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I Have An Announcement…

Posted on 26 March, 201326 March, 2013 by Cynthia

All products featured in this post were purchased by me.

I have an announcement…

This is a party favor from one of my best friend’s sister’s bachelorette party. Isn’t it cute? It was actually a napkin ring holder and she saved me one even though I wasn’t able to make it. Anyway, my announcement is that I broke a nail. What did you think it was?

Since my nails are actually getting disgustingly long (at least for me), I knew it was a matter of time before I broke one or all.

You can kind of see the break at the corner. That’s usually the way my nails start breaking and then it’s just a matter of time before something get’s caught on it and I rip the free edge right off which involved lots of blood and a lot of cursing. So I decided to finally purchase an Orly Nail Rescue Kit.

You basically just brush on some nail glue and quickly dip your finger into the nail repair powder before the glue starts to dry.

I allowed the powder to set for a few minutes. You don’t have to cover your whole nail with glue and powder, but I decided to just in case. Once it’s dry, you want to dust off the excess powder and then you lightly buff it smooth.

This is what my nail looks like at the end. Even though it looks a little grainy, it actually feels very smooth. I am not sure how well this is going to hold up, but I want to file down my nails to a more acceptable length because they are driving me nuts at this point. I am just a hop, skip and a jump away from what Nicole and I call “melted spoon” nails. I’m sure you’ve seen those monstrosities where people let their nails grow so long that they start to get warped and all deformed and disgusting. Anyway, I fear that as much as I fear birds. I’ll be sure to let you know how it works out. I really hope it holds up because I really don’t want to nub my nails again.

I wanted to just say that I’m sorry I haven’t been as active on here or on twitter/facebook lately. I feel bad that I haven’t responded to comments (even though I have read every single one!). I’ve been having a hard time lately, and I’ve just been laying low because I don’t want to be a complete downer. Thanks so much for continuing to visit–it means a lot to me.

All products featured in this post were purchased by me.

Orly Surreal Satin

Posted on 14 February, 201313 February, 2013 by Cynthia

Woot! Hump day! This Friday I find out if I have passed my training successfully. Believe it or not, people regularly fail out of the month-long training class so I’m definitely worried. I got some pretty great feedback today but it was pretty clear that if I made some major mistakes in the coming days, that could definitely affect my future employment. Uhm, talk about shitting my pants. I really want to think that everything is going to be ok, but I just can’t help being a major worrier. Honestly, at this point I feel that I have done all I can to get through so if it’s not enough, I can’t say that I wasn’t trying. Que será, será…

Ok, I don’t know why I thought Doris Day would make sense here, but my brain kind of liked it. Today I’m going to share with your some swatches that I did a few months ago and then they got lost in the drama of my laptop breaking down. Today I found them and thought that it was perfect timing since I’m still on my swatching hiatus. I really love finding old and discontinued polishes so when I found a bunch of Orly Satin Hues, I grabbed a bunch. I sold a lot of them during my blog sale but I do still have a couple in my stash. This is Orly Surreal Sation from their Satin Hues Collection.

Is it just me or is this color a little strange. Orly Surreal Satin is kind of pink but coral-y…shimmery but satin-y. The formula on this is pretty decent as far as I can remember. I really like this Satin Hues line so it’s a bummer that they were discontinued. I have contacted Orly a few times to try to get a little more information about when this line originally came out but so far they have ignored me. Nice! Have you noticed how huge these bottles are? .75 fl. oz!!!! That’s insane huge compared to the .5 oz standard bottles of today…unless you’re one of those brands that think .33 fl. oz. is full size. I’m looking at you, Butter London and Nails Inc.

This is a definite disasticure, but I decided to post it anyway. I don’t know what I was thinking but this definitely does NOT look good. I think the black diagonal tips clash too much with the delicate hue of Surreal Satin, but I guess I shouldn’t hide the uglies!

Well, I am not going to really say much about Valentine’s Day since I don’t want to throw up. However, if you’re a fan of this “holiday,” I hope you have a nice day. As for me, I’ll be sitting in a corner cursing you all. Just kidding.

Did you know that I am currently running two giveaways? Don’t forget to enter!

OPI Euro Centrale Minis

Silly Lily Polish Winterberry

Wish me luck when it comes to my job–I will definitely need it. Thanks for catching up with me today!

Orly Satin Hues – Satin Finesse

Posted on 20 September, 201220 September, 2012 by Cynthia

I went dusty hunting today. If you’re saying, “What else is new?” well, you’re probably right. I was looking for 2 particular polishes but didn’t find them. I know that some of those places might have had them but it was way too hot to be rummaging through their dust-filled displays. One of the places I went to barely had any room to walk around because they were doing a lot of stocking, and they didn’t seem to care that paying customers were trying to look at their products. This is fairly normal of Little Saigon. There was also another woman (a customer) who came right up and stood in front of me while I was looking at a polish rack. Seriously? I wanted to punch her in the back of the head. So anyway, I went to about 4 dusties and ran across some interesting stuff. Today I’m going to show you a long discontinued polish from Orly. The Orly Satin Hues Collection is an older collection of satin/matte finish polishes with a little extra kick. They aren’t totally matte–hence the satin name. They have a really pretty sheen to them and look nice without top coat. Here is a look at Orly Satin Finesse:

I don’t have any reliable information about when this line came out or when it was discontinued, but it does seem pretty old. One of the first things I noticed is how ginormous the bottle is at .75 oz. I love purple nail polish so I knew I was going to like this one no matter what. Since it is a satin finish polish, you have to work quickly because it turns goopy pretty quickly. You can see some brush strokes which usually annoys me like hell, but they aren’t too bad.

And if you know me, you know that I always want to make everything shiny.

I think I just heard angels sing. THIS. IS. AMAZING.I love how the color became a little deeper and darker but brighter at the same time. Does that even make sense? I love, love, love this. And just for shits and giggles, I added some gold stars:

I had been wanting to use these loose gold stars for a while now so I’m glad I finally did.

So what do you think of this polish? There were a few other colors (including a yellow!!!) that I didn’t get because I wanted to see what the formula was like. I am happy to report that it was not problematic even though it was a little on the thin and watery side. Despite that, it builds up nicely. Will I be going back to get the other colors? You betcha!

So what has been going on with you? Any cool polish finds to report? Thanks for stopping by and catch you later, gator.

Orly Fired Up Collection Fall 2012

Posted on 12 September, 201212 September, 2012 by Cynthia

I am a little late in posting about this collection since I picked up a couple of colors a couple of weeks ago. Orly’s Fired Up Collection brings us 6 shades ranging from a soft neutrals to dark and vampy shades.

The colors in this collection are: Glow, Flare, Flicker, Ignite, Smolder and Rapture. (Photo Courtesy of Orly FB Page )

When I saw the display for this collection, I was immediately drawn to two of the colors which are the two that I will be sharing with you today.

Flicker

Smolder

I really wish I could say I love these, but I don’t. I like the colors, especially Flicker, but the formula was kind of atrocious. It was super watery and it flooded my cuticles. Even worse, I needed three coats to make these colors work and then the polish bubbled terribly on my nails. My experience with these two colors does not make me want to go out and purchase any of the other colors which is a shame because I quite like the shade collection as a whole. I know that I’ve been saying that I am super duper ready for Fall, but are we going to get any original Fall polish collections at all? I think that the best fall collection so far has been China Glaze On Safari–I seriously loved every single polish.

If you have any of these colors, I’d love to know what your experience was like. I know that sometimes products react differently on different people so maybe it was just my nails. What do you think of this collection as a whole?

Thanks for stopping by and until next time!

Orly Preamp

Posted on 20 June, 2012 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!

Orly Skinny Dip

Posted on 8 May, 2012 by Cynthia

I don’t tend to purchase many Orly polishes and I don’t know why. They are just as easily accessible to me, but it seems that I don’t pay much attention to their collections. Even when I am aware of their upcoming collections, I am not as excited to get my hands on them. Their Summer 2012 Feel The Vibe Collection is full of neons which are super popular right now. However, I wasn’t really feeling the colors. The only one that I was interested in is Skinny Dip: of course it’s a blue that I love, and it had this super pretty light purple microshimmer flash in the bottle. As I have come to expect, the purple pretty much disappears once the nails. It dries satiny so you need a top coat if you want a shiny finish. I applied 3 coats and I felt that it needed all three. It is a sheer polish, but it’s easily buildable.

I’ve never really done sponging which I think looks amazing. I wanted to use some glitter (gasp!) to sponge on my tips so I looked through all my glitter polishes. I chose Wet N Wild Believe Me It’s Real which came out for the holidays in 2011. I had such a hard time finding this collection because it was a Walgreens exclusive and it seemed that no one had even heard of it. Since I don’t have Gelous, I had to apply like a million coats of Poshé to smooth out the glitter. This glitter is rough and eats up top coat like a mofo.

I can’t believe I still haven’t cut my nails yet. O_o I think this is the longest they have EVER been even when I wore acrylics. It’s been so weird getting used to the length, but I think I’m finally getting the hang of it.

I think the people I see regularly at the gym are going to start calling me the crazy nail girl. What do you think of this combo? Not too flashy?

Orly Mysterious Curse

Posted on 1 May, 2012 by Cynthia

This nail polish is like the first born, blonde, blue eyed male child of my nail polish collection right now. Don’t get all judgmental on me; this is something we used to joke about at my previous job: that my department was the red-headed stepchild of the company and that I would make them into the first born, blonde, blue eyed male child if it killed me…which it nearly did. But that’s another story…

I can’t remember the last time I was completely blown away by a nail polish so I am giddy right now. I don’t know what it is about it that just mesmerizes me. It’s purple and blue. It’s dark and shimmery. It’s just so gorgeous I can’t stand it. Of course there was basically no sunlight today so I had to make do with indoor lighting and flash. I really would have liked to photograph this baby in direct sunlight but I didn’t want to wait since it’s been cold and overcast here for the last 3 days.

Don’t tell me that you don’t love it as much as I do because I will have to hunt you down and destroy you.

In other news, I’m going to the gym tonight just as soon as I finish watching The Office. I need to get my ipod out and update it with a few new songs. I was listening to the Gotye song “Somebody That I Used To Know” and I thought: When did The Police record a new song? Just an FYI…I am the biggest The Police fan. I love them. Can you remember swooning over Sting in “Don’t Stand So Close To Me?” No? Well, you must either be way young or just insane.

Raaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwrrrr! I totally had a major thing for my college American Literature professor and I blame this video. Why does it seem that everything is more intense when you’re 17? I never missed his class even though it was at 8 am.

So what other songs should I download? Are there songs that you enjoy when you hit the gym? And, oh yeah…what do you think about Mysterious Curse?

Polish Moratorium

Posted on 30 April, 2012 by Cynthia

My nail polish boycott begins now. Since I was so close to the end of the month, I just decided to start everything May 1st. I will not buy nail polish for one month. I think that I have enough new polishes to last me a month or more and I want to save up some money for other things. Today I bought a few new polishes and some “interview shoes.”

I had never heard of this brand so when I saw these at one of my nail places, I picked up a couple to try them out. They had about 4 other colors that looked pretty interesting, but I’d rather wait and see what the formula is like before I buy more. The first one is supposed to go from Teal to Turquoise and the second one is supposed to go from Blue to Neon Blue.

I didn’t see too many Essies that I wanted. Neither of my main nail places have the new bridal collection or the poppy razzi collection so I am just going to wait to get a couple of colors after next month. The two colors I picked up are Watermelon and Haute As Hello. I almost got Tarte Deco but I liked Haute As Hello a little better. They look pretty close from the bottles so I didn’t want to get both.

I also got two new Orly polishes from two new collections. Mysterious Curse was the one polish that really drew me in from the Dark Shadows Collection. There was another one that looked cool but I just picked one. I can’t wait to see the movie because who doesn’t like Johnny Depp? The other one I purchased is called Skinny Dip and it is from Orly’s Feel The Vibe Summer 2012 Collection. The whole collection is full of super bright colors and one dark glitter. I loved this one because it’s one of those blues that I adore, and it has some purple microshimmer. I suspect that it’s not going to show up much once it’s on my nails but I’ll probably still like it.

I am really loving Poshé way more than Seche Vite. I never thought I’d say that but I just really like it. I got the professional size and it came with an extra regular size bottle. Best of all, I only paid $11 for it. For those who have used Poshé for a while, does this thicken up the way Seche Vite does? Do you need to buy thinner for it?

Here are the shoes I bought:

I got them in black and beige so I can wear them with anything. They are a little “grandma” but they are a perfect height and I like the cut out on the sides. They are SUPER comfy so I’ll be able to walk around for a long time. I bought two new pantsuits: one in black and one that is light lilac with brown pinstripes. I may not be confident about many things, but one thing I am 100% confident about is job interviews. Maybe it’s because I have hired a lot of people in the past…I just know how to work the interviewer. And maybe I’m weird, but I really like going to interviews.

And these just for fun:

I love flats, and I love peeptoes even though I hate my feet and really don’t like feet in general. I know I’m not alone on this so at least I don’t sound like a total freak.

I don’t know what to do with my nails today. There is zero sunlight…it’s all overcast and windy. I love this kind of weather but it’s not good for taking pictures of my manicure. I’ll see what I come up with. I can’t believe I haven’t cut my nails yet. I think this is the longest they have ever been, and I haven’t broken one yet. I am using this new Nail-Aid Strengthening/Growth thing so maybe that’s made a difference.

How is your Monday going?

Orly Wednesday

Posted on 22 February, 2012 by Cynthia

Orly is a brand that I don’t think gets enough love. I don’t actually have that many bottles of Orly but I definitely keep a close eye on their collections.

Lollipop is such a sweet light pink color that screams spring to me.. It reminds me of cotton candy.

Sugar Plum looks just the way it sounds. This is not a color that I really like because it’s so frosty. I have to be in a certain mood to actually wear this color so I don’t wear it much.

Gumdrop…ah, gumdrop. I love this color. This is another one of those Tiffany-Blue polishes. For Audrey is just the tiniest more blue but this is a good dupe. If you have For Audrey, do you really need Gumdrop? Probably not but for a nail polish fanatic, that is a silly question because of course you need both.

Coffee Break looks like the perfect neutral for my skin color. I bet I could do a pretty awesome matte mannequin manicure. This also makes my fingers look so long because the nail blends into my fingers

Prince Charming is a muddled brown which I didn’t think I would like as much as I do. The confusing part about the polish is the name. Prince Charming?

Flagstone Rush is another one of those frosty polishes that I don’t usually like. This is just a pretty rusty color that looks good on my skintone. I like this a little more now that I’m so obsessed with orange nail polishes.

Bus Stop Crimson is a color that is right in your face. It’s a blood red that will really make your manicure pop.

Wild Wisteria is a vampy purple. It will definitely look black unless you’re in the right light. I really liked that this polish did not stain my skin or cuticles despite the intense shade.

Today’s Manicure

Posted on 21 February, 2012 by Cynthia

There are plenty of tutorials out there for half moon manicures so I won’t go into a lot of the details. Despite being such a nail fanatic, I had never tried this before until tonight. I ended up using two Orly colors: Coffee Break and Prince Charming. I also did a matte version and a shiny version. Which one do you prefer?

Matte with Essie’s Matte About You

Shiny with Seche Vite