Category: Nails
So Fancy
I’m so fancy…but you already know.
I don’t know that my nails have ever grown this long and strong. Prescription vitamins is a helluva drug. (I was prescribed Multigen before my surgery.) I’m starting to get paranoid about how long they are – am I gonna end up in the hospital after wiping my ass?
These golden rose decals did not work out like the other Julep decals I’ve received. Sure, they look amazing from afar, but They decided not to stay flat – they lifted up, even after a thick layer of Glisten & Glow Top Coat. The decal edges became sharp discs of death. One of them flaked off while I was transplanting an Oregano plant, leaving an impression not unlike a wax seal.
Let’s talk about the color though – I used Julep “Norah”, a rusty red shimmer. I am loving this color. This is two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, then decals and then the top coat.
I’m willing to try the decals again though – maybe over a bright red…for Chinese New Year?
Coolest Polish of 2018
Is it too early to declare Essence Cosmetics “outta space is the place” as the coolest polish of 2018?
This polish popped up randomly in an Ulta Facebook ad – and I knew it had to be mine. I hadn’t even seen it in person, but I knew we were meant to be together. “Outta space is the place” ($2.99) is part of the new “Outer Space Stories” Collection by Essence. I don’t have a lot of experience with Essence – it’s a budget brand, like wet n wild.
What’s so impressive about this polish, you may ask – it just looks like a plain white polish? It’s not a plain white polish. It’s an iridescent unicorn polish that shifts pink, blue and purple in the light. Judging by all the big brands falling all over themselves to release shiny, pastel unicorn collections (I.E. wet n wild’s Goth-O-Graphic Collection and Too Faced’s Festival Collection) – 2018 will be the year of the unicorn.
This is two coats of “outta space is the place” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat. The edges of my nails are rather crispy – that’s totally my bad, as I did a shit ass job painting my nails this go-round. The lighter the polish, the lighter hand you need…or you get these crispy edges.
A Martini Built for Two
Julep “Emmy” is an odd polish. Julep describes it as an olive ghost shimmer. (I think ghost shimmer means that you can see it in the bottle, but it disappears on the nails.) This color seems very limiting, but I had some many ideas about the personality it portrays:
- A ‘country girl’, a lady that wants her nails to look their best as she fixes a fence or rounds up the chickens.
- A 90s grunge girl, the olive tone perfectly complementing her flannel shirt.
- A girl who appreciates Military chic.
- One of those girls that gets married in a camouflage wedding dress.
- A city sophisticate that likes her polish like she likes her Martini – smooth and dry.
I am not sure I fall into any of those categories…OK, long ago, maybe the second one. My point is that this polish has multiple personalities and while I thought it annoyed me, it grew on me the longer I wore it – nearly a week. Next time, I’ll add glitter.
This is two coats of “Emmy” over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.
A Clean Face is a Happy Face
I told you I was going to place an Ulta order…
It got here quick, too. Ulta needs to work on their shipping though. It came in two boxes – one had just the Ulta Ultra Slim Brow Pencil in “Medium Brown” (been wanting to try a little lighter look) and everything else in the other box. The two boxes were the same size.
The #1 thing I wanted was the nail polish – essence “outta space is the place”, from their new Out of Space Nail Stories Collection ($2.99). It’s an iridescent white – I’ve never seen anything like it! I also picked up 2 essence Kiss the Mermaid Lipsticks ($3.49) – one for me and one for Lily. I’ve been using the fuck out of my Frog Prince Green Lipstick – this one is a blue stick that turns purplish pink.
I’ve also been wanting to try a few of the new Pacifica rose products: Pacifica Rose Kombucha Flower Powered Face Wash and Rose Flower Hydro Mist (regularly $10 each, buy one sale BOG40%off). The face wash is creamy and strongly scented. It foams A LOT – a little goes a long way. I’m getting use to the face mist – it’s a very different way to hydrate your face than the creams and lotions I’m used too.
I also grabbed two of the new Wet n Wild Megalast Liquid Catsuit Metallic Lipsticks ($4.99) in “I Don’t Dessert You” and “Satin Sheets.” I totally duped myself – these are dupes of Jeffree Star “No Tea, No Shade” and “Pussy Whipped”. Jokes on me!
The last thing I added to my cart was Ulta Warming Charcoal Cleanser ($10)….so I could get the free gift with purchase makeup bag. The cleanser does warm up, but not as much as others I’ve had. The cleanser is very, very gentle. This might be one of the better makeup bag gifts. Inside the bag: an eyeshadow palette, a blush/bronzer duo, Liquid Illuminator in “Northern Lights”, Plush Drama Volumizing Mascara, Nude Lipstick in “Pink Chocolate”, Mattifying Face Primer, Tinted Eye Primer in “Peach Glow”, Juice Infused Lip Oil in “Coconut”, Eye Liner Pencil in “Blackout”, Brow Shaping Gel in “Clear”, an eye pencil sharpener, Lip Liner Pencil in “Bittersweet”, a tapered blush brush and a $5 off $15 coupon. The colors are springy and neutral.
I have been choosing skincare samples from Ulta lately – I got a Skinfix Face Cleansing Cloth and Vichy Aqualia Thermal Creme Riche. I was also able to use the $5 off coupon from my last Ulta order.
$330.6o to remain Platinum…that’s like one hair appointment!
Off My Game
I must be off my game – when I picked up some polishes with my candy after VD, I accidentally bought a polish I already had – Sinful Colors “You Just Wait”. I didn’t check the site – I had bought it on Black Friday 2016. Oops.
Receipt in hand, I head back to different Walgreens. I was hoping for a different polish selection. It wasn’t fantastic, but it was enough for me to get some new polishes.
I ended up exchanging “You Just Wait” for “Pink Smart”, a plain pepto pink creme. I also found a new Sinful Colors Base Coat and Lily helped me pick three new polishes. I got “Starry Eyed” (looks to be left over from 4th of July), “Coco Bae” (a shimmery nude), and “Rise & Shine” (turquoise with a faint shimmer). I checked the site this time – I don’t have any of these.
Oh, and we also made the mistake of trying one of the new Diet Cokes – Zesty Blood Orange. Holy crap, did that stuff taste HORRIBLE. It was a cross between Alka Seltzer and EmergenC, plus that horrible aspartame aftertaste. I couldn’t even finish half of it. Blech.
Sucker Punch
Sucker punch, bitch.
Sinful Colors “Sucker Punch” is one of the new polishes I picked up after VD. It’s not what I thought I was going to do – I thought I was going to use “You Just Wait” – until I realized that I already have that shade it and it is green/pink, not white/pink. I want white/pink, dammit!
I noticed that it was almost an exact match for the red/pink shimmer shade I had picked for my toes. (I don’t even know what colors is on my toes – I didn’t even think to ask the name of the shade.) Shari had come to visit me and we went for a pedicure, which was an amazing idea, since I can’t easily bend to reach my feet yet. I just picked a random China Glaze polish from the swatch sticks. Whatever polish it is, it’s an exact dupe for Sinful Colors “Sucker Punch”.
This is two coats of “Sucker Punch” over Sinful Colors Base Coat and topped with Glisten & Glow Base Coat. I think this polish would also look amazing with a matte top coat.
Ulta Birthday Trip
I had an afternoon Doctor Appointment last week and I decided not to be a lazy shit and leave the house before noon. I thought I’d hit Ulta to pick up my Birthday Gift and see what else I can pick up.
I’ve started this new habit of keeping a list of stuff I want from Ulta in my basket in the app, so I don’t forget and can compare prices. I had at least half a dozen random items and this store did not have a single one of them in stock. Really? I had a $10 off coupon burning a hole in my pocket!
I decided to finally try the NYX Liquid Suede Metallics, since they were Buy One, Get One 50% Off. I picked up “Buzzkill” (hot pink) and “Go Rogue” (black). Warning, the pink STAINS bad, as I found out today. I also grabbed a few different nail buffers. The biggest part of my purchase was a set of Hot Tools Soft Pillow Rollers for my daughter’s birthday next week – don’t worry, she doesn’t even know what Instagram is.
This quarter’s birthday gift is kind of lame – Just an Ulta Cranberry & Pomegranate Lip Oil and Mask. The rest of the year gets NARS, it Cosmetics and Lancome! I got the shaft.
Disappointed, I hit a second Ulta on the way to my appointment and again – disappointment. I actually ended up placing an online order a few days ago…I’m excited!
To VD or Not VD…
Who am I kidding? We ALWAYS VD.
I had planned on using my fancy gold rose nail decals for a VD mani, but Lily really wanted to design matching nails for us, so I decided to have some fun with her. I did decline to let her paint my nails – sorry, hun.
I was shocked that she started with Sinful Colors Base Coat. I think I am finally rubbing off on her! She selected Sinful Colors “Sugar Sugar” and “Surreally Sweet” as alternating base colors. She assured me that I had to go with one coat of “Sugar Sugar” and two coats of “Surreally Sweet”. (I knew she was wrong about “Sugar Sugar”, but I let it go. As soon as I started with the top coats, I got bald spots – easy to fix though.) She showed me how to do an ombre of the two colors on my middle nail – it worked fantastically!
She picked Sinful Colors “I’m All In”, “Kissful Thinking” and Funky Fingers “Queen of Hearts” as toppers. “Kissful Thinking” is on our middle fingers, with “I’m All In” on our thumbs and ring fingers and “Queen of Hearts” on our index fingers and pinkies.
The finishing touch was Glisten & Glow Top Coat. Oh, did I mention that we were watching The Monkees the whole time we painted? I got her hooked!
Nails aside, the REAL holiday at our house is February 15th. You know why.
We didn’t buy our kids a goddamn thing for VD. But immediately after school on the 15th, we loaded them into the truck and hit Walgreen’s. $10 each goes a long way when all the candy is 50% off!
I ended up spending more like $20 on myself, but I got the best stuff – Lindt Truffles, Russell Stover (the Elegant Collection, not the regular ones) and Godiva. This is just spoiling myself really, since my husband already brought me Bailey’s Strawberries & Cream and a bunch of European Chocolate from work. (Unfortunately, the special Loot Crate I ordered him in November hasn’t made it yet….boo.)
I was also treated to 3/$5 Sinful Colors! This store had a pitiful selection, but I did find 3 new colors – “Rorange” (red + orange?), “You Just Wait”, and “Sucker Punch”. I looked for a Sinful Colors Base Coat, but they didn’t have any…so weird.
I had amassed a $5 credit, too. I don’t even know how I did that. Who knows, but I LOVE Walgreen’s!
BBQ Sauce
Maybe because I’ve lived in Texas so long, but when I look at my nails – all I see is BBQ sauce. Spicy, sparkly, BBQ sauce.
Or maybe I’m just hungry for ribs. Right now, my favorite is the Whataburger Honey BBQ, but my husband just picked up The Jank and it’s a contender.
This is Julep “Pia”, from this month’s Maven box. Julep says it’s a spiced burgundy iridescent shimmer, but I see more of a mahogany.
I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat and then two coats of “Pia”. I admit, it was late when I painted them and my coats were heavy around the edges of my nails. Unfortunately, this led to even heavier edges with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. It was difficult to get clean edges and my nails resemble well-done ribs, with those crispy delicious edges…
Go Eagles! (AKA Fuck Tom Brady)
Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t give a shit about the sportsball. The only interesting thing about the Super Bowl are the commercials…and that I can get away with eating an entire brick’s worth of queso by myself. I usually don’t even bother picking a team to root for…unless I can root against Tom Brady. This past week has been torture, with every media outlet continuously sucking his dick. Notwithstanding his despicable personal life, he’s a fucking cheater. What the fuck, America?
ANYWAY, stepping down off my soapbox to talk about my Philadelphia Eagles nails. Google told me that their team colors are midnight teal, silver and black. Hmmmm…of course I can make that happen.
I use Sinful Colors “Calypso” as my midnight teal. After Sinful Colors Base Coat, I did two coats of “Calypso” on my thumb, middle and pinky. I used Sinful Colors “Queen of Beauty” for the silver – two coats on my index finger. I tried a coat of Sinful Colors “Teal Midnight” on my ring finger, but it was much too sheer. I did a coat of Sinful Colors “JadeKat” and it was much better. I then went old school and busted out the crackle top coat – Sally Hansen “Star Burst”. I used a thin coat over my index and ring fingers and it crackled right up. For a finishing touch, I used a dotting tool to paint dots with “Queen of Beauty” on my middle finger and Sinful Colors “Black on Black” on my pinky. After topping then all with Glisten & Glow Top Coat, they all looked marvelous.
My only annoyance is that “Calypso” photographs so darkly – it looks black!
Go Eagles! Make Brady eat balls!