NOTD From My Most Recent Haul

Just a small haul. Just a few things that Head 2 Toe was out of. Plus a few that they didn't carry but 8ty8 did. I was actually pretty proud of my restraint:

Those of you who've been reading a while may be able to guess that since purple & glitter are 2 of my favorite things, the polish that called to me to be worn immediately was Color Club's Tru Passion. This is a great purple glitter with just a tiny bit of holo that you can see in a couple of these pics if you click to enlarge. This is 3 coats of color with 2 coats of Seche to mostly even out the gritty texture:

I really, really love this. I might have to go back for the rest of this collection the next time I place an online order.

Also, I actually did get around to trying the fake eyelashes this morning. I'll say it was an interesting experience LOL - look for the full review to be posted up tomorrow. Until then, thanks for reading.

~Colette

A Lovely Day

Sun came out this morning & here's one more pic of Mirror Image that may require sunglasses:

I was off work today so we could go to visit my great-aunt. After a 2 hour drive, we arrived. She recently moved, and it is soooo peaceful at her house, not quite in the middle of nowhere LOL but far enough that there's just so much peace & quiet & privacy & nature:

We hung out & had delicious lasagna for lunch:

Along with that we had some salad & bread & then we had apple-rhubarb crisp for dessert. But I guess by that point I was rather distracted actually eating, because even though the camera was in my sweater pocket the whole visit, I don't seem to have any pics of the rest of the food LOL.

One thing I did not fit into my 100th post extravaganza was any pics of Dude or Frisky! Well, I still don't have any new pics of them to post at the moment, but I have some of my aunt's cool pets. There was one cat, Thumper, who was not nearly so social as everyone else, so I did not get the opportunity to catch him on film or play with him, but I was kept plenty busy petting:

Nesbit:

Weed:

Poppin:

Fred:

& Sam:

I think there must be some genetic link between loving nail polish & loving animals, LOL - so many polish bloggers manage to sneak in a pic of their favorite pet occasionally, and the response is always so positive. I couldn't resist posting up these guys.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

100th Post Extravaganza!

So, here I am at post #100. And, fittingly enough, it's a gigantic one =) I know I am probably not exactly known for short posts LOL. Sometimes (OK, ofttimes) I just get to rambling, but this time my excuse is that I haven't posted in so many days, and I've got lots of pics & stuff to share! My nails, mom's nails, tasty food & extra fun stuff!

I feel like I ought to have something a little more monumental to say or do or show you guys, LOL. I guess I'll just stick with saying THANK YOU to all of my readers. 6 months ago blogging was not on my radar at all, and now it's like a normal habit - and an enjoyable one at that =) (Even on this old computer ... 3 weeks today & counting grrrrr ... but I won't get started on that old rant).

Enough with the sentimentality. On to the pics & things. Nail stuff first:

I realized yesterday that in my enthusiasm to show you the wonderful bling-ness of holos, I have been neglecting how cool they look when they're NOT in the spotlight. As yesterday was uniformly dreary, it presented the perfect opportunity to remedy the situation. Also note that I did this mani Saturday night, and it's still looking gorgeous after several days of wear - and I type pretty much all day at work, which is one of the worst (& one of the most unavoidable) things we all subject our nails to. So here's one more pic of He's Going in Circles:

Now, for my post #100 NOTD, I have a very special polish. Brooke sent me this polish back when I was just getting started, and I've been saving it up for my nails to be worthy LOL. I also thought it would look really cool as a background for a full nail koni, but after I had it on, I couldn't bear to cover it up at all. Maybelline Mirror Image:

GORGEOUS, right? Shiniest thing by far I've ever had on my nails. This is without a top coat, since I'd read top coat can dull the finish ... I tested on my right hand thumb & I have to agree, it kind of makes it more shiny vs. reflective if that makes sense.

Another gorgeous color, one I could certainly rock with some Konad, is China Glaze V, my mom's current mani. It's really kind of coral or dark peach, but I'm tagging it under orange. If I had a tag for every gradation of color, it would make an already long tag list twice as bad LOL. As you can see, this color comes out a little darker on the nail than in the bottle, but I still like it & so does she:

On to the food ... I had a sweet tooth, and I decided that the only thing that would satisfy it was cake balls. Mmmmm (picture Homer with his tongue hanging out here), caaaake baaaalls. Cute as they were on sticks, that obviously adds quite a bit of work, so I did not turn them into cake pops this time. I didn't have a whole lot of success with making cute drizzles on top, but hey - they don't have to be cute to be tasty:

I've got to end this super-sized hundredth post with a little quiz that's just too perfect. I found it over at Meredith's Blog:

Your Nail Polish Color is Purple

How you're unique: You are artistic and expressive Why your style rocks: You pay special attention to color and fabrics What this color says about you: "I'm creative and know how to take care of myself"

What Color Nail Polish Best Fits You?

This test is spot on (although I'd have to say their pic of purple polish is NOT LOL) - I'd love to know what color you are if you take the quiz & if you agree with what it says! =) I am more likely to buy a purple polish than any other color.

So, here's to another hundred posts! And as always, thanks for reading =)

~Colette

TOTD & Mini-Review

It's not a full review because, well, I didn't actually USE the product. I'm pretty sure I mentioned when my samples came that they sent me the fake nails in addition to the eyelashes, even though I only asked for the eyelashes. I wasn't going to review them at all because, while I don't have any real problem with fake nails or anything, they're just not for me. And especially not these.

Let me backtrack a little. Let's talk about the positives of this product before I start railing on it.

The 2 designs that I received, both from the Runway Collection & both listed as Medium Length, were Sequins (left) & Starlet (right). The more detail-oriented side of me noticed one has a red label & one has a black label, I'm not sure if that means anything special in Revlon code.

One of the positives I guess would be that I like the packaging, although I thought the little sticker ("Compares to $50 Salon Style") was kind of unnecessary & over the top. And unbelievable, although I guess I'm not the one to consult on salon manicure prices, but really, $50.00? It's just a decorated french tip people! If that's the case, I save more money than I thought doing my own LOL.

Now, both of these are pretty cute designs in my opinion. Sequins on the top & Starlet on the bottom:

Here's a shot of the back of the box, instructions - which seem easy enough - and ingredients (click to enlarge to a readable size):

Now, on to the not so positives ... I don't want to call them negatives, because on someone else, none of these might turn out to be a problem. The first is with the shape of the nails - they're very curved, side to side; too curved for my nail. Here is where I admit that I didn't wear them, and maybe the glue would keep them stuck to however much curved of a nail you have. Or maybe not.

The second is with the size of the nails - there are a ton of tiny, tiny nails. I picked the smallest, which must probably be intended for pinky nails (left pic) & compared to my pinky, and the largest, which must be intended for thumbs (right pic) & compared to my thumb, to show you that most of these are either way too small or too big, width-wise for my nails. My index, middle, and ring finger nails are all about the same size & there would not be enough in that particular size (middle pic, middle finger shown) for me to do a complete manicure properly. I'd end up having to compromise on the size & who wants to do that? Aside from not so positive number 3 which the pic will also illustrate:

They're WAY too short. Even on my thumb & index finger, which are shorter than I prefer right now, I still have nails peeking past the edge. Most of these, for me, are barely longer than the length of my nail bed. Now, granted, since I'm 5'8" I do have matching big hands, but I don't feel like my nails are so gigantic that this is excusable. I'm going to try & remember to look & see, next time I'm at a store that carries these, if they actually sell any designs in a "Long" length since both of these sets are medium. Considering how little I care for these however, I'm not going to put too much brain power towards the task & I make no promises of ever mentioning these again.

The long & short of it is, as expected, that fakes nails, and these fake nails in particular, are not for me. I would not purchase these for myself. But I have seen them reviewed positively on other blogs.

This is another reminder that I need to decide on a real ratings system ... maybe 1-10? 1-5? This product would be low-middle range, maybe a 3 or 4 on a scale of 10. Sorry Revlon. Maybe just send me some free polish next time LOL.

Before I go, here's my TOTD: Orly Midnight Star from a fairly recent collection I don't remember the name of & am too lazy to go look up =):

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: He's Going In Circles

This particular green holographic lovely is from the China Glaze Kaleidoscope Collection. When my grandma asked what it was called & I told her, she said that it was way too complicated of a name LOL. I have to kind of agree with her, for several of the names in the collection ... what exactly does it have to do with green? But that's something you kind of get used to as a polish junkie; most names nowadays range from having very little if anything, to nothing at all, to do with what color they actually are. Here is He's Going In Circles:

I feel the need to apologize for the sun pics ... sun was kind of hazy & also at a different angle, higher than normal when I'm taking pictures, and I wasn't totally happy with how the pics turned out.

I had every intention of doing some product reviews this weekend, but I ended up spending almost the whole weekend with my mom. Yesterday we went out to lunch, went to the greenhouse - where I was going to buy her a bush & then after browsing around we decided we need to do some more research online - and then ran a few errands like grocery store & stuff. Today we went to my grandparent's house so she could see her own mom, for lunch, and then after that I took both mom & dad & we went to see the new Star Trek movie - which I have to admit was VERY good. I had my reservations at this new young cast but they really kept it true to the franchise while adding some fresh perspective. Anyway, so I don't know if I'll have enough time during the week or if it will take until next weekend for the reviews. Thanks for reading.

~Colette