Incoco Witching Hour

More Incoco Halloween nail stickies.  Compared to the last ones, I'm less into these.  I think orange just doesn't look good on me and I wear it rarely enough that I wasn't really thinking about that when I bought these.  Also sorry but you get mostly desk pictures.  Such is life.

Yes Toothless lives at my desk.

These are cute enough, but the orange is just not for my skintone.  I had the same issues with these that I had with the last ones, namely that my pointer finger nails are apparently very tiny and the stickers meant for those nails are consequently way too big.  So they're a little wrinkly.  But it's not that big a deal, especially if no one is examining them closely.  Today these wraps are on...I think day five?  And they still look fine.  I'm a pretty big fan.  There's another Incoco Halloween 2015 design that I keep trying to find but haven't been able to, so I hope I run across them.  And I'll let you know if I do!  

Man, last week was a pretty big week for the people in my life.  On October 3rd my really good friends had their son, Joshua.  I have pictures of Ben and I with him but I'm not putting them up here because it's not my baby.  But he is super freaking cute and I already adore him.  Then on October 8th my other friends had their daughter, Delia.  I haven't met her yet, but I'm really happy for everyone.  And then a friend of mine got a freaking kitten.  It's the tiniest kitten I've ever seen and held in real life.  I've been going over to his place to watch Browns games so I got to snuggle with the baby cat Sunday:

LOOK AT THIS BABY oh my god

Also I myself got a new baby last weekend, which I'm typing on right now.  After hemming and hawing for literally a full calendar year, I finally got myself a new computer.  My last one was from 2009 and just wasn't doing what it should do in a timely manner anymore.  So I am now the proud owner of a brand new MacBook.  There are some weird things about it (like not having a USB port????) but I'm glad I finally just bought one.  I work on my computer a lot for writing lectures and making PowerPoints and stuff and I really need it to work well and fast.  So yay.

Anyway, it's a new season of life, y'all.  And as I've said, I myself am not ready for babies, but at least I will get a test run with my friends' babies.  Our one pair of friends is already referring to us as Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Ben (not the rice) which basically makes me want to cry because I don't have siblings and I never thought I would have that sort of thing.  So.  I'm very happy to be Auntie Steffie.  

I think I will end up not being back until next week, but I'm committed to posting more this month.  So I'll talk to you soon!

Incoco Mischief Makers (?)

I think I've only used nail wraps one time aside from these.  I didn't remember application being too difficult, so I bought a couple Halloween Incoco ones from the drug store.  I was right.  Application wasn't too difficult, but there is definitely a learning curve and it's definitely a little annoying.  Once they're on, though, they look super cute.  I'm also not 100% sure that this design is called Mischief Makers, but I feel like that's what I remember before I threw away the package.  I win the shittiest blogger award, sorry.

Not the best photos because I didn't have the best light.  I'm not going to lie and say that these look perfect.  The pointer finger ones are just too big for my nail, so they look a little wrinkled on both hands.  The wraps looked a little like they were lifting on some nails the morning after I put them on, but I slapped topcoat on and I've been wearing these for...five days.  I have one chip that I can see.  I dunno, I'd say these are a success.  And also super cute.  I'm actually really glad I got a couple of these Incoco Halloween designs, and I kind of want a couple more...especially if these last for five or six days.  With my schedule how it's been lately I haven't been able to tend to my nails for much, so these are perfect.  Also, I usually love China Glaze Halloween collections, but the one this year is pretty boring.  I'm happy to have these Incocos to tide me over.

I hope all is well with everyone, and I will probably be back with another one of these designs soon enough.  Happy October (except not really because I wish it was July!).

Zoya Tris

I don't usually buy Zoya, but there were a couple polishes in the fall collections that I felt I couldn't pass up.  And lucky for you, I actually photographed one of them.  Sort of.

I guess the best way to describe this color is "graphite."  It's a shimmery, metallic, pewter-ish shade.  And interestingly, it seems to lean a little greenish at times?  I think I used two coats here (although these pictures are from a few weeks back so I can't quite remember).  For some reason Zoya never used to work on me, and now they seem to be okay.  I wore Tris for quite a while, and then I wore another Zoya shade for like a week straight with minimal tipwear and no chipping.  So I have no idea what's going on.  But I'm happy about it.  Zoya always has at least a couple interesting colors in their seasonal offerings.  Unfortunately for Tris, I didn't love it.  I certainly didn't hate it, either.  But I expected to really like it and then when I put it on I was kind of like, eh.  It's okay.  I'm sure it has to have dupes out there, too.  My verdict?  Skip this one unless you're really into collecting metallics or something like that.  

My only news to share is that I found this shirt (which you may have seen on Instagram--@RemyRagdoll):

I find that H&M never disappoints with this type of thing.  I went to the mall on Friday to sort of cheer myself up because I had had a long week, and even though it's probably unhealthy, buying stuff totally makes me feel better.  Anyway, I saw this on a mannequin at H&M and hunted it down on the racks.  And it is perfect and hilarious.  Two cat moon for the win.  Plus they look like little Remy cats.

Okay, that's all for me.  This week is probably going to be bonkers for me too.  Because life is bonkers now.  So, happy Monday to all of you.  This one's gonna be a doozy.

First Day of Fall

Autumn is so seductive.  The sun sets a little earlier, making your after-work-times full of blazing sunsets; the evenings get cooler and you finally need a sweater again; the heady scent of leaves starting to whither and die is intoxicating; all of a sudden pumpkin-something or other is everywhere; and the greatest of all great things is finally on its way:  Halloween.  But seriously, screw fall.  Try and seduce me all you want, autumn.  I hung onto summer until I couldn't do it anymore.  I love all things fall, honestly, but christ I just do not want it to be winter again so soon.  I figured, though, that in honor of this most wicked, wicked first day of fall I would share a polish from my favorite autumn collection everrrrrr.

China Glaze Prize Winning Mare from Rodeo Diva.  Daaaaaaaaaamn this polish is so fine though.  It's a light brown but so much more than a light brown because its shimmer is just out of control beautiful.  Pink, gold, green and shimmer make an appearance to make the finish of this one really complex.  I honestly don't remember how many coats of this I used, but most of these early B3F polishes need three to be totally opaque.  And that's fine with me.  Because look at it.  2008 was suuuuuuch a good year for polish.  I'm glad that that's basically when I started collecting because I love going back to these beauties now, especially when the weather (regrettably) starts getting a little crisper.

Lots of stuff happened since I've been gone:

My best friend got married!  Isn't she radiant in this photo?  And I'm just like UH I'M EATING.  But anyway, I was the matron of honor and I had a blast that day taking photos and making speeches and dancing the night away.

I had most of my hair cut off!  It was time for a change, and even though I had a substantial cut back in July I just wasn't feeling the length at all anymore.  I have another appointment in November and I think I'd even like to go a little shorter.  Very strange for me.  I've always had long hair.

I got this beautiful little tattoo!  Yep, it's the Deathly Hallows from Harry Potter.  Yep, it's not supposed to be quite complete.  It looks like brushstrokes up close and I wanted it to have a sketchy, delicate quality.  I love how it turned out and I'm glad I pulled the trigger on this one.  You've already seen this if you follow me on Insta (RemyRagdoll).

B and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary in a field of sunflowers!  I can't believe it's been a year already, but at the same time it feels like the wedding was forever ago.

Basically I am just totally ridiculously busy also, hence my absence.  Every weekend we've had to go out of town for something, and I'm way behind on my [teaching] schoolwork and I can't catch up because NO WEEKENDS and OTHER JOB.  So really I'm just over here trying to catch my breath and I'm lucky if I can tend to my nails once a week.  *sob*  I know it's awful.  But, it could be worse.  

Hope all's well with you all.  Farewell, summer 2015.  You were really good to me.  Autumn, you're on probation; we're totally not friends yet.  

China Glaze Treblemaker

I wore this polish...quite a while ago, at the end of July.  I don't remember much about it, honestly, except for the fact that a.)  I didn't take pictures of it and b.)  I've never gotten more compliments from random strangers about my nail polish.

you...can see this color from a mile away

So these are the limited photos I have of Treblemaker, but it's honestly not a complex color so I think you can get the idea.  I will say that although it's basically just a neon green, it's a pretty interesting neon green in that it leans more blue than yellow.  It's really pretty.  Like I said, everyone was asking me what it was or telling me that they liked it while I was wearing it.  

I remember the formula being kiiiiiind of difficult and having to use three coats.  I also remember doubling up on base coat because I read that it stains--it didn't stain me, so I guess the double base coat is a must.  I know this collection is pretty old news by now, but...here we are.

Oh, also, I realized that last Sunday was the sixth anniversary of this blog.  SIXTH.  What even.  I don't know, y'all.  Let's celebrate with extra sprinkles. 

When I ordered my ice cream with "lots of sprinkles" the guy gave me some in a cup so I could dip my cone in it after I'd licked off the outer sprinkle layer.  Pretty much an ideal situation because I'm obsessed with the rainbow sprinkle/vanilla soft serve cone combo.

Even though my semester starts Monday (silent teacher-weeping), the way I see it we still have over a month of summer left.  So I say keep wearing those neons and keep eating extra sprinkles.  Because dammit, I will live the summer life until I'm dragged kicking and screaming into autumn.  Now, who's driving me to Dairy Queen?

OG Drugstore Flakey: SH Hidden Treasure

I'm just going to skip right into writing this post without apologizing that I've been gone.  Stuff's busy etc.  I've also been wearing some pretty normal, boring colors (busted out $OPI Metro Chic, for example, because I think Amy Schumer was wearing a similar color in Trainwreck and it made me have a yen for it).  But the other night I was digging through my Helmer and I found Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure which was ALL THE RAGE in 2010.  If you've been interested in nail polish for a while, then this is not news to you.  But I hadn't used a flakey in a minute, so I decided to see if I still loved it.  

Gross pic of my right hand with dried topcoat errywhere, but it looked so good in this 7am light that I couldn't not take a picture while I balanced a cup of coffee, two textbooks, my computer, and my purse.  DEDICATION.

I don't know if their being in Target means these necklaces are "back," but I don't care.  If I have an excuse to wear these weird chokers again like I did in 1997 then dammit I'm doing it. 

Awwww yeahhhhh

YAAAAAAASSSSSS QUEEN OF THE DRUGSTORE.  One coat of Hidden Treasure over three coats of OPI I Don't Give a Rotterdam.  I finished this manicure and was basically like, oh god yes.  Yes to all of this.  I don't even know if you can get Hidden Treasure around anymore.  eBay, maybe?  I know there is a polish in the core line now with the name Hidden Treasure that looks nothing like this.  But I also know/am pretty sure that Essie Shine of the Times is pretty much a dupe and much more available than HT.  So yeah, this is a great polish.  It's totally worth all the running around to various drugstores I did five years ago to acquire my several bottles (fun fact:  this is one of the only polishes I have back-ups of FOR OBVIOUS REASONS).  

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you you don't need this because you probably do.  If you can't get it, then there are definitely dupes.  But sometimes there's just nothing like the original.

Bye!

Whatever This Is

Not sure what possessed me to do this, but.  Well.  This: 

Yep, that's Friday Night Lights in the background.  Finally watching it.

Basically this is what happens when there are a bunch of nail polishes sitting on the coffee table and I'm like, eh.  Better just use all of them I guess.  Essie Chillato is on my thumb and ring finger.  Out of all of these polishes, this was the only one I hadn't used before.  Formula was...difficult.  But it's a pastel, so I don't expect much from it.  I used three coats.  Sally Hansen Bridal Bling is on my index finger; that one is good in two coats and really is extra beautiful.  It could make a nice layering polish, too.  Essie Blossom Dandy is on my middle finger.  I wore that one as a full manicure here.  Lastly, OPI Let Them Eat Rice Cake is on my pinky.  That one is a pretty old polish.  Even though it has all the good old chemicals in it, the formula is still kind of crappy.  It needs at least three coats and takes forever to dry.  Although all of these colors look a little bonkers together, I can't deny that I'm sort of into it.  It does look a little Easter-y, though.  I can overlook that.

This has been sort of a weird week.  I worked last Saturday and last Sunday, so I didn't go into work on Monday or Tuesday.  And now it's already Thursday.  I spent my two days off doing this:

per usual; #dockselfie

And also encouraging Remy to walk a little bit with his ridiculous harness and leash.  He's not super into it, but he did a little bit of exploring while I sat near him.  I think it's a good sign that if something scares him he runs to me and sits in my lap instead of running away from me and hiding in a bush or something.  But I guess that's what the leash is for.

If you'd like to see more of Remy's adventures, follow us on Instagram (RemyRagdoll)

Anyway, that's basically all.  I kind of can't believe that July is winding down already.  I feel like yesterday was the Fourth.  The shitty, rainy summer we've been having is supposed to let up for most of this week, so I'm glad about that.  And last weekend it was 90 and sunny where I was (which resulted in gnarly sunburn but also kind of made me happy).  I cannot cope with another Cleveland winter without the benefit of a Cleveland summer.  I hope all of you are having nice weather wherever you are.  Don't forget to walk your cat.

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Cuteapillar

Yeahhhhh, not gonna lie, I bought "Cuteapillar" solely because of the name.  The color of this polish is fine, don't get me wrong.  But I mean, Cuteapillar??  Just take my money, Walgreens.

both of the above pictures make the color look waaaaaaay too bright; the ones below are more color accurate, FYI

diggin' the color next to these earrings, which I love

As soon as I put Cuteapillar on I had a weird sense of deja vu.  I realized that it really reminds me of OPI Thanks A Windmillion, which I could have sworn I wore yesterday.  Turns out it was in January (wut).  I compared the bottles, and they do look really, really similar.  Both are sort of blue-ish sage colors.  I think the OPI is just a tad bit dustier-looking.  The formula on Cuteapillar was a bit watery and thin, but I felt like it was okay at two coats so I did that and left it.  I honestly have no idea if you can still find this polish.  I think it was part of the 2015 spring collection that was butterfly-themed.  I got this on clearance ages ago now, so unless you find it there too I think you may be out of luck.  Sorry my blogging is not more timely.  Buuuuut if you decide you really need a color like this, I'm pretty sure you can still find the OPI at Ulta.  Quite a price difference, not gonna lie.  The color is really good though. 

Two posts in one week, y'all.  I know.  Crazy.  But I didn't immediately put black back on, so I figured I would take pictures and such.  Maybe I'm exiting my black mood; who knows.  Anyway, I hope you all have had lovely weeks and that your weekend is full of sunshine.  I'm reasonably sure mine won't be because we live in a monsoon now.

OPI Sorry I'm Fizzy Today and the #dockselfie

As I was signing into the ol' blog here I caught myself thinking, wait a minute...have I not blogged since before the Fourth of July?!?  And no.  No, I have not.  Time totally gets away from me.  Also, my nails have been super boring.  I've been wearing Funky Fingers Dark Knight (which is a straight-up black creme) a lot, and that's not really worth showing you.  In this post I'm wearing a polish I had never worn by itself; last July I did some crappy nail art with it, which you can see here.  But after all the black I've been wearing I wanted something a little brighter.

Lipstick here is Milani Matte Beauty, which is one of the newer mattes released recently.  I highly recommend it if you're into the brownish sort of Cindy Crawford lip, which I still am.  I'm eagerly anticipating when I can drop a stupid amount of money on Urban Decay 1993.

Hello, bug eyes!  I bet you were all wondering, is Stephanie not into coral anymore?  I am.  I have what is basically a head-to-toe coral running outfit, which happened to match this polish.

I GLOW CORAL Y'ALL.

This is OPI Sorry I'm Fizzy today, which is a very pink-leaning coral.  Honestly, it's nothing special.  And also, I thought I remembered the formula being a poop from the first time I wore it.  Then I started polishing with it this time and was like GOD I HAVE THE BEST MEMORY FOR THE STUPIDEST THINGS because yes, it's a poop.  It's not terrible, but it's streaky as EFF for an OPI creme polish that really should be opaque in two coats.  I needed three here.  I topped it with NYC Grand Central Station and I was good to match it to my workout clothes like an idiot and head off into the sunset.

Other than that, I've just been working.  July is a pretty big month for programming at work, so cue my being there every weekend doing something-or-other.  But I've really, really, REALLY been trying to get to the lake so I can lie on the dock and obviously take a series of #dockselfies.  Because I can and because it's ostensibly summer even though it's been raining constantly.  Like seriously, our ceiling is leaking in the living room because it's been raining so much.  But anyway.

#dockselfie under the influence of Bloody Marys.  I was basically sleeping at this point.

#dockselfie wearing an amazing Target Xhilaration coverup thing that I got for like $10.  It looks fabulous on and I recommend you grab one if you're in the market for something that'll make you look less naked than a two-piece does when you're outside in a bathing suit and your neighbor's children are also playing outside.

I told Ben to take a picture of my aunt and me while we were lounging, but I stipulated that he not get my armpits in the picture because I didn't think I had shaved them recently (I hadn't).  So he took this picture of only my armpit that made us lol for about five minutes.

#dockselfie from last weekend when it was just me at the lake and the sun was difficult to come by.  But, I had a bathing suit, a Harry Potter book, and of course a Bloody Mary.  So I can't really complain.

Also, you may have seen this on my instagram (RemyRagdoll), but Ben got me this shirt that has Pusheen eating Ramen on it.  So.  I'm an adult.

That's about all for me for now.  I haven't checked the weather for the upcoming weekend yet, but if there is even A LITTLE SUN you can bet that I will drive my ass down to that lake and lie on that dock (even though I won't be able to make it down there until Sunday night because I have to work all weekend).  Oh wait just checked the weather and it's raining forever.  Okay seriously, I honestly don't usually get depressed by the weather...but this rain is getting ridiculous.  I don't understand it.  The summer is going so fast and there has been basically NO SUN.  I'm about to move to wherever it doesn't do this.

Here's hoping there's less water falling from the sky wherever you are.  Steffie out.