China Glaze Party Hearty

Party Hearty, like O.P.I.'s Absolutely Alice, was a polish that made a home for itself on my wish list, but wasn't something I'd ever expected to own. And like with Alice, I happened upon a blog sale at the right time. I'm not a lucky person, but sometimes it happens. Kind of like when I drop a box of dog treats on the ground and my dogs, after an initial second of surprise, dive like pigeons.  

It's not a unique or inventive glitter, and I certainly don't believe the eBay prices are justified, but it is a really lovely little bottle of Christmas that I still pick up and marvel at. The components just add up to something more than the sum of its parts. 

It's a clear base filled with medium-sized bright red hexes, small emerald glitters, and minuscule silvery-gold glitters. It looks a bit overwhelming in the bottle, but comes out surprisingly delicate on the first coat. Subsequent coats tend to gunk up and look clunky, so I'd recommend sticking to one. 

I've seen it over reds, greens, and golds, but I think the most flattering base for this polish is a sheer white. I'm using two coats of Funny Bunny, which I really need to get another bottle of; I've been wearing it pretty much all December. I can't get enough of it. I have frosted sugar cookie nails and I love it. 

China Glaze Getting to Gnaw You

Fall is joke this year. It's always late in coming where I live-Southern California isn't known for its festive weather-but it was 89 degrees in my living room yesterday. I take two cold showers a day to stave off sticky sweating. I do most of my errands in the evenings when I don't have to worry about 2nd degree burns from just sitting in my car. I run out of cool clothes 5 times as fast because I sweat through them till they're soaking. I can't cook a hot meal because it makes the whole house turn into an oven. And I'm really starting to resent it. Frankly, if you live in a climate that allows for blissfully chilly autumn days, and gorgeous leaf coloring, I kind of hate you. I hate you and your scarves and your riding boots and your hot drinks. You suck. Meanwhile I'm sweating to death amidst fucking palm trees and the sun hurts my eyes.

In addition to this, no matter how normal my nails look in these pictures, they're falling apart and I have no idea how long it will be before they are normal again. Six of my fingernails have become partially detached from my nail bed-I can only assume it's psoriasis-related, because I don't have any other symptoms that would indicate a chemical burn. It doesn't hurt, but I have to be very careful not to tear them, or get them caught on something-I don't doubt they'd completely tear off if I were careless. 

Halloween, right now anyway, seems pointless to me. It's too hot to even think about burning my scented candles or wearing sweaters, most of the people in my house are too ill to decorate or think about trick or treaters, and I'm obviously out of sorts. Right now, the only way I can think to mark the holiday is to wear Getting to Gnaw You.

I have to just say first that I hate the name. It makes me think about the song, and then it gets stuck in my head and I become even more annoyed and unreasonable than I am right now. But damn, it's a nice color. It's a dark, smoky jelly filled with small, coppery-orange glitters. Very Halloweeny. I did one thick coat over Essie Licorice. It dries down matte, so if you want it shiny, top coat is a must. 

I'll see how I'm feeling closer to Halloween. Who knows, my mood may change. But from where I'm standing right now, what's the point?

China Glaze Pinking Out the Window

Suddenly I want to flower all the things. 

I've been wearing a lot of pink and coral lately, and this one is fast becoming a favorite of mine; it's been on my nails most of May. 

Pinking Out the Window is a bright, cheerful carnation pink with just a drop of coral. It can look more pink or more coral depending on the lighting, and is not photographing as bright as it is in person. For whatever reason, it wants to photograph like a neon. 

Application isn't amazing, but it's not horrible. The first two coats are somewhat streaky, but a third seems to even everything out fairly well. 

I added some flower decals I bought at Daiso Japan. They're not the best quality, but they're so darn cute I just couldn't resist them. They came on a sheet with these cute little orange starfish that I'll try once I am in a blue mood.

The next manicure I show will be flowery as well. Bring them on!!!!

China Glaze Intelligence, Integrity & Courage

I really wish I'd been able to get more than three posts up this month, but it's been a busy one for me. My sister leaves tomorrow for Seattle, and apart from wrestling with my mixed emotions of envy and sadness, I've been culling a lot of polishes I don't wear for her to take up with her, as well as some of my less-used makeup. She's used to raiding my various beauty stashes and I want her to have what she uses most. I know at some point I'll be making my way up there, but until that day comes, I'll just have to ease my way along here as best I can alone. 

In addition to that, I'm moving bedrooms. I'll be taking her old room which in addition to having a very large built-in closet, is almost twice the size as the room I'm in now. I'm in desperate need of the extra space, especially since I'll be taking care of her dog until she and her boyfriend can find an apartment. 

Anyway, this polish sparked a lively debate in my house because no one could agree on what color it was. Some said grey, some said blue. I see more blue than grey, sister sees in more grey than blue. It's obviously both, but since it's my blog I'm going to say it's a soft silvery blue with heavy yellow-based grey undertones. I love these types of colors. It's soft, but interesting, and looks different in every light. 

This was three buttery coats. I love the consistency of China Glaze cremes, even if the brush isn't my favorite. It's long, skinny, a little floppy, and doesn't spread over the nail the way I'd like, but the excellent formula sort of meets the brush halfway and doesn't make painting the nightmare it could be. 

See you in February!

Christmas 2014: Polka Dot Gradient in Festive Colors!

How was everyone's Holiday? Mine was infinitely better than last year. I put our tree up, and me, my grandmother, my aunt, and my boyfriend spent a couple days putting all our decorations on it. It's gorgeous...I want to keep it up until at least January 6th! This year's Christmas season has been such a period of comfort and happiness for me. I'm also sitting on quite a lot of cash and gift cards, so I foresee some very happy shopping days ahead of me. 

Anyway, here's what I wore for Christmas Day. I saw it on a Holiday Peachy Polish post, and knew I had to do it. I used the same O.P.I. Funny Bunny base that she did, but for my cascading dots I used O.P.I. L.A,M.B. for the gold, O.P.I. This Gown Needs a Crown for the silver, China Glaze Phat Santa for the red, and M.A.C. Screening Room for the green. I think it turned out really well...I'm still wearing it, in fact. I just can't bring myself to remove it. 

I spent the 25th watching old Christmas movies with my family, eating food (I grossly overestimated the amount of treats and snacks we could all eat, and as a result we are STILL munching our way through the various cookies, cakes, pie, fudge, crackers, and cheese that I loaded up on), and enjoying our tree. 

Now I have to figure out what to wear on New Years...

Probably my favorite tree we've ever done.

Gratuitous blurry shot, cause it looks awesome.

China Glaze Pine-ing for Glitter

Finally some time to take some proper photographs! I've sort of forgotten how, but I did my best. Also, I apologize for my dry cuticles...my Zoya remover is running low so I've just been using straight acetone. Probably a bad idea in winter. 

I love this manicure so much, it reminds me of sparkly-frosted sugar cookies. Pine-ing for Glitter is different sizes of pine-green glitter in a clear base. It is also the most easily-spread glitter topper I've encountered. I did one coat over a Wet n Wild white creme and one coat of O.P.I. Funny Bunny (the Wet n Wild looked way too stark). 

China Glaze Emerald Sparkle

I spent last evening catching up on my Once Upon a Time, and since I think Zelena was an AH-MAZING villain, I wanted to wear something worthy of her. Rebecca Mader portrayed her so, so beautifully.

Emerald Sparkle is a pretty iconic polish, and although discontinued, the good version is still fairly easy to find on eBay. I was wild to get my hands on a bottle a couple years ago and ended up giving in to eBay; later that year I came across a HUGE cache of them at a swap meet...it took all my willpower to walk away with just two back up bottles. I wanted to buy six, but my best friend looked at me like I'd lost my mind, so I put them back. 

It is the blackened green version of Ruby Pumps. It's lots of vivid emerald micro-glitter suspended in a swampy, almost-black, green jelly base; it is wicked and magical. These types of micro-glitter jellies are a China Glaze specialty, but pictures never do them justice. It's deep and multi-layered in real life, and while it would look far more spectacular on long, pointed talons, I'm satisfied with how it makes my perpetual nubs sparkle (will I ever go more than two weeks without a nail break?). 

Of course it could double as a Christmas green, but I've got Zelena flying around in my brain, so it's a Wicked Witch green to me. 

This was three thin coats, plus top coat. I'm finally starting to get in the Halloween mood, so get ready for some appropriate manicures.

China Glaze Release

Oh my god guys, it's SEPTEMBER. The exciting precursor to that magical month of pumpkin spice everything, sweater weather, and extricating my fall/winter polishes from the overstuffed shoe boxes I have stacked in my closet. I may be stranded in Southern California, but you can bet I've got my boots and scarves on standby. One day I'll be living in the October Country with Ray Bradbury though; one glorious day. 

So let's start off this month with a color from China Glaze's Giver collection. I ended up buying 3 polishes from it, and am considering going back to Sally's for a fourth. The English teacher I had in the sixth grade assigned The Giver as required reading, and I ended up loving it so much that it launched my love of dystopian society novels. I'm SUPER eager to see the movie at some point this month, not only because I love the story, but I may or may not have a huge crush on Jeff Bridges. 

Anyway, here's Release. It's a lovely greyed-out taupe-y lavender, with a literally perfect formula. I used two coats. I'm normally a 3-coater by habit, but I just didn't need a third on this one.I added some little gold studs for some sparkle. 

I didn't notice this until now, but my thumbs look HUGE in these pictures...I promise I don't look like The Hitcher in real life. 0_0

China Glaze Get Outta My Space

Get Outta My Space is a softly linear holographic warm lavender. A lot of people disliked the newer China Glaze holographics because they weren't as strong as the older ones. By now you should know I'm a fan of subtle holos, so it's no surprise that I like this one. I need to wear more purple. 

This was three coats over Nfu Oh's Aqua Base, and one thin layer of European Secrets Rock top coat. It dulled the holo effect at first, but once dry it returned. I am beyond in love with the Rock top coat. It's on the expensive side (around $7) for me, but worth every penny. It makes imperfections and more importantly, bubbling, disappear. I can't say enough good things about it. 

4th of July 2014: Yet Another in a Long Line of Unfortunate 4th's.

Ah, hey there 4th. I hate you. 

I mentioned last year that the 4th of July and I don't really get along. Maybe not always the specific day, but the general time is just a low point in the year for me. Let's tally up what's going on, shall we?

1. Finally got my period after two and a half confused months, and I know this joke is soooo old, but the elevator doors in The Shining? Yeah.

2. We had to put Ripley into a special boarding facility because we can't foster her anymore and no one else at the rescue she is with can foster her either. And her adoption process is taking way longer than it should. 

3. She got loose during adoption day and was running around a major highway for at least an hour and a half, and when my boyfriend finally found her she'd torn up her pads somewhat. Not to the point where they were bleeding, but we had to put special ointment on them. 

Boyfriend ended up having to take her alone because I would have been crying the whole time, and I didn't want her to be nervous or scared. I really, really love that shy, skittish little dog. The facility is really nice, the dogs have free run of the place and an outside area to play in, and their own little runs, but we can't visit her. The owner said it isn't allowed unless it's someone looking to adopt her because otherwise if she saw us, she'd think she was going home. That made me cry even harder. I'm still constantly worrying about if they are being patient with her shyness (Boyfriend assures me they are) and if they know her special little ways. 

So anyway, my motivation to do a 4th of July manicure was low, but I'd just gotten China Glaze Dorothy Who? and the glitter was calling to me. Glitter generally has the ability to cheer me up. 

'Merica. Freedom. Yay.

I did three coats of Dorothy Who?, which is basically the blue version of Ruby Pumps with some silver glitter thrown in. Gorgeous and glittery and smooth. China Glaze needs to make a glitter like this in every color. Then I painted my ring and pinky with O.P.I. My Boyfriend Scales Walls and topped it with one coat of Hare Polish Married to the Monarchy. Last year I layered it over Big Apple Red, which was a mistake since the red glitters got lost in it. I like this pairing much better. 

I'm not wearing this for the 4th. I took these pictures yesterday and immediately took it off and put My Boyfriend Scales Walls back on, which is such an awesome grey-tinged white. Definitely keeping it on for a few days.

China Glaze Sand Dolla Make You Holla

Who's ready for another awesome/weird China Glaze? I haven't worn ChG in a while and this one just kept calling out to me. It's just as awesome as its teal sister. 

Sand Dolla Make You Holla (c'mon guys, it's snort-worthy) is a creamy, pink-tinged white base full of tiny, multi-colored glitters and the same salty/sandy texture particles as Teal the Tide Turns. It has that bizarre mix of creamy and translucent; it allows the glitters from previous coats to shine through and looks a lot like I've got Funfetti frosting spackled onto my nails. I want cake now.

This was 3 1/2 thin, careful coats. It's best to go slow with this one; it had a gooier(?) viscosity than Teal the Tide Turns, but I think it was worth it. I must again express my utter love for these cream texture China Glazes. They're so different from other textures, and while I love me some glittery and metallic texture polishes, these are just too unique to pass up. 

Various Polish Hauls of 2014 (Update: Flakie Goodness at the end!)

I really need to keep better track of my hauling. These are only the ones I've remembered to take pictures of:

left to right: China Glaze Sand Dolla Make You Holla, Tail Me Something, Teal the Tide Turns, & Wish on a Starfish.

left to right: Maybelline Coral Heat (Bleached Neons) & An Old Flame (incidentally, am wearing Teal the Tide Turns in photo)

Zoya Earth Day Haul: Stevie, Zara, Maya, Elodie, Rekha, Caitlin, Sooki, Bevin, & London.

Uninvited from the MAC Maleficent Collection (good lord, I wanted it ALL...am debating on whether or not to go back for the beauty powder)

left to right: O.P.I. Chillin' Like a Villain & Don't Touch My Tutu!

left to right: O.P.I. Hey Baby, I Sing in Color, & Love.Angel.Music.Baby.

left to right: A Study in Polish I Do Post-Mortems, L'Oreal In With the Nude, Red-y to Shine?, Essie Blanc (Chinchilly is next to it, and not included are Go Ginza and A Cut Above)

With everything happening in my life right now, these little polish hauls are one of the few things that remind me of that little thing called happy. Not the best way to deal with things, but I'm working with what I have. 

Also I have some super-pretty nails to share later. Or tomorrow. Depends on when it's not overcast anymore. Mind you, not complaining in the slightest; I'd rather have it be overcast and chilly than be dry-roasted alive in my own house.

EDIT: Well my nails were chip city today, so here's a photo I snapped of them last night:

You're looking at 1 coat of O.P.I...Eurso Euro and 1 generous coat of Color Club The Uptown. I had planned on wearing The Uptown over something a little lighter (You're Such a Budapest, for example), but I wasn't quite over wearing something dark on my nails. I'll definitely be sporting that manicure on here in the next couple days though. I don't wear flakies much, and oftentimes I find myself wrinkling my nose at them. But every so often the flakie mood will take me, and my eyes will end up glued to my nails for a few days.