OPI Tease-y Does It

I'm sorry in advance for the bad images that I'm about to show you.  Last Thursday it was my mom's birthday and I was off work for BOTH jobs (yay!) so I was able to spend the day with her.  I didn't really know what she had in mind for activities, but I decided I'd just go with the flow and do what she wanted to do since it was her day.  When I got home she dropped the bomb that she wanted to go get "gel manicures."  The first thought that ran through my head was, Shit!  I just put this polish on last night and I haven't taken pictures of it yet.  I hastily took out my iPhone and snapped a few images of OPI Tease-y Does It before we went into the salon.  

Blurred for sparkle factor.

I'm pretty pissed that I couldn't get decent pictures of this polish to show you all.  I know that it's a Christmas polish and all that, but I hadn't worn it at all until last week.  As I was putting it on the two friends I was with both oohed and aahed and asked what it was.  One of them actually used it right then.  It's a really, really pretty polish.  The base is brownish purple and it's absolutely loaded with shimmer.  It's a very, very nice vampy polish that's not at all boring, at least to me.  The formula was great too; it only took two coats.

Sadly that's all I've got for you today.  Another day, maybe tomorrow, I'll tell you about my little gel manicure (which is still on), but for today I'll just leave it at Tease-y Does It.  Haha, I love that name.  Bad puns FTW.

Essence You Belong To Me

I love Essence.  It's so nice that if I see something I like or might like I can pick it up guilt free.  At .99 cents their polishes are a steal.  I felt no guilt about picking up You Belong To Me, a robin egg blue that leans slightly green.  Maybe it's turquoise. 

The only complaint that I have about this polish is that holding the itty-bitty bottle for pictures is a little awkward.  Other than that, it's great.  The brush on Essence polishes is small and flat, kind of like a mini-Pro-Wide.  It makes application really easy.  You Belong To Me only needed two coats for full opacity; for such a light color, that's great.  Color me pleasantly surprised.

The other delight that I found at Ulta last weekend were NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams.  They've garnered a bit of buzz in the beauty community and I think they're new for 2011.  There are 11 colors in the line, and their schtick is that they go on smoothly like a gloss and then dry to a matte finish.  I love them.  All the colors are named after cities.  Here's Monte Carlo.

Great color pay-off and wear time with these.  With drinking and eating expect to have to reapply within about four hours.  Here's Amsterdam.

And here's Stockholm.

Clearly I am seducing you with my nude lips and preppy Target cardigan.

These are $5.99 and worth every penny.  If you like matte lip products, check these out.  I'm particularly fond of Stockholm.  It's a great nude color for every day.  I'm wondering how similar it is to the Viva Glam Gaga 2 lipstick and Lipglass pair.  I have both, so I'll have to check that out and get back to you.

K, that's all.  What do you guys think of Essence You Belong To Me?  Essence seems to be coming out with new colors pretty frequently now.  It's nice!  Also, anyone else tried these NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams?  I think I'm in love.

OPI Steady As She Rose

I'm not sure what made me want this polish.  Within the past week I saw a few swatches of it and all of a sudden I was positive that it had to be mine.  While Steady As She Rose isn't the type of color I normally go for, I was confident that I would love it enough to give it a nice home forever.

And I was right.  I really like this murky, dusty, rose-y lavender.  Maybe there's a drop of black in Steady As She Rose that gives it that gray cast, but whatever it is...it's really working for me.  I did two coats here, except on my pointer finger where I did three.  I wanted to see if the depth of the color would change and it really didn't, so I didn't add a coat to the other nails.  I didn't use top coat either.  I was going super low maintenance yesterday.  Clueless was on Oxygen so I had no problem just sitting there quietly and letting my nails dry on their own (that's Ren & Stimpy.  They're WAY existential).  I like this polish so much that it's on my toes now too!  That, my friends, is love.

The OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection has delivered two knockouts for me.  I'm confident enough to say that Stranger Tides will be my favorite polish of the summer, hands-down; and there's just something about the murky quality of what could be a girly pink that makes me swoon for Steady As She Rose.  Good job, OPI.  Good.  Job.

I had two days off in a row (Sunday and Monday) so I'm hoping my batteries have recharged a little bit.  On Sunday I spent most of the day alone, until my parents came back from their other house.  Then we had a Fathers Day dinner which my dad grilled (oops) and I hung out with my grandma.  Monday was lazy and wonderful.  I spent the morning with my boyfriend, and then my friend and I made dinner together.  Today starts another work week, but on Saturday the Cleveland Museum of Art is having its third annual Solstice Party (at which I will be volunteering).  If you're from the Cleveland area you should come check it out.  It'll be a fun time, I promise!

Okay, that's it for today.  Opinions on Steady As She Rose? 

China Glaze Sneaker Head

Last week my good friend Sam was gone from Cleveland visiting her mom in Massachusetts.  She was super excited to go home and hang out in Provincetown, and I asked her to bring me back something.  I've never been anywhere in New England, but thoughts of it have always felt so Kennedy-esque and...Gilmore Girls-y.  I desperately wanted to go with her, but I settled for staying in Cleveland and asking for a souvenir.  My requirements were as follows:
1.  That the souvenir be a coffee vessel
2.  That the souvenir feature a lobster prominently (I associate New England with lobsters...as well as with the Kennedy family and Lorelai Gilmore)
3.  That the souvenir be really, really kitschy
She returned with this for me.

My new lobster mug says, "Steamed til I get my coffee."  PER-FECT.  New favorite coffeetime mug.

(Please excuse the windswept hair)

To celebrate my gift I decided to choose a polish that reminded me of lobsters a little bit and that is also one of my favorites, China Glaze Sneaker Head from the summer 2009 Kicks Collection.

This polish change was rushed and I got Sneaker Head all over my cuticles.  But I couldn't be bothered to do any clean-up, just like I apparently couldn't be bothered to brush my hair before I took a picture.  I. Love.  Sneaker Head.  It's a lovely red creme with a generous amount of pink happening that makes it almost berry, but not quite.  The formula is perfect, too.  Is it unique?  Probably not.  But it has a permanent home in my collection (and I love it on my toes!).  

That's it for today!  As this post goes up I'll be knee-deep in research for my internship, and then I work at Coffee Inc. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and I think Sunday.  It's a busy week for me, but I'm going to try to get another post up before the end of it.  

Opinions on Sneaker Head?  Does anyone else have any favorite polishes from the Kicks Collection?  I'm partial to Custom Kicks and Breakin, myself, but...every color in that set was pretty awesome.

Essie Da Bush (PotC Dupe?)...Also, Feathers

Hey guys.  Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I'm doing the best I can!  Remember when I wore OPI Stranger Tides and loved it?  The lovely cilucia from Spaz & Squee suggested that instead of getting a back-up bottle of Stranger Tides I opt for Essie Da Bush from the 2011 Resort collection, which is really close to Stranger Tides.  Then that way I'd have the OPI and the Essie.  I liked the way you were thinking, cilucia, so I went out and got Da Bush.  And here it is.  Sorry for my cuticles.  They are sad from working at Coffee Inc. 

Very pretty and very, very similar to OPI Stranger Tides.  Da Bush (what a stupid name) is a weird, murky and grayed out sage green.  Maybe a khaki green?  I don't know.  It's hard to describe.  I do love it, though.  Now, how does it really compare to Stranger Tides?

This is my thumb, where I taped off the middle strip.  What you see in the middle is Essie Da Bush, and on either side is OPI Stranger Tides.  So, they're extremely close...but they're not dupes.  cilucia also mentioned that here, but I've seen a ton of people call them exact dupes.  At least on me...close, but no cigar.  Da Bush is slightly darker and slightly more blue-toned.  Unless you're crazy about these colors I don't think you need both.  Both of them took three coats for me.  Personally I prefer the OPI.  The color speaks to me a bit more and I'm always more likely to stick with the Pro-Wide brush.

And now a totally unrelated question.  How do you guys feel about the feathers-in-the-hair trend?  Recently I was at Urban Outfitters with a friend and I found a clip with feathers hanging off of long chains.  I put it in my hair and loved the look.  She hated it so I ended up not buying it...but then I went back when she was gone and got it anyway ;)  Hey, I couldn't help it.  I loved them.

I mean, I have a lot of hair so it's not like they're SUPER noticeable.  And they're brown, which I think complements my hair nicely.  I'm pretty into them.  What do you think?  Also, the lipstick is MAC Ruby Woo.  Woooooooooo.

Oh hi.

That's it for today.  So, which is it for you?  Da Bush or Stranger Tides?  Or both?  Or...neither?  I'm glad I have them both, but if I could only save one from a fire it'd be Stranger Tides.  Although neither one has legs to save itself so I guess that's just not fair...

Wet n Wild Waves of Enchantment

The other day in my post about OPI Sparkle-icious I asked you guys if there was a glitter polish that you love that I should probably check out.  A reader named Nancy mentioned Wet n Wild Waves of Enchantment in the comments.  I hadn't heard about that polish before so I Googled it.  And then I knew that I needed to have it.  So thank you, Nancy!  It took me a while to hunt down the new Mermaid's Cove collection, but I finally found it at a CVS.  Ah, the thrill of the hunt.

Stunning!  I love this.  Waves of Enchantment is a lovely rosy coral absolutely packed with gold glitter.  You need to see it in real life.  It just twinkles in the sun, and in the shade it glows.  With two coats (shown above) I had slight VNL, but it's more visible in the images than it is in reality.  I'd never tried these fastdry Wet n Wilds before, but the formula and brush were pretty nice.  For $1.99 I don't think I could ask for any more.  If you like pinks, corals or things that glitter, I recommend that you run, do not walk, to your nearest drug store and snatch up Waves of Enchantment.  It's too beautiful to miss.

And a bonus picture that I thought was funny.  I was Downey Wrinkle Release-ing some of my clothes so I hung them on my curtain rod to dry.  When I walked into my room later it struck me as hilarious that you can totally tell my favorite pattern to wear just from this little snippet of my closet.  Behold.

All-over flower pattern FTW!  The dress on the left and in the middle are both Target and the skirt is one I actually yoinked from my mom's closet (thanks/sorry mom!).  I think it's from Talbots.  I just love the mustard color of the flowers.

That's all for today.  Has anyone picked up anything else from WnW Mermaid's Cove?  I pondered the collection for a while but in the end all I came away with was Waves of Enchantment.  And I'm so pleased with it! 

Rescue Beauty Lounge Catherine H

The other day on my day off I was kind of bored.  Typical; I complain about having too much to do, and then when there's a day when I don't have to do anything I'm bored.  Anyway, I decided to start watching season two of The Tudors.  I had watched season one back in December or so, and I enjoyed it but...not enough to go straight into the next season.  As I sat there watching Jonathan Rhys Meyers over-act the shit out of Henry VIII, I decided now might be a great time to use my other RBL Tudor wives polish, Catherine H.  I showed you Anne here, but I hadn't gotten around to using my other pick yet.  So after much fanfare, here it is.

When I took Catherine H out of its perfect little blue and brown box I thought, wait, why did I buy this?  I don't even like blue.  Well friends, I like this blue.  It has this lovely grayed and weathered look to it, and absolutely STUNNING pink and gold shimmer.  What you see in the above images is two flawless coats.  I couldn't stop gazing at my nails in the sun while I was driving to work.  Hazard!  I wasn't sure whether or not it was cruel to show you Catherine H since it's sold out on the site, but I had to share my newfound love for Ms. Howard. 

I'm really happy, almost a year later, with my two picks from The Real Housewives of the Tudor Dynasty collection.  My only regret, and it's a big one, is not picking up Jane (I just love me a nude).  Oh well.  Live and learn.  Any thoughts about Catherine H?  Did you guys splurge and pick up any of the polishes from this collection?  I'd love to hear about it if you did!  :)

Oh, and happy Monday. 

Are You Guys Sick of OPI PotC Yet?

I hope not, because I finally tried out my pick from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection.  Besides Silver Shatter I only picked one, and it was kind of a no-brainer.

I am absolutely crazy about Stranger Tides.  As soon as I finished applying it I decided that I should probably get a back-up bottle.  That is serious business, friends.  Serious.  Polish.  Business.  I really am smitten.  I don't even really know how to describe this one.  Maybe kind of a dirty, dusty mint/sage green?  It's just murky enough for me to consider it to be kind of neutral, and it looks great with a black outfit (which I know because I am wearing all black today).  I used three coats here, and for what is essentially a pastel the formula was fantastic.  This is a such a smash hit for me.  I can't believe I let it sit unused for a couple weeks.  I can't wait to put it on my toes!

Summer is pretty much in full swing here in Cleveland.  It's often the case that during the winter I never believe that summer will come, but then once it hits I just want it to go the hell away.  On Tuesday the temperature hit 95 degrees around 3pm.  I live in an un-air-conditioned third-floor walk-up in a mid-twentieth century building.  When I walked into my apartment at 10pm the heat was just absolutely stifling.  Stifling enough that it made me completely lethargic and I just collapsed on my bed, unsure of how to handle the sauna I was obliged to live in.  Eventually I dragged myself to my couch to sleep in the living room, where there are more windows to open.  That was an unpleasant evening.  I now am the proud owner of a little window a/c unit (thank you, dad!) that my maintenance people need to come install on Monday.  Seriously, if the heat was that bad the last day of May, I shudder to think of what will happen in July and August.  

On Wednesday it cooled down to about 82 or so, and I ate my lunch outside.  Here's the nice grassy oval in front of the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Really pretty.  Over to the right you can see my favorite food cart.  This lady is in front of the museum pretty much every day in the spring/summer/fall (as long as it's over 50 degrees).  Best.  Gyros.  Ever.  

Also, my boyfriend has the ability, if he so chooses, to make me extraordinarily happy with really simple little gestures.  He brought me flowers on Thursday night, but I was sleeping when he came in (I am either suffering from insanely terrible allergies or a summer cold).  I saw them in the morning and was so delighted.  Aren't they pretty?  :)  They actually don't smell like too much, but I like sniffing them anyway.

Anyway, that's all.  I thought I'd do a bit of a longer post today because I've been skimping on the blog lately.  I am busier than I thought I would be.  

Does anyone have any thoughts on Stranger Tides?  Is anyone as smitten as I am?  I'm just really crazy about this one.  I'm so glad I picked it up!