Sally Hansen Razzleberry and....

I'm blaming Nichole for this one.  She wore Razzleberry last month and made it look kinda cool.  I told her she should stamp over it.  She didn't listen.  The idea (inspired by the drop-dead-phenomenal Lucy's Stash) bounced around in the back of my mind for a week or two.  Then, as often happens, I got some CVS coupons.  I bought Razzleberry and one of Nichole's birthday presents for way less than shelf price.  Razzleberry sat in one of my swatch bins and I'd occasionally give it curious, wary glances.  I'm very weird about textures.  Frosted glass, unglazed ceramics, microfiber cleaning cloths, and other weird-feeling things freak me out.  I *knew* that the textured polish trend wasn't gonna be something I could embrace.  I'm always running my fingers along my nails, because I love how smooth the polish feels.  I'm weird, I know.  This was just not gonna go well.  Razzleberry wasn't my first textured polish either.  I bought one of the Julie G Frosted Gumdrops shades (Blueberry Fizz, I think) because I had an idea and well...if you're a MUA member, you can go see for yourself what happened.  Tasted like nail polish.  I'd actually rather lick it than wear it.  The idea I mentioned, well...you'll see it sometime soon, when I review that polish.  Enough babbling...on to the review!


Razzleberry is a sky blue textured cream.

I like the color.  The color is awesome.  The application was awkward.  Directions on the bottle say to apply two thin coats.  Thin coats are difficult with all of the grit.  Even wiping the brush on the inside of the bottle's neck is troublesome and makes a lumpy mess.  There's a learning curve here and I had to do a couple of horrible-looking practice nails first.  Cleanup takes patience too, but isn't as hard as microfleck shimmers and some glitters.  Once you do get it onto the nail fairly smoothly it looks...interesting.

...and then there's how it feels.  Sandpaper, about 200 grit.  For people who are the other kind of tactile, this feeling would be fascinating.  It makes my flesh crawl.  I'm sorry to be so negative about it, but I really couldn't stand it.  There was flailing.  Ever put a post-it note on a cat's back?  Similar reaction.  The worst part of any of it?  I don't like how it looks in person either.  It's...just...weird.  I don't think it looks intentional.  Again, I hate to hate on it.  The problem is me, not the polish.  If textured polish is your kind of thing, you'll probably love it.  Just watch for staining and wear adequate nail protection underneath.  It will turn you blue otherwise.  Just ask my thumb.


So there's an "and..." in the post's title.  Nichole may not have stamped it, but...I did!

stamped w China Glaze Swanky Silk + Salon Express SE-19 plate

This is my first real success, after an absurd number of complete failures.  I'm so thrilled that I did it!  Textured polishes stamp *so* well!  I had to continue...

stamped w China Glaze Swanky Silk + Salon Express SE-19 and SE-22 plates

All five times worked!!  I'm giddy!  I'm not sure if it was the textured base, Swanky Silk's formula, determination, or what...but...SUCCESS!!

stamped w China Glaze Swanky Silk + Salon Express SE-19 and SE-22 plates

I treated myself to one of the new Cheeky XL plates, Happy Nails, to celebrate.  Hopefully this triumph is repeatable and you'll be seeing more stamping from me.


Bottom line: If you're patient enough to work through formula quirks and you like the look of glitterless textured polishes, then Razzleberry is a really stunning blue.  If you're an OCD weirdo like me, pass on it and the whole texture trend in general.


Tomorrow's post is nice and smooth!  Yay!