Nails of the Week - Revlon Parfumerie Ginger Melon & Rimmel London Marine Blue

A little late with this week's manicure. I used a new polish for my fingernails and an old polish for my toenails.

I've been looking forward to painting my nails with Revlon Parfumerie Ginger Melon for a few weeks now. This bright, happy shade is especially welcome this week, in stark contrast to the latest streak of cold weather hitting New Jersey. The color is a bright, fun pinky coral cream. Application is surprisingly streaky compared to China Flower, and could have done with a fourth coat to make the color completely opaque on my nail, but it's really not noticeable unless I'm staring directly at my nails in bright daylight. Like with China Flower, visible tip wear shows almost immediately. Since I love this color so much, I will maintain it for a couple of days. As a personal preference, these bright colors are best shiny. No matte this week, unless I get bored and use the matte on one nail!

It was pointed out to me that China Flower should have a woodier smell rather than a strong floral note. With this color, though, there shouldn't be a surprise as to what it should smell like - fruity with a possible hint of ginger. The ginger wasn't present and the smell reminds me of Starbursts, which I happen to like. I'm glad I bought this color and I know I will use it often during the warmer months.

The color for the toes is Rimmel London Marine Blue, a shimmery blue color. The brush is very wide and was actually more difficult to worth with than I remember. But I love this color because it reminds me of the beach and bright blue, cloudless skies in the summer. Case in point:

Way back in 2010 (I feel old). Those might even be the same pair of jeans.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure if I've ever used it on my fingers. And I won't for a while, since I have Tropical Rain (blue with a hint of shimmer), also from the Revlon Parfumerie line, to try next.

Well, that's it for next week. I'm not sure which color to paint my nails next week - a coral or the blue. I've been digging the pinks and reds lately. See you next week!

Nails of the Week

Hey guys! When I picked up the first Revlon Parfumerie polish, I had become mesmerized by another Revlon polish, Charmed. This was their "top speed fast dry" formula. The color on my nail came out much more pumpkin than the orange-yellow shimmery shade from the bottle and I was not pleased at all. Orange just isn't my thing. Since the return policy at CVS is generous, I'm going to try returning it. There is nothing charming about this shade.

A few notes on the formula. The "fast dry" made applying the polish evenly difficult, as the polish on the nail would begin to dry before finishing. On top of the already difficult nature of shimmery polishes, this made applying an even, streak-free coat difficult. I like to paint thin coats so that each layer drys quickly, and I wasn't able to figure out the formula this time.

So I did what any sane person would do and repainted my nails immediately. I even used up a bottle of polish remover, which is very unusual for me but justifies my recent nail polish purchases.

I had already applied the polish on my toes and needed a color that would contrast well with it. Since I still wanted to mattify a shimmery shade, I chose an old color I've had for years, Pink Petals by Sonia Kashuk.

I'm in love with Sonia Kashuk polishes. The colors that I've tried are all great and resists chipping fairly well. This particular shimmery shade wasn't as difficult as some, drying evenly despite applying with minor streaks. I should have gone ahead and painted a third coat to completely even it out visible nail ridges, but I had already spent too much time on my nails to bother. For $4.50, it's worth a trip to Target if you have yet to try her polishes.

After applying a top coat, I applied Sally Hansen Big Matte Top Coat, a new purchase. So far, I am loving the matte effect. I think it works particularly well on shimmery/sparkly/glittery polishes, though I also like the chalkboard effect it gives opaque polishes. (I'm not sure why I like that it reminds me of chalkboards.) I've read on various blogs that matte polishes chip easily, but hopefully applying the normal top coat first will prevent excess chipping. We'll see!

On my toes is another stash polish, Savage by Sinful Colors. Based on reviews, I was expected this to be a very matte polish, though mine came out more semi-matte. Since I thought it looked better matte, I applied a matte coat. Matte, matte, matte!

I'm not particularly pleased with my nails this week, unlike last week. If my nails chip significantly, I'll most likely remove the polish and let my nails breathe, as the matte will just make maintaining the tips difficult. Next week, I'll try another Revlon Parfumerie I purchased during a CVS sale. That, I am looking forward to! I just have to decide between Ginger Melon and Tropical Rain.

(Note: in the pictures, I hadn't cleaned excess polish yet.)

Nails of The Week

In an effort to maintain the appearance of my nails, I thought blogging about it might inspire me to maintain them. I've Googled pictures of nail polish so often, and it's very helpful when deciding what new color to try that maybe this will also be of some use to others.

I was at CVS dreaming of spring and looking for a coral color from Essie. My CVS' selection isn't the best, unfortunately, and I couldn't find the particular shade I was after. Usually when this happens, I start looking at other brands. That was when I noticed the new nail polish line from Revlon, Parfumerie, a collection of scented nail polish. Though I'm not really sure what the point of scented nails are, and I don't often wear perfume, it's a neat idea. At $6.49, it's not a bad deal compared to Essie's $8 bottles.

I walked out with China Flower, a coral red. During this excursion, I also bought Charmed , another Revlon polish from a different line, because of a super duper CVS sale, but have yet to use it.

Although the application is a tad streaky, I liked the consistency of the formula -- not too watery or gloopy. It took three coats to achieve smoothness, yet you could get away with two coats if you really wanted to, as it's opaque enough at that point. For the top coat, I used Good to Go by Essie which I have mixed feelings about -- I don't think it's the best at preventing chips compared to others I've tried. It does set quickly and I don't get many smudges if I let the undercoats dry a bit before applying.

As for the scent of China Flower, it's more woodsy than I expected. Because I happen to love woody, musky scents (like sandalwood and ylang-ylang), I'm alright with how it smells. However, I was expecting more of a floral scent. I liked this polish well enough that I am after Ginger Melon.

On my toes, I applied an old color my mom treated me to a long time ago. We picked it up at Forever 21. The brand is Love & Beauty and the color is light grey. I happen to love neutral greys, and I have to keep myself from picking up every shade I see of this color. The formula is great for such a cheap polish, and it resists chips surprisingly well. For $2.80 and countless manicures, I've really been happy with this polish.

Hopefully I will keep up my weekly (or bi-weekly, if my nails need time to breathe) nails of the week so that I can share them with you!

Courtesy appearances made by cats Saffron (ginger), and Moon Pie (white).

reasons why you shouldn't use grocery bags as trash bags.

The other day I went to take out the trash and noticed that half a can of sweetened condensed milk had leaked out all over the floor. It's messes like these that make me want to give up on life.

While cleaning up the mess, I went over a few reasons why it's not beneficial to recycle these stupid bags for anything other than dry trash and litter box waste. No matter how many times you double bag, there might still be a hole on the bottom that you missed, and when you dump thick liquids into the trash, those will inevitably find their way out. Of course, most trash bins are solid and not wicker. But no matter what, you still have to clean up a mess.

Look, I'm all for recycling, just not when I have to go out of my way for it or when the recycling factor ends up being negated. For example, in place of one trash bag that can hole a crapton of shit, I ended up using four grocery bags for less than a quarter of what can fit in a standard size trash bag. Talk about waste. Then, if you use paper towels to clean the mess that oozed out of the bags, you're wasting even more resources.

Trash bags were invented for a reason.

Suit Up for Summer

This post is underwritten by Old Navy. Whether you're looking for a tankini, bikini, or a one piece, Old Navy has you confidently covered at a great price.


The last time I went to the beach was when I was 16 (I'm now 24), and that's how long it's been since I've gotten a new suit. It seems as if there are hundreds of new styles out there now and it's a pain to find one that suits your body type. I also have trouble knowing where to shop. Not all stores carry a decent selection, and if you don't start shopping in February their already tiny offerings will be picked over.

Cue Old Navy. Three of their suits stood out to me and I'm going to explain why.

Top: U-ring bandeau top & bottom. Bottom: Ruffled string top & bottom

For a fun beach or pool outing where I won't be swimming or taking part in any type of athletic activity, these two suits would be a cute look. Although I'm not necessarily a fan of bandeau tops for smaller women, what I like about this particular suit is that it has a strap to provide a little extra lift and shape. The bottoms are flattering and isn't cut too high on the thigh, which I don't find flattering. Although it has a little bling, it's not too pronounced.

The ruffled top and bottom are just plain cute and a nice jewel-tone green that would work with my pale skin. Triangle tops are some of the most flattering and it's what I choose to wear often. Because of the ruffles, though, I feel like you can't really get down and dirty in this suit.

Striped bikini top & boy short bottom

If we're being honest here, I'm always afraid of having a swimsuit malfunction, so if I'm active on the beach I look for a hipster/wide bikini/boyshort bottom, like this style. The color is summery and reminds me of a sunset. While the top is a little too close to a bandeau style, it's scooped on top and has a strap to provide shape and lift.

What I also like about these three suits is that they're more colorful than I typically wear. I stick to black because it looks good, is harder to see through, and doesn't stain as easily. It's nice to own a really fun suit, though, so hopefully I will be able to find one of these three in the store.

Thank you again to Old Navy for sponsoring my post. I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.