Tag: Indie
Wrapped in Plastic – The Return
You had to know that this beauty was coming back…
I had to show off Hare Polish “Wrapped in Plastic” along with my other Twin Peaks polishes. I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat, painted two coats and finished off with Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat. I am in love with how it turned out. It reminds me of a frosted over window in winter, with the crystals reflecting the sun.
The strangest thing happened with this polish – it changed colors. After a day or so, it began to take on a yellow hue, instead of the pure ice blue. I think it might have been caused by my fingernails, stained by the green and yellow polishes that I used last.
The first time I tried it (several years ago!!!), I went shiny. I definitely like the matte version better.
Green Formica Table
Twin Peaks is so close I can taste it…so you’re gonna have to put up with a bunch of Twin Peaks-themed manicures.
I’ve been thinking about “Green Formica Table” for ages and ages. (Or technically, “This is a formica table. Green is its colors.) Going off of memory, this is how I remember the green formica table and I was too lazy to watch Fire Walk With Me again…or google it. I think I did pretty well.
I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat and two coats of Sinful Colors “Happy Ending”. I topped with a single coat of Hare Polish “The Owls are Not What They Seem” and then finished with Zoya Matte Velvet Top Coat.
If you’re familiar with “Happy Ending”, it’s a bright kelly green. The jelly brown in “Owls” darkened it up just enough to make it look like aged plastic, plus the matte-ed glitter made it perfect.
Just two more days until Agent Cooper returns…isn’t it too dreamy?
Black Metals
Thank you Black Moon Cosmetics, for bring back the Black Metals Collection.
Originally launched last fall (October?), the Black Metal Trinity was released as a Limited Edition Set, and included “Immortal” (blackened purple), “Armageddon” (blackened red), and “Sorrow” (blackened blue). “Myth” (blackened green) was available separately. I wasn’t feeling the green, purple or blue, so I passed and it sold out. Fast forward to February and Black Moon Cosmetics has added the collection to their permanent collection AND added a new shade called “Eternal” (blackened rose gold).
I HAD to have “Eternal”. I also added “Armageddon” and “Sleepwalker” (matte blackest black) to my order.
I haven’t had a chance to try “Sleepwalker yet – it’s not exactly an every day shade. “Eternal” looks amazing on – darker than I’d expected, but looked fantastic all day. “Armageddon” is my favorite – the most glittery red lipstick I’ve seen. This is what I WISHED Urban Decay “Trap Queen” had been.
My First Black Moon
This past week was one of a few firsts – my first Jeffree Star lippies and now…my first Black Moon Cosmetics lippies.
I was turned on to Black Moon…again, by Sally. As a small brand, they also have cyclical restocks, meaning you have to pay attention to get the colors you want. A big restock happened on May 13th and I had my order placed within minutes. It took just a week to get here, received it yesterday. The packaging is beautiful…and not just the lippies themselves. They come in a fancy box with an illustrated inside and glittery tissue paper…and a thank you note!
I selected “Selene” (a beautiful deep plum with a gorgeous soft purple pearlescent sheen) and “Wrath” (the perfect combination of mauve with a hint of pink and a touch of brown). Like Jeffree Star, the lippies are $18 (click here to see the whole range). The formulas are not runny like Jeffree’s, but are more like a mousse texture – similar to Julep’s It’s Whipped Lip Mousse. They go on and stay on.
“Selene” is a pearly plum and very dark on me (husband said too dark). “Wrath” is very similar to Kat Von D “Lolita” on me – my holy grail color. That means I might not need to buy Jeffree Star “Androgyny” when it restocks…bullshit, I’ll totally be buying it anyway.
OH! And I’ve found the perfect way to remove these tough lippies! I dip a cotton ball in Peter Thomas Roth Pink Bombshell Lip Balm and it wipes right off and leaves my lips moist and hydrated. I definitely give it an A++ for preventing shredded, dry lips.
Forever Young
Someday, I’ll learn how to use white polish without getting crusty edges around my cuticles…someday.
This here, is Delush Polish “Forever Young”, from their Downton Abbey themed Collection – “Downton A-List”. I’ve never seen a second of the show, but when I caught this mini on sale, I thought it was ridiculously cute. It’s a white base with opalescent and mint glitter, with a generous helping of red hearts. There are so many hearts that I would get 1-2 on each brushful – so nice.
I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat and topped with “HK Girl”. Next time, I’ll try not to slop it all over my cuticles.
Rose Jelly
I had to try a Julep Jelly!
This is two coats of Julep “Tiffany” sandwiched between Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and Dream Polish Gem Glam Top Coat. I was expecting it to be sheerer, but it was thicker than I expected. It reminds me of melted candle wax. But it’s still a jelly, because I can see my nail line. Julep’s website describes it as Pink radish jelly – I guess radish is pretty accurate.
“Tiffany” is sooooo much like Jenna Hip “Rose Tart” – both match my Knockout Roses, although “Tiffany” is just a smidge darker.
Xmas in June
I received the last package from my online shopping binge yesterday – my Delushies!
I couldn’t pass up the chance to get my hands on a few soon-to-be discontinued shades – “Forever Young” ($3.00) – a beautiful creamy white base with iridescent shimmer and floating red hearts, and “Sugar Plum Surprise” ($2.50) – plum jelly filled with an array of holographic navy, pink, green glitters accented by gold dots.
I also took this opportunity to get a Crystal Glass Nail File – they are supposed to be the absolute BEST. For the first time ever, I am actually looking forward to cutting my nails!
I couldn’t wait – I had to try “Sugar Plum Surprise” immediately.
This is two coats on top of Orly Bonder. There was plenty of glitter – I didn’t have to work to get it out of the bottle. For the top coat, I used Dream Polish Gem Glam. I prefer a thicker top coat over glitter or maybe I should have done 2 coats?
Online Shopping Binge
I kind went nuts last week with the online shopping – between Thursday night and Saturday morning , I placed no less than 6 online orders…so many sales and coupons in my inbox…I couldn’t resist.
With the long holiday weekend and biblical flooding, almost all of the packages hit at once yesterday. Instead of half a dozen different posts, I figured I’d stuff most of them into one…
I am fairly shameless, so I’m not going to show the pile of underwear from Victoria’s Secret. Yup, I hoard panties, too.
I had been eyeing the Sephora Sun Safety Kit – I need to protect my easily scorched skin. Inside the kit are 16 different sun protection products in a cute travel bag: – AmorePacific Natural Protector SPF 30, Clarins UV Plus Anti-Pollution Broad Spectrum SPF 50, Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 30 in Light Medium, Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Dark Spot Sun Defense Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Sunscreen, Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45, Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15, Josie Maran Cosmetics Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 47, Korres Yoghurt Nourishing Fluid Veil Broad Spectrum SPF 30, Murad Invisiblur Perfecting Shield Broad Spectrum SPF 30, Ole Henriksen total truth eye crème SPF 15, Origins VitaZing Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Energy-Boosting Moisturizer with Mangosteen, Peter Thomas Roth Max Sheer All Day Moisture Defense Lotion SPF 30, Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 50+ WetForce Broad Spectrum Water Resistant (80 Minutes), St. Tropez One Night Only in Light-Medium, Supergoop! City Sunscreen Serum SPF 30, and Vita Liberata Passion Flower & Argan Dry Oil Broad Spectrum SPF 50. PHEW – that’s a lot of sunscreen!
For my 3 samples, I chose Viktor & Rolf “Flowerbomb” (spicy and flowery, reminds me of a Victoria’s Secret scent), Maison Martin Margiela REPLICA “Beach Walk” (this doesn’t smell like a perfume – it smells like a thing – LOVE), and dr. brandt Do Not Age. Sephora was also running a Jetsetter deal – pick 3 extra samples – so I got Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask, Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream, and boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel. My face is gonna be SMOOTH.
I can’t say no to Birchbox’s Limited Edition Boxes. As soon as I got the email got the “Under the Sun” ($55) box, I knew I would eventually order it…but not until I got that 25% coupon. 25% off and $10 in Birchbox points and ADD TO CART. Inside the box: Baggu Tote Bag (I had my fingers crossed for this elephant print!), Cynthia Rowley Beauty Beauty on the Go Multi Blush & Bronzer Duo (meh), Laura Mercier Bakes Eye Color in “Cameo” (yasss), Sugarpova Flirty Candy (why does Maria Sharapova sell candy?), Chloe + Isabel Birchbox Exclusive Medina Convertible Pendant Necklace (my favorite part of the box!), Knockaround Premium Sunglasses (silver!), ncLA Nail Lacquer in “Bikinis & Martinis” (it’s the color of bubble gum you’d find stuck under a picnic table), and Supergoop! Skin Soothing Mineral Suncreen with Olive Polythenols SPF 40.
For samples, I got Vasanti Brighten Up! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator and Sumita Jumon Contrast Eye Pencil. I also finally got my Birchbox Anniversary Keyring (not pictured).
…and today, I got a big box of Deep Cleansing Hand Soap from Bath & Body Works. You know that I start to get the shakes if I have less than 30 bottles under the sink. They were all between $2.75 & $3.25, plus 20% off and free shipping. I threw in a handful of Scentportables for my car for good measure.
I also received my Dream Polish Gem Glam Topcoat in “Lily Flower” – yes, it’s scented! This another popular one on Instagram and it’s 5 free – I can’t wait to try it out.
I am still waiting on my sale order from Delush Polish – that’s the only one that hasn’t arrived. I think I have enough stuff to keep me busy…until next week when all my subscription boxes start rolling in!
The Black Lodge
I’ve had this Twin Peaks themed manicure in my head for months…and I finally was able to test it out. This is a dry run of how I plan to do my nails in a few weeks to attend Texas Frightmare Weekend – Sherilyn Fenn and Jennifer Lynch will be there!
I did the Jamberry portion first – “Black & White Chevrons” on my index finger and I used “Newsprint on Neutral” to cut a “b” and an “r” for my ring fingers. (I know they should have been capital letters, but I couldn’t find any on the wrap.) I then did 2 coats of Sally Hansen Total Manicure “Sweet Talker” on my ring finger to seal it. I then used Sinful Colors Base Coat on the rest of my nails. I used 2 coats of Sinful Colors “No Text Red” on my thumb and pinky. I used 2 coats of Hare Polish “The Red Room” on my middle finger. I sealed all of my painted nails with “HK Girl”.
I absolutely LOVE how my nails turned out. I am going to make a few changes next time, including incorporating “How’s Annie?” into the mix.
I can’t wait for another trip!
The Owls are Not What They Seem
Since yesterday was “Twin Peaks Day” – February 24, 1989 was the day that Special Agent Dale Cooper arrived in Twin Peaks to investigate the murder of Laura Palmer – I decided to use Hare Polish “The Owls are Not What They Seem”.
It kinda reminds me of an owl, but more than anything, it looks like my granite countertops. The countertops are not what they seem. There should be a green version of this polish called “Green Formica Table”?
I used Revlon Quick Dry Base Coat and “HK Girl” for the top coat. The “HK Girl” shrank! Ugh. On the bright side, it’s a fairly uniform shrunken edge.