Revlon Top Speed - Violet, Sugar Plum, Grape

Ugh, sorry again for the lack of posts... crazy-stressful work + horrid winter weather = no Normal Girl!  Fortunately we didn't get it quite as bad downstate as Chicago did, but it still was not good!  Nothing was open here - even the University of Illinois closed and apparently they have only closed like 3 times in their 144 year history!  The stupid bank decided to open a few facilities at noon, but only the drive thrus, so, being the manager, I had to go in.  It was too dangerous for ALL employees to come in, but it was ok for the tellers - WTF?!  *grumbles*  My street had not been plowed of the 12+ inches of snow we got (not to mention the freezing rain we had the two days prior), so it took my husband doing a lot of shoveling and creative maneuvers with the car for us to make it in.  >:P

Anyway... you aren't here to listen to me complain. Since I have been so short on time lately, I think I'm going to do a couple of series of different lines of polish.  I'm going to start off with the Revlon Top Speeds that have come out in the last couple of months.  I don't have the entire collection, but I do have quite a few.  Walgreens was giving $5 Jingle Cash with every purchase of one of these, basically making them $1.99 each, so I acquired some that way, then Meijer put out a smaller display with $1.00 off coupons on it, making them $2.99 each... so I've ended up a bunch of them.  I'm sure by now you've seen a million pics of Royal, but have you seen the others?  I couldn't find swatches of most of them, so hopefully this series will be helpful to you.  Today we're going to look at a few of the purples.

First off is Violet.  Let me tell you, this beauty is very shy and doesn't like her picture being taken!

This was as close as I could get to true-to-life color.  It's actually warmer than this, but still violet, not pink-leaning at all.  Something about the color is kinda mesmerizing - there is some serious depth to what appears to be just another violet shimmer. 

This is Sugar Plum... and to be honest, I don't know how to describe this one.  It's purplish, but more burgundy than purple... is there a name for this exact shade?  Whatever it is, it's amazing.  I looked at this one numerous times before I gave in and finally bought it.  I was afraid it would be a little frosty and brush-strokey, but it isn't either of those - it is one amazing shimmer.  It's got little bits of pink and green shimmer in there.  I wore this one for about 5 days and could not stop looking at it.  I think this is my favorite of the entire collection.

And last today is Grape.  It's a deep purple shimmer, kind of a lighter/warmer version of China Glaze's Let's Groove.  The blue and red shimmer are there as well, but they aren't as obvious as Let's Groove.  My camera did not like this color and every picture came out slightly blurry, but you get the idea.  This one didn't wow me as much as the other two.  I wore it for just a couple of days before I was over it.

Application-wise, these are pretty danged nice.  I have to tell you - I LOVE the Revlon brush.  Not sure why - it seems pretty standard - but it is my favorite out of every brand I've tried.  The formula varies by color and finish - Sugar Plum was amazing and practically applied itself, while Grape was patchy and I struggled to get it even.  Violet fell in between - not great, but not horrid.  These are a fast dry formula and they actually do dry pretty fast - better with a fast dry top coat.  Some of these, like Sugar Plum, you can get away with one coat if you are careful, others will need at least two, if not three.

Do you have any Top Speeds?  What are your favorites?  I think retail on these is $6.99, but you can find them cheaper at discount stores like Meijer ($3.99) & Target ($4.99) - they haven't shown up at my Wal-Mart yet, but maybe they will soon and even cheaper than Meijer's?  Also look out for $1.00 off coupons on some of the displays!

Basecoat: none

Topcoat: Beauty Secrets Fast Finish

Number of coats: varies by shade, 2-3