I finally picked up Revlon Parfumerie polish in Espresso the other day, something I've been curious about since seeing it on Be Happy and Buy Polish. Espresso played a little trick on my brain. The name says dark, dark brown and the photos say not quite black in a way I couldn't explain. Like reds, black polishes seem fairly straightforward but they are not anywhere close to being the same. Espresso is, oddly, a verrrrrry dark blue leaning black, in fact just this side of being confused for a deep midnight blue. Here's one swipe on paper, next to jet black WetnWild Wild Shine Black Creme.
On the nail, the blue is less apparent but it's still just not quite true black.
Regarding formula, blacks and almost-blacks are notoriously tricky because of how pigmented they are, but Espresso is not bad, perhaps because it's more crelly than creme. It's got a decent thickness and the Parfumerie brush is small, so it's easy to control; even so, take care and move a little more slowly in your application. I used two coats plus one layer of topcoat.
So what about the fragrance? I've read Espresso's scent described everywhere from coffee and toast to burnt rubber to pipe tobacco to coffee with hints of myrrh and sandalwood. It's an elusive scent and indeed, I got wild blackberries from it. Like the other Parfumerie polishes, the scent is subtle and surprisingly, pleasingly complex for such a product. Topcoat tames the fragrance but does not obscure it.
In summation, Espresso is another win for the Parfumerie line, which I'm growing more and more impressed with, and a welcome addition to my repertoire of black and black-ish polishes. The Parfumerie polishes are available at most major drugstores for $4.99 to $5.99 a bottle.
I hope you all get to enjoy a little spring break! C and I headed for the coast for my birthday, forgetting it was day one of spring break until we found ourselves in the middle of a long and slow moving line of cars entering our nearest beach town. It was all way more crowded than either of us really likes but we had a fun time, nonetheless, and the weather was beautiful but windy. In case you're wondering, matte lipstick is perfect for windy days-- no hair stringing lines all over your face, lol. :)
Thank you for reading and have a lovely day!! ♥♥
While that's a very confusing color I now NEED it. It's probably both the name and your description, but I'm in LOVE! You look gorgeous (per usual) in that amazing red <3 C looks slightly concerned - gotta love those coastal pics where the sun and wind just don't cooperate! I hope you had fun rocking out to your birthday tunes despite the traffic - Happy birthday!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm quite surprised you don't own it already :) We did have a nice time. Just spending time together's fun, you know? We observed that people here don't go to the beach to GO TO THE BEACH, though, as the actual beach was the least crowded of any place. But yes, very windy, so much so that a couple wind surfers reached success... that was super fun to see.
DeleteI don't own a single Parfumerie polish but all of yours and Jessica's swatches makes me want to try one. I just don't know how I feel about scented polish? That is crazy how much blue is in espresso, it kind of reminds me of squid ink but in a good way! I was going to say it looks like a crelly, nice and squishy but opaque at the same time. I hope you had a fabulous birthday and how lucky are you that you got to go to the beach! We got more snow today :-( I'm so over this winter weather, it's spring now!
ReplyDeleteYes, it's totally squid ink!! lol. I was really hesitant about scented polish, too, but unless you're SUPER sensitive these will likely not bother you at all. Most the time you can't even detect it unless you've got your nails right up against your nostrils, lol. BOO to more snow! We're just getting a bunch of rain, now and rain>snow, at least for now. Get back to me when it's been like this for a month and a half straight ;)
DeleteHave yet to try them but they sound nice and the color looks great too.
ReplyDeleteLisa, they'd totally make a fun marble! (A hodgepodge of scents marble, lol). If I had your skills I'd be all over that.
DeleteOh I hear Espresso is calling my name - and I so HOPE to finally find a Source for those Revlons tomorrow!!!! Reading this post I am reminded of our exchange in blacks one year ago - have we "met" already a year ago???? You had the BL on your nails that day.... LOL for the lipstick smears in windy weather - I always try to get my lips ahead of my hair - how futile is this??? And rather silly looking too - LOL!!!!! I am so happy that you spent a lovely time!!!!! Love xxx
ReplyDeleteIt always surprises me what's available to you and what isn't, but you'd love this line and I hope you find some... keep me posted :) Has it been a year already? It feels like I've known you forever ♥
DeleteI laughed out loud when I read this smelled like blueberry. That's enough to give even black an identity crisis. It's just so strange...it looks wonderful on you though, and makes me wonder more than ever what Osmium will look like on you! :) Did your area ever get the Lime Basil Parfumerie? I'm glad you had a great birthday...you look really pretty in your pic. <3
ReplyDeleteI meant blackberry. :)
DeleteLol, I was going to say ;) And same about Osmium! What a coinkedink! I'm so stoked to try that gorgeous color out, thank you SO MUCH!! In the meantime, I'm back to square nubs so give me a few weeks :) My Ulta and Fred Meyer actually both have the full Parfumerie line stocked now, and they have spaces for both Lime Basil and Ginger melon. I'll have to check again on my break today to see if LB's been restocked.
DeleteI like it, you can tell it's not a true black. Interesting about the scent though lol
ReplyDeleteIt actually makes me like the polish better. I'm not a huge fan of coffee scent so the complete oddity is perfectly fine with me (though nothing about this polish has anything to do with its name at this point, lol).
DeleteHappy belated birthday! I have to agree, sometimes a black creme is just so right! Espresso makes me laugh because it reads so blue to me but um...coffee?? Anyways, it looks gorgeous on you regardless of the name or smell :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Margo!! :) Yeah, nothing coffee about this polish, at all, lol. Definitely a misnomer but like Dani up there mentioned, Squid Ink would have made for a... different type of fragrance... Does squid ink even smell?
DeleteHa, it definitely does not look brown, but it's beautiful none-the-less. The dark blue tint and the jelly finish combine to give it a deep, mysterious look, like the inky night sky. :) Aww you and the hubby are so cute... it's great to hear you were able to have some fun on your birthday. :)
ReplyDelete~ Yun
I actually really love that it's not brown in the least (though the brown in this collection does have me curious because it's supposed to smell like chocolate). And thank you ♥♥ My bday was fun; always somewhat unexpected, which is cool :)
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