December 2013 - Of Life and Lacquer

Month: December 2013

Of Life and Lacquer > 2013 > December

OPI It’s My Year

Posted on 31 December, 2013 by Cynthia

Woo! Last post of the year! Since I’ve been such a slacker lately, I told myself that I would definitely write a post on the last day of 2013 just so that I can end and start on the right foot. So far my New Year’s Eve has been pretty uneventful which is exactly what I wanted. I had a yummy dinner with my family and now we’re just snacking and watching movies. When I was trying to decide what polish to wear tonight, I chose the most fitting polish of all my untrieds: OPI It’s My Year.

I still can’t believe that this gorgeous polish has been hiding in my untrieds stash for probably over a year. OPI It’s My Year is a gorgeous berry purple with tons of gold shimmer throughout. I keep finding amazing untried polishes in my melmers which makes me realize a couple of things: 1) I really shouldn’t be buying more polish (at least not tons) and 2) How many more hidden gems must I have hiding in there??? The formula on this is a little sheer so I did have to apply 3 coats to get full coverage, but it’s totally worth it. This shade is part of the Miss Universe Collection from 2011 in case you were wondering.

I mentioned that we had a yummy dinner tonight so here is a little peek:

My mom made this delicious birria which is a type of beef stew. Traditionally it’s made with goat meat, but we just make it with beef. It was so yummy. I also got to spend some time with Prince Peanut who just keeps getting cuter and cuter.

He kills me with those huge eyes!

Awww…little baby hands!

So, I hope that you are all enjoying your NYE and that you are staying safe. Thank you so much for stopping by and supporting my blog; it means so much to me. I chose to wear this polish today because it’s called It’s My Year. 2014 will be my year; I hope it will be yours as well.

Much Love,

OPI No Room For The Blues…Cause I’m Feeling Blue

Posted on 30 December, 2013 by Cynthia

Can you guys believe that it’s almost 2014. Seriously. One more day and we are officially entering 2014. The thought of this is super depressing to me because once again I am getting down on myself for the pathetic state of my life. I wanted 2013 to be different but here I am once again lamenting that I don’t have a career, I’m still fat, sad and depressed. Ok…I’m not trying to be super melodramatic here, but it is really hard to find myself in this situation. I’m going to be 35 next year…35!!!! Whatever happened to me? Seriously. I remember when I was 16, I was sure that I was going to become an archeologist/anthropologist/Shakespearean scholar/writer/world traveler…and now what? Life has just judo chopped me in the face, and I’m taking it while I ask for more. I hate starting out every year with all these resolutions that I know I will abandon on the 2nd, so this year I am focusing on something different.

Last night my two best friends and I went to dinner and we pinky swore (you know the power of the pinky swear is undeniable and binding for life) that we would take an awesome trip next December. We are going to plan a trip to Paris, Florence and Rome so we can celebrate (or lament) turning 35. Doesn’t that sound awesome?! Awesomely expensive, that is. So in order to be able to afford such a trip, I am going to go on a serious budget and I will stick to it this time because I have made a promise. We also promised to support each other in our quest to get healthy by working out together at least once a week. We really have to stick with it because I am getting to the point of no return with my health and my weight so I’m really looking forward to making some healthy changes. Given my frame of mind, I decided to pull out one of my untrieds that seemed very fitting: OPI No Room For The Blues.

The first thing I asked myself after applying this polish was: WHY HAVEN’T I USED THIS BEFORE?!?!?! It is one seriously gorgeous blue! The formula is like butter and it applies flawlessly. When I saw the brightness of this polish, I seriously feared the dreaded blue staining but I am happy to report that it did not stain at all. OPI No Room For the Blues is now one of my favorites blues ever.

Before I forget to ask, what do you think of my new pictures? I felt like I needed a new hand position and this just happened the other day. It’s not the most flattering, but it’s a change from what I have had for the past two years. Also, do you think the size of the pictures is too big? Anyway, I’ll probably make some slight blog changes for the coming year and it all has to start somewhere, right? Since I don’t have any plans for tomorrow, I’ll probably spend NYE with the fam and have something yummy for dinner. I should be able to squeeze in one last blog post for 2013 tomorrow so I will catch you later!

Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection

Posted on 28 December, 201330 December, 2013 by Cynthia

As a huge Gwen Stefani/No Doubt fan, I have been patiently waiting for this collection to come out so I wasted absolutely NO TIME in getting it swatched. There is a degree of excitement surrounding this collection precisely because it’s tied to Gwen whom I have always loved. Being born and raised in Orange County, I can remember watching No Doubt explode and feeling proud of my fellow OC’ers. When I first got the press release for the Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection, I was so freaking excited that I am sure I annoyed a few people. Why is it that some people can’t understand how awesome this collaboration is??? My poor nail guy pretty much felt harassed by my multiple weekly calls to ask him if he had received this collection yet. Imagine my elation when he finally told me they had come in! I raced there after work and grabbed everything so I could come home and play with them. Are you ready for GS awesomeness?

It’s no secret that I am a rabid lover of hot pink polishes, so you’re not really going to hear me complain about OPI Hey Baby…well, not much anyway. This pink is the kind of color that I like to sport because it’s super bright and looks great on my skin tone. Any time I wear a pink like this, people always comment on my nails. I do love the color, but the formula was a little bit of a pain because it was so darn streaky. After two coats, I could still see a lot of uneven coverage so I applied a third thick coat to smooth it all out.

OPI I Sing In Color is one of those colors that can look almost black. It’s a dark brownish red with an outrageously glossy finish. The finished look of it makes my creme loving heart beat faster. The formula on this was a little thin, in my opinion, so you have to let each coat dry a few minutes before going back over it. I created a lot of bald spots with my second coat so I applied a third coat to even out the coverage.

Are we all silver/holo glittered out? I have so many versions of OPI In True Stefani Fashion that I wasn’t super excited about this. It’s just a lot of small silver holo glitter with some squares thrown in. My lighting doesn’t really show how pretty this looks in sunlight because it really does shine.

I think I’ve said plenty of times how much I DON’T like gold polishes, but OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby is actually my favorite polish from this collection. It’s not an obnoxious ghetto gold, but rather a delicate and classy version that I am totally in love with. This polish has a satin finish so you should not apply top coat to keep the satin effect. Let me tell you about the formula on this baby: it’s creamy like butter and applies beautifully. It looks a little sheer at the first coat but it’s fully opaque at two coats. This is like the gold equivalent of This Gown Needs A Crown from the Miss Universe Collection.

My second favorite from this collection is OPI 4 In The Morning. I really do like black polishes and this one seems a little unusual with its satin finish so don’t apply top coat to keep the soft effect. I also loved the formula on this baby as it was super opaque and easy to apply.

Let’s be honest here: how many of us are dying for a polish that accentuates and magnifies every single ridge and imperfection on our nails? Me, me, me…NOT! Well, OPI Push And Shove does just that if you don’t buff your nails and/or use a good ridge filling base coat. In fact, this polish comes with a mini “Lay Down That Base” base coat that is recommended before applying Push And Shove. I don’t think that I have any polish quite as reflective and metallic as this one, and I was beyond surprised that it wasn’t as brush stroke-y as I feared. The funky thing about this polish is that the packaging states that it is a one night only polish which I guess means that it will start to chip/flake almost immediately. Personally I don’t have a problem with this since I change my polish so often, but I thought it might be important to note.

So, let’s get down to it. Did I love this collection? Meh. If it wasn’t a Gwen Stefani collaboration, would I still purchase these polishes? Not all of them. And that, my friends, is the genius of marketing. This whole collection does not scream Gwen Stefani to me, and I’m a little disappointed. For those of you who are wondering about why there isn’t a red here considering it’s Gwen’s signature lip color, there is a red in the collection called Over & Over A-Gwen but it comes in a special boxed set that wasn’t available when I picked these up. If you’re as polish obsessed as me, I’m sure that you’ll run out to get these as soon as they are available–especially if you’re a Gwen Stefani fan. Overall, I love Love.Angel.Music.Baby and 4 In The Morning. Shockingly, I also like Push And Shove even though it’s a chrome. I just like how reflective it is and I can definitely see myself wearing it for a special occasion. The Gwen Stefani by OPI Collection will be out next month sometime and you will be able to purchase it at the usual OPI retailers such as Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA.

And here is my question: What do you think of this collection? If you’re not a huge fan of the colors, will you purchase it just because it’s Gwen Freaking Stefani? I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on this so let me know. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

*Edit: I’m selling these: 37.25 for the 6 polishes including priority shipping in a box.* email me if you’re interested.

Crown Brush HD Set Review

Posted on 18 December, 2013 by Cynthia

I know I’m a slacker. I haven’t been posting regularly and I kind of miss it, but at the same time I am really enjoying not putting pressure on myself to post, post, post! If this starts feeling like a job, then I won’t want to keep doing it so I think this is a very welcome break. The review I have for you today is for a set of Crown Brushes that I received a few weeks ago and that I tested for a bit before making any judgments. Let’s take a look at the Crown Brush HD Set, shall we?

The set comes in a nice little zip case which is very helpful if you’re looking for a travel set. Since I have a lot of make up brushes, I have a huge brush roll that is not very convenient for travel so I appreciate the size of this case.

This is what the brushes look like inside the set. The case has nice pockets for the brushes so that they remain in place, and it also comes with a set of tweezers and a mirror. Now let’s get to the meat of this review: the brushes! I am going to be showing the Crown brushes next to other similar brushes (mostly MAC) just to compare the size.

Pro Powder Brush

Here it is between the MAC 129 and the MAC 150. The Crown Pro Powder brush is a pretty standard powder brush. It’s very soft and I used it to set my foundation with powder. It worked nicely.

Tapered Blush

Here it is between the MAC 168 and the MAC 116. This was also a decent brush that I used to apply blush and bronzer. Because of it’s size, I found that it worked well for contouring. My problem with this brush is that it sheds. I washed it a few times already and it continues to shed so I don’t see myself really using it too often.

Deluxe Contour

Since I don’t really have a similar brush in size, I was really excited about this one. Although it’s a contour brush, I thought that it would be perfect to blend out concealer under the eyes because the size is perfect. It did a great job of that, but it is impossible to clean. I always clean my brushes because I don’t want to keep putting bacteria on my face, but it remains kind of greasy feeling. I’ve used MAC brush cleaner, ELF Brush Cleanser and even Dawn soap, but it still remains dingy and greasy. I won’t be dealing with a brush that I can’t clean!

Crease Blender

I’ve compared this brush to the MAC 224 and the Sonia Kashuk Blending Brush. I thought it did a fine job of blending out eye shadow and it is a good staple brush to have. However, my absolute favorite brush of this type is the Sonia Kashuk one so that’s the one I reach for the most.

Chisel Shadow

This comparison might be a little unfair because the MAC 239 is my favorite brush ever…except for maybe the MAC 187. This brush didn’t do such a great job of picking up the product, and I got tons of fallout. I think that it worked a lot better with creme products so I will stick with those.

Detail Liner

Here it is compared to the Bare Escentuals eyeliner brush. To be honest, I don’t really have much to say about either of these brushes because I don’t like to wear gel or cream eyeliners and this is what these brushes are used for. I tried using the Crown Detail Liner with a cream liner and it worked well except that it didn’t give me a very fine line because the bristles still felt kind of fluffy.

Overall, these brushes are ok. I think it’s a decent set for someone that’s just starting out with make up or if you just want a set that you can easily travel with. These brushes are synthetic and vegan friendly which I know is important to a lot of you. This set can be purchased here for $27.95 and it looks like there is 10% off code on the Crown website as well. Let me know if you’ve tried any of these brushes in the past. Do you have any favorite brushes? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon!

Mentality Gumdrop

Posted on 9 December, 20139 December, 2013 by Cynthia

I had a super hard time waking up this morning mostly because I had such a strange night. I was basically tossing and turning because of some crazy dreams I was having. Sometimes I like that I have such an active imagination, but other times I just feel like I can never get a good night’s rest. Today I found out that one of my co-workers does personal training so I’m going to start training with him a few times a week after work so he can get my big butt in gear. I always need that extra push to get me going and having a trainer has always been something that really helps me. The last time I had a trainer, it was crazy expensive through 24-Hour Fitness, so I am excited that he has very reasonable rates. In addition, another one of my co-workers will be training as well so now I’ll have a gym buddy! Fun times. Speaking of fun times, I have a super gorgeous polish to share with you today: Mentality Gumdrop!

Mentality is a brand that I love to keep a close eye on because they are always coming up with amazing polishes and collections. Gumdrop is part of their Candy Jelly Holos Collection which I am absolutely obsessed with. There are 3 other colors that I plan on ordering: Pastille, Sourball and Hard Candy. The holo effect on this line is not super strong but in certain lights, you can see some of the linear effect. The color is so outrageously vibrant even though the polish is a little thin. Despite being slightly sheer, the color builds up nicely. My swatches show 3 thin coats but 2 thick coats would probably be enough.

And because I’ve become a stamping fool as of late, I used an image from Winstonia plate W112 along with Konad’s black special polish for this design. I really like how this looks and I got a lot of compliments today!

I’m hoping that I can get some rest tonight so I don’t feel like death tomorrow morning. Since I like my nails so much, I’m going to try to keep this mani for at least 2-3 days. What do you think of this design? Have you tried any Mentality polishes? If you haven’t, I recommend that you give them a try because they are great quality and are very reasonably priced. Anyway, let me know what you think of this mani–I’d love to hear what you think. Thanks for the visit, and I will talk to you soon!

Illamasqua Poke

Posted on 7 December, 20137 December, 2013 by Cynthia

Lately I have been really good about not spending money on polish. Ok, that is a lie because I recently purchased Black Sugar and a new Inglot polish to try out. However, I haven’t bought anything in about 2 and a half weeks which is kind of a miracle when it comes to my polish spending. To be honest, I started feeling very irresponsible about my polish spending because WHEN AM I GOING TO USE UP ALL THIS POLISH? WHEN?! I know this type of rational thinking flies out the window once a new collection comes out, so let me indulge my fleeting moment of clarity. Since I haven’t bought anything new, I decided to rummage through my melmers for one of my many untrieds. I focused on the drawer that houses all of my Illamasquas because it’s been a while since I played with those. The polish I have for you today is Illamasqua Poke; let’s take a look at it, shall we?

Illamasqua Poke is a purple lover’s wet dream. Seriously. Just look at it. I find the end result completely breathtaking, but I am sad to report that I didn’t find this polish as easy to work with as many people have mentioned. I felt that it went on uneven in a strange way so I had to apply a very thick second coat to even it out and get full coverage. I was expecting a lovely and shiny finish, but it dried a little on the dull side. I just can’t get over how bright this color is and how gorgeous that shimmer looks!

And here is a picture of peanut. He came for a visit yesterday but was a little fussy because he had been out and about all day. He refused to look at me while I took this picture because he was too distracted by the television. He is getting so big! In no time at all, he will be running around wreaking havoc. I can’t wait!

I don’t have much to do this weekend so I’m probably just going to bum around and maybe go Christmas shopping. I am going to try very hard not to buy polish!! What do you think about this polish? Do you like it as much as I do? Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

China Glaze I’m Not Lion

Posted on 5 December, 2013 by Cynthia

Brrrrr it’s cold today! We don’t get to say that very often in SoCal so I’m really enjoying the cooler temps and having to bundle up like a tamal. Things have been a little disjointed chez moi, so I that has put me off my usual swatching and posting schedule. Work has been a little off as well, but in a good way, and there have been some major improvements in my work situation so that has put me in a better frame of mind. I haven’t felt much like posting and blogging lately so last night I decided to pull out my stamping plates to see if I got excited by revisiting my first nail art love. Once I picked out an image that I wanted to use, I then had to pick out a polish so I went with China Glaze I’m Not Lion.

One of the beauties from last year’s Fall Collection, On Safari, China Glaze I’m Not Lion is a gorgeous gold holographic fine glitter that offers full coverage with two coats. My lighting doesn’t show the holo beauty of this polish, but believe me: it’s there.

I then stamped the honeycomb image from Winstonia plate W113 with Konad’s special black polish. I just love the contrast here!

What do you think of this mani? I hope you like at as much as I do. So what have you been up to lately? I feel like I haven’t been doing much online lately so I’m woefully behind on reading blogs and commenting. Ultimately, I think I really need this break from blogging EVERY DAY because I’m enjoying just doing my nails when I feel like it without worrying about pictures and all that other stuff. People at work already know me as the crazy nail lady, but most of them seem curious about my hobby so it’s always nice to talk nails…even with the guys. Well, I hope you continue to stop by despite my sporadic posting. I’m sure that this nice break will help refresh and re-energize me for the new year! Have a great rest of your day, and I will talk to you soon!