Revlon Colorstay Longwear Nail Enamel

I was super excited when I discovered that Revlon created a gel formula which requires no lamps or anything other than the basic 3 steps: base coat, color, and top coat! And even more intrigued when I found my favorite Revlon shade from their regular formula (Vixen) available in their gel formula. This classic burgundy stain was renamed Velvet Rope for the Colorstay line, but is practically identical in color. 

So in order to "properly" use Revlon's new color stay formula, the color stay gel-smooth base coat and gel-shine top coat are required (pic above). They are sold separately and the price is just a little bit more that what you would pay for their regular formulas, which I think is great because I've noticed that some companies that sell regular and gel formulas tend to practically double the price of their gel products.  

                                                       (Revlon Colorstay in Velvet Rope)


Some pros and cons I noticed about Revlon Colorstay...

Pros:

• Nice array of color selections
• Affordable
• No lamp required
• Easy to apply
• Gel-shine top coat adds a nice shine
• Base coat dries rather quickly

Cons:

• The color formula is viscous and needs time to dry between coats
• Dries to the touch in 20 minutes but takes 2 hours to completely cure
• It is a "3 free" formula but has a strong smell

My overall recommendation for Revlon Colorstay is that it is a great alternative to those who love the classic Revlon nail color shades but want a longer lasting formula. It does however take a really long time to cure. Even after two hours, if you aren't careful you could put a ding in the polish. Which for me means that they aren't technically "gels" since the aspect of gel polish I love the most is that once they are dry you can practically do anything.