Of Life and Lacquer

Essie Too Taboo Summer Neons Collection 2014

Posted on 14 April, 201413 April, 2014 by Cynthia

Can I complain about something today? I am so sick of people and their cell phones. If I have to be in an elevator with one more person yapping loudly about something stupid, I’m going to get stabby. Even worse, I can’t stand it when people are talking on their phones while they drive because it’s freaking dangerous. I had a close call with a lady who was driving like a maniac because she was on her phone, and she had the nerve to flip me off as if I had done something wrong! Well, to all you out there who continue to yap on your phones (hands free or not) while you drive, I salute you:

Anyway, that’s enough of my complaining. To counteract my sour mood about cell phones in general, I have some hot, hot, hot polishes to show you. So I’ve been going bananas for the last couple of months about the Essie Too Taboo Summer Neons Collection. I have this unhealthy obsession with getting every single Essie collection no matter what they look like or how many lilacs they have. Before I get into the swatches, I just wanted to say that I’m not happy with these pictures at all. My camera was acting super wonky, and it was really hard to get good pictures. I also used wayyyy too much cuticle oil and moisturizer so my fingers ended up looking greasy. Eeekk! I decided to post the picture anyway because I just did not want to sit through re-swatching the whole collection. I feel like I am all swatched out, and I am going to give myself a break for the next 5 days. In fact, I just filed my nails waaaay down, but they grow so fast that in another week they’ll be long again. Let’s get this show on the road already!

Essie I’m Addicted

Essie Chills & Thrills

Essie Vices Versa

Essie Too Taboo

Essie Sittin’ Pretty

Essie Serial Shopper

This is what the colors looked like on a swatching wheel in direct sunlight.

I’m torn. I’m torn because I pined for this collection for so long that I feel silly saying that I’m not in love with it. We all know that neons can be really finicky so I was trying to mentally prepare myself before I even started. Yep, some of these polishes were difficult…

I think Brit feels my pain. Neon formulas are usually a big ick in my book so I can’t really fault these polishes for acting like the neons they are. Before anyone starts telling me that they would be so much better if I would use a white base, save your breath–I know about wearing a white base. What do you think this is? Just a little hobby? (Yes, I’m being sarcastic so don’t get offended!) I almost always refuse to wear white underneath because one of my major nail pet peeves is the white base peeking out from the edges. It makes me want to barf! I can tell you that most of these polishes need 3 coats with the exception of Too Taboo and Chills & Thrills. While these two were ok with 2 coats, they also dried the quickest out of the collection which means that you have less time to work with them. Your best bet with neon polishes is to work fast and not overwork the polish or else you risk getting a lumpy uneven finish. I let each coat dry thoroughly before applying another, and this seemed to help a lot. All of these polishes dry to a satiny finish so you will need some top coat if you want a glossy finish. I applied one coat of Seche Vite on all of these because shiny nails is my thang. The color I was most excited about was Vices Versa because this year I seem to be all about lime green. Can it be the 2015 Pantone Color Of The Year, please? So anyway, if you are thinking about getting these polishes, go into it knowing that the formula is not a walk in the park. They are definitely NOT the worst neons I have ever used so don’t feel too discouraged just yet. While I like these colors, I don’t think they are super unique–especially for people who have massive collections. If you’re interested in these polishes, I have put them up in my blog sale. (Please note that I will give preference to those who want to buy the whole collection.)

Well, I hope that you had a lovely weekend! I had a busy weekend, and now I have too much to do during the week. I’m still upset that it’s Monday again so let me wallow in my pit of sadness. Let me know what you think about this collection. Are you still excited about picking these up? It looks like the polishes are already popping up here and there but aren’t officially out until next month. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

Nicole by OPI Kellogg’s Special K Collection 2014

Posted on 13 April, 2014 by Cynthia

I say this every Sunday, but Sundays really do suck. I’m so incredibly annoyed right now because it was like the weekend was gone in the blink of an eye, and I didn’t get to do most of the stuff I had planned. Do I just have some serious time management issues or is that pretty typical for everyone? I don’t know how long I’ve been saying that I need to get into a routine so I can go to the gym a few times a week. On Saturday I was cleaning out my closet and I noticed that some clothes now fit me again which was kind of a surprise. I’ve made a few changes like forcing myself to eat breakfast (oatmeal or yogurt with granola) every day, and I think that has helped me not feel so ravenous by the time lunch rolls around. If I could stop snacking before dinner, I think that would be another huge change. I want to make a commitment to go to the gym 2-3 times a week just to start out. I know that if I say I want to go every day, I will just burn myself out and won’t follow through. I remember hearing about the Nicole by OPI Kellog’s Special K partnership last year–mainly the free polish part. lol This year, they are once again collaborating to bring us 3 shades. Let’s take a look at my swatches below and then I can tell you how these can be yours.

Nicole by OPI My Sol Shines Brighter

Nicole by OPI Challenge Red-y

Nicole by OPI Live In The Momentum

While these colors aren’t earth shattering, they are really nice basics. They are all super creamy, highly pigmented and deliciously glossy. I did not even have to top coat them for that glass-like shine! Here is some information on how you can get this trio:

Through the “Shine Brighter” campaign, Nicole by OPI and Kellog’s Special K hope to inspire “women to be their best selves–healthy, confident and positive, to look better, feel better, and shine brighter.” The three custom shades include: Challenge Red-y (crème red), Live in the Momentum (crème blue) and My Sol Shines Brighter (crème coral). Shoppers will have the opportunity to receive free full-size bottles of Nicole by OPI nail lacquer by signing up for the Kellogg’s Family Rewards program and entering codes from specially marked boxes of Special K products, while supplies last. With the purchase of three eligible Special K products, consumers will receive the shade Challenge Red-y. After submitting the purchase codes from five eligible Special K products, consumers will receive two lacquers – Live in the Momentum and My Sol Shines Brighter.

Nicole by OPI Signature edition Special K packages designed by Suzi Weiss-Fischmann will be available exclusively at Target. The designer packages are available only for select flavors (Original, Red Berries & Chocolatey Delight). For more information, visit nicolebyopi.com. Follow Nicole by OPI on Twitter @NicoleByOPI and become a Facebook fan!

So what do you think about this collaboration? I’ve got to admit I thought it was a bit random, but I like Special K (the strawberries one–yum!!!) and I love polish. If that means someone gets free polish, I’m all in! Thanks for stopping by today, and I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.

Stamping Saturdays #14

Posted on 12 April, 201413 April, 2014 by Cynthia

You know that I’m always excited when Saturday rolls around and not just because I don’t have to work…it’s STAMPING SATURDAYS, of course! I woke up a couple of hours ago and now I’m just lounging around being a total bum. Later today we’re taking my mom out to dinner since tomorrow is her birthday so I’m anticipating something yummy. For today’s Stamping Saturdays I tried another gradient. I don’t want to be a one trick pony here, but I’m so excited about being able to do decent gradients now that I want to do them ALL THE TIME. For my design today, I started out with 2 creamy coats of Illamasqua Nomad.

If you don’t have Illamasqua Nomad, you cannot imagine what a creamy minty masterpiece this is. I am generally a lover of anything Illamasqua and this is no exception.

I then used Illamasqua Noble and sponged it on top of Nomad for this gradient. Gradients can get really messy as you can see above. I normally find that taping up the skin around my fingers is more annoying to me than actually cleaning the mess up so I never do that. When I posted this picture on Facebook, a lot of people suggested that I use Elmer’s glue on my skin. WHY HADN’T I THOUGHT OF THAT???? That’s genius! I am going to give that a try next time I do a gradient and I’ll let you know how I liked it.

I don’t know about you, but I think the mess is totally worth it. Look at that gradient! It could be a little smoother, but I’m not going to be too picky about it.

Lastly, I used this design from plate MASH-48. I have no idea what this design is…at first I thought it looked like flames. I think it goes well with this gradient because it lets plenty of the base colors show through.

So what do you think of today’s design? I’m really happy with it and still mourn the fact that I had to take it off. I’m doing a bunch of swatching this weekend so I couldn’t keep it on. Sadness! Well, I hope that you’re having a nice weekend so far. Thanks so much for the visit, and I’ll talk to you soon.

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The Beauty Buffs – Royal Blue

Posted on 9 April, 20148 April, 2014 by Cynthia

Happy Wednesday everyone. I’m not going to call it hump day because it drives me up the wall when people say that, but hey: we are halfway through the workweek…yay! I’ve been uber-busy lately so it feels like time is flying and suddenly I find myself scrambling to get my post together for The Beauty Buffs. Today we are going to be showing you what’s crackalackin in the world of Royal Blue. I have 4 polishes to share with you as well as some eye shadows that I found in my make up stash. Let’s take a look at the polish first.

Color Club Bright Night – Essie Butler Please – Kiko Electric Blue – Nails Inc. Baker Street

The polishes are applied from left to right on my nails with the Color Club on my pointer and ending with the Nails Inc on my pinky. If you are not a polish psycho like me, you definitely don’t need ALL of these polishes since they end up looking fairly similar on the nail. Yes, there are some slight differences, but not enough to justify getting them all. However, if you are a blue lover like me…well, let’s just say they can be justified!

Now for the eye shadows: I have a ridiculous amount of make up as well so I looked through my palettes for some blue shadows. No, it’s not the 80’s as these are not frosty baby blues. While they may not all fit the royal blue mold, I think they are deliciously vibrant.

In Artificial Light

In Sunlight

These colors come from the Kat Von D Beethoven palette, the Smashbox Masquerade palette, the UD NYC BOS and the UD 15 Year Anniversary palette. These shadows are incredibly pigmented! I love these colors but I find them a little hard to wear. Normally I can pull off crazy colors because I’m very tan, but darker blues can look like bruising on my eyes. For example, the blue in the Masquerade palette tends to get a lot of fall-out, so I get crazy blue raccoon eyes. However, if you’re looking for awesome blue shadows, definitely check these out.

So what do you think about my royal blue choices? Do you have any other polish or shadow recommendations? Don’t forget to check out the posts by my fellow Beauty Buffs because they have so much great content to share with you. Thanks for the visit, and I will talk to you soon!

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China Glaze Surprise Collection

Posted on 8 April, 20147 April, 2014 by Cynthia

Last week when I went on a polish shopping binge, I ended up finding a few polishes that weren’t really on my radar. Of course I got excited and wanted to buy EVERYTHING, but I finally settled on picking a few out that really called to me. That is how I ended up with 3 out of 6 polishes from the China Glaze Surprise Collection. To be honest, this collection is a surprise because I’ve hardly heard anything about it. I am such a masochist because I keep buying China Glaze religiously even though I usually end up disappointed. The Surprise Collection is an all glitter-topper collection, so I figured they really couldn’t go wrong with this…right? Let’s take a look at my swatches.

China Glaze Don’t Be A Flake

China Glaze Shine-nanigans

China Glaze Glimmer More

Since these are glitter toppers, I can tell you that they are kind of hard to apply. It’s very difficult to get a lot of the glitter on the brush and when you do, you can swipe it right off if you’re not careful. In order to get the glitter on my nails, I had to do the dabbing method, but this caused some difficulties–namely bubbles. I hate bubbles. If you’re careful not to get excessive amounts of the clear base on your nails, you should be ok. So what do I think about these? Uhm, I actually really like them even thought I wasn’t expecting to. I think they are fun, cute and a quick way to spice up any polish. Alas, I am not excited enough about these to want to keep them so to the blog sale they go.

What do you think about these glitters? Are they your cup of tea? Are you excited about any of the upcoming China Glaze collections? Let me know what you think below. Thanks so much for the visit, and enjoy the rest of your day!

LeChat Dare To Wear Sugar Me Up Collection

Posted on 7 April, 20147 April, 2014 by Cynthia

I don’t know if it’s just my hot flashes or what, but it’s been really hot here lately. In fact, this morning I was sweating and it was only 5 am! On second thought, it probably is just hot flashes so ignore me. This morning was pure torture waking up so I hope that I’ll be able to get to bed early tonight. You know what my favorite part of my morning ritual is? It’s when my alarm rings and I hit the snooze button for 5 more minutes of sleep. Those 5 minutes feel heavenly even though I know that I’ll have to be up soon. This made me think of a question that I asked my group of girlfriends yesterday: How are people happy? What does it feel like to be happy? I honestly don’t think that I am happy, and I am constantly envious of those who appear to be happy. I dwell on all the things that I don’t like about myself and my life instead of focusing on the good things. This made me think of how necessary it is to be unhappy in order to truly appreciate happiness. Would we appreciate youth without old age? Life without death? Probably not. I just need to find some balance in my life. Sometimes I tend to complain a lot about work, family stuff or other inconsequential things because they do seem overwhelming to me, but in the grand scheme of things, they are definitely not bad. I think that I am a worrier by nature so things will always seem a million times worse than they really are. I don’t really know where I’m going with all of this, but I just felt that I needed a little dose of reflection. Now that I got some of the heavy stuff out of the way, can we get back to polish? Ha! Today I have something light and delightful to show you: the LeChat Dare To Wear Sugar Me Up Collection. The formula on all of these is rather similar so I’ll show you my swatches, and then we can get into the details.

LeChat Dare To Wear Rock Candy

LeChat Dare To Wear Mint Jubilee LeChat Dare To Wear Cotton Candy

LeChat Dare To Wear Lollipop

LeChat Dare To Wear Lemon Drop

LeChat Dare To Wear Spearmint

Overall, I really like this collection. It’s sugary, sweet and fun which is just what I would expect from a Spring collection. I can’t say that the colors are all that unique, but these polishes have a nice formula that I enjoyed. A couple of these polishes (Spearmint and Rock Candy) have some shimmer in them, but the rest have a crelly type formula. Since I prefer using thin coats, I applied 3 thin coats for all of these but 2 thicker coats would have gotten the job done. I think that we have seen a lot of similar colors as of late, so I’ll be putting these up on my blog sale. If you’ve never tried LeChat’s Dear To Wear line, this would be a good opportunity to give them a try. I’ve been very happy and impressed with their polishes and was excited about the way they have revamped their line. What do you think about these polishes? Do you have any suggestions on how to relax and live in the moment instead of worrying about anything and everything? I hope you’re having a nice Monday, and thank you so much for visiting today.

Clinique Really Rio

Posted on 6 April, 2014 by Cynthia

I really wish I wasn’t feeling SO DAMN lazy today because I need to run some errands but I am sitting here in sweatpants and a tank top and do not want to move my butt off the couch. I’m watching a bunch of documentaries on Netflix as well so I really don’t want to do anything else. At the same time, I am dreading the start of another work week and I could literally cry. My friend Daniel posted this quote on his Facebook today: “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” It’s largely attributed to Buddah but according to google, it’s based on his teachings but not a verbatim quotation. Anyway, the whole point of sharing that with you is that I seem to never really enjoy anything because I’m constantly thinking about unpleasant things. Instead of enjoying my weekend, I have this cloud looming over my head about how much I don’t want to go to work. How does that even make sense? I don’t just do this with work, but with pretty much everything else in my life. I need to chill the f out before I give myself another nervous breakdown. Woe is me…blah, blah, blah. Instead of dwelling on this, let us talk polish now, ok? So I had these swatches of Clinique Really Rio done and edited a while back, but they got lost in my many desktop folders. I remember being really excited when the Clinique polishes were first released but now I am just feeling lukewarm about them. Let me show you what I did with this polish.

Clinique Really Rio is more of a coral leaning polish even though it looks fairly orange here. I can blame it on my lighting, but the color also freaked out my camera because it’s almost neon. Double whammy! The formula was nice and only needed two coats for full opacity.

Then I figured I could play around with it by using the OPI Matte Top Coat (press sample), and I really love how this looks!!! I like matte finishes but not as much as shiny and glossy beauties. However, I much prefer this polish mattified.

And because I haven’t showed you any recent pictures of my little nephew, here he is:

He just keeps getting cuter and cuter. I have a hard time getting him to smile when I take his picture because he is so interested in looking at the camera that he ignores any of my efforts to make him smile. He just melts my heart!!!

One last thought about the Clinique nail polishes: when I bought them, they were $16 and now I see that the prices have been lowered to $12.50. I guess this means that the polishes weren’t selling at the higher price point which I can totally understand. I bought two of them when they first came out just because of the novelty, but I was not planning to buy more because I found them way too pricey. I might be tempted to buy more now that they are priced a bit more reasonably but only if the color is unique. Have you tried any of these Clinique polishes? Let me know if you have any colors to recommend. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will talk to you soon.

P.S. Hey, have you checked out my blog sale recently? I’ve reduced my prices on many items, and I have also added tons of new polishes.

Stamping Saturdays #13

Posted on 5 April, 2014 by Cynthia

Hey good morning! I just rolled out of bed, and I remembered that I passed out in the middle of putting this post together last night so here I am blogging before breakfast. I don’t know what time you have to be at work in the morning, but I start at 5 am which means that I am up before 4 am during the week. When I get the chance to sleep in a little, it feels like I am cradled by clouds while angels gently sing me awake. I really wish I could be a morning person, but I will never be happy to wake up before 10 am so I’ll just have to deal with it like everyone else. After work yesterday I went polish shopping which is always a disaster waiting to happen because I want one of everything. Since I liked my first ibd polishes, I decided to pick up a few more to see if the quality is consistent. I ended up purchasing two searing neons that I then decided to use for my Stamping Saturdays mani.

This is ibd Peony Bouquet and ibd Starburst. They are even brighter in person if you can imagine that!

I decided to try another gradient now that I have some confidence in doing them. It didn’t turn out as smooth as I had hoped but it looks a lot better than my other efforts. I call this a radioactive sunset!

Lastly, I used this start pattern from Konad plate M84 and black special polish to bring it all together. At first I didn’t really like how this turned out, but now I’m really liking it!

What do you think of this mani? Do you have anything fun planned for this weekend? I don’t have any plans yet except maybe to go on a shopping binge since Sephora is having a 15% off sale. Someone please take my wallet away now! Anyway, I hope you like today’s mani and thanks a bunch for stopping by. Have a great day!

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Deal Alert! Julie G Nails Cruise Collection

Posted on 4 April, 2014 by Cynthia

Hey there! I just wanted to alert you to an awesome deal that is happening on Groupon.The Julie G Nails Cruise Collection is on sale for $12.99 for the 6 piece set!

If you want to purchase these, you can check them out on Groupon. If you want to use my referral link, I won’t dissuade you. 😉 Click here for my referral link.

Let me know if you get these. I can’t wait to get my hands on them. Talk to you soon!

Anne Kathleen Something Special Collection

Posted on 4 April, 20142 April, 2014 by Cynthia

Today I have a new to me brand to share with you: Anne Kathleen. You know that I loooove trying out new brands–because who doesn’t need more polish?! I think that would be me, but I would like to say that I am always willing to take one for the team. Before I get into showing you my swatches, I want to share a little bit about the brand. Anne Kathleen polishes are 5-Free which I know is very important to some people. The polishes are cruelty free, and the majority of them are vegan. The two polishes that I have for you today are from the Anne Kathleen Something Special Collection which is a 4 piece wedding collection. Let’s take a look at Cosette and Portia below.

Anne Kathleen Portia is a delicate baby blue shimmer with a frosty-type finish. The formula was very nice as it was easy to apply and was very opaque. I needed two coats for these swatches.

A white polish is a given in any type of wedding collection and Anne Kathleen Cosette fits the bill. This is a pearlized white shimmer that applies smoothly and is opaque at 3 thin coats.

I am quite happy with the formula of these polishes because they are easy to apply and are nice and smooth. These are not colors what I would normally gravitate towards since I do not like anything that is even close to frosty. While these are shimmers, they do lean a little frosty in my opinion so they are not my cup of tea. However, this does not take away from the good quality of the polishes. If your interested in purchasing these, the Something Special Collection will be available on April 15th and each polish retails for $10. Can you believe it’s almost APRIL?! It feels like this year is just flying by…

You can check out Anne Kathleen polishes at the following social media sites:

ANNE KATHLEEN

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Pinterest – Instagram

I hope you’re doing well today. I know it’s barely Tuesday but I’m already looking forward to the weekend. Is that sad or normal? Anyway, thanks so much for the visit today, and I will talk to you soon!