Tuesday 14 February 2012

Rimmel Lycra Pro: 385 Hot List



Today's polish is the very lovely Hot List, from Rimmel's Lycra Pro range. I'm sure you're all completely sick of hearing me bang on ad nauseum about Lycra Pro and how great they all are; awesome brush shape, great formula, long lasting and almost no chips, great pigmentation, blah blah etc etc. So I'll spare you the waffle and just say that this polish is no exception to the Lycra Pro rule; it goes on like a dream, dries quickly, looks great and lasts AGES.


This one is especially exciting, however, because it's an almost exact dupe for the hugely popular (and hugely expensive) Chanel Paradoxal. I don't have Paradoxal to make the comparison myself, but there's any number of swatches out there and they're very close; the shimmer is slightly different but considering Paradoxal is currently retailing for £20-£30 on ebay and Hot List costs less than £5, plus Paradoxal is notoriously chip-prone (Hot List has so far been on my nails - two coats over one of Nail Envy plus one of top coat - for 5 whole days without any chips OR tip wear), it's more than close enough for me.

Hot List is a bit of a chameleon polish; technically it's a greyed-out dusky mauve but in some lights it looks much closer to dark beige or taupe, like this:


But there's more! There's a gorgeous purple shimmer running through Hot List which I'd call a 'hidden' shimmer; it only comes out when the light hits it, like this:
  





Isn't it gorgeous? It's such a sophisticated, classy, grown-up colour, infinitely work safe, but not in the least bit boring.

Check out this shot of the bottle's base that really shows the purple shimmer. It's nowhere near this pronounced on the nail but it's so pretty!


You might have noticed that I shortened my nails again and am trying out a new, more squared shape; I'm not convinced it suits me (plus it feels so weird compared to my normal oval/pointy comfort zone!). What do you think looks best on me?

7 comments:

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    1. It's definitely gone into my 'will wear again' drawer :)

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  2. oh my gosh! I finally found someone who agrees with me about Rimmel Lycra Pro! omg, can't believe it. I thought I am the only one who uses such an obscure brand of nail polish.

    I absolutely agree with your every description about what a Lycra Pro is!

    I have Chanel Paradoxal. And gosh, you are soo right. I thought of Paradoxal the very moment I saw your nails. And then I saw your sentence on it being a dupe... ... Hmmm, guess it's time I hit the stores and grab another Lycra Pro.

    Given how much I like the formula and the brush, I only one sad bottle of Lycra Pro, hot pink... ...

    I'd be sure to do a side by side comparison when I get this. =P And I will bang the wall because I actually regretted buying Chanel Paradoxal. Regret even more so now that I see a dupe.

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    1. Oh yay, another lycra pro enthusiast! So lovely to meet you ^_^ I'd love to see your side by side comparison when you get around to it.

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  3. I LOVE this color. I may have to see if I can find it on ebay because we don't have the Lycra pro brand here in the US that i'm aware of. I love Rimmel polishes though. I think they don't get enough recognition. I just wished they had better color options compared to some other brands.

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    1. That has to be about my biggest criticism of Rimmel too, they have some really great polishes but they could just do with being a bit more experimental with their colours and doing some more unusual shades. Come on Rimmel, take some risks!!

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  4. wow, I love the colour. I have to buy the nail polish soon :)

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