butter LONDON Marrow... and insomnia. :(

Yes, it's 2:44 am and I'm posting. Because I'm not sleeping, so might as well, no?

Look! My cuticles are getting better! I'm on vacation for a week, so hopefully between some moisture and not having to wash my hands so much, they can start looking decent again.

Marrow is wonderful. A bright, warm, shimmery purple. I had to use a flash for the photo, but you can see the very subtle silver shimmer if you embiggen. The color in that photo is a prefect representation as well. I used 2 thinner coats and like the look of it better than with the thick coats I used for British Racing Green. It flows like... wait for it... butter! (Forgive the corniness, I'm incredibly tired) I also used Poshe topcoat and have liked it a lot. Maybe I won't swap it out after all.

I went on a coupon spree at Meijer. I think this coupon business may be more work that its worth, but will give it a shot. I snagged Sally Hansen cuticle oil pen and Hard as Wraps. Looks like it can be used as a basecoat. I'm super excited to see if it really stops peeling nails. Of course, I'll let you know what I think.

Gonna go try this sleep thing again. Night, folks!

butter LONDON British Racing Green

I love this polish! As I said in the last post, just seeing how OCD/meticulous the shipping box was taped made me want to love the contents, and they did not disappoint.

I painted my fingernails with British Racing Green and my toenails with Marrow as I couldn't decide which to do first. Then, this morning, I broke a nail. This screws the whole manicure for me, so I'm going to take it off and paint Marrow on my tips. I'm so damn fickle. :) Actually, I know that if my polish gets blemished, I'll start picking. My cuticles are destroyed enough as it is. I need no encouragement.

One thing I didn't notice when I was looking at swatches of BRG was the shimmer. It's pretty obvious in the light and gives this color a glowy look. I also really like this look of the very dark green against my paler than pale skin. However, I'm not as pale as that picture would lead you to believe. It captures the color of the polish very accurately though.

Application was great. I really like the brush in these polishes. This is 2 pretty thick coats, as I am wont to do. Will try thinner ones with Marrow just to see how it goes.

Also, dear readers (are you out there?), I will be needing new topcoat soon. My Seche Vite is about half full, and getting thick. Will lacquer thinner ruin it? What topcoat would you recommend? I've used Poshe and wasn't wowed at all. (In fact, let me know if you want it, and we can swap something) I love the thickness of Seche Vite and the way it evens things up. Debating refilling it or trying something else. Wisdom is much welcomed.

Oh, I am a sucker for packaging!

I arrived home today to find this perfectly square box on my doorstep. The tape was perfectly, ocd-ly mitered as I always try to make mine when I mail a package. (sigh!) Inside were adorable little bottles wrapped perfectly in cellophane with proportionate little labels holding them closed. Perfect. Based solely on presentation, butter LONDON has completely knocked Rescue Beauty Lounge out of my favorite not-completely-practical polish spot. Application cemented it there. But that's for another post. Here are the iphone photos:

Yummy Mummy, British Racing Green, and Marrow

OPI Color So Hot It Berns

I really didn't expect to like this color at all. It's much brighter and warmer than I prefer my reds, but it was included in the Swiss Collection mini set. I felt like wearing an untried, so thought I'd go for it. Turns out, I'm quite the fan. I used 2 coats and topped it with Seche Vite. I do have some VNL, but it's minimal and doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

Please ignore the awful cuticle on my index finger. I took the pic on lunch break as it was the first I'd seen the sun in days. It hasn't been back since.

Sally Hansen Cut It Out and OPI Jade is the New Black

So, I painted my nails in RBL Anne for St. Patrick's Day. I have totally fallen out of love with that polish. It's gotten a little goopy. I don't know if it's that, or if I'm just not feeling the color. My other picture of Anne is poor quality, but an accurate depiction of the color. Maybe a little laquer thinner will thin it out and make me love it again. In the meantime...

Cut It Out.

This picture was taken after 1 week of wear. My index fingers started chipping badly, so I took them off and painted them with my brand-new, 40% off Jade is the New Black. Love it as well. It has been blogged to hell and back, so I won't get deep, but this was 3 coats with the awesome Pro Wide brush. I also got a full bottle of Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, because I will totally use up my mini bottle. If you embiggen the pic, you'll also see a chip on my middle finger. I'll probably take this off tonight and paint them something else. I've got a few untrieds.

I've taken advantage of some promos as well. I've got Marrow, Yummy Mummy, and a free British Racing Green coming from butter LONDON, and just ordered Zoya Faye, Sooki, and Areej from their BOGO sale.

K, off to polish and watch The Living Dead.

Catching up! Misbehaved II, Essie Sew Psyched, and Orly Royal Velvet

So, I allowed myself to get super behind on my posts, so rather than make 3 separate ones, I'll do one larger... BTW, unless otherwise noted, 1 coat Bonder, 2 coats color, 1 coat Seche Vite.

So, this is a washed out, busy shot of my nails after 9 days of Misbehaved. Absolutely perfect but for the growth. Had I been able to tolerate that, I believe they could've lasted 3-4 days more. It's especially noticeable on my 1st and 4th fingers. I'll be much more careful to get them closer to my cuticles when I put on the Cut It Out ones. I also tried adding a coat of Seche Vite about a week in, and found it just peeled loose from my bare nail.

Yes, that is yarn on my desktop. Have I not geeked out about the knitting here?

This is Essie Sew Psyched. I have wanted this one for so long, I was afraid I'd be so disappointed with it. Not. At. All. I was a little nervous after the first coat as it looked super streaky, but the second evened it out, and it looked totally beautiful! The formula is super smooth. This picture is way too yellow d/t my lighting. (my child has kidnapped my sucky-but-better-than-the-iphone camera) The color is a nice, dusty green.

The following is Orly Royal Velvet. It's from the Spring 2011 collection. I saw swatches of them on Vampy Varnish and this was the only one that sparked my interest. I went to Sally's in hopes of getting a China Glaze crackle polish or two, but no go. They sold out in an hour. :( But, this was on the shelf, so I got it. I had my heart set on new polish. The picture below is very accurate as far as the color on me. Looks very little like Vampy's. It looks like a bright blue with royal purple undertones. It took 3 coats of Royal Velvet to even it out. This is after 3 days of wear. I'm now up to day 5 and only have 2 small chips.

So what's next? I was going to do my second set of Sally Hansen strips, but since St Patrick's Day is coming, I figure I'll throw in a green polish. Trying to decide between RBL Anne, CG Peace on Earth, or Sew Psyched again. And now that Sew Psyched is all mine, I'll be turning my efforts to butter LONDON All Hail the Queen...

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Misbehaved

When your cat works it, how can you resist? He lays like that and I want to rub my face in his soft, fat belly. But, if I did, he'd eat my face off. Vinny is not nearly as snuggly as he looks. :(

Okay, the nails. The fabulous, fabulous nails. I applied them Wednesday night (very simple, btw), and on Saturday, the only difference at all is the growth. They haven't started to peel or chip at all. I didn't get the decal all the way to the edge of a few of my nails, and I can feel a definite ridge. No need for a basecoat or topcoat. Just the decal. I've gotten comments ranging from "Is that Minx?" to "Oh my! Those look great! How did you do it?" That last comment was from a dude. A very hetero dude. :)

Plenty of folks have scoffed at the cost. I've seen them available at CVS and Walgreens for $9.99, and at Walmart for $8.50. I also found a $2 off coupon at redplum.com (good through 3/31). There are 16 strips in each kit and my nails are short enough that I cut each strip in half. So, I am able to get them for $3.25 a manicure. Much better than $10. I went back and get "Cut It Out" today. I'm excited to see how it comes out.

Essie Little Brown Dress

Another horrid, horrid picture, but it was so hard to capture the color. I will say that it is absolutely brown. A deep, dark chocolate brown. I love it. The formula was wonderful. I probably could've gotten it in one coat if I were careful, but I am not usually careful when polishing my nails. This picture is taken after 3 days of wear. Bonder, 2 coats polish, and Seche Vite. Barely a chip. Definitely a favorite!