Messy Mani with a Message

I'm not sure if this will actually post ON Blackout Day, but I'm hoping it will show up in some reader feeds.  I've chosen to blackout my page AND my nails to call attention to protesting SOPA & PIPA, two pending bills moving quickly through Congress. 


I've done my research, made my decisions, and made my opinions known to my local lawmakers.  Now it's your turn.


Learn more.  Do more.  Stop SOPA & PIPA.  For more information and to take action, please click HERE.

Lazy Lotus

Hoo boy, have the post-holiday blahs bitten me squarely in the arse.  It hurts a little bit, and I should probably bandage the wound, maybe disinfect it, but that sounds like an awful lot of effort.  Therefore, I'm just gonna keep sitting on the aforementioned arse with little thought to infection or pain.  Take that, blahs.  I'd tell you to kiss my arse, but...alright.  That horse is sufficiently deceased.


Here.  Have a mani I did months ago.  It's Nicole by OPI Iceberg Lotus with a lame experimental funky French tip done with Scotch tape and a pair of scrapbooking scissors.

I like this color.

I don't like this lame post-work, racing the sun, against-the-steering-wheel shot.

Quick and Pretty

I've been meaning to post all weekend, and this isn't what I intended to post about, but darnit, time is running out and I hate to start 2012 by feeling like a slack-ass loser.


Presenting...the reverse half-moon mani!

Zoya Yara with Mattese Black Glitter

I don't fancy I'm the first person to do this, but I'll be danged if I've SEEN it in any other nail blogs.  And ya know what?  I love it!  I'm planning on playing with this technique more in 2012. 


You know what else I think we're going to see a LOT more of in the coming year?  FLAKIES.  Yep.  What 2011 was to crackle/shatter, 2012 shall be to flakies.  Essie's done it.  Finger Paints did it.  Zoya's doing it.  So much for the clamor over Nubar 2010 and Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure.  Flakies are going mainstream!  Hop on board before it's old hat.


Hey, y'all.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I'm not a dominatrix...

...but if I were, this is the mani I would rock at all times:

 

I ask you, how effing awesome is this?  It's a slapdash mess, I know, but don't you judge me, Earl.  It's China Glaze Lubu Heels tipped with Essie Forever Yummy.  I cannot tell you how much I love this.  I kind of threw it together out of boredom and curiosity and MAN...it's awesome!  Next time I have a date (which should be sometime in 2015, if my romantic history is any indication), I am doing this mofo, and I'm doing it RIGHT.  It is the sex.  I'm sorry.  It just is.


Here, check out Lubu Heels on its own:

If you need to go have a cigarette now, I'll understand.

Sparkles a Go Go - Pink Wednesday

Greetings from the Caribbean!  Well, actually, greetings from my desk chair, on account of it's actually the Tuesday before I leave for my cruise.  Yes, this is one of those Pink Wednesdays where I'm not actually wearing pink on Wednesday.  Sorry!  I'll be kind of busy being on a cruise ship.  Yeah.  As you're reading this, I probably have a fruity drink in my hand.  I'm probably in a deck chair.  I can't be bothered with wearing pink polish.  Don't hate.


A couple of weeks ago, though, I donned a pink mani I REALLY loved. 


(Sidebar:  Please don't judge me for the state of my nails and cuticles.  This blog is not here for me to overshare details of my personal life, but I'll just tell you that sometimes I may have a hard time prioritizing the care of my hands.  That's happened a lot lately, but things are looking up.  Hopefully my fingers will be in better shape soon!)

Love this!  This is China Glaze Go Go Pink with Mattese Nail Art Polish in Black Glitter. 

Go Go Pink is available as part of a package at Sally Beauty with Seche Vite Top Coat to support breast cancer awareness.  If your Sally still has this combo package, PICK IT UP.  Not only is it for a good cause, it's a bargain!  The total price for the combo is only $1 more than the usual price of a bottle of Seche Vite, so your Go Go Pink is only $1! 

The Mattese polish was part of my recent NYC haul...it came from Ricky's NYC, a beauty store that can only be found in New York, New Jersey and Miami.  I'm really loving this stuff.  I didn't know at the time that it had a nail art brush, but I'm really quite happy that it does.  Great stuff, huh?  Lookit the shiny!!!


I'm pretty pleased with this, my first attempt at doing anything besides cleanup with a nail art brush.  It's quite abstract, no?  Are they palm fronds?  Claws?  I don't know!


Hope you're all having a great week!

Sparkles, sparkles everywhere!

Another Sunday night, with another Monday morning just around the corner.  Boooo!


This week has been a sparkly one for me!  I didn't set out to have this happen, but it just happened that I had an awful lot of glittery polishes sitting in my untried pile that I decided to give a whack this week.  This also means that I've got a full-collection post for you this week!  Let's get to it...


I'd been really keen to try out Revlon's Impressionists collection, so when I found them at a Target recently, I snatched each and every one of them up.  This week I wore all three for at least a full day, but the results had a tendency to dictate my urgency to photograph.  See if you can draw your own conclusions:

L to R:  Blue Mosaic, Starry Night, Facets of Fuschia

 Blue Mosaic was an absolute model to photograph.  Gorgeous, shimmery, reflective...lovely.  It leaves bald patches even after about three coats that are really only noticeable in macro-shots.  Good coverage for what it is. 

Facets of Fuschia is equally lovely.  I know a lot of people are swatching this over a black creme, since technically it's a jelly, but I don't think that's necessary.  It has adequate coverage with two coats, superb with three.  I don't own Lippmann Bad Romance to do a dupe comparison, but luckily I no longer feel the need to own it!  This is beautiful.  It only gets minimal photgraphic coverage because it did chip pretty quickly.

The bummer of the bunch is Starry Pink.  I'm gonna give Revlon the benefit of the doubt and hope that I got a bad bottle, because this thing was a hot gloopy MESS.  Silver glitter in a delicate pink...file this under "Lots of promise, fails on follow-through."

All three were a NIGHTMARE to remove.  No other way to say that.

I also decided to try a technique I'd wanted to have a go at for awhile...a glitter sandwich!  Below you'll see one coat of Butter London Pink Ribbon, one coat of SOPI Traffic Stopper Copper (a real favorite of mine lately) and then another coat of Pink Ribbon.

Sorry for the lighting.  Sunsets are very pink around here!

This is one of those great, subtle work looks.  Most people aren't going to see it as anything but a simple nude mani, but you'll know there's that extra something going on.  Love that!

After having spent SOOOO much time removing glitter from my hands this week, it's apt to be cremes and holos for me for awhile now, but it was fun being blingy this week.

Barielle Yumminess

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!

They're heeeeeeere!

Every thirteen years, they invade.  They sing, they breed, they molt...they're EVERYWHERE.  They're...

CICADAS!!!!!

 In honor of this momentous and annoying event, I concocted a manicure inspired by the pests.  It's a base of Avon Olive Green, with a coat of China Glaze Zombie Zest, side accents of OPI Black Shatter and a dot of Maybelline unlabelled red for the eyeball.