Urban Decay Sale at Hautelook!

The Sale is on! Urban Decay Sale at Hautelook!

There's not a ton of selection- but it's on SALE!!! lol There are some eyeshadows, pocket rocket glosses, a few body powders, nail polish set, and a few other things.

Check out the Urban Decay sale at Hautelook!

Le Chat Summer 2011

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I had some press releases from Le Chat in my Inbox, so I thought I'd show you the ones you might be interested in.

Available for sale tomorrow (with "Where???" being the eternal question...) is a Dare to Wear collection of mostly metallic nail polishes.  Sorry about the little pictures, they're all I have.

Dare to Wear Bling It On Collection

They're also doing a collection of neon soak off gel polishes for their Perfect Match line, as well as a handful of other colors.

Le Chat Perfect Match Neon Gel Polishes

Le Chat Perfect Match Gel Polish, New Shades for Summer 2011

That's just about all I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

China Glaze Island Escape Swatches & Comparison

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm still waiting for word on yesterday's interview, which went really well, so I have no news on that front, [I got the call - I JUST GOT THE DREAM JOB!!!] but I got a surprise from China Glaze this morning, so I have things to show you.  I went out to get some coffee early this morning, and as I was pulling out of the driveway I saw a Post-It on my front door, and when I went to look at it I found it was from FedEx and there was a little box at the door even though I wasn't expecting any deliveries.  I'm hoping it was placed there just yesterday... Anyhow, when I got back home I opened it up to find that China Glaze had sent their upcoming Island Escape collection for review, so I have some pictures for you.

First, I swatched the six polishes on a little thingy of fake nails (I believe "thingy" is the industry technical term for it), which I've never done before.  To be honest, I have no idea why I even had the fake nail thingy, it must have come with something else at some point, but it worked out fine.  Second, the sunlight here is almost non-existent and I did the best I could for you on the pictures, but if I notice a few minutes of good light I'll take additional pictures and add them to this post.

China Glaze Island Escape Collection Swatches, Two Coats Each

For reference, everything in the picture other than nail polish is white, that's the light I was working with.  As for the polishes, I thought I'd just go through them one at a time like usual.  If you click the picture it'll open full sized in a new tab, which may be the easiest way to go back and forth to it.

Electric Pineapple is a yellow creme that has a slight greenish tinge to it, and it reminds me of a yellower Misa Green with Envy.  It's quite opaque for a yellow, and the second coat made it even and opaque.

Cha Cha Cha is a yellowish green with a gold shimmer, very much like China Glaze Moonpool, and I compared the two to find that Cha Cha Cha is a little bit brighter.  The only notable application issue was that I found brush strokes were pretty evident in the shimmer even after it dried, so it has to be applied carefully.  Here's Cha Cha Cha with Moonpool.

China Glaze Cha Cha Cha and Moonpool Comparison, Two Coats Each

Blue Iguana is a great glass flecked bright blue, very much like a glass flecked version of Nubar's Mali Blue, which is a shimmer.  Actually, three of these are about the same base color as three of that Nubar collection with a different finish.  Anyhow, the color of Blue Iguana is gorgeous - I spent a couple weeks in the Bahamas a few years ago, and the balcony of the room I stayed in had a clear view of the beach and ocean (which I could stare at for hours), and Blue Iguana is the color that the water was near the shore.  There were no application issues to mention.

Senorita Bonita has the same finish as Blue Iguana, but the shimmer bits are pink in a purple base.  Senorita Bonita's base color is very similar to Nubar's Pasadena Purple, again with a different finish.  Again, nothing was noteworthy about its application.

108 Degrees is a fantastic bright pink, also with the same finish as the previous two, and the base color immediately brought to mind Nubar's Hollywood Pink.  108 Degrees was also easy to apply and even.

Papaya Punch is an orange creme, and it reminds me a lot of OPI's Flit A Bit from last year's Summer Flutter Collection.  Papaya Punch is quite thick, but I did not find that to be problematic, and it was almost good with just one coat (it needed the second to even out the color).

That's just about everything I know about China Glaze's Island Escape Collection, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

EZ Flow The It List

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I've been neglecting you because I've been neglecting my nails, I'm sorry.  I just wasn't up for dealing with another long removal and redoing this fake tip until I absolutely had to, and today I had to.  The old mani was nine days grown out and had a chip near a cuticle because I decided to tidy up my cuticles while taking a scalding hot bath a few days ago, and a bit of the gel came off when I did, so they weren't really looking too good.  Early this morning I got a call to set up a second interview for a position I really (really, really, really) want, and it's tomorrow morning, so the time had come to redo my nails.

The removal of the old mani was long again.  I did some more hunting for tips online and saw people say that the remover works better than acetone, so I used the remover that came packaged with it, but it was still pretty bad.  Since the Nubar removal was the easiest, what I did this time was use Nubar Gelicure products for nail prep, base, and sealer, and just the EZ Flow color gel in the middle.  This is my third time time using EZ Flow color gel, and I find that it shrinks in application quite a bit - both times before were with the whole EZ Flow system, so it doesn't seem like product incompatibility would be the problem here.  I worked around the shrinkage as well as I could, and the whole application, including one sculpted tip, was finished in under forty-five minutes (that's excluding the removal of the old one).

I went over a few options I had for what color to use this week (pretty easy since I don't have a ton of choices), and I found one I'm content with.  I considered a nice French, but vetoed it for this particular interview because it's a little on the girly side - the job's an IT team lead role, and girly just doesn't cut it.  I considered going with just clear since my nails are white enough to do that now, but I'm never comfortable with that and it would be distracting to me, and that thought led me to just wear something I'd be comfortable and confident in, which was a darker shimmery red from EZ Flow called The It List.  I know it's a bit bold, but I'll still be very understated overall - my clothes are the dressy IT choice of a charcoal skirt and a black sweater.

EZ Flow The It List Soak Off Color Gel

Looks like I got some towel lint on there after I washed my hands when I finished, so we'll all have to pretend we don't see that.  Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out - it's familiar, not especially attention-grabbing, and so I'll be at ease wearing it.  The last thing I want to be thinking about for even a moment during the second interview for a dream job is my nails, and that'll be easy with this.

So that's the update for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

ZOYA Summertime Collection Swatches & Review

I just posted swatches and my review of the 6 polishes in theZoya Summertime collection up on the review blog... Check it out!

Jumpin' Through Hoops

Apparently there is some sort of competition going on right now with some college men & women who try to through a ball through a hoop & net. Go figure, it's March again, and what does that mean? March Madness. You got it. :) College basketball competition in full force!! Unfortunately, the teams of my home state of Michigan are already out of the running, so who do I root for? Who knows- but with this manicure I'll be looking 'sporty' doing it! :-D BASKETBALL nails!! They even FEEL like basketballs, it's weird.

I used OPI Ginger Bells as a base, then mixed it with Barielle Coco Bar for the dots, which I applied with a dotting tool. (which, honestly, was a scoring tool from my graphic design stuff since I can't seem to find my dotting tool) For the lines, I used American Apparel Hassid. Topped off the first 2 coats of OPI Ginger Bells only with Seche Vite top coat, because I wanted the dotted texture to show up, like it does on an actual basketball. :)

She shoots, she scores?

China Glaze Island Escape Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I'm busying myself with some housework today, and I just sat down for a break to find an email from China Glaze with the press release for the Island Escape Collection for Summer 2011.

Here's the picture of all six shades in a row:

China Glaze Island Escape Collection
 Papaya Punch, 108 Degrees, Senorita Bonita, Blue Iguana, Cha Cha Cha, Electric Pineapple

The color description from China Glaze are:

·        Papaya Punch: Crème based vivid orange.

·        108 Degrees: Flirtatious berry pink with specks of micro glitter.

·        Senorita Bonita: Passionate purple shimmer with pink micro glitter.

·        Blue Iguana: Bold and daring sparkly blue.

·        Cha Cha Cha: Vivacious shimmer green.

·        Electric Pineapple: High intensity crème based lime green.

They'll be available individually, in a six-piece set, and 36-piece display, and the press contact at China Glaze told me they'll be available for purchase in May (but Trans Design seems to get a lot of things early, so I wouldn't be shocked if TD had them very soon).

That's about all I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Nice Stems! OPI Preview

Summer Pinks in Bloom!

Nice Stems! by OPI Revamps Nails with 

Vibrant Pink Hues for Summer 2011

Stop and see the flowers with summer’s Nice Stems! by OPI, a limited edition collection featuring four new nail lacquers in stunning shades of pink. With whimsical names based on their floral inspirations, these vibrant, flirty colors range from pale, frosty pink to rich fuchsia. Nice Stems! offers fingers and toes a perfectly pink shade for all of summer’s looks.

“These vibrant, feminine hues complement 60’s ladylike fashions, 70’s glam looks, and bold color-blocking, which are the season’s staples,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “The Nice Stems! collection also offers an interesting contrast and feminine accent to the punk and biker looks on the runways.”

Nice Stems! by OPI shades include:

Play the Peonies

We’d put our money on this lovely soft-pink.

Come to Poppy

Surrender to shine with this shimmering coral-pink.

Be a Dahlia Won’t You?

Give the gift of fabulous fuchsia—to yourself!

I Lily Love You

Fall head over heels with this light pink sparkle.

“Using different micas and glitters can give lacquer a 3-dimensional look,” adds Weiss-Fischmann. “I Lily Love You is a glitter coat that can be layered over any of the other three shades to add a bright sparkle; or, it can be worn on its own for a subtle tint of pink with strands of glitter.”

The Nice Stems! Nail Lacquers by OPI contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and feature OPI’s exclusive ProWide™ Brush for the ultimate in application.

This limited edition Nice Stems! collection will be available beginning June 2011 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

Zoya Summer 2011

Hello, Dear Reader!

I'm writing this in advance in order to pass these pictures on to you as soon as I can - Zoya sent promo images of their Summer 2011 collections this week that can't be published until this very minute.

First up is the limited edition collection of Mod Mattes.  The colors are Phoebe (bright blue), Lolly (pink), and Mitzi (bright green).  There are no verbal color descriptions, so I don't know if they're creme or shimmer.

Zoya Mod Mattes for Summer 2011

There are two additional regular collections as well, Sunshine and Summertime.  Here are Zoya's promo image and color descriptions for each:

Zoya Sunshine and Summertime Collections for Summer 2011

ZOYA SUMMERTIME COLLECTION

·         Sooki (ZP552) - Bright, clean, crisp cool cherry red cream with a subtle jelly finish. For an irresistible, attention-grabbing red nail.

·         Tamsen (ZP553) - Medium warm brick red with strong orange tones with an opaque cream finish. A special red that is both enticing and mysterious

·         Areej (ZP554) - Pink with an opaque cream finish. A pink for when you want a bold pop of color but not something neon-bright.

·         Kieko (ZP555) - Warm, red toned dusty light purple with berry tones with an opaque cream finish. A nice alternative to pure pink or berry, especially flattering on warm skin tones.

·         Mira (ZP556) - Blue toned medium purple with dusty lavender tones and an opaque cream finish. For a muted yet colorful purple that isn't too dark.

·         Breezi (ZP557) - Soft, dusty, medium cerulean blue with an opaque cream finish. A super chic  high-fashion denim look for nails.

ZOYA SUNSHINE COLLECTION

·  Reva (ZP546) - A cool toned strawberry red with glowing golden metallic sparkle. A very rich and luxurious looking gilded red.

• Kimmy (ZP547) - Gleaming metallic candy apple red brightened by gold sparkle. Not your usual red shimmer- this one has a fiery attitude.
• Apple (ZP548) - Luminous yellow-toned apple green packed with gold metallic sparkle. A dimensional green that's clean and bright.
• Tanzy (ZP549) - Light, bright tangerine orange with yellow gold metallic sparkle. A sunny orange that's easy to wear year-round.
• Rica (ZP550) - Warm light coral with pink and orange tones and heavy gold metallic sparkle. An alternative to flat corals for when you want to shine.
• Faye (ZP551) - A bronzed mauve with purple and brown undertones flooded with right gold sparkle. A unique gilded shade that will work in any season.

Those descriptions are copied and pasted, so the text color and formatting are not mine.  I figured neither your nor I care enough about the color of the text or formatting inconsistencies to warrant the effort involved in adjusting things, so I didn't.

I'm interested in seeing the real colors - I don't really have a sense of the two regular collections from the promo picture.  The image for the new mattes, assuming it's accurate, gives a clear picture of the colors, but to be completely honest with you I was pretty done with mattes some time ago.  They're great summer shades, I just can't get past the weird feeling of the surface of matte nail polish and I'm finished trying, so I'll skip those altogether.  The others look like there's potential there.

There's nothing else new and exciting to tell you about, so I'll be nice and just wrap it up. Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

Added at 5:30 pm on 03/20/2011 (before publication, but unrelated to this post):

THANK YOU, Dear Reader!  I was so sad having to post about the addition of new ads, for which I was prepared to take criticism, but it seems that many of you have responded by clicking the ads.  Each click is putting several cents toward paying the May utilities so I can begin to worry about June rent, and I really can't thank you enough.  You're giving me a light at the end of the tunnel, and I very deeply appreciate it.

EZ Flow Secret Shopper

Good morning, Dear Reader!  Long time no see.

I never changed around that St Pat's manicure last week, so I didn't have pictures to show you - since it was somewhat poorly executed, I had a hard time with the idea of stamping a shamrock on one nail and taking a new picture to post.  It worked out well though - I had one interview that was on short notice, requested about two hours before the meeting time.  I was kicking myself for having it on, but it ended up that all I was committing to was a phone interview so it made no difference, but I had the moment of panic that taught me a lesson.

I also had a moment of panic last week about finding a new job soon.  While the last seven or so years of my life have certainly been full, I can tell you from my experience that six moves, including buying and landscaping a new house then selling said house at a loss two years later, two marriages, two divorces, and three job changes is packing far too many very costly events into way too condensed a time, and I'm pretty broke as a result.  I can afford the roof over my head through May if a few other bills slide the last month, and I have no safety net, so I started considering what could add up to an additional month's rent, and that's where the (temporary) new ads that showed up this week came from.  The Google ad that's been at the bottom of the post is there because some testing showed me that it also has another function I wanted, but it doesn't make real money.  The way it works is that I just sign up and tell Google generally where the ad goes, and once it's made a total of $100, Google pays out its earnings at the end of the month.  As it's been, I get a payment from them every 2-3 months (it varies depending on whether they're clicked, they rarely are).  I added the others in the hope that I'll reach the threshold and get a $100 check each month until I have a new job, at which time I'll very cheerfully remove them.  I'm really sorry to crap up the page with them, I absolutely hate adding ads, and I gave the explanation to make it clear that it was the act of a desperate woman.  A reader made the suggestion of adding a PayPal donation button instead, and while it would probably drum up a few bucks, I'd feel like I was sitting on the virtual corner hassling you with my virtual tin cup, which might make it difficult to live with myself, so the ads are here for the short term.

That got long!  The reason I started writing this was EZ Flow Secret Shopper, a really pretty light purple shimmery soak off gel.  I put it on after yesterday's IBD clear and green creme removal was tough - two 20 minutes soaks and a lot of chipping and buffing the last of it off.  It seemed like a good time to try EZ Flow, although both brands are owned by AII.  Doing the fake tip went a million times better, which was good.  This time I put the real time and effort into getting the form just right, which made actually making the tip easy. It took maybe ten minutes total, but I doubled the time I needed with my fear of using too much product - I made the fake tip so thin that it was too bendy to even file it, so I had to do another layer of gel and another three minute cure.  Then I did the color gel, sealed it with the Nubar Gelicure soak off sealer, and I have a manicure that's happy and Springy.

EZ Flow Secret Shopper Soak Off Color Gel

The color is a bit sheer and in the bright light the thinner patches show, but they don't show up in normal light.  In bright light, it's so sparkly that I hadn't noticed them before looking at this picture.  I'm pleased to point out the complete lack of super amateur Photoshopping to my cuticles - they've finally healed up, and foil will never touch them again.

I think that's just about everything I meant to tell you about today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!   

ZOYA Intimate Collection Swatches and Review

I know that they're on the late side- not having a fully-functioning computer took its toll on the blog for sure, and for that, I apologize. I'll be working on catching up for the next week or so!

First stop- ZOYA Intimate collection is up on the Reviews section of the blog! :)

Zoya Intimate Collection Swatches and Review

The Wind Beneath My Tiny Wings

Those of you that have an addiction to iPhone/iPod apps like I do may recognize this manicure. I was at work one day, and a co-worker highly recommended that I check out this game called tiny Wings, and honestly? I promptly forgot. Fast forward to a couple of days later when I was checking the Top 50 apps in the App Store, and low and behold, Tiny Wings was the top download! I decided that I needed to check it out, and check it out I did. I paid my 99¢ and invited that sucker to join the other 160+ apps currently residing on my overburdened iPhone, and it's been love ever since. I initially noticed and adored the art style, which is sort of soft, and while grungy or dirty isn't a good description, the colors are not clean and bright in most instances. Everything looks stippled or sponged in some way, there is a lot of texture to the colors. In addition to the fun art style, the game itself is, while a simple idea, engaging and fairly challenging in some parts. :-D Anyway- enough about the app, here's my Tiny Wings nails! :) I did a different island on the fingers, and the App icon on the thumb. The icon one looks wonky and bad, my brush is old and starting to splay out it's bristles, which made it hard to make neat lines, and I was too exhausted to care. In my 2 free nights in the past week or so- I've swatched and photographed over 50 polishes! lol Reviews are soon to come- trying to catch up from not having a computer that had working internet.

I used:

Thumb:

Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver as a base, with American Apparel Malibu Green for the bird, shaded with Orly Sapphire Silk. Essie Alligator Purse was used for the wing and head comb?, Zoya Jancyn for the beak, then mixed with MAC Dry Martini for the beak shading. American Apparel Cotton for the eyes, with American Apparel Hassid for the pupils of the eyes and to outline. For the hills, I used Finger Paints Chrysanthe-mum's the Word as a base, with CND Green Scene for the lines. For the sun, I used American Apparel Manila as a abse, then shaded with Zoya Jancyn.

Index:

OPI Parlez Vous OPI? as a base, with stripes of Zoya Caitlin, American Apparel Manila mixed with Zoya Dove, American Apparel Manila mixed with Zoya Dove and Zoya Jancyn, Finger Paints Heavenly Hydrangeas, Finger Paints Heavenly Hydrangeas mixed with Zoya Dove, then Color Club Pucci-licious.

Middle:

Orly Ancient Jade as a base, with Finger Paints Aren't You Glad-iolous? for the hill. For shading, I sponged Color Club Pucci-licious over it, then outlined it in Zoya Caitlin

Ring:

Nubar Green Tea as a base, American Apparel MacArthur Park for the hill base and CND Green Scene for the stripes and 'trees'. Finger Paints Chrysanthe-mum's the Word was also sponged over the background color for texture.

Pinky:

Zoya Dove as a base, with Orly Ancient Jade sponged over the top half. For the hills I used Nicole by OPI My Lifesaver for the aqua, and MAC Dry Martini for the dark olive stripes, as well as to outline the shrubs, which I used American Apparel MacArthur Park to paint.

Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Fly, birdie, fly!

Some Born Pretty Strangeness

Hello, Dear Reader!

Today I received my third email since the 12th from Born Pretty, the site with the free Hello Kitty plate, that indicates some things are messed up on their site. I've replied to all three asking for clarification, but there are no answers, just another weird email, so I wanted to let you know about it so that you may take it into consideration and proceed with caution.

Here's the first of them, with things it would be a good idea to omit omitted, and the bold underline being mine.

Hello,Siobhan xxxx,
Thanks for your order.
Our system has finished all the hello kitty plate order process. Please confirm that you had followed us on twitter and retweet the link: [a valid link used to be here]
You'll get the hello kitty plate if you had done this.
Some days before, there's something wrong about our system, but we do protect customer privacy. For our apology, we'll offer another 500 pcs hello kitty plate giveaways on next Monday.The coupon code is:BP299
500 pcs available. If you haven't got the hello kitty plate before, you also can get it again.
That will be very appreciated if you can share the coupon code on any freebies website like these ones: [address of a specific site for me to spam with links] and [address of a specific site for me to spam with links].

Best regards,

Jessica Customer Support

The thing is, I only placed that one test order I told you about. The existence of a new order in conjunction with the part in bold made me wonder whether customer accounts were compromised, so I asked (I know there's a language barrier, but the qualification about customer privacy is phrased as I would to tease someone, trying to make him think I had not). The next communication was essentially the same message from a different sender at Born Pretty, to which I again replied asking whether customer accounts were compromised, and this morning I just received the message above again. I replied with my question for a final time and told her without more info, I'd kind of feel obligated to let you know that it might be wise to be cautious here, and I still haven't heard back, so I figured it's time to give you as much info as I have. Since I published the info to order from them and reported no problems, I thought you should be aware that there are issues now. I'll put a link to this post at the very top of the one about the free plate.

If any of you have gotten more answers than I have, I think we'd all be grateful for a comment with what you know. Realistically, it's probably nothing, but when I keep getting notices of new orders with mentions of site issues and no replies to questions, I just have to think it would be wise to hold off on placing an order for a few days until the dust settles.

That's just about all there is to tell you about, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

OPI Femme de Cirque (PREVIEW)

OPI Launches Femme de Cirque,

New SoftShades for Spring 2011

This spring, step right up and enjoy Femme de Cirque by OPI, four new breathtakingly dreamy additions to the SoftShades collection, designed to unleash a woman’s inner ring mistress. The collection includes three pink hues and one sheer glitter coat that can be worn on its own or painted over any of the other lacquers for an entirely new look.

“SoftShades Nail Lacquers make a very powerful statement by being enticingly feminine with a delicate hue,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “Every woman can feel like a shining star with this high performance collection. The sheer glitter coat is perfect to wear alone for a touch of sparkle, or to layer over another shade for a personal touch.”

Femme de Cirque by OPI offers four subtle, sophisticated Nail Lacquers that are the perfect accessory to any outfit. Delicate yet empowering, each shade is an elegant choice for any occasion. These show-stopping hues will complement any look – from classic to trendy or day to night – by infusing a dose of soft feminine charm. Femme de Cirque includes:

In the Spot-Light Pink

Take center stage with this pretty pop of pink!

Step Right Up!

And see the most amazing light pink right before your very eyes!

So Many Clowns, So Little Time

And this creamy nude pink is next on the list.

I Juggle…Men

Drop everything for this iridescent shimmer coat!

Femme de Cirque Nail Lacquers contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and each features the exclusive OPI ProWide™ Brush for the ultimate in application.

Femme de Cirque by OPI will be available beginning April 2011, at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com. Follow OPI on Twitter @OPI_PRODUCTS and become a Facebook fan!

Saint Patrick's Day Nails

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I didn't change my nails at all last week, so I didn't have any pictures to show you, but now I do.  I took off the French and changed to a St. Patrick's Day manicure, but had it not been for a little mishap, I think I'd have left the French alone for another week - it really held up well.  Here's the old one right before I removed it, on the eighth day of wear.

French Manicure on Day 8

See?  I think I could have gotten another week out of it with no troubles, but as I mentioned, there had been a mishap.  There have been just a few times through the years where I became so monumentally uncoordinated for one second that I set a chain of events in motion that resulted in a "What just happened?" as I assessed the damage when it was done, and the most recent of those was last week.  I had a break I've been growing out for a while on a nail on my right hand - I'd glued it and sealed it with gel, and it had stayed for a few weeks with no problem, then I had my moment.  I picked up a bottle of conditioner with my right hand, a bottle which requires a bit of force to dispense the product, and I somehow let the bottle slip a bit and it flew to the other side of the shower, breaking the repaired nail and clearing two shelves of stuff on its way.  The break was about halfway through,and I just taped it with masking tape until I felt like fixing it, which turned out to be a few days later after I broke it all the way off.  Since I'm on job interview alert, that really won't fly, so I fixed it.

I started with removing the French.  I'd mentioned glitter seemed hard to remove - I spent an hour and twenty minutes taking this off, with the last five being spent buffing off unremoved bits.  I used plastic (super cheapo sandwich bags) held with rubber bands to remove after that was successful last time, and that again was a lot easier to do and on my skin.  I just took out ten baggies, ten pieces of felt, and ten rubber bands, wet each piece of felt with acetone and dropped it in a baggy production line style, then put all ten on, and took was less than five minutes.  I waited twenty minutes after applying the last of the acetone until I checked the first applied and cleared off all the gel I could from each nail.  Not a lot came off, so I put fresh pieces of acetone soaked felt in the baggies and repeated the process.  This time more came off, but not enough, so I reapplied remover and waited another ten minutes.  I was then able to remove almost all of the remaining gel, and I was so sick of working on my nails that I just buffed off the rest.  I'm just grateful the local video store had Jackass 3 available to watch while I did this, or else I might have gone into a little fit of rage at the agonizing removal.  I'm also grateful that Johnny Knoxville is a teeny bit older than I am so I can pretend there's anything age appropriate about watching Jackass 3.

At this stage, I was an hour and twenty minutes into this and still had to do a repair and the new manicure, so I was getting drained.  For the repair, I decided to take a shot at my first sculptured gel tip, with extent of my prior experience with sculptured tips being a repair (singular) in the '90's using that Lee nail repair kit.  I'll admit I spent about the first ten minutes trying to figure out which part of the nail form went under the nail tip, trying to get the gel applied to it, then starting over.  I eventually managed to make the tip, which looks fine from the top of my hand, but I now completely understand why so many salons do acrylic, seal it with gel, and call it gel - using all gel was hard.  The gel kind of slowly settles, so it kept getting under the part where the form hit my nail.  It didn't move far, just about 1 mm, but all I had was clear builder gel for this so it looks kind of like those prehistoric mosquitoes encased in amber - it's kind of creepy to look at from the underside.  Anyhow, I finally finished that and did my Saint Patrick's Day manicure.

I'd decided to do green tips and some kind of accent nail, but hadn't settled on all the details.  Since by now, all I wanted in the entire universe was to be finished, I went with what I thought I could do on the first try and did green tips, and Irish flag accent nail, and I just left the rest clear.  I don't think I have ever seen my nails so white as they are now - previously, I could buff and whiten them, but they promptly picked up new stains as soon as I put on polish.  Since polish hasn't been on them in a while, they've stayed nice and white, so I seized the opportunity to wear clear.

My Saint Patrick's Day Nails

Sorry about the icky skin - my poor cuticles had just finished suffering through that removal, and are still at the tail end of healing from the cuts I got on them from using foil for removal.  This close up, and for about an hour after I finished the mani, I was displeased with it because I just ran out of steam when it came to getting the three colors for the flag perfect and the finishing buffing, so I did kind of a half-assed job on both.  However, this shade of green is really nice, and from a normal distance in person, my accent nail really gives the impression of the flag, so I accomplished what I set out to even though the picture's not one of my best.  For interview preparedness, I can put a neutral nail polish over it if I need to.

As for the fake tip, I'm really happy with it and it was completely worth the hassle - it feels just like the nail it's filling in for, even for typing.  I'd planned to just re-glue and seal the break until I broke the whole tip off, but once it was broken my choices were a massive chop (I've been growing the break out from about halfway down the nail bed, and it's just past the tip now) or a tip.  Chopping was low on the list since I just did a big chop, and I absolutely detest plastic tips (it's the same objection as to acrylic only more so - there's almost no feeling with a tip on), so taking a shot at the gel tip was my best choice.  Since it's made of soak off gel, I'll have to redo it each time I change the gel (a realization which almost made me cry when I finally finished this arduous process), but the fact is that I'm really bad at making a sculptured tip, so I don't have any business making one out of regular gel until I can make a good one.  I figure this will give me a few practice tries until I know what I'm doing, then I'll be able to use big kid gel and it'll stay on.

I'm still at the early stage of the learning curve for using soak off gel, which is making everything about using it far more painful than it will eventually be, but I just love the stuff, even with the occasional nightmarish removal.  Now that I'm seeing some of the benefits as far as staining, I'm a bigger fan than ever.

That's what I have tell you about this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Stila Sale at Hautelook!

AWESOME!

Stila sale at Hautelook today!

Lipglosses, palettes, Barbie, tinted moisturizer, etc., at great prices!!

Click Here to Check it Out!

The French Manicure

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Thanks for all the kind comments and the emails about the job thing - I really appreciate them.  I'll reply to all, but I thought I'd mention it explicitly since it seems a little empty the 30th time I respond with "Thanks," but it's not and the support really helps and is appreciated.

In hopeful anticipation of having job interviews this week, when I swapped out the soak off gel yesterday, I switched to a French manicure.  It sparkles, but is otherwise just a traditional French.  I haven't worn a French manicure in a while, but I recently saw a picture from a few years ago where my nails were about this length with a sparkly French and I liked how it looked.  In the days when I was an IT manager and unaware of quick dry top coat, my solution to a mid-week break or just not having a block of time available where I could change polish with it air drying between coats was to go to this super young (nineteen year old) manicurist who was exceptionally good, and I'd get a French because she was so skillful at doing them well.  She's apply the white, then go over each nail line with an acetone dipped brush to make the line perfect and very clean, and she was an absolute perfectionist.  I considered that and realized that I do like French manicures, but only with a pretty white tip with a really clean line, much cleaner than I can do freehanding with polish.  I thought I'd give it a shot with the gel and see how I did, and I'm pleased.

I read some tips before this application, as I'm finding out new things just by doing the gel.  One is that it's like polish with respect to variance in consistency - it's not IBD gel that's hard to remove, it's glitters, and cremes remove really easily.  I found a nail tech's site (that is, a site authored by a nail tech rather than one written for them)  with some tips, many of which seemed like they'd complicate the bejeebers out of it, but one I took was to disregard manufacturer claims about gel being self-leveling and to buff it before the sealer.  She also talked about some interesting techniques to manipulate the gel with partial curing, but I just bookmarked it since I'm not at that point yet.

For colors, I wanted a really white white.  I know a lot of people don't like super white tips with the objection that it looks fake, and while I completely agree that it looks fake, that doesn't change the fact that I like how it looks.  So I got a glittery IBD white called Sweet Nothings, and in looking for a pink discovered that IBD Antique Lace had the same glitter and went with it.  I applied the white first, covering the free edge to a few millimeters below the nail line, then I went back with a clean brush and scooted the edge into a straight line  working from the opposite direction, moving cuticle to free edge.  I did two coats, then filled in one of the pink, then one of clear gel, doing a quick cleanup by running the edge of a manicure stick all around each nail prior to curing each coat, and did the final three minute cure before buffing to smooth.  After buffing, I added sealer, cured again, and it's done.  Here, you can see that my lines turned out to be clean and sharp.

French Manicure with Lots of Glitter

I forgot to mention that I Photoshopped the heck out of cuticle injuries (which are looking grosser as they heal) out of consideration of your eyes.  Nothing of the nails or gel is altered, but I thought it was worth mentioning since I do such a rookie job of Photoshopping.  My middle and ring fingers were both cut at the cuticle the last time I used foil to remove soak off gel - after soaking in acetone my skin is displeased, and a scrape with a pointy edge of foil was all it took to slice it.  For the removal preceding this application, I used plastic wrap and rubber bands to hold the acetone soaked felt rather than foil and it was a thousand times easier to get on and to keep on.

So the manicure isn't perfect, but it ain't half bad for using a couple of new tricks, and without magnification it looks pretty good.  I don't really see altering this one too much other than adding a pattern to it here and there, so I likely won't have a ton of posts this week.  I just like how nice and clean a French manicure can look, and if it sparkles, I'll be content with it for a while.

That's the update on the nail front.  I have lots and lots to keep me busy this week, so I might miss posting a few days, but I'll be around.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

Zoya Promo: Get Your Green On

Edit, 03/04/2011, 9:53 a.m.:  Zoya says:

We have just SOLD OUT of the colors for our "Zoya - GET YOUR GREEN ON promo!!!" Since we no longer have inventory to fill the orders we are canceling the promo - effective immediately. 

Hello, Dear Reader.

This was in my Inbox tonight, and it's active March 4 (now - they're on EST) through the 7th 11:59 PM EST. I've asked for confirmation of the end date, as there were two included with this being the earlier, so if I get a different date I'll update and change that. [Update: the end date of 03/07/11 was confirmed by Zoya.]

Here's a link to Zoya's site for the promo (link was removed when it was cancelled), and here's what was in the email (click the picture for full size).

The text is as follows, with the bold being mine:

Get 3 of Zoya's best selling green nail polishes for $5*! This incredible offer includes Zoya Suvi, Zoya Shawn and Zoya Ivanka! Green polishes for work, play and everyday! Get this $24 value for $5* when you add it to your cart now! (You save $19!) Don’t miss out! This offer is only valid until March 7, 2011 at 11:59 EST! Limit one Trio per customer.


Here's how it works:


Add one "Get Your Green on Trio" to your shopping cart. Once in your cart a discount for $19.00 will appear, reducing the net Trio cost to $5.00. Then just complete the checkout process. Remember only one "Get Your Green on Trio" will be discounted. Any additional trios that you purchase will be at regular price.

And here's another link just so you don't have to scroll up (link was removed when it was cancelled), and some my swatches of Shawn and Ivanka (I don't have one of Suvi)

A Few Days Off

Good morning, Dear Reader.

I've got a bunch of pictures to show you, but to tell you the truth, I'm just not up for picking out the good ones and yapping about them today.  Yesterday I was laid off as a result of the state of the economy - I worked for a small company (I've only worked for small companies, they're great), and when a lot of people don't pay their bills at the same time, cash flow becomes an issue and heads have to roll.  Yesterday it was mine.

I'm going to take a few days to do things entirely unrelated to nail polish and nail care and try to get on top of things.  Since I post most days, I just thought I'd leave you a little note to let you know why I won't be around for a few days and that I'll be back to chat about nail polish again soon.

Dr. Seussical

You'll never guess whose birthday it is today!! (Especially since Google sucks and didn't do a cool themed logo for it) You may already know, but this guy was the master of rhyme, silly illustrations, and odd characters that we all grew up with and still love. It's Dr. Seuss! Fun fact: Did you know that Seuss is actually supposed to be pronounced 'Soice'? Later in his career, he adopted the mispronunciation because it helped better relate his stories to that of Mother Goose, and because it was already widely pronounced the way we now know it as 'Soos'.

Anyway, as a kid, I was no different than the masses, and I, too loved Dr. Seuss. (Just ask my mom!)  My favorite book was 'One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish', and even as a kid I knew it by heart! So today, on his birthday, (he'd be 107 years old today!) I decided to honor Dr. Seuss by doing 'One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish' nails!!

I used MAC Vestral White as a base, with American Apparel Manila for the yellow fish, China Glaze Hey Sailor! from the Anchors Away Collection for the Dr. Seuss logo, the fins on the yellow fish, and for the entire red fish. :) For the green fish, I used BB Couture Poison Ivy for the green fish, CND Anchor Blue for the blue fish, then used American Apparel Hassid to outline everything as well as shade the letters in the logo. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat

I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam I Am!

Sally Hansen Turquoise Opal over Black

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today I'm wearing my all-time favorite polish to layer over black, Sally Hansen Turquoise Opal, which is one of the Nail Prisms line.  I applied three coats of it over my black creme soak-off gel base to see if it was even more impressive at three coats, and dangit, it is.  I tested the third coat on one nail to see if it mattered before begrudgingly proceeding to add it to the other nine nails.  That's how I know for sure it's my favorite - when layering over black polish, two coats is normally my limit, and yesterday I was happy to be able to use three of Clarins 230 for a better effect.  Today, I'm whiny about using more of my precious discontinued Turquoise Opal whether it looks cooler or not - I need to get over that!

I've shown you Turquoise Opal at two coats at least once, maybe twice, before.  To make it a little more interesting, this time I made an animated gif in addition to a regular picture.  For both the picture and the gif, I did blur out cuticle injuries from yesterday's rough removal.  I figured you'd done no harm to me, so why should I assault your eyes with images of cuticle wounds when you're expecting a picture of nail polish...

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Turquoise Opal, Three Coats over Black

Here's the fun one.

Sally Hansen Turquoise Opal in Motion

I think what I like most about Turquoise Opal is that it actually delivers on the promise seen in pictures.  A lot of the time, I see what I later discover is just the coolest looking picture that can be taken of a polish, which is nice, but leads to disappointment when I try the polish.  Clarins 230 is an example of that for me - it looks super cool in the sun or bright light (which is actually a better outcome than I've had from many), but it takes adjusting angles for me to see all the colors.  Turquoise Opal just plain old looks super cool and duochrome all the time.  These pictures are representative of how it is on a sunny day, but it's just as distinctly two colors in any light, they're just distributed over the nail differently.  This polish is so much fun to play with in any light - I end up doing what I'm doing in the gif randomly and often when I wear it.

I'm going to get about the rest of my day, taking many Nail Polish Admiration Breaks throughout.  Until tomorrow, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

Nicole By OPI Something About Spring (PREVIEW)

Color Springs into Target!

Nicole by OPI Introduces Something About Spring, 

Exclusively for Target

Nicole by OPI welcomes warmer weather with twelve new vibrant shades from the Something About Spring Collection, available exclusively at Target. From bold purples to fierce yellow metallics and iridescent shimmers, Something About Spring has a hue to accentuate every style.

“We are thrilled to exclusively provide Target with some of Nicole by OPI’s hottest shades for 2011,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, Nicole by OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “Target is filled with affordable, chic wardrobe staples and Something About Spring includes a variety of colorful, fun lacquers to accessorize every fashion-savvy consumer.”

With playful names reminiscent of blossoming flowers, picnics in the park and seaside vacations, Something About Spring adds a fresh touch to every sunny spring adventure.

Nicole by OPI’s Something About Spring Collection includes:

Brilliant Idea

Glittery lime never looked so good…genius!

Daffy Dill

We picked this lime-green shade just for you.

Dandy Lion

An un-caged and totally fierce metallic yellow.

I’m a Pool for Love

Jump right into this deep, dark grape.

Iceberg Lotus

Refreshing bright green, packed with shine.

Make a Comet-ment

A once-in-a-lifetime, sliver-glitter sighting!

Nicole’s Nickel

Bling out your nails with this deep silver glitter!

Pink. Seriously

This classic hot pink means business.

Pink-nic in the Park

A sunset-worthy shade of pink

Sea How Far You Go

A limit-pushing gold.

Shell Me the Truth

A glowing peach, fresh off the shore.

You’re S-teal the One

U gotta stay true to this amazing green-blue.

Nicole by OPI Nail Lacquers and Nail Treatments contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde. The new Something About Spring Nail Lacquers will be available March 2011 for $7.04 each at select Target locations nationwide and Target.com.

For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

I think there are some seriously cute colors here, loving the greens especially!  And it may be the supreme nerd in me that absolutely adores the name 'Iceberg Lotus'. Not sure why, but I find it amusing. 'Daffy Dill' makes me chuckle a little too. :-D.

If you want to see enlarged versions of the above photos, feel free to click on them! :)

When I get my hands on these, I'll try to get swatches up asap! :)