This is my kinda pink!

Quick NOTD:  Illamasqua Vice from the Theater of the Nameless collection, this is my first pink mani for October. I freaking love love love love love love love love it! So not me at first glance but the color is just right on. Feminine and strong! The rubber texture is fun and dries quickly.  This is two coats over Sally Hansen Hard As Nails. No top.
Thanks and have a good one!
Luci <(")

Damn you Essie, you win this round!

Here's a quick NOTD using only Essie colors.  Sigh.  I've been experimenting with multicolors on one hand and decided to give Essie another shot.  Application was great, with 2 coats of each color over Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails, a coat of Poshe, then China Glaze Cracked Concrete to mute it down a smidgen.  I didn't want to like the Essie, but there's been minimal tip wear in 48 hours, which for me is very good!  I would get another full day of wear from this, except I've got a mini college ruin this weekend and will do a British and French manis in honor that.  Sorry I didn't take a pic of the mani before the crackle :(

Thumb: Fair Game
Pointer: Coat Azure
Middle: Dive Bar
Index: Incognito
Pinkie: Sew Psyched  (more of a textured look, even in RL not too much of a distinction)

Sunlight

 

More sunlight

Weird alien red light

Shadow with flash

Thanks and have a good one!!

Luci <(")

It's the end of the world as we know it...

Lol, I couldn't resist.  Here's my Weekend mani: 
Zoya Irene with an accent nail of Essie Smooth Sailing.  Ohh, and my first Poshe use!   Loves It! My other hand is the reverse.   Color combination is kinda weird but welcome to my world.

Be safe fellow East Coasters and don't forget to fill your bathtub with water!

Thanks and have a good one!
Luci < ( ")!

X-dry top coat is a liar!

So this is what my nails look like now.   Ignore the swipe of Flying Dragon :
Yeah not so pretty.  That's after lunch and a half hour of shopping. 

Luci < ( ")!

Soft and girly

Quick NOTD :
Ulta Lav-Ish. 3 coats with Ulta X-dry top coat.

Hope you like it because I do.   Wonderful lavender with a pretty and subtle gold shimmer.   Saw it at Mac's and used my Ulta rewards to pick it up.  

Sorry we're getting major rain in the Philadelphia Area and Irene is headed our way Saturday,  so it's a bit gloomy.

Thanks and have a good one!
Luci < ( ")

The drapes match the carpet

Hey guys,

Quick NOTD :

Both toes and tips are the same, which hasn't happened in months!   Don't put me in a box!   Got a mani pedi for the first time this year.   It was a necessary luxury.

China Glaze DV8 with top coat.

Mmmm Wolverine...

So, continuing on with the Finger Paints post, this is Hue Rang?.  It looks like this one was a summer color from 2010, and I picked it up on clearance for $1.99 a couple of weeks ago!  SCORE!

Pics:

So shiny...

It's purple!  It's blue!  It's cornflower!

This is 2 coats with base but no top coat.  It has a great formula, and the pigmentation is awesome.  You could be ok with only a single coat.  One of my biggest pet peeves is when I pick up a bottle of polish, especially if it is an expensive one, and its sheer.  Yes I understand the point of sheer polish, I just don't think it's worth the money.  So I was thrilled that HR is so dense, if you will.  The strong intensity is why Zoya is one of my favorites, and FP will be going into that category.  Especially for the price.

I picked up Essie's Smooth Sailing ( I know!) and need to do a comparison, possible dupe-age!








And here's some word association:
Hue Rang?-> Hugh Jackman->Wolverine->Hmmmmmmmmmmm
And here's a pic:

Not mine, but you're welcome

Thanks and have a good one!

Luci <(")

Another green ombre mani

Quick NOTD :
Thumb Ulta The Jungle Look
Index Revlon Rapid Dry Emerald
Middle Finger Paints Scenery Greenery
Ring Tres Risk A Lotta Cash
Pinkie American Apparel Hunter
I'm doing this from memory so there may be mistakes.
Thanks and have a good one!
Luci <(")

Who are you and what have you done with Luci?

Here is the final fall Finger Paints swatch, Cordur-Orange.  So, first off...I hate orange.  Orange just repulses me normally.  It's not my cup of tea and I rarely like it on any one else. So in a growth exercise (ha!) I chose Cordur-Orange as my free polish at Sally's. I would like to pick up the other 6 colors, but bills need to be paid or I have no air conditioning.  And summer in Philly without air conditioning is like living in hell.  Literally.
Anyhoo, pics!  This is 2 coats on a base coat, no top.

Spicy!

 

Not quite the right color...

So, the pics make this seem much more coral than it is in real life.  It is an absolutely lovely, pumpkiny, spicy terra cotta like color that I surprisingly love!  As others have said, it is a truly fall color, bringing up images of pumpkin pie, fuzzy sweaters and fireplaces all a lit while leaves fall gently in the background while sipping on a hot toddy.  Or that just may be me.

Overall, I am genuinely impressed with Finger Paints.  I've just recently started shopping at Sally's, and I had picked up some of their colors on clearance, but hadn't tried them out yet.  I'll have some swatches of these older colors coming up soon!


Thanks and have a good one!

Luci <(")

I say: "Never too many greens!" Military Green Comparison

Hello all!

Here is the second of the 2011 Fall Finger Paints I have to show you.  Military Green is exactly my cup of tea! I love green, especially something murky!  So much so, that I have 4 similar colors, so I did a very unscientific comparison.  Warning, this is pic heavy!  All swatches are on a base coat, 2 coats of color, no top.  It was very humid, so MG ended up bubbling, but I was pressed for time, so no do over.  MG is on my index and ring fingers throughout.


First off:  American Apparel Army Jacket: 

In the shade

In sunlight

 

 

 

AJ is much yellower, and MG looks much greyer than it is in real life.  Not close at all!

Next up, Essie Sew Psyched:

In sunlight

In shadow

 In the sunlight, you can tell that MG looks yellower now, but in the shadow, they're pretty close. 

Next: Sonia Kashuk Fatigued:

In shadow

In sunlight

 These two you can see the difference in shadow and sunlight.  Fatigued is bluer and deeper. But still pretty close.

Finally Zoya Gemma.  Yes I know Gemma has the purple flash, but I was curious about the base color.

In sunlight

In shadow

 Well, in sunlight the flash is distracting, but you can still see that MG is a bit bluer, but in shade, again, pretty close. 

Here are all five: 

In sunlight

In shadow

 In conclusion:  the closest would be Sew Psyched and Fatigued, with Gemma and Army Jacket being much too yellow.  Between those three, honestly, I think that SP and F are more dupes than MG with either of them.  Mind you close enough that if you're not a huge fan, I wouldn't get all three, but I'm ok with having them :).

Here are SP and F up close and personal:

In sunlight

In shadow

Honestly, I prefer Fatigued.  I like the formula better, not as watery, and at 3 bucks cheaper than Essie, score!  In truth, I don't think that Essie's worth the price tag, yet I sometimes get into the mob mentality and buy Essie, but I usually end up regretting it.  Unless it was at a deep discount.  I may be looking to give SP a good home soon. 

Thanks and have a good one!

Luci  <(")

I love a blustery day...

I'm very happy that all the fall collections are coming out!  My first grabs were from Fingerpaints.  I love the dusky colors and the lovely creaminess!  I've got three that I will show you, hopefully this week ;)

Here's a quick NOTD with Vintage Velvet with a bit of Silver Shatter thrown in for good measure.

This is Vintage Velvet with a base coat, 2 coats (formula was nice) and Sally Hansen Insta-dry Clear as the top coat.  A thin coat of OPI Silver Shatter on index and thumb. 
I really love this combination!  It has a great, rich, fall feel but with still a summer twist.  LOVE! 

It's teal.  That is all. <3
BTW, Sally's was doing a buy 2 get 1 free on all Fingerpaints...

Thanks and have a good one!

Luci <(")

Ravenclaw!

Just a quick NOTD in honor of the final Harry Potter movie.   Mac and I will be attending the midnight opening and to be honest this is a big deal for us.   Yes that sounds corny but we've shared a lot of events dealing with HP so it truly does end tonight. I hope any other fans have a great mani and a great time tonight!

Zoya Indigo on thumb and ring, Rummel Pro Gold Infusion on pointer, middle, ring and pinkie,  and OPI Navy Shatter on middle.

Deja vu!

Well, hello all again!

Lots has been going on so let me explain.  No, no that will take to long, let me sum up:
I went to a work conference, then directly on vacation, then came back to work for a week, started working on remodels. started training someone, trained my self, will continue training for about the next month (others not me) and hopefully will go back to training (myself).  In short, I'm overwhelmed and exhausted and the blog has suffered.

That being said, I will try to make a valiant effort to show you all of my pretties (I'll get you...hehehehehehe) from Poland.  And don't let Mac tell you she didn't get some shinies!  She totally did.  I've also managed to cross some stuff from my Lemming list.  And yes, I totally jumped on the Crackle fad.  Since those have been swatched to death (thankfully!  How else was I supposed to know I needed all of them?)  I'll just post when I do something wacky and/or kooky.  Maybe a little off the wall?  Hmm....

So in order to post my new Polish polish (he!  That never gets old!)  I must finish my previous International House of Polish post, which I can do in one go.  BTW, I want to thank those that actually read through this intro before jumping to the pics.  I like to think I am both witty and charming.  Hawk. Iris. Bamboozled. Hogwarts. Pomplemousse.  Lesczynska Queen of the Forest.  Right, that's what I thought....

Atelier is a Spanish produced polish that I can't find any info on.  I know I got this in 2000, because that's when I was in Spain.  Yeah!  Logic!

Atelier 451

Atelier 451

Atelier 451

  So, wow.  Gorgeous, gorgeous sparkly purple!  2 coats, with base coat.  The formula was pretty thick and clumpy, but the color is beautiful!

Atelier 454

Atelier 454

This is a lovely taup-y foil that was quite streaky.  2 coats with base.  Again, clumpy formula...I really need to invest in some thinner.  The color is a lovely, but not forgiving.  You can see every flaw in my nails, which is par the course for a foil, and why I tend to shy away from them.  However, I like it enough.

Nabila label states "Italian Cosmetics"  and "Made in Spain", so there you go!  No info to be found, this would have been 1999 or 2000. 

Nabila 14

Nabila 14

I <3 chromes!  And by my best guess, I picked this up right before Sally Hansen came out with the Chrome Nail Makeup (really, we didn't have enough names for what we paint our nails with?)  The formula was, say it with me, thick, and to be honest, I always remember this as being so.  But I love silvers, greys and chromes, and 10+ years ago, they were no where to be found!  Man we get so spoiled, so easily!

Colour Cosmetics seems to be owned by L'Oreal, but not sure about when I purchased it.  I know I purchased it in Germany, Berlin to be exact, and it says "Made in England" and I just give up.  You win.

Colour Cosmetics 607

Colour Cosmetics 607

Well, this was my first foray into duochromes, and we never forget our firsts!  I love love love love love it!  That being said, I have a ton of duos that are way better, but nostalgia and all and look it so shiny!  Periwinkle to lilac. 'nuff said!  Formula was not horrible, but still kinda thick.  But did I mention pretty!?!

So that is the end of my original International colours, the 'u'  makes 'em fancy.  I will do swatches soon of the newbies!  Yeah, plus I really want to swatch all of my Zoyas, because I love them more than I love sugar, and sugar is my heroin.  So, I think it will be big batches followed by silence.  That sounds about right.

Thanks and have a good one!
<(")  Luci



Edit:  I almost forgot!  I would like to shout out a huge thanks to a bunch of bloggers who put us on their roll, which immensely helped pick up our traffic!!!

Spin at prettyedgynails.blogspot.com
Destany at confessionsofasarcasticmom.blogspot.com
GiMiKd at gimikdgirl.blogspot.com
Amber C at rainbowsandsparklesblog.blogspot.com
Lisa at neverendingobsession.blogspot.com












Bonus Track:

American Apparel Mac Arthur Park with China Glaze Crackle Black Mesh and Cracked Concrete
My hand made camo nails!

My Royal Mani - Revlon Royal

Hello all,

Today in celebration of William & Kate's nuptials I bring you Revlon Royal!!!  I had to rush this mani a little because it was 2:30 am and I wanted it to be dry enough to take pictures before the wedding coverage started so my application wasn't the best.

1 coat OPI BC, 2 coats of Revlon Royal, 1 coat Zoya Armour, 1 coat Seche Vite

Even with the sloppy application I love how this turned out.  Revlon Royal is a gorgeous dark blue shade with a jelly finish.  It's the lighter cousin of Nars Midnight Express. Revlon's formula is wonderful.  The polish applied smoothly and only needed two coats.  I used Bundle Monster plate BM08 and Konad Princess Polish in white to add the crown.  ( Ha!  Even the stamp is done in a princess polish)

 I decided I needed more bling so I added a coat of Sally Hansen Diamonds to the thumb and ring finger of my right hand.  Of course I immediately smudged the thumb :(

Overall I love this shade.  It's so elegant and perfect for my Royal manicure.  

Revlon polishes are available at most drugstores in the US and retail for around $4.99.

That's all for now... I'm off to enjoy the wedding with my themed mani, cinnamon toast, and a spot of tea. :) 

Mac  

SHNP

Decided on Ruby Sapphire!   Here's what's been distracting me on my drive today!