The Night Circus Inspired Nails

For a brief period of time, I considered changing around the style of this blog. I was going to do my manicures based on the book I was reading. I quickly realized that wouldn't work out well, as my reading and nail polishing paces are different. Plus, I read a lot of embarrassing young adult books, and I don't know that I want you to know about all of those! At any rate, I decided doing that every once in a while would be fun. Here's the first one, based on Erin Morgenstern's novel The Night Circus.

The Night Circus is about a circus which only occurs, obviously, at night, and the only colors at the circus are black and white. There are fans of the circus who follow it around, and they wear black and white, with a red accessory so they can recognize one another. This color scheme was the inspiration.

I started out with a couple coats of Man Glaze's Mayo, and then added Man Glaze's Matte is Murder for the stripes. I chose these rather than cremes because I liked the added shimmer. The red was Tate by Nails Inc. I think these turned out pretty cute. But I have to say, I am so envious of those of you who can paint an even stripe.

There's much more to The Night Circus than I told, so if you haven't read it, I highly suggest you do so. It's so good! I really like circus themed things, particularly from the past, so I was really into all the imagery in the book. I also was a fan of Water for Elephants (not the movie though, that was awful). Actually, the first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up was a tight rope walker in the circus. Have you read either of those books? Are you a circus fan?

L.A. Colors Berry Red

I just dyed my hair red, and in honor of that, I decided to do a red manicure! Here's Berry Red by L.A. Colors.

My photographs of this are not the most color accurate. Berry red is actually, well, more berry than these images show. It's a bit darker, but just as juicy and squishy. A classic red jelly. Sigh.

While not the most unique color, and not exactly unique in my collection, I was actually quite surprised with the ease of application. It slid on very easily, was not messy at all, and dried very fast and shiny (even without topcoat, though I was wearing a coat of Seche in these photos). I used two coats, which allowed for just a bit of visible nail line. I found this at the dollar store a while back, so I must admit I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that it "flowed like butter". Sometimes it's nice to have a reminder that one doesn't need to spend $20 on good quality nail polish. I also bought a champagne/gold color, so I'm interested to see if the application of that is just as flawless.

Here's a crappy shot of my new hair color, for those interested. I wish it was sunny out today so the red could really shine, but of course it is gloomy. I'm really enjoying being a red head again, and I think next time I will go a bit brighter!

Collection 2000 BMX Bandit

I've been a terrible blogger lately, I know. I guess I haven't had the motivation to write anything. My philosophy when starting this little blog was to blog because I enjoyed it, and to never force myself to write anything just for the sake of getting a post up. So, I apologize for the delay, but sometimes ya just need some time away, ya know?

Here's a polish I wore probably about a week ago now: BMX Bandit by Collection 2000. It was sent to me by the lovely Nicole. It's a pretty cornflower blue creme.

Unfortunately, I can't remember a whole lot about the application process. I'm sure I used at least two coats, likely three. I do remember being surprised that it wasn't as finicky as I anticipated. I was expecting it to be a pain, considering it's almost pastel, but it went pretty smoothly.

A coworker of mine said it was Spring-like, but not too pastel. Which I'd agree with. If you're not into the brighter or lighter shades of blue, but still want something for the warm weather, this is probably a good option.

Andrea Fulerton Naomi

I had a funeral to attend today, unfortunately, so I wanted to wear something traditional yet not too bright on my nails. I went with Naomi by Andrea Fulerton.

 This is a color you've seen many a time on this little blog. A deep red, with a jelly finish. Love! The color is great, but unfortunately the consistency was a drag. I used three coats. Not because I was trying to cover up visible nail line, but because I kept getting bald spots near my cuticle where I would lay the brush down. On top of that, it took a long time to dry.

On the bright side, I really did like the design of the bottle. I'm a sucker for good product design, what can I say?

NYC Chinatown

Just a quick post before I head to work. Here's Chinatown by NYC, part of NYC's, well, NYC collection.

Chinatown is a deep eggplant purple, with shimmer. The shimmer is not as prominent in real life as my images would lead you to believe, but it is still visible. It was a three-coater, but the coats applied smoothly and were easy to manage. It did also dry quickly, as the bottle claims.


Chinatown does seem New York City-y to me. Dark and vampy, yet chic. It would look good gripping a cup of coffee while you hustle to your next meeting.

Kleencolor Winter Wonderland

There was supposed to be a huge blizzard that was going to start yesterday, and go through today. Well, it snowed a little yesterday, but it was too warm to stick. And I guess it snowed today, but it sounds more slushy than snowy (I have been too lazy to go outside and look). At any rate, I decided to wear Winter Wonderland by Kleencolor.

All the glitter kinda freaked my camera out a bit, so the pictures are not the best I've ever taken, but you get the gist. Winter Wonderland is a shimmery lilac-y silver, with red, blue, orange, yellow, and pink glitter in it. It definitely has a winter vibe. It reminds me of Christmas lights on a snowy night, which I imagine was part of the inspiration. It's quite unique, as many Kleencolor polishes are.

I was not a fan of the consistency. Applying this was a pain in the ass. It was thick, and continued to thicken rapidly the longer it was open. It's on the sheer side, so I decided to use three coats. I should have stuck with two. By the time I got to the third, it was so thick it was nearly unmanageable. And worse yet, it pretty much refuses to dry. It's a good thing this polish has lots of distracting glitter, because my nails are so dinged up.

Words of wisdom for anyone considering this polish: a) work FAST, and b) if you can't deal with sheer polishes, skip it. Otherwise, I think it's a really pretty polish, that is likely to be unique in most collections.

You may or may not have noticed I changed my nail shape. I have been wanting to do something more round/oval for a while, as I think it so vintage-y and cute, and finally took the plunge. I like the square look on me, but I was tired of the edges constantly breaking off, and ending up with rounded nails anyway. I think rounded nails look best longer than mine are, but I don't think they are terrible. I am interested to see whether this style breaks easier or less easy than my square nails. I know it's kind of hard to tell with a lighter polish like this, but what do you think? Are you a fan or oval nails, or do you prefer something more square?

Also, I finally saw The Artist yesterday, and loved it! Have any of you seen it yet? Thoughts? The costuming alone is worth it!

Marks & Spencer Bright Aqua

Here's a polish sent by Nicole, Marks & Spencer's Bright Aqua.

Bright Aqua is, well, a bright aqua polish - a turquoise base with turquoise glitter. It does have a duochrome thing going on, too. You can see a darker blue reflecting in certain angles. Very pretty. I bet this just sparkles in the sun!

While the color is fantastic, it is not for the visible nail line phobes out there. Pictured is three coats of Bright Aqua, and the nail line is still apparent. The base doesn't seem jelly-like, just on the very translucent side. It did apply smoothly though.

This just makes me want to go swimming. I can't wait for summer. How about you?