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!

What's Wednesday Wearing?

R.E.I.T. is wearing a very complex look today. She started out with China Glaze "Secret Peri-wink-le" on her left hand, and Nicole by OPI "Show You Care" on her right hand. She then selected a few nails on each hand for french tips. The left hand got white and silver glitter tips, and the right hand got gold. You can't say she doesn't know what colors go together, can you?

Since we skipped a day of showing you our stash, let's get on with it, and show you our blacks:

L-R: Wet N' Wild "Black Creme", China Glaze "Lubu Heels", Sinful Colors "What's Your Name?", Sinful Colors "Secret Admirer".

Now, why are these all classified as black, when one looks kind of red, one kind of bluish, and one kind of silver? Because the bases of each polish are black. "Lubu Heels" is explained in our last post. "What's Your Name" is black with tons of micro-glitter that looks different depending what the angle is. Head on, it looks teal, but if you tilt your hand (or the bottle) and there's an aura of purple. Still, if you just looked at it on someone's hands, just a brief glance, it looks black. But my absolute favorite of these is "Secret Admirer". It's so full of silver micro-glitter, it should be blindingly sparkly on the nail, but it's not. Instead, it looks like you painted your nails with pieces of heavy artillery. It's definitely not a mess around kind of color.

Mommy: "Hey, R.E.I.T., do you have something you want to say on the blog today?
R.E.I.T.: "No!"

Well, I guess that's just about it for us today!

Monday Tuesday Mommy Manicure

Since Monday was a holiday, I decided to bump Mommy Manicure Monday a day. So, today I'm reviewing China Glaze "Lubu Heels".


That's my hand, a tiny bottle of brandy. Please excuse the messy job and the overall horrible condition of my cuticles.

"Lubu Heels" is a basic black creme with blood-red micro-glitter. That's three coats in the picture, with Sally Hansen Hard As Nails for a top coat. I really like the finish on this polish. It looks black, until you get it into the light, when the very subtle sparkle comes out. The best part of this polish is that it actually stayed on. China Glaze has amazing colors, but they always just sort of flake off within an hour or two on me. This one stayed put four days with minimal tip wear.

I don't know how often I'll wear this one, but I'm glad I bought it.

R.E.I.T. says today is pink.

Today, we're going to share our pink nail polishes! R.E.I.T. thought that would be the perfect color for today.

Mommy: Is there anything you want to say on the blog today?
R.E.I.T.: Mmmhmm.
Mommy: What do you want to say?
R.E.I.T.: Whoa! Careful. Be careful with the paint.

Consider that a reminder from R.E.I.T.: Be careful with your nail polishes. If you drop them, they might break. She knows from experience.

Message from R.E.I.T.: Careful paint. Like with babies.

Because we both like pink, our pink collection takes up two photos:


L-R: Sinful Colors "Wall Street", Mary Kay "Sagewood", Sinful Colors "Wicket Mind", Sinful Colors "Bali Mist"


L-R: Sinful Colors "Forget Now", Pure Ice "Flirt Alert", Studio M "Infusion"

Hopefully that's enough nail goodness to last the weekend. Monday will by Mommy Manicure, and I'll be reviewing China Glaze "Lubu Heels".

Boring Mommy polishes

Since R.E.I.T. is tres grumpy this morning, she's taking a day off from posting. I mean, after all, she has a very busy life, and sometimes a girl needs a little extra beauty sleep or Mommy with snap like an overstretched rubber band!

Anyway, since she's not going to be involved in this post, I thought I would share the portion of our collection that she is least interested in. Yup, the polishes I use for French manicures:

L-R: Mary Kay "Natural Pink", Sinful Colors "Snow Me White", Pure Ice "Super Star!", Essie "Pink Glove Service"

Yes, I realize there are two whites there. It doesn't show very well in the picture, but they are different whites. One is more of a cool, blue based white, and the other has a slightly warmer tone. I like to have variety. And Essie "Pink Glove Service" is my go-to top coat for French manicures, or any time I'm going to just leave my nails bare, but I want a little shine. It's just barely tinted pink, not at all the bright color you see in the bottle.

Since there is nothing glittery or brightly colored about French manicures, R.E.I.T. doesn't see what all the fuss is about.

Did someone say purple?

This is one of the many areas where R.E.I.T. and I differ in terms of our polish preferences. I don't have a lot of love for purple. Some people can wear purple nail polish and look funky and cool. If I wear it, it looks like I slammed my hand in a car door. But R.E.I.T. loves purple. It was the first color she was actually able to name, and she wears it at least once a week on her nails.

So, most of the purples we have are ones R.E.I.T. has picked out:

L-R: Mary Kay "Feisty Fougueux", Sinful Colors "Fiji", Studio M "Frenzy", Orly "Charged Up", Nicole by OPI "Show You Care"..

Since Wednesday is R.E.I.T.'s namesake day, I thought it would be cool if she could share her nail look of the day with you:



She decided to layer Studio M "Whose That Girl" and Sinful Colors "I Miss You". I think it takes a lot of guts to layer blue and pink!