polishes were included in this batch, and I just couldn't be more thrilled to start using all of them!

The first one I used was "Jade" from Wet n Wild. If I had to guess, I'd say this polish is from the mid-to-late 2000s, being one of the newer ones in the box.

I used 3 coats of the stuff and even this didn't really do the job. As you can see, it is still see-through and it would take at least 4 coats to even approach opaque. Despite this, it's definitely a pretty color! I'd describe it as a soft shimmery green with yellow tones. These yellow tones are much more apparent when flash is used.

Using flash only makes its sheerness more obvious, though. I'm sure some people like the see-through look, but I personally am not a fan of seeing my nails through my polish. If it were just a little more opaque, I'd be a big fan of this color. But it would take many coats and ages to dry to get the desired effect, so I'm gonna have to pass on "Jade" by Wet n Wild.