Manicure Monday

Another week, another batch of unworns.

OPI Black Cherry Chutney with Wet N Wild Night Prowl
Night Prowl may very well be opaque enough on its own, but I was too lazy to find out, so I just did it over a coat of BCC. Pretty!

Manicure Monday: Guest Post

S, another of my besties from college, has offered to do a guest post for Manicure Monday, on a great cheap polish. Enjoy!

MAC Lipsticks, Part 2

I already posted about the warm pinks and corals; today, I cover everything else!

The Pinks and Plums

Left to right: MAC Positively Dashing, Shiseido Nymph, MAC Plumful, Revlon Sugar Plum, Golden Rose Perfect Shine Lipstick 239, Dior Atout Coeur, L'Oreal Rose On and On, MAC Lustering, MAC Sweetie

I'm not sure why I look surprised here.

Positively Dashing is a Pro Longwear Lipcreme, described as a "mid-tone 'berry' blue-red". It's a medium plum in a formula that's supposed to be lightweight with a creamy finish. It's relatively lightweight, but creamy? Not so much. I find it wears best when I apply and blend with my finger and repeat a couple times; then it isn't as uneven, and it lasts me 2-3 hours before needing to touch up, which isn't exactly long-wearing, but is longer-wearing than some. Unlike Violine Précieux (which is almost exactly the same shade), it doesn't dry my lips out, but it doesn't moisturize them, either, so it has the effect of making my lips look a bit shriveled. This is not ideal, as I have actually very nice lips, so I will continue looking for the plum lipstick of my dreams, but Positively Dashing will do for the time being. As long as I top it with balm. Grade: B-/C+

Manicure Monday

Betcha didn't think I'd be posting again so soon, didja? I'm so on top of things, guys.

Sinful Colors Ice Dream
I saw this one at the drugstores last winter and passed on it, only to later decide I wanted it and go back to find it gone. So I was very happy to see it again this year, and snatched it right up! It's a very sparkly, very pretty silver shimmer with blue small hexes (I think they're hexes, at least; they're very wee!).

You can build it up to opacity on its own in 3 coats, but I was lazy and just did it over one coat of Wet N Wild Silvivor, which gave almost exactly the same effect. Only one coat of top coat needed, too. Very wintry! Here's hoping we get snow this year so I can wear it and feel like the Ice Queen.

Manicure Monday

Wow, 5 posts in 5 days. Don't get used to it, folks––you know it won't last ;) Today, I have a couple of polishes I received from Z for my birthday, as well as another Turkey polish and an OPI.

Butter London The Black Knight
I have wanted this polish since it came out a couple years ago, and Z generously bought it (as well as the Nails Inc, below) for me for my birthday! It was waiting for me when I got home, though my mother had stuck it in her room so I didn't know where it was for the first couple weeks after getting home. Fortunately, it was found and worn and I LOVE IT.

It's a black base with varying sizes of pink/red, yellow, and blue glitter. They dance and shine under the light, and it's so, so beautiful. I found it to be a solid 2 coater, though perhaps if you used thicker coats it could be done in 1. It's very top-coat hungry; I did 3 coats the day I painted my nails, and then another the next day, which made it almost completely smooth. The wear is phenomenal; it lasted a full 4 days on my nails with no tipwear or chipping, and I actually wore it twice in a row since it went well with the dress I wore to the wedding. I am seriously impressed, and now I begrudgingly want to try more Butter London (begrudging because they're expensive, and the British names are stupid for a company based in Seattle). It has taken up residence on the shelf reserved for true love polishes.

Manicure Monday

Finally, nail polish! On my fingers! Aaaah. It's nice to be back.

First up, Zoya Godiva, purchased when they had free shipping and waiting for me when I got home. Yippee! Unlike Miranda, I preferred Godiva without top coat. I actually liked it best at one coat, when it was sparkly and not too nude, but I didn't photograph it then. You'll just have to wait until I wear it again! It was quite opaque; I used 2 coats, and it's a bit too nude for my taste, but the silver sparkle helps. Very, very sparkly. It's fun!

Without and with top coat, respectively.

30 Days: Day 19

Today's lippies: the cool pinks and plums!

Left to right:

Revlon Colorstay Lip Liner in Plum: Got this to wear under Becca Berry Twist because I liked the red one so much. It's warm and brown-leaning, but not too warm for me. On its own, it's a little too dry and tugs, but it applies really nicely over blotted lip-balmed lips and lasts several hours. It also helps even out Berry Twist and extend the wear quite a bit, and is nice under Sugar Plum as well (makes it vampy and last longer).
Prestige Waterproof Lip Liner in Wine: Purchased for the same reason as the Revlon, but I got this one first. I like the shade, a cooler, pinker plum, and the formula is fine; I don't find it as creamy as the Revlon, but it wears well and is about as effective as the Revlon.
Shiseido Nymph: Every time I wear this, I'm reminded how much I like it. It's a lovely neutral rose that gives lips color without being the focus of a look, and the formula is very pleasant, moisturizing and somewhat long-lasting. I prefer the LMdB lip crème formula because Nymph gets a little sticky (on the upside, I never feel the urge to rub my lips together), but the color is gorgeous, and it's still one of the best formulas I've tried.

Currently Coveting: Chanel Taboo

JUST LOOK AT IT.

via Chanel

(But $27 is insane.)

(I might still buy it.)

Lippies Experiment: Final FOTDs!

Guys, I did it! I wore all my lippies this month! HURRAY! Let's see how the last few panned out.

What do you mean I can't have a bunny?

Clinique After Party: This is a delightful vampy plum, with one caveat: gold shimmer. So much gold shimmer. It doesn't migrate, thankfully, but it does remain after the lipstick wears off. The formula also isn't moisturizing, so after a full day of wearing just this, my lips were quite chapped. And very shimmery. I think it's a lippie I'll keep in mind for shorter events––it looks awesome for a couple of hours, and my lips can survive that long just fine. Definitely has inspired me to get another non-shimmery vamp, though! Got my eye on Hourglass Empress.

Manicure Monday

More manicures! This is going to be brief, again, because I have a bunch of quizzes to grade and a sure-to-be-confusing syntax article to read (the life of a grad student is just an endless party, y'all).

OPI Every Month is Oktoberfest
I caved and bought this when I spotted it in New York. Yes, I hate OPI's terrible punny names, but the color is SO GORGEOUS. And after using it, I have to say the OPI formula (okay, based on a sample size of 1, so take it with a grain of salt) is fantastic. I will be paying more attention to their other collections now! And I will be wearing this polish all the freaking time.

Zoya Beach and Surf Picks: Wednesday, Carly, and Kimber Review and Swatches

Last month when Zoya had their 3 Beach and Surf polishes for $15 promotion, I went through the painful process of narrowing down my picks to just three, and ended up getting Wednesday, Carly, and Kimber. I can happily report that I was not disappointed by any of them!

Left to right: Carly, Kimber, Wednesday

Rescue Beauty Lounge Piú Mosso Review and Swatches

RBL is, like Zoya and Nubar and Illamasqua, a niche polish brand that is known for their flawless formula and beautiful colors (and for being "3 free": no DBP, Formaldehyde, or Toluene, and no animal testing!). I have been wanting to try their polishes for a long time, but have been dissuaded by the hefty $18 price tag (plus shipping). Luckily for me, Steph of Imperfectly Painted had a bottle of Piú Mosso for $11 during her polish sale, and I managed to snag it. This was especially fortuitous as the sale started the day I was dumped, and had I not been trying to ease my shattered heart by browsing for makeup, I would never have seen it! It wouldn't have mattered what shade was available, since I just wanted to try the brand, period, but I was thrilled that it was Piú Mosso, as that was on my short list of polishes I wanted to try (along with Locavore, Scrangie, Under the Stars, and Iconoclast, to name a few). So, Steph, thank you for fulfilling one of my polish dreams, and for providing a bright spot in an otherwise terrible day! I shall forever treasure this polish for reminding me that, no matter how bleak life seems, there is still much joy to be found in the little pleasures (which, for me, definitely includes beauty bits and bobs!).

Rescue Beauty Lounge Piú Mosso, angled to show the awesome shimmer

NYX Maroon Nail Polish Review and Swatches

I thought I'd reviewed this already, but going through my photos stash, I realized I hadn't! Whoopsy daisy, my bad. Better late than never! Especially since this is a permanent shade.

2 coats NYX Maroon, no top coat