Happy Saturday, everyone! Howsabout we ring in the weekend with some Barielle eye candy?
This delightful, bruise-like color is Blackened Bleu. Seriously, the name makes me think of either a wound or a cheese-topped ribeye. Bizarre word associations aside, I do like this. It's got such a nice balance of color that it's tough for me to say whether it's blue in a black base, or black in a blue base. Either way, nicely done.
And here we have Grape Escape topped with Revlon Streetwear Holographic (a recent swap acquisition). I suspect Grape Escape is not a terribly original color, but it IS unique in my collection. I just don't have that many purples! Gotta fix this.
Sidebar on Streetwear: MAN, I miss these polishes. I tell ya, when I cracked open the bottle, my first thought was, "Mmm. Smells like the 90's!" I just remember these being the first mainstream, easy-to-find polishes that spoke to my rebellious, non-pink-wearing teen years. SO tickled to have this.
I've still got a couple of Barielles that I haven't had the chance to try out...can't wait to bring you those!
Remember how I said last week that I was going to be CRAZY busy for the next few weeks? I wasn't kidding...I have been rocking the same OPI for the last THREE WHOLE DAYS! Gasp! I honestly don't think I've done that since I started this blog. I'll take some pics tomorrow so you can see how well it's wearing, but today I want to show you what I dug up from my treasure trove o' nail pics:
This here's Rose Patina from Finger Paints. I picked this up on clearance at Sally a couple of months ago, slapped it on, photographed it, and promptly forgot about it. I guess that tells you something about the lack of uniqueness about this polish. It's just...pink. In an effort to add a bit of pizzaz to an otherwise boring polish, I topped it with SpaRitual Shower the People and then mattified with Essie Matte About You. And still promptly forgot about it.
The time was bound to come in this lacquer adventure of mine wherein life would take over my polish-changing routine and I would be forced to dip into the archives to bring you all something fresh. That's why a smart blogger photographs EVERYTHING, even if the time isn't right to post it. Please forgive my candid admission that I am not wearing pink this Wednesday. I hope you're all able to wear yours with pride!
When next you hear from me, you'll be reading a scheduled post, as I'll be busy being a part of it in New York, New York. What do you all think I should rock on my fingertips for the Big Apple Adventure? Try something new, or a pick a tried and true? Go neutral to avoid obvious wear and tear whilst on vacation, or go bold and pack for a polish change?
Evening, folks! Sorry for the late Pink Wednesday addition...this is just the first of several coming CRAZY weeks. I swear, 46 out of 52 weeks of the year, I do nothing. I have no life. And then the other weeks? BAM! I'm struggling to be five people all at the same time...everything to everybody everywhere.
That being said, this is gonna be a quickie. Last week I introduced you to my take on the members of the OPI Nice Stems collection, along with their archnemesis Silver Shatter. This week's battle brings you...
A familiar face, Come to Poppy
Play the Peonies, topped with I Lily Love You before the shattercoat
I'm sorry for not showing you Play the Peonies with I Lily Love You. It bored me something terrible. It was one of those too-soft/too-girly combos that just didn't seem right for me. I don't know how to explain where the line is between feminine/pretty and nauseatingly girly, but I know when I've crossed it.
I do, however, LOVE Silver Shatter. Remember my love affair with Black Shatter? It only ended because Mr. Black dried up on me. I had to toss him aside for a newer model. We'll see how things work out with Silver.
Now I must be going. I've got a bathroom to clean and penis cakes to finish baking. Stay classy!
By popular demand (okay, one request), check out this swatch of Barielle Elle's Spell:
This is really a GORGEOUS polish. The formula was fantastic...everything I love in a jelly. Plus, FLAKIES! What you're looking at here is three coats, and three really were necessary to achieve any kind of opacity. I just trimmed my nails down to itty-bitties, but I think that if I'd had much length to speak of, three would have eliminated any VNL. (Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.)
One of my best friends has a collection that I am mildly envious of. It's a collection...of teeny-tiny things. Teeny tiny shopping cart, teeny tiny Tobasco bottle, teeny tiny EVERYTHING. OPI's mini-collection would fit right in! In fact, she was with me when I bought it the Nice Stems! mini-collection and I think I saw her eyes mist over just a little. Maybe if she's lucky, she'll inherit one of these guys?
Mini-bottles make me think of altogether different things. You see, I have an overactive imagination. Witness:
Here we've got OPI Come to Poppy. I do like this color; it's not terribly unique, but it is quite pretty nonetheless. Now, I must comment on the practicality of the OPI mini-bottle set when reviewing these. They can definitely be a bargain. You figure: average retail on a bottle of OPI is about $8. For the full Nice Stems! collection, you'd end up sinking $32, only to wind up barely using up a full bottle unless you just REEEEALLY love one of the colors. On the other hand, a mini-set will set you back about $12.50, and allow you to sample all the colors. However, it must be said that executing a good mani with one of those teeny tiny brushes and bottle caps is TRICKY. Don't say I didn't warn you!
SUDDENLY! A right hand...
I'm showing you this because my poor widdle pinkie nail broke off into the quick today. OWIE! Here's the catch, though. (HAHA! Get it? Cause a broken nail catches on things? Right? Haha! Ha. Um.) I kind of like this little stubby! What do we think? Should I cut them all down? Bear in mind, my poor nails take some work to get them to grow as long as, say, my left ring finger.
...oh, and My Lucid Bubble, as well as Fingers Polish Mania. These lovely ladies were kind enough to bestow upon me a couple more awards! Wasn't that sweet?
I love blog awards for a couple of reasons: they're a great way to know that some people out there are paying attention to what you're spending your time on, and it shows that they appreciate the effort. Also, I love that they give me the chance to pay shout-out to the bloggers who gave them to me, and to a handful of others.
What I DON'T love about them are the Q&A's involved in the "rules". I doubt many of you really much care what my favorite color is, or what my preferred dessert is. These are boring little tidbits that I'd rather let drop along the way as the mood strikes or they fit in with a posting topic. You know, organically-like! Plus, answering them takes time I'd rather devote to trying out a new color or composing an actual swatch post for you. Rules, schmules!
Now, run along. Go check out the blogs of the nice girls who were kind enough to give a shout-out to my little neck of the Web, and while you're at it, turn your eyes upon these nifty blogs:
I'm gonna leave these two here to make sure you're checking out all those sites. This is Zaz and River. They're not going anywhere til you click on those links. They'll be waiting. And they have sharp little claws.
Can I just say that I feel a bit foolish for using the word "haul"? I've used it before, and I feel a bit ridiculous each time. Frankly, I feel like this - equally obsessive, only less cute:
But here it is. It is what it is...a crap-ton of a product.
Elle's Spell, Make It a Latte, Glammed Out Garnet, Blackened Bleu
Jackie over at Candy Coated Tips was kind enough to share with us a sale that Barielle had online - 20% off PLUS buy one get one half off. Sucker that I am for brands I can't find in stores here, I went a little nuts.
Since receiving my shipment RIDICULOUSLY QUICKLY yesterday, I've tried out two polishes: Myrza's Meadow and Buddha-ful.
I included two shots of Myrna's Meadow to show you what a topcoat-eater it is. The first pic is with one coat of Seche Vite, and the second has two coats. I have to say, I'm not crazy about this polish. Lots of potential, very little follow-through. See the glitter in the bottle? Taste the rainbow? It does NOT come through on the nails. I hate to say it, but this went straight into my swap pile. I feel like I can get the same result with any number of light grass/mint polishes and any number of glitter topcoats.
This is more like it. What you're looking at here is about four coats of Buddha-ful. It's a lovely nude polish with lots of iridescent flakies floating around inside it. It will make a lovely topcoat for any polish, but as you can see, it does build up to a decent nude on its own, and with that secret touch of something that I adore so much in a neutral.
I have swatched the other Barielles I ordered on a nail wheel, and I really think I'm going to love them. Myrna's Meadow is a definitely miss, but we can't expect perfection all the time, can we?
Take THAT, OPI! I can come up with stupid names, too!
But that's neither here nor there, since I'm not bringing you an OPI, I'm bringing you a massive Revlon fail.
This is Revlon Orchid, and I HATE it. We're talking fire-of-a-thousand-volcanoes hatred. The application on this was positively horrid. Go ahead; click to maximize. Do you see the pock-marky finish? The shrinkage? How it's thinner on one side of my index finger? Listen, I accept that I'm capable of a seriously sloppy manicure, but this crap was not my fault. Looks like it's about three days old, doesn't it? Nope. I'm usually true to the concept of Pink Wednesday, and today was no exception; I really just put this on last night.
Oh, one thing I forgot: RUN. Run like the wind from this goshawful polish.
