Unexpected Mini-haul

I went to get my hair did yesterday, and arrived a little bit early.  Upon entering, I saw the most beautiful words a nail junkie can imagine:  "Everything on this table $1."  My hairstylist, who knows about my weakness, was kind enough to whisk me away before I could completely obliterate the display.

There wasn't a lot to choose from, mostly reds and berries, but I'm still not sure I shouldn't have gotten more.  What you see above (L to R) is Cuckoo for This Color, Sweet as Annie-thing and Ginger Bells.  What you don't see (because it's rolling around somewhere in the nether-regions of my car) is I'm Not Really a Waitress.  That one, of course, is a classic, so I suspect you already know what it looks like.


I'm really tickled with this haul.  I mean, seriously....ONE DOLLAR OPI.  Wanna see the first to grace my nails?

Sweet as Annie-thing

Ooh, moody.  No, wait, not moody.  HOT.  Yes, it's hot as Satan's balls outside (does Satan have balls?), so my camera lens fogged up immediately.  I sorta like this look, though.  It's got...ambience?  Anyway, Sweet as Annie-thing is a really classy golden-toned red, with just a hint of warm shimmer in the bottle that you really don't much see on the nail.  As with most OPI, it was pleasingly opaque at 2 coats.  Also as with most OPI, it's a trifle runny for my taste.  I did have to spend a fair amount of time on cleanup.  This was apparently released in January 2009, so I'm not sure how easy this is to find at this point.


See how long my nails are getting?  Go ahead, take a good look now.  I don't think it's going to last much longer.  They get flimsy at the tips (I've actually already got a chip on this less-than-6-hours-old mani because of my crappy nail stregth) and I just type too dang much to keep them like this. 


Enjoy your evening, folks, cause tomorrow is...bum bum bum...MONDAY!  G'night, everybody!

Haul, and a full-on Monet

Happy Sunday, all!  I have been a busy little nail junkie lately.  I mentioned my Makeup Alley swapping I'd been doing, but I also got my very first order from Born Pretty Store.  It was like Christmas!

I got a brush set, a rhinestone set, a sticker set, a dotting tool set and a striping tape set.  All this set me back maybe $35, shipping and all.  That's a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me.  The brush set alone is going to prove invaluable.  My cleanup has gotten SOOOO much better now that I've traded the slanted eyeliner brush I was using for a smaller brush.


Today I tried out rhinestones for the first time.  It is, as mentioned above, a full-on Monet.  As Cher from Clueless would tell you, "From far away it's okay, but up close it's a big ol mess!"  Ergo, do me a favor and don't click to enlarge!

The color above is Hard Candy "Sky."  It's one of those colors you just feel obligated as a nail junkie to own.  It IS a pretty color, but I'm going to have to work on application.  It would require about four thin coats for good coverage, but I, of course, am impatient.  I tried instead to do two or three thicker coats, and the formula is just to runny for that.  After I applied Seche Vite and started cleaning up, I had to deal with LOTS of dragging at the cuticles.  This mani really IS just a big ol mess!  Cute, though.  Y'all have a good week!

Curses, snow!

I have fallen off the wagon.  I blame it all on the snow.  Something about a nerve-wracking commute that takes four times as long as it should that'll knock a person right off the track to kicking a nervous habit.  I didn't do too much damage, so I didn't take any pics, but I'm still not proud.  Stupid snow.

Now, remember that trip to Ulta?  Well, this store may have taken Target's place in my book as the land of happiness and dreams.  I could (and did) do serious damage in the place!  Here's what I got:

Essie Sew Psyched and Revlon Suede Matte Ruby Ribbon.  I've had long wear-time with the only other Essie I have, and the Revlon color will be a foray into a finish I've yet to play around with.  I'll be sure and swatch that one, for sure.

 Here are the three OPI colors I picked up (L to R):  Coronation, Ski Teal We Drop and You Don't Know Jacques (it looks pink, but it's really a light milk chocolate color).  I gotta say at this stage in the game that I'm gonna have to go with OPI as my favorite brand, for the range of colors alone.  The formula is great, and the wear-time seems to be decent as well.

Here's Ski Teal We Drop.  It's a creamy teal that leans towards blue.  It came out a bit darker than I expected, which is not really a complaint.  I did have some application problems, to be honest.  The left hand (I'm right-handed) went on just fine, but by the time I got over to my right hand, it was going gloopy.  Because of that, it was a messy manicure, and cleanup was a BEAR.  

Excuse the bizarre choice of background in the last picture above, by the way.  I'm still experimenting with manicure photography, and when your studio is a garage, you get creative!