Some Huemorista bottle pics... (and again, I don't mean to be an over-privileged spoiled brat...)

Because of the heavy rains, my apartment building (and about half of the town) lost power for about half the day today. This is a great spring break I'm having this year...

A college buddy of mine came through town en route to a nice romantic getaway with her SO. (Happily, her romantic getaway was not a literal wash-out like mine was. However, their nice leisurely drive down Highway 1 through charming California towns turned into "oh crap, it's wet and windy with no visibility and traffic lights are not working because power lines are down.")

We were planning to meet for lunch so the early part of my afternoon was spent calling about a dozen restaurants and asking, "Hey, are you serving lunch? Yes? Do you have electricity? No? Great, thanks!" A surprising number of restaurants stayed open even though they had no power. I guess you don't need it to assemble a salad or to serve a soda!

To make today not a complete bust in terms of polish: I took some bottle pics of my recent order from Huemorista, an Etsy seller who makes some very pretty (but kinda small) frankens. She sells them in sets of 3 for $12 per set. I bought two. :)

As other bloggers have noted, the wrapping was super cute. Shipping was a bit slow -- she's a one-woman operation so I don't hold this against her -- but she included a free shipping coupon to make up for the delay.

Unwrapped!

From the back:

And some close-ups...

Bubble Bath

Light blue (possibly jelly) with opalescent glitter and (it looks like) flakies.

Midnight Invite

Glitter and flakies in a dark blue jelly. Yum!!

Kisses de Tulips

Coral pink jelly with opalescent flakies.

Hidden Rainbow

Not a very well-hidden rainbow. :) LOOKIT THE GLITTER!

Herbal Steam

Muted moss green with fine blue (?) shimmer.

Clover Fields

Nope, not a dupe for Creme de Menthe but a cheerful pastel emerald shot through with what appears to be fine gold shimmer.

Can't wait to try these! I think I may put one on now to celebrate the fact that I have electricity! :D

read more "Some Huemorista bottle pics... (and again, I don't mean to be an over-privileged spoiled brat...)"

Another iNOTD: China Glaze Crushed Candy over Essie Smokin' Hot

Got home from Napa yesterday night Still exhausted and completely drained (and without the will to unpack my camera for a real NOTD). Why so tired after your relaxing Napa getaway, you may ask?

Well, I'll tell ya but first my NOTD:

China Glaze Crushed Candy crackle over Essie Smokin' Hot


For Audrey-like Tiffany blue creme crackle. I applied very thin layers and I dunno if I like the thinness of the cracks... it's a cool effect but you can barely see any of Smokin' Hot underneath.

Closeup


I do kind of like the really thin strands of crackle that connect the bigger slices...

So, the story: In an effort to show my SO's mom the stunning Pacific Coast Highway, we managed to get lost in the Santa Cruz Mountains for several hours. The GPS couldn't figure out where Highway 1 was! (It hugs the coast; it's a little hard to miss.) And it led us through some gorgeous old forests and some very narrow and winding mountain roads... and then we came to a complete dead-end near an apparent Men's Correctional Facility (or so said the sign where we took one of many wrong turns).

When we started out, it was late afternoon. It didn't take long for the sun to set and the fog to start rolling in. Driving on dark, foggy winding roads is, like, not at all fun, especially if you have NO clue where the hell you are and no reason to believe that the GPS knows what it's doing (and because we're in beautiful, pristine forests, there's no cellular service either). And, of course, no one thought to bring a map because everyone assumed GPS and cell phones were sufficient. (They are not.)

Anyway, we finally made it home, having never found our way to Highway 1. And I'm still worn out by the whole escapade. I get extremely motion sick very easily so I was thoroughly miserable throughout 95% of the drive. It was okay as long as it was light because the scenery was so breathtaking (and distracting) but there ain't much to look at in the dark. :P

read more "Another iNOTD: China Glaze Crushed Candy over Essie Smokin' Hot"

iNOTD: Essie Merino Cool... except not (because I misremembered)

Edited (6:07pm): thanks to the sharp eyed readers who pointed out my error!! :)

In Napa, at a wine tasting; realized I didn't schedule a post to go up today while away from home!

So here is an iNOTD to tide you all over... Me grasping a wine glass. ;)

Essie Merino CoolSmokin' Hot





I love this polish even if it's more of a fall color. Dusty dark purple (or purple-leaning dark grey). This mani has been great for me so far: 2 coats for perfect coverage. And this is Day 3. There's a bit of tipwear and minor scuffing but otherwise looking great. I'm thinking of putting on ChG Crushed Candy crackle over it when I get home. And, you know, post a real update.

read more "iNOTD: Essie Merino Cool... except not (because I misremembered)"

Quick Silk Stockings - Essie Au Natural

Just a quick shot for you today - normally I wouldn't share this as its just a snap with my cell phone camera at the bus stop and doesn't really show off the colour or finish, but I loved how it showed off the shine! (Check out those little star shaped reflections - you can almost hear them say *pling*!)

I wasn't feeling really manicure-inspired, so I put on two coats of Essie Au Natural - it looks taupe in the bottle, but what it really is is silk stockings in polish form. My mother always says that "Ladies always wear stockings!" and this really embodies that. It looks clear - like bare legs - from a distance, but the tone is evened out and there's a little bit of a sheen to it...

I'll show you a good shot of this one of these days, but to be honest my nails can't bear the close-up right now! Suffice to say this is one of my favourite sheers - it never looks yellow (ick) or pink (just not in the mood sometimes). I highly recommend it!

kittytokaren

read more "Quick Silk Stockings - Essie Au Natural"

KleanColor Jewelry Red

I continue to shop my stash (and love the money I've been saving!!). I always thought that I had a very low untried count but if I'm honest with myself, I have tons of polish that I have swatched but never actually worn.

Enter KleanColor Jewelry Red: I cannot begin to tell you how these photos do not do this color justice. The depth of the golden shimmer is unmatched. Plus, you usually see darker reds with gorgeous deep, "lit from within" shimmer. Not bright fiery ones! So pleased with the color.




(2 coats)

However, I can't say enough bad things about the formula. It's quite terrible. It applied very well but the smell is unspeakable. Really. And it stained the hell out of my nails. I've never had staining this bad, this yellow. I wore this color for about 24 hours and that's all the time it needed to do damage.

The part I find most annoying is how this would not dry!! I wont bore you with the saga of getting this mani to be semi-presentable and dry enough that I could go about my day, but I will say that it was... involved. And it still was easily dentable hours and hours later. I have several KleanColors in my stash and I realize now that they just do not work for my lifestyle. Back when I was a student and I would laze about, swatching and having the freedom to do a couple manis a day, I never really noticed how bad KleanColors were (this is not the first KC I have tried that has refused to dry and smelled like death). But when I have to be off to work and look reasonably professional, I do not want to be worrying about being careful with my nails and, worse still, having a dented up, trashy looking mani.

Working girls, KleanColors are not for you.

read more "KleanColor Jewelry Red"