Attracted

Good day! 

I have a thing for shimmery white polish even though they often apply patchy, streaky or sheer. There's just something clean and pretty about them. However, I do have an issue with frost finish polish and white frosts. The problem I have with white frosts is having seen it on older women who clearly had applied one sheer, streaky coat over bare nails. This seemed so half assed and boring. It annoyed me that these women couldn't handle a more adventurous color much less giving themselves a proper manicure. All of that came to me when I first heard about Chanel releasing a white frost polish.

I saw Pam's swatches over at Polish Police and I found myself really liking the color but not the brush strokes. (BTW, Pam gives beautiful swatches and her nails are gorgeous.) I promptly forgot all about it until a package arrived from Chanel for my birthday.

Matt had remembered me talking about Attraction and decided to get it for me. I was impressed he remembered! So...how did I like it? Check it out:

 Chanel Attraction - Two coats with a third sponged on top

Over base coat, no top coat

Attraction is a pearly, frosty white with an almost silvery light. It is VERY sheer, applies streaky and formula is a bit thin. It dries really quickly provided you use thin coats. I waited for each coat to dry thoroughly before applying another to avoid bald patches.

I forgot to take photos before I sponged the third coat on so you can see the streaks. However, I refer you again to Pam's swatches so you can see them. I used the tip provided by Leslie at Polish Art Addiction for making frosts wearable. Sponging the final coat really helps. It smooths out and covers the brush strokes and really softens it. It can add opacity but you would really have to add another coat to really eliminate the nail line.

I'm completely enamored of Attraction. The pearly white with shimmer is so pretty. Mind you, I would NEVER wear it without sponging my final coat. Nor would I dare to wear it over bare nails. Oy. I hope Leslie's tip helps you. I know it's been a saver for me or I would never have this gorgeous polish.

So there ya have it. Matt scores another win! Best. Husband. Ever. 

My husband purchased this for me for my birthday. I don't know what he paid but I do know Attraction is still available at Chanel.com. It is limited edition so who knows how much longer it will be around.

Venique Nail Lacquer (Photo heavy)

Good morning!

Today I'm bringing a new to me brand to show you. I had heard about Venique Nail Lacquer and seen some swatches here and there but I had never been able to try it. However, my mom happened to get some and made sure I got them.

Venique Nail Lacquer in Crushed Icicle

Venique Nail Lacquer in Raging Crimson

Both are three coats over base

Crushed Icicle is an icy blue loaded with fine silvery blue glitter. Raging Crimson is a true red jelly loaded with very fine multicolored glitter. Both dry very gritty and textured. Not unlike any of the new texture polishes. As I understand it, they are marketed as drying with a textured finish.

Both applied beautifully, not thick or thin and definitely not runny. I always prefer three coats but you could easily use two coats. The dry time for both is excellent. I immediately fell in love with both but Raging Crimson is probably my favorite.

I really love how each have a textured finish. Keeping me on trend, yo. I did try both with top coat and I can tell you that they are both top coat eaters. I recommend using something like Gelous or any of the indie specialty top coats for glitters to achieve a smooth and shiny finish. You could also use a UV or LED gel top coat. However, you must make certain that your polish is COMPLETELY dry if you do. 

Here's what they look like with Gelous as top coat:

I didn't add enough Gelous for Raging Crimson so it still has some textured areas. But it does really show off the great multicolor glitter and gives an almost jelly-like finish. Crushed Icicle is awesome with top coat but I definitely prefer it without.

I was so inspired by Raging Crimson that I decided to do a French mani of sorts.

 Funky texture French mani - no top coat

Funky texture French mani - top coat on index and middle fingers

I started with a base of Orly Pure Porcelain and then used reinforcements to mark off the tips. I applied two thin coats of Raging Crimson and removed the reinforcements straight away. I like the rich red against a neutral and the glitter is fabulous. 

I decided to take a photo once I added top coat to two of my fingers just to show the difference in finish. I ended up using top coat to finish the manicure. This wore really, really well for me too in spite of much tapping away on a keyboard.

Overall, these textured polishes by Venique are fabulous. I'd love to try more by Venique but it is only available at Cosmoprof and Armstrong McCall stores. That is pro only. However, I do have a friend that works at Cosmoprof so I may have to ask her to buy some things for me. 

To recap, Venique nail lacquer is exclusively sold at Cosmoprof/Armstrong McCall stores and salons. I do not know how much they sell for as this was a gift. Since they are sold at Pro only supply stores, the price will be different for pros and said pros may charge a different amount at their salons.

You can find more information about Venique at their Facebook page HERE.

Dollar Tree Freak

Good Morning!

As you all know I'm frugal at best and super cheap at worst. Dollar Tree is by far one of my most favorite places to shop. The price is right and I can try out some things that perhaps I wouldn't have before. Like nail stickers. I have tried them and only one I really liked and worked well for me. (Perl Fashion Strips, if you're wondering.) But a $1 price and novelty factor had me brave enough to try again.

Color changing nail strips was an interesting idea so I decided to try it out.

The package contains 12 strips which seemed to me to not be a whole lot. So I decided to only use a couple for my manicure. This is what you get inside the package:

This does not come with a nail file nor orange stick. Having had experience with nail strips, I made sure my nails were clean, dry, shaped and lightly buffed. I wiped my nails down with acetone before applying the strips. Since these change color in the sun, I decided to pair it with one of my Del Sol polishes.

Index and ring are Del Sol Rock Star

Middle and pinkie Donna Michelle Nail Strips

Natural Indoor Light

No top coat

Ok. As you see, my middle finger is chipped. And I will get to that. First, we'll talk about the strips.

I was really surprised how thin and flexible they were. I expected them to be thick and stiff. However, this means that they are delicate and brittle.  The sizing of the strips is okay but since they only give you a limited amount, you may have difficulty finding the proper size for a full manicure. They went on nicely but still wanted to lift near the cuticle. No amount of smoothing would get those parts to stick and lay down for longer than a few seconds.

I didn't add top coat because I wanted to photograph the color change and I was concerned that top coat might inhibit the change. I think top coat could have helped here because the above chip occurred within 5 minutes after applying. 

Del Sol Rock Star and Donna Michelle Color Changing Nail Strips in sunlight

The strips change to a pale blue in the sun, not the darker almost blue-purple as shown in the illustration on the package. The change happens almost instantaneously which is pretty impressive. This also means that they change back almost as soon as you are out of the sunlight.

Overall, these are not a very good product. They chip easily, are hard to get completely smoothed and adhered to the nail. They have terrible wear time and they do not offer enough different sized strips for a full manicure. On the plus side, they are not difficult to apply. They are thin and flexible, the color change is swift and the pattern is attractive. The strips are very easy to remove and don't require acetone. They can be peeled off very easily.

I would only recommend these for a fun, one time only manicure and I would strongly suggest top coat. That might help smooth things out and extend wear time at least for a few hours. Mind you, I did not have high expectations since I only paid $1 for them and I think that's important to consider if you do decide to purchase them.

That will do for today. I have a long day of work and have to shuttle my cats into the sunroom for a few hours. They do not like that at all! Gratefully, the weather is warm and they can stare out at the squirrels while munching on their food. Oh, my pampered little babies...

I purchased this at Dollar Tree for, you guessed it, one dollar. Not sure on the availability of these elsewhere but I do know that they are sold out in my location. Every Dollar Tree seems to cycle through their inventory differently.

What's Going on with Lamby

Good morning!

I decided to just do a random post today since I almost never post on Sundays. Not gonna lie, I'm totally ripping off Kelly at Vampy Varnish. But she is one of my very favorites and I want to be cool like her too.

Moonspell

Hawthorne Theater Portland, Oregon

3.7.13

What's on T.V

Since giving up cable, I've watched a lot of Netflix and Hulu. The shows I watch are Scandal, Revenge, Modern Family, Nashville, Hannibal, The Voice, How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory.

I found some ways to catch up on Dexter, True Blood and the Real Housewife franchise. I admit it, I love all of those crazy women. I also watched the Eurovision Song Contest yesterday and it was delightfully tacky, silly and campy.

Current Listening

Of course, I am listening to a lot of Moonspell. I just downloaded some bonus tracks from the Night Eternal album from iTunes thanks to a gift card my brother got me. I've also been listening to a lot of Sabaton on Grooveshark ever since I got the Carolus Rex album last year. I'm looking forward to getting the new Chthonic album and I'm psyched for new Amon Amarth.  Otherwise, I listen to NPR every morning. I can't bear to face the day without Morning Edition and Fresh Air.

Reading

I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't read much beyond some magazines and Reddit. I just haven't had time to go to the library and no time to actually read. My weekends have been jam packed and in the evenings I have to choose between reading or hanging out with Matt. I love my husband but he is kind of needy. (He hates when I read because I completely tune him out and he feels ignored.) That said, I have books by Christopher Hitchens and Margaret Atwood on my to read list. I'm also desperate to get a hold of What Are You Doing Here: A Black Woman's Life and Liberation In Heavy Metal by Laina Dawes and Geek to Guitar Hero by Alex Skolnick. (Alex is the guitarist of Testament and the Alex Skolnick Trio as well as a very cool and super smart guy.) I will pretty much buy any non-fiction book about heavy metal.

New Obsessions

I'm all done with my painting of the house so I had to find some other activities. I decided to take almost all of the frames from our photo wall and paint them white so they will pop against the orange wall. I'm also about to make some art to hang in my bedroom. I saw a cool tutorial for canvas art using puffy paint and Mod Podge that I have to try. Check it out HERE. I want to use lyrics from songs for it. Mainly Mute by Moonspell and Todas As Ruas Do Amor by Flor-de-Lis. I'll be using the English translation for the latter however.

My Auntie bought me a great craft kit for my birthday so I've been creating all kinds of small things.  One of the things I did with it was block stamping on a skirt. Auntie gave me a cute white skirt and I stamped the hem with fabric dye paint. It came out kind of crooked and I had to double stamp much of it but I was still pleased with how it turned out. I wore it last weekend and got a ton of compliments. So, yay for me being a messy and uncoordinated crafter!

What's Coming Up

I have a couple of review opportunities coming up. Still have some work to do on that before I'm able to show them to you. But I am looking forward to it and I think you'll enjoy them. 

I'm planning on getting a complete redesign for the blog done. However, I don't yet have a timeline for doing it since Matt will be helping me. He's playing in a golf league and running in 5Ks so he's a bit busy. But it will be done! 

Otherwise, I'm looking forward to more family get togethers and seeing photos from my nephew's high school graduation. (Seriously bummed I can't make it but I just don't have the money to fly to Kansas.)

So there ya have it! Thanks for indulging me.

By the way, I did upload all of my photos from the Moonspell show in March. You can check them out HERE.

Pluto

Good morning!

I'm taking advantage of the time before the Eurovision Song Contest starts to get another post up. It's so weird for me to post on a Saturday when it's not football season...

Anyway. Let's take a look at something I picked up in March.

Urban Outfitters Pluto

Three coats over base

Oh, Pluto. Once a planet and now not. Also Greek god of the Underworld. Now a super snazzy glitter filled jelly polish! I am crazy go nuts over blue jelly polish. I'm not sure why but I am glad. Otherwise, I would've missed out on this.

Pluto is a cobalt blue jelly loaded with glitter that flashes blue, green, orange gold and pink. It's a definite galaxy on your nails. This applied very nicely. I had expected it to be thick but the consistency was perfect. Three coats was best to cover VNL. Dry time is acceptable. It's not super fast but it doesn't take hours either.

It's a great polish and very welcome to the family!

I purchased this at Urban Outfitters back in March and paid $4 thanks to a 2 for $8 deal.

So...yeah. Eurovision today. I won't be answering anything while it is on. I'm rooting for Norway this year. The song is great. However, it won't hurt if Romania wins. It's everything I point to as to why I love Eurovision so much.

The lights that lie

Good morning!

So it seems I didn't make the goal I set for my self. It was kind of a long week for me and very busy. Plus, there is the Eurovision Song Contest tomorrow. I won't let anything get in my way of that! I'll have more to discuss about it I'm sure but today I will give you all a reprieve. (Though you should check out Romania's entry this year. Holy buckets!)

Today I want to talk about a polish that appeared one way in the store and was quite yet another once I brought it home.

Essence Colour n Go in Do You Speak Love?

Two coats over base coat

When I saw this at Fred Meyer, I swear it looked more like an oxblood red. Once I got it home, I saw that is was a classic red creme. I was a little disappointed because I don't have an oxblood in my stash and that was kind of interesting. Nonetheless, this turned out to be a really nice polish.

I used two coats because it was so well pigmented. Dry time was great and the color is classic and lovely. I was just blown away by the two coat business. I've never had a red that applies smooth and opaque in less than three. So, good job Essence!

Because I was bummed that it wasn't the color I thought it would be, I decided to layer it. Just so happened that I had another new glitter polish that hadn't yet been swatched...

Essence Do You Speak Love topped with

Milani Red Sparkle

Milani Red Sparkle is one of the One Coat Glitters that came out awhile back. Evidently, there were two versions floating around, the one you see on me and one with only red glitter. Here's another thing: My bottle doesn't have "One Coat Glitter" labeled on it. Weird, right? I thank Milani for the little puzzle. I do love to research...

Anyway. My version of Red Sparkle is red and gold glitter in a clear base. I used two coats over this. I primarily bought it to be a layering glitter because I doubt very much it will build up into something I could handle wearing. In spite of that, it certainly works well with Do You Speak Love. It did dry quickly and wasn't terribly gritty.

The whole thing is fairly uninspired and unoriginal but...it's all I have right now. The rain came back with a vengeance and the grey skies are bumming me out. One of these days, I'll use Red Sparkle in a more interesting way.

Well, that ended on a downer. This means I should go get myself a snack and perhaps a glass of wine. See you Monday!

I purchased both of these at Fred Meyer, albeit on different days. I paid $4.49 for the Milani and $1.99 for the Essence.

Nail polish in unlikely places

Good morning!

You know you are seriously obsessed with nail polish when you not only look for it everywhere you go, you find it in unlikely places. Recently, I was perusing one of my favorite antique shops and stumbled upon a booth that had a handful of OPI and China Glaze polishes for sale. I didn't buy because a. I had very little money to spend and b. I owned all of the China Glaze they were selling. I passed on the OPI because I didn't like the colors and it's not like they were HTF black labels that I could use in a swap. So...yeah.

Anyway. That's one odd place to find nail polish. The other place that was a wee bit unlikely was City Liquidators in Portland, which I visited in March. It's one of my favorite places to go in Portland. They mainly sell furniture but they do have a floor for housewares and the like. I don't buy much there aside from the neat Coca-Cola collectibles I've found for my mom and some cute decorative items for my sister. This time I was looking for items for my bedroom and I ended up walking out with nail polish.

Bonita Nail Enamel Petite

Three coats over base coat

This was not labeled but I did some research about Bonita and found their website. However, I had such difficulty in trying to find out what this was named. So, we're just saying GREEN.

This is a fabulous little find. Green is more of a creme/jelly. The first coat goes on a bit sheer and streaky but builds to a beautiful opaque finish at three coats. You could probably use two thicker coats and achieve the same opacity. I was terribly impressed with how well this applied. It was fluid but not runny. Most importantly, it dried very quickly and with a great shine.

I opted for this because I can never have too many green cremes. This little gem is definitely going to be used for Duck Day nail art this fall. I'm so pleased to have stumbled upon this, it's a great polish and very welcome addition. I'm looking forward to trying more of Bonita's products soon!

I purchased this at City Liquidators in Portland, OR for a whopping 99 cents. Bonita can also be purchased at http://bonitacolors.com/. The petites retail for $1.49 but they also offer other polishes including magnetics that retail between $1.99 to $7.99. They have some neat looking colors and finishes so I may have to place an order sometime.

Admittedly it's hard to navigate through the color options, hence my difficulty in finding out the color name of this polish. However, they are running a free shipping special for orders over $30. 

Good times, great times

Good morning!

We've begun to get photos sorted and posted so I wanted to share with you a couple of snaps from the wedding as well as the manicure I did for my sister-in-law.

First up is my baby brother and his gorgeous new bride:

She looked so beautiful and I have to admit my little brother cleaned up pretty nicely. They really do make a lovely couple. I love her expression in this photo, it just melts my heart. Plus, I love that my brother almost has this smirk. They are just so cute together.

Next up is me and my siblings. It was so awesome for our older brother to be there. I also had realized that it had been sixteen years since we had all been together on my birthday. That was an especially delightful gift for me.

We're all arranged in birth order from oldest to youngest.

It was windy that afternoon and that made things a bit chilly so I had to wear a coat. It's a super cute coat but my dress was snazzy and I kind of wanted to show it off. P.S. My sister is really gorgeous, even windblown.

Now we can come to the nails. I'm grateful that the mother of the bride took the photo. The night before the wedding and day of were a bit chaotic so I was not able to take the photo myself. 

Bridal nails

My sister-in-law chose a half moon mani. What I did was start with a base of Essence Better Than Gel Nails base coat in Soft Rose. I used reinforcements to mark off the moon and painted the tips with CQ Rustic Dream. I painted two coats of that and then sponged two more coats to ensure opacity and diminish any brush strokes. We then added a single jewel on each nail in the middle of the curve and topped it all with Sally Hansen Gel top coat from my gel strips kit. The nail jewel came from a Cina kit I picked up at Sally Beauty.

Rustic Dream complemented the orange of my brother's tie as well as the orange flowers in her bouquet. It also added more drama and dimension with the shifting color. 

I'm disappointed that I did not take a bunch of photos myself but I am grateful I even have one to show you. Most importantly, my sister-in-law loved her manicure. Can't ask for more really.

Thanks for coming by to take a look. The day was really special for me but it was such an honor to share it with my family. I'm so happy for my brother and his wife and touched by their love. 

Very fruity

Good morning!

There's nothing like glitter when it's sunny. I love it so that all I have been buying is sparkly, shiny polish. But I have developed a fondness for milky glitters. There's just something almost mysterious about them and it captivates me.  So I was pretty excited for the Essence Fruity TE because the polishes looked really snazzy.

I was stalking the Fred Meyer beauty department for them and I was lucky to get one because someone tore through that display pretty quickly.

Essence Fruity nail polish in Mashed Berries

Three coats over base coat

Mashed Berries is a shimmery pink creme with purple glitter. It looked milky in the bottle but not as much on my nails. It kind of is but not like others I have in my stash or have seen. Nonetheless, this is really pretty and kind of fun. For pink. 

Mashed Berries applies a bit sheer but builds nicely. It did dry very quickly and with a nice amount of shine.  I was worried that it was scented but I quickly learned it was not. However, a scented top coat was offered in the collection. Since I'm very picky about scented anything, I decided to pass on that.

This is a departure for me but I'm trying to add a bit more diversity to the stash. I now have a new pal who is six and really loves pink nail polish. And nothing is more fun for me than hanging out and doing nails.

I purchased this at Fred Meyer for $1.99.

Glittery confections

Good morning!

I had a terrific weekend. My husband threw me a birthday barbecue on Saturday and we had a great time. Seems pinatas are now a thing for my birthday. Which is rad but a little dangerous. I tend to swing it at it like I was playing in the big leagues. Just sayin'. We also made a photo booth in the backyard and had so much fun playing with the props and taking goofy photos. It was so successful that we've decided it will be a permanent part of all our gatherings from now on. Here's one example of how much we enjoyed it:

Me and my boys

They got a little hands-y with one another.

I love my friends. They're all pretty rad.

Let's talk some nail polish now. I'm trying to catch up on some backlog so I'm showing a couple of Wet n Wild glitters from the LE Coloricon Toppings collection.

Wet n Wild Confections of a Bake-a-holic

Three coats over PVA base

This is a fairly sheer silver glitter loaded with multicolor glitters. This built really nicely considering it's sheerness. It's not totally duochrome just really sparkly. It dried very quickly and does feel a bit gritty. It's not top coat hungry so you can get by just fine with a quick drying top coat.

COB is a dupe for China Glaze Polarized from the Prismatic collection.

Wet n Wild Chip On Your Shoulder

Three coats over PVA base

Chip on Your Shoulder is a pinky purple duochrome with lots of fine gold shimmer and multicolor glitter. It's super sheer even at three coats so this may be more of a layering glitter. This too dries very quick. It's not as gritty as COB however. 

COS is a dupe for China Glaze Full Spectrum from the Prismatic collection. You may only want either of these just because of the lollipop inspired bottle shape. Which is precisely why I bought them.

That will do for today. I'm going to be enjoying more of the sunny and warm weather. You never know when it will start raining again in Oregon.

I purchased this at Fred Meyer for $2.99 each.