REVIEW of Revlon Parfumerie Scented Nail Enamel in 10 Apricot Nectar

Hello hummingbirds,

Well, not every polish can be a winner. Full disclosure, I only had this polish on for a day. It wasn't that horrible but at the time I believed I was going somewhere and I didn't want to go through the hassle of doing a full manicure or really wearing this shade of polish to the place where I was going. Yay for cryptic, pointless vamping. I think I bought this polish from drugstore.com (not a sponsor, though they can sponsor me if they want to). I originally wasn't that impressed with the Revlon Parfumerie line when I saw it at Harmon's but I've been hearing some good things about it and as usual I needed to add more things to my order to qualify for free shipping. So let's start breaking down what I liked and what I (mostly) didn't like about this polish.

Color: Revlon Apricot Nectar is an orange creme polish. A hideous orange. I like bold, bright oranges that are almost red, corals, and perhaps pastels that veer towards peach. This orange is none of those things. It reminds me of nothing so much as fake cheese and is just a hair lighter than the Nickelodeon trademark orange No es bueno. It doesn't match the color of fresh apricots. It comes closer to matching the color of dried apricots but in a very artificial, unpleasant way. For some reason, this color just screams "not found in nature." It's just really not a terribly flattering color on me and I can't imagine it would be very flattering for most people.
Formula: The formula is on the thicker side.
Scent: As I was first applying this polish, I could already start to smell the scent even though the label on the bottle says that it's only supposed to be scented once dry. The scent was strong enough to be apparent without holding the polish close to my face. (Do not hold this polish close to your face. I don't want you to get high off of polish fumes.) I would describe the scent as soft and kind of citrusy. Once the polish was dry, I feel like the scent had changed. The scent had become sickly like orange cough syrup. I'm almost positive this is the same scent as the orange liquid Children's Motrin.
Application: As I applied the first coat, I noticed that the brush was creating streaks and ridges in the polish. I would not try to work with this polish too much. I was already having problems with the first coat. The second coat applied similarly. The brush was creating ridges and while the polish wasn't thick and gloopy (no threading), it did need to be evened out and this polish was not having any of that. As soon as you try and even out the polish everything goes to hell. I had to redo two nails at this stage. At three coats, this polish reaches full opacity but it isn't fully opaque because of some patchiness and balding. Also, there were some bubbles.

CONCLUSION: No, I would not recommend this polish. Because it is on the thicker side, I will probably be able to find a use for it in some nail art looks but I would not recommend putting yourself through the hassle of application for this frankly ugly color. This shade of orange is not that popular in polish lines (probably for good reason) but I'm sure you can find something else that will suit you more.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of Revlon Nail Enamel in 570 Vixen With SWATCHES

Hello minxes,

I'm thrilled to finally have an excuse to use "minx" in a polish review. I'm considerably less thrilled by Revlon Vixen but we'll get to that in good time. I've had this polish for a while now but I've been waiting for the right bout of cold weather to pull it out of my stash. As this has been the season of endless snowstorms in New York City, I've had ample opportunities to try it out.

Color: Revlon Vixen is a deep red creme polish. You might assume from the name that Vixen is a very vampy shade and in a way it is, but I think because it is so dark and leans slightly brown, it comes across as less overtly seductive and more of a mature, understated kind of sexy shade of red. There isn't much more to say aside from that. The photos are all pretty color accurate and this polish doesn't look terribly different indoors or outdoors or in sunlight or shade.
Formula: Revlon Vixen has a thicker than average formula.
Application: I'll be honest. Vixen was a little high maintenance. The first coat went on smoothly. The brush glided nicely without any dragging though the polish applied unevenly and a little streaky. However, that's not that unusual for most polishes on the first coat. With the second coat, the brush started to drag a bit but application was still manageable. The issue with the second coat was that I began to notice tiny bubbles in my manicure. No es bueno. At two coats the polish still wasn't opaque so I added a third. The third coat is when Vixen started to get very fussy. The polish was threading as I pulled the brush out of the bottle. I had to use thicker coats of polish to cover up all the bubbles. It was irritating but not unmanageable. At three coats, the polish was fully opaque.
Wear: I wore this polish for 5 days. In that time I experienced a little bit of tip wear and the polish seemed to grow dull. I never reapply top coat but in general, most of my good polishes don't dull too much during the week or so that I have them on.

CONCLUSION: This is difficult for me. I do like the color of Revlon Vixen but I'm also reasonably sure that you could find a dupe if you looked for one. The formula was clearly not fantastic but it also wasn't a hot mess and full disclosure, I purchased this bottle of polish in October of 2012 so it's possible that might have aged during that time. It sounds like I'm making excuses, doesn't it? OK, I'll put it this way. If you like the swatches and you can't find a dupe, I would think about picking this up at the drugstore but I can't in good conscience recommend this polish enthusiastically because of the poor application.

Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. If you would like to help support this site, please consider making your next purchase at amazon.com through the links on my page. I will get a small percentage of anything you purchase through one of my links at no extra cost to you.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of Revlon Nail Enamel in 571 Posh With SWATCHES

Hello my little aristocrats,

Today I have a rather inappropriately named polish for you. No, it's nothing naughty. I just wouldn't call a bright green polish "Posh." Not to cast aspersions on the brand, but the color makes me think of Kate Spade. Anyway, let's jump right into the review.

Color: Revlon Posh is a medium green creme polish. As a green it leans more towards blue than yellow. I would call it a Kelly green but as we've reviewed on this site before, you could tell someone to paint a room Kelly green and end up with a forest green room. It's bright enough of a green to draw attention but subdued in a way. The color is muted enough to not be blinding like a neon. It's a fun pop of color which is why it reminds me of that kind of preppy Kate Spade/J. Crew style.
Formula: The formula is on the thicker side without being super goopy and unmanageable. The polish was thick enough to cling fairly strongly to the brush but thin enough to not be all that opaque. However it did start threading.
Application: Application of the first coat was smooth but not totally even. I had no issues with dragging but I wasn't getting a perfectly even layer of polish. Also, I got one bubble. When I was applying the second coat, the polish seemed to have thickened and I was noticing that short threads of polish formed as I drew the brush out of the bottle. The threads were short and broke quickly so thankfully this polish wasn't a complete headache to apply but I would not try and work with this polish at all. Do not go over each coat to even out the polish. Use a light hand and you'll get better results. After two coats the polish appeared reasonably opaque but a light test revealed some bald spots and I wanted to cover up some of the bubbles that had appeared so I used a third coat to get the polish to full opacity.
Wear: I wore this polish for four days. It stained a little when I took it off. It was easy enough to remove the staining by going back in with the nail polish remover but I thought I should mention it as a good polish should not stain.

CONCLUSION: I would not recommend this polish. If you are reluctant to shell out money for a green polish, you might want to grit your teeth and attempt to use this polish as it isn't impossible but it's really not worth the trouble unless you really can't find a similar color from another brand.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of Revlon Whimsical With SWATCHES

Hi chickadees!

I feel like I start most of my reviews this way but this is another I was crazy about tracking down but apparently not about trying because it's been sitting unused with the rest of my collection for months since I bought it. Yes, I ran about rather insanely looking for Revlon Whimsical, the supposed Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air dupe (only to annoyingly find a lot of them at Duane Reade months later after my initial fervor had passed...but that's beside the point). You would think of Whimsical as a typical spring color but there's something a little dryer and dustier about the blue base that made me want to pull it out in the middle of winter. So, after all this time, how do I finally feel about this polish now that I've worn it? Well, I'm still not sure.

Color: Revlon Whimsical is a grayish blue polish with large pink and blue hex glitter, medium pink and blue glitter, and small pink and blue glitter particles. I'd call it more of a semi-sheer polish than a jelly because I don't really think it has a typical jelly look. It just takes a few coats to build up the color. Four coats to be exact. With three coats, I thought I had a nice amount of glitter and a relatively semi-opaque base but the polish still looked so streaky that I did a fourth coat. At four coats there was still some balding but it wasn't too terrible once I added top coat. This is definitely a polish that seems meant for layering. I liked the color. It feels light and refined, and yes, whimsical, like something you would pair with a fairy costume. Obviously as it contains so much glitter, it's not the most work appropriate polish. However, I did think the slightly dusty quality of the blue base kept the polish from being too childish.
Formula: As this is a sheer polish, the base is very thin.
Application: For all the trouble of painting 4 coats, application was very smooth. However, glitter placement was a pain in the arse. I almost always find glitter placement annoying but since this polish has a particularly sheer, thin base, it's even harder to pick up glitter with the brush unless you pick up a ton of polish. You will see indentations in the swatches below. That is my fault. I didn't wait long enough for the polish to dry in between coats and since I did 4 coats, the polish ended up a little squishy and my nails made marks in it before it fully dried. I didn't notice these until I was taking photos. I will say that it was pretty easy to fix this. There was also a lot of bubbling which I didn't notice until I saw the swatches. It's not as apparent in person.

CONCLUSION: I had mixed feelings about how this polish looked on my hands. I didn't think it looked terrible but it wasn't quite flattering either. I think it would probably look best with very pale skintones with a pink undertone or very dark skintones. If you want to wear this polish on its own, four coats is a lot of trouble and it did look somewhat streaky even at four coats. But application was smooth. I guess I'll say that if you love the look of this polish or you're really desperate for a Deborah Lippmann dupe, then this polish is worth you're time. But if all the problems I've listed have you wary, you will probably not be too happy with Revlon Whimsical.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of Revlon Emerald City With SWATCHES

Hi chickadees!

Since Pantone has declared Emerald at the color of 2013, I thought there would be no better time to swatch and review Revlon's Emerald City for you. I've had this polish for a little while now. I bought it when I was mad for Zoya Veruschka and couldn't find it anywhere. To be honest, I'm still kind of mad for Veruschka but Emerald City has appeased my craving for the time being.

Color: Obviously, when a polish is called Emerald City, your instinct is to write "Emerald City is an emerald green polish" and call it a day. And yet I hesitate as the color on my nails doesn't perfectly channel what's on the Pantone website. Nor does it really remind me of the Oz of 1939. So I will simply say that Emerald City is a deep green matte polish with little flecks of lighter green glitter. In certain lighting it almost looks like there's a bit of black in there as well. Even in dim lighting the glitter makes the polish a little more special when it catches the light. In bright lighting it gives what could be a flat polish a lot of depth. I didn't think I was going to like the finish as much as I do but it feels very chic. It reminds me of the colored leather dresses that have been popular on the runways recently though my nails feel more like paper than leather. I also tried this polish with top coat, which of course makes the color more vibrant and makes the shimmer come alive. It's very sparkly. But I can honestly say I like this polish both matte and shiny.
Formula: The formula is on the thinner side which actually makes the polish pretty easy to work with.
Application: Application was surprisingly smooth. I've been disappointed with Revlon polishes in the past but maybe they need to make more matte polishes if this is the result. I needed 3 coats for opacity. Because it is a matte polish you have to work a bit quickly but I still had a decent amount of time to event out the polish.
Wear: I've heard that matte polishes are only supposed to last 2 or 3 days before they start to chip (due to the lack of top coat) so I purposely wore this polish 3 days to test it out. On the second day I noticed very minimal tip wear but no chipping. Though I should note that my polish never chips and the worst damage I've ever gotten is bad tip wear.
Conclusion: I would definitely recommend this polish. I'm not sure about long term wear but application was easy and the color is gorgeous. I don't think they sell this in stores anymore so try and track down a bottle on amazon (like I did).

SWATCHES

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in 5 Crush

Hello darlings!

I feel like I've morphed into a bit of a goth this fall. Alright, maybe not, but I'm certainly into fairly witchy dark lips and nails lately. When I bought Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Crush, it was on a bit of a whim. I'd purchased Rendezvous (orange shade) when I was still undecided about Clinique's Chubby Stick in Oversized Orange which I now love. Actually, I purchased Crush partially because I was still undecided about Clinique's Chubby Stick in Voluptuous Violet. But I think I expected to find it too dark and return it. But my tastes have changed and I actually find myself reaching for Crush a lot lately.

Part of the reason I like Crush is because I've been getting over a lip allergy and dealing with a lot of peeling and flaking. Crush gives me the coverage I need to disguise all of that (and my pale lips) without the heaviness of a lipstick or balm that would catch all those flakes in a very unattractive way.

Color: Crush is HIGHLY pigmented. This is the kind of color you wear when you really want a nice, dark lipcolor. It's a very deep berry shade, a dark pink with a blue undertone that can look a bit purplish from a distance.
Scent: There is a very faint mint scent to the product. I only smell it in the tube and as I'm applying the product.
Feel: When you first apply it, it gives a sort of tingly feeling to the lips. I don't think it has any lip plumping effects so it's probably just the mint. On the lips, it feels like your average balm for the first hour or two and then it can start to feel a little drying. I always get a feeling of tightness. I either swipe off the balm and reapply it, or layer a regular lip balm on top. If you start with a lip balm underneath, you're not going to be able to build up the color as much. You can get more of a just bitten kind of berry lip that is much more subtle than wearing Crush on its own. I find this is less drying but I personally don't like the look as much.
Application: When you start to apply this lip balm, the pencil does drag on your lips a little. However, I find that as you build up the color, the product does glide on pretty smoothly.
Moisturizing/Drying: This is a tough one. I've worn it on days when I feel like it keeps my lips from drying out. And I've worn it on days when my lips end up peeling. I'd say overall, this is more a drying product than a moisturizing product but if you start with healthy lips without any flaking, cracking, or peeling, this won't dry your lips out too badly. Just be sure to keep a lip balm handy and apply it the night before and the night after you use this product and you should be fine.
Wear: As I said, it can be a little drying but on a positive note, I don't experience any feathering or migration during the day.

CONCLUSION: I've kind of fallen for this lip product. I wish it wasn't as drying but I can deal with it for the color. If you like the color, I would recommend this product. It's a nice (very pigmented) alternative to more expensive lip crayons.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of Revlon Nail Polish in Carbonite with SWATCHES

Hi chickadees!

I know this polish was super popular a while back as a dupe for Chanel's Graphite so you've probably already read lots of reviews and seen plenty of swatches. I've had my bottle for at least a few months but it never seemed like the right time to use it. Until now. Obviously. :)

I'll try to keep it short since I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with this polish. I no longer see it in stores but there are still some bottles floating around online.

Color: When I had just painted it on my nails, I was still a bit unimpressed with the color. It's a gritty kind of gray that's not really a metallic or foil. It reminds me of minerals and the rocks you sometimes find outside with a bit of gritty shimmer in them. This color really comes alive outside in direct sunlight or indoor fluorescent lighting. Then you really see all the gorgeous depth it has. The pictures will do a much better job of explaining so I'll just let you look at the swatches later instead of continuing to ramble on. I will say that it would interesting to try and incorporate it into a snakeskin design.
Formula: I thought the formula was alright. A bit thick. It certainly wasn't as smooth as my favorite Essie creme polishes, but that's kind of to be expected from a finish like this. It was a lot better than other Revlon polishes I've used it the past.
Application: I needed 3 coats to get it fully opaque. As I said, it's not perfectly smooth but you'll be fine as long as you don't try and paint really thin coats because that's when the brush is going to drag. For a smooth glide, it's best to paint in slightly thicker coats. Also, try not to go over the polish with the brush too much to even it out. That's a general technique rule for me (I hate when they do it at the salon) but it's particularly important for a polish like this.

CONCLUSION: I'm going to try and use this polish sparingly since I don't see too many bottles of Carbonite anymore. For the price of a regular Revlon nail polish, I think I would repurchase it if I ran out, but I'm not quite sure I love it enough to order it online. I also kind of feel like it didn't wear very well and started to look a bit dull after a few days.

  SWATCHES

REVIEW of Revlon nail polish in 410 Dreamer with Bumblebee Nail Art

If you follow this blog, you may know that forever and a day ago (December) http://smartandsarcasticwithdashesofinsanity.blogspot.com/2011/12/drugstore-haul-plus-butter-london.html I picked up this (at the time) new Revlon nail polish. It looked like a light sky blue in the bottle, so I wanted to save it for spring. Now that I have it on my nail, it turns out that it dries a little darker than the color in the bottle, leaving me with a dusty cornflower blue that almost seems to have some purple in it in certain lighting. Application was atrocious. I really dislike all the Revlon nail polishes I've tried, and Dreamer was no exception. The formula was so thick it was hard to get even coats but it was thin enough to need three coats to get it opaque. I had to do four coats to even out the streaks. The color seems a little dry on my hands, making them look dark and making my skin look dull. And this was a nightmare to photograph. I have some non-color accurate pics so you can get an idea of how the polish looks, but only a few photos that are anywhere near the actual color. (I will let you know which ones)

I did manage to save the look with some bumblebee nail art. I watched the youtube tutorials from cutepolish and bubzbeauty to get an idea of how I wanted it to look. The bee is based on the cutepolish version and the flight trail is based on bubzbeauty. My suggestions are to not worry about getting the bee perfect because it makes it look more adorable and childlike. I did all of my design wiht a toothpick. The trail looks better if you keep the dots about a dot length apart instead of grouping them together like I did on the nail of my index finger.

Color Accurate

Semi-Color Accurate (should be darker)

Not color accurate (but you can see how thick the polish applied)

NAIL ART

 Semi Color Accurate (should be a little darker)

REVIEW of Revlon Lip Butter in 030 Fig Jam

This is my go-to everyday lip color. I probably would have used it all through fall as well if I'd purchased it earlier. It's just a perfect natural shade that just seems appropriate for the weather and every fall/winter outfit I put together. Somehow it balances on the border of a nude/natural color and a dark lip color. I think it's because it is a brown but it wears very sheer. Do not be intimidated by the dark brown color of the product in the tube. There is a bit of a scent but it is very faint and not offensive and I have a very sensitive nose.
Now as much as I like the color of the product, I can't recommend it based on the formula. I know, I know. The entire beauty community on the internet is raving about Revlon lip butters. When they first go on, they don't feel drying but they don't feel moisturizing either. They feel like you've applied a thick balm to your lips. They can feel a bit tacky/sticky at first but eventually the product settles. I don't think it completely dries because my hair still gets caught in it when the wind blows but it isn't as tacky. The problem is that wear-time isn't very long and when the product does fade away it leaves my lips dry and sometimes peeling or flaky. This doesn't happen all the time but sometimes I can go out with completely healthy lips and in the middle of the day when I check the mirror suddenly they're horrifyingly flaky and dry. So, no, I don't think this is a moisturizing lip balm. I still prefer my Covergirl natureluxe glossbalms. I would recommend layering something underneath or on top of these to keep lips looking healthy and moisturized and just use this for the benefit of a sheer brown lip color.

One last thing I feel like I should tell you...I sort of damaged the top of this lip butter out of carelessness one day and for some reason since that point (or because it melted without my knowledge) the texture of the lip butter has become extremely soft. I still use it by taking a bit and dabbing it on my lips like a lip tint but I can't apply it straight from the tube anymore.

CONCLUSION: I would recommend this product for the color but it can be drying.

Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. If you would like to help support this site, please consider making your next purchase at amazon.com through the links on my page.

For reference...lips without any pigment

Note: The color on the right is Fig Jam. I will be reviewing Red Velvet at a later date.

Failed Lip Products: L'Oreal's Fairest Nude and Revlon's Peach Parfait

Hi chickadees!

Sorry I have posted anything in a few days. This past week has been so hectic. I had major essays and exams in most of my classses. I will probably be painting my nails in the next few days so I should have a new review up shortly. For now, I hope you like these short reviews on two lip products I recently tried. Sorry about the upper lip fuzz. I didn't have time to go to get the hair threaded before taking these lip swatches. Please forgive my mammalian flaws.

OK, onto the reviews!

L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipcolor in 800 Fairest Nude
I've heard good things about this product and I wanted to love it. I tried to love it. But it was simply atrocious. I find L'Oreal lipsticks to be nicely moisturizing and to apply opaque. Not the case here. Fairest Nude applied almost like a greasy lip gloss. It wasn't very pigmented and didn't provide great coverage, leaving a lot of pink peeking through the sheer nude lipstick. However, the lip color had no problem settling into the lines and cracks in my lips. I would definitely avoid wearing this if your lips aren't smooth but I don't know how much that would help. It was just so dry and aging. I can't imagine it would look good on anyone.

As bad as these swatches look, this lipstick looked even worse in person.

Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait
If you follow this blog, you'll know I've been searching high and low at every drugstore I know of for this product. Well, I would have called off the hunt if I'd have known how this lip butter would look on my lips. There was something odd about the consistency of this lip butter. Maybe it was the glitter but it seemed harder and didn't apply as smoothly as some of the other lip butters I own (no glitter). I thought it looked nice and glossy over smooth lips but to me it looked cheap. It was too shiny. There was too much glitter. It would be difficult to pair this with anything but mascara and the tiniest bit of blush and I have a hard time imagining this looking age appropriate on anyone. It doesn't fit the professional look I need to achieve with a nude lip so it went back to the store.

Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. If you would like to help support this site, please consider making your next purchase at amazon.com through the links on my page.

Spotted New Maybelline and Revlon Collections

It is my belief that for some reason, when it comes to drugstore products, here in NY, we get everything last. The full Maybelline and Revlon collections are finally on display at my local CVS at 20 University Place. The only thing I found disappointing was the selection of lip butters. The light colors (Sugar Frosting), dark colors (Fig Jam), and some of the berry shades were there but I already have Fig Jam and Red Velvet (working on testing them out) so all I really wanted was to grab Peach Parfait and get one of the new Quads (all on display). I'll probably check back later in the week.

All the Maybelline products were fully stocked when I went in the afternoon. All the Dream Bouncy Blushes, Color Tattoo cream shadows (finally got Bad to the Bronze and Tough as Taupe!), Dream Nude Airfoam Foundation.

I'll probably put up a post this week about my little haul of products and if I go back and the shelves are still stocked, I'll try and take pictures.

REVIEW of Revlon's Fashionista with SWATCHES (O.P.I. Ski Teal We Drop Comparison)

I picked up Revlon's 471 in an earlier drugstore haul I shared with you. It's a pretty teal color and I was hoping it would be a dupe for O.P.I.'s Ski Teal We Drop considering all the BOGO 1/2 off Revlon nail polish sales at the drugstore, it would be much more affordable. However, I think I'll be sticking with O.P.I. Here is a link to my original review.

http://smartandsarcasticwithdashesofinsanity.blogspot.com/2011/12/review-of-opis-ski-teal-we-drop-with.html

The colors are very similar, with O.P.I.'s Ski Teal We Drop leaning slightly more blue and Revlon's 471 leaning slightly more green. I used the O.P.I. as an accent nail so you could really compare the two. The colors are very similar though. However, I wouldn't recommend the Revlon if you care about the formula. The formula on Fashionista was a huge hassle to work with. It was watery but it also dragged so I had to use thick coats and work quickly to even out streaks and edges. Also, personally I prefer the color of the O.P.I. polish a little more. The Revlon polish picks up smudges really easily despite the top coat it looks dingy after only a few hours of wear. Also, I prefer the blue of the O.P.I. to the green of the Revlon polish.

HERE ARE THE COMPARISON SWATCHES. The O.P.I. Ski Teal We Drop is on my thumb. The camera doesn't really pick up the difference between the polishes.