Bad Romance and Ruby Red Slippers

How much is too much for a bottle of nail polish? If you had asked me that question about a year two years ago, I probably would have said $8-$10 is a reasonable price for a bottle of GOOD polish, until I ran across Deborah Lippmann polishes which are priced in the $16-$21 range. Even though I didn't buy the DL polish when I first learned of the brand, I would be lying if I didn't admit that the price tag left an impression with me. Is it really that good that it's priced so much higher than regular polishes, in fact it's nearly double the price I pay for respectable brands like Opi and Essie. I actually vowed to not spend my hard earned pennies on such an expensive polish, but thoughts of that DL polish kept dancing in my head. The only thing that kept me from getting the polish is the fact that the colors at that time were so regular, nothing special about them, in fact I had a couple of dupes sitting right in my nail polish case and then it happened.

Deborah Lippmann came out with Bad Romance (the polish on the left pictured above) and it was unlike any polish I had ever seen, but I refused to give in. I searched for dupes all over the net until I learned of "Mummy May I" by China Glaze. HAHAHAHAH take that Deborah, I don't have to buy your expensive polish because I've found a dupe- but alas Mummy May I was all sold out. What sealed the coffin was when Yummy 411 did a post on Mummy May I and she was not totally on board with calling it a dupe for Bad Romance. A co worker reminded me that sometimes you have to pay for quality - yes I called in reinforcements, this was an $18 nail polish..lol. Anywho when Black Friday rolled around, I had to get Bad Romance, but I ended up getting Ruby Red Slippers too because I needed to hit the minimum purchase price to qualify for the BF discount. Did I get suckered? lol

The Verdict

What's a girl to expect out of an $18 polish? Well I knew that it wouldn't last forever but I was expecting it to be the longest lasting polish that anyone could ever envision. I knew that people would have to stop me in the street and say "Girllllllll where did you get that polish?", yes my nails would have to stop traffic if this purchase was going to be worth it. Let's just say I had high expectations, so forgive me if I judge this polish harshly..lol.

Overall I like the look of this polish and it is unique in appearance. Check it out on my nails in the pic below. The oil on my hands makes this polish look a little shinier than it actually is- this polish needs a clear top coat to really pop.

In all honesty, the lasting power of this polish extends far beyond the limits of any Revlon or Sally Hansen polish. Does it beat OPI and Essie- not so much they are pretty much on par. I can get a good 6 day run out of the Deborah Lippmann polish, I can even eek out 7 days if I'm not shooting for total perfection.

So I was happy with the polish but only after 2-3 coats. This is not a 1 coat polish, which for $18 it should be in my humble opinion. I want each stroke to deliver lasting coverage and colorful impact. Check out my nails in the picture below with a single coat of Bad Romance and Ruby red Slippers.

Not mind blowing at all, right? In fact what this helped me to appreciate is that this polish is nothing more than black nail polish with a high concentration of brightly colored sparkles thrown in the bottle to make gals like myself squeal.
Now check out my nails after two coats




Now I'm in business, 2-3 coats will do the trick!
Not long after I had made my peace with this $18 polish, did the sparkles make me feel a twinge of regret. FRAUD FRAUD those purple and red sparkles that glisten so brilliantly in the bottle are really silver sparkles. Well how do you know that PJD? Thanks for asking ladies, I know because after washing my hands and bathing, both of which I do regularly, the purple and red coating of the sparkles will begin to peel off. Now where they go, I don't know because it's not like I see purple and red casings on my floor but they definitely peel off of the sparkles. The problem is, I'm not left with polish that clearly has days worth of wear left but now I have random silver sparkles in a sea of black polish with colored sparked so the random silver sparkles stand out and not in a good way.
Exhibit A

Although it doesn't show up so well on camera, I had three silver sparkles on my index finger while all of the other sparkles were still painted purple. Overall it just diminishes the appearance of the polish.

Removal

Like most glittery polishes, it's a pain to take off unless you're using a strong enough remover that can fight against the glittery grit. A reader once left a comment with a tip on easy removal of glittery polishes but I lost track of the tip so I never got to try it out. If you know about the aluminum foil removal, please feel free to share. :-)

Final Verdict

I don't see myself running out to buy another bottle of her polishes unless I see a super discount. I'll stick with my "Bring on the Bling" by OPI if I need a little sparkle in my life.

Have you used Deborah Lippmann polishes? If so, what was your experience?

What's the highest you would pay for a bottle of polish that was calling your name?