Glitter Crazed Accident

Today, I took a journey into the heart of what it means to take a manicure a step too far. Or several steps too far.

I started off wearing Rescue Beauty Lounge "Catherine". I love, love, love the Real Housewives of The Tudor Dynasty collection, but I don't wear the colors often because, well, I just don't like the formula. They dry slowly and never really harden up enough to avoid marks. So, I woke up this morning with lots of little cuts in the surface and tip wear. I wanted to get at least a full day of wear out of it. So I decided I should put a layer of something over it.

I decided that E.L.F. "Golden Goddess" would work well over it. I'm sure I broke some kind of nail polish etiquette, layering a .99 grocery store polish over RBL, but I didn't intend to blog about it at the time. I let it dry, then decided that I needed tips. And I hadn't worn Orly "Galaxy Girl" for a long time. I taped off my nails and added tips. Then, I really loved the way the tips looked. So I did the whole nail:

For those keeping score at home, this is three thin coats of RBL "Catherine", and a coat each of "Golden Goddess" and "Galaxy Girl", plus a base coat, and a coat of Out The Door for each polish color. Since things were already thick, I thought, "Surely there must be some way to add more to this abomination." I just could decide what:

Studio M "Fast Play" on the thumb, Sinful Colors "Hottie" on the index, then Sinful Colors "UFO" and Sinful Colors "Pinky Glitter". The pinky is Sinful Colors "Nail Junkie". I think I could have planned the naming scheme better. They actually did all look different in person. I'll definitely be trying "Nail Junkie" over black sometime soon.

After all this, I decided to use Finger Paints "Sparkle Top Coat" over it, and then I decided I was probably forgetting to take my anti-depressant and took it all off.

And that, my friends, is a story that had no point, a manicure that went nowhere.

Tigers in 2011! Whooo hooo!

I live in Michigan, and in Michigan, you have two choices. Either be a fan of the Detroit Tigers, or a fan of the Yankees, because Derek Jeter lived here. I would rather let a hamster bite out my own eyes than be a Yankees fan. No offense, New Yorkers. But I'm a Detroit fan.

Last night, I asked my twitter peeps what I should do with my nails, and my friend Jill, a raging Tigers supporter, suggested I do a Tigers manicure. So, without further ado:

For the base, I used Studio M "Orange Hot". For the french tips, Orly "Royal Navy". Which is much more sparkly if you store the bottle upside down. I don't remember who blogged that tip, but it has made m appreciate that polish so much more. For the tiger stripes, I used a Kiss art striper polish.

Of course, R.E.I.T. had to get in on the orange act:

...but she couldn't hold her fingers still long enough to get a good picture.

You might have noticed that my raggedy cuticles look a lot better these days. I've ditched the cuticle oil in favor of a different product to treat the dryness, and it works like a charm. I'm almost embarrassed to say what it is, because it seems like such a "duh, of course that would work" solution. I've been rubbing super emollient foot cream with alpha hydroxy into my cuticles once a day. This also works as a cuticle remover. So, things are looking much better around my nails these days. I just hope I remember this next winter.

Mommy Manicure Monday

Okay, I have to share with you the most bizarre nail polish I have ever tried:



It's Orly's "Old School Orange" from their Plastix line. It's not a glossy creme, it's not matte finish. It's just... plastic looking.

Application was horrid. What you see in the picture are three coats, because no matter how carefully you apply, it's streaky as hell. Your best hope is to get the streaks lined up just right. Also, it never dries. I'm convinced of it. Seven hours after I put it on, I ended up with tons of smudges, and that beautiful cross-hatch pattern the sheets make. This is probably due to the fact that you have to just use so damned much of the stuff to reach opacity.

Now, if you do get a dreaded smudge while drying from "very wet" to "extremely tacky forever", you may feel the urge to smoosh it back into place with your tongue. RESIST THIS URGE! This stuff is not like normal nail polish, and it will leave an extremely bitter taste in your mouth if you put your fingers anywhere near your tongue for like, the first twenty-four hours after application.

With all these drawbacks, would I recommend this polish? Tip wear showed almost immediately, and it scarred and showed all kinds of dents. You can't really use a topcoat, or it will ruin the finish. But something is fun about the weird way it looks. I got so many compliments on the stuff, I'm sure I'll wear it again. And it is very cool to feel and play with in line at the bank.

Onto bloggish news: I will be in NYC later this week (no, not for fashion week), so the blog won't return until next Monday or Tuesday. You'll have to live without us for that long, LOL.

Shopping Haul and Bloggish News

Good afternoon everyone! R.E.I.T. and I just spent a wonderful afternoon at Sally's Beauty Supply. You see, today is Daddy's and my wedding anniversary (only four years, though we've been together eight), so as a present, Daddy let us go out on a little shopping splurge. What did we get? Soooo glad you asked. Here's what I picked out:


L-R: Finger Paints "Autumn Allure", Orly "Galaxy Girl", Seche Vite

I know what you're thinking. "Seche Vite? Top coats aren't wonderful and interesting, they're just clear." This is wonderful and interesting to me. For years I've used Sally Hansen Hard As Nails as my topcoat, and then when I started getting interested in nail blogs, I notice that just everyone uses Seche Vite and sang its praises. I've finally given in to the hype, and I'll do a comparison post after I do, so we can all find out if Sally has lost her crown.

Here's what R.E.I.T. picked:


L-R: Orly "Old School Orange", China Glaze "Solar Power", Orly "Royal Navy"

At one point, R.E.I.T. also had Orly "Purple Pleather" in her hand, then decided that it was too much like another purple. At least, I think that's what she meant by, "No, it's same. Same. Too same! Back!" before she put it back.

I also pointed out to Daddy that "Royal Navy" and "Solar Power" look a lot like Blue and Maize... the colors of Daddy's hated rival school, University of Michigan (Daddy is a diehard MSU fan). He was less than thrilled, so I promised that she would never be allowed to wear the two together.

I'll definitely be reviewing "Old School Orange" for a later post, as it is the most bizarre texture/color of any nail polish I have ever seen.

Now, onto bloggish news. Over on the right there, you should be able to see little mini-updates from all the nail blogs that R.E.I.T. and I like to read together. I'll be adding more in the next few days. If you know of a really kick-ass nail blog, drop us a link and we'll check it out. We love making new blog friends!