Review: Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy Nail Polish

High Stakes (green), All or Nothing (pink) and Diamond Top Coat

Revlon's new Gel Envy nail polish is supposed to be the at-home equivalent to a gel manicure, without the UV light. The claim: "2 Steps to Total Gel Envy - Create salon-quality colour in 30 vibrant shades with our revolutionary 2-step system. Brush on the base + colour in one, and then finish with the protective ColorStay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat™ for superior strength. Together, they create vivid colour, brilliant shine and gorgeous life-resistant wear." - Revlon Site

Day 5, chip-free nails wearing High Stakes (no filter)

I initially fell in love with this dark, forest green shade called "High Stakes" after it applied flawlessly with only two thin coats. I decided to follow the 2-step system and omit a base coat, even after reading some reviews claiming that the darker polishes can stain. I followed with the "Diamond Top Coat" which is a great, thin consistency that dries shiny and quick. Only downside- the bottle is black so you won't be able to tell how much you've used.

These polishes are a bit thicker than your typical Revlon Colorstay enamel, so be sure not to shake them before application since that will cause annoying bubbles to appear on the nails. The colour pigment and formula seems to be very consistent and I can't see it separating easily.

My nails lasted pretty much chip-free for the entire 6 days. I'm no construction worker, but I definitely don't take it easy on my nails so this wear time is impressive. To remove I used a generic acetone-free nail polish remover, and everything came off easy except for a bit of the green colour which collected around my cuticles. Fortunately, after 6 days my nails were still pretty bright with no major staining.

Day 6, slightly chipped nails wearing All or Nothing
(no filter)

I just applied some of the "All or Nothing" shade last week, which had a slightly less appealing application. The polish is pretty thin, so I had to do three thin coats to get this semi-opaque finish. Overall, the wear has been pretty impressive, although the pink did chip more than the green.

I'm looking forward to checking out the other Gel Envy shades during my next trip to the drugstore. I noticed that both of these colours have a subtle glittery sheen to them, which you can only see in bright light. Super-opaque polishes tend to chip really fast for me, so this could be one of the reasons why these polishes have been working so well.

I've only had one gel manicure in the past, and I'm really not interested in getting any more. My nails grow pretty fast so after the week is up, I'm always due for a cut, file and fresh polish.

Have you tried Gel Envy? There's a coupon on the Revlon website if you want to! http://www.revloncolorstay.ca/en/

xx