Sephora by O.P.I. Under My Trenchcoat

I took these pictures a little late in the day so the polish looks a little greener than it is in real life.

Under My Trenchcoat has a putty/beige base filled with very pretty toned-down shimmer that can look gold or silver, depending on the light. The third photo down shows the silvery qualities, while the rest of them flash gold. It’s a really nice neutral.

Feeling headache-y and tired, so nothing else today. Till next time.

butter LONDON All Hail the Queen

It’s been a tough couple of days. My grandpa was in the hospital for the last two days and although nothing was seriously wrong, his age combined with my precarious mental state and the fact that I have no coping skills to deal with situations like that flung me into a sort of mini-freak out. I couldn’t do anything except hide in my room with the lights out, and cry. I felt horribly alone, yet I didn’t want anyone near me. He’s home now so I’m relieved, but my stomach keeps clenching. I thought polish would take my mind off things. It didn’t.

All Hail the Queen (or All Hail McQueen) is one of my favorite bL’s. It’s a lot of things: office appropriate, chic, toned down, and stylish. You could wear it for literally any occasion. It’s a gorgeous brownish-taupe that turns butterscotch in the sunlight. It has a bright pink shimmer cast that my camera was unable to capture (I think it’s more prominent in the bottle than it is on the nail), as well as a subtle holographic shimmer. The holo is definitely not linear, but rather speckled and flashes noticeably in the sun, and is much more toned down but visible in artificial light.

Formula was much better than Jaffa. It was smooth, thin, and went exactly where I put it. It was also surprisingly glossy on its own, I probably didn’t even need to apply top coat.

3 coats of All Hail the Queen, with Grand Central Station on top.

Essie Armed and Ready

This is the first manicure I’ve done in about three weeks that hasn’t either bubbled up like pizza crust or just melted off my fingers. It has been so flippin’ hot…Satan’s ass crack could not be hotter than it has been for the last three weeks.

Thankfully we seem to have hit a *sort of* lull in the life-sucking weather. It’s still as hot as ever, but there’s a bit of a breeze. So I snagged the opportunity to put on a polish I’ve wanted to wear for a very long time.

Armed and Ready is recent one (I want to say last year?) and I liked it because I thought it looked like Rescue Beauty Lounge Piu Mosso’s charcoal sister. It’s got a dark, pigmented base with the same coppery-gold shimmer that is shy, but not invisible. I’ve heard people call the base swampy green, but I firmly believe it’s a deep, warm charcoal. The copper and gold shimmer gives it a greenish cast, however.

I could have gotten away with one coat, it’s that pigmented, but I thought two would bring out the richness of the shimmer more. It was a bit thick and runny, and I got a tiny bit of pooling on one nail, but otherwise it was a joy to apply. Rich, pigmented, and went exactly where I put it.

Hurrah for the first manicure of “autumn”!

China Glaze Stellar

Sorry for showing my left hand today, my right thumbnail sustained a really, reeeeeallly bad break.

I can never decide whether or not I like Stellar. In theory I should-it’s got several things I really like in a polish: it’s a lovely butterscotch taupe, there are gold and silver glitters that sparkle like mad, and the formula is divine. But whenever I see it in the bottle, or on my nail, I hesitate.

I dunno…I feel like it has something to do with the glitter. Just when I’m sure it’s predominantly silver, it flashes gold. And when I want it to look warm and gold, it turns distinctly cool and silver. And the heaviness and coarseness of the glitter is a bit off putting. With a China Glaze glitter like Ruby Pumps, the larger glitter bits look wonderful-they catch the light and sparkle and look like the ruby slippers. But with something this neutral and subtle, I feel that maybe a more toned down glitter would have looked better.

This was three coats. And even though it is a very smooth glitter (no topcoat eating, I really love that about China Glaze glitters) I opted for Gelous as a topcoat rather than my beloved Grand Central Station.

Essie Bahama Mama (and something really beautiful!)

For whatever reason, berries and red-purples seem to be calling my name lately. I don’t own a lot because I don’t often reach for them, but I predict that this fall and winter I’ll be wearing them quite a bit.

Bahama Mama is a berry-ish, wine purple-red. I’m never good with describing colors like these :/. It reminds me a bit of M.A.C. Dark Angel, but I’m not sure how close they are in terms of color. I’ll have to do a side by side to compare.

The formula was your standard creme/jelly hybrid, nice and smooth, but a bit streaky on the first coat. I was a little overzealous in my painting and got some bubbles, but that wasn’t the fault of the polish. Just my impatience.

This was 3 coats with Grand Central Station. And I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of my jewelry family-a gorgeous little silver and gold flower from Scape. They’re based in Edinburgh, and even though I’m not a huge fan of silver, this little ring stole my heart. I can’t tell you how much I love it.

Sephora by O.P.I. Read My Palm

Sorry for the mini-break. It was a combination of camera problems and not really having the heart to polish. I’d been growing my nails out and they got quite long, so of course I had another break. No matter what I do my nails just seem to stay weak and peel-y. Ah well. At least they grow fast.

Read My Palm is a polish I picked up when I found out Sephora was discontinuing their O.P.I. line. I ordered about nine colors I’d had on my wishlist and while some turned out to be duds and will never, ever be shown here (IM Beauty and my skin tone had an all-out war), quite a few look lovely.

In the pictures, Read My Palm looks quite similar to Ciate’s Apples and Custard, but I don’t think they’re quite dupes. Apples and Custard is much more opaque, and it’s slightly dustier. But if you can’t get your hands on it, I’d say Read My Palm is an acceptable substitute.

This was 3 coats with Grand Central Station. The formula was smooth, thin, and buttery, and was a joy to apply. Every S.O.P.I. I own has that same smooth formula, it’s too bad they’re being discontinued. I believe they’re still on the Sephora website for $4.50.

Essie Maximillian Strasse-her & Misa Dance Fever

I could have gone on wearing Mrs. O’Leary’s BBQ much longer, but I figured I’d better get some select bright colors on here before I bring out my fall polishes proper. So of course I pick a muted color. What can I say, I’m a creature of habit.

I guess this is what the kids call a color block mani. I quite like it, it’s fun.

3 coats of each, a coat of Gelous over Dance Fever, and NYC on top of everything. Dance Fever is the most well-behaved glitter I’ve ever met.

O.P.I. Mrs. O’Leary’s BBQ

Guys, I’m so sick of summer. So, so sick of it. I’m tired of the sunshine and the heat, and I’m tired of neon colors and wearing flip flops. I used to be stupid and make all sorts of grand summer plans that always came to nothing. No more futile attempts to coordinate a trip to a museum, no more wasted paper making lists of summer goals like taking a mini road trip or learning a language. I hide in my room until it cools off enough for me to actually wear real clothes again.

So to protest this awful summer thing, I’m cracking out a fall polish that I just couldn’t wait to put on.

Mrs. O’Leary’s BBQ, while perhaps not aptly named (that kind of naming really takes a set, O.P.I. I almost want to commend you), is a gorgeous, purple-brown, barbecue sauce burgundy color. The formula is buttery smooth and easy to apply, it’s shiny without top coat, and good lord is it sophisticated and vampy. It puts me in mind of chunky fall sweaters, orange and yellow leaves, and cozy autumn evenings with hot cider.

While it loses some of its purple qualities indoors, it still maintains a lovely dark red-brown color. When in the sun, the purple really comes out to play. I think maybe on deeper skin tones, the purple comes out more.


This was three easy coats with NYC top coat.

Hurry up, autumn!

Illamasqua Raindrops

Do you see the magic I have on my fingers? This, my fellow nail polish nuts, is something I’ve been wanting a very, very long time. When it first came out I wasn’t impressed. I rarely am with new nail colors, which is why I’ve learned the hard way NEVER to trust my first impressions (people are a different story, however).

So by the time I realized what a beauty it was, it became discontinued. And I wasn’t about to pay eBay prices. So I pined and grieved, and eventually moved on.

Fast forward to the end of last year when Illamasqua announced they were bringing it back, and I was happier than a witch in a broom factory (yeah, I said it). So why did I wait until July to buy it?

I yo-yo-ed about whether or not I really needed it. I ALWAYS do this. It took me well over a year to decide to buy DL’s Boom Boom Pow. I must be making progress though, since it only took five months for me to bite the bullet this time.

Raindrops is the most gorgeous soft grey jelly, with silvery flakes. It is definitely grey, but there are certain lights where just a hint of grey-blue can be seen. The flakes give it an ethereal quality that really does remind me of rain drops flecked against a window. It’s very feminine and sophisticated.

This was three coats with NYC top coat.

China Glaze Ahoy!

This polish is out of my manicure comfort zone. I’d bought it to use on my toes, but I figured I ought to see if I like it as well on fingers. I don’t.

Ahoy! is a deep raspberry glass fleck with subtle microshimmer. I see gold, electric purple, and even some flashes of green in certain lights.

The formula was great, no problems with bubbling and it dried quickly, like most of my China Glazes.