Revlon Parfumerie Autumn Spice

I thought October would never get here. I've been waiting for it since February; it's my favorite month. Good things happen to me in October-spending time with my bff roasting pumpkin seeds and watching terrible horror movies on Netflix, reading Dracula and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow late at night and enjoying what little color change occurs where I live. So it stands to reason that the first day of this fabulous month is a day of grumpiness, fatigue, and general malaise. I hate everything right now.

Still, gotta keep up appearances. I thought I'd crack out some nice, autumnal polishes, and Autumn Spice is as good as any. It's got a rich, warm brown base, and is full of bronze, gold, and green shimmer. There is also a pink shimmer cast that I was unable to capture on camera, but really adds depth to the polish.

The scent is really nice; it's sort of a warm, buttery, spicy-sweet smell. It makes me want cinnamon rolls.

You could get this opaque in one coat if you used a medium-thick layer, but I did two thin layers and it was more than enough. I also made the mistake of using an old NYC Grand Central Station top coat that was VERY thick and gooey, so I have some shrinkage on my thumb.

Zoya London

To the small few who read this blog, sorry for the hiatus. September has been a weird month for me. I've been in a sort of meditative state for most of it, and haven't felt the need to paint my nails. There have been some definite positive changes, namely my grandmother's increasing mobility, and something inside me has been telling me to slow down and just enjoy each day-even if the day is bad. There are a lot of things that will be happening soon; my best friend is getting married on the 6th and I've been asked to be witness, etc. Then some October birthdays to plan for (bestie again, and my godson), and I'm beginning to research teaching programs. 

Yes, ladies and gentlemen; after many long years of confusion about what I want to dedicate my life to, I have finally figured out that I want to teach. Ideally, I'd go in for between kindergarten and second grade; I love children and I feel that they're really the most fun during those years. I vividly remember my second grade teacher, and she was an incredibly caring and nurturing woman, and if I could be half the teacher she is/was, I would consider myself very fortunate.

Anyway.

I've actually enjoyed having bare nails, but I found London while I was *trying* to organize my poorly stored polish, and couldn't resist putting it on. It's a lovely, sparkly, medium grey texture with a classic Zoya formula. Three thin coats, sans top coat, and I was good to go. It is my humble opinion that Zoya textures are the best out there. 

Oh. And it's also fall. Excuse me while I go do some muppet-style freaking out. 

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

Anna Gorelova by Dance Legend Lebedushka

 Say hi to one of my first Dance Legends! This is one of the prettiest blues I've ever seen; I saw swatches of it on lovevarnish.com (those girls make nail polish look amazing) and in five minutes I was on Llarowe ordering a couple. Here's Lebedushka (Swan Princess):

Lebedushka is a very, very pale, watery blue with gold-green sugary sparkle. It's a texture, but only just. You could get this glassy and smooth with a coat of top coat very easily. The overall effect reminds me of a mid-day sun sparkling on a tropical ocean. Beautiful and summery. 

Be warned, it is quite sheer, so I layered two coats of it over a couple coats of Essie Find Me an Oasis. It's the lightest blue I own, so it didn't affect the tone of Lebedushka. 

Lebedushka's formula was wonderful; the consistency was perfect, and although the brush was on the fluffy side, it didn't affect my polishing. 

P.S. How freaking cute is the bottle!? Lookit that little owl, all cute and chubby!!! Hands down, the most adorable logo ever.

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. 

O.P.I. Absolutely Alice

Absolutely Alice is a polish I never thought I'd own. Really. I'd Google it every so often and stare jealously and hate myself for not buying it when I had the chance. The cheapest I could find it online was around $30. There was no way I'd ever pay that without physically crying, so I held off and pined. 

It was sheer dumb luck that I stumbled upon an unopened bottle on a blog sale. I'd never bought from a blog sale before because I've always been a little intimidated by them, but in less than a minute I'd emailed the owner of the blog and hoped to God it wasn't already spoken for. Needless to say, I squealed (actually squealed) when she emailed back and said it wasn't. And that's not the best part...I paid all of $16 for it. I was so stinkin' pleased with myself. 

If you don't own this polish, I am so sorry. I really am. Here I am smooshing it in your face. But things like this don't happen to me very often. It is available on eBay and Amazon, but for a horrendous price. Or maybe not; I mean, Louboutin is making a polish that is $50...and that's just for a red creme. So I guess it depends on what your definition of horrendous is. 

If you do own this polish, you'll know what I mean when I say pictures do not do it justice one bit. No matter how good the camera is, or the photographer, I've never seen a picture that's been able to capture the subtle nuances of this polish. It's way more than just a blue glitter with gold interspersed throughout. It's freaking poetry. 

Two coats was more than enough to fully cover my nails, and clean up was fairly minimal (I don't know why but my hand is steadier with glitters than any other finish). It inhales top coat though. In order for me to get a somewhat glassy finish, I had to apply around 4 coats of top coat. I don't mind though, it makes removal easier: when I'm ready I just peel it off. Not great for my nails, but it beats scrubbing for hours. 

Please don't hate me for posting this, it was too pretty not to share.

O Captain! My Captain! Rest in Peace Robin Williams.

I was going to put together a green manicure for today, but what I feel goes far beyond what a green ribbon can represent.

Yesterday the world lost one of the greatest actors of all time. I've never been affected by celebrity deaths, but he was different. In addition to being in several of my favorite childhood movies (I maintain that Hook is one of the top ten best movies of all time), he was very open about his struggle with mental illness and addiction. And as someone who deals with mental illness every single day, the fact that this man could be so open about his gave me infinite hope and comfort.

With a combination of medication and therapy, I'm able to keep my head above water for the most part. 12 years ago I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression (also known as major depression), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and Panic Disorder. Unfortunately the Panic Disorder wasn't caught early, so I also suffer from periods of agoraphobia (fear of being in places that might cause panic attacks; often I will go through periods where I won't leave my house). I have spent some time in a mental hospital.

Some days are easy. Other days are a struggle from the moment I open my eyes. Major life changes are a nightmare for me to deal with, even happy ones. When I graduated from college last year, instead of being excited and happy at the prospect of diving into a career and starting out on my own, I spent almost two months in bed with the lights off, alternating between horrifying panic attacks that felt like my heart was burning a hole through my chest, and listless bouts of depression where I couldn't find a feeling inside me. And all because of a disease that doesn't allow my brain to function like other brains.

There's a stigma that's attached to mental illness. Because no one can see it, people assume it's not there. Some even think you're faking it. When you do admit to having depression, or bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, you are immediately treated differently. The word 'crazy' is thrown around so loosely, and people often forget that those who suffer are still people, and therefore deserve all the respect and dignity afforded to everyone else. It's hard to navigate a world that is so archaic in its concept of people with mental illness.

And that's why I'm so affected by Robin Williams' death. He fought so long and so hard, and to learn that he succumbed to his mental illness was a devastating blow. I remember him as the hilarious last guest on Johnny Carson, I remember him as Mrs. Doubtfire, as Peter Pan, as the Genie in Aladdin. Dead Poets Society was my favorite movie in high school. That guy was my childhood. So this is dedicated to him, and I'll always keep fighting, not only in his honor, but for myself, and for everyone out there who suffers silently.

source

"You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." 

Robin Williams [July 29, 1951-August 11, 2014] 

Jenna Hipp Look Hot Feel Cool

I'm so happy it's August. That means it's only two months till October, and everyone knows October is the best freaking month ever. Just knowing that fall is on the way gives me a little hope; this summer has been such a struggle. 

To celebrate the end of the horrendous season of summer, have a summer manicure! I've got a ton of polishes lined up that I want to wear before I bring out my fall/winter shades (yes, I am that anal retentive); here's the first. 

Look Hot Feel Cool is from the What's Hot Now collection. My bff bought me the set from Costco for my birthday last year; I was so overwhelmed and depressed from everything that happened that the polishes didn't really register until well into the following spring. I used the pastels in my disastrous Easter mani. The pastels were streaky, but with some TLC I managed to make them behave. Look Hot Feel Cool was a much easier formula to work with. 

It's a rich, shimmery teal that can look straight-up emerald in some lights. I have nothing like it (although that's not really a surprise since green and I don't always get along). This was three coats, though two would have been more than sufficient. I just have a three-coat problem. 

It dries to a rubbery finish, so if you like shiny nails, top coat is required. It photographed a bit brighter than it is in real life, but the intensity is still there. Even in the shade, this color is luminous. 

Essie Fashion Playground

I've been flat on my back for the better part of four days with a serious neck complaint. I don't know if I've sprained a muscle or if a disc slipped out of place again. Today is the first day I've felt coherent enough to paint my nails. 

Fashion Playground is a bright, delicate pistachio pudding color with subtle, silvery shimmer. I'm normally not a fan of green on me, but it's soft enough that it doesn't make my complexion look ruddy. 3 coats with top coat. I was really impressed with the formula. 

O.P.I. DS Coronation

Today is a day for a holo, and I've been sitting on a really pretty one since I bought it back in February. The Korean market I like to frequent also has a makeup and skincare section, and a big rack of random O.P.I. polishes. I snapped up Coronation, along with a red and the Liquid Sand from the Oz collection. 

I read that people weren't very happy with Coronation when it came out in 2011. I guess holo ingredients were short then, and people really wanted those IN-YO-FACE holos. However, I'm a fan. I like my holos to be a bit soft around the edges, not blindingly linear. Coronation has a steely silver base, and a very mellow linear holo effect. It's perfect. 

The overall effect is rougher than butter LONDON Dodgy Barnett, which is the only other silver holo I have (I don't count Nfu Oh's #61 since I got one of the bum bottles), and definitely rougher than the Sally Hansen Nail Prisms (my very favorite holos to date-I used up bottles and bottles of those). 

*EDIT* I forgot I have Urban Outfitter's Silver Holo. It is MUCH more linear than either Dodgy Barnett or DS Coronation. 

It is sheer, however. I used four thin coats over Nfu Oh's aqua base to eliminate all the little bald spots. The effort is worth it though, when you see it in sunlight. Just lovely.