Author: Lara
Mango or Queso?
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I had been putting off trying Funky Fingers “Hang Ten, Brah”. Even though it is a solar polish, I was prepared to hate it…but I totally LOVE it.
I thought it would be a sickly boring yellow, but it turned out to be a lovely Mango flesh color, with a subtle green shimmer. I don’t even like Mango (it smells like dirty vagina), but the color is ripe and vibrant.
I realized while we were eating dinner tonight – “Hang Ten, Brah” is ALSO the exact color of queso (FUN FACT – my BFF thinks queso smells like dirty vagina).
I was going to take a pic of my nails and my queso, but I ate it too fast.
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This is “Hang Ten, Brah” in sunlight. It actually changes as much as the bottle promises, into a juicy tangerine.
I also used Funky Fingers “Scattered Sea Shells” on my thumb and ring fingers. It’s different sizes of white glitter with bits of pink, blue and Mango/Queso glitter.
This is just two coats with Orly Bonder and “HK Girl”. I could have gotten rid of the VNL with more coats, but I was feeling lazy last night.
Neither Bikinis, Nor Martinis
I am a fan of neither bikinis, nor martinis – but that’s not the reason that ncLA “Bikinis & Martinis” frustrated me. First off, it’s a plain, light coral – not a fan of coral. Application was streaky – even after 2 coats, I had streaks. I used a good base coat – Orly Bonder – and “HK Girl” helped a bit, but not entirely.
The most shocking thing about this polish is that the list price is $16. $16! Luckily, I got it as part of the Birchbox “Under the Sun” Limited Edition Box – but, still – $16 for a streaky polish in a basic color.
I think I’ll give it a try with glitter – glitter fixes everything.
Vice Deal
Sometimes, Ulta has an offer I can’t refuse. The Urban Decay Vice Ltd Palette for $39 (normally $58) was an offer I couldn’t refuse, especially with a $10 off ANYTHING coupon.
When I opened the palette and ooohed and ahhhed over the colors, I excitedly told my husband that there’s a color called “Backdoor” and it’s BROWN! My son said, “But our back door is white?” I hope he stays young and naive forever.
I also got Urban Decay Naked Skin Beauty Balm in “Medium”. I had been searching everywhere for “Light” – in several stores, online, but no luck…except on the Urban Decay site and they won’t give me points. Luckily, I tried “Medium” this morning and it looked exactly the same on me as “Light”. So, I dunno what the point of having two colors is.
My samples were a tiny little card with a smidge of Benefit The POREfessional (insulting!) and Biolage keratindose Shampoo and Conditioner.
Peacock Ombre
Sometimes I surprise even myself.
I got the idea from Instagram to layer sheer jelly polishes to ombre my nails. No sponges or special tools – I just overlapped layers of three polishes to melt from green to blue to purple. I used Sinful Colors “Sheer Flight”, “Prized Plume” and “Flight to See”.
I used Sinful Colors Base Coat, but I probably should have used something else – all the layers made a few thick spots and the polish slid and folded in a few spots underneath “HK Girl” (see my index finger). Other than that – the colors blended fantastically – I’m really pleased with myself.
Fourth 4th
This is it – my fourth 4th of July mani. I had every intention of posting this yesterday, but there was just too much grilling and Gatorade and watermelon and blowing stuff up – MURICA!
I am in LOVE with the red I used for the base – Sinful Colors “Ruby Glisten”. Yeah, I have a ton of red glitters, but this one is so deep and juicy – it’s by far the prettiest. This is just two coats, over Sinful Colors Base Coat, of course.
I accented my thumb and ring finger with Julep “Fireworks” – jazzy. Since I used “HK Girl”, this mani lasted all the way from Wednesday to Sunday – spectacular.
OK, I’m DONE with the red, white and blue!
Perfume Hoarder
When I was a little girl and my mom would take us shopping at Foley’s, my favorite thing to do was visit all of the perfume counters and ask for samples. I would come home with my tiny vials of scented potions…and play. Realistically, I probably smelled horrible, but I felt beautiful.
Fast forward thirty or so years…and I’m still hoarding those tiny glass vials. I actually just cleaned out a drawer in my bureau – and entirely filled it with all those samples that had been cluttering the top. Now I have more to add to the collection…
I had been trying to resist, but I broke down and ordered a rollerball of Atelier Cologne “Mandarine Glaciale” – now my second favorite Atelier. For samples, I picked another Atelier – my first favorite, “Cedrat Enivrant”, and 2 Maison Martin Margiela Replica Samples – “Jazz Club” (I didn’t realize it’s a Men’s Fragrance; It’s strong and smoky – since it made my husband’s eyes water, my son claimed it – a suitable self-defense for jiu jitsu class?) and “Lazy Sunday Morning” (It smells like clean sheets – Mmmmmmm). I also got a deluxe sample of Too Faced Born This Way Foundation in “Vanilla” with my $25 purchase.
I think I’ve gotten my money’s worth of out the $10 Flash Shipping – and it’s only been 4 month. Plus, only $37 to go until I hit VIB status!
MURICA!
It looks like I got into a fist fight with Uncle Sam and ripped off his testicles with my bare hands!
After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I started with 2 coats of Sinful Colors “Tokyo Pearl”. “Tokyo Pearl” is a tricky polish – It goes on smooth, but because of the pearly finish – it shows every brush stroke. I applied a thin layer of Sinful Colors “Queen of Beauty” to the tips for extra silver glitter, then streaked on Julep “America”. I was going for a stripey gradient with “America”, but I don’t think I had any other choice. This is one of my oldest Julep polishes, so there’s only about a third of a bottle left and it is starting to get dry. (Time to buy some nail polish thinner and see how that goes.) I did manage to get a few star glitters, but I wasn’t particularly fishing for them.
I finished with “HK Girl”. “America is such a sharp glitter, that I can still feel the edges in a few places – all the better to scratch with.
Baby, You’re A Firework
Yeah, I referenced a Katy Perry song. Go ahead and make fun…bitch, my nails are fabulous.
The patriotism continues with Julep “Fireworks” – a red, white, and blue multidimensional glitter top coat. I used Sinful Colors “Keira Blu” (like Keira Knightley?) – a sheer, shimmery blue. I was able to get full coverage with 2 coats – I love getting full coverage out of sheer polish – it adds so much more dimension to the color.
I used Sinful Colors Base Coat (it’s almost empty!) and “HK Girl” over the glitter. I also did plain “Keira Blu” on my toenails – I’ve got another trip to Schlitterbahn coming!
Patriotic Jelly Sandwich
Once a year, it’s totally expected to wear red, white and blue fingernail polish – the week leading up to Independence Day.
This is my first successful “jelly sandwich”. I used Sinful Colors “Prized Plume” (blue) and Julep “Tiffany” (red) for the jellies. I used Sinful Colors “Star Blast Off” for the glitter, sandwiched between layers of jelly polish. This is a glitter/jelly/glitter/jelly sandwich – 4 layers…or 6 if you count the Sinful Colors Base Coat and “HK Girl”.
“Star Blast Off” gave me LOTS of stars. I was very pleased that I only had to go fishing for stars a few times.
Jesus take the wheel when I actually have to get all this glitter off my nails. I am not looking forward to that…
Sparkling Water
How unexpected – I thought that Sally Hansen Triple Shine “Sparkling Water” was a microglitter, but it’s a shimmer – sparkling turquoise water with a violet shimmer. It might even be sheer enough for jelly experiments. “Sparkling Water” would also go well with “Mermaid’s Tale” – Sally really does do turquoise the best!
This is two coats of “Sparkling Water” with Orly Bonder and “HK Girl”. It’s a good, smooth polish, even though I suspect the bottle is rather old, since it was on clearance at Walgreen’s. I don’t own many Triple Shines, but I might start grabbing more on clearance – even though they’re one of Sally’s cheapest polishes, they do well.