Year: 2012

Of Life and Lacquer > 2012

Illamasqua Velocity

Posted on by Cynthia

Illamasqua:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Ok, I am exagerrating but only by a bit. haha. This is my second Illamasqua purchase and I am falling hard…yes, hard. It’s so difficult to figure out what nail polish to buy when I am perusing sephora.com so this was an impulse buy–and I don’t regret it one bit. Illamasqua calls this polish a dusky grey-purple with a glossy finish and it is very fitting.

 

I am pretty sure that I have something close to this polish already but the formula is really amazing. Sometimes it’s all about the formula. Since I’m still an Illamasqua newbie, what other colors can you suggest? I can see my obsession beginning….

Where Is My Nail Polish Juju?

Posted on by Cynthia

The beauty.com debacle is still ongoing. As you may recall, I ordered a nail polish set around 3 weeks ago and I still don’t have my items! I was sent out a replacement when I received my empty order and when I received the replacement, it was also empty!!!!! After ignoring me, someone finally got back to me and said that the sets were now out of stock in their warehouse so they couldn’t verify if other sets were also empty. Oh, how convenient. I was informed that they were going to receive a new shipment and that once they unpacked and inspected the new sets, they would send one out to me and also refund my money. I got my refund but haven’t heard anything else since early this week, but I won’t hold my breath when it comes to receiving that SpaRitual set.  That whole situation is such a freaking joke.

Well, get ready for today. I was expecting my Sephora shipment of nail polishes. I saw that a bunch of them were on sale so I stocked up. I ordered the following: Illamasqua Velocity, SOPI Who Let The Dorks Out, SOPI Slushied, Sephora Burst Of Mango Cream, Nails Inc Bruton Street, Nails Inc Gatwick, Nails Inc Heathrow and Nails Inc Hampstead Gardens. This is what I received:

All of these bottles of nail polish were in one bubble wrap baggie so maybe that’s how one of them broke and covered all the other bottles. I’m not interested in keeping bottles that are completely covered in nail polish and with ruined labels. If I pay for something, I want to get it in perfect condition. So anyway, I called Sephora and everything is pretty much out of stock now. Only 2 of the 4 Nails Inc polishes are still available so I’m returning everything else. I am keeping the Illamasqua polish and the glass nail file as well. The only reason the Illamasqua polish was spared is because it wasn’t in the same bag as all these other polishes and it was in its separate box. I’m so annoyed right now. Is this the universe telling me that I need to stop purchasing nail polish online? Empty boxes, exploded nail polishes….what a waste.

Alfie got his rabies shot earlier in the week so I was super worried about him after I read all the horror stories about dog vaccines. I was convinced that he was going to have a horrible reaction because he was so lethargic for a couple of days. He now seems like he’s back to his stubborn self. He has been really testy lately and throws massive doggy tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. He nips me when he gets annoyed, but he never really bites me. The other day I got so mad at him because he went apeshit when we got home after a 2 hour walk. Since I live so close to the beach, we have a great breeze so I’m not afraid of him getting too hot. I take his water bottle and dish as well as treats so that if he wants to rest, we can just stop somewhere nice.

My 4-year-old neighbor, Sarah, hugging Alfie

Alfie waiting for me to put on my sneakers for our afternoon walk

Alfie watching someone on a bike and getting ready to chase after them

Alfie trying to eat grass

Mohawk Alfie (he was annoyed that I used water to spike his hair)

I hope you all had a nice week and that you enjoy your weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Sation Oh My Oceania

Posted on by Cynthia

Sweet baby Jesus on rollerskates this color is gorgeous. It’s not that often that I am really smitten with a color so I find myself a little giddy right now. Oh My Oceania is like the most perfect teal/turquoise/blue/green/shimmer combo that I currently own. This color reminds me of Rescue Beauty Lounge Aqua Lily but since I don’t own it, I’m not sure if it’s really a dupe. If you do own Aqua Lily, how does this compare? I actually don’t have any RBL polishes yet because I’m still very hesitant to spend that much on one bottle of nail polish. Anyway, on to the swatches!

Don’t tell me this polish isn’t drool-worthy. I thought it was going to be sheer but it’s opaque and full coverage at two coats. The formula was a tad too thick, but it wasn’t problematic. I don’t have much else to say–the pictures speak for themselves. What do you think?

****These items were sent for review. This in no way influences my review and opinion of the product.****

One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eater

Posted on by Cynthia

When I was in 8th grade, my choir teacher had us perform this song during one of our assemblies. I remember that she had one kid run up and down the aisles of the auditorium pretending to be the monster. It was kind of ridiculous but really fun. I was a choir geek from elementary school through high school so maybe that’s why I love singing so much. Believe it or not, that was the first thing that came to mind when I used Power To The Purple.

This color is in the same vein as OPI Dutch Ya Just Love OPI, Zoya Tru, Jessica Witchy Wisteria…except that I think this version is way brighter and more re-toned. I am in love with this purple because it has that smoldering quality to it. The formula was perfect and I only needed two coats. Sorry about the cut on my middle finger; apparently I wasn’t careful enough with the cuticle clippers. 🙁

I did a quick design on my nails afterwards. I wasn’t super careful so you can see where the dotting could be cleaner but I still like it. Most people don’t grab your hands and hold them up to inspect your nails–notice that I said most because this has happened to me quite a few times. I like that people are curious and compliment my nails, but get your hands off me, please. kthanks.

This nail polish is a big winner in my book because it’s purple and because it’s so vibrant. Purple is my favorite color and yes I have worn purple shoes, clothes, glasses and make-up…all at once. It was my Barney Chic phase. Are you a purple lover too?

****These items were sent for review. This in no way influences my review and opinion of the product.****

Cool Summer

Posted on by Cynthia

When I was a kid, I thought this song was called cool summer and not cruel summer. I was born in 1979 so I wasn’t fully aware of pop culture in my childhood years during the 80’s so it always makes me laugh when I remember snippets of stuff like this song. Granted I am more into the Ace of Base version…and I’ll move on because then I’ll start talking about my obsession with Ace of Base and ABBA and that ALWAYS ends poorly.

Although it’s technically not summer yet, it’s usually pretty warm here in Southern California in early June. Surprisingly, the weather has been very mild lately. I’m a little shocked but also happy because I hate the summer heat. HATE IT. I am definitely NOT looking forward to this summer. The one thing I do love about summer are all the summer nail polish collections! I haven’t had the time or energy to go to my nail polish mecca lately so I haven’t seen all the pretty new polishes in person–just drooled over them online.

Today I have another three awesome summery colors from Miss Professional Nail’s Sation Line. I had a difficult time getting good pictures of these colors because they are neons and my camera was going crazy. Other than that, I love these colors! I love the shimmer in the first two and love the creaminess of the darker one. I always find that neons/mattes are kind of a pain to work with but these were not too bad! The formula is a tad too thick for my liking but it’s not a huge deal if you apply the polish carefully.

Shock Me Twice Pink is just that: an electric pink. This is a staple neon color for summer so it’s not terribly unique but it sure is gorgeous. It’s such a beautiful glowing color. I just got flashbacks of eating cubes of Bubble Yum or stuffing my mouth full of Big League Chew. Don’t lie…you know you did it too.

Show Off Your Navel Orange seems like more of a cantaloupe color to me. It’s a nice color, but I don’t feel that it really flatters my skin tone. Again, this color is super bright and has that great shimmer that so many neons seem to have lately.

Fan the Flames Fuchsia is my favorite of the three. It’s a creamy color that doesn’t dry satin/matte like a traditional neon but it’s super bright and saturated. This one had the best formula of the three as well.

How do you feel about neons? Are you feeling the trend or do you think it’s just getting annoying like crackle and magnetic polish? I love to wear these bright colors on my nails since I tend to purchase mostly neutral colors for my wardrobe. Let me know what you think!

****These items were sent for review. This in no way influences my review and opinion of the product.****

Sation Board Girl Blue

Posted on by Cynthia

Since Alfie has pretty much taken over my life in the last week, I haven’t had a chance to even do anything with my nails. Picking up dog poop doesn’t really lend itself to me wanting to do something pretty with my nails.  So in order to get back to some sense of normalcy, I decided to try out a new color that I received from Miss Professional Nail. When I first saw this color, I immediately thought of the Kate Bosworth movie Blue Crush. It’s funny how colors will sometimes elicit such vivid memories and images.

If you’ve read some of my other posts, you probably already know how much I love blue. And purple. And red. And…well, I might as well admit that there are very few nail polish colors that I don’t enjoy. However, I’ve really been on a blue/green/teal/turquoise kick so Board Girl Blue was definitely up my alley. I thought that maybe I had other similar colors but so far it seems to be a lot brighter and less smoky than other polishes I thought could be dupes.

I wanted to konad the life out of this nail polish, but sometimes you just have to stay simple and clean. I really loved this color and the formula was great. I probably could have gotten away with one coat if I had been really careful, but I applied two to even out the color. One of the things I like the most about this nail polish is the really wide brush. I have wide nail beds so the brush applies the polish perfectly. When I saw how bright and saturated this color is, I was afraid that it would stain my nails. Thankfully, that did not happen.  This creme polish is part of the new California Gleamin’ Collection. For more information, you can visit the Miss Professional Nail website at http://www.misspn.com and you can also shop their colors here.

What do you think of this color? Is it something you would wear? Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

****These items were sent for review. This in no way influences my review and opinion of the product.****

Empty Boxes & The Wheaten Greetin’

Posted on by Cynthia

Today I received my second SpaRitual delivery from Beauty.com. You may recall that I ordered the SpaRitual Holiday Duo about two weeks ago during their Friends & Family Sale. I am a sucker for a sale, so I couldn’t resist getting this set at such a great price. Well, that was a major letdown when my package arrived and the actual box set was empty. I called them up and they re-ordered the set and sent it out to me. I’ve been waiting for these polishes for almost 2 weeks!  I really want to try them out since I only have one other glittery SpaRitual polish, and the ones I ordered are cremes–my favorite finish. So this is take two:

Yay pretty box again! 🙂

 

Uhm, empty box…again?!?!?!?!?!?

You have got to be kidding me, right? Is someone playing a joke on me? I called Beauty.com again and the CSR told me that they are going to “investigate” the issue with the warehouse and that I will get a call back the next day. They offered to refund my money, but I’d rather wait and see what happens. I really want my nail polish, dammit!

And on the Alfie front, he is really coming into his own. If you don’t know much about wheatens, I suggest you watch this video:

I’m nearing a week that he has been here and he is starting to let his wheaten personality come out. Today he realized that he is a prodigious jumper which was just his stepping stone to the wheaten greetin’. He jumped up on a couple of people today to say hello. I know this is something that people try to train them out of doing, but I love that about them. I’m sure a lot of people would hate it if some random wheaten jumped up on them so I don’t know how I’m going to handle it yet. He jumped on some kids that we ran across  on one of his potty breaks and then completely lost it once I got him back inside. He was running around like a bat out of hell. At one point he was running across the room towards his crate but he missed it and crashed into me since I was sitting near the crate and putting some of his toys away. I now have a huge bruise on my leg thanks to Alfs. He has also completely mastered going up and down the stairs, and now I just have to train him not to go so fast. Here are some Alfie pictures. I took these after he wore himself out horsing around like a lunatic.

The best part of my whole day was when Alfie licked my cheek and wagged his tail. He hadn’t done that to me yet so I am confident that he is making a lot of progress. I hope he continues to grow into the wheaten playfulness. I love my stinky little pup.

My Last Orders Came In & Puppy News

Posted on by Cynthia

I was anxiously waiting for my last couple of orders to come in from Cult Nails and from the Beauty.com friends and family sale. Finally, I got everything and I couldn’t wait to try my new polishes. Look how pretty everything is:

I purchased these three during the last Cult Nails sale. Woo hoo for sales. The colors are: Iconic, Hypnotize Me and Let Me Fly.

This is my first RGB polish so I am excited to see what the formula and wear are like. This shade is Haze.

This SpaRitual Holiday set is really pretty. Just look at the pretty gold box. I am a sucker for packaging so I really loved this set.

Until I opened up the box….

Where are the polishes?????? Hahaha…this was such a wah wah moment that I wish you could have seen my face. Since I was in a crazy good mood for reasons I will go into shortly, I wasn’t super annoyed. I called up Beauty.com and explained to them that I received an empty box. The CSR sounded a little incredulous but he didn’t give me any grief about it or anything. He just re-ordered the set for me. Hopefully the polishes will be in the box this time.

 

So for my puppy news: I was going to put down a deposit for my pup pup and the breeder informed me that he was no longer available. Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh! My heart sank. Then she told me that she did have an older puppy that had been on hold for a buyer who later changed his mind. So this is the pup that I’m going to go meet this weekend!!!! He’s 4.5 months old and absolutely adorable. I can’t wait to meet him.

 

 

And just for reference, this is a picture of the puppy’s dad so I can get an idea of what my pup will look like when he’s older.

 

I am sure that I won’t be able to sleep for the next couple of days until I get to go see my little Alfie. It’s finally happening. I’m getting my first dog at the ripe old age of 32. Wish me luck. 🙂

Sation Periwinkle Princess

Posted on by Cynthia

My fellow nail polish addict Nicole has really been diggin’ glitter lately judging by her recent posts. Of course I had to give her a hard time because I am so not a glitter person. Despite how many times I have written those words here, I continue to buy glitter nail polish sporadically. Why? That is the nature of a true nail polish addict. I had previously posted about the re-vamped Sation polishes and had also teased Nicole about the awesome glitter I had purchased. I couldn’t decide what base color to use so I just went with a safe color by Essie: Nice Is Nice.

I then applied a couple of coats of Periwinkle Princess.

The main thing that attracted me to this polish was the bar glitter because I don’t have many bar glitter polishes. I found that the bar glitter was a little difficult to manipulate and there doesn’t seem to be that much of it in the polish. However, I did like the effect once I got it on my nails. It’s hard to capture how this looks in person but it really is pretty. Here is my one glitter comment: it was not a pain to remove! I was in shock. Never thought you’d hear that from me, right? Well, now you heard it.

So what do you think of this glitter? Does it look like something you’d wear? How would you wear it differently?

Sation Miss McTeal

Posted on by Cynthia

The other day I was checking out my usual nail places for new stuff and I came across a huge display of Sation. If you’re familiar with this line from Miss Professional Nail, they have completely revamped their line: new formula, new bottle and most importantly…NEW BRUSH! Their older polishes really needed some help when it came to the brush. To tell you the truth, I was pleasantly surprised.

This color is a lot more green than the way it photographed. It has a really pretty blue shimmer in the teal/green base that flashes only at certain angles. I am liking this polish so far so I’m going to keep up with their releases.  Have you tried any Sation polishes?