In A State of Panda-Monium Pink

Do you remember the the little OPI Haul I got not that long ago? I finally got around to using the items I bought. My first time using the OPI base coat but I liked it. There was nothing not to like. Next came the the application of the Panda-monium Pink. Streaky, streaky, streaky. That is the first word, three words, that came to mind. So be forewarned this is not a one coat mani be prepared to get to know each nail up close and personal. Three coats made me happy enough to move on to my top coat. By this time it was pretty late and I was tired. Which logic should have told me to use the Drip Dry. Logic goes out the window at a certain time though so in my tiredness I told myself I would just sit there and let it dry. Of course I messed up my pinky nail and have some blanket marks, nothing a Konad won't fix though.

You can see from the pictures my lovely marks but I also want to point out that this polish is not one I would consider to be full on pink. It as some midpoint between pink and lavender. When I look at it I see both and in various lighting you may see it more one way than the other. I do think a coat of white polish should be applied under this. After 3 coats my nail lines are still quite visible. Perhaps applying the white polish beneath would help with the streakiness issue and you could get away with 2 coats of the Panda-monium Pink. Maybe an expert can chime in whether that would work or not.

Mini Wet N' Wild Haul

Can anyone say BOGO!!! Come on you can say it louder than that!!! Great, so the opportunity once again to try polishes out from a brand that I don't have any of. It isn't like I have never owned any Wet N' Wild polishes because I sure remember going to the Woolworth when I was a kid and picking up a 99 cent bottle every now and then. My how things have changed though. What an awesome selection at a price point that whether you love it or hate it you haven't broken the bank.

From left to right here are the polishes:
Psycho- from the Crystalic line
Heavy Metal- from the Crystalic line
Disturbia- from the Megalast line
Through the Grapevine- from the Megalast line
French White Creme- from the Wild Shine Line
Black Creme- from the Wild Shine Line
Caribbean Frost- from the Wild Shine Line
Blazed- from the Wild Shine Line

I can't wait to try these out. I know there are a couple of other lines that Wet N Wild has but unfortunately the store I was in did not carry them. No need to be greedy though. This is a good collection to for some pretty manis. Stay tuned for swatches.

Beauty Secrets Acetone Polish Remover

As with anything else I know all polish removers are not created equal. Since my venture into the polishing world I have not taken the leap into any of the higher end removers. For some reason I would rather put all my money into the polish instead of the remover but I know a good remover is a staple for any polish addict. Something as basic as polish remover is actually quite integral to the whole polishing experience and can make or break it.

I have tried many of the drugstore brands but on a recommendation picked up this Beauty Secrets Acetone remover from Sally's Beauty Supply. The 8 oz. bottle was $1.99 so not pricey at all. I did cop this 32 oz. bottle for $4.99 on sale. I have used Beauty Secrets almost exclusively for over a month now and will say it definitely a step up from your basic store brand and Cutex as well. There is no harsh smell and the scent reminds me of a sweet piece of candy. It actually smells good. I noticed that removing polish didn't require as much scrubbing as the other low end brands which meant a quicker removal process. Even with some of the glitters that can be quite painful to remove it was still a step up. Some of the other removers I have used seemed like a was rubbing water on my nails.

All in all if you are looking to remain cost effective in your polishing adventures I would recommend this remover. Maybe in about 5 or 6 months or how ever long it takes for me to finish this mega bottle I will splurge on a brand name polish remover and see how it compares. For now I have a lot of polishing and removing to do before I get there.

So what polish remover do you think I should try next?

Happy Earth Day- A Little Earth Day Marbling

What I had in mind here for Earth Day was colors that look like a map. Blue, green, brown, maybe a little white as if you are looking at Earth from outer space.

I wanted to get this post up on Earth Day so I only have a few sample pics. Once I get all of the pics uploaded I will share the rest and the details.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!

FHI Dud...A Little Irked

This really bothers me. Why would a store sell an item it knows it is defective. Over the weekend I went to BeautyFirst to pick up an FHI flat iron. The girl told me they had one left with adjustable heat settings so I told her I was coming to get it. The box was a little beat up but I have seen that before with items on the shelf. Anyhow when I got home and plugged it up to use it my daughter looked at it and said, "Is this supposed to be like this?" The flat iron would not close completely. I looked and tried to be optimistic but there was no way around it something was definitely amiss.

Online research didn't yield any results about this defect so I contacted FHI via the webform on their site but decided to call as well. I explained the situation and the lady said it should NOT be like that and to take it back. This store better not give me any issues returning this. I am kind of irked because I used a 20% coupon to buy it so hopefully if they have another model I want they will give me the 20% off.

This is just such a pain in the you know what more than anything. I desparately need a new flat iron and since my kids now have relaxers and I flat iron their hair it is very important that I get a quality tool that will keep their hair healthy.

Sorry for the rant I just needed to vent once again

OPI Mini Haul

Beautyfirst was having a sale where you can get an OPI Base Coat, Top Coat, color of your choice and drying drops for $20.40. That is a steal considering the retail price of $8.50 per bottle for the polishes and and I think the tag on the drying drops said $12.50. I already use OPI Top Coat and it works well (better than the Seche Vite IMO), was in the market for a new Base Coat and have been wanting to try drying drops so this sale came at the perfect time. Recently I have been on the prowl for the perfect lavender/lilac polish so I chose Panda-monium Pink. Even though the name says pink it seems to have a nice tinge of lilac so I'll give it a shot.

I Will Have a Pet One Day...

Pets take such time and responsibility (and patience), none of which I have right now. With my children's activities and work it would not be fair for me to even entertain getting a cat or dog at this point. One day I will get a puppy and a kitten. I do love cats and dogs. When I was growing up we had cats so it isn't like I have never ever had a pet, it has just been a really long time. To satisfy me pet cravings I always spoil other peoples cats and dogs. My cousin has 2 cats and 2 dogs. They are so well behaved it makes it easy to spoil them rotten.

Simba & Tommy

Tommy is the sweetest cat ever. This cat will just come rub against you and hop in your lap. No biting and he reaches his paw out and kind of taps you as if to say "pet me please." Simba keeps to himself pretty much but if you meow at him he will meow back and have a little converstation with you.

I didn't get a good picture of CJ, one of her dogs. CJ will hop right in your lap and sit there forever. She likes to be all up in your face and trys to give "kisses." I am not one for mouth to mouth contact with dogs so if I just gently push his face away he is fine. As long as I keep petting him he is happy. Marley won't stay in your lap as long as CJ but she is a sweetie as well.

Marley

Aren't they so sweet. I can't wait until the day I have my own cat(s) and dog(s) but until then I'll keep spoiling everybody elses.

Sally Hansen Marine Scene

Yet another Sally Hansen X-Tremewear polish. Marine Scene is very pretty blue that as I look at the pictures, makes me want to be in the ocean. I don't have them all of the XTremewear polishes but I do have a good number of them. They did have a price drop at Walmart where they were only $2.00 down from $2.50. The other day when I checked the price has gone back up but to $3.00. Still not a bad price but $2.00 was a steal in my book.

How Moody Am I?

I got this fun batch of polishes from Claire's a few weeks back. Unfortunately I did not take pictures when I wore them because they chipped pretty quickly. These are the fun series of mood changing polishes. There is actually one more that I wish I gotten instead of getting the Funky/Fabulous bottle.

These polishes work. I could see the polish changing. I know I am moody so I didn't need the polish to tell me that. At least it was fun to see though.

Strange How Things Come Full Circle

Last Friday I posted about giving blood. Little did I know that the very same day a relative of mine got a blood transfusion for a medical emergency. I know she did not get my blood but it really hit home the importance of donating your blood if you can. I am happy to say that my relative is fine but there are so many what if scenarios in my mind. The biggest being: What if there was no blood available to do a transfusion?

I will continue you do my part to try and make sure that is never an issue. Please do your part as well.

I Had the Blues

Here is a quick swatch of 3 of the darker blues I have in my colllection. I like each one so if it came down to me choosing one to wear I think I would just close my eyes and pick. Actually that is not true. Since I have only swatched Skin Tight Denim and Midnight Affair it would only be fair to take one of them for the full test drive.

We have Zoya Ibiza, Revlon Midnight Affair and NYC Skin Tight Denim. The bottles are lined up with the nail it is on in the second picture.

Which do you like best? What is your favorite dark blue polish?

I GAVE TODAY!!

I am happy to say that I went and gave blood today. It has been since before my kids that I have given but hopefully this will start me back to a regular donation schedule.

Of course it seemed like it took forever but part of it was my fault. If you have never given blood before they ask you a bunch of questions one of which is if you have been out of the United States or Canada in the last year. Me with my horrible memory says yes I went to Mexico last summer. The tech asked for where in Mexico and they couldn't find Riviera Maya in their database. So they had to make a phone call and the interrogation was about to start. "What airport? How did you get to the hotel?" I called my hubby while they were still looking in the database and come to find out it was 2008 that we went. That was a 10 minute waste of time.

Then the girl who did me othewise known as the phlebotomist was new. I could tell but I relaxed. She was slow more than anything, double checking each of her steps meticulously, which was fine with me. She called in help when she needed it and the blood drainage process went smoothly and I was out the door.

I guess that is what I get for waiting so long. The plan is to donate every 8 weeks. I just wish I could track where my blood goes. It would be interesting to find out who has it.

Oldie But Goodie

I have no idea when I bought this polish but it was ages ago. Once I started going through what was goopy, old, and unusable this one surprised me. I thought that since this was so old it went in the toss pile but after prying the top off it seemed to be fine. Back to my stash it went but of course it sat there for ages because I had so many new polishes to play with. Fast forward to some random Friday night where I decided to swatch some polishes.

MAGNIFICENT!!! I don't even remember this polish from years ago but it is great. In light you can see the purple undertone. The flash picture shows a pretty drastic representation of the purple. On a typical sunny day it looks like the pictures with no flash.

I wonder if I can Konad this this with another color and what color would go well with this. Trial and error baby. That is what polish remover is made for.

UPDATE 4/9/10-- Duh, it would help if I put the brand and the name. CoverGirl NailSlicks in Midnight Forest.

I Blue Myself Away With M36

I hate naming my blog posts. They are all corny but whatever. With this mani I did something a little different from my norm and did a different stamp on each nail. That is out of my typical bubble but I really like the way it turned out.

For the base coat I used Sally Hansen Blue Me Away!. It is such a fun bright blue and reminds me of a nice Spring-y blue. The design was also done with another Sally Hansen XTremewear polish, Mellow Yellow. All the designs are from plate M36.

Please excuse my hangnails. They plague me like no other and I don't know what to do to keep them away. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Ruffian Attempt-- FAIL!!

Nothing beats a failure like a try. Right? Please agree with me. I saw a few "Ruffian" manis on blogs and decided to give it a shot. Doing anything freehand without a guide proves to be quite challenging for me but over time and and a lot more attempts I hope something halfway decent can be produced. Don't shoot me for the colors I chose which is part of the reason for this epic disaster. This is Zoya Tangy (light) and Veruschka (dark).

The concept is a french manicure rotated 180 degrees. The thin line goes down by the base of your nail instead of at the tip. I have seen some very pretty ones this one just doesn't fall into that category. I promised to be honest and post my screw ups as well. All is not always perfect in the world of manicures and I am surely still learning.

Gosh, my hands look like I am 80 years old. YIKES!!

Green Leopard..Why Not

The base color I used for this mani is Orly Green With Envy. Love this color and can't say enough about it. It is the only Orly polish I have but I want some more. Here a couple of shots. I always go back to the M57 plate and may have even done this mani before but my memory isn't the greatest.

Happy April Fool's Day!!

Today is the day of pranks and looking back through my life I can't remember any pranks that were pulled on April Fool's Day. Either my life is that boring or my memory is just that bad (I am pretty sure it is the latter). When I went to do my first Google search this morning instead of Google I saw Topeka. Huh? I know they change the picture for different things and it is usually obvious what it is but it was not obvious to me today so I went to check it out. Once I started reading the explanation and had a WTH go through my mind it finally dawned on me that it is April Fool's Day. They got me. I am I usually so gullible, I hope not. Anyhow HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY and may all of your pranks be safe ones.

My kids haven't done anything to me yet and I am hoping they don't!!!