Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Revlon Color Illusion Steel Magic

After I posted Khaki Zing (Khakizing? Two words? One? Never figured that one out.) which is gorgeous with a great formula, I knew I had to post this one. It's one of the Color Illusion duochromes and it just so happens to be gorgeous with a horrible formula!



Revlon Color Illusion in Steel Magic. This one seems to have a similar color scheme to Khaki Zing, even though it has a stronger multichromatic effect. It's also discontinued just like Khaki Zing! The main color I see head-on is a frosty, smoky purple with hints of green at the edges. Any minute change of angle or lighting causes this to shift colors like crazy. It goes from grey-purple to pure purple, to pure green, blue and blue-green, and even a little teeny tiny hint of gold if my eyes don't deceive me.

I have a few of the Color Illusions and this is one of the better ones. It seems like you trade duochrome awesomeness for watery formula in that line. This one was very thin, watery/runny, funky brush, pretty streaky- I suppose it's not horrible, but certainly not a polish formula I enjoyed applying. I did four coats and it needed all four.

I am having so much fun revisiting all the old duochromes from my stash. Man, do I ever love duochromes.



22 comments:

  1. Wow, this looks a lot like Zoya Ki which I love, and obviously better formula!

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  2. also looks like 'grays anatomy' by WnW, but way more pretty. it needed about 4 coats too. nice color!

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  3. This looks similar to another color I saw recently- was it on your blog?

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  4. Steel Magic is one of the gems of my collection! Your swatches are gorgeous!

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  5. Historically it seems like Revlon really doesn't do good formulas. For every 3 great colors Revlon has, I've always found that 2 of them have absolutely terrible application and coverage.

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  6. Angie and Joy, yes, very similar color schemes!

    Fingers, was it Nubar Purple Beach? I think I have a couple that look somewhat like this.

    Sarah S. , not quite. I'll post that one soon because it's one of my favorites. Stellare Notte has a black base with mostly teal and purple duo :)

    Veronia, isn't it? Duochromes rule! :D

    Myclumsyheart, thank you so much! I'm glad you have this one!

    Carina M, I feel exactly the same! Most of the time I can't stand Revlon's formula but every now and then I'm pleasantly surprised by it! The only one that's worse to me is Maybelline. Horrible.

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  7. reminds me a bit of wet n wild's grays anatomy
    LOL!

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  8. Another for the Wicked Game/Not Like the Movies (duochrome version) family!

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  9. Lovely! Do you think that this would be comparable to Borghese nail lacquer in Stellare Notte?

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  10. Zoya Ki is a very similar polish to Steel Magic, I have both...although I like Steel Magic's formula more because it's much more opaque.

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  11. I agree, Ki and SM could practically be twins. SM Seems a bit more warm toned and Ki seems more neutral or cool. It was fun to hunt down my comparison collages I made a couple years ago!

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  12. I used to have this color and I'm kicking myself for throwing it out. This was before I knew of the magic of polish thinner. D'oh! So pretty!

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  13. Very pretty! It looks like Wet N Wild Greys Anatomy which is also very sheer.... :)

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  14. Agree - great shade - but when has Revlon had a good formula? I only own a couple of their scented glitter polishes just to see what they were like and sure they won't last in my stash long - I will trade them off or donate them. In the 60's and 70's there was not much else to use but Mayboline and Revlon unless you had some $ and then there were mom shades from Este Lauder - oh and grandma would get me some Avon shades once in a while. But since then - I have not used Revlon and never looked back!

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  15. Love this!!! :) wish they still did it :(
    Thanks for sharing xxx

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  16. Dude you are making me so happy with these classic posts! :D

    I have this - it was actually one of the first Revlons that I bought!

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  17. I do like Revlon's formula. I don't mind the watery formula. This is a gorgeous color.

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  18. Too bad this is discontinued, it's beautiful! I generally love Revlon too, the formula is pretty good in most cases :)

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  19. How does this compare to Not Like the Movies, OPI?

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  20. Hello, first have to say again, love your blog. Sooo, professional. I have a very serious question for you. Serious for a polish freek anyway. I have like 10 bottles of discontinued polishes that would be very had to replace and I need to know how to keep them from going bad. I have hear many ideas about how to preserve polish (like the frigerator, my husband thought i'd gone mad. Lol) but I wanted a true polish godesess opinion. Thanks for you input and keep up the good work.

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  21. Imperiterangel, thank you :) Okay, first things first! Make sure the bottle necks are clean and free of dried polish and that all the caps are tightened so the bottles can't leak. Do NOT put them in the refrigerator, it's a myth- it messes with the texture because of temperature changes and condensation in the bottles.

    Get a nice, secure box- sturdy sides, not easily crush-able. Put all the polishes upright inside, with padding if you feel you need it, and put it in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight. Closets and underneath beds are great because they tend to stay the same temperature and never have direct sunlight on them. The main thing is keeping a stable temperature, so don't keep them in a bathroom or near a window.

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