Nail MADNESS Mondays - Julep "Angela"

I think I accrue Julep nail polishes the way some people save for retirement: slowly, until one day you look around and think "hot damn, that's a lotta stuff!".  Only in my case, it's not entirely as useful as a 401k, but hey, it's shiny?

... I just depressed myself with a metaphor.  MOVING ON.

This is Julep's "Angela", which I recently got in one of their surprise packs.  (The surprise pack was about 30.00 USD, and I got a bunch of stuff in it so I think this ended up being about 5.00 USD all told.)  It's a really pretty sort of peacocky blue that has greens in it when you move it around.  It's not fully holographic, but it's got microglitter out the wazoo.

There's only two layers on the swatch, no topcoat, indoor lighting.  This is absolutely something that I'll wear when I get around to it because dear god I have too much nail polish.

Do you subscribe to the Julep Maven program?  Do you trip over your polish horde sometimes?  Tell me stuff!

Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.  I am not affiliated with any retailers mentioned here.

Nail MADNESS Mondays - Chanel "Paparazzi"

Chanel nail polishes are kind of hit or miss for me.  I confess, I own Peridot, Black Pearl, and Graphite.  When Vamp came out?  I was first in line even though I was only sixteen.  When Metallic Vamp came out (which I wish they'd bring back FFS), I got two bottles of it and two lipsticks.  Because backups are important.

But those are their "offbeat" colors.  Most of Chanel's colors are kinda boring, IMHO, which is why when my mother gifted me a Chanel polish I hadn't been coveting, I was sort of ambivalent.  My instincts were dead on.

You'd think with a name like Paparazzi it would be more interesting, no?  But nope, it's a dusky rose with some microglitter in it.  Ho hum.

Nothing super interesting to see here.  I expect this will be one of the few Chanels I bust out for nail art.  Don't get me wrong, it's awesome to get expensive nail polish as a gift.  But on the other hand, Chanel needs to release another "must have" polish for this tightwad to fork out her own money.  (I don't know exactly how much Mom spent on this, but Chanel on their own website sell this color for 27.00 USD a bottle.)

What about you guys?  Do you spend money on "high end" polish, or are you strictly a drugstore fan?

Disclaimer: This product was gifted to me.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.  I am not affiliated with this company.

KoreaDepart Haul - Don't Shop While Stoned

Hello, reader.  You may be wondering where I've been!  I was doing quite consistent with the updates, then bam!  Nothing.  Well, I've been in and out of the hospital for the last two weeks.  It kind of sucked out loud.

I look about how I felt in that photo, man.  So, one night while I was waiting for the angel of death to take me, or sleep, whichever came first, I staggered onto KoreaDepart and started clicking.  The next day, I was vaguely aware of having ordered a sleep pack and some food, but that was about it.  Well, the box came today.  Let's see what I get while out of my gourd on Vicodin, shall we?

Oh.  I sure did get food.  I got two boxes of Lotte Duffe honey ginger cookies (1.52 each USD), two mozzarella chicken Spam Singles (1.99 each USD), one container of Ottogi spaghetti ramen (1.29 USD),  a box (15 count) of Ottogi sweet potato & mixed pumpkin tea (5.86 USD).

Beauty wise, I got The Saem's "Snail Trio #3 Lavender Sleeping Pack" (7.85 USD) and It's Skin Nail Styler Smoothie in GR01 (2.34 USD).  I haven't used the sleeping pack yet (it's noon as I write this), but I did sneek a whiff and oh, wow.  This is totally going to help me sleep.  The polish is a cute mint green crelly with  pink and blue glitter.

But can we dig how cute the packaging is on that sleeping pack?  Oh my gosh, you guys.

This was my first experience using KoreaDepart.  They're a bit different than most other South Korean resellers in that they charge you flat 25.00 USD shipping up front, and once the shipping weight is calculated, refund you the difference.  This also lets them default to more expedited shipping with tracking.  At first this irritated me, but I'm kind of okay with it now since I got this package in a week.  It was also carefully wrapped in bubble wrap, and I got about five samples.  I'll order from them again.

So, yes.  In case you were wondering where I was, I've been in the hospital and stoned hauling face masks and nail polish.  Here's hoping I can be more regular with updating seeing as I'm not dying anymore!

Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.  I am not affiliated with this seller.

Nail MADNESS - Pistachio Cream Puff Dreams

L'Oreal had a collection a while ago called Versailles Romance.  Now, I don't know about all of that, but I do know that they were pretty cremes and seemed really great for Spring.  So I snagged two of them, stuck 'em in my stash, and forgot about them.

Yeah, that's me.  Busting out the Spring polishes when it's almost friggin' June.  WHATEVER YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME.  Ahem.  Here's what I came up with!

The teal-y color is Pistachio Dreams, and the buff color is Cream Puff.  

As you can see, I've been digging huge ass nail charms too.  They're a fun way to dress up nails without being really good at dressing up nails.  The only downside is that they tend to come off if you're like me and dick around with 'em.  

I got these at Walgreens when they were having a BOGO 50% off sale, so I think I got these for 8 bucks total, USD.

Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

Nail MADNESS - The Face Shop GR501

The Face Shop is pretty much my favorite Asian makeup/skin company.  I'm a huge hippie who likes natural products in my skincare, and they're a great fit.  But what about their cosmetics?

Last July I bought a couple of nail polishes from the face shop, and only recently did I bother trying them out.  The nail polish I used is their color GR501 (augh, come up with names, darn it!) and I bought it for two bucks USD.  Yeah.  Two dollars.  I've spent more on a coffee than I did on this nail polish.  I figured - how good can it be?

It turns out it could be AMAZING.  I only needed two coats to get a pretty, summery teal color that's perfectly true to what you see in the bottle.  And I ended up wearing it for two weeks without any tip wear.  I wore my typical Orly Bonder basecoat and one coat of Seche Vite topcoat and wear time was a dream.

So if you're looking for some inexpensive nail polish and are lucky enough to have a Face Shop near you, snag some.  They may seem like a throw away compared to their skin care and BB Cream offerings, but I promise, they're made just as well as the rest of their products.

                       Disclaimer: This product was purchased by me.  No compensation was received. All opinions are my own. 

Nail MADNESS - Chanel June

Chanel's June is something I've owned since May of last year but never worn.  (I know, I'm terrible.)  My mom got it for me as a birthday gift as I'm a June baby, but for some reason I just went 'meh' and never wore it except with a skittles mani I did a while ago.  But it's been chilly in Houston and I decided I wanted to bring a little Spring to my nails.

The one thing I'll say about this polish is that it's hella sheer.  It's one of those polishes you'll need at least three coats on to cover up your nails, and even then, it's so streaky that you might want a fourth.  (Shown here is four coats on top of one coat of Orly Bonder base with one coat of Seche Vite on top.)  Furthermore, it's streaky as hell.  I have no idea what happened - Chanel polishes are usually way more pigmented, even the cremes - but this one is all HA HA HA EVERY BRUSH STROKE SHALL BE REVEALED and then twists its moustache at you.

So on some of my nails that pissed me off more than others, I layered a-England's She Walks In Beauty on top.

Now this, this I like.  It really plays up the lemon fleck in She Walks in Beauty, and just reminds me of mai tais and lounging by a pool.

Nail MADNESS - Entirely Unlike Tea

NerdLacquer is my favorite indie polish, hands down, bottom line.  Everything Amanda's ever put out is just gorgeous.  So when she disappeared out of the polishverse (yes that's a word I'm using, shut up), we all worried and fretted.  But fortunately for all of us, Amanda is coming back soonish according to her Google+ page.  So no, I'm not just taunting you with a NerdLacquer that you can never have.  

Entirely Unlike Tea is my favorite nail polish for an interview.  I've got loads of them coming up, and I want to wear something that says that I'm a professional lady but doesn't compromise my personal style.  So I bust out this.  It's a lovely milky tea nude with some silver and black glitter in it.  Not loads, just enough subtle sparkle that says "yeah, I'm wearing a nude, but it's a sassy ass nude".

Sassy ass nudes.  Here's hoping I get a job soon!  (And yes, I'll keep this polish in rotation, even when I do have a job and don't need to impress every day.)

Nail MADNESS - Fear or Desire

I don't own a lot of Essie polishes, if only because they're sort of boring for me.  Blah blah creme blah blah nude.  So when I saw Fear or Desire, I immediately thought two things.  1)  Oooh, orangey!  2)  What the hell is up with that name?  Seriously, I don't get it.  Which is it, Essie?  Which is it?

For me it's definitely desire; I love this color, I love how sunny it is, and I really want some sort of rum-based beverage when I see it.

Nail MADNESS - And the Moonbeams... / She Walks in Beauty

Goddamnit, A-England.  Every time you release a new nail polish, I have to buy it.  Don't you understand I've got bills and stuff?  Whyyyy must you do this to me?

The Heavenly Quotes collection is inspired by quotations from famous works, and apparently Adina, the lass behind A-England, is just as much of a lit dork as your humble author.  And the Moonbeams... is inspired by Shelly's poem Love's Philosophy.  It's a really light lemony base with glass-fleck glitter that makes it literally look like a moonbeam on a summery evening.

See! the mountains kiss high heaven,

And the waves clasp one another;

No sister flower would be forgiven,

If it disdained it's brother;

And the sunlight clasps the earth,

And the moonbeams kiss the sea;--

What are all these kissings worth,

If thou kiss not me?

Then there's She Walks in Beauty.  Inspired by Byron's poem of the same name, She Walks in Beauty has a gorgeous sheer rose gold base with rose gold glitter of varying sizes.  I can't wait to put this on top of a black or a dark color, but I just went ahead and put it on top of And the Moonbeams... so I could show you guys.

SHE walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that 's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

Nail MADNESS - Toxic Avenger

2012 shall forever be known in history for a lot of things.  In this little corner of the blogosphere (which is the stupidest made up word ever, but I don't know what else to call it), it shall be known as the year I discovered indie polishes.  Indie polishes are the reason I'm such a nail person today, hands down.  

And this is the polish that started it all: "Toxic Avenger" by Dollish Polish.

This is a duochrome, and as such, will look so much prettier in person than in photos.  Sometimes it's a swampy green like its namesake, and sometimes it's gorgeous gold.  Application is a dream - two coats and you're done.  This is after a week of wear, one coat of Orly Bonder as base and a coat of Seche Vite on the top.

Dolilsh Polish is available from her website (which is down at the time of this writing, but hopefully up by the time you read this), as well as at Llarowe and run between eight and ten USD.

What are you going to remember 2012 for?

Nail MADNESS - Topping Lane

I really like Nails Inc. as a company.  They're pretty reasonably priced, they've got great color payoff, and they're always trying to come out with new looks and stuff that's beyond just creme polishes.  One of the looks they've come out with recently is "Sprinkles", which is their lingo for a glitterbomb inside a creme.  Topping Lane is a pink creme with red, silver, and purple microglitter.

sephora.com

The glitter on these is far more subtle than the usual glitterbombs, partly because of the creme having really decent coverage.

These wear really nicely compared to other glitterbombs I have, I got seven days of wear out of this.  I used Orly's bonder basecoat, two coats of polish, then two coats of Seche Vite to get it smooth.  These are 9.50 USD and are only available at Sephora.com.

Nail MADNESS - My Very First Knockwurst

OPI and I have this jacked up love/hate relationship.  Some of their collections I MUST HAVE ALL OF THEM OH MY GOD BETTER GET BACKUPS and some of them, like their Germany collection, I kinda shrug at and don't get any of.  The only reason I bought MVFK is because I had a job interview at an insurance firm the next day and wanted something really conservative.  No glitter.  No pearl.  No holo.  I wanted a demure creme.  And that's just what I got.

It's a really pretty nude.  I bust it out when I'm too lazy to do much else, or when I want to impress someone who thinks I can't physically do demure.  I CAN SO.  I'M DEMURE OUT THE MOTHERFUCKIN' YING YANG, DO YOU SEE THIS NAIL POLISH?  

Nail MADNESS - Sticks and Stones Did It On 'Em

I suck at a lot of things: keeping my house clean, math, dating one person at a time, and keeping up with this blog.  I admit that being unemployed sort of made me ridiculously depressed, and it's just harder to blog when you're broke.  Now I've got a job and a goal in mind for my life (working towards going back to grad school is really doing wonders for my motivation), and it's time to start this back up.  Honestly, I'm really excited about it.  I've got loads of stuff I've never even used, and even if it's not new to me, it's new to you.

Today's a nail look (yes, I like nail polish, stfu) that's easier than it looks.  People keep asking me how I did it and when I tell them it's all about the top coat, they look at me like I'm high.  (I'm not anymore, promise!)

I give you: OPI's "Did It On 'Em" from the Nicki Minaj collection layered with Sticks and Stones from Ninja Polish.

"Did it On 'Em" is kind of a Shrek-esque green color that my mother shrieked at and flailed and ran away.  My mother's kind of a wuss, and I totally love this color.  But cremes bore me now, so I went ahead and upped the ante with a layer of Sticks And Stones by NinjaPolish.  I love how the green offsets the black and white and they just hang out and enhance each other, making everything pop in tandem and gorgeousness.  Wearing you forever, mani.

Now that I'm back I'm really going to try to stick to a Monday/Friday writing schedule; I need to learn that not every post has to be a 1500 word essay.  It's the English BA talking, not the blogger.

Nail MADNESS - Butter London "Wallis"

Here is Butter London's "Wallis".  I run out of good things to say about Butter London, I really do, but this one is particularly gorgeous.  My roommate says it's mostly gold, I say it's mostly green with gold shimmer, and the camera says we're both stupid and it's kind of greenygoldeytaupey.  It's pretty much impossible to take a photo that captures every aspect of this, but I certainly tried.

As always Orly Bonder basecoat, two layers of polish, Seche Vite topcoat.  This is after four days of wear.

Nail MADNESS - Butter London "All Hail the Queen"

Here are some proper pictures of All Hail the Queen.  It's a really pretty griegey taupey color and absolutely perfect for work.  I wore this to an interview and was totally comfortable with it.  All of these were taken in indoor light with flash.

 This is after five days of wear and they're holding on strong!  I used a coat of Orly Bonder with two ty topacoats of the polish (though it was pretty opaque after one coat, I like to do two because I suck at getting things perfect on one coat) followed by one coat of Seche Vite.

Nail MADNESS - Butter London Haul

I was lucky enough to get in on an amazing deal for the launch of Coterie, a site that's a bit like a Haute Look or Gilt - but just for beauty.  Skin care, makeup, nail care - it's all there.  For the launch, they offered a code that gave people 25.00 off their first order.  I got a pack of three Butter London polishes and a matte top coat for eleven bucks USD.  Considering these polishes sell for 16.00 USD each at my local Ulta, I was stoked.  Here's what I got!

From L t R: All Hail The Queen, West End Wonderland, Wallis, Matte Topcoat

Yes, I'm wearing All Hail The Queen in those pictures, but I'll have a proper review of it up on Monday for you guys.