2012 - Of Life and Lacquer

Year: 2012

Of Life and Lacquer > 2012

Bourjois Violine Chic

Posted on 30 December, 201230 December, 2012 by Cynthia

I seriously haven’t done my nails in over a week which feels super strange. Because I’ve been feeling dumpy, as I have previously discussed, I guess doing my nails hasn’t been on my list of priorities. Well, you know what? Fuck feeling in the dumps. I’ve been keeping myself super busy so I don’t have time to wallow in self-pity. Since I suddenly felt like doing my nails, I wanted to dig into my untrieds stash and pick one of those polishes. I ended up choosing Bourjois Violine Chic which is a polish that Sabrina sent to me a while back. (Sabrina has a great blog called Polish In Paris so check it out!)

Bourjois Violine Chic is one of those super vampy shades that I love wearing when I have super short nails. This particular line of Bourjois polishes has vinyl in the formula and it’s supposed to last 7 days. I can’t verify the claims of longevity since I just applied this polish today, but I do have to say that I was a little confused by the formula. The color seemed deceptively thin when I applied it yet the formula is kind of goopy at the same time. So strange! I ended up applying 3 coats to cover up the streakiness and random bald spots. One thing I learned is that it is essential to let the layers dry between each coat or else you will end up with a mess.

This lovely glitter is Silly Lily Halloween 2012. I bought this a few months ago and never got around to using it until today. Let me just say that I am in freaking love with all the colors in this polish and I love how it looks over Bourjois Violine Chic. As with most glitter explosion polishes, I had to work with it by dabbing the glitter so I could get even distribution. Even though this is technically a Halloween polish, I wouldn’t hesitate to wear it year round! You should head on over to Lily’s Etsy shop so you can see all the unique and interesting items she sells. In fact, she has a big clearance section right now and has a promo where you can get a freebie when you make a purchase of $15 or more. One of the things a lot of you suggested when I asked what you would like to see more on my blog was more indie/glitter polishes so here is a start! I plan on doing more indie polish posts next year because there are so many amazing and unique creations out there AAANNND I think it’s important to support the little guys!

Thanks to so many of you who came and checked out my blog sale! I have sold around 60 bottles of polish in the last few days which kept me super busy with answering emails and wrapping all my babies to go to their new homes. I hope no one thought I was being whiney and was trying to guilt you into buying my polish!!! That was the last thing I wanted to convey. Thank you for all your purchases and for all the wonderful messages of support that I received–they all helped to lift my spirits!

I hope that you are all doing well and that you are excited about welcoming the new year. What are your plans for new year’s eve?

Updates And Blog Sale

Posted on 28 December, 2012 by Cynthia

Hello my fellow polish sisters…and brothers? I’m sorry that I haven’t been online much the last couple of days and haven’t posted much here and on my other social media accounts (youtwitfacerest). This is mainly because I’ve been having some issues, and I didn’t want my posts to turn into a pity party of one, but I do want to let you all know that I am hoping this is just all a temporary setback.

If you have read my posts in the last month or so, you probably know that I’m looking for work–like a million other people. The holidays have been tough because it seems that employers have been on hiring lockdown for a while and maybe they are also on vacation mode. I’ve been trying not to let the lack of job prospects to get me down, but it really is a huge effort on my part not to flip out every day. I don’t think I have *EVER* experienced this level of financial strain in my life so it’s something that I am learning to deal with and handle in the most level-headed way possible. I’ve been trying to put a positive spin on every new setback, and I think I have been doing pretty well. I have plenty of things to be grateful for so I want to keep focusing on the positive and continue to get my life in order.

One of the things I am beyond grateful for is that I am no longer struggling with the horrid pit of depression that took hold of my life for the past 2 years. I feel good in my skin right now, and that’s not something I have felt in a long time so I am extremely grateful for that. I don’t think I would be able to deal with stress of my current financial predicaments if I was still struggling with debilitating depression and anxiety. I still have my days where I am feeling really down on myself, but the good days far outnumber the bad so I am hopeful that my positive attitude and outlook will guide me through this rough patch. Money is just money at the end of the day. Yes, we all need it to live, but how many people have struggled through similar situations and come out stronger on the other side? YOU might be going through something similar now so just remember that you are not alone and that things can and will improve.

When I first started my blog sale, I wanted it to be a purge of sorts. I wanted to get rid of some of the over 1,000 bottles of nail polish that I had in my stash because I found that I wasn’t really using them much. I had purchased a huge chunk of them while I was going through my depression because pretty shiny things made me feel better during that time. I never thought I would sell so many of them in such a short period of time!!! Now, that money has gone to my savings account and has been extremely helpful in giving me a little cushion so I don’t feel so stressed out about my finances in the coming months. Thank you so much to all of the lovely ladies who have purchased from my blog sale–some of you more than once, twice or three times!! You don’t know how much that has helped me.

This post is in no way intended to be whiney nor am I asking for pity or sympathy. I’ve always been pretty transparent when it comes to my personal struggles because I know there are other people out there who understand and may need a little pep talk themselves. My blog has never been about sharing misery, but about letting people know how I deal with things. If I have brought a smile or thought of understanding to anyone out there, then I know I have achieved one of my goals. 🙂 So many of you have reached out to me privately to offer words of encouragement or to share your personal experiences and that means the world to me.

And finally, since I am still trying to find new homes for my oodles of polishes, please check out my blog sale. (Yes, this is a shameless plug!) I’ve added so many new items so you may find something you like.

Thanks for reading and talk to you soon.

Sation Imagine-Sation

Posted on 25 December, 201226 December, 2012 by Cynthia

Hello ladies and gents and welcome to my Christmas day post. I feel like such a lame-o for a couple of reasons: I had these two great guests posts lined up from Amanda from Mae’s Beauty Reports and Siobhan from For The Love of Nail Art & Make-up and I guess I am a big fail at scheduling post to publish automatically. I have no idea how I messed that up since wordpress makes it super easy. Well, now I’m going to publish them tomorrow–all late. 🙁 Sorry Amanda and Siobhan! I was so busy after the giveaway closed and the blog sale inquiries and then Christmas stuff came around on top of my job search stuff so I didn’t even think to follow-up on the posts I thought were going to automatically publish. So there you have it. I’m a big failure.

I had done this manicure a couple of weeks ago, and I don’t remember why it was still sitting in my drafts. Let’s look at the mani and then I’ll tell you more about how I spent my Christmas eve. Behold–Sation Imagine-Sation!

Are you tired of seeing my Sation swatches? Well, if you are: too bad because I love these polishes! I’ve had a few people ask me about where to get these polishes besides online so here is some not so new news: In case you haven’t heard, Sation is being sold at TJ Maxx and Marshalls in the US and Winners in Canada! I have heard from plenty of readers that they have spotted Sation at their local stores so make sure that you check them out. Back to the swatches: Imagine-Sation is another polish from the Nailstock collection from earlier in the year. All of the colors in this collection are freaking gorgeous so make sure to get your hands on the colors you like because this is a limited edition collection. The reason why I was excited to use this color is that I think it’s a close dupe for OPI Mrs. O’Leary’s BBQ. Nicole over at Polish Me, Please! started to rename polishes and she called it Mrs. O’Leary’s Scab which I thought was kinda gross but it still made me laugh. While Imagine-Sation is a little darker, I think it’s a close enough dupe that I don’t need both. It feels good to say that! The formula was a tad thick but I added a couple of drops of thinner and all was well in polishland. Best of all, it didn’t stain my nails AT ALL even though I forgot to use a base coat!

I then applied one coat of Sation Calorie Countess which is a mixture of what appears to be gold, bronze and pink glitter. This was a strange combination in the bottle but I really like how it looks on top of Imagine-Sation. I can’t wait to try it on other base colors. The formula on this was fine–just what I expect of glitter polishes. Just for shits and giggles, here is a macro shot of Calorie Countess. Great, huh?

So for Christmas eve, the mooch and I headed over to my brother and sister-in-law’s house and we had a really great time. My sil’s sister, Mimi, was visiting from Austria so it was really nice to visit with her. She is such a funny and sweet woman so it’s always a pleasure to spend time with her. She is also a bit of a make up and nail polish junkie so you know we spent quite a bit of time talking about that and she ended up writing a list of products I recommended. Don’t you just love being an enabler? We played games, ate, drank, ate some more and just had a great time. To say that I’ve been lazy today is an understatement: I am still wearing my pj’s and I’m about to take a shower and get into some fresh pj’s again. I’m going to be fairly busy tomorrow so I’m glad I got to savour this lazy day.

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you had a wonderful day. Just think: New Year’s is just around the corner! Thanks for stopping by and talk to you soon.

P.S. Have you checked out my blog sale? I have so much new stuff on there!!

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR firm. For more information, please see my disclosure tab.

Winners Announced – 1 Year Blogiversary Giveaway

Posted on 22 December, 2012 by Cynthia

This was definitely the biggest giveaway I have hosted which seems fitting since I was celebrating a huge milestone. The people I have met through blogging has been the most significant and rewarding part so I am incredibly grateful and fortunate for the friendships I have gained. Let’s also not forget that I went from a glitter hater to a glitter fanatic so if that doesn’t show growth, I don’t know what does! Now, let’s get to the part you’re all here for–the winners!

A big thank you to everyone who participated, and I wish I could give everyone a prize. Without further ado, here are the winners:

Prize 1 OPI Skyfall Minis: GK

Prize 2 Seche/China Glaze Package: Cassi

Prize 3 Sation Package: Emma M.

Prize 4 Nail Art Package: Christina W.

Prize 5 Jessica Spicy Dream Collection: Amanda R-S.

Prize 6 Essence Package: Krystan H.

I have emailed all the winners and they have 48hrs to contact me with their information or else I will pick new winners.

The giveaway madness will continue in the near future because I never did a 500 blog/twitter/facebook giveaway so stay tuned for that. I guess better late than never! 🙂

And one last thing: my blog sale is still going strong. I added many new polishes so make sure that you check it out here.

I hope you all enjoyed the giveaway, and I am looking forward to doing more fun stuff next year.

Barielle Elle’s Spell

Posted on 21 December, 201231 December, 2012 by Cynthia

Beejus, can you believe that Christmas is in a few days and then it’s just a hop, skip and a jump to 2013? I am actually really excited about the new year just because I want to close the chapter on the crapfest that 2012 has been. Don’t get me wrong–things have definitely improved these last few months of 2012, but I am just looking forward to a fresh start.

For my first real holiday mani, I decided to stick with a combination of red and white.

I started out with two coats of Nails Inc. Gatwick. Great Odin’s Raven! this polish is awesome. I usually have a love/hate relationship with matte polishes, but this one just blew me away. The formula is super thin so it doesn’t get goopy at all, and it’s really easy to control.

And here is the belle of the ball: Barielle Elle’s Spell. This gorgeous polish is from Barielle’s 2010 holiday collection and I definitely think it was the stand-out from that collection. It has a slightly red-tinted base that is pretty sheer and it’s chock-full of golden-red flakes. I have not tried to wear this polish on it’s own and I don’t think I will–I prefer an opaque base as opposed to a sheer jelly.

Lastly, I applied a snowflake design from Bundle Monster plate BM 319. Snowflakes are definitely my favorite holiday design right now. Just because I couldn’t help myself, I ended up mattifying the whole manicure.

Which version do you prefer: shiny or matte?

Well, my dears, there you have my holiday mani. This year I have decided not to buy any Christmas gifts. I feel kind of like a Scrooge, but I’d rather save the money right now. My parents aren’t coming for a visit this year so I will probably be spending Christmas with my brother and sil–along with my youngest brother whom is also known as “The Mooch” to my long-time readers. Are you prepared for Christmas? What are your plans?

This weekend I am going to have 2 guests posts for you from two of my lovely blogger friends: Amanda and Siobhan. I can’t wait for you to see their awesome designs. There is one more day left to enter my 1 year blogiversary giveaway so don’t miss out!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by today and have a great weekend.

China Glaze Tranzitions Color Changing Collection

Posted on 20 December, 201226 December, 2012 by Cynthia

While some of you may have already seen swatches of this collection floating around, here is the official release information for the interesting China Glaze Tranzitions Color Changing Collection:

China Glaze® Introduces Tranzitions Color Changing Collection

Los Angeles, CA – (December 2012): There’s nail art and then there’s China Glaze® nail couture. Reverse French manicure, half moons, ombre, basket weave, dots or racing stripes: nail designs are intricate and multi-colored. China Glaze® introduces a new way to get multi-color, unique nail art with fewer bottles of polish with the new color-changing Tranzitions collection!

China Glaze Tranzitions’ revolutionary new nail lacquer reacts when a clear top coat is applied, changing the color from one shade to another for a stunning effect. Wear any of the six beautiful, color-shifting shades alone, or allow your creativity to run wild and create intricate nail designs by applying a top coat in specific places. Try different looks using nail art brushes, free-hand designs or nail guides. Because each shade changes color, you get two lacquers in one, creating an entirely new look with just one swipe.

The China Glaze Tranzitions collection features six shades, though with the color transition, you get 12 unique shades including:

Split Perso-NAIL-ity – Dusty pink shifts to fuchsia
Duplicityy – Mint green shifts to vibrant teal
Modify Me – Periwinkle blue shifts to indigo blue
Altered Reality – Teal blue shifts to turquoise
Metallic Metamorphosis – Silvery grey shifts to bluish-charcoal grey
Shape Shifter – Smokey violet shifts to dark purple

How It Works:

Step 1: Apply a base coat.

Step 2: Apply two coats of China Glaze® Tranzitions shade of choice. Allow to completely dry.

Step 3: Lastly, apply one coat of clear top coat such as China Glaze® Fast Forward and watch the color change right before your eyes.

For more nail design ideas, click here to view the China Glaze® Tranzitions video.

The China Glaze® Tranzitions collection will be available in January 2013 at fine salons and beauty supply stores nationwide.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde, and is never tested on animals.

China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, please visit www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Facebook (@ChinaGlazeOfficial), Twitter (@ChinaGlaze) and Pinterest (pinterest.com/chinaglaze).

China Glaze® is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries

For 42 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women. Our product lines include Andrea, Ardell, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, It’s So Easy, Jeris-Lustray, LASH BeLONG, Nail Tek, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, ‘N Rage, Poshe, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks, Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.

Jessica It’s A Girl Thing Collection Spring 2013

Posted on 20 December, 20128 January, 2013 by Cynthia

Hello, my name is Cynthia and I am a Summer hater. I know that sounds strange from someone who is a born and raised Southern Californian, but I just can’t stand it when it gets hot outside–I feel miserable. Since I live a few miles from the beach, it doesn’t usually get too hot here even in the middle of summer, but if I have to go inland I just want to DIE. So why am I talking about the Summer when we are having record-low temperatures? Well, because guess what I got in the mail yesterday? My very first spring 2013 polish collection! I don’t think it’s officially Winter until tomorrow and the Spring collections are starting to come out already–I love nail polish! As much as I like winter, I think that Spring is my favorite time of the year. I don’t agree with TS Elliot’s statement that “April is the cruellest month”–not at all. (For you fellow lit purist, don’t freak out about me using the opening line of The Wasteland to wax poetic about nail polish. Nail polish can be poetic–just look at Clarins 230!) The brand spanking new collection I have for you today is the Jessica It’s A Girl Thing Collection for Spring 2013. Let’s see what Jessica Cosmetics has to say about this collection:

“Girls just want to have fun!” the classic song says, and that truth finds colorful expression in the exciting, new Spring 2012 collection It’s a Girl Thing–exclusively from Jessica Cosmetics.

It’s a Girl Thing celebrates girl power and girl fun–the confidence that you can be anyone or anything you want to be. Just dream big. The only limit is your imagination.

The collection’s six fresh and fun colors, all original to Jessica, are perfect for playing dress-up and expressing your secret seld or for adding a spark of super-charged color to a serious work-day look.

Take center state as Ava, the “New Kid in Town,” break some hearts as Alexis “Ruby Empress,” or party in pink as Amira the “Smitten Kitten.” Wearing these and other inspired hues in It’s a Girl Thing, you can live out your fantasies in vibrant, dreams-come-true color.

For the first time in Jessica history, the Spring 2013 collection features the fabulous girls in Jessica’s life–each girl plays dress-up in her favorite color that evokes her distinctive personality.

Are you ready to see the collection?

Sun-kissed Beauty (Alia) is “a deep, stylish sunset-orange.” This color is incredibly saturated and buttery. The first coat appeared to be a bit patchy but the second coat covered my nails completely. This color reminded me of OPI A Roll In The Hague and Essie Orange It’s Obvious but it’s not a flat creme like those two because Sun-kissed Beauty has a slight shimmer that sparkles in the sun. I am usually scared of orange polishes because they are stainining nightmares, but I am happy to report that I had no staining from this polish.

While Jessica calls True Blue (Sophia) a robin’s egg blue, I immediately thought that it looked more like a periwinkle shade. Even though this color is super bright, it also has a bit of smokiness to it that I love. Just like Sun-kissed Beauty, this polish also had some lovely shimmer peeking through. The formula was fine. I felt that it was maybe a tad thicker than I was expecting, but it was easy to control and self-leveling.

I feel that in the last year, I have gained a true appreciation for pink polishes so I was happy to see a vibrant pink in this collection. Smitten Kitten (Amira) is such a girlie color and I think it works perfectly in this collection. As bright as it is, it’s not overwhelming on my skin tone. It has a good formula so I only needed two coats. Again, this polish has that pretty hidden shimmer.

Ruby Empress (Alexis) has the best formula of the bunch. It can easily be a one coater if you’re careful enough, but I applied two thin coats out of habit. I thought this would be a more pure red, but it does lean a little bit orange. I would have liked to see it be less orange since Sun-kissed Beauty is also in this collection.

I am a huge fan of dusty lilac/lavender shades so New Kid In Town (Ava) is right up my alley. This color is pretty similar to Essie She’s Picture Perfect minus the pink shimmer. There is a very pretty silver shimmer in this polish but it’s not very noticeable unless you’re in direct sunlight. This polish was a little sheer but it builds up nicely without any issues.

And lastly, this is Sterling Queen (Nadia) which is described as “refined silver-gray.” When I first saw this polish in the bottle, my first thought was “ick.” However, once I applied it, I was won over. I don’t think I have a single polish in my collection that is quite like this. It’s not really a frost or a shimmer…it’s just so icy looking. The formula is great, and I think it looked really nice with one coat but I applied two to show the color at full opacity.

With a nice variation of vibrant shades, I think this collection is a lovely step towards Spring. While these colors may not be altogether unique, I appreciated that these were not just flat cremes but had that beautiful hidden shimmer. Considering the dark and vampy shades I tend to wear, I was quite surprised to realized that Sterling Queen was tied with True Blue as my two favorites from this collection. What do you think of this collection? Do you have a favorite? Thanks for stopping by and talk to you soon.

All Jessica colors are formulated with antioxidant vitamins for maximum conditioning and UVA/UVB protection from the sun. Jessica polishes are quick-drying and eco-friendly, free of toluene, formaldehyde and DBP.

The It’s a Girl Thing collection will be available at the end of January 2013 at www.jessicacosmetics.com and at salons and spas internationally.

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were provided by the manufacturer or their PR firm. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy tab.

Sation RV There Yet?

Posted on 18 December, 201218 December, 2012 by Cynthia

Dum dee dum…oh, hello. How are you today? I’m having a kind of craptacular day today not because of anything specific–it’s just one of those days. I woke up today feeling kind of down on myself so what did I do? Stayed in my pj’s all morning and continued my job search. I always get excited right before I open my email in the morning hoping that some amazing job opportunity might pop up. The most promising email I got today went something like this:

Hi,

We are contacting you regarding your resume post on Monsater.com.

We would like to invite you either on Tuesday Dec 18th at 7:00 pm or Thursday Dec 20th 1pm.

Please find more information in the attachment.

Looking forward to hear from you.

Thank you

Best Regards

Oh yes, I’m jumping right on that one! I am so going to download that .ex file and email you my social security number too. Actually, I’m lying: I did get a pretty decent call today so who knows where it will go. I’m sure that I’ll feel better tomorrow–as long as I don’t bake a cake to console myself tonight. haha

Don’t pretty nail polishes just make you feel a little more peppy? Well, today I have have a bright and lively color for you: Sation RV There Yet?

Sation RV There Yet? is another beauty from the Nailstock Collection. I think that this color leans a lot more green in real life than it does in my pictures, but it’s gorgeous either way. I was super excited about this color because who doesn’t love a good teal? I love the final result, but I found the formula a little hard to work with because it was so darn sheer. This is a crelly polish–a jelly and creme hybrid–which is quickly becoming my FAVORITE type of polish. I love how squishy this looks.

I used an image from MASH plate MASH 39 for this design. I had heard that the Layla holos were pretty good for stamping, and I’m happy to report that they do work. I used Layla Ocean Rush for this fish scale looking design. It’s fairly delicate so the holo isn’t as in your face, but I like how it turned out nonetheless. I am going to try a bigger and more intricate design next time.

I have a very special request today. One of my very best friends in the whole wide world is having a biopsy today, and I know she has been really nervous and scared. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers (if you pray) so that everything turns out ok. I know that her doctor is probably just being super cautious, and I know that she will be ok. It’s just a scary thing to go through. I’ve known Veronica since we were about 10 years old, but we didn’t become friends until we were 13. We actually hated each other’s guts before we became friends, but we don’t exactly know why. We were stuck working on a school project together with two other girls who were morons and didn’t want to do any work. Since we wanted to get a good grade, Veronica and I just took the whole project on. I guess we have Mrs. Wright, our 8th grade English teacher, to thank for cementing our friendship through group work. Am I the only who hated doing group work in school? (One of my favorite teachers in High School used to tell us that group work is just “pooled ignorance. lol) Anyway, ever since then we have always had a strong friendship despite the fact that we went to different high schools. We’ve taken two very memorable trips together: one to Hawaii and one to Europe (Paris, Florence & Rome). For me, traveling with someone is the ultimate litmus test: if I can travel with you and we don’t try to kill each other, we will be friends for life. I’m hoping that she will join Nancy and I for our trip next winter so Europe better get ready for us because we will be causing some serious damage.

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you’re having a good day.

P.S. Are any of you on Reddit? I’m getting “bullied” on there. (lol…sorry, I couldn’t help it, Nicole!) I guess it’s getting a little crazy in there because I had some random weirdo be totally rude to me. Don’t worry–it didn’t hurt my feelings. I thought it was amusing.

Disclosure: Sation RV There Yet? was provided by the manufacturer or their PR firm. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy tab. Layla Ocean Rush was purchased by me.

Sation BYOBottle

Posted on 17 December, 201217 December, 2012 by Cynthia

I had mentioned in my previous post about wanting to slow down my blogging schedule a bit for a few reasons. One of the main reasons is the fact that I am really busy looking for a job right now, and I don’t think that crazy or colorful nails are very interview appropriate. At my last job, one of the things I hated the most was interviewing people. I have so many stories about strange applicants! One of the more thought-provoking moments was when I called up an applicant, and she sounded like the perfect candidate: she had a perfect resume, was well spoken and energetic. When I brought her in for an interview, she was dressed immaculately but was wearing the world’s largest fake eyelashes. Ok, you don’t understand…her eyelashes were all I could focus on when I looked at her face. They weren’t just thick, they were LOOOOOONG. The interview went ok, but I just could not understand what made her think that wearing those eyelashes was a good idea–it just made me think she was lacking some common sense. I was kind of willing to look past the Snuffy Snuffleupagus eyelashes until she started calling me multiple times per day to “follow up” despite me telling her I would be calling people back in a week for a second interview. I could go on and tell you about the woman who kept wanting to reschedule her interview because she got her period and didn’t sleep well, but I’ll stop there. While going through my melmers for some pretty and subdue colors, I zeroed in on Sation BYOBottle.

Sation BYOBottle is a beautiful raisin-y plum color from their grooooooovy Nailstock Collection. This polish was so incredibly smooth to apply–it was almost a one-coater! Are there any 80’s kids here? You will totally get flashbacks, but I kept singing “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” because this polish reminded me of the California Raisins:

For this design, I used Essie Nothing Else Metals and an image from plate MASH 44. I’ve been using my MASH plates a lot more often–they really are great quality plates and I hope that they put out some more sets in the future.

Today I was supposed to go to an interview but my gut kept telling me that there was something fishy with the whole thing. The person who contacted me was responding to the resume I had posted, but she wasn’t really giving me all the information about the actual position she was hiring for besides a vague description. She then told me she wanted me to meet her at a different location than where the job was supposed to be. Her directions sounded something like: “go down Main Street, hang a left on the napping bum, walk 500 ft down the dark alley and knock on the rusty door with an X marked in blood.” Uhm, yes I need a job but I do not need to be on the news as a murder victim. I did do my due diligence on the company and the person who contacted me so don’t worry–I’m not gullible. Ultimately, I just felt that there was something off about the whole situation so I passed. I have a few other prospects so I’m just going to keep on moving forward. Hopefully I won’t have too many of these job hunt stories to relate!

There is only one more week left for Christmas! Have you done all your shopping yet? Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you around soon!

Disclosure: Sation BYOBottle was provided by the manufacturer or their PR firm. For more information, please see my Disclosure Policy tab. Essie Nothing Else Metals was purchased by me.

China Glaze I’m Not Bitter

Posted on 15 December, 201215 December, 2012 by Cynthia

I wasn’t planning on doing any blogging for a while for a few reasons, but I decided to just throw that idea out the window because I realized that whenever I am stressed or having a rough time, I can usually just escape into the color-filled world of nail polish for a while. All of my current problems/stressors have solutions. Every single one of them. I think that it’s important to remind yourself that most problems have solutions because we always need a healthy dose of perspective in our lives. I was looking through my stash and decided to use one of my untrieds: China Glaze I’m Not Bitter.

China Glaze I’m Not Bitter is another scorching red from the 2005 Voodoo, That U Do Collection. I can’t tell you enough how amazing this shimmery and glowy red is. It applies like a dream, and it is the perfect one-coater!! Unfortunately, this polish was discontinued long ago, but the good news is that it is still available online at a few online retailers. And in case you were wondering, the formula is NOT big 3 free. China Glaze describes this as a beet red shimmer, and that is a perfect description.

Being that Christmas is less than 2 weeks away, I decided to make this a festive type of manicure.

I used a design from Konad plate M79 and Konad special white polish. I don’t know about you, but this looks like pretty wrapping paper. I always enjoy wrapping presents, don’t you?

Because I wanted a little more bling, I applied silver holographic hex glitter over the dots. It doesn’t look that interesting under these lighting conditions, but it looks amazing under sunlight when all the holo shines.

On a previous post, I wrote about New Year’s Resolutions and the like. I’m not really making any but I do have a few goals for next year. I stumbled upon a blog about travel last night and all of a sudden I was so bummed out because I haven’t been on a trip in eons. (Btw, the travel blog I mentioned is called Traveling Latina and she is hosting a giveaway for a $25 Walmart gc so check it out!) I spent my early 20’s pretty much going anywhere I wanted to because I spent a year studying abroad and then ended up working for the airlines for a few years after that. The one place I would kill to go to right now is Florence. Looking back, I think I have made about 10 separate trips to Florence and I never tire of it. Maybe it’s because I am a huge lover of Renaissance art and architecture, but it’s probably more due to the fact that it was the first city in Italy that I ever visited. When I think back on that first trip, I always laugh because it was really a comedy of errors. Daniel and I had finished up the semester and he called me to see what I was going to do that night. I told him that I wanted to take a trip and he said he would come with me so we packed a bag and an hour later we were at the train station looking at all the scheduled departures. We had no idea where to go so we just took the next available train which was going to Italy. I won’t get into all the shenanigans that happened during our stay in Florence because, frankly, it’s embarrassing. When we were ready to leave, we randomly decided to go visit our friend who was in Aix-en-Provence for the year…well, that was another nightmare. We had to take multiple trains to get to Aix. Since our train was delayed in Milan, we almost missed our train going to Marseille. Daniel never forgets how we were running like maniacs through the station trying to make the train which was about to depart. By the time we made it to the platform, it had started to pull away so we literally did a miraculous flying leap onto a moving train. Why we didn’t kill ourselves right then and there, I will never know. I wish that had been the end of our mishaps, but then something else happened: my wallet was stolen.

If you’ve never really been on a train for a long trip, you’re really missing out because it’s just such a cool experience. Daniel and I ended up in a 6 person compartment by ourselves so we were just enjoying getting some rest. He decided to go to the dining cart and left me alone while I slept. I was startled awake and I saw a kid walking out of our compartment and I asked him what he was doing. He mumbled that he was looking to see if there were any empty seats but he kept walking out.I was so groggy that I didn’t think much of it so I went back to sleep. When we finally got to Marseille, I wanted to buy something to eat and that’s when I realized that my wallet was gone. I was fuming and poor Daniel got to experience my misplaced wrath because I blamed him for leaving me alone while I slept since I suspected that kid stole my wallet. We had to catch one last train from Marseille to Aix which was just less than 30 minutes away. When we finally got to Aix it was late at night and the train station was about to close. I told Daniel to call our friend since we didn’t have her address. He didn’t have her phone number because his phone’s battery had died and he forgot the charger. The train station closes and we are kicked out into the street with our loaded backpacks and me without any money. I was tired, annoyed and on the verge of tears when our friend walked by the train station with a couple of her friends. It was the most random thing ever so all things ended up well.

So why did I blab on and on for eons about Italy and traveling? Because one of the things I am looking forward to next year is to go on a trip to Italy. I don’t know how I’m going to do it. I may have to sell my soul to the devil for it, but I will go on my trip!!!! What are some of your favorite travel destinations? Thanks for stopping by and talk to you later!

P.S. Have you entered my giveaway? This is the last week so don’t miss out on the chance to win some awesome prizes!

Disclosure: All items featured in this post were purchased by me.