Rimmel Lycra Pro : Ultra Violet

I have an unusual colour for you today : Rimmel Lycra Pro, in Ultra Violet.

This bright violet shade was released as part of Rimmel's summer collection in 2011 and I haven't seen many others like this (especially not amongst the drugstore brands) so it definitely stands out on the shelves! It occupies a bright and cheerful niche between neon and pastel and got several compliments from my co-workers when I wore this the other day.

Since it's a Lycra Pro polish, it comes with Rimmel's excellent wide brush that makes application a doddle. The formula itself is well pigmented and very creamy in texture so it applies beautifully and is opaque in two coats over a base coat. Interestingly, in these pictures, my middle finger has bald spots, and that finger does not have a base coat (because I smudged it on first application and re-applied in a hurry). So if you're not going to use a base coat, and you want a perfect application, you might need to use three layers of the Ultra Violet. (Although in real life the bald spots aren't as visible as they are here so it's not that big a deal).

Drying time isn't the greatest - it touch dries fairly quickly but stays tacky and dentable for a while, though this isn't surprising as most polishes with this kind of thick and creamy formula tend to behave the same. I added a layer of quick drying topcoat and the problem was solved :)

Wear was average. The bottle claims that it should last up to ten days, and in general I find Lycra Pro polishes to wear very well (not quite ten days, but at least two or three). This one, however, had tip wear after the first day and chipped (though only slightly) on the second. Again something I've found tends to happen with creamy polishes like this, so not really that surprising.

Overall, a really pretty polish that applies beautifully, needs a little patience (or a quick dry topcoat) for drying and attracts a lot of compliments when worn. I was especially pleased to find that it looks nice against my skin tone, too - normally, any sort of lilac/lavender/paler purple tones look dreadful on me!