Essence Choose Me!

Today I woke up with a cold. The end of June and I have a cold! What a bummer!

On an unrelated note, last night I had a dream that I went on a shopping spree in Ulta. I must be going through withdrawals! I have put myself on a No Buy, which I told myself I was going to do a couple times before, but never followed through. I haven't purchased anything new since my last Ulta and Trade Secret trip. Going through my stash, I realized way more than half of the polishes I own have either not been tried ever, or haven't been photographed for this blog. So, until I go through more of what I already own, there is no need to buy more. We'll see how this goes.

One polish I purchased at Ulta a while ago, but haven't tried until now, is Choose Me! by Essence. I know we've seen an infinite amount of posts about this little guy, but bear with me.

Obviously we all know this is a dupe for like, 75 other polishes - but it's much cheaper than the others. Choose Me! is a blue-green duochrome base, with silver glass flecks in it. I got a ton of compliments on it! One of my coworkers said it reminds him of a mermaid's tail, which is exactly what I thought when I put it on.

I used two coats, and it went on perfectly! It was so smooth and easy to work with, and the brush is great. My only complaint is that clean up was hard. Acetone didn't so much clean up the polish as smear the polish around (note my pinky). In the future, I'll just have to be much more careful when applying it. It lasted a couple days before starting to chip, which was actually better than I expected considering how glittery it is.

I'm not too happy with these photos though. The messy polish bugs me. On top of that, my cuticles are in horrid condition! I tried to clean things up in Photoshop, but I couldn't hide everything. I'll have to re-do these someday.

I'm off to sip some tea and embroider!

Zoya Marley

After a wearing a couple darker shades, I was ready for something lighter - Marley by Zoya.

 

Marley is a soft lavender with subtle shimmer. It's very pretty, and I love the shimmer in it. The shimmer adds another level of dimension, and gives it a bit more visual interest than a creme has. Marley applied very easily, and dried quickly. I used two coats.

I wish I had more to say about Marley, but it applied so smoothly and looks so great, there's not much to say beyond that!

17 Spiced Plum

Finally getting caught up on posting!

For the past few days I've been wearing Spiced Plum by 17, another polish sent by Nicole in our recent swap.

Spiced Plum is a really great vampy color! It's the perfect mix of brown and red (a dried blood sorta color), and it dries to a really shiny finish. In the photos, you can see some bald spots, especially toward my cuticles, but they aren't visible in real life. It needed two coats for opacity, and I didn't have any issues with the application process. I definitely have not experienced anywhere near 10 days of wear, but I did get a couple days out of it without any chips, which is pretty standard for me.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with Spiced Plum. This was my first 17 polish, and I'm excited to try the others Nicole sent. This is a very "me" color, so I'm sure it will get a lot of wear in the future.

Top 10 Award

This is another good way to pass time when I can't sleep!

So, it's official: I've won my first "award"! I was tagged by both Strange Nails and Une Ruxi à Paris. Thanks, gals! It's so nice of you both to think of me, and makes me so happy to know that my little ol' blog is growing, slowly but surely.

These things can get a little... overwhelming. Especially when everyone updates with them at the same time. But It's my first one so I'm excited!

I don't really wear much makeup beyond nail polish, but I'll do my best. I'm taking cosmetics to mean beauty items in general.

Top 10 Award

1. Thank the person who tagged you and link to their blog.
2. Put the Top 10 Award logo on your blog.
3. List your top 10 cosmetics.
4. Choose 10 bloggers to tag, link to their blogs, and let them know.

 

 

Top Ten Cosmetics

1. LUSH Ultrabalm.

Ultrabalm is a petroleum-free balm, made only with plant waxes. I love LUSH, and this shit does not disappoint! I use it for everything! I use it on my stretched lobe piercings when they need some moisturizing. I use it on my lips. I use it on my elbows and knees when they are gettin' super dry. Reading the reviews on LUSH's website, people are using it for a wide variety of things with great results.

 

2. Too Faced Brow Envy

So, back in my middle school days, I plucked the ever-loving shit out of my brows. Like, down to practically nothing. One of my biggest regrets! Now I long for full brows that I can shape with a saucy arch. Well, that ain't happenin' so I bought this kit a while ago, and it has worked wonders for my sad little brows. A coworker told me he can't tell that I fill my brows in, so I must be doing something right!

 

3.Maybelline The Colossal Volum Express Mascara

I don't even wear mascara that often anymore, but it used to be my go-to cosmetic. I usually try a new brand each time, and this has been my current brand. I'll probably buy it again. It doesn't clump too bad, I usually get compliments on it, and who can resist that giant yellow tube?

 

4. Boots Botanics Totally Concealed Concealer

I really only bought this because it was on clearance at Target and I needed something to cover up spots. It works for a bit, but after a few hours, it tends to rub off. I am in the market for one of those green concealer sticks. Any suggestions?

 

5. Sephora Liquid Eyeliner

A few years ago, liquid eyeliner used to be my everyday look. I would always do a cateye. Whenever I want to play up my eyes now, that's what I default to. I mean, what's cuter than cateye liner? An actual cat maybe, but not much else!

 

6. Sensual Amber ANYTHING by Bath & Body Works

UGHHH THIS SMELLS SO GOOD.

 

7. LUSH King of the Mods Hair Product

I like this product because it's really light. I'm too lazy to really put any effort into doing my hair, so this is perfect. Plus, how could I resist with a reference to The Mighty Boosh?! I have always wanted to try Goth Juice for both the Boosh reference and the Robert Smith reference, but that one seems a little too stiff for me.

 

8. Sephora Red Lipstick

I can't remember the specific shade I own, but what goes better with some cateye liner than red lips?! I wish I had the lady-balls to wear it everyday, but alas I don't. I've been wanting to try some MAC shades since I've heard such good things (especially Ruby Woo), but haven't gotten that far yet.

 

9. Blistex Medicated Lip Balm

Thank you Google Images for this glorious image. It's 4 AM now, and I CLEARLY need to sleep. But, a person's gotta have their Blistex.

 

10. Dr. Bronner's Lavender Soap

This stuff is really gentle and smells great! I have a small bottle, which I mainly use to clean my piercings.

This was more difficult than expected, considering my bathroom is filled with mostly LUSH products. :/

10 Blogs

If I've been tagged, then everyone else in the blogging world has to have been tagged by now! So, I'm going to be a jerk and go with the tired "I tag you if you haven't been tagged yet!" answer. Hey, it's now nearly 4:30 AM, cut me some slack!

Star Gazer 161

It's 3 AM and I can't sleep, so I figured I'd update this thing. I'm a little behind on posts. :/

Last week, I wore 161 by Star Gazer. To alleviate the pain of such a boring name, I'm telling myself it's the number of a galaxy or nebula or some shit.

Artificial lighting.

Flash.

Flash.

161 is a grape-colored jelly base, with some glitter thrown in. The glitter is mostly gold, but you can also see some red and green pieces as well. It reminds me of, well, grape jelly. You know, the Smuckers kind that is more sugar than fruit.

Application was pretty easy, with the exception of the sorta wonky brush. Another one of my Star Gazers has a weird brush, so I'll have to trim those down some day when I'm less lazy.

I really like this polish a lot. I got a few compliments on it, and really enjoyed the jelly base with the more subtle glitter. I also really love the Star Gazer bottle shape. It's so cute!

I hope your week is starting off well!

OPI Stranger Tides

Yet another post about the Pirates of the Caribbean collection!

I know this post is nothing new in the nail blogging world, but just look at this color! I've seen it described as murky quite a few times, and I would say that is pretty accurate. It's actually a bit more... murky than my camera picked up. Okay it was bothering me, so I re-edited them, and they are much more color accurate now.

It reminds me of all this gross stuff (nasty swamp water, split pea soup, etc.), but it looks totally awesome on! I used three coats to get even coverage, but I would have been good to go in two if I had actually been concentrating when I applied it. The consistency was very nice. Very glad I picked this one up, as I can see myself wearing this a lot in the future.

What's your favorite from the Stranger Tides collection?

GOSH Holographic

Recently, I've had a handful of new followers, and a shit-ton (technical term) of new visitors. I went from having like, 20 views a day, to 300+ a day this past week. And I'm one follower away from reaching 50! So, hello new readers & followers! Welcome. Sit down, relax, stay awhile.

On to the polish! Right after the first swap with Nicole, she told me she found Holographic by GOSH. So, I've been "patiently" waiting since then to wear it. And finally that day has come! Lots of photos coming up.

I know we've all since this a billion times, but really, can you ever tire of seeing this gorgeous creation? I'd heard horror stories about the application process, but honestly I didn't find it difficult. Nicole suggested I skip the base and top coat, so I listened. I used two coats for full coverage. I did experience a little bit of the pulling effect, but it was pretty easy to fix. It definitely does chip super fast though. I only had it on for a few hours when I started noticing scratches and chips. I've had it on for about 24 hours now, and it's chipped pretty severely. Next time, I might play around with base and top coat, to see if I can get it to last a little longer. I've heard of people applying base coat, and then buffing their nails, so I might just try that. Have you tried anything that works to get it to last longer?


Man, I just cannot stop staring at my nails!

Hope you had a good Monday!

Barielle Falling Star

I think the Twin Cities had the highest temps today of anywhere in the US. It was 102 degrees. I love hot weather, but even this was a bit much for me - especially considering I don't have air conditioning! All I could bring myself to do was lay around in bed, watching The Hills.

I did also manage to paint my nails. I used Falling Star by Barielle.

I've wanted this polish for a while now, and finally got it from a gal on LiveJournal. I think the combination of the blue base and copper glitter is so unique and pretty. I was impressed with how evenly the glitter applied, considering that it all sorta migrates to one side of the bottle. Falling Star's consistency is on the thick side, but it wasn't too difficult to work with. I needed two coats for full coverage, and they dried quickly. It does dry with some texture due to the glitter, but it's nothin' a little top coat won't fix.

How's the weather where you are? I've got a beach trip planned for tomorrow, and it looks like the temps will be much more pleasant!

Nautical Nails... Hello, Sailor!

When I opened my new package from Nicole, I came across Miss Sporty 320 and 304, and thought they looked great together. And thus, these nautical nails were born!

The blue is 320, and it is fantastic! It is a creme, but has some jelly qualities. It applied very well, and only needed a couple coats. 304 is the coral-leaning red. This one was a bit more finicky, but pretty nonetheless. I needed three coats to even out some streaks. I've said this before, but I seriously love the brushes on Miss Sporty polishes! Nice and wide! The anchors were made with Models Own Gold Rush. This design is pretty simple, but I think it's fun and cute, and perfect for summer! Nautical stuff is the bees knees!

One of my favorite photos ever! Unfortunately I don't know any background info.

Gotta love Elvgren.

And, for good measure, here is a link to photos of my nautical tattoos. Go check out the rest of Kat's work while you're at it. Good stuff!

Swap #2

I guess the postal gods were looking out for me. Shortly after creating my previous post, my package from Nicole at Top to Toe came! So, here's some more photos of pretty nail polish bottles.

Pretty wrapping paper again! I need to step up my wrapping paper game.

Box of goodies, plus a cute card.

Models Own Bronze Rage, Nyla Nude, Concrete Mixer

GOSH Miss Mole, Miss Sweety, Holographic (!!!!!)

OPI Shanghai Shimmer and Clubbing Til Sunrise

17 Poncho Pink, Glitter Top Coat, Spiced Plum

Miss Sporty 320, 304, 420

StarGazer 104, 102, 157, 161

Soap&Glory lotion, China Glaze Sugar Plums, and Nails Inc Fashion Fawn

I couldn't be happier with what Nicole sent! I am so lucky to have met such a wonderful friend, and swap partner. I can't wait to try everything!