Review: Orly Red Flare

This hurricane messed up all my plans for the weekend, so I ended up with way too much time on my hands and nothing to do.  Blah.  So I found an excuse to run into town this morning and picked up some polish at CVS.


Orly Polish in Red Flare, $5.70 at amazon.com: I didn't see the need to take swatch pics of this color because it's so basic.  It's a red creme, no shimmer, with orangey-brown undertones.  It looks a bit like blood, actually, brighter in artificial light and more like dried blood in sunlight.  I did my toes with this today and it looks fab.  I really like vampy colors on my toes, and this one is light enough not to be too harsh but still intense enough to have that edgy feel.

Red Flare is a very smooth, pigmented creme.  I find the Orly brush to be a little on the long/skinny side, but Red Flare is very easy to apply.  It goes on smoothly, doesn't bleed, and only takes 2 coats to become opaque--you could probably get away with one thick coat.  It dries to a nice, shiny finish, and if it wears like other Orly polishes, I can get at least 2 weeks of good wear out of it on my toes.


All in all, I really like this color.  It's more interesting and offbeat than a traditional red, but it's still in relatively classic territory, and would look equally great on fingers and toes.  Awkward Chic rating: A+.


Image via monstermarketplace.com.