More Nicole by OPI

Posted on by Cynthia

I finally go around to swatching the last two colors that I purchased. Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed with either of these polishes because I found the formula super annoying. They were both way too sheer and it took 4 coats each.

The Right Thing is the kind of color I’ve really been enjoying lately. Orange and corals are so perfect for spring and summer. I had issues with this looking dark in some areas as if it had dark spots.

 

Despite the Justin Beiber connection, I really wanted to like this polish. However, the formula really ruined it for me. Prized Possession Purple was so sheer, and it was hard to build it up. The color is still pretty, I just with that it would build up more smoothly.

 

Well, here are two sort of losers but I’ve liked the 4 other polishes I purchased from this brand. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a great long weekend. Yay to having Monday off!

 

Konad!

Posted on by Cynthia

I love getting stuff in the mail. I love ripping open packages. Earlier in the week, I ordered some Konad plates and some Seche Restore from a seller on Amazon. They arrived today!

These are plates M66, S6, M79 and M64.

And as an extra surprise I received this plate from Born Pretty. They were actually giving these away for free so I jumped right on it.

I am still pretty loyal to Konad plates because they are not crazy sharp like some of the other non-Konad plates. I am going to have to be extra careful with this plate so I don’t slice my fingers. But since I got it for free, who’s complaining?!

I can’t wait to try some of these out.

 

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters

Posted on by Cynthia

I just had to jump on the Revlon Lip Butter bandwagon. I had heard so much about these lip butters–all of it positive. Plus, have you seen those ads with Emma Stone? Gorgeous! Anyway, I saw that Ulta was having a BOGO 50% off sale on Revlon products so I was tempted. Then I got the Ulta flyer in the mail with a $3.50 off coupon on a purchase of $10.00 or more, and I was out the door!

I only purchased two colors because I wanted to try them out first. I picked two colors: Lollipop and Fig Jam. There were a couple more that I wanted but they were sold out. I was excited about these being creamy and hydrating because I have really dry and chapped lips. I use Jack Black lip balm every single day especially when I go to sleep. There is no better hydrating balm than Jack Black.

My first impression is that the packaging is really cute…but then I try to open it. I hate that it’s so hard to pull up the cap. There is so little of the black base to hold on to that I quickly become annoyed by it. Once I open it up, I  really like the colors. Lollipop is a color that I don’t usually wear but I have a few lipsticks like NARS Funny Face that I wear when I want a bold color. Fig Jam is really a color that I can wear every day…and I usually do. It looks gorgeous.

 

I am definitely liking Fig Jam more than Lollipop. They are both extremely smooth and feel very hydrating on my lips. So far, I’m liking them a lot! I’ll have to wear them a little longer and see what the staying power is like. I am glad I picked these up and do think they are worth all the hype.

Short Fingers

Posted on by Cynthia

I’ve always wanted long fingers. You know those kind of long fingers with beautifully shaped and polished nails. Alas, I have short fingers. My best friend called them longanisa fingers. Yeah, just like that. It seems that my fingers have always gotten me into funny and memorable situations.

When I was 19, I spent a year in Paris studying abroad. Being from California, I was ill-equipped for the Parisian cold. It was a complete disaster actually. One day, which turned out to be one of the coldest days on record, I was wandering around with a couple of friends and we decided to go look for the tombs of a few famous people at the Père Lachaise cemetery. Of course I forgot my pair of gloves so pretty soon my fingers were ready to fall off. After complaining about my hands, a scene almost identical to this one played out:

I can’t watch Dumb and Dumber without cracking up and remembering that day.

So today I was out buying some gardening items because I’ve decided to take some of my psychiatrist’s recommendations to try some new things and pick up some hobbies. I bought some gardening gloves and I remembered the whole glove stuff so I had to take a picture:

My thumb is abnormally short. Look how much space is left that my brother is pinching while I took the picture. My best friend used to fold back the extra space on my gloves and laugh. I don’t have a clubbed thumb…it’s just SHORT. Anyway, I think my best friend will get a kick out of this. 😛

More China Glaze Love

Posted on by Cynthia

If you haven’t noticed yet, I really love China Glaze. They consistently put out good collections, and their polishes are good quality at a great price.

This is Fifth Avenue. I think this is part of their Core Line and it would make sense because this is such a “core” color. I mean, probably every nail polish company out there has their version of this color. This doesn’t make it any less gorgeous in my eyes. It’s a feminine and soft color. Definitely an office appropriate color. Best of all, it was perfect with 2 thinish coats.

 

And here is one of my beautiful blue babies from the Ecollection of Spring 2008: Shower Together. I have so many blues now that I don’t even know which one I like best. The formula on this was also great and was perfect with two coats.

 

 

“They’re Always After Me Lucky Charms!” Am I the only one who thinks of Lucky, the Lucky Charms leprechaun, when I look at this polish? Four Leaf Clover comes from China Glaze’s beloved Up & Away collection. You can definitely see why so many people adore this collection. Again, the formula was amazing and smooth.

 

And here is Tempest. Oh Tempest I wanted to love you so but the formula was thin and sheer. It took FIVE coats to achieve this look and I would consider this a lost cause if the color wasn’t so spectacular. It looks blue and purple and shimmery. It definitely leans more purple in the bottle but appears more blue on the nail. I still love it and I bet it will look great with some Konad or nail art.

 

Jitterbug from the Vintage Vixen collection is one of those colors that I’m not sure if I really like. I mean, it’s pretty and shiny (oooohh shiny ball) but I have to wear it for a few days before I decide if I like it. This one is also pretty awesome when it comes to the formula.

 

Dorothy Who? is part of the mythical Wizard of Ooh Ahz collection that was re-released in 2009. Spectacular blue jelly base? Check! Glittery goodness? Double check! I don’t want to love glitters so much because I am a creme polish lover but I think I can cheat on my cremes once in a while. I don’t think they will mind. I had to apply 3 thickish coats for this swatch.

 

Do you have a favorite? Are some of these already in your collection?

Two New Essie Greens

Posted on by Cynthia

In my last haul, I picked up two new Essie greens. I never used to wear greens this shade but I really like them! They were both pretty good formula-wise and only needed two coats for the swatches you will see below.

Navigate Her is part of Essie’s Spring 2012 Line “Navigate Her.” Unfortunately, these pictures wash out the color. It’s a little darker and more minty looking. It reminded me of a mojito…maybe I just need a drink. Ha! It’s like I used Thrifty’s ice cream in Pistachio on my nails. You know what made me feel like an old fart? I was at Rite-Aid the other day and some kids where commenting how they could remember when a single scoop was $1.00. I remember when a single scoop was $0.35. How about that? Fuck I’m old.

 

Sew Psyched is from the 2010 Fall Collection. It’s like an olive bar in a bottle. I love this green gray dusty color. I thought that this was a creme but it has the slightest shimmer that makes it even more gorgeous. Ok, why does every nail polish remind me of food?

 

Which one do you like best?

Zoya Promotion

Posted on by Cynthia

If you stumble upon my blog early enough today, Zoya is running a promotion:

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Will You Be Our Valentine?

Roses are red,
Such a romantic hue,
With over 50 perfect reds,
We have one just for you!

We want you to be our Valentine this year! Now through 2/15/2012 11:59PM EST you will receive one bottle of Red Zoya Nail Polish in the shade of your choice (picked from our Red Nail Polish Page FREE + FREE Shipping with any purchase* at zoya.com.

Zoya has over 50 shades of red nail polish colors in metallic, cream, pearl, matte and dual chrome finishes that are available in cool, warm and neutral tones to perfectly compliment your skin tone and personal fashion style. We suggest Zoya Valentina, Zoya Sarah, and Zoya Carmen.

How it works:

1. Add any non-spoon item to your cart along with your favorite red nail polish choice from this page.
2. Enter WELUVU into the promotion code field in the shopping cart and press the “Apply Code” button
3. Complete Check-Out Process & Submit Order

*Excludes Zoya Color Spoons & NYFW Custom Color Box Trios

Terms & Conditions
This promotion is valid online only at www.zoya.com, www.qtica.com & www.artofbeauty.com. Continental USA only (shipping and processing charges apply). Void where prohibited.  Limit one promotion per account and household. Orders with promotion codes are not eligible for returns or exchanges. We are not responsible for incorrect addresses and credit card entry errors.  Please allow up to 4 weeks for shipping if volume warrants it.  Not valid with any other coupons, codes or promotions.

Free polish?! Yes please. Honestly, Zoya runs the best promotions. I just ordered Lotus from the True Collection and Diana all for $8 and free shipping. Woot! If you’ve never tried Zoya before, jump on this deal.

Bipolar California Weather

Posted on by Cynthia

Happy Valentines day…blah, blah, blah. I’m not a person who is big on celebrating Valentines Day or any holiday for that matter. The only thing I like about holidays is the food. Yes, that’s it. Oh, and maybe and excuse to do my nails with some holiday theme.  I am really getting tired of the weather here in Southern California. It was raining yesterday and today it’s super sunny and warm. Yes, I know that we don’t really have winters with blizzards and all that but I have one word for you: earthquakes.

So, I went to my nail polish Mecca also known as Little Saigon in Orange County. This is the area that usually gets me into a crapload of trouble because I buy so much stuff. The prices are so good that I really can’t help myself. I visited two new stores today and when to two others to check out if they had any new stuff to covet. Well, I ended up with this:

China Glaze: Shower Together, Dorothy Who?, Fifth Avenue, Tempest, Four Leaf Clover, Jitterbug

3 Nail art bottles

Essie: Navigate Her, Sew Psyched

OPI: Rome and Joliet

Nicole by OPI: Prized Possession Purple, The Right Thing

As a side note, I almost didn’t get Prized Possession Purple because it’s one of those Justin Beiber collaboration polishes. Justin Bieber and nail polish????? WTF? I told myself that it’s not the beautiful purple polish’s fault that it was associated with the Beibster.

I will NOT be going to Little Saigon again until the China Glaze Hunger Games polishes come out. I’m going to try sooooooo hard. Wish me luck.