Texture Play Fail

If ever there's been a collection I WISH I'd bought all of when I had the chance, it's China Glaze Vintage Vixen from Fall 2010.  I've scrounged up one or two, though, and the latest is Riveter Rouge.

Leave it to me to take a lovely color and thoroughly eff it up.  Haaaaaad to mattify it.  Didn't like that, no.  Haaaaad to go all artsy on it, try a glossy stripe up the middle.  Well, that was godawful, so I just haaaaad to do a crappy freehand French glossy tip.  Oy.  When will I learn?

Cruisin'!

I'm heading out on Monday for a much-needed, long-awaited cruise the to Caribbean...woohoo!  I've actually done several cruises in my time, but it's been a few years since I was on one, so I can't wait!  On the agenda is a port I haven't visited and a cruise-line-private-island dealio where my party and I will have one of those nifty private beach cabanas - complete with water slide, hot tub, our own chairs, catering and free house drinks.  Sweet Pete...it is unwise to write a post like this several days in advance.  Makes it that much harder to wait out these last few days!

I've been sitting on this mani for a little while.  I really loved it, but I just kept waiting for the time to be right. 

How beachy is that?  It's H&M Deep Sea and an unlabelled Sally Girl mini glitter that I got as a freebie in a swap.  Seriously, this makes me want to dive into the Caribbean rightthisverymoment.  I wish it had a longer life span; it would be PERFECT for cruising. 

I wore it for one day shiny with Seche Vite, which made it shrink back; then I mattified it with Essie Matte About You.  THAT's when it really popped for me.  The shrinkage is frustrating, but I've come to accept that as the trade-off for how often and easily Seche Vite allows me to change my polish.

While I'm gone, I'll be testing out the weartime of Sally Hansen's holiday Salon Effects Polish Strips.  I'm very excited about the plaid and argyle patterns, and I can't wait to show them to you when I get back. 


Have a great week, ya landlubbers!

Today's pink is brought to you by the letter Zzzzzz....

Hiya, boys and girls!  Didja miss me? 

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?

O is for the Only one I see

I'm in love.  I really am. 

Wet N Wild "Blue Wants to Be a Millionaire."  Stupid name, GORGEOUS color.  I mean, seriously.  Two of my favorite things:  cornflower blue and holo.  Scattered holo, but still. 

Since I loved this color SO much, I had to play around with it.  Here it is with a French tip of China Glaze "High Def."  I even went nuts and did the reverse pattern as a "texting thumb" design:

THEN, because enough is never enough, I matte-ified that:

If it weren't for the fact that I found the OPI "Pirates of the Caribbean" collection at Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart?!?) tonight, I may never take this off.

Mannequin Hands

I may have missed the boat on this one.  I usually am a bit behind when it comes to trends and technology, but that doesn't stop me from trying to catch up just as quickly as I can!

As best I can tell, mannequin hands were on trend a couple of years ago.  The goal is to find a nude shade as close to your natural skintone as possible so that the finished manicure gives you what look like...mannequin hands!  The color quest is not unlike trying to find just the right foundation.  I think I came close here, but I'm not totally convinced that this is my perfect match.

 This is Essie Sandy Beach.  It's probably a good three coats to achieve opacity.  I also topped it with Essie Matte About You.  Mattifying the color REALLY contributes to the mannequin look. 


I tell ya, I have a lot of fun with the out there colors, but this color really made me feel very put-together and professional.  It's a very clean look.  I love it! 

 What do you think?  Is it dated?  Is it timeless? 

Weekend Haul!

I recently discovered that my friend Kristy shares my lacquer obsession, so of course we HAD to make a run to Ulta together.  She'd never been, and as predicted, her jaw hit the floor.

Wanna see what I got?  Of course you do!

Essence What Do U Think and Choose Me.  Love these little bottles!

Essie Sandy Beach and Ulta After Party

Piggy Polish You're Blue-tiful

OPI Houston We Have a Purple, ORLY Galaxy Girl, China Glaze Foxy

I only had two goals in going:  Essie Matte About You and a dotting tool.  Turns out, they don't carry much in the way of art supplies (that's okay since Sally does), but I DID grab the Essie matte coat (not pictured).  I was really pleased, though, to get a little bit of something from lots of different brands, including some I hadn't tried yet.  I'm also excited about Essie Sandy Beach.  I'm hoping it will be my mannequin hand color.

To wrap up the day, Kristy and I chose which manicure we would each do first from our selection.  Here's what she chose, and I LOVED it!

This is an OPI Houston We Have a Purple matte/shiny French.  I'd have to say that this color isn't really very purple, but it IS gorgeous.  It's is my first jelly finish, and I can already tell I'm a fan.  (Although it dried with LOTS of bubbles...is this common?)  I can also already tell that I'm gonna have lots of fun playing with the matte finish.  I've said before that I'm not totally on the matte train, but it DOES make for a really fun accent.