Like most married women, I live with my husband. Unlike most married women, I also live with my younger brother. Neither of these men enjoy the smell of my nail polish or associated removal products. Since I have the distinct pleasure of working from home, I tend to do my nails during the day while I’m working before either of them get home in the evening so I don’t bother them with them smell. An odor that I don’t like either, but any woman would agree that we’re willing to suffer a little bit for the sake of beauty! A few months ago, I read about the new Revlon Parfumerie scented nail enamel line and I was intrigued. “Could it be? A pleasant smelling polish?” I asked? The reviews I read all praised the scent and said that, even under a top coat, you could still smell the scents.
Count me in.
I looked over the list of scents online and most sounded vague (Tropical Rain, Surf Spray) or like scents more appropriate for a woman of a certain age (Lavender Soap, African Tea Rose), so I decided that I’d have to just go to a store and smell them for myself. I trucked it over to my nearest drugstore and found the display. First and foremost, it had to be a color I didn’t have. And I have a LOT of colors. So most of the ones that sounded like the smell might be good (Chocolate Truffle, Autumn Spice) were similar in looks to polishes I already had. But Revlon Parfumerie Wintermint caught my eye for more reasons than one.
It’s a minty green shimmer with darker green speckles in it – definitely not something in my collection.- I’m a sucker for anything scented mint, whether it’s spearmint, peppermint, winter mint, generic mint, etc.
- The scent was faint, but fairly pleasant.
I picked it up and took it home with me. While applying my Revlon Parfumerie Wintermint manicure, the scent was the strongest. Now, don’t get me wrong… it’s not a minty-clean, nose tingling, sinus clearing mint. It’s subtle. But it’s there, and it’s just enough to distract from the normal scent a nail polish has. I liked the glitter distribution – I didn’t feel like I had to go over and over with the brush to get more speckles evenly on my nails. The picture isn’t in the best light, but the color is pretty true.
I didn’t smell the polish’s minty scent so much after I put on a coat of my trusty Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. I mostly smelled the top coat, but after that smell faded as it dried, a little bit more of the mint came back. But it didn’t last long… I’d say by later that night or the next day it was gone.
So, overall I think it’s a nifty concept, but I won’t be running out to get any of the other scents/colors just for the novelty of it. In fact, even if the color looks amazing, there are some I’d avoid based purely on the scent and my sometimes sensitivity to overpowering scents (like the aforementioned Lavender Soap will be avoided at all costs). I’m pretty sure that this is a gimmick line that Revlon probably won’t repeat with new colors, but if they do, I’ll definitely consider picking another one up!
