Manicure Monday

Because it's still Monday in Oregon!

Ruby Wing Poppy with Cult Nails Alter Ego

This shot was taken after Poppy had started to change colors. I seriously wish all polishes were UV sensitive. Alter Ego, another DC Cult Nails polish (I only buy them when they're on sale, ha), gives an interesting antique gold shimmer overlay. I'm still experimenting to find what colors I like it layered over, but basically, sheer toppers = endless fun.

Sephora Sale/Spring Wishlist

Sephora's 15% off sale is coming up sometime in the next few weeks, and I have a number of items I would like to pick up. I don't tend to gravitate towards spring collections, because I find pastels boring as fuck (I may be a little tipsy writing this––I got an A+ in my final required grad school class! SCORE! So I'm feeling pretty down with indulging in some wine before heading to dinner with my mother). I'm on a lippie kick, as you may have noticed, so even though there's a number of lipsticks I haven't yet reviewed, I feel the itch to pick up more. Never too many lipsticks!! But after going on a swatching frenzy at Sephora here in Portland (I managed to not get lost in the Washington Square Mall this time! Mostly because I had a map, but still. I am clearly a champion.), I have a number of other products I want, too. Feast your eyes, my pretties, and let me know if you've tried any of these and what you thought! Especially if you hated it. Then I will have one less thing to covet!

I haven't purchased a new blush in, like, 8 months (no, seriously, the last one was in Germany, and I still haven't reviewed it, oh my God I am a terrible blogger), and I am feeling the urge. I wear blush every day, because otherwise I look like a sick ghost, but it doesn't have the same appeal for me as lippies and even eyeshadow do. (Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention I got a blush from Awesome Larie last fall, LMdB's Echo, which also hasn't been reviewed, so I have no need for coral/warm pink blushes.) (Which is not to say there's not still some of those on my wishlist. I'm not a saint, okay?)

This one is not Polyvore, because Polyvore didn't have Diffused Heat.

Clockwise from top left: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Diffused Heat, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Radiant Magenta, Clinique Plum Pop, Tarte Blushing Bride, Make Up For Ever HD Blush 215, Rimmel Stay Blushed! 001 Pop of Pink

Manicure Monday

I finished winter term last Thursday (after writing some 4500 words in a 22-hour span, #likeaboss) and spent Friday catching up on rest, Saturday cleaning, and Sunday relaxing. As I write this on Sunday, I'm awaiting the boy's return home after more than a month in San Francisco, and I'm pretty psyched to see him (#understatement). We're going to the coast for a couple of days, and then I'm going to Portland for a couple of nights with my mother, so it may be a little bit until I'm back to a (somewhat) regular posting (and commenting) schedule. But here! Have some nail polish. It's very...green.

St. Patrick's Mani: Color Club Cactus and Cult Nails Two-Timer

My ex was (and, as far as I know, still is!) Irish-American and very into St. Patty's Day, so I have a bit of lingering resentment towards the holiday (through no fault of its own). Nevertheless, I decided to get into the holiday spirit with a very green manicure, featuring Color Club Cactus and Cult Nails Two-Timer, which I bought when it was on clearance for $3 (scoooooore). While it's kind of lumpy, and I'm not really sure why––I probably didn't give enough time between coats––it wore like iron; this photo was taken after 4 days. Which may not be all that impressive by some people's standards, but I was super thrilled! My right (dominant) hand looked almost as good, too. Cray.

Term Nonsense

The end of the term is nigh, and as I am actually taking a class this term (my final required course! The UO linguistics program requires 2+ years of course work for the Ph.D., because...getting out in 5 years is for squares, amiright?), I have a term paper and am currently swimming in semantics data. So I have been/am going to be even more absent than usual until Thursday the 20th, which is when my paper is due. Not that you'll probably notice anything unusual, given how sporadic I am at posting, heh.

But I actually have a point to this post! I'm requesting music recommendations––I work on perception, not production, in part so that I can listen to music while I'm analyzing data. (I did production work in the past, and even though production is, honestly, generally more interesting than perception, it is an absolute nightmare to work with the data. #overlyhonestmethods?) I like things that are upbeat, but am open to any ideas. Some things in regular rotation at Amy'nin evi include: Vienna Teng (her new album is fun!), Florence and the Machine, Oh Land, Wolf Gang, Bastille, ZZ Ward, Phildel, Bitter:Sweet, and Ke$ha (no, I have no shame). I like things that have clapping (the songs Bedroom Hymns and Working Man come to mind), banjos (cheerful bluegrass, which I know is a total oxymoron and blasphemous etc etc., see afore-mentioned lack of musical shame), and harmonicas (Timber!). I also love Disney songs, some of Adele's more bombastic stuff, and oldies––I was raised on Springsteen (and Jimmy Buffett, but that was always somewhat unwilling on my part). So please! Throw your suggestions my way!

Other random things:
It's been sunny and 65 here and it is amazing but I can't work outside because computer screens don't like sunshine, and now that classes are over, I don't even get to walk around on campus between classes. (I'm going to try and force myself to walk around outside every couple hours, though. I'm always really grouchy when I'm interrupted when I'm working, but it can be really good to take a break and think. I guess I'm learning something after 19 years of this school thing?)
I finished teaching for this term today, and you guys, I already miss my students so much. I had such a great class this term.
I literally just realized that "vapor" and "evaporation" are related words. Native speakers don't need to decompose vocabulary, apparently, or else I'm just an idiot. Both are possible.
I have both Sara Bareilles' Brave and Katy Perry's Roar on my Grooveshark right now, and they just played back to back and I finally fully realized that they are the same song. I mean, I'd heard that they were before, but my musical memory is not great. One of them ended and the other began and I was like, wait, is this a repeated song? BUT IT WASN'T! Whoaaaa.

That's all for now. Gimme your music! And your random facts!

MAC Viva Glam V Review and Swatches

Larie threw this in with my order from her blog sale awhile back, because she is generosity incarnate :) I have many lippies, but few nudes, as they tend to make me look dead, but I thought Viva Glam V, which has been hailed as "universal", might work. And so it does!

Manicure Monday

Wow, it's been forever since I've done one of these. Which is silly, because I've been wearing nail polish pretty much constantly! So this is pretty mondo, sorry.

The boy's birthday was the 7th, so I asked him how he'd like me to do my nails. He requested an ombre from turquoise to dark blue; turns out I have enough polishes matching that description to make all 10 nails different! I used 12 polishes, most of which I hadn't yet worn this year, so it made a nice dent in my new year's resolution :)

rawr

Pinky to thumb, left hand: Sally Hansen New Wave Blue topped with Finger Paints Art You Wondering?; Wet N Wild Caribbean Frost; Zoya Wednesday topped with Golden Rose 52; Color Club Blue Heaven; Zoya Yummy

Skincare Saturday: Bioré UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA+++ Review

I'm taking a break from the Rainshadow Labs coverage (but don't worry, it'll be back) to talk about my new HG BFF product: Bioré UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence Sunscreen SPF 50+ PA+++, henceforth referred to using pronouns and deictics, because that name is ridiculous.

"this" / "it"

I have pale skin that slightly tans, but mostly just burns and then freckles. I actually like my freckles (angel kisses!), but skin cancer and sunburns are pretty shitty, so sunscreen needs to be a daily staple for me. In spite of this, though, I've not always been as diligent about applying it as I should be (I know! Bad past Amy.) My skin is also really, really oily, and prone to freaking the fuck out at the introduction of any new product, but after reading the positive reviews at MUA, I decided to pick up a tube of this. My prior declaration of HG BFF status should tell you how that went for me! Here's why I love it: