Year: 2012

Of Life and Lacquer > 2012

Friends, Travel And Other Demons

Posted on by Cynthia

I had a really nice day today mostly because I got to spend it with D. I told him that he has to come visit my blog. I know most guys aren’t into nail polish or reading about nail polish, but he should do it because he’s my friend, right?! We haven’t been hanging out too much lately since he got his new job so it was nice to just veg together and catch up. D. and I go wayyyyyyy back to August 1997; that was our first day of college and we met in French class. How fitting! We ended up being super close especially after we were both studying in France for a year at the same time. To this day, I still tell him that he just copied me. Eventually we ended up working together at Air France which allowed us to go gallivanting around the world for a few years. Over sushi, I asked him what he thought was our craziest travel adventure and he mentioned two:

1) Running to catch a train in Milan. We ran as fast as we could, threw our bags onto the train and did a flying leap onto a moving train. I don’t know how we did it, but we did. I also got my wallet stolen on that trip because D. walked off and left me alone in the compartment while I slept. Ok, it wasn’t really his fault, but I like to bust his balls about it.

2) The time I had tickets to go to Amsterdam and we were going to go for 3 days until we arrived at the airport and we were told the flight was cancelled because the aircraft had been hit by lightning. That should have been our clue to go home and just relax before having to go back to work. So what did we do instead? We took the red-eye to New York without hotel reservations or any idea about what we were going to do. We ended up in some kind of drug house hotel with Russian immigrants and then I walked into a homicide scene on the street. Yeah…I think I will talk about this one.

At our company Christmas party, I had won a pair of tickets on KLM so we made plans to take a long weekend and crash at a friend’s place in Amsterdam. I was super excited about this trip until we got to the KLM counter and we were told that the flight had been cancelled due to the incoming aircraft being struck by lightning. Completely disappointed, we headed over to our counter to see if we could re-issue our tickets for a different destination. Because we were airline employees, we could buy super cheap stand-by tickets for any airline we had an agreement with. So we decided to buy some tickets on the next Delta flight to NYC. The next available flight was unfortunately the red eye. I won’t talk of that flight because it was miserable. We got to NYC around 5 am and we had to now figure out where we were going to stay. To say that we had a limited budget is an understantement. We had planned to crash with a friend so we hadn’t truly thought about the cost of lodging…oh silly, Californians who know nothing about New York.  The only thing that was in our budget was on the corner of Crack Whore and Pimp Alley. Oh well. We weren’t going to be in the hotel much, right? Well, we ended up in some shit hole with exposed pipes and bunk bends. Nice. It was so gross that I was afraid to take my shoes off at all. We did make a point of staying out all day and visiting EVERYTHING. Unfortunately, it was December and it was freezing. I soon started to complain about the cold and drove D. up the wall.  It’s a gift I have. D. is actually one of the most patient people I have ever met in my life, but I somehow manage to exasperate him. That night we decided to catch a movie late at night so by the time we got out, it was way past midnight and we had to get back to our hotel. We decided to take the subway and we got a little lost….great. I got irritated with D. and I started walking ahead annoyed that we couldn’t find our street. Well, we finally got on the right street and then I raced ahead because I was tired and irritable. I started to hear screaming and running but I wasn’t really in the mood. All of a sudden, a bunch of police cars converged on the corner and I saw someone lying on the floor face down. Did I just walk into a murder scene? I was so shocked that I just kept on walking…right past the body and into a liquor store. I don’t know what I was thinking but I yelled at some man to let me through to buy a Coke. D. was behind me, probably in utter shock, and we finally got to our hotel and passed out. We spent a total of 3 days in NYC with plenty of other silly things happening, but these were the main highlights. How do you like NYC?

Today we ended up watching a French movie called Intouchables. It was amazing, and I highly recommend it if it’s playing anywhere near you.

Afterwards, we went to my favorite sushi place and really pigged out. No, you don’t understand. WE ATE LIKE PIGS. Don’t believe me? Here we go…

This is  my favorite: octopus. I only have a couple of pieces because it tastes so much better if you’re left wanting more!

Yes, two people ate all of this. We have a term for this: sushicoma.

I wrote this because it was a really nice day and also to just share some of the weird things that we both got to experience when we were still carefree and in our early 20’s. I spent a year in my early 20’s completely incapacitated by depression and I hoped that I would never have to go through that again. I never sought any kind of help for my issues and they kept resurfacing every few years until I completely broke down last year. We should never be ashamed to ask for help so don’t piss away a whole decade of your life before you get the courage to get help whether it’s therapy, medication or both. Today was definitely a good day. It’s a real gift to have a friend with whom you can still act like a kid regardless of how old you are.

I hope you read this, D. You promised, you freak!

Nails Inc. Porchester Square

Posted on by Cynthia

It’s Sunday! Which song do you like better?

OR

Both are awesome in my opinion but I think I feel more like Maroon 5 today.  I wore the following color for two days. Yes, you read correctly: two days! I did change it up a bit today because I was bored.

I am sure that if you’ve been following my blog for any amount of time, you know I love nails inc. I really think that they make the best cremes around. That being my favorite finish, I can’t help but adore them and hoard them whenever I can. Porchester Square is such a nice and neutral color. It’s a grey with some pink and it almost looks a bit lavender in certain lights. I love how shiny and creamy this color is and the formula was fantastic.

 

No, you’re not on the wrong blog. This really is glitter. I bought a bunch of tiny Essence polishes at Ulta a while back but hadn’t used them yet. I pulled out this glitter to try out and was happy with the subtle look I achieved. I ended up using a mattifying top coat as well. I much prefer matte glitters IF I am going to wear glitter at all.

 

So how has your weekend been? I hope you enjoyed it and that you’re in a good frame of mind to start a new week. Every day is a new chance to start over. At least that’s what I keep telling myself……………..

Sation Miss Emo Shun All

Posted on by Cynthia

I’m still trying to figure out what the name of this polish means. At first I thought it was like an Emo girl who shuns everything/everyone and then I thought it just meant Miss Emotional.   Of course this could just be ambiguous on purpose to drive people like me crazy. Which one do you think fits better?

Well, whatever the case may be, this color is gorgeous. I think it might be a dupe for Color Club Disco Dress. They are both really bright purples and they have that really pretty satin finish. Why can’t there be more satin finish polishes? I really wasn’t expecting this to be a satin so it was a nice surprise. Besides, I can always put a top coat on it if I want a super shiny mani with this color.

I used three thin coats for this manicure. I guess that you could get away with two thick coats, but I always prefer to do thin coats for a faster drying time. After the second coat, it was rather opaque but I noticed that I could see some slight bald spots when I went outside so I applied a third coat to even out the coverage.

I’m a konad maniac even though I have been neglecting all my stamping stuff. I seriously used to konad at least every other day, but maybe I got sick of it. I am really interested in seeing the new Bundle Monster plates before I purchase them, so I’m going to wait and see some of the designs my fellow stamping friend, Nicole, uses on her blog first. Who am I kidding? It’s just a matter of time before I cave and get them too.

So how do you like Miss Emo Shun All? Do you like to use konad to spruce up your nails?

I hope you’re having a good weekend so far!

Fifty Shades Of Crap

Posted on by Cynthia

I just finished Fifty Shades of Grey, and all I can say is holy horrible writing, Batman! If I ever meet a woman who actually uses the phrase “inner goddess”, I will surely punch her right in the ovary. A straight shot. Right to the babymaker. (Yes, Anchorman is one of my favorite movies ever!) I can’t think of any fictional character that has annoyed me more than Anastasia, and considering that I am a voracious reader, that’s really saying a lot. So, how do I explain that I read this book in one day? I mean, it’s not that I found the kind of retarded sex scenes that interesting. I can pretty much guarantee that because one of the main unfortunate side effects of being on an SSRI is that you pretty much have the libido of a corpse. So whatever. I am just really interested in finding out what happened to Christian that made him that way. I wonder if they’re really planning to adapt this trilogy into some mainstream non-porn films. I guess I should start on part 2 soon…

In other random news, I’ve been feeling kinda crappy. I have someone in my life who completely stresses me out and I’m finding it difficult to deal with the whole situation. For the last two nights, I’ve been having strange nightmares which in turn have me in a state of anxiety all day. I’m trying to not let it affect me so much but my resolve is crumbling. I know maybe I’m just hitting a low tonight, so I hope that I will feel better tomorrow.

Have you read the Fifty Shades of Grey books? What do you think of them?

 

Blue Balls or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Da Bomb

Posted on by Cynthia

I doubt that the title of my post will make much sense to anyone, but I guess that will just keep my blog in the same vein of nonsensical ramblings. A while back, I purchased some mood changing polishes but I hadn’t gotten around to trying them out. Since I have a pretty blue that is supposed to change from blue to neon blue, I decided to try out it today for my Blue Balls Manicure. (:P Ciaté.) I wasn’t expecting much from this polish since it is supposed to change from one blue to another blue? LAME. However, I really liked it despite the kind of atrocious formula. It’s super sheer so I had to apply 4 coats. Yes, 4 coats! It dries matte and I didn’t attempt to apply a top coat because I was afraid I might ruin the color changing effect…and after applying that many coats, I was not about to take a chance. I just burst into song after typing the last sentence: If you change your mind//I’m the next in line//Honey I’m still free//Take a chance on me.

It was hard to take pictures of this polish because as soon as I exposed my nails to hot or cold water, by the time I dried them and went outside to take some pictures, they were already fading back to another color, so that explains the water on my hands.

 

These are pictures of my nails at room temperature or outside temperature, rather. You can see some of the darker color on the tips of my nails before the heat of the sun started to change them to the neon shade.

 

This was the result after running my hands under hot water: a more neon blue.

 

And this is the effect of cold water. It’s supposed to be a darker blue, but it starts to change almost immediately to the neon blue because it’s kind of hot outside.

 

And finally, la pièce de résistance, the thing you have been waiting for: My Blue Balls Manicure or MBBM.

 

I hope you’re having a nice Friday. Do you have any plans for the weekend? What do you think about my Blue Balls Manicure? I hope it was all you had hoped for. 😉

 

Sation Jock Juggler

Posted on by Cynthia

When I first purchased this bottle of polish, I thought the name was Jockstrap Juggler. Besides it being one of those blues that I drool over no  matter how many similar shades I may have, I also got it because I thought the name was hilarious. As someone with a wickedly overactive imagination, I won’t even mention what images danced around in my head. I would also like to warn you not to google images for jockstrap juggler because you will be scarred if you see a few of the image results. I’m not saying that you won’t see a lot of nice, uhm, packages, but you will also see things that will sear your eyeballs to a crisp. So don’t do it. Please. Just don’t.

The actual name if this polish is obviously Jock Juggler. Is that any better? When I photographed this polish, it looked sooooo much like China Glaze Bahamian Blues but Jock Juggler has green in it that makes it look a little aqua. I’ll need to compare it side-by-side to For Audrey, Gumdrop, I Need A Re-fresh Mint…ad nauseam…to see if it is truly a dupe of any of those colors. Although it looks like a full on creme, in the bottle it has the slightest flash of blue shimmer, and I really mean slight because it doesn’t show up on my nails at all. I applied 3 coats in order to level out the polish. This one was slightly thick so it was a little difficult to get this to apply smoothly right away.

 

I then sponged Wet N Wild Cost Is No Issue on my tips. This glitter is so freaking pretty.  Do you think it’s a good combination with Jock Juggler?

 

What are you wearing on your nails today? Oh, and did you google jockstrap juggler? I knew it!

China Glaze On Safari Part 2

Posted on by Cynthia

After swatching all these colors, I can’t, for the life of me, explain why I at first thought these polishes weren’t that interesting. I love all of them, and I’m so happy I got them so early. I love my nail polish place!

 

Kalahari Kiss is not a color that I thought I would like so much. I just love how creamy looking it is without being harsh. Is this considered a camel-type color? I just love it and it was not difficult to work with at all. I did find that I had to allow a couple of minutes in between coats or else I created some bald spots and streakiness.

 

This is another unexpected like. Desert Sun was probably the only really sheer kind of formula…or maybe just a little too watery. It wasn’t so watery that it flooded my cuticles or that it was unmanageable, but I could definitely see a lot of my nail after one coat. I did three thin coats of this one, and it looked perfect. I know it’s not a good description, but this makes me think of pumpkin cream cheese. Weird? Or maybe more orange graham crackers. Ok, I think I’m just hungry.

 

Adventure Red-y is not really…adventurous. Hardy-har-har! I don’t find anything that exciting or unique about this color except that the formula is dreamy. This could be a one coater, but I applied two out of habit.  If you already have plenty of reds and aren’t a hoarder collector like me, this is one you could definitely skip. Is there anything better than a shiny red creme?

 

Well, hello there Mrs. Vamp! I love fall nail polish collections precisely because we get so many beautiful, dark and vampy colors. Prey Tell is one of those really dark colors that almost looks black…almost. However, there is a very beautiful red/burgundy base that can be seen right away. I had a bit of a problems with this one only because I didn’t allow enough time between coats and you can clearly see where I created some bald spots. Otherwise, it’s just perfect and I love how this one looks on me.

 

And lastly, this is Call Of The Wild. Am I the only one who thought of Jack London’s book. Probably. This is a deep reddish chocolate brown. I love chocolate. I love this color too. I wish I had a Toblerone right now. Anyway, this one is a possible one coater as well. I don’t think it’s that interesting, but I don’t have too many brown polishes because they always remind me of poop so I usually pass them by.

Well, what do you think of the second half of this collection? Keep in mind that I am missing the two glitters and don’t plan on getting them. I have seen swatches of them layered over Kalahari Kiss and Desert Sun, and I have to admit that they do look pretty amazing. I just know that I don’t get much use out glitters so I won’t get them just to never use them more than once. I’ve heard that this collection is going to start showing up at Sally Beauty Supply in July so keep your eyes open. Snag some of these babies up because this collection is a big hit in my book.

Thanks for reading!

Orly Preamp

Posted on by Cynthia

Have you heard about the Orly Electronica Collection for Fall 2012? Yeah, me neither.

Today I found a display for this collection and couldn’t decided if I wanted them or not so I bought only one of the colors: Preamp which is the pink shade.

The polish was little sheer but it was buildable even though it got a little goopy.  It’s a blue-toned pink/purple with iridescent shimmer. Ahhhh….so pretty. I am really liking all of the iridescent polishes that are coming out lately so I was all over this particular shade. I think I might get Shockwave (blue) and Decoded (gray)  because they are matte. The other color, Synchro, is  a duochrome redish-pink but it just looks frosty to me. BARF!

Yes, you can laugh at me about my failed attempt to not buy more nail polish. Since I bought one, I might as well buy more, right? A lot more.

I have no hope when it comes to stopping the nail polish addiction.  Have you spotted this new Orly collection? Have you picked up any of the On Safari polishes yet? I have all of them now except for the two glitters.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gradient Attemp # 2

Posted on by Cynthia

The fact that my last gradient attempt turned out so crappy made me fixate on trying it again so here I am with another post. I feel like I’ve been on a roll lately when it comes to posting so I’m going to try to keep the wind in my sails. I used two China Glaze polishes: Bahamian Escape and Man Hunt. I’ve swatched Bahamian Escape before but I added some swatches to this post again because this polish is so darn pretty.

I used a different type of sponge this time so I do think it created a slightly different effect. I am still not happy with it, but this one looks slightly better than my first attempt so I will keep practicing until I’m a gradation fool.

And just for shits and giggles, here is my favorite psychotic Kelly moment from The Office:

I am looking forward to my salad from Cafe Rio–yum!–and catching up on my favorite blogs. I have tons of reading tonight! 🙂

New Cult Nails Babies

Posted on by Cynthia

Since I’m trying to go through all my untrieds before I allow myself to buy more bottles of nail polish, I pulled out the the last three Cult Nails polishes that I purchased during their last $5 sale. Yeah, I can hear you laughing at the idea of me not buying anything until I go through my untrieds….I’m looking at you Nicole and Lesley. To be honest, I doubt I’m going to stick to it but I resisted the urge to go to my nail places today. I’m going to wait until my crack dealer tells me that he has the new Essie collection in before I drag my butt out there. I think I’m getting better at using my new camera so I hope these pictures at least seem of better quality. You be the judge.

 

Let Me Fly is the color that I was most looking forward to trying out, and it did not disappoint. This color has more green in it so I don’t know why it photographed so blue. The color is amazing and the formula flowed like butter. It only needed two coats which I love.

 

I hadn’t heard anyone complain about the new Iconic so I didn’t go in with any preconceived notions. I love this polish. What is not to like about a smouldering magenta/red/brown/copper/gold polish with awesome flakes? This is another one of those polishes that look like they are on fire–yes, it’s that dramatic.

 

And lastly, I also purchased Hypnotize Me. I am pretty sure this is a polish that is meant for layering because it looks kind of weird on its own. I had to apply 3 coats for these swatches and the formula was so incredibly goopy and hard to control. Despite it being a glitter, it was not difficult to remove and did not dry super gritty. Once I applied a coat of Seche, it was perfectly smooth.

Once again, Cult Nails impresses me with beautiful colors. I’m eyeing their new collection now…ooohhh….so many pretties. Are you also a fan of Cult Nails? Do you have a favorite color to recommend for my next purchase?