Author: Lara
The Black Knight
I’ve been on a dark polish kick lately, I don’t know what it is.
Maybe I’m just lazy. If I know I’m going to be putting on another dark polish, I don’t have to scrub my cuticles so much. I got my absolute LAST use out of my Zoya Remove+ & Target dip-it combo. It was a soupy, maroon sludge that was starting to stain my fingers! Don’t get me wrong, it was still taking the polish off – but I had to spend too much time getting polish residue off my fingers. It lasted me exactly 3 months and was worth every penny!
I tried out Orly Bonder as the base coat. It definitely did grip the polish quite well. I then painted 2 coats of Butter London “The Black Knight”. This polish is EVERYTHING that I wanted Julep “Estelle” to be! The black is shinier and darker…and there is so much more glitteriness. Fuchsia is the predominant glitter, so you know that’s why I love it. It dried amazingly quick and I didn’t use a top coat, so I could run my fingers over the pebbly goodness.
I’m getting a few little chips along the edges, but Orly Bonder seems to be holding it on there well. We shall see how it looks tomorrow…
Sinful Halloween Polishes
I should have been suspicious yesterday when my son asked to go shopping with me…until I realized that he just wanted to eat all the tasty samples at HEB. The joke was on him though – he had to go to Walgreen’s with me first. He showed absolutely NO enthusiasm for picking out 99 cent nail polish…
My animosity towards the color orange is well documented, but you can’t have Halloween without orange and black. So in addition to Sinful Colors “Glow in the Dark” (which kind of works – I experimented on my daughter – but I think it needs more than one coat), I got “Splatter Spell” – different shapes of orange and black glitter – and “Pumpkin Spice” – orange, red and gold glitter.
I got a Walgreen’s brand fake eos lip balm – 100% natural beeswax, with vitamin E and peppermint. I bought it solely because it was shaped like a cute little beehive. I tried it and it tingled like Burt’s Bees! I’m in love!
September Ipsy Bag – Street Style
I was so psyched to get this month’s ipsy bag. Not only did my BFF and cousin receive theirs DAYS before I did, I had forgotten what was actually in my bag until I opened it.
The theme for September is “Street Style” and it has the cutest bag I’ve received yet – pewter vinyl with tough metal studs. the contents, however, may be the lamest that I’ve received yet: Crown Brush Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush (I am actually MOST excited about this brush); NYX Hot Singles eye shadow in “Asphyxiation” (Sparkly Midnight Blue – not sure about this one); Pacifica Natural Waterproof Eye Pencil in “Fringe” (I need another brown eyeliner like I need a hole in my head, but I’ll give it a spin); Briogeo “Don’t Despair, Repair” Deep Conditioning Mask (it’s for hair?); and Cailyn Art Touch Tinted Lip Gloss in “Basic Instinct”.
I really wanted the Be A Bombshell “Smooth Criminal” Powder that my cousin Jess got! She was nice enough to give me the lowdown:
My review of Smooth Criminal Powder: So, I have had it on since 6am, it is now 12:15pm and skin still looks nice and feels great. Yes I can tell it has slowly come off but it looks better than a normal day. Putting it on was easy, used a small powder brush, I think it was a bare minerals one, just tapped off the extra and put it on over my foundation and before blush. Freaking face felt like silk!!!!!!!! And it looked like I had “instagram filtered” my face when I was done. LOL! I like it, great for humid weather, keeps you from getting shiny. BUT……….. In the winter when it starts to get cold and you may need to make sure to moisturize.
I also wanted the Pacifica fingernail polish instead of the eyeliner. My BFF gave me hers though – “Red Red Wine” – because she would never use it. Score!
If you’d like to try Ipsy – click here. I’ll earn 250 points if you sign up through my link.
Citrine Embers
I couldn’t resist trying Sparitual “Citrine” Luminary Matte Top Effect over Julep “Padma”, even though I knew I’d be changing my polish tonight.
I got really good coverage on my thumb, but for some reason, it didn’t stick as well to my other nails. I think this type of polish would stick better if I didn’t already have a top coat on my nails. I seem to remember it mattifying more directly over the dark polish – remember the “Opaline”?
Ulta Success!
Any excuse to go to Ulta, right?
I went to a different Ulta yesterday in search of Zoya Remove+ – success! They had a dozen bottles…but I just got one.
I also capitalized on Ulta’s 21 Days of beauty special – Butter London 2 for $15. I picked up “The Black Knight” – black, pink, blue, and silver suspended in a black base – and “Tart with a Heart” – pale pink parade of glitter carries a dash of grey.
I also grabbed a Ms. Manicure Buffing Block from the kiosks by the checkout. I LOVE those kiosks – they’re dangerous to me!
Fuck Traffic, Go Shopping
Right as I was packing up to leave work, my husband called to tell me that the highway was backed up – huge wreck. Sigh. When the going gets tough, the tough say “fuck traffic” and go shopping.
My backdoor route to avoid the highway conveniently brought me right past my Ulta – imagine that! The main reason I wanted to drop by was to pick up a new Zoya Remove+, but of course they are still out. My second choice was Orly Bonder, suggested by Angie as an excellent base coat. We shall see…
Although the clearance section has dwindled, I still had to look. I was excited to find Sparitual “Citrine” Luminary Matte Top Effect for $2.97. I was even more excited when it rang up for $1.49, especially since I paid $12 for “Opaline” several months ago!
Finally, I decided to try eos lip balm in “Blueberry Acai”. Erin raved about eos the last time we had a traffic chat, so I figured now was the the time. I was skeptical of rubbing that huge knob all over my lips, but it felt SO GOOD. I thought I would end up smearing it all over my face like Steve Buscemi in Billy Madison, but it only went on my lips.
The $3.50 coupon is back – I hate those 20% one item coupons! I’ll probably hit another Ulta tomorrow to look for my Zoya Remove+, plus Butter London polishes are 2/$15 tomorrow!
Impossible Purple
It’s not black…it’s purple. Impossible to photograph – I tried every room in my house, outside and finally just gave up in my bathroom. Even if you can’t see the purple on the nail – you can see it on the bottle. Impossible PURPLE!
My BFF is obsessed with Julep “Padma” – she had her nails done with it and when we went to lunch on Monday, she handed it to me and said that I’ve got to try it. “Padma” is a true one coat polish. I cannot imagine how black it would seem with two or more coats. To avoid staining, I started with Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat. “Padma” is shiny on her own, but I used Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat so I could go to bed without smudges. It’s one of the shiniest polishes I’ve ever used.
“Padma” is a Classic with a Twist from the September 2013 box – “The Cityscape Collection”. (I also have “Kristy”, “Tatiana”, “Candace” and “Reece” from that collection.) My BFF must have gotten it in a Mystery Box, because that was before we joined. I am going to have a hard time giving it back…
Book Review – Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
I’ve been signing up for Birchblogger giveaways for months and I was totally psyched when I found out that I was picked to receive a free copy of the Birchbox Book Club’s August Pick – Is Everyone hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. Even though I don’t watch her new show, I LOVED her on The Office. Kelly Kapoor was one of my favorite characters on the show – mostly because she had zero shame and gave zero fucks. (Creed was also one of my favorites – for the same reason!)
Mindy Kaling’s book is styled as a series of essays covering her childhood, Ivy League education, her career getting off the ground and general obsession with her weight. I don’t know that any female celebrity could write a memoir (a truthful one, anyway) that doesn’t mention how much they miss eating food. I was disappointed that there was no “dirt”. No raunchy tales of previous boyfriends or badmouthing of co-stars. The closest she came to “dirt” was describing her time working on show with an unnamed “psychic” who I can only assume was John Edwards. She is utterly respectful of this “psychic’s” complete bullshit, saying that even though she didn’t believe, he really was helping people cope with the loss of their loved one. I’m guessing she signed something?
I can’t compare Mindy’s book to those of her peers (funny ladies, anyway) – Tiny Fey, Chelsea Handler, Margaret Cho, etc…because I haven’t read most of them. I have read The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman, but Mindy and Sarah have little in common, except of course demoralizing experiences writing for SNL. Although both ladies lay bare embarrassing tales from their childhood and how their cultural backgrounds differentiated them from their peers, Silverman’s underlying self-loathing is a essential to her self, whereas Mindy’s occasional self-loathing is used as a punchline. I get the idea that Kaling’s self-esteem isn’t quite as bad as she lets on, but she plays neurotic to get laughs.
Mindy is an exceptionally clean writer (well, maybe PG-13) for this day and age. (I guess if I’m comparing her to Sarah Silverman, she’s really G rated.) I don’t know that she intentionally targeted high school girls as an audience, but this would be a perfect gift for a high school girl struggling to find herself – Mindy even says so in the book! That being said, I still enjoyed the read…and as I’m in my mid late 30s, I’m officially as old as dirt.
Bring Mindy Kaling to SNL this season…I’d love to see her get a hosting gig.
From Scab to Fab
The scene of the crime was improved greatly by adding a coat of Julep “Kirby” on top of Julep “Mary Lee”. Instead of a boring pool of scabby blood, my nails now look like a shattered antique mirror…in a pool of scabby blood. Or maybe a shattered Disco Ball – Disco Bloodbath! I would totally watch a movie called Disco Bloodbath. Somebody make that happen…
Julep describes “Kirby” as silver jagged glitter top coat. There’s glitter, but also mirrored flakies. The flakies actually lie flat and don’t peel up from my nails like most other larger glitters. It’s almost a perfect top coat.
I want to put “Kirby” on top of every polish I own. You’ll definitely be seeing more of “Kirby”…
CSI: My Nails
Julep “Mary Lee” is the first Satin Finish polish that I’ve tried. Satin is somewhere between matte and shiny. To me, this polish looks like a pool of coagulating blood – like there is a skin dried on top – think a murder scene that is a few hours old. “Mary Lee” is a very sensitive polish…barely brushing my nails against the wall while drying my hands left scratches across the finish.
Julep describes the color as oxblood satin. I’ve never seen a bleeding ox, so I’ll have to take their word for it. My husband said it looks like raisinettes. I have to give it to him – that’s much more creative description than I came up with.
Even though I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat, I got one or two bubbles. *SIGH* Julep – what’s with all the bubbles? On the positive side, the polish dried very quickly – even without a top coat. The polish also pulled away from the tips of my nails. It isn’t chipped – it is a uniform shrinking along the free edge.
I cannot stand the lack of shiny…I need GLITTER.