Swatches & Review--Revlon Cotton Candy

Let me start by saying that this polish--Revlon Cotton Candy--was frustrating to try to photograph. Most of the time, it just looked like the skin around the polish was stained by strawberries. The first photo below is the truest to what the polish looked like in person, in my opinion. All photos in this post were taken indoors under artificial light.
*I received this polish in a swap, and I am not affiliated with or compensated by any brands or companies mentioned in this post.*

Revlon Cotton Candy is a very pale pink with a nice shimmer. The shimmer looks kind of champagne to me in some lights, and silver in others.

As you can see in the photo below, the first coat of Revlon Cotton Candy was horrible, streaky and uneven. I was using a very thin coat except on the pinkie, which you can see turned out much better. So medium coats may work best with this polish.

Two coats looked far better than one, as shown below. Again, the pinkie was the best, illustrating the need for medium coats rather than thin ones in this case. 

The coverage was not enough at two coats, but I believe everything would have evened out nicely with three coats and top coat. I knew from the beginning that I was going to put another polish on top of Cotton Candy, so I did not follow up with a third coat or top coat.

The formula was somewhat thin and watery, but surprisingly it was easy to control. I had no issues with the polish trying to flood my cuticles.

This is a scented polish. Being as it's Cotton Candy, it simply smells sugary sweet. I did not notice the scent unless my hands were near my face.

If I had to summarize my review of Revlon Cotton Candy, I would say: Bad formula, great color. I wouldn't want to pay full price for it, but I adore the color, so it is totally worth keeping since I got it through a swap. It also makes a good base for sheer, creamy indie glitter polishes.

Revlon nail polish is available at most major retailers. Cotton Candy, in particular, is being offered by buymebeauty.com for only $2.99 here.

*I received this polish in a swap, and I am not affiliated with or compensated by Revlon.*

Don't Pay Retail Prices

Despite the title of my blog, I realize that cosmetics are a luxury. They are lovely, but they don't exactly fall under the categories of food, clothing, or shelter. I feel the need to be even more bargain-conscious with beauty items than other products. In my experience, the key to getting the most out of your money is patience. Below are some recent examples.

Color Club Glitter Vixen 7-bottle set

The above type of set, containing seven bottles of Color Club polish, is available on the Color Club website for $48.00: http://www.shopcolorclub.com/nail-polish-collections.html . As nail polish prices go, not too bad: under $7.00 a bottle. But I refuse to drop $48 in one shot on nail polish, even as addicted as I am. I purchased the above set at T.J. Maxx for $9.99. It is not rare for T.J. Maxx to have great nail polish bargains on brands like Essie, OPI, China Glaze, and of course, Color Club.

Butter London Sparkle, Sparkle glitter trio

The Butter London trio above (featuring 'Shambolic', 'Jack the Lad', and 'Scuppered') is valued at $42.00, based on their 2012 price of $14.00 per bottle of nail lacquer (price is $15.00 in 2013). They were selling the trio initially for $36.00 for the holidays. I was not going to spend that much. I was tempted, however, after the holidays when Butter London lowered the price to $25.00. I still resisted. Finally, last week I found the Sparkle, Sparkle collection above at Nordstrom Rack for...

Nordstrom Rack is fabulous for finding cosmetics at more reasonable prices. On my last trip there, I saw brands such as Anastasia, Urban Decay, Stila, NYX, Jane, and Benefit. I was loving the Urban Decay:

Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box

Urban Decay actually has this Deluxe Shadow Box on sale on their website for a great price of only $16.00 (original was $38.00). I paid a little bit more than that at Nordstrom Rack, as shown below, but that was totally okay for me, since I didn't have to pay shipping. Free shipping on the Urban Decay site is for orders of $50.00 or more.

 

Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box opened

DDF Brightening Cleanser is my favorite facial cleanser. I first tried it through a sample from Birchbox. Then, I received another sample through Sample Society. Since then, I have traded on makeuptalk.com for a few of the sample bottles. But, then, not long ago I found a full-size bottle at Marshalls: 

DDF Brightening Cleanser

On DDF's website, this cleanser retails for $39.00. Dermstore sells it for $35.00. I am not sure where Marshalls got the $24.00 price from for comparison, but I was definitely happier with the price I paid:

 

Most recently, I checked out my local Big Lots for bargains. I ended up with eight Revlon nail polishes. Revlon nail polish typically retails for $4.99, although Ulta and CVS will often have sales, such as 'Buy One, Get One 50% Off'. At Big Lots, however, these were being sold for $2.00 for a pack of two. (Please note that stock varies a lot by branch.) Here are the shades I bought:

Revlon 'Chic' and 'Royal'

Revlon 'Cloud' and 'Sheer Seafoam'

Revlon 'Saucy' and 'Gold Coast'

2 Bottles of Revlon 'Sparkle Aplenty'

Another great source of bargains are online coupon codes. Simply type the name of the brand you are looking for into your search engine, followed by the phrase 'coupon code' and you may find codes good for free shipping, gift with purchase, 20% off, or similar.

It takes more time and patience to hunt for sales and coupons, but it is completely worthwhile to me. 

What do you think? Do you search for the lowest prices, or is it too much work?

*I am not affiliated with any of the brands or stores mentioned in this post. All of these products were purchased with my own money.*