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.