Razzle Me Dazzle Me - China Glaze, Glitter Tips w/ Fresh Paint Coconut

I have to say I've been loving this manicure.  

This is Razzle Me Dazzle Me, just on the tips and accent nail.

Below is a bottle shot.  Various black and light gold glitters.

Below is my right hand, with glitter on all the tips, no accent nail.

AND..... a simple swatch of Fresh Paint's Coconut.   Two easy coats, very nice formula, thick and pigmented. Coconut is an off white with peach undertones.  This makes my skin look really tan and the polish looks really bright, stark almost.

Fresh Paint can be found at Five Below, a junk store where everything is $5 or below. Color Club, or Forsynthe Cosmetics is the maker of Fresh Paint.  These are cheap around $2 a bottle, technically they are 3 for $5.

Enjoy!

C: Cho, Zoya

Howdy!  This is going to be a jammed packed post today, so hold on tight.

First, for the ABC challenge; C: for Cho by Zoya... I want to say heeerrreee's Margaret Cho (the comedienne).... that's who I think about when I see this polish.  Anyways, Cho is a warm neutral... yellowish khaki, with a very subtle silver shimmer. It goes on like a pastel, uneven and tacky, which requires a bit of patience. The results are nice and calming, here is two coats.

On to a bunch of things to show you today. If you remember in an earlier post, I mentioned I hated my wedding band.... love my engagement ring though. Here they are.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, or from the "less is more" camp, but I don't really like to wear rings with flashy nail polish. So sometimes I will wear rings when I wear a nice neutral polish, like Cho.

My wedding band is not attractive when worn alone, that's basically why I don't like it.

Also, below is what I got at the big Zoya sale a couple of weeks ago, 3 polishes for $10 with shipping. DEAL!

I got Pasha, Wednesday, and Cho, (left to right).  The polishes came in this nice box and they sent me a color chart which is really cool. I love color charts, they are like eye candy.

Lastly, home improvement.... The latest project I'm working on is renovating my master bedroom. I think the best way to present this is to post a picture as the project unfolds. At the beginning.....

This is the view from the door looking in.

This is the view with my back facing the window... there's a peek at my bathroom.

So this room is 17 feet by 12 feet. Lavender leaning periwinkle color the walls (sigh), what can I say? They were not my choice, painted by the previous owner, and to my dismay I lived with this for nearly nine years!  Jeeze, almost a decade! I guess it was possible to live like this because my eyes were shut most of the time and I'm too tired from work to deal with it. So, who cares, just go to bed. The cream colored carpets are stained and worn out from us, my clumsy husband spilling drinks, coffee and what not, cats and dogs. Mainly dogs. I had an Italian greyhound who passed away in late 2009 of kidney failure and he vomited a few times on this carpet. I've tried to scrub up the bile but... I know I'm totally grossing you out now.

To add to the negative aspects, this room is dark too, the window faces west and somewhat north. So, it going to be light, neutral walls in here. Maybe even white. I know white can be boring, but lots of people have been doing jewel tones. Moreover, its a bedroom and I need a break, a palate cleanser. I hate red dining rooms! I hate purple walls! I'm tired of khaki and tan. I did the spare bedroom in blue, so no blue.

The bay window with the horrible cushioned "seating" area..."how romantic", NOT! Everyone says that when they see this room. "Oh a bay window, the seated storage area... how nice!" NO, no, no, NO!!! This "romantic seated bench" is going to the dump, where it belongs. It is not efficient use of space, it is inconvenient, uncomfortable and no one wants to sit on it. I used to store bed linens and blankets in that "hole" but they would just get lost and forgotten about. It was a messy way to store things. When I needed to change my bed linens, I had to remove all the cushions and lift up the top. Then while digging around, I had to hold up the heavy lid with one hand, which only left me one other hand and arm to reach down and find what I needed.  UGH!  A really bad and ill conceived idea. Thankfully, I did not build it, it was not my idea.  Don't ever build a bench like this, you'll regret it.

What's the plan for this room? A neutral palette, new furniture and hardwood floors. Next we demolition the storage bench. It gets much worse before it gets any better. Stay tuned!

Tape Mani with Revlon 705 Gray Suede

Hey guys!  I had to break away from green and wear a neutral to work, but I didn't want to totally bore you to death, so I did a stripe mani on an accent nail.  It came out okay, not the best but... acceptable I guess.

Revlon's Gray Suede is a nice beige leaning pink with silver shimmer.  I would imagine this would be great if you wanted to show off a flashy diamond on your hands and you don't want your nails competing with your jewelry. One day I'll show you my engagement ring... I hardly ever where it anymore because I wash my hands at least 10 times a day. I developed some irritation around the ring area probably because it keeps getting wet. Also, I totally hate my wedding band and I want a new one but haven't really shopped for a new one. I very seldom wear rings now that I paint my nails all the time. Anyhow.... excuse the bad photos, it has been so dark and foggy here the last four days... such bad lighting these are under florescent.

Revlon's Red Bikini is the color underneath, (one coat).  I really just love this color combo.

Below is the tape I used for this mani, called Frog tape.  I did not get super crisp lines but maybe I pulled the tape off too early.  Frog tape is for painting walls, but it says "multi surface" so hey why not nails?  The adhesive is gentle, not too sticky.  The tape is pretty wide, about 1.5 inches, I cut them horizontally into small strips.  See?

Frog tape is kind of expensive, $7-8 a roll at Lowe's or Home Depot. I bought it because I wanted to paint a block design in our spare bedroom, but hubby was against it, so now I have this roll. I might use it soon because we demolition-ed our master bedroom and we are going to paint that next. Does anyone want to see/read about that? It's not nail polish related so I don't know if anyone would be interested.

Let me know in the comments section below, should I post home improvement projects? And... do you match nail polish to your rings?

Funky French with Bare Bones and Brownstone

Hey there!

I don't know if I'll be around the next couple of days.  Hurricane Sandy is suppose to make landfall tomorrow morning and I'll probably be out of power, thus no Internet....   so God help us!  The grocery stores have been ransacked and there was crowd at Lowes madly grabbing at the generators.  There were three large stacks (36 generators) and I looked at them, walked away, got some outlet covers. (I'm painting a spare bedroom.) When I came back, my husband says.. "Look! One whole stack is gone already!!!"

So I said, "Do you want to get one?"  (They were $649).

He answered, "What's the wattage output?"  What kind of answer is that?  Silly goose!

"Beats me?"  I said back to him.... I think he started panicking because the crowd was, then he started to frantically read the side of the boxes.  I can see how the panic is contagious.  I started hoarding canned ravioli at the grocery store, just because other people were hoarding food too.  I put a few back.

Well, we didn't get one.  I hope we don't regret it, but I can live without electricity for a day or two and the environment might feel a little relief if some of us can actually stop burning some fossil fuels for a day.  I really start to get concerned when the water gets shut off.  The last time that happened was 2003, with Hurricane Isabelle.  Well we have two, 50 gallon rain barrels so we can at least flush the toilets.

Anyhow, I leave you with this funky french to have a gander at.

There's Bare Bones, my most visited swatch.

Bottle shot of Brownstone.

Revlon's Bare Bones is my number one, most visited post of all time, which amazes me.  It is a nice color and all but the formula is not the best.  It's from the colorstay collection which I have come to conclusion that the extra cost is not justified.  I don't think it lasts longer than regular polish and they take forever to dry.  Plus they don't work very well with my China Glaze top coat.  I had some bubbling issues (after applying top coat) and the paint started to run all over the place too (also, after I applied top coat).  I forgot I should have used the Revlon quick dry top coat instead.  Oh well...

Brownstone is from last year's China Glaze Metro collection.  Don't be a smart ass and ask me uptown or downtown because I don't think that matters. haha  Anyways, its a nice rusty brown and the formula on that is superb.  My bottle has been sitting around for over a year and I didn't have to shake it, it still looks new.  Where as bare bones,on the other hand, the pigments were separating and it needed a good shaking and inversion for a couple of hours before I decided I could paint with it.

Soooo, if your in the Mid-Atlantic or Northeastern U.S.,  (Shout out in the comments section!)  I will be hunkering down to ride out the storm with you.

Otherwise, I'll see you after the storm passes and the sun comes back out!

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.

China Glaze Innocence - French

It has been a really long time since I last wore a classic French manicure.  I've tried a bunch of different ways to get the perfect smile lines and I'm never fully satisfied with the outcome.  Here it is freehand because I was too lazy to use tape or guides... 

I need more practice but what I find works well freehand, is to start at the corners of the nail and lay the brush flat and just swipe at a downward angle towards the center of the nail and then go to the other side do the same thing and meet in the middle. 

I used Orly's Pointe Blanche french tip white, the brush is thinner than regular nail polish, which makes it a little easier to handle.  I also added Wet N Wild's Snow Globe glitter to the tips which covered up the unevenness of the white. 

The base color is China Glaze's Innocence, a soft pink creme, opaque in two coats.  I need the opaqueness because my nails are badly stained at the tips, from all the teals and greens I was wearing in March.  I topped everything off with some Seche Vite.

Below, is a bad impromptu picture from a week prior.  A different French mani I did, also freehand.  The tips came out better, but I used three coats of Orly's Rose Colored Glasses, which was not opaque enough to cover up my yellow stained nails.  You can see the yellow starting half way down the nail, especially on the ring finger.  The glitter is Nubar's White Polka Dot.  I didn't plan on posting it, so I didn't bother to take better photos...  Sorry for the blue-greenness my florescent lamp is causing.

Three coats of Orly's Rose Colored Glasses, one coat of Nubar's White Polka Dot.

Do you have any favorite polishes that you do your French manicures with?

BTW, you will see more of Nubar White Polka Dot.... I love, love, love this soft pearly white glitter, especially for work. 

Deborah Lippmann - Baby Love

Quick post today.  I am having a demanding couple of weeks...  This week's work mani is Lippmann's baby love, a sheer french manicure pink.  Neutral and clean.  This is three coats.

Left to right: hydrating base coat, baby love, on a clear day top coat, CG FF top coat.

This came from the Lippmann's Start Me Up, Nail Treatment set.  I haven't tested the whole kit yet, so I have to do a full review later.  It comes with a nail file, cuticle remover, primer, cuticle oil, base coat, top coat and baby love. 

The hydrating base coat goes on clear and shiny, dries fast, seems like a regular base coat to me.  It does have some safflower seed oil and Kukul nut oil in it though, so that might help moisturize the nail beds. 

Baby love is quite sheer and I use three coats to cover my slightly yellow tips, I probably would have been okay with two coats.  The brush is pretty thick and works well. 

On a Clear Day top coat... This top coat is SLOW drying, 5 minutes dry to touch.  This is unacceptable to me considering there are several fast drying top coats out there.  Plus on my right hand while waiting to dry, I banged into something and smudged three fingers and some lint flew into the ring finger which I could not remove and so, is trapped in the paint.  Not good.  Long dry time equals big room for error.  Plus it was not a good smudge fixer.  I didn't bother to wait and see how long it would completely dry.  I put one coat of China Glaze's fast forward (CGFF) top coat and all was well.  CGFF dries fast, one minute to touch, and dries hard and super glossy.  (On a clear day was glossy too.)  CGFF is also a really good smudge fixer and great leveler for glitters. 

All of the nail treatments in this kit are 0.3 oz or 9 ml, and is $40 at Neiman's.  This probably would make a great travel kit.  Have you ever travelled with nail polish before?  What do you do with your nails when you go out of town?

Revlon Colorstay Longwear - Bare Bones

Hello out there!  (Echo)

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up a few Revlon colorstay nail polishes from Walgreens during their buy one get one half off sale.  The display said "long lasting, gel like finish", hmmmm.  I'm skeptical about "long lasting..." and I'm not sure I can truly test that, because I rarely wear a color for more than three days; when I start to get bored.  Plus I think chipping is partly dependant upon how well base and top coats are applied.  If I can get a good water tight seal, my polishes will last me. If I miss a spot or the edge starts to wear off and I shower or wash my hands, water begins to seep in under the paint.  Then the water lifts the paint and CHIP. 

Anyways, below is my haul, something for work, something fun, something for spring, so respectively, I picked up bare bones, midnight and provence.  I also pick up a base coat and a top coat because I didn't think I could do a fair review if the base and top coats are suppose to contribute to their gel like finishes.  

My haul. Left to right, top coat, Provence, Midnight, Bare Bones, base coat.

Bare bones is a really nice neutral that reminds me of bathroom tile caulk, you know it comes in bright white, white or almond?  Almond. The formula is kind of tacky and doesn't go on smoothly.  The first coat had a lot of bald spots and did not have good cohesive properties.  The second coat provided nice coverage. The top coat did add a nice shine and did smooth out some dents and unevenness of the second coat.  However compared to other topcoats, the Colorstay top coat was SLOW to dry.  Five minutes dry to touch, 30 minutes until you could go about your business.  Three hours later, I acquired more dents, so I turned to Revlon's quick dry top coat, which did a great job of smoothing the new dents. Dried to touch in one minute, went  about my business in five minutes.  Lifesaver.

Added a second top coat three hours later to eliminate new dents.

Revlon colorstay longwear, $7.99 Walgreens, $8.39 CVS.  I got the topcoat at CVS, it was sold out at my Walgreens.  I thought it was a bit pricey but at least its cruelty free and big 3 free!

Overall I think the polish is okay... I'll have to wear the other two to see how they fair.  More to come.

Have you tried this line?

Update: Check out my post on Revlon's colorstay in Midnight.

Deborah Lippmann - Milkshake

Go to work mani!  My husband said "Wow, your nails look clean!"  Who can argue with clean?  I do have a "big gurl" job that requires conservative, neutral nails.....I know, it can be boring, or refreshing.  Speaking of my "big gurl" job, the environment is a dearth of beauty, DEARTH!, probably why I have grown to love nail polish.  So I have several neutrals that I reach for when I need a conservative mani.  I really like Orly's Sheer Beauty and China Glaze's Innocence, both along the same lines as Deborah Lippmann's Milkshake (DLMS).  All three are sheer milky polishes.

DLMS looks like vanilla soy milk and has a certain warmth to it.  However, I don't think the formula is the best.   I've worn this color three occasions and it's a bit streaky, it doesn't correct itself.  Meaning, I don't think it has the best cohesive properties.  Am I making any sense?  Even China Glaze's fast forward top coat doesn't correct the streaks, which is one of the main reasons it is my go to top coat. DLMS might be okay with 3 or more coats, but really, I can't deal with polish that is that thick, it doesn't dry fast enough and I inevitably just end up denting my nails and they look horrible.  In the last photo, the streaks are really apparent.  Not good for premium polish.



I love the shape of DL's bottles. 




Camera lamp - here's where you can really see the streaks.  Impromptu photo with ibuprofen bottle.

DLMS is part of the fashoinista set, three polishes, Envy Me, Sweet Spot and Milkshake, $40 at Neiman Marcus. I know the price is a bit steep.  A gift from my husband.  How do you stop your husband from buying you expensive gifts?  You don't!

I used one coat of DL's base coat, 2 coats of DLMS, and one coat China Glaze FF topcoat.

On a redeeming note, DLMS, gives your nails a clean and refined look and no one really noticed the streaks except for me.  Plus DL is cruelty free and big 3 free.

Thanks for stopping by!