New Station - Miss Bling it On

This is my first bottle of polish from Station nails.  I'm so glad they redid their bottles because I couldn't get past how bad the old packaging looked.  Plus, the only way for me to buy Station without going on line, is by dropping by a nail supply store, which carried old Station but it was covered in so much dust I just wouldn't go near it.  Now they have gotten rid of all their old Station, the store is refreshed with new Station and a bargain at $3 a bottle.

Well, here is, Miss Bling it On, a mini silver glitter with multi-colored bar glitter in a clear base.  One coat over China Glaze's Call of the Wild.  I kind of wish the glitters weren't so densely packed.  The silver covers up quite a bit of Call of the Wild... oh, well it doesn't look too bad.  The bar glitters look like doughnut sprinkles over chocolate frosting....yummy!

Station nail polish is also at transdesign.com

Thoughts?

China Glaze - Call of the Wild

Hey guys! 

Here's my second and last pick from China Glaze's On Safari collection: Call of the Wild.  Call of the Wild is a dark chocolate brown cream polish.  Excellent formula from China Glaze, as expected.  Two easy coats, topped with Seche Vite.  Looks so rich with a grey suit or sweater. 

Thoughts?
What are your picks/favorites from this collection?

Sinful Colors - Under 18

Happy Sunday!  Quickie swatch today.  Sinful colors - Under 18 a simple, bright red foil polish.  What can I say?  Excellent formula, I had no issues, two super easy coats.



Under 18 is a core color and should be super easy to find.  $1.99 at Walgreens.

China Glaze - Desert Sun

Hey everyone!  I'm really excited to show you Desert Sun, one of my picks from China Glaze's On Safari Collection.  Desert Sun is light, warm, caramel color and looks good enough to eat.  I don't have another color like it in my collection.  It feels very classy and all grown up.  Great cream formula, two super easy coats!

I am totally dreaming of a simple pound cake with salted caramel syrup right now!

Sinful Colors 1055 Slate

Hey Guys!

Today I have a quickie swatch, Sinful Colors, Slate.  Slate is a nice medium grey with a silver shimmer.  Like most shimmers, the formula is really easy to work with.  Here it is; two coats in early morning light.

The top coat is Etude House's Jelly Pop.  I picked this up during the 99 cent sale at Walgreens!   I love me some cheap thrills!

Thanks for watching!

CrowsToes - Gomez

FI-NAL-LY! *clutch fists* After waiting three full weeks, my bottle of Gomez arrived.  Gomez is complex glitter bomb made up of various sizes and quantities of black, blue, gold, silver and purple hex glitters and some black bar glitter.  Here it is layered over Sinful Colors, Slate, a medium gray shimmer polish. 

Right hand.  Thicker coat of glitter.

Left hand, glitter is more sparse here.

I had a much better time controlling the glitters with Gomez, than I did with, I Make the Path, the other CrowsToes polish I posted.  Gomez seems to have more clear base in it.  My right hand has one thick coat and the left hand has a thin coat.  Sometimes I really don't like my glitters so crowded but in this case they were pretty both ways. 

The mixtures of glitters in Gomez are very nicely done.  The black adds some depth and dimension. The gold, silver and blue sparkle.  Blue, I would say is the main color and the small amount of purple is a nice surprise and balance.  I think Gomez will definitely be in my top 10 polishes for 2012!  Its like crusted jewels.  Extraordinarily engaging!

I got my bottle of Gomez from shop.llarowe.com, for $14.  Expect delays, in this case, I think it was worth it.  I probably sound like a whiny, impatient child, but I'm used to store bought polish, and when I buy polish online I generally buy from eBay.  Which many times, polish ships out in one business day and shows up in my mailbox, two to three days later (domestic mail), not three weeks later.   However, I can forgive, because I did get a couple of mass notification emails about shipping delays, which is better than no communication at all.  I highly suggest visiting my other CrowsToes posting on I Make the Path. In the comments sections there's a discussion on shopping experiences with Llarowe.  Please check your bottles as soon as you get them in the mail.

Thanks for stopping by!

Orly - Synchro

Hey guys!  No glitter or nail art because its my turn to work this weekend... Argh!  I do, however have an interesting polish to show you.  Orly's Synchro from the small Electronica Collection.  Synchro is a complex, shimmer, duo chrome pink-orange polish that flashes from orange to blue.  Thin, but decent formula.  I used three coats for full coverage and took a while to dry. 

The only drawback is, in low light it looks like a frosty mauve to me. I hate frosty mauves.  Totally reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld's two-faced girlfriend.  Super pretty in full light, yucky in low light.

You can see the orange flash on the index finger.

Here's a clip of Seinfeld's two faced girlfriend.... :D



Synchro might be awesome layered over black.  I haven't had a chance to try that out yet.

Well, enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening! 

Petites Color Fever - Vintage Gray

Hey everyone!  Having a restful weekend?

Today's post is on last week's work mani.  I hope I don't totally bore you.  Below is two coats of Vintage Gray from Color Fever, a light gray leaning every so slightly purple.  The formula is kind of thin, and since it could be in the pastel family I waited for the first coat to almost dry before applying the second coat.  Works like a charm. 

Outdoor shade.

For what its worth, indoor, incandescent lighting.  The hint of purple is not apparent here.

Picked this up at Rite Aide for $2.99, such a cute little bottle.  The top is round but the bottom is square. 

Carry on!

CrowsToes - I Make The Path

My first glitter indie! 

Boy, I Make the Path is jammed packed with glitter! I mean jammed-packed.  When I first opened my bottle it was literally, filled to the brim with polish and glitter.  I think it needs more clear base because the glitters go on in a clumpy fashion and it is hard to move them around.  After this use, I had some room to add thinner and clear base to my bottle. 

The glitter combo is very pretty though.  I reminds me of fancy tile work at the bottom of a pool.  Here it is layered over two coats of Zoya's Dove.  Have a look-sie!

See the texture?  This is after two coats of top coat!

Right hand.

Left hand.

Crows Toes state that their polishes contain "un-cut" suspension base, whatever that means....I used two coats of Seche Vite and I can still feel the glitters.  So I Make the Path qualifies as a top coat eater. 

Below you can see in the bottle how packed the glitters are.  When I turn the bottle upside down the glitters don't even move around.  Certainly can't say they were being stingy.  The holographic gold glitters sparkle like crazy and the pearl glitters nicely balance out shiny blue and gold. 

Macro of the bottle.

Crows Toes is available at shop.Llarowe.com for $14 each, around $3 for domestic US shipping.  Kind of pricey for sloppy customer service.  I ordered Gomez and I Make the Path together on July 29 and I got IMP on Aug 11, I am still waiting for Gomez which is on back order.  I did call Llarowe, and emailed them, both with no response, no return call.   Just this Monday, I got an apologetic mass email from Llarowe saying that they had been on vacation, some of their staff have been sick and their Crows Toes shipment arrived damaged so they are waiting for replacements. ....  Jeeze...  I have patience and sympathy... but I think some kind of announcement on their website saying that there are long wait times for polish and responding to customer inquires would be nice. 

I don't know.  I understand they are a small business and all, but what do you think about taking orders on items you don't have in stock and making customers wait with no explanation?  Is this acceptable?  What has your experience been with internet businesses?



Jim Gaffigan Nails

What? You ask?  I know, this is a lost reference, but I'll explain.

For those of you who don't know who Jim Gaffigan is, he is a comedian who recently released the long awaited "Mr. Universe".  Mr. Universe was filmed recently at the Warner theatre here in D.C. and the backdrop inspired this week's nails.   Gaffigan does a lot of jokes on eating junk food, being lazy and religion.  If your in the mood for comedy, any of Gaffigan's materials will have you LYAO!

Does this look like anything to you?  My husband had no idea what this mani was about.  His first reaction was, "What is that?"

I told him, "It's my Jim Gaffigan nails."

"How is that Jim Gaffigan?"

I reply, "It's the spotlights and the curtains.".....  Oh well, failed nail art I guess.

This took me three and half hours to do, with all the dry time.  I used tape to make the spotlights.  Sinful Colors, Black on Black is the background, and Diana Manicure 1715, 1716 for the blue and yellow, and Funky Fingers blue and purple glitter.  I do have to say Sinful colors, Black on Black is a really nice black to own.  It is a true black with a very nice precise formula.  Not too thick not too thin and was a breeze to apply.  Lots of bang for you buck.  I got it during their 99 cent sale at Walgreens.

Below is a clip from Jim's latest show.  There is a ton of his old material for free on youtube.  I paid the $5 to watch Mr. Universe and it was money well spent!  Very entertaining. 
See the lights in the background?




"The thing about art, Joe, is that it comes from somewhere." -Angelica, Joe vs. the Volcano.

Enjoy!

Two Leibsters!

Another Leibster! Two Leibsters!

Sohni at The Manicurette, http://www.themanicurette.com/ and Jennifer from http://littlejsnailcorner.blogspot.com/ both nominated me for another Leibster award. I was nominated last month, but hey, it’s an honor to be recognized! Littlejsnailcorner is a brand new blog with lots of beautiful swatches of indie polishes. I don’t know how Jennifer gets her hands on all of these polishes, but she does. Indie polishes are super hot right now, so if you want to get your finger on the pulse, check out Jennifer’s blog!

The Manicurette is also brand new and has really cool swatches of various brands but it look like she has lots of A-Englands, another indie brand. Please drop by and check out these two highly skilled ladies!

I would prefer it if you just went to littlejsnailcorner or the Manicurette and not read the rest of this post! I bore myself. Really!

11 Random facts about me

OMG! {deep breath}, here we go.

I have one cat and one dog.
I’m married.
I’m a Dragon and an Aries.
I dream of raising backyard chickens.
I was born in Chicago; I grew up in the ‘burbs of Washington, DC.
I hope to have a somewhat different life by age 40.
My house is a money pit, and the next one will probably be too.
I spent the first 30-35 years of my life trying to please my parents.
I’m concerned about environmental decline and scarce resources.
I significantly decreased my consumption of red meat and fried foods this year.
I don’t want to end up in a nursing home, or worst yet, dying in a hospital. I want to die in my sleep with dignity, in my own home.

Questions

Some of the questions were repeats so there are less than 22, but more than 11.
1. When did you start blogging?

November 2011

2. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?

This list is pretty long…..but I’ll keep it really short.

I really wish I could afford to live in France a part of every year.

3. If you were stuck on an island what are the top five things you need?

Toothbrush
Clean water
Food
Proper sewage
Shelter
I’m adding 6. My eyeglasses, I’m blind, I really need them.
I’m pragmatic, most of the time. Can you tell?

4. What's your favorite nail polish color?

When I’m in a store and there is an array of nail polish in front of me, my arm just automatically reaches for the blue bottles. I can’t help it and I don’t know why my arm just goes there. However, I do have to add, I get the most compliments when I’m wearing any shade of red.

5. How many bottles of polish do you own?

It has to be somewhere between 250-275 bottles. This will change tomorrow.

6. What color do you have the most of in your collection?

Blue. I think I have about 30 bottles, but I have way more glitter than anything else, about 50 of those.

7. What is your first memory of nail polish?

I stole a bottle of Avon polish from my mom when I was 9, it was a dark pink.

8. What do your friends/family think of your hobby?

Some of my friends are amazed and impressed. Many of them don’t care. My husband likes it; I think my nail polish obsession keeps me out of his hair. My parents don’t know about it. My dad wouldn’t care. My mom would totally freak out and start lecturing me about being frugal or some crap like that. Yes, my mom will still lecture me even though I am damn near 40 years old! What’s strange though is when she does visit she insists, INSISTS on cooking meals for me and doing my laundry! She would not do this for me when I was a teenager, when I desperately needed her services!

9. What would be your dream polish?

I don’t know, but it has to be a jelly with glitter in it.

10. What trends do you love?

The organic, locally grown, food movement.

11. What's your favorite make up brand?

Laura Mercier. I say that as a default. It was my wedding makeup. I sat through a long make up educational session so I know the most about that brand. For the longest time I wore her foundation primer as a moisturizer, without foundation. I know, super silly, but I really liked the scent, its lightweight and I found it refreshing. I stopped because I needed more moisture in the winters. Now I use Lumene’s Artic Aqua as a super lightweight summer moisturizer. I rarely wear makeup, btw. I can’t stand it on my face for more than four hours. I tend to want to just rub it all off after a while.

12. Who do you look up to and why?

I guess right now, it has to be Barack Obama. The American health care system is headed toward failure and he had the courage to draft unpopular legislation in attempt to address fraud and unfair practices at the expense of patients. I am so relieved that the Supreme Court has deemed the new health care act as constitutional and we can go forward with meeting new regulations and guidelines. I also look up to Obama because even though he is heavily criticized, he handles it very well. He has the great ability to drown out noise, keep working, and make sound decisions by sticking to his core values.

This is a little off topic but there is a really good documentary on hulu.com call “Do No Harm” it just scratches the surface on corruption in American health care and presents a strong argument for why everyone should have health insurance. A real eye opener and it is sad that there is no protection for whistle blowers. I highly recommend this documentary.

13. What are your hobbies other than blogging?

Shopping and photography. I used to cook, now that I do my nails, I don’t cook as much.

14. What is something you love, but everyone else hates?

Big frilly lace collars, turtlenecks, Victorian boots and puritan shoes. Puritan shoes are squared off toes with a square buckle on the vamp. I’m a closet steampunker. If I dressed all out steampunk style people would think I came from an insane asylum. There are only small hints of this in my wardrobe, fortunately or unfortunately? I like to buy stuff like this but then it sits in my closet unworn.

15. What trends do you hate?

Skinny jeans and crocs. I’ve tried to like skinny jeans, but I just can’t kid myself. Oh, celebrity brands! Why won’t Jessica Simpson and Kim Kardashian just go away!

16. If you won a million dollars what would you do with it?

Pay off my house and keep working. A million dollars just doesn’t go very far these days. Now don’t get me wrong, I would be ecstatic to have a million dollars handed to me. Would a million dollars improve my life? Absolutely! Could I pay everything off and stop working for the rest of my life? Unfortunately, no….

17. What are your pet peeves?

I hate to see people in public with their PJ’s on. Please, we live in a civilized society, right? Put some clothes on!

My neighbors cannot go more than 5 minutes without electricity before they rev up their generators, which make so much noise, and burn lots of gasoline. Sometimes, I really hate the suburban mentality.

People who make no effort whatsoever to control their screaming and unruly children.

People whose conversation style is monologue and one-up-yas.

People who don’t wash their hands after using the restroom.

I could go on and on. Let’s not! I think that’s enough.

Okay, the last time I did this it took me FOREVER to find bloggers who have less than 200 followers without tagging back. So I am breaking the rules and just tagging some people who haven’t been recently tagged.

My 11 questions for you, the nominated.

Why do you think people follow your blog?
What are you looking forward to this week/month?
What have the last few years taught you?
What would I find in your refrigerator right now?
Who do you like best, you mom or dad?
How many close friends do you have?
If you won $20 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?
What was the last movie you went to see?
What is the last book you read?
Age and do you feel your age?
Is human population growth a good thing?

The nominated.

http://www.lovingsunshine.com/
http://glassflecked.blogspot.com/
http://mylucidbubble.blogspot.com/
http://thekarend.blogspot.com/
http://nailnarcotics.blogspot.com/
http://nailartistacky.blogspot.com/
http://tines-kosmetik.blogspot.com/
http://www.witoxicity.com/
http://sneakerette.blogspot.com/
http://nailderellanails.blogspot.com/
http://cuti-clue-les.blogspot.com/
http://criminalnails.blogspot.com/

I really love how NailNarcotics handled her Leibster, and I’m following her method. So the comments section is open for anyone leave a link to your blog and of course comment. There is no pressure to tag or answer all these questions if you don’t want to.

Ruby Pumps Like You've Never Seen Her Before!

China Glaze Ruby Pumps..... for me, this was THE polish that started it all.  How could you not love it!?  Here it is layered with dark undertones, topped with more sparkly glitter!  Just look at the pics!  Yummy-lic-ous-ness!



Daylight.  Hex glitters from Techno look a bit flat here.   They sparkle like mad in low light.

The layering order for this mani is:

Revlon's base coat
2 coats Revlon's 795 Devilish, a dark, dark, plum, cream-jelly hybrid
1 coat of ChG, Ruby Pumps
1 coat of ChG, Techno, sliver, holo hex glitters
1/2 coat of ChG, Love Marilyn, red and silver mini glitter, dabbed on.
1 thick coat of ChG, fast forward top coat.




Under halogen lamp.  See the holo glitter in the out of focus nails? Top of picture.

Part way through this mani, I wanted to stop.  This is 2 coats of Revlon's Devilish, under one coat of ChG's Ruby Pumps.  This was gorgeous right here.  A darker version of Ruby Pumps.  I work under a fluorescent lamp, so that is why the lighting is weird, even though my white balance setting matches.
 

Under fluorescent lamp, no top coat.

Ruby Pumps over Devilish.

I got Revlon's 795 Devilish at Big Lots for $1 in the clearance bin!!!  You can use another dark polish underneath if you wanted to replicate these manis.  I originally wanted to use ChG's Lofty Ambitions, another dark, dark red, or Lubu Heels under Ruby Pumps.  That would work too.   Oh and my Ruby Pumps bottle I believe is pushing 4 years old and the formula is still good! 

BTW the yard sale was a flop.  Hardly sold anything.  Two customers told us it was too hot to have a sale.  So basically they were telling my husband and I, that were a couple of idiots to have decided to stand around in our hot driveway with all of our junk, and should have been at the beach instead.  In hindsight they were right.

BUT, we did meet this cute husband and wife team.  The wife said to her husband, "Hey, look at this nice set of poker chips, honey!"  Husband says with a big smile, "We don't need those, we can use your clothes instead."  :D

Confetti Tazmanian Devil

Hey there!

I've got a super busy weekend ahead.  I'm getting ready for a big yard sale.... So here are my nails.  One coat of Confetti's Tazmanian Devil over CQ's Vintage. 

Bottle Shot.  Too much glare on the nails, but this was my best shot at the Confetti bottle.

Macro.

I know there are a ton of mutli colored, hex glitters out there to choose from, but what I like about Confetti's, is the micro glitters.  Which many other multi colored, hex, glitter polishes don't have.  Tazmanian Devil was $1.99 at CVS!

I'm addicted to glitter!

CQ 568 Vintage

For this week's work mani, I'm wearing CQ's 568 Vintage.  I am totally, madly in love with this off-white creme.  I want to paint all the walls in my house this color.  Well, maybe not all, but a whole bunch of them.  It reminds me of a cozy cottage, decorated with mini floral fabrics and distressed furniture.  I have not seen a neutral quite like this, many of them are muted khaki's but this has just a tiny hint of pink in it.  Two easy coats, too!

The first photo is stopped down 1/3 an exposure value and the second photo is at 0.  I included both to accommodate differences in monitors.  The colors are accurate.  A creamy, clean look.  I so want to add some teal, orange and burnt sienna!

I picked up this little gem at Rite Aid for $3.99.