2012 - Page 18 of 40 - Of Life and Lacquer

Year: 2012

Of Life and Lacquer > 2012

Sara Smile

Posted on 9 July, 2012 by Cynthia

Has there ever been a song named after a person and you secretly you wish that was your name…even just for the length of the song? Well, that’s me with Sara Smile.

I don’t really know why I thought this would be a good way to open up this blog post, but the only reason I can think of is that I heard a bit of this song when I watched The Fighter tonight. Believe it or not, I had not watched this movie until tonight, and it was freaking awesome. I think I’ve stated on here before what a huge H&O fan I am, but I don’t think anyone understand what an understatement that is. Any time I hear a H&O song, I have to sing along with it…no matter where I am.

Let’s move along from Hall & Oates and back to nail polish! OPI DS Coronation has made quite a few appearances on my blog and rightly so! It’s a freaking amazing scattered silver holo.

DS Coronation applies like a dream. It only take two coats and it really settles and flows perfectly on my nails. There is absolutely no way that you can mess up a mani if you’re using this polish. And since my Bundle Monster obsession continues, I stamped this baby up!

I used plate BM 319 for this design. I really like the design but I keep thinking that these nails look Christmas-y because of the color combination I used. Maybe I would have liked them better if I had used black for the design. Despite my reservations about my color choices, I adore this design. Ugh…I am a stamping fool lately.

What do you think of these nails? Do you have any Designer Series OPIs? Do you think they are worth the extra money? What different color combination would you use for this stamping look?

Jessica Cosmetics Gelato Mio! Collection Summer 2012

Posted on 7 July, 2012 by Cynthia

I have to say that I wish these colors had been named in a more gelato-inspired manner. Think about it: nocciola, fragola, stracciatella, pistacchio, bacio…oh, I need to go to Italy soon. I always make sure to stop by Vivoli and gorge myself whenever I go to Florence, so this collection brought back many delicious memories. I am more of a dark and vampy colors kind of gal when it comes to nail polish so I was very happy at how much I loved these colors. They are so incredibly creamy looking and flow like butter. I am usually squeamish about pastels because they are mostly chalky, harsh and application nightmares. These colors where a joy to apply: highly pigmented, opaque with two coats, even and glossy. I am completely in love with these!

Lime Cooler

Tangerine Dreamz

Strawberry Shake It

Banana Peel

Barely Blueberry

Surfer Boyz’n Berry

What do you think of these colors? I really didn’t find these streaky at all because I used medium coats, but I can see that if you use thin coats, you would probably get some streakiness. The creaminess of these colors is what makes them stand out to me. The Jessica Gelato Mio! collection is out now so go get ’em!

Is This Real Life?

Posted on 6 July, 2012 by Cynthia

I love this video. I think it’s my second favorite kid video on youtube with Charlie Bit My Finger being #1

I was asking myself if I really bought this much nail polish today. I look at it and I am still wondering what possesses me to go on these nail polish buying binges. It’s like a high. Is anyone else understanding this or am I just nuts?

So much polish…………………..

I picked up the whole Gelato Mio collection from Jessica Cosmetics. I’ve gotta admit that the main reason why I got these is because I am dying to go back to Italy. Some of my fondest memories of Italy are food related–gelato being a huge part of it. The last time I was in Italy, way back in 2003, V. and I went to Rome and Florence. Despite how cold it was, we were still dedicated gelato eaters the whole time. Ahhh! Also, I have the funniest picture of D. and I during our first trip to Italy. We went out for a really awesome dinner and we had probably the most pivotal conversation in our 15 year friendship. We also proceeded to get plastered on red wine and then wandered around the city drunk and crazy trying to find a gelato place that was open. Once we did, we bought some and headed back to the hotel. The next morning, D. was asking me what the hell we had done the previous night because his jacket was coated with something. We never figured it out until I developed the pictures and we got a picture of him drunk, eating gelato while it was melting down the cone and down his arm all over his jacket. LOL

One of my dusties had a crapload of these American Classic nail polishes. I wanted to get a bunch of them because the one I previously tried was awesome. I still don’t have much info about this nail polish line, but I got to talking with the owner of the nail polish store and he told me that the guy who started this company also started China Glaze. Huh? He was telling me how he had designed the bottle and stuff. When you look at these, they do look exactly like CG bottles except for the ridges on the cap. How cool. Sally Beauty Supply gave me a contact # for American Classic (who make Gelous) so I’m going to call them and see if they can give me any info about this. I’d love to know how old these are.

Ahhh…Kleancolor. These smell like the vas deferens of a platypus. The smell is beyond disgusting so I don’t know if I’ll be able to deal with them. These are all glitters!!!! I decided to get them because they are dirt cheap and I will never pay a lot for any glitter.

These are just some assorted goodies from China Glaze (yay for super old polishes!!!), Nubar, Essie and Dare To Wear.

And lastly, I got some more special Konad polishes for stamping and some nail art stuff.

I need to cut the crap and stop being such a nail polish hoarder. I only have 20 nails…why do I need so much? Well, for now, nail polish makes me happy and I really need a little happiness when I’m usually feeling so rotten. I hate feeling like I’m just a shopaholic, but I guess it could be worse.

Miss Professional Nail Sation Line For Fall 2012

Posted on 6 July, 2012 by Cynthia

“To kick off the holiday, Miss is honoring the Wild Wild West Coast by launching its first Fall Collection soon, Little Horse on the Prairie!

America is known for pioneering many great hallmarks: Freedom! Independence! Liberty! As well as countless inventions, such as Covered Wagons and Iphones. Although wagons aren’t for everyone; iphones, horses & gorgeous nails are still in high demand! Dream along with us as we whisk you away to the scenic views that our ancestors have fought for; open prairies & big blue skies! Miss elevates the celebration with an awesome indie music video of sizzling red hot & cool blue nails to die for!”

You all know how I love fall nail polish collections. I think I have said that a million times before, but if you didn’t know, then listen up my dear polish fiends. It should come as no surprise to you that I can’t wait to get my hands on this collection from Miss Professional Nail:

I am really drooling over these especially Weed Out The Wimps. Oh man, I want these pretty bad.

Here are some interesting promo pics for the upcoming Little Horse On The Prairie Collection. Is it just me or do these images have a soft-core porn look to them? They are pretty images: beautiful model, beautiful scenery and an angelic looking horse…but why does the model look like she is having an orgasm? I mean, maybe that’s what would happen to me if I found the China Glaze OMG collection at one of my dusties so I guess I shouldn’t judge.

Here is a behind the scenes type video about this collection.

Am I the only one that almost wanted to cry when I saw all that wasted polish dripping on the rocks and tree stumps? If you’re interested in getting any of these colors, the collection will be released in August.

Which is your favorite season for nail polish? Have you tried any Sation polishes yet? If you say no, I’m coming after you.

“Hello Oscar Mayer Weiner…Lover.”

Posted on 5 July, 2012 by Cynthia

My hot dog looks a little anorexic and frankly kinda burnt. So what?! It was still good. Oh, 4th of July was a day of ridiculous feasting for my family. We had a bbq and endless snacks. My mom made a beautiful fruit platter so that she could fool herself into thinking that at least we were eating one healthy thing. Yeah, right! The city where I live allows fireworks so we went outside to watch everyone set off their fireworks. My youngest brother bought a bunch and was creating his own by ripping up picolo petes and the like. Boys! Overall, I had a really nice time playing Scrabble and watching movies. I finally watched Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid and I really liked it. I mean, what is there not to like? Robert Redford. Like! Robert Redford. Double Like!! And Robert Redford…

I’ve been super excited about playing with my new Bundle Monster plates so I tried stamping without using my special polishes. I really like the look of the special polishes because they are so pigmented and always produce really crisp designs. I started with a base of OPI French Quarter For Your Thoughts.

I seriously love this color. It’s so different from all the bright and crazy colors that I have been wearing lately.

I used OPI Ski Teal We Drop as the stamping color and plate BM 319 for the jigsaw puzzle design. This color stamped better than I thought it would. I usually don’t have much luck with stamping using regular nail polish so I’m glad this wasn’t a total disaster. If you like stamping or are interested in getting started, you MUST get these new Bundle Monster plates. They are so much fun and will change the way you do your nails.

How was your 4th of July?

P.S. Do you know where the title of my post came from?

Happy 4th Of July!

Posted on 4 July, 2012 by Cynthia

I was not feeling any kind of inspiration for a 4th of July nail look. None at all. I’ve been posting like a machine lately, and I’m trying to slow down. The thing is that I am working really hard to keep myself occupied. I have not been feeling very motivated lately, and I’m afraid of my anxiety getting worse. I thought Prozac was supposed to help with anxiety as well, but it’s not working very well lately. I’m having problems sleeping regularly and have started the stupid cycle of nightmares. It seems that my nightmares always center around my worst insecurities so they seem even more intense and leave me completely emotionally overwhelmed when I do wake up. I hate feeling like this but there isn’t that much to do about it right now except to keep my head above water and not let it get the best of me again.

As far as being patriotic, I don’t think I’ve ever been crazy patriotic. I am grateful for living in a country where I can say and write whatever I want without fearing persecution. We enjoy many freedoms that we take for granted so it’s worth taking a moment to be thankful for all that we do have. I always try to put things into perspective because in the grand scheme of things, we are almost living in paradise compared to other places in the world where war, extreme poverty and hunger are just something that is in their every day reality. I’m not trying to be preachy or anything; I just think it’s nice to have a day to spend with your friends and family even if you’re not all hyped up on Independence Day.

So back to nail stuff…

I used Adventure Red-y which is an amazing one coat red from the China Glaze On Safari collection as my base color and then used Man Hunt, also from the same collection, for the chevron tips. Using Konad plate M84 and their white special polish, I stamped the stars over both colors. Simple, right? This was actually the second look I tried today. The first one was a complete disaster–better as an abstract idea because it was horrid once I tried to execute it. Oh well…you live, you learn.

If you’re in the States, do you have anything fun planned for today? Stay safe whatever you end up doing!

Color Club Wham! Pow!

Posted on 3 July, 2012 by Cynthia

Ahhhhhh summer! The heat is starting and it’s not just my prozac. I am dreading the weather so much this year, but it’s been really cool lately so I’m not ready to full on complain just yet. The warmer it gets, the crazier I want my nails to look. Is that normal?

I know I’ve talked about radioactive polishes, but this one takes it to another level. I had to take about a million pictures in order to get something that didn’t make my camera lens explode. This orange is so aptly named: Wham! Pow! It really is like a punch to your eyeballs, right? The formula was pretty good and applied very smoothly. I LOVE THIS ORANGE!

Dreamsicle is another China Glaze specialty glitter. I thought about layering this on top of white because it made me think of those 50/50 bars that I loved so much when I was a kid, but when I saw how crazy Wham! Pow! looked on its own, I decided to tame it down a bit with glitter. Since when does glitter tame any polish?

Since I got my new BM plates yesterday, of course I wanted to try them out. I couldn’t make up my mind what design to use until I saw this citrus-y design. I just wanted to see how the quality of the plates stood up to Konad. I am pleasantly surprised to report that the Bundle Monster plates are freaking awesome.

I am going to start on my 4th of July nails right now, and I am afraid that it’s going to be a huge mess. Wish me luck.

Color Club Twiggie

Posted on 3 July, 2012 by Cynthia

I asked my brother what he thought of when he hears the word Twiggie and he said: model, skinny. I know this color does refer to Twiggy, but I don’t see the connection. I started rambling that maybe it’s green like a twig from a tree or whatever. Yeah, I’m just going to enjoy the polish and not overthink it.

This seems like a really weird green to me but weird in a good way. I don’t think I have another green quite like this one. It’s almost milky. Now that I think of it, maybe it’s similar to Essie Mojito Madness? I did have some problems with the formula because it was super streaky. It took three coats to finally level out this polish and cover up a few bald spots.

Your eyes are not deceiving you: yes, this is glitter.

This is one of the specialty glitters that China Glaze put out a few years ago. This one is called Sour Apple and I love how well the name fits the look of this polish. This is all I could think of while I while I applied this glitter:

And as a sweet, sweet ending, here is a song that everyone should love:

Layla Retro Pink & How I Almost Got Into A Fight

Posted on 2 July, 2012 by Cynthia

I headed over to Ulta today (I was writing this on Sunday night but fell asleep) because I wanted to see if they had the Essence polish that I saw swatched here. Yeah, I know it’s glitter, but I just wanted to see it in person and get it out of my system. Of course my Ulta didn’t have it so I ended up drooling over the Layla holos again. I already have three of them, and I had been saying that I really wanted Flash Black but decided to get a pink one instead. Shocker, right?

How gorgeous are these? If they weren’t so pricey, I’d get them all instantly. I think I already mentioned this before, but here I go again: you can use a coupon for these at Ulta. I printed their $3.50 off any $10+ purchase coupon so I ended up paying just under $13 tax included. Paying $15.50 + tax for a tiny polish kind of makes me mad, but these are so pretty that I just try to ignore the price. Yay for coupons!

I took some pictures at the beach today. It was so pretty outside so L. and I just went to hang out, get some coffee and get some sun. It was more crowded than we expected which was kind of a bummer. After the pictures, I’ll tell you about how I almost got into a fight.

We decided to stop an watch an acrobatic-type show that looked pretty interesting. It was just a bunch of young guys doing stunts and cartwheels so we took a seat on a bench on the front row. We got there about 15 minutes before the show was supposed to start precisely because we wanted good seats and a good view of the show. Once everything started, a man with his wife and 3 children came up and were standing next to us. Because we were on edge, there was an opening so they were standing there and were being very loud. Slowly, they kept moving over and ended up standing right in front of us. What the hell? Why would they think that’s ok? At first we thought it was just a momentary lapse in judgement on their part, but they wouldn’t move and we could no longer see. L. seemed annoyed but she didn’t do anything. I got up, tapped the guy on the shoulder and said: “I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re standing right in front of us and we can’t see the show.” He turned and gave me a dirty look and muttered under his breath that we could move. WTF? Why would we have to move if we got there early and his retarded ass just decided to stand in front of us??? Well, I wasn’t just about to take that: “Well, we got here early precisely because we wanted good seats. Why should we have to move just because you decided to be rude and block our view?” I don’t really know what he was saying because he was mumbling. So not only is he a rude asshole, but he’s too afraid to say everything to my face? Oh, Ghetto Cynthia is out in full force. He backed off and we went back to watching the show. Later on, L. told me that it looked like I was getting ready to punch that guy in the face. I found it amusing because I am so NOT confrontational, but nothing gets me revved up like rudeness. It really makes me wonder what kind of crap people teach their children nowadays. This guy was a complete asshole and was basically teaching his kids that it’s ok to be an asshole. I feel sorry for people like that. When I was a kid, I was a little demon child, but my mom always taught us good manners: to greet everyone, to be polite and always say “please” and “thank you.” If I acted like a turd in public, I knew I was going to get a spanking when I got home. Anyway, that’s the end of my rant about this. I took some video of the show and I might have caught some of the “fight,” but it’s not on the SD card!!!!!! Where is it??? I am sad about that…I wonder if it got saved on my camera but that doesn’t make sense. Oh well.

How do you like my new holo? Have you purchased any Layla holos? Do you usually speak up when someone is rude to you or do you just ignore it? I hope you all had a nice weekend and happy Monday!

Sephora by OPI My Personal Serpent

Posted on 30 June, 2012 by Cynthia

I was debating what to wear on my nails today, and bright cheery colors just weren’t appealing. I’ve been in a crappy mood today so I wanted something dark and smoky. I looked at my untried stash and pulled out SOPI My Personal Serpent which I recently got on sale at Sephora. This color is part of their Fall 2011 collection called The Garden Of Good And Evil which included seven other polishes. Before I get into swatches and the stamping I did, I wanted to do a quick polish comparison. My Personal Serpent reminded me of Essie Bobbing For Baubles and Zoya Cynthia so I did a side-by-side comparison

Pretty similar, right? I purchased Bobbing For Baubles first and really liked it. Out of the three, Essie has the best formula. They actually all are pretty great when it comes to the formula and you reach opacity with 2 thin coats. I purchased Cynthia because…well…it’s my namesake so how could resist? I just imagined that my namesake polish is a crazy glitter in an alternate universe. NOOOOOOOOOOOO! So why did I purchase My Personal Serpent even though I have 2 other nearly identical colors? Because it was on sale, and who can resist any nail polish sales? I am such a psycho nail polish hoarder….

You already know I like blues so this dark smoky blue fit the bill today. This color is just so dark and saturated that it makes me dream of fall/winter colors. Ahhhh!