Lambchop Mobile

Hell yeah, I want cheezy poofs!

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

I adore a good neon. I live in Oregon and well, it's Oregon. If it ain't raining, it's probably just grey. And that's a good winter day. Anyway...neon cheers me up during these dark times and it's fun to wear in the dead of winter.

Let me show you my recent acquisition:

Cosmetic Arts Unnamed Neon

Index and middle are three coats over Essie Marshmallow

Ring and pinkie are three coats alone

Seriously. What is with this not naming your polish? I like a name. So I decided to call this Atomic Cheese.

The color reminds me of terrifying simulated cheese comestibles. It's a yellow based orange that was way more yellow in my pics. My Nikon really does not like neons...

Taken in actual SUN.

Like most neons, this dries matte.The formula is quite smooth but a bit runny. It dries fast and though it's not too bad on its own, I strongly suggest some underwear to ensure it really pops.

I picked this up at Ross for the super cheap $1.99. This is a welcome addition to my family of neons and it's already cheered me up immensely.

That does it for today, y'all. Thanks for coming by and have a spectacular day!

Apothica Valentine's Day Giveaway

2012-02-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

Good day!

I wanted to share with you the Apothica Valentine's Day giveaway. Apothica has gathered some of their best selling products into two amazing gift baskets.

Valentine's Glamour Giveaway

Whether you are going to stay in and pamper yourself to perfection or stun the town on a night out, enter for your chance to win a bundle worth $150 for your special night.

All you need to do to enter is visit the Apothica Facebook page, "Like" and enter your email address!
Winners will be announced on February 14!

So magnetic...

2012-02-09T11:05:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

Magnetic nail polish is pretty hot right now and I've jumped aboard. I only have three magnetic polishes but I find the differences to be quite amusing.

First up we have the high end of my spectrum, Layla Magneffect.

Metallic Sky, three coats over Gelous

I purchased this at the Skins 6|2 Cosmetics store at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas for $14 before sales tax. The above pictures are from Thanksgiving. I was in a bit of a rush to finish getting ready and head to mom's so my cleanup was not so good. This is a fabulous color, dries quickly and the magnet was very simple to use. I was impressed with how well the design came up and I loved how easy it was to change the design by holding the magnet at a different angle.

Since then I have purchased two more magnetic polishes and I decided that I would re-swatch Metallic Sky as well as use all of my magnets on each one.

Index has two coats and used the Layla magnet. Three coats is best.

Middle used the Nabi magnet

Ring and pinkie used the Magnetix magnets

The Magnetix line is found at Rite-Aid, comes with TWO magnets and retails for $7.99.

I was a bit disappointed in this one. The color is kind of meh and its magnets don't seem to work as well with it as it does others. I don't believe these have names, rather, mine did not seem to have one on the packaging.

Three coats

Index is Layla Magnet

Middle is Magnetix

Ring is Nabi

Pinkie is Magnetix

Last, I have the Nabi. It is also my favorite as well as the most affordable. I found this at Walgreens in the Thurston area of Springfield for $4.99. (Side rant: Why was this not at either of the two Walgreens I live smack dab in between??? Why did it have to be six miles away?? Look, I ride a bike. Six miles is a BIG deal for me. Get it together Walgreens!)

Moving along...

Nabi Teal, three coats

Index is Layla

Middle is Nabi

Ring is Magnetix

Pinkie is Magnetix

This is a true beauty. Clearly, it is not teal. It's a shimmery emerald with gold glitter. The gold really pops after you've used the magnet. Depending on how you hold the Nabi magnet, you can achieve a snazzy croco-like pattern. Awesome sauce. Can't wait to use this for Duck Day manis!

Lastly, I wanted to show you all of the magnets.

Nabi magnet, on cap.

(Yep, I smudged.)

Works really well, easy to customize design.

Magnetix magnets.

Love the design, love how it has wells cut out to rest on your finger and avoid hitting the nail.

Not as impressed with their pull.

Layla Magneffect magnet, on cap.

Works well, easy to customize design.

So there ya have it. How do you feel about the magnetic trend?

I'm off to bake some bread, y'all. I'm almost ashamed that I've been spending more time in the kitchen lately but I love to cook. Plus, I have made some kick ass South Beach Phase One meals. Dieting never tasted so good, yo. (By that I mean that Matt is on the diet. I have my secret stash of candy...)

Thanks for coming by!

Now, we break for MOONSPELL

2012-02-07T11:44:00.000-08:00

Good day!

There will be some polish coming but I wanted to post about my favorite band because the new album will be coming this spring. If you're not a fan of metal, feel free to scroll on by.

Moonspell reveals their album cover. An intricate, marvellous and symbolic creation by Seth Siro Anton, the Greek artist who collaborated with the band on Night Eternal. This may be his finest and darkest piece to the date, invoking all the atmosphere that Moonspell dual album, Alpha Noir/Omega White, will unleashed on April 27th via Napalm Records.

https://www.facebook.com/moonspellband

“Alpha Noir” – album details revealed by Fernando Ribeiro:
A true band has to have to a glorious past, a solid present and a bright future. More than that, a true band has to know how to live throughout all these seasons, dealing with their ghosts, their shadows, their aim at the light, moulding darkness with personality, with the impulse to be better, to do better while getting close to theirselves. Their true heart, soul and flesh.
Never a Moonspell album came so close to be absolute like the new opus magna (masterpiece) “Alpha Noir”, scheduled to be proudly released by Napalm Records on the 27th of April, when Spring racks through the wastes of Winter, bursting new colours over familiar sights, once silent and white, now fiery under the blackest of Suns.
The concept of this new record, painstakingly composed by the Portuguese Gothic Metal knights over the past three years, after the public and critically acclaimed “Night Eternal”, is bulletproof. The band managed to split their heart and soul in half and the result is that they came even closer to themselves, the ambitious band they always were, with a undying wish not to claim any throne but to build their own ships that would take them and their fans to “give new worlds to the world”, like in the Age of Discovery where the Portuguese were a leading force in the world.
With their country drowned in a corrosive crisis, Moonspell filled their lungs with pride and created an incendiary album, with nine outbursts of their rockiest and thrashier riffs made superiorly dimensioned by the reindivictative lyrical content and songs structure that take you by storm from the first listen on. Moonspell has tapped a notch into their energy filled gothic metal by adding a guitar wall forjed by timeless artists like Bathory, King Diamond or in a twist ofthe knive to old Thrash Metal legends like Onslaught, Metallica early Works or even Testament and Artillery, making Alpha Noir a truly surpring and fresh record where all the songs have a climax effect about them, an high tension charm that will for sure electricize audiences when played on a stage.
Songs like the title track (Alpha Noir), the infectious “Versus”, the wolf hymn “Lickanthrope” or the Portuguese sung “Em nome do Medo” (In the name of fear) and the closing epic “Grandstand”, might get you a welcoming chilling of the past but make no mistake: “Alpha Noir” is a leap of faith and belief in their writing skills and progressive musicianship.
Together with Alpha Noir packed in a deluxe and special edition on digipack, Moonspell and Napalm offers no live DVD, making of or any kind of filler. Instead they put in the table another offerend: “Ómega White”, the musical twin of “Alpha Noir”, a collection of eight songs of pure atmosphere and shadow, close to their breakthrough album Irreligious, in a just homage to their Type O Negative and Sisters of Mercy roots. Tracks like the erotic “Herodisiac”, the catchy “White Skies” or the heartbreaking “Whiteomega” will for sure keep you in dark company through a night of fear and loss, both soothing and provoking.
Both masterpieces were produced and mixed by Tue Madsen, pre-produced by Benny Richter!
“Each song a jewel, each song a stronghold!”
Keep your watch and do not miss this new Moonspell record, for it is a true mortal sin to stay away from these eighty minutes of music, beautifully and violently craved by one of the most legendary and imaginative bands ever to surface the European scene. Do not forget to get your hands on this masterpiece and to watch the band live in the Summer Festivals around Europe. “Alpha Noir”/”Omega White” will also be played in their entirety in Lisbon's Campo Pequeno, that holds 5000 fans, in their homeland Portugal in the most daring stage set and visuals the band has ever tried.

Guess what I want for my birthday???

Shades of Deep Purple

2012-02-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

I did my first ombre manicure yesterday and I was quite pleased with how it came out. I never tried it before because I didn't think I owned enough of one color spectrum to do it. It's not perfect but it's pretty damn close considering.

Thumb is Sephora - Hey DJ

Index is ChG Grape Pop

Middle is ChG Spontaneous

Ring is OPI Done Out In Deco

Pinkie is ELF Lilac

I really love this and it's awesome sauce to use so many shades of my favorite color in one manicure.

Of course I wasn't going to rock this as is for one more day, it's just not in my nature.

So I pulled something special out of my stash to layer with. I adore what came to be.

Ombre Manicure layered with Orly Satin Hues Satin Royalty

Above is without top coat

Same with top coat applied

Orly Satin Royalty is a HTF matte polish that is super sheer but with lovely duochrome action going on.

It makes for a much better layering polish than on its own but I'm so glad to have it. It is amazing!

Finally, two last pics taken in some sun. Yay sun!

I can't decide which layering combo I like best. It's pretty awesome on all of them!

That does it for me today. I have to gather some coupons, make a shopping list and get my house in order.

Thank you for coming by and have a wonderful day!

Metal on Metal

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

Since I have a bit more free time, I can finally catch up on my backlog of swatches.
Today I'm bringing you two more L.A. Girl Metal polishes that I picked up at the Fuego store in Portland at Pioneer Place.

Let's get to pictures and then I can share some thoughts.

Metallic Olive, three coats

Don't mind the thin spots on my nails.

Stress peels and splits, you know.

Glowy...

Bronze Medal, three coats

Okay then. Both of these are fairly sheer. Metallic Olive is buildable but Bronze Medal gave me the sads.

Scrangie swatched it at FIVE coats to make it opaque and I suppose I could have but I simply could not bear it any longer. Both colors dry much longer than I care for.

However, they are both so beautiful.

Another thing about Bronze Medal is that it has an exact dupe with Love & Beauty Rust from Forever 21. (Okay, we all know both brands are exactly the same thing but whatever.) So, I unwittingly had two of the exact same polish just different brand names. I ended up giving my niece the bottle of Rust.

I've found Bronze Medal to be a better layering polish rather than a wear alone. Since Metallic Olive can still be a bit sheer even with three coats, I decided to layer both and see what happened.

Index and Middle:

Color Club Rebel Spirit, two coats

topped with a thin coat of Bronze Medal

Ring and Pinkie:

Color Club Artsy Crafty

topped with a thin coat of Metallic Olive

Very lovely...

Bronze Medal is really fabulous for layering. It has an amazing glow and really adds some depth and interest.

Metallic Olive over green was wonderful and will most likely be used in next season's Duck Day Manicures.

That does it for today, guys. Hope I haven't scared you from both of these beauties. Just wanted you to know exactly what you would be getting into!

The Mean Reds

2012-01-27T16:00:00.000-08:00

Hey there.

This isn't the happiest post I've had to write but since I've had some time to reflect and many long talks with my husband, family and my besties, I can now look on the bright side.
I was let go from my job this week. It wasn't what I wanted to have happen but since I was no longer happy, it has become a good thing. No worries though, Matt and I will be okay. Money may be a snotch tight but we can make it.

It only seems fitting that I feature nail polish in this post since I got it from Goodwill. Ah, irony...
I purchased this from a grab bag just like the massive haul I got back in July. Again I paid a ridiculously small amount.
This one is a bit of a mystery because it did not have it's label on the bottom. From what little detective work I've done, I think it may be Quarter of a Cent-cherry.

Mystery OPI, three coats over ridge filler

Taken in weak sunlight

In my middle picture it looks like it has orange-brown tones but I can say for certain that it is a deeper almost blood red. In sun, it looks like a classic cherry red. I'm disappointed that I was unable to truly capture what I could see. I blame a combination of bad lighting and not knowing how to futz with the ISO on my camera. Gonna have to look into that...

I ended up having to loosen the cap my soaking it in very hot water before I could even open it. After cleaning the neck, I swiped on a VERY thick coat. Clearly, I was going to need to thin it out.
I added a little thinner and I had the classic OPI formula back to life.

Red isn't normally my thing but I had a hard time not buying the grab bag this came in. I essentially paid .33 cents for this. I do love me a bragain! I also received a bottle of Solar Oil in said grab bag. Mmm...love Solar Oil...
I found myself falling in love with this color. The person who donated it really loved it too since it's about three quarters full. I suspect they donated it because the formula thickened. (Which is why one must routinely clean bottle necks and cap TIGHTLY!!)

So, what color do you guys think this?

The good thing is that I will have more time to devote to my blog while I reassess things. It's good to have some freedom to do just one small thing I truly enjoyed. I'm actually looking forward to the future!

Pure Ice Paint The Sky Blue Press Release

2012-01-27T11:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest press release I received from Pure Ice. Nope, I'm still not over the crackle!

"Baby I painted the sky blue, my greatest creation was you!"

Hiphop Royalty Jay-Z and Beyonce's new baby girl Blue Ivy has the most amazingFairy God Mother... Oprah!

Want to know what it feels like to have to world at your finger tips? Maybe a little bit like this!

Get into Oprah's Circle with Pure Ice Crackle & Ice Duo Strike A Pose

BUY NOW

Share your manicure with us @BariBeauty on Twitter

I'm a handful, baby, on the dance floor...

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

It's been awhile since I had done a sponged gradient mani. Sponging is one of my very favorite techniques and it is so dead simple simple to do. The weather here is particularly grey and chilly so I needed lots of color to lift my spirits. (It hasn't helped that Matt has been talking about Cancun...)

Behold:

Base is Orly Au Champagne

Sponged with Unnamed Neon Purple from Cosmetic Arts

ChG Towel Boy Toy

and

Color Club Poptastic

I love how this turned out. It was just the right color combo. Also? I adore Au Champagne. It is the perfect shimmery white that does not leave brush strokes. I'm finding that it makes great underwear for neon polishes too.

I don't know why I've forsaken sponging...I love it so. Le sigh...

Lastly, I wanted to share my newest jam. I am a metal girl but I do love to dance and I can appreciate a great dance song. It's true, I am trouble on the dance floor!

Thanks for stopping by!

I have a Vendetta

2012-01-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

Today I am bringing you my most expensive nail polish in my stash. I speak of my very first and I've no doubt not my last, Chanel.

Chanel Vendetta, three coats over Gelous

Oh my word. I picked this up from the Chanel boutique at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Matt did exceptionally well at the craps tables and treated me to an extra special shopping trip.
Now I know why people lose their sense over Chanel polishes. This color is so gorgeous! It's an amazing deep eggplant purple with the notorious subtle shimmer. But the big deal is formula. I have never used a polish as lovely as this. It flowed perfectly on the nail. I was so surprised! Even more so to realize that two coats would've worked just as well as three. I was also surprised that this dried so fast. Dear me...

I got spoiled big time in Vegas. Earlier that day I stumbled upon an Inglot store in the Forum Shoppes at Caesar's. I had to have their flakies!! I picked up three and dang, am I in love!

Thus, I had to use one of them over this sublime purple!

Inglot #204 over three coats Chanel Vendetta

Do you love this??

I'm in trouble now, y'all. I am crazy in love with Chanel polish. Good thing I'm willing to save my NP budget for special things.

That does it for now. The week has begun anew and it's time for work!
Thanks so much for coming by and I hope you have a great day.

Mighty Oregon Rose

2012-01-02T05:32:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

Today is the Rose Bowl and my Ducks will be taking on the Wisconsin Badgers. I'm sad because I will be missing part of the game due to work but I sure have some snazzy nails!
My inspiration was the special new ProCombat uniforms and this amazing helmet.

UPDATE:

DUCKS WIN 45-38!!!

98th Rose Bowl Champions!!

This is the final Duck Day mani of the football season so...Win The Day and Let's Go Ducks!!

Base is Orly Enchanted Forest

China Glaze Millenium and Sally Hansen Lightening for stamps.

Cina nail decals on index finger and temporary tattoos from the Oregon Sports store on ring.

I used Salon Expert plates 20 and 22 for the stamps.

I also used a Kiss Nail Artist pen in black to add some depth to my "feathers."

Oregon, our Alma Mater,
We will guard thee on and on,
Let us gather 'round and cheer her,
Chant her glory, Oregon!
Roar the praises of her warriors,
Sing the story, Oregon,
On to vict'ry urge the heroes
Of our Mighty Oregon!
Go! Ducks! Go!
Fight! Ducks! Fight!
Go!
Fight!
Win! Ducks! Win!

Have a wonderful day, all!

Mighty Oregon manis of 2011

2011-12-31T12:00:00.000-08:00

Good day friends!

I'm super excited that my Oregon Ducks will be playing in the Rose Bowl again. I'm currently working on my mani for it but I wanted to take the opportunity to review the 2011-2012 season of Duck Day manicures.
Let's Win the Day!

Opening Day, tried to coordinate with the awesome new Combat unis.

I did something a little different with crackle.

I will always love my Ducks!

I went a little dotty...

Then I went glittery...

I played with how many greens are in the Ducks uni combos...

WTD - Win The Day

My first ever water marble.

Just DUCKy!

I also found the BEST hat EVER.

I am missing a few looks because one mani didn't turn out well AT all, I was in Vegas during the Stanford game and was not sporting my colors and I simply wore RBL Yellow Fever and Cherimoya Crucify to the Pac-12 championship game.

I will return with my finished Rose Bowl manicure later on!

At Autzen Stadium, celebrating victory on Rich Brooks Field!

GO DUCKS!!!!

- Lamby, who can go absolutely crazy when it comes to showing spirit for the Ducks.

Party People in the house!!!

2011-12-31T09:39:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, my friends!
Matt and I will be spending some time with good friends this evening. But this will have to be our special NYE party since we can't all be together in real life. (Oh, how I wish we could!)

We'll have a glass of champagne...

Orly Au Champagne with top coat

We can kick out a few jams on the Turntable, err...ipod.

L.A. Girls Turntable

Things might get a little Risque...

Black Radiance Bold & Sexy Risque

But we'll have the Ultimate Shine of The Time...

Essence Colour & Go The Ultimate Pink

topped with Essie Shine of the Times

Fingr's decal

Well, my darling friends...thank you all for another wonderful year and for standing by me.
I wish you all the best and may 2012 find you in god health and your Helmers bulging with nail polish!
Hugs and loves always!

Sincerely,

Lamby (Who will be in bed before midnight...)

Henkäys Ikuisuudesta

2011-12-24T09:03:00.000-08:00

Good day!

Today I bring my annual holiday message. I myself do not observe the holiday but I do want to tell you all that I am grateful to have met you and shared not only a love of nail polish but pieces of our lives. I've been very fortunate to have made some wonderful friends via this blog and I love meeting new polish obsessed friends everyday.
I thank you all for sharing yourselves and for visiting my small corner here. I hope the holiday season (If you do observe...) finds you well and with those you love. Thank you for another wonderful year!

Without further ado, I want to share the ONLY holiday song that I like. It reminds me of my grandfather who was born on Christmas Eve and I think it's a lovely tribute to those who are no longer with us.

Be well friends.

Sincerely,

Heather Mighty Lambchop

Black Pearl

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

I am so behind on my swatching. Today I have something I picked up at Nordstrom Rack back in September.
I find some of the best stuff when I go to Portland and I was super excited to find a brand that I have wanted to try and not seen in my local area.

Without further ado, I bring you:

Savina Black Pearl

three coats over Gelous and topped with Out The Door.

I have seen swatches of different Savina colors before and since I'm always on the lookout for something new, I wanted to find it. I was quite surprised to see a giant display in Nordstrom Rack and I was overwhelmed by the selection. I only walked away with this one because I was saving more of my budget for a trip to Ulta. But I sure did love the price of these! I scored this for three dollars and change. (Yay for Oregon NOT having a sales tax!)

Clearly, Black Pearl is not black. I do not care. This is a stunner. I am such a sucker for duochromes and multichromes. This is somewhat pearly but only in the best way. I was a little concerned that this was going to be really sheer but all was resolved with coat number two. Three coats left the tiniest bit of VNL but a fourth coat can fix that. The best news is that this dries really fast so multiple coats are no problem.
This also flowed on the nail beautifully. I'm madly in love, y'all.

Black Pearl starts out a shimmery blue with lots of purple flash. It throws a lovely silvery-grey and green too. Lots of dimension and I'm a happy Lamb.

I wore this as is but then I happened to wander into Walgreens and there was a much picked over WNW Ice Baby display. I grabbed what I could and then I immediately layered.

Black Pearl layered with

NYC Starry Silver Glitter and

WNW Cost Is No Issue

Pretty...

I appreciate that neither glitter took away the duo goodness of Black Pearl and complemented nicely.

Eventually I will have actual swatches of the Ice Baby polishes I do have. They are truly fab!

That does it for today. Thank you for coming by and taking a look!

And now for something completely different...

2011-12-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

Good morning!

Today I am bringing guest hands and toes! My niece, Sierra, is just as nail obsessed as I am. Which is both amazing and frustrating. Amazing because I had nothing to do with it but frustrating because she lives so far away from me. But I am a proud auntie and I had to share my joy.
We routinely text one another shots of our nails, discuss polish and ideas for nail art. It makes me so proud and it's nice to share something with a member of the family.

So I decided that it was time for Sierra to be featured here and hopefully, we can make it a regular feature!
Get ready for my sweet girl's debut! She's still learning a lot and I'm working on getting her tool kit well stocked.

Base is L.A. Colors Black velvet

Topped with Claire's Dry White Glitter

I like how the glitter is blue over the black. Great combination. I think this picture is best kind of blurred so you can see just how sparkly it is. (And yes, I have to teach her about clean-up. But she's 11 so...whatevs.)

This was to coordinate with her dress for her school's Christmas program. And she looked cute as hell!

Next up is her toes. Be warned now if you have problems with feet!

Base is Sally Hansen HD in Cyber

Topped again with Claire's Dry White Glitter

Again, the blur is good to see the sparkle. I also like how the glitter is less blue and really picks up the purple of Cyber. I will also brag that Cyber is one of the polishes I sent home with her mom last month. I'm glad she likes it and how could I not send her polish??

That will do it for now. Hope everyone likes what my sweet girl has done. I love that she takes after auntie in the layering department!

Have a great day!

Nutra Nail Gel Perfect UV-Free Gel-Color Moonstone

2011-12-08T09:36:00.001-08:00

Well, hello there!

I've been slacking big time. But I had a lot going on. I went to Vegas, worked like crazy, celebrated a friend's birthday, went to the Pac-12 Championship game where I froze my toesies but got to see my Ducks win and head off to the Rose Bowl again. Now it's a matter of squeezing in time to blog between work and keeping the Mr. Matt happy. Oy.

Anyhoo, I got to make a rare visit to Rite-Aid and I spied the Nutra Nail Gel Perfect UV- Free Nail Color display. I saw a couple of posts here and there about it and thought I'd pass because the colors I saw were meh. However, I was still intrigued by the concept and since I have yet to find another at home gel product locally, this seemed worth a try.

Thus I came home with this:

Moonstone Gel Perfect Kit

Activator, gel color, brush cleaner and instructions.

Includes link to official YouTube tutorial here.

I really like the color a lot. It's a slate blue with gold-ish, silver-ish shimmer. Once I show the other pics, you'll see that this is a rather intriguing color.

Now, the kit comes with an activator, gel color and brush cleaner. You brush on the activator as quickly as possible while avoiding your cuticles and then paint on the gel color. It is very much like using regular polish but not. I had issues with application, namely, I got it on my cuticles and my brush stokes were very uneven. I chalk it up to first time user blues and finding the thin coats to actually be a problem. But more on that in a moment.

Bottle shot...

This applies really sheer. Nutra Nail says to apply it thinly and that you will need three coats to reach opacity. I ended using four because it really is sheer.My first thin coat looked like it was going to melt away on the nail so my successive coats were much thicker.Which was a big mistake. I was a little freaked out by having to alternate coats of activator and color and worried I was not working fast enough. I know now to RELAX.

The final product

The shimmer looks a little flaky, but oh so pretty.

You can see how it is uneven and messy. And this is not easy to try and clean from your cuticles. My fingers felt like they had super glue on them! I also had super thick patches that looked like I was trying to mold my nail or something. No bueno.

Though I wasn't pleased with myself for doing such a horrible job, I decided to torture myself for wearing this as long as possible. If anyone can give a torture test to gel polish, it's me. So, the next couple of days I sorted through giant boxes of Xmas decorations, hauled tree stands, merchandised shelves, stocked shelves, cashiered, degreased my bike chain, cleaned my house, colored my hair and washed my hands elebenty billion times.

This held up surprisingly well though I did not hold out hope since my application was so bad. Thus, the third and final day I received my big ass chips.

This is what Moonstone DOES NOT look like. I hate winter lighting.

Would you like to know just gave me that giant chip? Tapping my nails against the bar while waiting for a drink. For reals.

I am truly impressed. For a quickie, drugstore product it worked rather well and exceeded expectations.

What I liked:

Each coat cures very fast so you can accomplish a full manicure in about fifteen minutes and be ready to go.

The wear is surprisingly good. This stuff can stand up to a lot of hand washing and other abuse.

The removal was not any more difficult than removing a glitter polish. I used the foil method and held cotton in place for two minutes. Stuff slid right off.

What I did not like:

The color selection isn't great. This was the most interesting color I saw. This color applies very sheer and really requires more than three coats. The gel color is very thick and it is hard to apply an even yet thin coat.

My nails were not in the best shape before I applied this but I wasn't loving how they were after. I had so much peeling!

I will be giving this another go and see if I can perfect my technique because I really want to use it on my sister. Personally, I don't want to wear the same nail color on my hands longer than a day but I think this is a fab product for someone like my sister. (Who does not polish her nails because, oh it chips and she doesn't want to change it. I do not understand.)

What do you think? Is this a product you would try?

Said you'd give me light...

2011-11-23T08:48:00.001-08:00

Good morning!

Today I have the first of my hauls from Las Vegas.
I love H&M and it is horrible that there is not one in Eugene. Again, the nearest location is in Portland. Boo. So wherever I travel, if they have an H&M, I always go.

I've been wanting to try some of their polishes but there were none the last time I was in Portland. I was so happy when I walked in at the Miracle Mile location and found some! I was most drawn to this lovely gold and I adored the cute bottle. Which is very reminiscent of the adorable Ciate Paint Pots...

H&M 70s Boho

Three coats over Gelous and ridge filler

This is a fabulous old gold with green tones. It applied so lovely and dried in a snap. I was most impressed with the wear. By the end of the day, I had minimal tip wear and no chips. I'm disappointed that I had no sun because it is quite shiny and luxe. Alas, the difficulties of life in the Pacific Northwest...

That does it for now. I have one more day of work and then I have to get up super early to bake two loaves of bread to take to my mom's house. Oy...the holidays...

Thanks for looking and see you soon!

Egg and Spam Egg, Bacon and Spam Egg, Bacon, Sausage and Spam Spam, Bacon, Sausage and Spam

2011-11-10T07:51:00.001-08:00

Good morning!

I will be headed off to Las Vegas tomorrow morning so I wanted to be sure I got a little something here for you to see. I've been buying plenty of polish and swatching, I just haven't managed to actually post much.
I'm gearing up big time for the holidays at work so i come home pretty tired. Also, my schedule changed so I'm working nights three times a week. *Sigh*

Without further ado, I give you lots of SPAM to enjoy:

First up are two of my most recent Duck Day manicures.

Base is Sally Hansen Going Green

Tips are Color Club Almost Famous

I used Kiss Nail Art Pen for the lettering.

"WTD" stands for "Win The Day," which is Coach Kelly's mantra.

Next is my very first water marbling attempt. I wanted to do a pin marbling originally but it turned out so bad that I gave up. I'm not sure why I did this but I'm glad I did. I think it turned out pretty rad.

I used Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Jumpin' Jade and Lightning

over a base of WNW Mad Styles

I had some small issues with this but nothing unmanageable. Matt loved it and he thought it was a really cool technique. He now has some ideas for color combos for me to try!

Next is a purchase I made at the new Sephora store in Portland by Pioneer Square.

Sephora Hey DJ

three coats over Gelous base.

This is an aubergine creme that applied so fabulously and dried amazingly quick. It is also the tiniest bottle that I have ever paid 4 dollars for. It was pigmented enough to use two coats but since I have some thin spots on a few of my nails, I used three for complete opacity. This is a wonderful polish and a great color. I just want more of it. Like, in a bigger bottle.

FInally, I have another look to show you with a polish that has worked it's way into my top 10 polishes.

Index, middle and pinkie are BB Couture Adam

Ring is Kleancolor Chunky Holo Candy over one thin coat of Adam

All that is topped with ChG Haute Metal crackle

I adore Adam. How can you not love a sublime olive green with RED SHIMMER? It's amazeballs.

It applies so beautifully as well. I grin like a fool every time I put it on. It really does make me happy to paint it on. This look was a refresher because I really did not want to take Adam off.

(Seriously, this sounds mighty pervy...)

Here is the ring finger before adding crackle.

Also before I freshened everything else.

Here's a macro of what it all looked like.

That will do it for now. I have a snotch of last minute packing to do and then it's off to work. I apologize in advance to my co-workers who have to deal with me today!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Happy LAMB-oween!

2011-10-31T17:44:00.000-07:00

Good day!

Happy Halloween, y'all. I wasn't going to dress up this year but...how could I not?
Luckily, I had a costume that my mom purchased for me a couple of years ago from Value Village that I never got to wear.
It's totally not "me" and it was kind of funny for anyone who knows me. There's even a strange coincidence that comes with.

Without further ado, I give you...

Cheerleader Lamby!

Yay team!

Beat 'em, defeat 'em!

I know, I know. It is kind of cute. Here's where the coincidence comes in: I googled the school to find out where it was from and what their mascot was. Turns out it's St. John the Baptist school in West Islip, New York. My mom was born in West Islip. Right??? How perfect that she bought me this then.

Why isn't this costume me? I was a drama geek and a headbanging heavy metal girl in high school. All that's changed now is that I'm older and I'm not performing in plays. I do love the oxymoron of it all.

On a sidenote, holy shitballs is my kitchen dark. I gotta do something about that...

I did not forget my nails though. You know I had to coordinate!

Index is: Orly Star of Bombay, WNW Mad Styles on tip and Essie Lollipop polka dots.

All others: Essie Lollipop, WNW Mad Styles on tips and Orly Star of Bombay polka dots.

I do not know what possessed me to try a chevron tip. Other than trying to match the top of my costume. It was not as easy as I thought it would be. Oy. However, it turned out okay for a first try. Did I mention that I free-handed it? That's probably why it's not so super. But it did match exactly and overall, I'm quite pleased.

Boy am I glad I finally got to wear this costume. I felt like a freak every time I mentioned that I owned a cheerleader uni in spite of never having been one. Yeah, you know.

Thanks for looking and I hope everyone has a pleasant evening. I plan to gorge myself on CANDY!!!

Like a phantom in the night

2011-10-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

I'm back with something a little bit different. I have a "new" brand to show that I picked up at Macy's a couple of weeks ago. I was doing some dress shopping when I spied it. I speak of the Macy's exclusive line, Material Girl. If you hadn't heard, Madonna and her daughter launched a line of clothes at Macy's and have now expanded in to beauty and skincare. This includes nail polish and I knew I had to have it.

Phantom

two coats over Gelous base coat

There is a very small selection of colors at the moment but this black called my name.

It's a basic black creme with subtle red and gold micro-glitter. It's REALLY hard to see. This was my best pic. I keep getting suckered by polishes like this, hoping for a glorious blackened glitter party on my nails. Not so much.

The good news is that the formula is sublime. This applied so smooth and two coats really did the trick. I was really surprised!

Let's move on to the bottle. It's a nice square bottle with removable cap. You know, kind of like Butter London bottles. Yeah. So I'd heard random chatter about the bottles being a rip-off design wise. Oy. I have both this and Butter and I will say that Butter has a bottle and cap that feels sturdier than Material Girl.

Otherwise, eh. Who cares???

Phantom, three coats over Gelous base

So this final pic is when I decided to add a third coat later in the day. The glitter is only slightly more apparent but not by much. You really had to be looking for it. Nonetheless, I adore the formula on this and I always feel I can never have too many black polishes.

I definitely want to go back and get some more colors. There was a gorgeous blue and outrageous pink metallic glitter that I must have in my life. What say you? Would you buy Material Girl?

Material Girl can be found exclusively at Macy's for $7.00.

Thanks for coming by and have a lovely day!

My house is haunted by wrong desire

2011-10-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

Good day.

I have a touch of the inexplicable melancholy so no nail polish. Instead I have a playlist of depressing music. The most amusing part is that it's not all metal, either. I have range...

1. Carina Round - For Everything A Reason
I heard this song on "American Horror Story" and I found it to be well...haunting.

2. The Cure - Bloodflowers
I love this band so much. And, they've always been at their best when they are truly depressing.

3. Antony and The Johnsons - Hope There's Someone
The vocals are definitely different on this but, oh, does this song just break my heart.

4. Crystal Castles featuring Robert Smith - Not In Love
This is a cover song, originally performed by a Canadian band I had never heard of. This has a full on 80's vibe, very stark and cold. I adore it.

5. Moonspell - Mute
My favorite band and probably one of my most favorite songs ever. Without Moonspell, I am mute.

6. Katatonia - Inheritance
I could add so many Katatonia songs but I will narrow down to this only one. This was my theme song last winter. I had many, many inconvenient burdens.
(May I also suggest, Passing Bird, The Future of Speech, In The White, No Good Can Come of This, New Night and Departer? To name just a few...)

7. Deep Purple - When A Blind Man Cries
Oh, how I love Purple. Mark II is one of my favorite line-ups if only for Ian Gillan. His voice gives me chills.

8. Gary Moore and Phil Lynott - Parisenne Walkways
This is a classic weeper, yo. These two men were such a brilliant team together.

9. Amalia Hoje - Grito
This is from a tribute supergroup to the legendary Amalia Rodrigues. One of the members and the singer of this particular song is Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell. I found the most enchanting translation of the lyrics here: http://lyricstranslate.com/en/grito-scream.html
I hope any Portugese readers will let me know how good the translation is though.

10. Thin Lizzy - Still In Love With You
If you can't appreciate Thin Lizzy, we can't be friends. Phil Lynott and Gary Moore were so amazing together.

Grab your Kleenex and have a good cry. It can do wonders for the soul.

Many thanks to my beloved, internet sister, Ginger. You inspired me and this is not nearly as good as your playlist posts. I wish I was witty as you!

Dangerous when the sun goes down

2011-10-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good day!

Today I have one of the only two WNW On The Prowl polishes I could find.

Ready To Pounce

Three coats, no base or top in sunlight

You know I had to have this. It's a rich purple with lovely, subtle wine shimmer. It is a stunner and my very fave kind of vampy.

But...I think I got a bad bottle, yo. This is the second time I have ever received a WNW with a weird brush.

Mine is all choppy. It caused me some problems in application, leaving me pretty streaky.

Shimmery...

I thought it was all the brush and I was a little disappointed. Not enough to try again. I was wanting a rich, sexy color to wear yesterday while I was out and about with Matt, so this was my only clear choice.
I can definitively report that my bottle has formula issues.

Three coats over Gelous base and Out The Door topcoat

Indoor lighting

Taken after a hard day of shopping.

I found that this needs to be applied fairly thick. It dries so well and so quickly that it's not a big deal. But I found that after applying a second, thicker coat that I still had some streaky areas. I had to roll my bottle each time I went to apply because it felt so thick and dragged over the nail. Once I rolled the bottle, the formula felt much smoother albeit still thick and applied much more fluidly.

That really makes me sad. It was kind of a struggle to get to the final product. That's not what I expect from WNW.

Will I be avoiding this again? No. I adore the color so I am willing to put in time and effort to sport this. However, it may not always be my first choice.

What do you think? Have you picked this up? Had any problems? I'd love to hear from you, I'd like to be sure it's just me.

I'm back to work today, y'all. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

I get delirious whenever you're near

2011-10-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

I have had one exhausting week so far and it left me feeling spun. Therefore, I needed a crazy pick-me-up.
I dove into some of my recent hauls and put together something so silly, fun and over the top girly.

Base is three coats Revlon Just Tinted in Desire

One thick coat of NYC Starry Silver Glitter

One coat Love & Beauty neon pink jelly

Indoor lighting

This was a lot of look as well as a lot of polish. It's really not my usual kind of thing because I really don't care for pink but I will never say no to glitter. But to make myself feel better, I really needed to go for a seriously bold look and challenge myself to try something new.

Macro shot, indoor lighting

Starry Silver Glitter has lots of silvery-holo glitter in a clear base with scattered blue and pink octagonal glitter pieces. It's a little difficult to get much of the pink and blue glitter but a thicker coat managed to do the job. I love layering glitters under jelly. They look like little jewels suspended in jello.

Taken in sunlight after a full day of work.

Matt said that this looked like bubblegum and I have to agree.

This held up really well considering all of the things I did at work yesterday. Gratefully all of the polishes I used for this dry really quickly so this look came together for me in less than 30 minutes.

So, what do you think? Is it really silly or really fun?

That does it for me today. I have a lot to do at work to make everything nice since my boss will be returning from maternity leave on Friday. I'm so excited to have her back, I missed her so much! I'm a little sad that my schedule will change but I'm grateful to have a job I love and a boss I truly admire.

Hope everyone has a good rest of the week!

A thousand shards of voice

2011-10-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Good day!

I've been up to my old tricks with the polish layering again. Before we get to the photos though, I apologize in advance if the quality is not so good. Matt took my camera with him on business trip so I had to use my phone camera. Hopefully, you'll like my layering enough to forgive me.

Revlon Facets of Fuschia, two coats

layered with two coats Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black

Oh, boy. Don't you just love trying to clean up glitter? It's swell.

I love how this came out. The holo hex glitter looked fab with the fuschia hex glitter.

Wow...I'm still overwhelmed by this.

I wore that for a day and the next morning, I layered some more rather than spend some time removing all this glitter. Also, I really didn't want to remove it. It's so pretty.

ChG Fault Line with Revlon Just Tinted Victorian

before top coat

Two coats of Out the Door

and AMAZEBALLS!

I wish I had my camera so I could've really captured this. It had gorgeous depth and fire. I tried sharpening this a bit more so you could see it all. I just know I have to do this again and take proper photos.

That will do for now. It's a grey, misty day and it's making me so lethargic. I think I will just lay on the couch and listen to Katatonia all day. At least until Matt gets home!

Have a great day, all!

Chic, C'est La Vie

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good day!

Today I have something from my most recent trip to Ulta. I went at a good time since their salon brand polishes were on sale for $2. I picked up a lemming AND found something a little more sophisticated and appropriate for fall.

Let's take a look:

Ulta Salon Party Chic

three coats, no base or top

I admit this was a bit of a disappointment for me. It was merchandised in the purple range and looked a teensy bit purple in bottle. But it is not purple at all. Party Chic is more of a brown with lots of champagne shimmer. It's rather sheer as well. Three coats was fine but I'd probably prefer four. The good news is that this dries quite quickly so it's not a big deal. The formula was better than I expected and the brush was okay. I was worried the round bottle cap was going to be an issue but it was not.

I really like this now that I've resigned myself to it being brown. This will do nicely for work meetings.

So, what do you think? Is it chic or weak?

That does it for today. I'm going to catch up on some reading tonight since Matt is out of town and can't bug me about it! Have an enchanted day!

Ain't no walk of shame

2011-10-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

I'm bringing yet another Essence polish for you today. I adore these little Colour and Go polishes. 99 cents and you have a great choice of color and it dries super fast? yes, please!

Essence Colour & Go Walk of Fame

two coats, no base or top.

This is another polish I bought to go into my "work appropriate" arsenal. Granted, I can wear whatever polish I want but sometimes I feel it best to have something that looks a little more professional. (Like when the CEO tours my store.)

This is quite similar to the other taupe/greige shades out there but what drew me in was a slight hint of purple.I also knew this look would lovely layered with a metallic shimmer or glitter. My swatches were a little rushed so I'm not happy with how the ring finger looks. This one is a snotch thicker formula than the others but nothing to be concerned about. I found slightly thicker coats can get you opacity in two coats but I always prefer three coats.

What do you think? Are over the greige?

That does it for me, y'all. I'm off to work and dreaming of the yummy dinner I will make tonight!

Daytime Moon

2011-10-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Today is my Monday and I'm back to work.
I had such a lovely weekend with Matt and I didn't want it to be over. Alas, he has to go out of town on business. Which is okay because that means I can do some things that I can't when Matt is home. (Yay for reading books!) This is also nice for Gus because he gets to sleep on Matt's side of the bed.

Since I'm feeling a little blue, I thought it appropriate to show you a swatch that fits:

Essence My Boyfriend's Jeans

Three coats, no base or top.

This came in the TE Denim Wanted last Fall. I skipped it the last time I went to Ulta only because I had limited funds. I figured that I would never have any of the polish from this collection. Imagine my surprise to walk into Ulta nearly a year later and spy this in the clearance bin for 99 cents.

This is a perfect blue creme for me. Sadly, my nails are misbehaving yet again. Le sigh...

Moving on to the happier side of things, this applies very nicely and dries really quickly. Essence has quickly become a favorite for me. I have yet to buy a polish that I didn't love and the makeup is really fabulous. (Loving the lip glosses and the liquid liner!!) Of course, the price suits me to a tee. I'm so glad this brand has come to the U.S.

That does it for me. I have to kiss Matt goodbye and hop on my bike for another week of work. Hope everyone has a lovely day!

Grim and Frostbitten Blashyrkh

2011-09-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

Good day!

I got some inspiration for nail art on Tumblr not too long ago and I had to try it. (I cannot believe the idea did not occur to me before!!)
Anyway, I have a bit of backstory. I am a metal Lamb and I love me some black metal. One of my favorite black metal bands is Immortal. They are a great band but, I'll be honest...they look ridiculous. So ridiculous that they have become an internet favorite for memes. Allow me to show you:

I always knew Abbath had a sweet tooth.

There are so many more and they are all amazing. But it was this picture that inspired me:

Via: deathisalonebeholder

This is what I decided to do in spite of my not so very good manual dexterity:

Ring finger is WNW Mad Styles with Art Club striper for Abbath's corpse paint

All others are L.A. Girl Matte White and Revlon Powder Puff

with Diamond Cosmetics Matte Smoke and Sally Hansen Black Patent Leather

sponged.

I'm really pleased with how this turned out. I freehanded the corpse paint which is a huge for me. I have shaky hands and I can't draw. Abbath's corpse paint is probably the easiest to replicate but as I said, I don't have much dexterity. I didn't want to do all my nails because I felt it to be too much. Which is why all my other nails are grim and kvlt. I didn't add more the eyes only because the idea of the corpse paint is too look dead and eye whites kinda ruin the effect. And...I was afraid if I did, I would royally jack this up.

So, yeah.

I will definitely be doing this look again so I can get better. It's also really fun and really funny.

That will do it for today. I have five million errands to run before Matt goes on another business trip.

I leave you with this classic song by Immortal:

DUCKing Hostile

2011-09-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good day!

I have for you my most recent Duck Day mani for September 24. In case you didn't know, Oregon won over the Arizona Wildcats 56-31. We had my sister and my nephew, T.J. over to watch the game with us. I mention T.J. only because he was on fire that night. He was cracking me up! We had a good time together and there was some funny business with the nails. Before I get into that, allow me to show you my mani!

Base is Ulta The Jungle Look, three coats

Stamps are Konad Special Polish Yellow and WNW Mad Styles

Used Fauxnad plate D01 and K06

I have been needing a good green creme and The Jungle Look fits the bill. It's actually a bit jelly-ish but it was fab! It applied lovely and dried really quickly. I got it on sale for two dollars so that makes me even happier!

Now, a little bit more about T.J.

I was doing my nails right before the game and he was fascinated with my Konad/Fauxnad stuff. He couldn't help himself and he wanted some stamps too.

He decided to have me paint his nails and then he chose stamps and colors.

This is isn't the first time I've "done" his nails. We did them two years ago before another Duck game and that was super fun.

Here's what happened:

We chose black for this hand because it was "manly" and rock & roll.

Bonus is my thumb that I used a different stamp for and forgot to take pics of. Oops!

T.J. chose this red and we mattified it to make it "manly."

This stamp is a four leaf clover that didn't come out so well.

Mind the messiness. It's hard to paint little, stubby, rough boy nails. Especially when that boy is cracking jokes and making you laugh. Once we were done, T.J was on a roll. He kept calling Matt, "Rhonda" and offering to do his nails. You really did have to be there.

T.J. is just the funniest kid. One minute he's all about video games, military history and skateboarding and the next moment he's sweet, funny and seems born to be a stand-up comic. I adore him.

BTW, if there's anyone who wants to talk some smack about me painting my 11 year old nephew's nails: Step off. I will eat your face off. He was having fun and I see NOTHING FUCKING WRONG with it.

And that is all, yo.

Ends on such a cheery note, huh? That does indeed, do it for now. Hope the day treated you well and I will see you soon!

Into the fire

2011-09-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

Good day!

I'm back into another LOOONG work week and I have some catching up to do. What have I been up to?
Aside from practically living at work, I celebrated my fifth wedding anniversary on Friday and spent that day wandering around Portland. (I love Portland...I should live there...) I got lots of new pretties and enjoyed a gorgeous day with the man of my dreams. Not too shabby, eh?

Anyway, here is a first of some catch up posts. I did a sweet mani combo that surprised me with how pretty it was.

Index, middle and pinkie are Orly Emberstone

Ring is CQ Rustic Dream

All are three coats over ridge filler.

This is intentionally blurry to capture some of the beautiful color shift

of Rustic Dream.

It was also taken at 5 a.m. by the light of my laptop.

The above were taken in late afternoon sun after work.

Love the reddish-brown Rustic Dream was throwing.

If you have been reading my blog long enough, you know how much I love Orly. I have NO complaints with Emberstone. For me, it applied just as beautifully and was as gorgeous as any fabulous China Glaze glass fleck. Also? I look really good in jewel tones, so this works for me.

I've reviewed Rustic Dream before and I cannot rave enough over it. If you love duochromes, you MUST own this. I love getting an amazing duochrome that applies great for under ten bucks!

That does it for today, y'all. I have more coming up soon! Hope everyone's Monday treated them well.

Progenies of the Great DUCKalypse

2011-09-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

Good day and GO DUCKS!!!

I fell behind last week in bringing my other duck mani so there are two this week.

Allow me to present last week's mani:

Base is Color Club Almost Famous, three coats

Crackle is Cherimoya 2012 Crucify

I really love the Cherimoya crackle. I accomplished this with the aid of blue painter's tape and my craft hole punch. I punched the basic round shape in the tape and essentially made a stencil. Placed the strip of tape over the nail and then painted my crackle. Voila!

Almost Famous was incredibly streaky on me this time and I prolly should have laid down a coat of white before. I did not and eh, what are you gonna do?

This week I did this:

Index and Ring are BB Couture Redwood Forest

Middle is WNW Black Creme with

RBL Yellow Fever and WNW Mad Styles polka dots

Pnkie is Revlon Powder Puff layered with Sinful Irish Green

I wasn't very pleased with my pinkie. I should have gone with Redwood Forest. Meh.

Also, the pinkie is FIVE coats of polish. Too much. No like.

That will do for today. Matt and I are headed to the store to get fixings for White Trash Bean Dip before the game starts.

Have a great day and GO DUCKS!!!

One minute no collapse

2011-09-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

I've noticed that I've been choosing lots of dark polishes that are matching my dark moods.
So I wanted to break out of that funk and have something whimsical and SPARKLY.

Alternating coats of Orly Here Comes Trouble

and L.A. Girl Crowd Surfing

Base of Gelous and Nail Tek II

I had to give Here Comes Trouble another shot mainly because I did a nice layering with Bubbly Bombshell.

This is still quite sheer, hence the VNL but I was okay with it.

I achieved exactly what I wanted with lots of light and pretty color.

See how sparkly???

I wore this for a full day and then I added a couple of coats of Love & Beauty Rust. I completely forgot to take pictures. (Or I didn't bother since I had a long day at work, had to water the garden and cook my lunch before bed. Like you do.)

So...yesterday I decided to some sponging that looked HORRIBLE. I was still so sleepy when I did it so I didn't bother to photograph. What I did capture was my ring finger that I had made an accent.

I covered each ring finger with ChG Cracked Medallion and I loved what happened.

So sorry about the tip wear!

That thar is a snazzy combo! It turned out so well that I wished I done all of the rest of my nails like it.

If you are wondering why I didn't show you those little fails, well, it looked like Cookie Monster vomited on my nails. No, no bueno.

Now, it's time to enjoy removing this glorious glitter shield and get my house cleaned before my dear husband comes home from Arizona.

Thanks for looking and have a great day!

You Must Work In Symmetry

2011-09-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Good day!

I wanted to show you some sweet layering I've done recently as well as some mani refreshing.
As you know, I've had some issues doing my nails since...well...work has been so much more challenging.
Here are some wins:

This is Glam Rock layered with Color Club Snowflakes. It was a brilliant choice for layering especially when the sun was at its most blazing. (Like, two weeks ago. Sometimes Oregon REALLY sucks.)

Do you love this glittery goodness??

This was such a glitter bomb and I was in mad love. So much so, that I was loath to remove it. So I did some MOAR layering instead.

Index and ring are Cherimoya 2012 Crucify

Middle and pinkie are ChG Crushed Candy

I chose these two crackles to coordinate with a top I was wearing that had green and blue-ish flowers on it.

I'm not gonna lie, I was looking pretty cute that day. (It was a special little date night with the hubs...)

I enjoyed how this came out and I love how the Cherimoya crackle was a bit translucent which gave a jelly sandwich kind of effect.

I'm pretty bad about changing my pedicures. I have been known to wear the same color for two weeks, refresh and go for about three more weeks. Anyway...I stumbled upon a super sweet layering combo that I also had to try on another color I'm in love with. It's what I currently have on my toes but I m not going to show you that.

Index is Orly Royal Navy w/ L.A. Colors Jewel Tone and Love & Beauty Rust

Middle is Revlon Royal w/ the same combo as the first

Ring is Royal Navy w/ only L&B Rust

Pinkie is Revlon Royal w/ Rust and Kleancolor Chunky Holo Teal

All of this layering made me realize that L&B Rust and Revlon Royal could be a pretty close dupe to Barielle Falling Star. (Which I have not received...YET. Don't ask.) I will def have to try it out.

Eventually, I will have Falling Star. It's my number one lemming since I've come so close to owning it and still do not have it.

That does it for now. I'm ready to unwind for the evening. Hope everyone has had a great day!

Odin will provide

2011-09-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

As promised, I have some nail fail to show you along with a couple that turned out okay. My high stress level has taken its toll on my nails. They are rough! Not only that, I can't focus long enough to do a decent job painting them as well as cleaning up. Which you shall be seeing.
Let's go ahead and dive in.

Base is Paul and Joe Orchestral

Sponged with Orly Dazzle and Claire's no name sheer blue glitter

What you see above is a mani I attempted in honor of Fernando Ribeiro's birthday. (Who is Fernando? Just the singer of my favorite band, MOONSPELL. He is also beautiful. Yum!)

This is one of the few times I can truly say that this looked better in real life. This just did not want to photograph.

Anyway, I tried to sponge a full moon on my index and crescent on my ring. They were okay.

Where I really screwed up was trying to free hand an "M" on my middle finger. No bueno.

As you can also see, this was a major bish to try and clean. Partly due to having briefly misplaced my best clean up brush. I was so disappointed. Bleh.

Base is three coats Milani Rad Purple

Topped with one coat L.A. Colors Jewel Tone

"Hearts" are WNW Mad Styles

I got some craft hole punches and I found that I could use them on blue painter's tape and make a stencil.

Where I messed this up was not having the tape sealed down enough and using too much polish. I did the same thing with my Moonspell mani in the first pic. I'm disappointed because I had great success with it for a pedi. As evidenced by this:

Yes, it's a toe nail. I am not sorry.

See? It can work. Better when I'm relaxed and truly feel I have the time to do it. Eh.

Perhaps, it's time to show some successes. Be warned that you will be seeing manis from the end of my day.

I have no good light when I am doing my nails at 4:30 in the morning so my photos suck.

Base is Sinful Seaweed

Dots are WNW French White Creme,

ChG For Audrey and Claire's no name sheer blue glitter

Nailene flower decals

This was super cute. I went overboard on the glitter on my ring finger but, oh well. It was still sparkly and cute. I was so happy to have something turn out much like I envisioned. Not happy I had to take a photo after work BUT my day started at 3:30. (No fun having to be at work at 5:00 a.m.)

Finally, I have a sweet layering combo that made me very happy.

Do you like my terrible lighting in my kitchen?

Base is Maybelline Jungle Green (HTF)

Topped with L.A. Colors Jewel Tone

Yay! Pretty and sparkly! I am really enjoying Jewel Tone. It's lovely blue and pink glitter in a clear base. There's lots of glitter so you get great coverage and it dries quite fast. This was probably my best mani of the week. Not saying much, I know.

There ya have it. A new week is beginning and I hope for better. Thanks for coming by and I hope your week goes well!

Are You DUCK Enough?

2011-09-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

Good day!

It's official, Duck Football season has begun! Today we will be taking on LSU and I am super excited.
I'm also super jealous because my best friend, Pixie, is in Dallas for the game.
Oh well.

Today's mani is inspired by the new "Pro Combat" uniform that was unveiled recently and will be worn in today's game.

These gloves are awesome sauce.

Anthracite with neon green accents

The neon green appeared more blue based green in the photos published in the newspaper. Here, it's clearly a super yellow based green. I went through all of my neon greens in my stash and the only one that would work was Color Club Twiggie. All the others I had were either too blue or much too yellow. No happy medium there.

Anyway...I give you the first Duck Day manicure of the 2011-12 season and let us welcome back my rubber duckie:

Ring finger is Color Club Twiggie

All other fingers are Orly Iron Butterfly

"O" temporary tattoos from The Duck Store

This is a really minimal look for me but I wanted it to echo the minimalist design of the uniforms. Iron Butterfly is far and away the only choice to match up with the anthracite color. Black creme would be too black and a gunmetal grey would be too light. Twiggie isn't really the best choice for this but as I mentioned before, it was the only one in my stash to do the trick.

Overall, I'm pleased and so proud of myself for showing some restraint.

I'm off to get things ready for tonight and catch some of the Nebraska game. Have a great day and...

GO DUCKS!!!

Hey, hey baby

2011-09-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Can you believe this? I'm actually posting! Shit just got real, yo.
I actually tried to post a couple of weeks ago but Blogger misbehaved BIG time and I was quite angry.
Not that I had much to post. I had several spectacular manicure fails, only picked up a couple of new polishes and in general was a miserable, stressed out screechy harridan. Basically, the difference was that my nails didn't look as good.
Rather than get bogged down in a litany of complaints, I have a new polish to show you.

I went to Roseburg to visit my in-laws a few weeks ago and took advantage of the time to go shopping with my sister-in-law. There is not a Kmart in the Eugene-Springfield metro anymore. You have to go north to Albany or south to Roseburg to find one. I wanted to go because I know Kmart sells Milani and I desperately wanted a Lip Flash pencil. (Got it and adore it!) While I was there, I spied a Jordana display and I was so happy! Can't find Jordana anywhere in Eugene either so this was fabulous.

Jordana Purple Glam

Three coats, no base or top

This is a great red based purple jelly with blue shimmer and loads of holo glitter. The glitter itself is a mix of bar and fine. The glitter tends to apply randomly ensuring nails are not uniform. The more coats, the better but it's not too hard to coax some other bits off the brush without ruining your mani.

Macro

Blurry to show the sparkly!

What I find most interesting about this is how the glitter gets covered with each coat. It looks totally suspended but it's fab shiny, holo goodness is not subdued or diminished. The blue shimmer is brilliant because it helps with opacity and gives the polish an almost metallic look.

This applies nicely and dries fast. It is interesting that it dries satiny, I really did not anticipate that!

This being my first Jordana, and trying it without expectation, I am so pleased. This is making me want to drive the extra hour to Roseburg more often!

That does it for now. I have a few more things coming up because I am not afraid to show when I fuck up royally. Trust me, some of these are just not right. Anyway...I will be playing with some other nail art today because tomorrow is the season opener of Duck football! So stay tuned for the first Duck day mani of the season.

P.S. As much as I love football, it makes me sad to see the end of summer. Do not want cold weather!!

Glam Rocker

2011-08-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

My sister and I were able to hang out without all the boys and we did some shopping.
We stopped by Sally and I spied a sassy Nina Ultra Pro that I had never seen before. It had a bottle collar proclaiming it was new so...I jumped.

Without further ado, I give you Glamrock! (Be warned, I took LOTS of pictures.)

This is a stunning charcoal grey jelly base loaded with silver glitter in various sizes. You could totally get away with two coats on this BUT it gets even better with a third. Check it out:

Hells yeah!

Glamrock is pretty similar to the amazeballs Purple-Xing. It's fairly thick but spreads nicely on the nail and dries really quick. Where it differs is that is not nearly as chunky, and it is definitely not a hungry glitter. Before top coat, it's a tad dull. Once you top it though, it becomes an insane sparkler.

Check this glitter!

This is ridiculously amazing. I don't now how I lived without it before. I'm overcome...

Aside from getting this little beauty, my sis and me hit up Fred Meyer to check out their mad end of season clearance sale and I scored some sassy shoes.

Zebra platform open toe slingbacks?

OH, HELLS YES!

These are so perfect for me. Retro and rock and roll. Now I just need to plan a date night with Matt and we will be good to go!

That's going to do it for today. I have boring chores to do. Meh.

Hope everyone has a fabulous day!

Here comes agitation

2011-07-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Today I have a swatch of Orly Here Comes Trouble.

Three coats no base or top

This is such a gorgeous glitter! I have but two problems with this:

1. I could not get full coverage in three coats.

2. The jelly base makes my nails look icky.

I love, love the different kinds of glitter. But this just will not work for me alone. I MUST layer. As usual, this is going to be smashing for Duck Day manis. I'm so looking forward to that!

So, what say you? What's your thought on this? What the hell is up with the glitters not wanting to play nice with my nails?

Praise Bob for sun!

2011-07-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys!

I've been trying to spend a little bit more time with my hubs lately rather than hopping online and...oh...updating this and other stuffs. Today he is doing some yard work and I'm taking advantage of it!

I've been working overtime and saving my nail polish budget so I could make some special purchases. I've been dying for the Kleancolor Chunky Holos so I went hog wild over at BeautyJoint and bought them all!
Without further ado, I give you my pictures...

All of my pretties!

First up is the fan fave of the collection, Chunky Holo Black:

One coat CH Black

layered over two coats Sally Hansen Black Patent Leather

It's so pretty. I love the different glitter shapes!

Chunky Holo Candy

layered over Love&Beauty unnamed pink jelly

This was a devil to photograph but it was a pretty sweet jelly sandwich!

Chunky Holo Purple on index and middle

Chunky Holo Bluebell on ring and pinkie

layered over Love&Beauty unnamed purple jelly

Bluebell is in a clear blue base but the color really makes no difference when layered over purple or blue. Just sayin'.

Chunky Holo Clover layered

over Love&Beauty unnamed green jelly

This is def going to come in handy for Duck Day Manis!

Chunky Holo Teal

layered over Love&Beauty unnamed blue

I only wish the glitter was bit more linear as it appears in the bottle.

Chunky Holo Poppy on index and middle

Chunky Holo Scarlet on ring and pinkie

layered over a Maybelline red jelly

Poppy is in an orange base but I decided to see how it would look over red. I'm bad and I should've layered it over orange. I will...eventually. Scarlet is the only one that you can wear alone. It has an orangey-red base that becomes fairly opaque in two coats.

Let's sum up:

The glitters are gorgeous. All are packed into jelly bases but the majority are way too sheer to wear alone except Scarlet.

The cons?

They smell TERRIBLE. Like overly plastic-y. And a little like ModPodge. Weird. The dry time is not what I would've wanted. It's not bad but t could be better. All are rather thick too. So you really have to be careful with your application because it will take even longer to dry.

Overall, they are very welcome additions in spite of the smell and dry time.

There ya have it. I'm off to run some errands and then meet up with my in-laws for dinner! Have a great weekend!

Getting good at the Goodwill (SUPER PIC HEAVY)

2011-07-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday!

It's been awhile, no? Once again, there have been major changes at work...And I ended up working 10 days straight. It was crazy and I was pretty damn tired.
My boss is preparing to go on maternity leave (Yay! Cute baby!) and one result of that is my schedule has changed again. So now I get Saturdays off. I haven't had a Saturday off in...forever. I'm pretty thrilled with this and more so to bring you something super epic.

I'm not shy about saying that I work for Goodwill. I love my job and I love being able to help the community.
Now, every Goodwill in the nation is basically a franchise. We all are under the umbrella of Goodwill International but we all operate autonomously. So we all do things a little differently.
My organization will make grab bags, gift baskets, candles and re-package games and puzzles for sale. We have begun taking cosmetics and packaging them together in bags. One of those cosmetic bags is of course, NAIL POLISH!!!
These, my friends are precious little treasures:

Is that a Street Wear in there???

Please note the price.

They're packaged in sets of four and I have been having the best time going through them. Allow me to note that I am under a shopping policy at work. I have to wait two weeks before I can purchase items. I was hoping, hoping that these bags would still be there and ready for me to purchase when time was up!

I think you'll agree that I got some VERY special things.

But let's go over the things I did not like first.

Index through pinkie are Maybelline Wet Slicks

without tags. I do not like the pinks.

The white may be held for frankens.

The red is pretty but I have a million of them.

That's the thing with grab bags. Sometimes you get crap.

Now on to the good:

Sally Hansen Antique Bronze

three coats no base or top in sun

Same as above, indoor natural light

This is a keeper just for how it looks in the sun. It is so sparkly! Formula is nice and dries quick.

Avon Nailwear Dynamo

three coats, no base or top in sun

Same as above, indoor natural light

This is a super sparkly berry full of silver glitter. The brush was meh, formula good and dry time acceptable.

Revlon Sweet Nothings Nude Nightie

Two coats, no base or top in sun

This is ONLY for layering but it sure is snazzy.

Maybelline Wet Shine Diamonds Gold in Daybreak

three coats no base or top

I adore this. It's a lovely red jelly with gold glitter. (That was very hard to capture. Much more apparent IRL.)

This applied beautifully and dried quickly.

Now, I have the best for you. But indulge me when I break down the cost for you. I received an employee discount and paid 45 cents for each polish. Without discount, this would have been 50 cents per polish.

Why do I mention it? Because of THIS:

Rescue Beauty Lounge Yellow Fever

Three coats, no base or top

That's right, y'all. I found an RBL in a grab bag. And I paid 45 cents for it. That said, I'm sad to report it's a streaky little bish. I love the color and love it's shimmer. I'll be using it for Duck Day manis because the color is so perfect but I will not be wearing it on its own.

Next is a lemming that I thought would NEVER be fulfilled. I regretted not buying this way back when and I am so glad to have it.

Maybelline Express Finish Jungle Green

three coats, no base or top

This is very similar to the magical HTF trio of Vanishing Venus, Bruise and Embroidered Emerald but not as strongly duochrome. But is is so pretty. It applies a bit streaky but I think that's because it is old. Don't mind the bald patches. I was lazy and did not buff my nails so...yeah...I had some divots. My nails are still being weird too but that's because this summer's weather sucks balls.

Finally, I have something that just made me happy:

Revlon Street Wear Midnight

three coats, no base or top

I loved the Street Wear line so much. I had Tar, Gun Metal and Blood. And I got rid of them. Stupid, foolish, Lamb! Then again, I did not take very good care of them and they were beyond repair. (How I long to own Blood again...le sigh...) Midnight is a stunner. It really has a lit from within glow. This pic also shows how bad my nails are behaving. I don't get it. The formula on this was fab and dried really nicely. It brought me nice memories of buying Blood when I was first dating Matt. He wanted to see a super dark red on my toes and that one was perfect. Now...he still loves red toes but he's not as stoked to help me shop for polish. Oh well...

I hope you enjoyed this little trip. I'm not sure how the Goodwill in your local area does things but if they do re-packaging like us, then keep an eye out! I've also seen nail polish lots for sale on shopgoodwill.com every now and again. (BTW, if you do shop on there, you can choose to narrow your results to a certain location. I suggest you check out what Goodwill of Lane and South Coast Counties in Eugene, OR has for sale!)

Also, remember that when you shop at Goodwill you are helping your community. Your donations and purchases help find jobs for people with barriers to employment.

Thanks for coming by, hope everyone has a great day!

My shameful secret

2011-07-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

Good morning guys!

Also, Happy Canada Day! I love Canada and I thank you very much for Rush, Anvil, Annihilator, Voivod and Cryptopsy. Thanks for also showing me a good time in Toronto. I will be back!

So today I don't have much in the way of nail polish but I did want to show you something.

Today's mani is Mattiz #10.

Purchased from my hotel in Cancun.

I bought this little book eons ago when I worked at Old Navy. I even remember how much I paid for it, because I'm cheap but whatever. (78 cents. It was on clearance and I got my employee discount.)

Anyway, I almost always have some little blank book or note pad with me. This little book is my constant companion and one of my most jealously guarded possessions.

Let me show you it:

I've swatched almost all of my polishes inside.

Quite helpful when shopping.

I've also tried out several of my image plates inside.

Helps when I'm blogging my Konad/Fauxnad.

But I haven't finished doing that. Oops.

I've decorated it with little pics and stickers I got from my former subscription to Metal Hammer. Those were good times...

This also holds my lists for albums I want to buy and bands to check out.

There's more than this but eh, I'm already being a pain in the ass.

P.S. MOTORHEAD!!!!

I guess you could say my little book serves more as inspiration. But you haven't seen the worst of it.

This is my biggest, deepest, darkest and shameful secret:

I write poetry. Badly.

I will NEVER subject you to it. I promise.

I want to keep you all as friends.

There you have it. The truth is out. I'm a socially awkward, nail polish obsessed, poetry writing metal head.

Not that it was much of a secret. Except maybe the poetry part.

As a bonus for sticking with me and because I may as well continue to humiliate myself, I have a picture that I found at my mom's and stuck inside there and promptly forgot about.

Lamby, age 15.

That's a lot of thigh. Yikes.

Do you love the outfit? Oversized tie-dye Iron Maiden shirt, sweatpants cut off into shorts, Angels baseball cap and giant hoop earrings. Missing are my white high tops which were MAGICAL. I was soo glamourous as a teen.

I know, you're jealous. I would be too if it wasn't me.

I vaguely recall having this pic taken and I know I thought I looked REALLY good. Oy. This was the summer after my freshman year of high school in California. That was a really good summer too...(I am not sharing those stories though. I could still get in trouble with my mom.)

I still root for the Angels and I still adore Iron Maiden. I'm less fond of tie-dye though. And white high tops.

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse. I think it's pretty funny myself.

Now it's time for you to share. What's your secret hobby that you can't admit to people? What are the biggest fashion faux pas from your past?

Don't hold back!!

Have a great day guys!

Neon Jelly Jam

2011-06-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

Good day!

Today I have some swatches from a 7 piece polish set I picked up at Forever 21. I feel really dumb because I forgot to take a pic of the box and it is not on the website. Good job, Lamby.
Oy. Lately, I am so frazzled and scattered. I do not like it.

So let's forget that happened and move on.

Love & Beauty No Name Purple

Three coats, no base or top

I think this is what people hoped Milani Rad Purple was going to be. As usual, purples are ridiculous to photograph and this was the closest I could get to accurate. It's a snotch darker but really vibrant.

This is a very fluid formula that applies nicely, dries fast and dries satin. Once you hit it with top coat, you get the perfect squishy. This is my total fave of the set but purple is my favorite color.

Love & Beauty No Name Pink Jelly

Three coats, no base or top

This is super sheer, yo. Again, this is really fluid. You really have to be careful with your application because it is very easy to get big ass blobs. This dries very quickly and is super shiny.

No Name Green

Three coats, no base or top

This applies a little more opaque and dries slightly satin. Those are not bubbles on my nail. I got some divots thanks to the peelies. Yay. This will never top the best green jelly ever, (New York Summer Amaranth, FTW.) but it is a very welcome addition to the family. This has a slightly thicker consistency and is a little easier to apply than the others.

No name neon blue jelly

Three coats, no base or top

Now you can really see my sad, dinged up nails. Le sigh.

This was as fluid as some of the others and also dried to a satiny finish.

No name orange shimmer

Three coats, no base or top

This has lovely golden shimmer. It is almost as sheer as the pink but it is a fab, juicy orange. I will most likely use it for layering but I liked it a lot on its own. This is also where we go into the oddities of this set.

Gold? Really?

Three coats, no base or top

It's a gold, sheer shimmer. Very pretty, not terribly exciting though. It seems such an afterthought in this set. You could totally layer over the others with it, I guess. There's no way it's gonna build up into something wearable on its own though.

Check it:

Macro shot of three coats

This is strictly for layering. The end.

Finally, we have the biggest head scratcher:

No name gunmetal grey

Three coats no base or top

I love this. It's very me. However, I do not understand its place in this set. It's like they were worried they weren't including enough colors in the set. I get wanting to have a nice range or perhaps an even number. I just don't understand why it had to be a gunmetal grey. But that's just me. What the hell do I know?

Anyway, this is a bit tricky to apply. It is really fluid and if your previous coat is not completely dry, it will leave a bald patch. At least it dries fast.

Overall, I am loving all of these polishes. All dried very quickly and all but the green have a very fluid formula that the brush handle loves to hold on to. Hence, the blobs I cautioned against.

That will do it for today. I'm off to the store to buy goodies for homemade pizza tonight!

Beauty Blogazon Round Up 6.19-6.25

2011-06-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

Presenting your weekly dose of fabulous reads from the beauty blog world!

Lip Tar and MAC Surf Baby Lipstick Give Away Winner on Cosmetically Challenged

Hard Candy Beetle on the Life and Polish blog

500 Follower Giveaway 6 winners on Midnight Manicures

Zoya Touch Swatches on Kewtified

Animal Manicure on Bright Lights Big Color

My First Nubar on A Day in the Life

PritiNYC Summer Day Kit Swatches on Polished to the Nines

Multidimensional Mani on Nailderella Nails

You're Moody, Bish on Lambchop Mobile

Home Laser Hair Removal Guide on Beauty and Fashion Tech

Review: Mary Kay Love Lash Mascara on Style Eyes

A rainbow tape mani from Let Them Have Polish

Are You Down With OCC? Polish Insomniac is.

Pink Glitter Mani on Bookworm Nails

Battle of brush cleaner on Purple Eye Diamond

Get to know JoElle Skincare on Creatively Yours By Ro

Continuing Education in Artistry on Royal Beauty Designs

Review: e.l.f. Studio Cream Eyeliner in Plum Purple on Beauty Mamas

Essie Ruby Slippers on Nails and Noms

Walking the Plank on Polish Pauper

Get in the Mood for Friday with Tara's Nails

Real French Perfume from Fragonard on Reve Noir

Enter the Nicole By OPI Texture Giveaway on Addicted to All Things Pretty

Are you tired of the bandwagon trends? Glitter Gloss Garbage is.

We like butter

2011-06-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Today I have for you my first ever Butter London polish. My best friend, Pixie, got this for me for my birthday.

Butter London Bumster

Three coats no base or top

This is definitely one of those ugly/awesome colors. I mean, it's mustard. That is not normally a pleasant color.

Yet, I really like it. I'm not certain why.

The formula on this is okay. I had my best results on my pinkie since it's so tiny. However I found this to be streaky-ish going on and a tad thick. This will level out with top coat. I've worn this a few times already and mainly received quizzical looks. I refer again to ugly/awesome concept.

This also shows just how well Pixie knows me. She knows I'm drawn to odd colors.

I'm not crazy in love with this but I am glad to have it in my stash. I'd very much like to get some more colors but dang, that $14 price tag gets me. I'm sure I'll find myself indulging at some point. Especially if I find those jellies...

That'll do for now. I'm about to meet up with Matt and do something...

Have a great day!

Not like the kvetching

2011-06-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Today I have some layering/half-assed gradient. I'm not madly in love with this because I think it needs refinement. Also? I was really annoyed with small, random things. But we'll cover that later. On to the pictures!

Base is OPI Not Like the Movies, FIVE coats

Half assedly applied Orly Galaxy Girl and Out of This World

Topped again wit one coat of Not Like the Movies

This refused to photograph nicely.

I finally broke down and bought an OPI at retail. (GASP!!) I think I was smoking crack. However, I do love this. I cannot resist a duochrome and I love the little bits of silver glitter. I'm gonna be a little crazy and say that I actually love WnW Gray's Anatomy a little more though. The formula is a little bit better and wears on me better than this. OPI's win is the brush though. That brush is awesome sauce.

I tried to wear this alone but it did not stand up to a full day at work. I started over when I got home and threw on five coats only because I got distracted by Matt and Pooky. So I lost count. Oh well.

I just wasn't satisfied and I don't know why but I did what I did. It looked a lot better in real life. My pictures absolutely suck balls.

I'm not in love and it was not up to my standards. I think it's all because I was so damned annoyed.

My day was just a collection of small annoyances that built up into a flood of unpleasantness and left me feeling prickly.

Like? Whistling. I hate whistling. I think it's the most heinous sound ever visited upon the ears. It's like having a pencil jabbed into my eye. Which, come to think of it, I would prefer. I had so many people in the store whistling and it was making me crazy!! And I could not say shit. I just kept ducking my head and gritting my teeth.

Then, comes along the foot draggers. HOW HARD IS IT TO PICK UP YOUR FEET WHEN YOU WALK??? That is the height of laziness to me. Cannot stand it.

It was all shit like that and it frazzled me so much that I couldn't even stand being around people. Good thing I had a stack of paperwork waiting for me in the office. It may have saved my sanity and possibly my marriage.

Because Matt is not a fan of my kvetching. Oy. Sucks to be you guys!

So there ya have it. I appreciate you listening to my cranky ramblings.

Tell me, what are your pet peeves? Does it ruin your day too?

1983 is calling

2011-06-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Holy bats, I have so much to do here. I've been on a spree to take pics, edit and schedule posts because I really want to have more to show here. I've been so damn slack. I just don't know why you guys invite me.

Today I have a bit of swatch/layer/nail art. I decided to see if I could make it through my last three days before vacation without completely changing my manicure. This is not an easy task.
However, I prevailed and as a reward I get to go polish shopping tonight.

So let me show you what happened:

On Monday, I chose to wear Orly Snowcone

Orly is my favorite brand. BUT. This was so hard to work with. It's thick and chalky. It s richly pigmented so I got away with two coats. Gratefully, Out The Door smoothed things out and I was a happy Lamb. It's a keeper, no doubt because the rewards were well worth the effort.

This wore exceptionally well for me which was a huge surprise. When you're constantly reaching into wheeled tubs for plates, tools, sporting goods, laundry baskets, picture frames, etcetera, etc. it effs up your nails pretty good. Not this time! And this is one reason why I'm such an Orly fangirl.

On Tuesday, I repaired the tiny bit of tip wear and decided to layer:

This you have to click.

It is one coat of Claire's Mermaid over Snowcone.

Terribly subtle, so I had to add two more coats.

Mermaid is a sheer, soft blue duochrome that throws a pink and green flash. I did a swatch in this post here so you can see what it looks like on its own.

The pink really shone over this but the base color is too close to Snowcone and it takes too many coats for a good effect. Still pretty though.

Yesterday I wanted nail art. Snowcone is a great base for it. I really want to try the splatter nails look that the PolishAholic did a tutorial for. I did not have the time and necessary tools so I busted out the Konad.

Konad Plate m21

ChG Grape Pop and Four Leaf Clover

Orly Lemonade

Color Club Warhol

All finally covered with another coat of Mermaid.

Four Leaf Clover didn't show as well as I would have liked.

Overall, I was super happy with this. It is snazzy. I think it's a bit of 80s nostalgia I have going on.

I was reminded of the time me and my girlfriend decided to paint splatter our sunglasses. We set up in her garage and I remember being so stoked that her parents were going to let us use paint because mine sure the hell wouldn't! Of course, we were in the third grade at the time and her mom hovered around with this terrified expression. End of story, we both walked away with paint splattered sunglasses that we could hardly see out of. But we were on trend for super cheap so...WIN. They paired very nicely with our rubber bracelets and jelly sandals that summer.

That does it for now. I have loads more blog work to do, a house to clean and a shopping list to make.

Have an amazing day!!

Everybody loves a parfait

2011-06-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

Good morning guys!

It's my FRIDAY!!! Holy bats, I'm so ready. I just don't even know to do with the free time I'm going to have.
Oh, right. I'm going to clean house and do laundry. Yay. Maybe I can talk Matt into having sushi Thursday....

Today I have a snotch more of layering because I found some cool combos and well, it's what I do a lot.
Let's take a look:

From left to right:

Index: Two coats Essie Lollipop with two coats Pure Ice Rosebud

Middle: Two coats Essie Lollipop, one coat Sally Hansen Wavelength and one coat Rosebud

Ring: Once coat Sally Hansen Black Patent Leather with two coats Rosebud

Pinkie: Two coats ChG Recycle with two coats Rosebud

All are without top coat

Same as above with top coat

I swear, Rosebud is my newest favorite layering polish. I absolutely adore it over Lolipop and Recycle. What I did with my middle finger was exactly the pedicure I was sporting. (Yay, no feet pics!) It had a pretty, shimmery and squishy look that was fabulous with my gold leather sandals. Just sayin'.

Rosebud was really nice over the black but a bit streaky. I think this could work if I took the time to carefully apply. This was a quick and dirty. BUT do you love this over Recycle? I think it is amazeballs. Who knew this could work together?

I feel so proud of myself. ;)

Sadly, this a quick one. I have to get ready for work and make some lunch.

Have a great day!!!

You're moody, bish.

2011-06-21T09:23:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

I loaded my sister's ipod the other day and I was just appalled with the list of songs she wanted on it. Nickelback, really? No. A million times no. It's bad enough my husband likes them.
What really made my blood boil was her request for Buckcherry - "Crazy Bitch." I hate that song with an outrageously fiery passion. Why is that song so popular with women? It is so insulting.
And this is coming from a woman that listens to extreme metal. Oy. I could go on and on, cite my women's studies classes and make the distinction between shock value and just plain tastelessness. But I won't. I would bore you.
However, the good news is that I had pretty much none of the music she requested. So I loaded Avantasia, Liv Kristine, Portugese Fado music and other good stuffs on there instead. To sum up, I win. I will improve my sister's taste in music.

This now takes us to the polish. ;)

I went on a little trip to Claire's and ended up picking up another mood polish and their black crackle.
Check it:

Three coats happy/earthy

no base or top

Earthy is the warm look.

Happy/earthy after running my fingers under cold water.

Not the best pic because I was pretty warm so it was

difficult to keep the polish green.

I liked this green/yellow combo quite a bit. I'm a sucker for neons and I love that this yellow is a highlighter kind of bright. I do believe this is going to be super fun for Duck Day manicures!

Anyway. This applied really nicely and dried super quick. I was surprised it dried matte because my other two mood polishes do not. However, once I saw this went neon I got it. And I like it.

Then I decided to use black crackle over this and this is what happened.

Three coats happy/earthy topped with black crackle.

Randomly applied on index and middle to see how it would crack.

Same as above in natural indoor light.

Neon yellow and black are such a classic 80's combo. LOVE. This is how I shall segue back to music, for reals.

So, this made me think of the Misfits and their Crimson Ghost mascot. I used to have a Misfits t-shirt that had the same color combo. And once that thought came to me, I made the family listen to the Misfits. Good thing Matt likes them!

So there ya have it. What bands/songs make you irrationally angry? I have a long list, myself. You prolly should never ask about it.

Thanks for stopping by and have a terrific day!

Stylish Blogger Award

2011-06-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

I was tagged for this by the adorable and super sweet, Monique of Forever '92.

I'm to share 7 facts about myself and pass this along to seven other bloggers.

I'm not going to tag anyone because I'd like for anyone to participate if they so desire. Frankly, there's so many cool and interesting people out there, that it would be so hard to narrow it down to just seven!

So here we go:

1. I HATE, HATE cold weather and feeling cold. My childhood in Nebraska made me despise snow and cold. I live for summer.

2. Matt and I have decided that we will move to Mexico when it's time to retire. Specifically, the Yucatan Penisula. I has to be warm.

3. I adore my job. It's challenging and stressful but it's makes me so happy.

4. I should have found a job in the music industry since music is my life and I CAN'T play any instrument.

5. My favorite metal band is Moonspell. My favorite punk band is Social Distortion. My favorite pop singer is Lady Gaga. And I adore Air Supply. I'm a delightful ball of eccentricity.

6. My all time favorite shade of nail polish is OPI Midnight In Moscow.

7. I adore my husband. He is so amazing and gorgeous. I'm still crazy, madly in love with him 12 years later. I wish all my friends had a lover like him. He is that spectacular.

Thanks for stopping by and finding out a few things about me.

Hope everyone has a glorious day!

Beauty Blogazon Round Up

2011-06-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

Presenting your weekly round-up of fabulous reads from the Beauty blog world!

Beauty Supply Haul from Royal Beauty Designs

Essie Braziliant from Kewtified

Zoya Rica from Midnight Manicures

A day at the races with Bright Lights Big Color

Lights, Camera, Nail Polish with the Polish Pauper

Millions of Peaches for the Polish Insomniac

Lots of Deborah Lippmann from Nails and Noms

Cosmetically Challanged asks are we abusing our mentors?

Ruby Kisses Red Romance with Creatively Yours by Ro.

Forever 21 Friday with Tara's Nails

A new kind of Jelly Sandwich with Lambchop Mobile

Nufo 52 and Zoya by Let Them Have Polish

Giveaway Win Nail Art with Getting Girlie

Korres High Drama with Beauty Thesis

Nail of the Day with Song of Hope

Sam Fine Interview with Eye Adore Pretty

Orange Plaid by Painted Pixies

Springtime Lippie colors with Purple Eye Diamond

The Makeup Show Chicago+Haul with Killer Lipgloss

Kayla's very first Franken

Free Hand Nail Art with The It Color

L'Oreal Infallible Swatches with Glitter Gloss Garbage

Nicole by OPI 6 Piece Shatter Giveaway with Addicted to All things Pretty

A new kind of jelly sandwich

2011-06-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

Good morning guys!

Today I have a little something I've been playing with. You've prolly seen the "jelly sandwich" look popping up all over lately. And damn, jelly over glitter is tatsy. So is jelly over crackle as evidenced by The Swatchaholic.
So what is it I'm doing? Just layering jelly over jelly.

Revlon Just Tinted Mystical and Pure Ice Rosebud

Four coats no base or top

I alternated coats of Mystical and Rosebud to achieve this. It had this perfect candy appearance and I was digging the satin finish my final coat of Mystical gave. Rosebud has this amazing shimmer and I feel it really was able to show through in this combination. This is a super quick mani to do because both dry so quickly.

Now let's see what happens when you do add top coat.

Shiny squishy goodness.

(Clicky to make big.)

Check out the fire that Rosebud brings, yo. That's what I'm talking about.

Hope you enjoyed this layering experiment. I have another round coming up with Rosebud because it is so much more awesome than I would have imagined. Until then, my friends...

And now we take a Kitteh break.

2011-06-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

Good day!

Here is your dose of kitteh cuteness.

Gus loves his bags.

Gus, my little stalker kitteh. He was hanging out with me in the sunroom on a rare warm and sunny day while I was swatching. However, he's not my usual company when doing my nails...

Dita is my constant companion when it's time to make those nails pretty.

Lest you think Gus is the only one who enjoys hiding out in boxes and bags, Dita finds them pleasing as well.

Hmm... what's this?

Please to not recycle the kitteh!

At the end of a long day practicing tiger skills, stalking mom and being the most beautiful cat in the world; it's time to take a nice nap.

I love how Trixie and Dita cuddle together.

Thanks for indulging the crazy cat lady and I hope you enjoyed the kitteh break!

I can't smile without you

2011-06-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

I actually slept in for once, guys. Normally, sleeping in for me is waking at 7 a.m. Today I woke at almost 9. Might have something to do with staying up late and making study notes for my sister. (Which is a whole other sad, sordid story...) BTW, reading motivational/managerial books is not much fun. Especially when you find them useful. Oy.

Anyway, I wanted to show some nail art that I have done recently.

Last week, I showed some layering over ChG Heli-Yum and mentioned I was going to be rocking that shade when I got back to work. This is what I did:

Base is three coats Heli-Yum

Purple stripes are two thin coats of Nina Ultra Pro Grin and Bear-y It

topped with Orly Bubbly Bombshell

White stripes are WnW Mad Styles

Used blue painter's tape to mark off the stripe.

So my clean up was pretty piss poor BUT it just so happened that Matt and I were getting snappy with one another at that point. So I gave up and took some pics.(Then I pouted and silently resented my hubs for being a prick. Y'know like you do on any "Friday" night.)

Point is, I didn't like how Bubbly Bombshell was going over Grin and Bear-y It so on my right hand I left out the Nina and only applied the Orly.

I am really liking Mad Styles tho. It's a nicely pigmented white creme that applies nicer than most.

On Saturday, I decided to roll with some nice minty green. I used Claire's Dreamcatcher over Revlon Powder Puff but was dismayed by all the streakiness and bald patches. So I did this the next day:

Three coats Dreamcatcher over Powder Puff

One coat Sinful Mint Apple

One Coat Nina Ultra Pro Mermaid

Sponged with WnW Mad Styles

The original combo did not wear well and looked horrid so I layered. Also, didn't feel like giving myself a whole brand new look. I get lazy. So I didn't quite get my tip wear covered. Mint Apple gave me the opacity I was looking for. Mermaid gave some pretty shimmer and my sponging looked like little clouds. So...yeah.

Frankly, I have done and can do better.

That does it for now. I have to take some more pics of some layering that I hope you will enjoy.

Have a great day!

Like drunken monkeys

2011-06-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

Today is my Friday and I'm dead, done, over. What a long week! It will be worse next week, I have a 10 hour day coming up and several interminable meetings. Dang. Hope the weather will improve soon so I can at least have some nice bike rides.

That said, I have a couple of swatches that I forgot about to show you.

First up is China Glaze Blue Sparrow.

Three coats, no base or top

This is quite lovely but why, oh why are glitters refusing to be opaque on me? For reals. I see gorgeous swatches of this and they are pretty damned opaque. But not on me. Son of a...

Do you also love how my nails are all ragged in this? They're not even behaving with my glass file. Oy. I am not friends with my nails now.

Next, I have Sinful Hottie.

Seriously, this is three coats on all fingers.

My skills no longer exist.

I don't know what the hell is wrong with me.

My bottle of this is so thick and kind of gloopy. I've decided not to use thinner on it but mix some of it with clear polish in a silicone baking cup when I want to use it. (Thanks for that tip from Nevertoomuchglitter!)

So there you have it along with my whining. Lucky! :/

Thanks for indulging me guys. Hope y'all have a wonderful day!

Round 'Em Up

2011-06-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Good day! I have some beauty love to share with y'all. I'll be back in action a little later this week.

In the meantime, please enjoy some of these fabulous reads.

Polish Insomniac is Crusin Nude

OHC Beauty is going to teach you how to Treat Tone and Moisturize

Midnight Manicures wants to take you Across the Universe

Glitter.Gloss.Garbage reviews L'Oreal Paris Double Extend Eye Illuminator

StyleEyes reviews a body was for Earth Lovers

Lambchop Mobile shows off her nail polish layering skills

Beauty by Kayla’s Rainbow Polka Dot NOTD

Beauty Mamas FOTD and Friday Favorites

Kewtified revisits Misa Paradise Shore

Killer Lipgloss is having a Father’s Day Giveaway

Creatively Yours introduces you to Danessa Myricks

Reve Noir has Glamour Doll swatches to share

Beauty Thesis reviews The Porefessional

Aquilah is having a massive Blog Sale

Royal Beauty Designs has a Target Haul

Let Them Have Polish lets Illamasqua grace her tips again

Painted Pixies swatches Zoya Casey

Purple Eye Diamond gives an update on Makeup School

She walked up to me and really stole my heart

2011-06-09T19:01:00.000-07:00

Good day!

Guess who volunteered to work on one of her days off? Today is my only day to relax and be slothful. :/ I'll be back in the madhouse tomorrow.
I really do love my job and I really love overtime. Paying Rallo's vet bill put us back a bit and this is gonna help. Anyway...I would've had this up sooner but really, I was lazy and TIRED. I did swatch and edit so I think I get a pass. ;)

Today I wanted to show you my absolute favorite layering polishes. They can be worn on their own and I have but I like them best layered. I speak of the Sally Hansen HDs that were released last year. They are multi-dimensional glittery beauties and I've been slowly collecting them all.

So let's get started!

First I have Laser, which is my newest acquisition.

Laser

layered L-R:

ChG Spontaneous

ChG Grape Pop

Orly Blue Suede

Sally Hansen Black Patent Leather

Laser is a dark blue jelly loaded with microglitter that flashes blue and purple. I am in mad love. I even took macros.

Laser over BPL

Laser over Blue Suede

Laser over Grape Pop

(My personal fave combination.)

Next we have Spectrum. It's a teal-ish jelly with the same color shifting microglitter. I layered it over the same colors that I did with laser just to see how it reacts with both purples and blues.

Spectrum

This was most impressive over Blue Suede and it is pretty sweet over black. With purple, (especially how badly I applied them!) it's alright. I dunno.

My all time fave of these is DVD. It's a lighter purple jelly with loads of the same microglitter.

I had to buy a back up of it because I was using it to layer and sponge. It is teh awesome.

Look at that! (P.S. You should prolly click it to make bigger.)

Same colors as the other two. No complaints at all.

Slightly blurred for bling-y goodness.

DVD is by far the standout for me. I'm going to have to buy more bottles of it because I'm worried it's going to be discontinued.

Finally, I have Wavelength. It's a coral-y pink that normally I would not go for. It has less of the microglitter and is kind of duochrome. I've enjoyed it and used it to sponge with. I changed this up because I wanted to show you another layering polish that I wouldn't normally go for. (And prolly won't wear by itself. I'm so not a pink girl.)

Wavelength on index and ring

ChG Strawberry Fields on middle and pinkie

all layered over ChG Heli-Yum

Please do clicky.

Wavelength over Heli-Yum gives what I call telenovela pink. It's sassy and a bit trashy. Me like.

I adore Strawberry Fields over Heli-Yum. It's perfect.

I knew Wavelength wouldn't necessarily apply well or show well over black but I wanted to see what would happen. I was surprised that Strawberry Fields wasn't too bad over black. Either way, I got ideas for frankens. So...yay!

Please to enjoy some of my macro shots:

Strawberry Fields over Heli-Yum

Wavelength over Heli-Yum

Slight microglitter but, hey, it throws some nice flash.

The biggest surprise of them all.

Strawberry Fields over Black Patent Leather

I really like this and I really want to make a baby of these two!

So that's my layering experiment for today. I'm gonna be rocking Heli-Yum tomorrow. It's my favorite of my strictly edited pinks. It's cheerful and I'm gonna need to be when I get to work. Oy.

Have a great weekend guys!

This and that, that and this

2011-06-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good day!

So here are the other things I've been sitting on and really meaning to post. If only my job didn't get in the way!

Nail Art I did with ChG Strawberry Fields,

L.A. Colors Megawatt and Orly Old School Orange.

I think there may be another but I forgot and I forgot

to take notes. Fail.

ChG Senorita Bonita, three coats

layered with Orly Bubbly Bombshell

I cannot get Bubbly Bombshell nor Here Comes Trouble opaque on my nail alone. I have to layer. Also? Lately I suck at doing my nails. Discuss.

I lied in the last post.

THIS is my final Mexico polish.

Idyl Unnamed neon green, three coats no base or top

Little jelly-ish, dries fast and SMELLY.

Orly Pure Porcelain

Three coats, no base or top

Hard one to work with but worth the effort.

Such a great base for nail art!

This doesn't quite get me caught up but it's all good. I shall have a final post with the last bit of it. Until then, have a great weekend and keep fingers crossed that I can have at least one sunny, rain free day in Oregon. (Um, yeah. It rains even when sunny here. Cool...)

Until then, my loves!

Getting caught up

2011-06-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

Good morning guys!
It's been a couple of long, rough weeks at work and I'm fried.
Frankly, I'm worried about what will be next because my boss will be going on maternity leave soon. Gonna mean a lot more hard work. As it is, I feel like a zombie on my days off because I'm so tired.

That said, this is a quick round up of what I've been meaning to show you.

Pure Ice- Coral Reef

Three coats, no base or top

A surprise that I like because it's so sweet and a wee bit frosty.

Pure Ice - Rosebud

Three coats, no base or top

Another surprise. It's a snazzy, shimmery jelly that will be best to layer with.

Both of the above were a birthday gift from my parents. As a matter of fact, my dad was the one who picked them out. I think he did quite well!

Next are my last two hauls from Mexico:

Maybelline Colorama in Blackberry

Three streaky coats, no base or top

This wasn't as good as my other Colorama but I'm chalking it up to

my application skills going downhill lately.

Idyl Unnamed Lilac Frost

Three coats no base or top

It's so 80s but I'm digging it.

I was disappointed that the Colorama came on so streaky but then again, I really have not been applying well.

I'm fucking tired, y'all. And it shows. The Idyl is just cute. And smelly. No surprise, really.

I don't have much more to say, sadly. So I think it's time to move on to roundup number two! Stay tuned.

Unleashed Memories

2011-05-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Good day!

Today I wanted to show you a manicure I did inspired by this:

This is a memory board that my sister made me for my birthday. I love the design on this and the colors are amazing!!! I realized upon further examination that I had all of those colors in my stash.

That's when inspiration hit!

These are the colors I used:

Left to right:

Color Club Warhol

WNW French White Creme

Sinful Nail Art Striper Sour Grapes

Sally Hansen Lickety Split Lime

Konad Special Polish Yellow

Color Club Chelsea Girl

I painted my nails with a base of Sally Hansen Black Patent Leather. (Forgot the pics for that. Ugh.) BPL is a great pure black jelly-ish creme that is beautifully opaque in two coats and dries super shiny. Then it was time to break out my Konad/Fauxnad plates and my dotting tool/striper brush. This is what became of it:

I had to mix the neon purple and pink with white so the stamps would show over the black. I stamped roses, vine-y appearing images, heart and fleur de lis.

I think it came out pretty good!

What do you think?

Infinite Dreams

2011-05-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Good morning!

I have a little something that I picked up at Rite-Aid to show you today.

CQ Rustic Dream

Three coats, no base or top

Oh, how I adore a good duochrome...

I had seen some of the CQ polishes around on the blogs but it wasn't until I saw a different duochrome that I knew I needed it!

Rustic Dream is one of my favorite kinds of duochrome. It's a nice brown toned orange that flashes pinky-red and what I think of as marigold. Kind of a golden brown yellow. It was very difficult to capture all of its facets thanks to the spotty sunshine. Nonetheless, this is stunning. I wore this for three days because I was enraptured.

There is one small issue I have with this. The application was super streaky and left a couple of bald patches. But I'm not certain it was the polish or my nails. I have a bad case of the peelies and have had since vacation. I mentioned before that every spring my nails get weird and refuse to play nice with polish. My left middle finger is the worst with it. Oy. Ridge filler was helpful for me but I will try this again once my nails get better.

I highly recommend this for any duochrome lover and the price is right too. I picked this up for $2.99 and ready to go back for more.

That does it for now. I'm way behind with lots to bring you so I will be working like mad writing and scheduling. Have a fabulous day!

Ain't nothin' like a Lambchop party

2011-05-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

Good day!

I am bringing you the promised Essence pics today plus another look at the other Essence polish I own, purchased from Ulta last year.
Before we get to that, I'd like to address the fact that I am not speaking to my cats right now. They have all tossed me over for their auntie. Last night Trixie made herself comfortable on my sister's bed and stayed there all night. Then Dita and Gus decided they needed to be in there too. Mommy is not happy.
It is true that Trixie only sleeps in bed with me when Matt is out of town. It is also true that Trixie believes Matt to be a terrifying giant who is going to eat her soul. BUT. I am her BFF and I expect some loyalty. Like you do.

What really breaks my heart is Gus. He has always been my stalker kitteh. Every night he comes to bed with me, curls up at the foot and stares at me until I turn off the light. Every morning he's there, still watching and ready to follow me everywhere. Until now. I'm just so disgusted. I can't possibly go on.

Since I'm feeling so sorry for myself, it's time to move on and show you some pretty nail polish.

What Do U Think

Three coats, no base or top

This is so pretty. As I understand it it is a dupe for Chanel Orange Fizz. Take from that bit of info what you will. I have yet to find a Chanel polish I'm lusting after so...yeah.

Anyhoo, this is a pretty peachy-orange creme with EXTREMELY subtle gold shimmer. Sadly, it is one of those that the gold goodness is most prominent in bottle. However, I did manage to capture it. This applies quite nicely and is okay in two coats but best in three.

Pretty...

Either way, this is one of those perfect Spring/Summer colors that makes you crave delicious fresh fruit.

It's also 99 cents. How can you go wrong?

The next little beauty I picked up is no surprise. I love me a good duochrome.

Where is the Party

Three coats, no base or top coats

Holy bats. This is sublime. It is an amazing duochrome. Basically it is a purple with silver/grey tones and flashes of green and blue. It applied really nicely and one could have gotten away with two coats but I always prefer three.

Finally, I have Just Rock It to show you all over again. I bought this last November at Ulta in Tualatin. The pics to follow were also taken with my old Lumix. Be warned!

Just Rock It

Three coats, no base or top coats

Just Rock It is a great navy creme. It's a little lighter than Orly La Playa. Again, it applies so nice. The brush on these is really fab and makes it very easy to apply quickly. Three coats is a must because it is a snotch sheer on two. No biggie but you can tell, yo.

So there ya have it y'all. I'm getting paid on Friday so you can be certain I'm headed back for more!

As for the cats, well...Trixie is trying her best to make it up to me in spite of her bad breath. We'll see how this goes.

Super snazzy at Freddy's! (Pacific Northwest Specific)

2011-05-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

I had the best day yesterday. I decided to hit up all the drugstores and whatnot in the area to see what I could see. (And pick up China Glaze Broken Hearted Crackle Glaze at Sally.) Anyway, I rolled into Fred Meyer fully expecting to be disappointed.
Why was I planning on being disappointed? Freddy's cosmetic department is really fucked up. They had Mlani ever so briefly and it was a little bit of polish and some bronzers and that was it. Then they dropped it! It had to have done well because the displays were always picked clean. (Besides by me!)
They were also the first retailer of this amazing bit of nail polish goodness. I speak of Cosmetic Arts and well...I heard from some people that it showed up in Portland area stores and that was it. Sure didn't make it to Eugene!
So frustrating!!! The final push that sent me over the edge was strolling into the West Eugene store and seeing LA Splash. It wasn't in Springfield and I didn't see it at another Eugene location. So, I flipped my shit and wrote Freddy's a very terse email demanding an explanation. That did not work so well and I gave up. I just decided it was best to expect Freddy's to bum me out.

Now, we can get to the point of this. I walked into Freddy's beauty section, turned a corner and saw this:

ESSENCE!!!!

Holy bats!! I was so freaking excited to see this. I know Essence is at Ulta BUT the nearest one to me is two hours north. Not terribly convenient to get to. Also, I'm a cheapskate and did not want to pay shipping. This however, is less than a mile from my house and all I have to do to get it home is ride my bike. WIN!

Of course I purchased something. 99 cents is one of my favorite price points for nail polish. Plus, the Colour and Go numbers are pretty kick ass. I will be bringing you pics shortly!

So fellow nail polish addicts of the Pacific Northwest, rejoice!

Here's hoping Freddy's will expand the offerings and start carrying some of those cool Trend Edition collections!

That does it for now. I'm about to demolish some ice cream before doing nails. (It's been one of them days, yo.)

MMM...ice cream...

This coffee sucks

2011-05-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

Good morning guys.

I got all my morning routine done early and now I can post. YAY! I am disappointed in the coffee my sister made this morning though. It tastes like it was brewed through a dirty sock. Cheap coffee just ain't worth it, y'all. Now that I have that off my chest, let's move on.

Today I have another Mexican nail polish that I bought at Wal-mart Cancun.

Collection Teen

Unnamed Silver

FOUR coats, no base or top

I about died when I walked to the health and beauty section that day. They had this ginormous pallet of super generic nail polish set up. It was some kind of special because these were all priced at 10 pesos. Which came to about 85 cents U.S. There were terrible colors available but I managed to find this silver. I picked up a shimmery purple too but that disappeared somewhere between Cancun and Denver. No bueno!

At first, I was kind of meh. It's silver and I have several BUT then I noticed it has a green cast to it that makes it a lot more special. However, the one coat claim on the bottle is a major lie. Unless you want a sheer, streaky wash of silver. If you want opacity, you must apply at least three coats. Since my nails have been jacked since the trip, I had to go with four. The good news is that this dries amazingly fast so it's not that difficult to apply that many coats.

It's not the smoothest formula but then again, I didn't expect perfection from a cheap, generic Mexican nail polish.

Overall, it's a neat little addition to my collection and one that I will only use in the summer. Why? Because as with almost all of my polishes from Mexico, it smells HORRIBLE. At least in summer, I can do my nails in the sun room which has lots of air flowing in and out. Yikes.

So there ya have it for today. I'm off to work and hope it goes by quickly because it's my Friday. See you soon!

Crazy and good

2011-05-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Good morning guys!

I'm making a bit of a return today after spending two weekends insanely busy.
So what's happening?

1. I spent one weekend cleaning out my nail polish room and the office to make room for my sister and nephew, who have moved in for the summer.
2. I helped my sister move everything in last weekend.
3. Work. It's insane. I had a 10 hour day that involved lots of moving and resetting fixtures. Today, I will get to do most of it all over again. Hooray.
4. Thanks to Blogger being down, I now have a crazy backlog of posts to write. I just decided not to bother with doing anything with my pics until everything was back to rights. But, I do have some Sinfuls to show and my Pixie sent me my first Butter London polish for my birthday. Sweet!

That's what's been going on here. Yeah. So, here's hoping my weekend will be a bit more relaxing and provides me with enough time to do the things I want.

On a final note, I have a new update about Rallo. He is healing very, very well and he is totally back to his sweet, happy-go-lucky self. Mom snapped this pic of him because he was wearing what looked like the biggest, happiest grin.

I'm so happy for our little guy and so happy for dad. Life is definitely getting better!

See you guys in a couple of days. Have a good one!