Gunmetal Dupe Alert!

Check this shiz out, yo.  (I...I have no idea where that came from.)

A friend of mine recently left our company, and I was so proud and sad!  She was an intern when she first came to work for us, and I was her first boss at the company.  That girl was a sharp cookie, and I knew she was destined for greatness!  She was quick to learn of my lacquer obsession, and when she moved from intern to full-time employee, I congratulated her by purchasing a Butter London for her that she'd had her eye on (British Racing Green, should you have been curious).  So when she got a new gig outside the company, she said goodbye with a sweet note and a bottle of Sinful Colors "Secret Admirer."

Is this gorgeous, or what?  How did I not know this existed?  She did a great job picking a color for me; I totally would have picked this out myself.  Gunmetal has always been a favorite color of mine, so it only stands to reason that I already had a couple of colors in my collection that were quite similar:  OPI "Just Spotted the Lizard" (an alleged Revlon Carbonite/Chanel Graphite dupe) and Ruby Kisses "Steel Magnolia."  Below you'll see Steel Magnolias on the index finger, Just Spotted the Lizard on the middle finger and Secret Admirer on the ring finger.

Now, I suspect this may ALSO be a dupe for China Glaze "Stone Cold" from the Hunger Games collection (with a clear topcoat on account of Stone Cold is a matte.)  I kinda wanted Stone Cold, and indeed I saw it at Sally Beauty recently.  I came THISCLOSE to buying it to test my dupe theory, but man...I needs ta keep my monies.  (Anybody wanna verify this for me?)

I really do think that Secret Admirer is what I wanted Carbonite to be.  I never could find Carbonite in stores to be sure, but if it's true that Just Spotted the Lizard is a Carbonite dupe, then Carbonite is greener than I thought it would be.  Secret Admirer and Steel Magnolia are pure shimmery grey/silver, which is what I expect true Carbonite to be.

See?

Thanks, former coworker!

Talk Nerdy to Me

At last!  A post!  A post I promised a month ago!  I was right; it was tooooo much of a hassle to wear and photograph all of my Nerd Lacquers right off the bat.  I'm sorry...these are some glitter-packed lovelies but, good GRIEF, what a royal pain to remove!  I could go on all day about how horrendous that process was, but such whining would detract from how yummy these polishes are in every aspect.  I mean, really; the colors, the branding, the names...I cannot help but love it all!!!

First up, "I Think You Call Me Sexy."  I don't know why this picture is upside down, unless Blogger decided that it would be fun to imbue this picture with some of the spontaneous, whimsical nature of the TARDIS?  Here you get an indication of what topcoat-eaters Nerd Lacquers can be.  I've got one coat of Seche Vite over this, which is usually enough to glass-over (yes, glass-over) some pretty gritty glitters, but I really wanted this to have a glassier finish.

"No Medal for Chewie."  Poor Chewie.  I just don't think they could find a medal in his size.  Either that, or they were afraid of the impact that a possible dismembering would have on the regal nature of the medal ceremony.  The logistics of placing a necklace on a Wookie notwithstanding, I'm not sure why a polish with this name isn't brown and silver?  I think that would be appropriate.  Nevermind that, this color is FUN!  I can never have enough green; add some golden-green and blue glitter?  Shut the front door.

Hope everyone has had a great Memorial Day weekend!  Tomorrow we trudge back to the grind.  I think the scene below will be me in the morning; feel free to join me.

Shaun of the Dead Opening Scene