Across A Jelly Universe

Hello all,

I have my first jelly sandwich,  which is pretty late in the game,  I know.  Oh,  well.

This is one coat Nars Midnight Express, one coat Deborah Lippmann Across The Universe and another coat ME.   And because I'm obsessed with it right now,  one coat CND Sapphire Sparkle over the thumb and ring finger.   The thumb has too much SS but I like the ring finger.  

I really like this mani,  especially ATU,  this is how I always expected ATU to look. 

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

Give 'em the old Razzle Dazzle.....

Give 'em the old razzle dazzle
Razzle Dazzle 'em!

I have had this song from the musical Chicago stuck in my head for the past 5 days... ever since I put on Deborah Lippmans's Razzle Dazzle.

Razzle Dazzle is from the All that Jazz collection.  It's been on my lemming list for a while now so I was excited to try it.  Lippmann's website describes the shade as darkened raspberry sizzle (glitter).  That doesn't begin to describe how pretty it is in person.  This shade has a dark raspberry jelly base with raspberry glitter.  The polish went on smoothly and was opaque in two coats (though I would probably use three next time because I noticed the polish looked a little sheer when I took pics with the flash on).

The pic below is one of the few I managed to capture on the first day of my mani:

OPI BC, then Zoya Anchor, then 2 coats Razzle Dazzle, Zoya Armor, then Seche Vite TC

I got a lot of compliments on this shade. My sister ( whose entire nail polish collection consists of 3 bottles that were gifts) loved this color.  She said it looked like I had gems on my fingers and asked if she could take a pic of my nails to send to her friend.  :)

The rest of pictures were taken on day four of my mani except for the last pic which was taken on day five.  The polish held up really well.  I only had a little bit of tipwear and a small chip on my thumb.  (You can't see the tipwear in the photos because I filed my nails right before taking the pics.) My nails didn't start to look bad until the fifth day when huge chips came off of my right thumb and middle finger.  To be fair I did do things like wash dishes,  peel stickers, and other manicure busting activities.

The pic below is kinda blurry but I think it really shows off the glitter well.

Look at how gorgeous Razzle Dazzle is in the bottle!!!

Day 5 -- you can see a little bit of the tipwear

I love this color and I admit that I don't regret spending the money on it.  It's a unique shade with a great formula.  Deborah Lippmann polishes are pricey but nobody else out there makes glitters quite like she does with the same level of quality.  My opinion is that if you're going to splurge on a high-end polish it should be unique and definitely not dupeable. (Tangent: Is dupeable even a word?)

Deborah Lippmann polishes are Big 3 free and retail for between $16-$20.  Usually the cremes cost $16, the glitters cost $18, and special polishes like Boom Boom Pow cost $20.  Razzle Dazzle cost $18 and can be found at high-end department stores like Neiman Marcus and Nordstroms.  Deborah Lippmann polishes can also be purchased online at lippmanncollection.com


Coming up in my next post is my nail polish version of a Power Suit.

Till next time

Mac
who is going to attempt a no-buy for the next month.  However I can't be held responsible for my actions if a HTF polish crosses my path...

I have some pastels. Yes, me. Really.

Hello All!

First off I want to apologize for the long wait on the next post.  I had the foresight to swatch extras on my last day off, because I knew my next day off would be probably hectic, and I work long hour shifts.  Well, that plan fell apart as I was just too tired to post, and I was right, Friday was hectic.

I convinced Mac (it wasn't hard) to go to the King Of Prussia Mall with me.  For those of you who don't know, it's the second largest mall in America, about 20 minutes from where I live.  I don't go there too often for several reasons:  1) I used to work there, so had to give myself time to actually miss it B) It's a fancy shmancy mall, which equals big $$$ and green) as a non teenager, I don't want to deal with teenagers.  At a mall.  On a weekend.  Well, we went anyways.

I've haven't really shopped KOP for nail polish (for shame!), until I accidentally found Deborah Lippmann at Neiman Marcus a couple of weeks ago.  Did I mention that NM has valet parking?  At the mall.  See above adjectives. 

We both made it out with something off of our lemming list, plus some shiny, shiny pretties.  I'll get to my stash later on.  BTW we also hit Target and Ulta, so my final tally was 19 bottles in one day!  Needless to say, my budget is blown for like 3 months, but we'll see how that goes...

On to my delayed post: this is the second part of my old as sin classic Orly collection.  These are the pastels, though I think that they were actually released in two separate collections.  I bought these, well, my best guess is between 15-20 years ago; they are some of my oldest polishes.  Anybody remember Hills?  Yeah, I'm pretty confident that's where I bought them.  I distinctly remember buying them under the harsh glare of the florescent lights.  Anyways, I remember thinking how very pretty they all were, all soft and springy!  Which was shows you how unpredictable I am, since I was an emo, goth, nerd before either emo or goth were really in.  I was a champion headbanger. Anyhoo, on to the pretties!!

Orly Aqua Pastel

Aqua Pastel is a very, very creamy light mint color, that could almost be called ecru.  It is just this side of not being cream.  It was the thickest of the pastel Orlys .  It was pretty brush strokey, and didn't quite even out.  Index finger is 2 coats with a top coat; middle finger is 3 coats no top and ring finger is just 2 coats no top coat.  I think the color could have been interesting if it evened out.  Next swatch I'll try with some thinner first.

Orly Blue Pastel

The only reason I know the difference between Orly Blue Pastel and Orly Breathless Blue is that I managed to get some polish on the bottle, they're pretty similar.  BP is a very pretty light blue creme that handled much better than AP, though it never quite evened out either.  Again, index 2 coats with top; middle 3 coats no top coat and ring just 2 coats no top.  Again, looking to swatch again with some thinner.

Orly Breathless Blue

When I was doing some online searching, this is the only color that came up, though it was in the new, round Orly bottle.  I'd be interested to find out if its identical, because I freaking love this color!  This one was the least streaky/thick and actually looked pretty good when set.  This is an exquisite dusky blue with green undertones.  Not close to a teal, but definitely greener than BP.  I <3 this color. Again index 2 coats with top; middle 3 coats no top, and ring 2 coats no top.  SQUEE!

Orly Hello Yellow

Hello Yellow was  pretty streaky, considering you can actually see it on the slightly unfocused swatch.  I would call this a sunny, butter yellow creme.  It's not a bright yellow, a bit more subdued, but it makes my hand look very, very red.  This is my only yellow, since I am not a warm color girl in general.  Index finger is 2 coats with top; middle is 3 coats with no top; ring is 2 coats no top.  I'm glad I have a yellow in my stash, and I doubt I'll buy another, even if this one is pretty horrible to use.  

Ok, so I've promised I would improve my pics, and I will.  On the ultra-mega-uber-awesomesauce nail polish shopping coma of love day, Mac figured out what I was doing wrong with my macro.  Basically, I thought I was activating it, and I wasn't.  So, my next post will actually contain clear shots...in theory!  I'm super excited about the shiny polishes I bought, and just to tease, I've got some new E.L.F., Nars, Illamasqua and Deborah Lippmanns!  Well, new to me anyways!

Thanks and have a good one!

Luci <(")

Nothings gonna change my world...

Deborah lippman Across the universe


I apologize for the fuzzy picture...again.  Mac's the photographer, I just muddle through life getting distracted by shiny thi...ohhh Princess Bride...

Anywhoo.  I was walking through the King Of Prussia Mall looking for Claire's to feed my addiction when walking through Neiman Marcus, while on the phone with Mac, I literally stopped in my tracks, and mid sentence, and uttered: " Oh my god, they have Deborah Lippmann!"  I oohed and aahed at the pretty colors, picked up and put down Call Me Irresponsible about three times, and then hurried away from the steep price tag and kept looking for Claire's.

Did I mention the mall was going to close in 25 minutes?  Anyway, it takes about 3 days to properly shop KOP, so after I got lost turned around, I managed to find Claire's.  And then I became thoroughly disappointed in the teenie-bopper neon colors they had there.  My mind and heart would accept nothing less than Deborah Lippmann. 

In full disclosure I had just purchased Ching Glaze Sea Spray and Starboard at Ulta with my 20% coupon, and had decided to put down a Revlon polish (Lily?) because I had bought too many polishes, and I am going on a couple of trips that I need to save up for and...you know, the usual voice in the back of your mind asking you do you reaaaaaally need this polish...and that voice proudly professes:  YES! YES YOU DO!  BUY IT! BUY IT! BUYITBUYITBUYIT!  No?  Just me then.

I had very bravely fought the BUYITs and put down the precious and managed to leave Ulta spending less than $20, which in its own way is a freaking miracle.  Long story short (too late), I was proud to have been very frugal.  Then I went to the mall.  Silly monkey.

I didn't stand a chance when I walked by the counter with all the pretty, pretty DL bottles.  They. Are. Adorable.  I was ready to walk out empty handed, even though I had Mac in my ear asking about Bad Romance and ATU.  At first glance they weren't there so I was ready to walk away, when lo and behold (tangent:  how do you lo? I can figure out how to behold, but lo has me in a bit of a quandary.) Then, my eyes fell on the the word "across" and I may or may not have squealed.  I plead the fifth.  It was a done deal.  SO gorgeous in the bottle. 

So, after all that, here's the kicker.  I've discovered I don't like hex glitter.  At all.  It's very pretty, but I feel that there's something odd about my nails.  Maybe I need to layer it over a solid creme, or I need to be more cautious about where I place the glitter, or maybe I needed another layer of top coat.  I don't know, but there's something...off.  Mind you still gorgeous, but not the amazingness I was expecting. 

Anyways, waiting to hold off complete judgment on DL until I can try another shade, hopefully a creme.

Thanks and have a good one!

Luci