China Glaze Smoke and Ashes

Over my winter break I had all these intentions of reading extraordinarily pretentious 19th century novels. Instead, as soon as I turned in my final paper my friend and I took a trip to Barnes and Noble and I bought The Hunger Games.  I started it the next day and couldn't put it down.  I was finished in two hours and I loved every second of it.  I know I was a little late to jump on the bandwagon, but I'm on it nevertheless, and I'm happy to be there.  The other day I HAULED.  I went to Ulta and there were so many polishes that I had to have.  A couple of them were from Capital Colors collection, and I have one to show you today.

It's so hard to photograph this one.  I can't tell if the base is a super dark blue or a black, but I think it's black.  The shimmer in the polish is green and blue, and that might trick the eye into thinking that the base itself is blue.  But I will say that the shimmer is not only difficult to see in pictures, it's kind of difficult to see in reality.  Don't get me wrong; this is a pretty polish.  But I sort of have an inkling that it has a near-dupe in Sinful Colors What's Your Name.  Here's a link to a post about that polish.  Smoke and Ashes was difficult to apply for me because it was really, really thick.  I used two coats.  From what I remember What's Your Name is kind of sheer and needs three coats.  You can find it at any Walgreens that carries Sinful Colors for $1.99, or $.99 if you find them on sale.

See all the blue, green, even purple in the bottle?

There was no question in my mind that I would own this polish because it supposedly represents District 12, home to to our heroes Katniss and Peeta.  BUT if this polish was in a collection that wasn't named after Hunger Games-related stuff, I don't think I would have bought it.  Does that make sense?  To me it's just not so special.  But I do love vampy polishes on short little nails like mine, so I'm happy enough to be wearing it.  

So what do you guys think?  Is this one special enough for you to buy?  Did you get it just for the name, like me?  I'm interested to hear your opinions.

Update

I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  Well, a little.  You know how when you're in one place for a long time you get a little restless?  Work pressure piles up, the people you spend time around day after day begin to annoy you, and you know it's time to get the hell out.  So that's what I did.  I got a ticket to Colorado and I left Cleveland last Friday as soon as I was done teaching my class.  I arrived in Denver Friday night and spent three days with my family.  I left again Tuesday, spent Wednesday doing laundry and readjusting to both eastern time and daylight savings, and here I am today.


As for my Sinful Colors Giveaway, the winner is Lexi P., whose favorite Disney movies are Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid.  Congratulations, Lexi!


But in the meantime, here are a few pictures of my getaway:

some mountains; they have those in Boulder, I guess.

my cousin Katie, aunt Mary and I at the Denver Art Museum

auntie Mary and I in front of a giant Clyfford Still painting at the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver

Katie and I at dinner

my cousin Zach and I

I ate an artichoke with my cousins

the sunset out the window of the plane right over Cleveland

I was glad to go.  Zach was much smaller last time I saw him, and I love spending time with my aunt.  As we discussed the other night, she used to watch Winnie the Pooh with me on Saturday mornings.  She even slept with me one night to calm me and ended up with a raging case of the chicken pox.  Anyway, I miss her and my cousins all the time, so it was good to go.  But it was also good to get home.

Posts from me might be sparse in the next few weeks, but know that I'm here and I'm thinking about all of you and this blog often.  I hope spring is coming to all of you, too, because it seems to have officially arrived here in CLE (although I should probably knock on wood).

Sinful Colors Neptune

Have you entered my Sinful Colors Cinderella giveaway?  You probably should.  Click here.


The other day when I was at Walgreens I saw a Sinful Colors collection I had never heard of, which I believe was called Cast Away.  The first time I ran across it I bought two.  Then I couldn't get this other one, Neptune, out of my head.  So I went back for it.

I'm really glad I went back.  I'm not a huge fan of blue nail polish, but this one is amazing.  It's a gorgeous cornflower with glass fleck pearlescent shimmer.  When I was reading about this polish pretty much everybody said it had a great formula.  I am here to say that the formula on the bottle I got suuuuuuucks.  It was really thick and got thicker the longer I had the bottle open.  Nothing a couple drops of thinner won't fix, but it bears mentioning.  I did three coats here.  

My only problem with this polish is its name.  The collection has a Greek theme, with other polishes called things like Greek Isles, Athens and Zeus.  So for the sake of continuity, this polish should not be called Neptune, but Poseidon.  Neptune is the Roman name for the god of the sea, Poseidon is the Greek name.  Anyway, that's my only problem with it.  I don't think it's too nit-picky.  Come on, Sinful Colors.  Do a little research.

So, thoughts on this color?  Anyone pick this one up?

Sinful Colors Cinderella Giveaway!

Sinful Colors Cinderella is a color I've been seeing a lot on blogs lately.  I looked for it last week, couldn't find it, and gave up.  I've heard that it hasn't been popping up everywhere, so I figured I was just destined not to find it.  Until last week when I randomly found it.

artificial light

artificial light

overcast natural light

indoor blur for shimmer

I'm completely in love with this.  I'm so glad I found it.  Cinderella is a pale blue with a drop or two of gray added to it that gives it a soft feel.  It also has tiny gold and pink shimmer, which is just incredible.  I had also heard that it was terribly sheer, but I didn't find it to be too bad.  The formula is a bit sheer, but also thick, which makes it a little difficult to work with.  I did three coats and was satisfied.  And you can definitely tell that Sinful was using Cinderella's beautiful, sparkly blue gown as inspiration.  

[source]

And now for the fun part...if you couldn't find Cinderella, today is your lucky day.  I found two when I went to Walgreens!  You can enter to win a bottle on this post.  So, how do you enter to win?


1.  Be a follower of this blog (see the big button on the righthand side bar that says "Join this site?"  click that and you're eligible to win)
2.  Comment on THIS POST with three pieces of information:

a.)  Your name

b.)  Your favorite Disney movie (and if you hate Disney movies, you can tell me that and I won't hold it against you; I actually inherently have a lot of issues with them myself, but I still can't help but love them!)

c.)  Your e-mail address

3.  Enter by Sunday, March 11, midnight eastern.
4.  Tell someone!  Tell your best friend, e-mail your mom and tell her, or do a post on your own blog.  No extra entries for this, I would just appreciate it.


And that's all.  And just so you guys know, The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney movie, followed closely by The Lion King, and then Mulan and Pocahontas ;)


Okay guys, please enter!  I can't wait to give this bottle of Cinderella away to someone who wants it!  


Happy Monday :)

Revlon Revlon Red

A perfect red for a perfect Friday.

This is Revlon Revlon Red (I know I typed "Revlon" twice, but the brand is Revlon and the color is Revlon Red so...kind of repetitive;  And redundant).  But yeah, this is a really nice classic red polish.  Unfortunately it only lasted a day on me before I peeled it off in giant sheets.

Up for next week:  new Sinful Colors polishes.  Get.  Excited.

Funky Fingers Cottage Stripes

I've been on the go a lot lately (leaving my place at 8am and not getting home until between 11 and 1am), so I haven't had a lot of leisurely time to take pictures with, say, a regular camera.  Or near sufficient light.  Or at a good time of day.  Basically, I'm not a great blogger.  But here are some [iPhone] photos of Funky Fingers Cottage Stripes, anyway.

The background here is a dress I have from H&M with a painterly all-over flower print.  I got no less than ten compliments the day I wore it; most of them were something about wishing it was spring and living vicariously through my clothing.  Which is weird, but I'll take it.

And with my ever-present cup of coffee.

None of these photos is really color accurate.  I'd call Cottage Stripes more of a dusty cornflower, but here it looks really bright.  It's definitely more muted.  This swatch is way more color accurate.  The formula was watery and I needed three coats.  It also only lasted about a day and a half before it started to chip, but that's par for the course with polishes for me lately.  Maybe it has something to do with winter dryness?  I'm not sure.  I do like this color, though.  But I have better cornflowers (namely Sally Hansen Pacific Blue and Essie Lapis of Luxury).

So my job at the museum in curatorial often requires me to go digging through old periodicals in search of esoteric articles.  I enjoy this endeavor for a couple reasons.  First, as with hard to find nail polishes, I enjoy the thrill of the hunt.  I like feeling like I'll never find something and then finally getting my hands on it.  Second, the advertisements.  I'm working on material from the 1940s-1960s in the United States (my field is American art, but a bit earlier than that...c. 1860-1920ish.  I don't think I've ever really talked about that on here!).  Yesterday I got a huge bound volume of several issues of House & Garden from 1947.  I took photos of these two adverts, so I thought I'd share.

I love this one because of the obvious implication of Lucy and Ricky beds.  This is also what I call the twin beds in a room at my parents' lake house.  Look at her, wearing red lipstick to bed and reading her book so comfortably.  And her red nail polish!  (see, totally relevant)

And this one I just thought was beautiful.

I really like looking at commercial stuff from the 40s and 50s.  Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong decade.  Confession:  I also have this weird Leave It To Beaver-esque housewife fantasy where I can stay home all day, wear poofy dresses and red lipstick, and for some reason vacuum the house wearing four-inch peep-toes and pearls.  Of course I know that there are all sorts of gender issues at work there, but I think it's something I semi-fantasize about because it's so different from the life I have now.  I can't really cook, I clean when I have time (ha), and I'm not a great hostess.  But I am a great researcher, writer, and compiler of information, so I guess we all have our skills, huh?

Well, that was a giant tangent, wasn't it?

Black Label: OPI Home on the O-Range

Another treasure from my reader-provided goodie box of black label OPIs (thanks again Gail!).

This is Home on the O-Range, and it's really more of a coral than an orange.  I like how I took a few photos and it looks totally different in all of them.  The color in reality is closest to the color in the second photo.  Anyway, this polish, named with a ridiculously heavy-handed pun, is old.  Real old.  Old enough that I couldn't immediately find swatches in a basic Google image search.  But it's an orange-leaning coral with gold shimmer.  The formula was nice, as old chemical-laden OPI formulas are wont to be.  I had no problems with the old skinny brush, and the opacity was lovely.  What wasn't lovely was the dry time.  My nails are all dented; thankfully you can't see that in the photos.

Now maybe you're thinking:  Steff.  Buddy, pal.  Why would you show me a black label OPI that is practically non-existent on the intarwebz and make me want it?  Why?  Why would you do that?  Well, calm yourselves, because when I saw this one in sunlight I couldn't shake this weird feeling of deja vu.  You know why?

This is Home on the O-Range on the left and I Eat Mainely Lobster on the right.  And as a refresher, here's a macro swatch of Lobster:

Not dupes, but PRETTY SIMILAR.  So rest easy, friends.  Home on the O-Range is actually a lemming that is easily slayed.  Lobster might not be an exact match, but they're close enough.

Okay, so one more thing.  I wanted to try out orange lipstick.  So I slapped on a lipstick I've never used but was excited to buy at one time, MAC Morange.  

I like to think that with a little confidence I can rock any lip color, but I'm not sure about this one.  What do you guys think?  These photos are from Friday; I had a lot to do that day, and no one said OH MY GOD YOUR LIPS ARE ORANGE, so I consider this a win.  Maybe?  I don't know!

So, opinons on the polish?  Has anyone ever heard of this old OPI?  I don't think I had myself until I opened my big box o' black labels.  

Revlon Whimsical

I swear that in real life my cuticles do not look this bad.

The winter has really not been kind to my skin.  But anyway, this is Revlon Whimsical.  You probably all know it.  It's the drug store dupe of Lippmann Glitter in the Air.  As soon as I saw Glitter in the Air I wanted it.  In fact, it's the only Lippmann polish I've ever really wanted.  Really, really wanted.  But I couldn't drop the dollars on it.  Then Revlon Whimsical happened.  But of course it's one of those difficult to find polishes and I just didn't have the energy to go from Walgreens to Walgreens looking for this.  So I asked you guys if anyone could pick me one up.  And Sarah from See Sarah Swatch had an extra bottle so she generously sent this to me.  Thank you, Sarah.

This is two coats of Rescue Beauty Lounge Bikini Bottom and two coats of Whimsical.  Side note:  I am amazed at how often I use Bikini Bottom.  My bottle is rapidly depleting and that is SAD because RBL is EXPENSIVE.  Anyway, Whimsical is a milky blue sheer with small silver and blue glitter and larger copper and blue hexagonal glitter.  Very sheer.  

This is really pretty.  I like it over Bikini Bottom.  What about you guys?  Do you have horror stories about not being able to find this polish?  Did you find it right away?  

China Glaze Lasso My Heart

I'm not really a Valentine's Day person, but I will admit that I like getting flowers and feeling special.  My boyfriend brings me flowers for no occasion at all, though.  Because he's great.  Regardless of how I feel about Valentine's Day, I decided to do a bit of a themed manicure.  First, China Glaze Lasso My Heart from the Rodeo Diva collection (which I've worn every February 14th for the past three years).

Purple-y/mauve-y/pink-y.  Purple, pink and gold sparkles.  It's a pretty great color.  Two coats.  Good formula.  No complaints.  Holding my China Glaze White Cap bottle because my Rodeo Diva collection is currently living with a friend.  I did this V-Day manicure at her house while we were watching The Walking Dead.  Yaaaaaay zombies.

And then I taped some diagonal lines on top of Lasso My Heart and used Color Club In Bloom (two coats).  Peeled off the tape, sealed with a coat of topcoat, and I was good to go.  Easy enough.  

I wore pink too!  Except this was yesterday, the 13th.  But that's okay.  It's not like I was wearing a pink skirt with flamingos on it or anything (I was).  

That's it.  I hope you're all having a nice day and that you are eating chocolate or those little heart-shaped candies.  I'm not, because I'm at work doing research.  Ain't no candy allowed in the library, folks.  Ah, the life of a grad student in the humanities.

Nail Color Blocking

Last week I was having trouble picking out an outfit for Thursday.  I always pick my clothes the night beforehand because I am too tired in the morning to make choices.  I was debating trying the orange and pink color blocking trend that was really popular last spring and summer, and remained popular into this past autumn.  Observe:

source

In particular, I have been seeing #4 (from H&M) everywhere for the past year or so.  I took a chance and wore a poofy red/orange skirt with a bright pink top (as opposed to the more bubblegum pink tones shown above).  Regrettably I don't have any photos, but I will tell you that I was complimented all day long.  By women, by men, and most notably, by a four-year-old boy who excitedly ran up to me while I was eating my lunch  at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens and said very sweetly, "You look like a pwincess."  Clearly this retina-searing color blocking combination yielded good results.  So the next logical step was doing it to my nails.  

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.  As soon as I was finished doing this I was in love with it.  The pink has less of a blue tone to it in real life, though.  This is two coats of Wet n Wild Candy Apple Twist for the orangey-red, and two coats of Color Club In Bloom for the pink.

Left hand.

Right hand.

I just love how this looks.  You see tipwear in the photos because I have had my nails this way since last Saturday night.  They're holding up pretty well.  For those of you who are hesitant to try the pink/orange trend in clothing, a manicure like this might be a good trial to see how you like the color combination.  Accessorizing my outfit was fun, too.  I figured I could either keep it simple or use an accent color, and I wound up wearing what can only be described as cascades of turquoise jewelry.  While my boyfriend and I were having dinner that night he looked across the table at me and said, "Are you...are those three necklaces you're wearing?"  Yes.  Yes, there were three.  And they looked fabulous :)  

In conclusion:

Pink and orange:  yes.

Pink and orange nail polish:  YES.

And do I love clothes?:  Y.E.S.

If you guys are interested in seeing the outfit I can recreate it and try to get some pictures taken.  Just let me know.  Any adventures in color blocking to share?  Any ideas?  I'd love to hear them.