Saturday, May 26, 2012

Review: Hot Topic Blackheart Beauty Polishes (updated!)

Hello!

Today I have a review for you of 4 of Hot Topic's Blackheart Beauty polishes (you can find these polishes here). I know at least one of these is new (Beautiful Revenge), but read somewhere that several are new, so I'm not quite sure how many are or are not. What I do know is that when I went to buy these, I couldn't find any swatches online to help me choose, so I thought I'd review and do mini-swatches for you here of the 4 colors I bought, in case that helps someone decide to buy or not. While I certainly wanted more, I had to limit myself to 4 for budget reasons...sigh. I need to just win the lottery already so I can have all da pretty polishes!!

UPDATE: I have been informed that these polishes contain lead. While it seems that this is probably in trace amounts such that it doesn't need to be disclosed in most states, it does contain some, and you should be careful to not bite your nails or put your fingers in your mouth while wearing polishes from this line.

Here are the ones I got:

Violet Tendencies; Creep Show; Beautiful Revenge; Deceit.
I know that packaging isn't supposed to matter, it's the polish inside that counts. I know it. But SERIOUSLY--How awesome are these skull bottles?!!?!!111111?

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system, let's move on the the actual polish. First up is Violet Tendencies:

Violet Tendencies bottle

Violet Tendencies swatch in sunlight

Violet Tendencies swatch in shade
Violet Tendencies is a blue-purple duochrome filled with glass-flecked magical goodness. When I saw this online, I thought it was a small glitter, but no, it's glass flecks and it could not be more gorgeous. For once, I was able to photograph a purple without doing handstands, and I'm so glad because this picture really speaks for itself. When I went to swatch it, I was afraid it would be too much like some other colors I have, but it stays true to the colors you see in the bottle and isn't like anything else on my swatch wheels. Not Galaxy Girl, not Mysterious Curse, nothing. This is two coats, and as you can see, it covered well and without fuss. And, believe it or not, this is with no topcoat. I'm in love love love love love. This polish simply makes me happy.

Next up, Creep Show:
Creep Show bottle

Creep Show swatch in sunlight

Creep Show swatch in shade
When I saw this online, I thought it was a run-of-the-mill glow in the dark polish and I've always wanted one of those, so I grabbed it. But when I opened up my package, I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that it has a generous sprinkle of glitter in it! For me, that makes it wearable even if it doesn't glow in the dark. This applied well, but did have two downsides. As you can see, it goes on a little more yellow than it looks in the bottle. Possibly this could be fixed with a coat of white polish under it? Also, it's more sheer than I would like--this is three coats, and as you can see, the nail line is still clearly visible (also could be fixed with a white undercoat). This swatch is without topcoat.

UPDATE: I had a request to swatch this with a white undercoat. Here is the result, with two coats of Creep Show and no topcoat over one coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme's White On. This definitely gets rid of the VNL, but the polish still seems to be a bit lighter/yellower than it shows in the bottle, just not as much (hmmm...I wonder what that says about my nails!!):

Creep Show on top of White On, in the sun

Creep Show on top of White On, in the shade


Neeeeeext! Beautiful Revenge:
Beautiful Revenge bottle


Beautiful Revenge swatch in sunlight

Beautiful Revenge swatch in shade


Ah, Beautiful Revenge. Now that's the sort of name I expect for a goth red-glitter-in-a-black-jelly-base polish (sorry, Spoiled, I still don't get the name 'Ants In Your Pants'). This is two coats, and covers completely, although the color was a bit thin near my cuticles--probably the fault of my application--so you can definitely wear it on its own. The glitter does sit in the base a bit, so it has a more matte-ish look than a super-sparkly glitter look (see sunlight picture)--not that this is bad, it's just a different type of look. The finish doesn't dry super shiny, which is a great option if you're going for a more dark type of look. And if you want shine, you can always throw on a topcoat (I am not wearing one here).

Speaking of Spoiled's Ants In Your Pants, that just so happens to be right next to this one on my nail wheel, so I thought I'd include a little comparison for you:


Beautiful Revenge is on the left, Ants In Your Pants is on the right; both have two coats and no topcoat. AIYP does not cover fully in two coats; you might be able to wear it on your own with more, but would have a much higher density of glitter. Which could be exactly what you want, and if so, great! Also, I found AIYP had a bit more of a light-catching sparkle (probably exactly because of having less black base), and went a little more to the orange side with the sparkle. So it's just a question of what look you're going for, and whether you want to wear it alone or over something. They are similar, but certainly are not dupes.

And last but definitely not least--Deceit!
Deceit bottle

Deceit swatch

Deceit over Peachy Keen swatch

If you've been following my blog, you may think it's odd that I bought this, because it's pink, and I don't really care for pink. I was really taken by the glitter in this--I could see flashes of peach, blue, purple, etc. I wasn't sure if that was a trick of the light but figured it was worth a shot to see if it really was that pretty. And, it turned out to be even prettier than I was hoping. In the first swatch, I have two coats of Deceit by itself, no topcoat. It is a multi-color, multi-shaped glitter set in a thick, semi-translucent gel-like base; the glitter shows different colors in different lights. It was hard for me to capture that on film because it changes as you move, but it does show all of the colors that you see in the bottle--don't let the swatches fool you. I suppose you could wear it on its own for a soft look, but it's pretty clearly meant for layering; in the second swatch I did just that, layering one coat of Deceit over two coats of China Glaze's Peachy Keen. Here is a comparison picture of Peachy Keen, on my index finger:



Deceit changes the color of the Peachy Keen very slightly, giving it a more pinkish tinge, but without turning it pink. This is just what I was hoping for, and I can't wait to try it over purples and reds. :)

The formula on all of these was great; no problems, good control, and they seemed to dry fairly quickly even though I didn't use a topcoat.

So there you have 4 colors from the Hot Topics' Blackheart Beauty line--one glass-flecked duochrome, one glow-in-the-dark glitter, one down-and-dirty glitter, and one multi-everything glitter; the collection also contains crackle colors, and colors meant to be used with black-light. I'm very pleased with the ones I got, and will happily buy more in the future.

Hope this helps you decide if these polishes are for you! I'm off to stroke the bottles lovingly...Thanks for reading. :)

M.

(the items in this review were purchased with my own money.)

27 comments:

  1. Wish I had a Hot Topic near by. I'll have to try and order these. They look awesome!

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    1. I also have no Hot Topic so I know how you feel. I was really happy with their shipping policy, I think it was $5.95 flat fee no matter what. :) Let me know which ones you get...

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  2. Those polishes look gorgeous

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    1. I was really pleasantly surprised. I didn't know if they'd just be some gimmicky kind of thing, especially with the skull bottles, but no, not at all. :)

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  3. Thank you for these swatches! I saw these about a month ago at Hot Topic and really wanted to get one, but I have a large collection and none of them looked unique enough. I almost bought Deceit, but to me it looked like a dupe of OPI's I Lily Love You, which I already own. After seeing this I think I need Violet Tendecies! And the skull bottle is too awesome to pass up!

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    1. You are very welcome! Violet Tendencies is my favorite, too...you will not be disappointed. :) And it sounds like I need to check out I Lily Love You...

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    2. I just did some research on that polish, and it does look very similar. I'm going to see if I can get my hands on it and do a side-by-side comparison. :)

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  4. Hi There, I am the buyer for the nail polish here at Hot Topic. Just read your review and must say got great feedback for future colors. I just subscribed to your blog via email. Would you be able to contact me directly?

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    1. Certainly! You're showing up as anonymous here, so I'm not sure how to contact you...Can you send me an email at lacquerorleaveher@gmail.com? I'm glad the review was useful for you, as you can see, I was very pleased with the product. :)

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  5. Great review, I work at Hot Topic and it is great to send people over to see a review from someone not trying to sell it. Thanks so much for sharing, ps I love the bottles to and bought every color just about. I was unsure about creepshow next shift I'm buying a bottle :p

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    1. Thanks so much! I'm glad it has been useful. Are there any colors you think I should get, that are your favorites?

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  6. I just had the Blue Me at first, I love any blue polish. It "Blue Me" away! It is the most wonderful dreamy squishy shiny jelly I have ever seen. Tonight I just bought 6 more and I love love love them all! I have the ones that you swatched plus WTFuschia and Shocking Pink. They are both really pretty and dry a satiny finish. I know you don't like pink but you should try the Blue Me, I can't say enough good things about that one. I may get me another bottle as a back up.

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    1. ooo, thank you for the recommendation. I just got three more of their polishes, and I'll post the review as soon as I figure out how to photograph under blacklight effectively, lol. I'll definitely try Blue Me...I've noticed they have some other polishes as well now, including some really cool glitters. Gonna have to place another order soon. :)

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  7. so does the glow in the dark actually glow well? and will it glow even if there is a top coat on it?

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    1. Mine did, as long as I had a white undercoat under it. When I didn't have an undercoat, it did glow, but just a bit, not really very much. :)

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    2. Did you charge the polish under some light first to help the glow, or did it glow without that extra help?

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  8. No, I didn't charge it at all. No special treatment! :)

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  9. I used 3-5 coats 2 different times and a hint of glow that faded a few mins later. Used polish with nothing under it and no topcoat.

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    1. Frustrating. Thanks for letting me know. It sounds like it definitely needs an undercoat or there's no point. :(

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  10. Thanks for posting the name of Deceit! I bought this on clearance a week ago at my local Hot Topic and the label wasn't on there anymore. I layered it over black creme and it looks awesome.

    Practice Nail

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  11. So I need to know, does this Blackheart nail polish dry really super fast like the Warpaint Beauty from Hot Topic? I just purchased two bottles of Blackheart yesterday when they had buy one get one half off everything (sorry I didn't see your blog sooner or would've let you know before!!) and am hoping they dry super fast like the Warpaint Beauty did, because Hot Topic doesn't sell it anymore in my area!! Thanks for your blog, it was really helpful!

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    1. Hey there! No, I didn't notice that these polishes dried any faster that most of the ones I have...But I also usually just throw Seche Vite on top after a couple of minutes anyway, so maybe they dry a bit faster than other polishes, but not such that I noticed. :) And thank you!

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    2. If you come across any links of Warpaint Beauty from Hot Topic for sale online, please direct them to me fibro_cfs_fighter@yahoo.com as I'll buy up all they have left before they stop selling them everywhere! Thanks again, Trish

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  12. I used a black nail polish for a base with Beautiful Revenge on top, it worked really well, I would recommend!

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