18 January 2010

Lacquer Lundi

In response to my last LL post, Carol said..."One thing I keep meaning to ask you: I was trained to wipe the tops of my bottles with cotton wool soaked in nail polish remover BEFORE I put the lid back on. This avoids any messy gluggy stuff at the top. A friend of mine keeps her nail polish in the fridge for some reason she can't remember. Do you have any special storage and bottle care regime?"

I do not wipe off the tops of my bottles, mainly because I am usually pretty careful not to goop up the neck. However, your suggestion is a good one, as there is nothing more frustrating than trying to pry open a bottle that has been welded shut with nail polish. But then, I haven't met a bottle yet that could withstand the opening powers of my teeth!

Now, in terms of polish in the fridge, I have heard of people doing this to keep their polish fresh. However, I really doubt this has any effect on polish, other than making it cold. I also imagine it's a PITA to wait for the polish to warm up enough to return the viscosity back to the point where it is easily spreadable each time you want a manicure. Personally, I would rather keep some nail polish thinner around to ensure my polishes don't dry up and besides, I'd need a second fridge just to store my 284 (I know! holy crap!) bottles of polish.


Now, on to the pretties:

Rimmel Lycra Wear 10 + Minerals - Hyponotise
- purchased at Rexall (chain drug store) for $2.66 CDN

Hyponotise is a dark reddish burgundy shade that reminds me of luscious berries. It really is a beautiful colour for winter wear.

Hyponotise applied wonderfully - it had a good consistency and it moved around the nail easily. It builds up to opacity in two coats, although I applied a third to get a rich depth of colour. It wore well, with only tip wear after two days.





Joan Rivers Beauty - Pomegranate
- a gift from my Mom (she purchased at The Shopping Channel)

Let me start by saying that Joan Rivers rides my last nerve. She is the mammalian equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. So, when my Mom gifted me with some Joan Rivers make-up (that Joan sells on The Shopping Channel), I was not expecting much. However, every product I have tried from this line has been decent. Colour me surprised.

Pomegranate is a dark red creme that is vampy as all get out. This reminds me of the nail colour that Drusila (Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans will recognize this name) often wore.

Pomegranate applied nicely. It did require three coats to cover all streakiness - I would prefer if it was a bit more pigmented. It did wear very well, though as I only had minor tip wear after two days.


Finger Paints - Natural Talent & Icing - Paparazzi
- Finger Paints purchased at Sally Beauty Supply for $4.99 CDN
- Icing purchased at Icing for $3.75 CDN

So, when exactly will I learn my lesson? I keep saying that I don't like pink, yet I keep trying to find a pink that I like. I think the problem is that pink is so girly and sweet, two things that I most definitely am not. So, finding a pink that fits my personality and style may be a lost cause.

Natural Talent, the latest polish in my quest for the Holy Pink Grail, is a very sheer light pink, that would likely take a million coats to build up to any sort of opacity. However, if you like sheers or work in a very conservative environment, this may be to your liking.

After applying two coats of Natural Talent, I considered removing it and starting over. Then, I spied Paparazzi in my stash. Paparazzi is a peachy base loaded with multi-sized prismatic glitter. This baby took my manicure from ho-hum to blingtastic in two coats. As an aside, when I went into the Icing store to buy this polish, I felt like Methuselah. Nothing drives home exactly how old you are when you're surrounded by giggling tweens.

My only complaint with this manicure was the drying time - it was still rather squishy after 1.5 hours (even with a quick drying top coat).

16 comments:

Paige said...

Those colors look lovely!

Chris said...

And here I thought I was the only person who opened thing with their teeth...too funny!

Kirsten (The Dutch Nail Blog) said...

I used to do the opening with the teeth bit until one day the neck of a polish bottle broke right off. I had glass splinters in my mouth and the polish was ruined.
Never again!

Now I just hold them under hot water for a minute or two, dry them off well to prevent water from getting in the bottle and then they open right up. And no more teeth marks on my polish bottles!

Beth said...

"284 (I know! holy crap!) bottles of polish"

You are an inspiration to me -- I think I only have about 50. I need to get to the polish store ... :-)

Beth

deb said...

You recently answered how you get the polish on so smoothly. But I've been dying to ask, how do you keep your cuticles so nice?! You should be a fingernail model! Your cuticles look perfect. Mine are dried and frayed, embarrassing 365 & 24/7. Super strength lotions don't last the day. The best cuticle removers and gentle treatments done frequently actually makes them worse. I work on a computer most of the day & don't do rough stuff with my hands other than handling some paper and some fabric. I don't polish fingernails so no chemicals there. Why must they look so dry. What do you recommend? Or are some of us resigned to ugly cuticles forever??

cidell said...

Ok. I feel a little better. I finally bought a Helmer last weekend and put my polishes in. I'm at 200 bottles. Well, I got to 150ish and stopped counting.

I too continue to buy pinks and yellows hoping for that perfect shade for me! But, I am totally a pink girl. It's just the matching I haven't worked out yet.

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

So is "The Shopping Channel" the QVC of Canada...and I have an admission to make...I LOVE Joan Rivers jewelry...but quite often I watch the show with the sound off...

Summerset said...

Thanks for the report that darling dog of yours - glad to see there some progress.

I feel the same way about pink, so no complaints here if you're showing off anything else that's gorgeous and glittertastic.

Rose said...

284! You are going to need another polish storage cabinet soon! I'm staying away from "pink" until you fine "The One" which I imagine you will eventually. I'll be at the drug store soon, looking for Hyponotise. I love it!

Dk's Wife said...

I love the last one. I just wish my nails were not like thin sheets of paper so I could grow them out nice and pretty like yours. If I want nails I have to go have them done, and I am way too cheap right now to do that -- with the economy and all.

Nancy K said...

Yummy colors. I love the Joan rivers red and the Rimmel red. I am a definitely a red girl.
How is Simon doing with his meds?

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

Really love that Hypnotise color; it's unusual and interesting.

Sew Shy said...

I'm sorry to hear Natural Talent didn't work for you, and it's one that I like enough to fall back on when I can't decide what color I want. Way to salvage it with the Icing color!

denise@thebluegardenia.com said...

For pinks, try Lippmann Collection's Prelude to a Kiss, Essie's Spaghetti Strap, OPI's Japanese Rose Garden. Perhaps one will work.

PerryPie said...

Whoo! Another Cnd blogger! And I agree with you about Joan Rivers, she drives me bonkers. UGH. But, that polish is beautiful. I might have to check out those polishes from her.

angie.a said...

Woot! A BtVS reference! How'd I miss that?

Spike. Yum.