Revlon Nail Art Chalkboard™ Matte Nail Polish for Fall 2013

I didn’t expect to say this so soon but matte is back, people. From subtle matte and glossy contrasting nail designs to more youthful chalkboard nail art, flat is the new black! Revlon is jumping on board with their back-to-school appropriate Nail Art Chalkboard™ matte nail polish duos.

Revlon Nail Art Chalkboard™

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Eight pastel nail art polishes are paired with a matte black so you can create your own chalkboard-inspired designs. Anything from letters, to symbols and more complicated patterns can be created with these easy-to-tote pairs.

Formula & Application: Revlon Nail Art Chalkboard™ is 5-Free (Formaldehyde, Toluene, DBP, Formaldehyde Resie, Camphor). It comes in a dual-sided, cylindrical bottle with frosted glass.

The side with the black matte polish has a standard, round brush. It’s a little short but flexible and it fans out well to cover the nail.

Revlon Nail Art Chalkboard™ matte nail polish brush

The side with the nail art color contains a thin striper brush. I tried using it to make dots (see below) and instead of staying at a fine point, it keep separating a bit at the tip. It’s a bit too thick for that purpose but works great for creating straight lines.

Revlon Nail Art Chalkboard™ nail art brush

Both polishes have a matte finish though the black applies smooth and creamy, like a gloss. Because the nail art polish is a matte pastel it has a chalky texture (no pun intended). Overall, it’s pretty opaque but I did have to go over a couple lines a second time.

You start with a base of the matte black nail polish. I used two coats. Wait for it to completely dry before adding your design. I’ve had some matte polishes dry with what look like brush marks or lumpiness so I was happy to see that the Revlon matte dries nice and smooth a extremely flat.

Revlon Nail Art Chalkboard™ matte black

I thought that writing letters would be the best way to go since I can handle a straight line. Of course, I didn’t think about the curve in the “U” until I already started so, there’s that.

I used Revlon Spring Break (turquoise), Revlon Study Date (peach) and Revlon Homecoming (lilac) to create my somewhat sloppy attempt at chalkboard nail art. For a first try, I’ll take it but using a nail art brush is most definitely NOT my strong suit.

Revlon Chalkboard Nail Art

Oh, and if you want to seal your design, Revlon makes a Matte Top Coat now as well.

Revlon Matte Top Coat

Bottom Line: There are pros and cons to the Revlon Nail Art Chalkboard™ duos.

On the plus side, they are more affordable than some of the kits I’ve seen so you can easily try the look without a huge investment. And, because it’s in a self contained bottle, it’s easier to use and store than keeping track of multiple nail art pens. Also, the matte black is darker and more flat than a black polish topped with a matte top coat. Matte top coats are all kind of milky so they lighten the base color a bit.

The downside, to get more nail art colors, you have to buy more sets, which means more black matte polish that you may not need. Also, you can’t “erase” your designs if you make a mistake like you can with some nail art pens.

The Revlon Nail Art Chalkboard™ nail polish duos are available now in limited release at drugstores and mass retailers nationwide, including ULTA.com (where Revlon is BOGO 50% off right now). The duos retail for $8.99/ea

Are you into the Chalkboard Nail Art look? Do you prefer duos like these or full-on kits? Do you plan to pick these up?

Disclosure: I was provided with a sample by reps for Revlon and purchased additional colors myself. Affiliate links appear via Skimlinks and rewardStyle. For more info view my Disclosure Policy.