My Nails Look Like ...

OK before we get to the MNLL for today (hehe, my very own acronym!), do you ever check out polish at your local grocery store? I had my mom with me & she helped talk some sense into me after yesterday's splurge, but seriously, they carry OPI at my Cub Foods. They even had one of the Designer Series (something very blue & sparkly that I've unfortunately already forgotten the name of). And cheaper than Ulta, matter of fact, although not as cheap as some e-tailers.

Alright, that said, I found 2 things at work that worked for MNLL. You'll notice I'm missing a rhinestone - it popped off around 10:00 this morning, and I think it got to be like the 4th or 5th thing to piss me off. I mean, usually I get at least a couple days before I start losing stones. So I guess that answers my question of whether wet polish works as well as actual binder.

That's the old phonebook that is my so-classy monitor stand at work.

And that is a set of stickers that came with a calendar. Which actually, when I looked at it a little closer, is hilarious. Check it out, this is what's inside (click to enlarge & see the little pics better):

I have circled, of course, the Hair/Nails sticker. But look at the quantities of some of these, I mean, only 4 Hair/Nails stickers, but 6 for the Dentist?! Then there's weird stuff like the Jetsons-esque robot featured in the Cleaning sticker, or the creepy grinning tooth coming at you with a toothbrush.

One last thing before I go find dinner: I saw on the news this morning that tomorrow is National Wear Red Day. It's designed to raise awareness of heart disease, and the fact that it is the #1 killer of women. More women die from heart disease than from the next 5 causes combined, including all forms of cancer. Not to preach at anyone reading this, but there's no reason not to participate in this, and what a good excuse to bust out the red polish! I will be posting up my red NOTD tomorrow morning. Pass it along! It would be cool to have a sea of different colored reds across the blogs tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette.

NOTD & Impulse Buying

Well, actually Impulse Buying is coming first. (And be forewarned: there a LOT of pics coming up here.)

Is there a word, like kleptomaniac, except for nail polish & I pay for it? If so, that's what I am. It's like I had a compulsion on me ... it was undeniable. I had to buy nail polish.

First I discovered a Dollar Tree practically right next door to my job that I had somehow overlooked:

L'Oreals & Maybellines - my favorites are the 3 on the end: Celadon Shimmer, Jaded Blues & Blue Riders.

Then I needed to pick up a couple things at Target. Who can go to Target without at least glancing at the nail polish?

Rimmel Cat Fight & Scene Stealer. Both of these are considerably more sparkly in person.

Then, a friend at work gave me a coupon to Ulta. There is not one that's exactly convenient for me, but I was game to hunt a location down. The coupon was $3.50 off $10.00 or more - I didn't think I'd have a problem getting to $10, and I was right. I mean, I could go broke in that place! I managed to kinda-sorta restrain myself.

My very first Piggy Polish, Mermaid (which reminds me a LOT of Urban Decay Shattered), NYC Green with Envy, & then OPI Russian Navy, My Private Jet, & Significant Other Color.

So, that really should have been enough polish for the day, right? Well, except I'm still on the hunt for those Barielles, and there were 2 CVSs on the way home from Ulta ...

Sally Hansen Lacquer Shine Flash & Spark from CVS # 1 & from #2 Milani Lemongello, Ms Milani, Cloud 9 & ... Cloud 9.

Weird huh? Yeah, that's what I thought. Not sure if it's mislabelled or what but these are obviously 2 different colors & I'd like to find out what the purple is really called. I'm assuming the blue is the "real" one because the name makes more sense for a blue.

So, that leads to my NOTD, which is the SH Flash:

And yes, that's a little bit of non-Konad nail art on my pinkie. I didn't have time to Konad & hadn't used any rhinestones in a while so I busted them out & am apparently a tad rusty since it turned out a little crooked. And they're a much brighter pink than shows in the pic. Not bad though. I also wish I'd stuck it on my ring finger instead of the pinkie, but oh well. I also usually use a little Cina to glue them down & I lazied out & just pressed them into semi-wet polish & then put on top coat.

One more thing before I really have to go to bed:

This was the sunset as I left the last CVS & headed towards home. I probably have my mom to thank for my love & appreciation of nature, and I stopped to take a pic because it really was gorgeous. After rushing from place to place it was good to take a moment, slow down, and savor something beautiful. Another simple little pleasure.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

My Nails Look Like...

A packet of Bigelow Plantation Mint tea. Seriously - I was at work this morning & picked it up & I was like "Hey, I match." And so was born the idea of a mini-series for my blog, of finding normal, everyday stuff that my nails match.

We'll see how long I think this is a good idea, lol, but for now here is the first installment. It was hard to get the colors to match on camera like they did to the nake eye, so I've got a few different lighting AND to differentiate them, my very first text in a pic. Yay me.

As much as I love this green, it will be gone tonight if I have time or else tomorrow. My right index (the first casualty 99.95% of the time) is chipped. And I hereby confess to being a peeler, so once the chips start I can't help but to add to the disaster.

Thanks for reading

~Colette

Red

3x Red (although the one is kinda more purply-red) courtesy of Mom. 'Scuse the messy desk ... I'm in the process of trying to get it cleaned up so it's a better backdrop for pics but ... well, stuff usually ends up pushed to the side more often than properly put away.

Under my desk lamp (normal lighting for my manicure pics)

Wth camera flash:

From left to right: Max Factor Diamond Hard Currant Scene, Avon Flammable, & Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails Ravishing Red.

It's really amazing how different they look under the different lighting. I may start doing more than one light source for my manicures also, now that I'm getting a little more competent with manipulating the pics around in my posts.

♥ Mom & also ♥ thrift shops. Thanks for reading

~Colette

Nubar NOTD

I wanted to do something bright again so I chose Nubar Reef Green, Konaded with black special polish & plate m31. I was watching TV & spaced out a little so I don't have a pic pre-Konad for this one.

The finish on this I think might be termed a foil? I'm not really 100% up on a lot of the "technical" descriptive terms but I do know it's shiny & pretty & very springy & maybe I can help encourage some more warm weather from Mother Nature - we had a balmy 46 degrees yesterday & no I'm not joking - in Minnesota that is an excuse for shorts for some people.

I'm not totally happy with my Konad. I had some streaking because I used black & was impatient with the top coat ... not that it's THAT bad, I just feel kind of sick of my current plate collection. I've been planning on buying some more for a while but I just haven't gotten around to placing an order. This will help get my butt in gear I think.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette