Marriage Equality Nail Art

Hi chickadees,

I wanted to share the nail art look I came up with for an InStyle contest. The challenge was to somehow incorporate tuxedo nails. Now, I already did a tuxedo nail art look for the Tony Awards which you can find here: http://smartandsarcasticwithdashesofinsanity.blogspot.com/2012/06/nighttime-special-occasion-nailstony.html But as I was looking at those tuxedos next to each other this design suddenly popped into my head.  

There are already a ton of tuxedo nail art tutorials online so I won't bother putting one here. I basically freehanded the jacket and then just did clean up. This time I used a brush I bought at Pearl Paint for the bowtie and buttons but you could also use a dotting tool, a toothpick or even an old pen that has run out of ink or a pencil. I also freehanded the rainbow though you could use nail tape if you want to. The heart was painted with a brush and the equal sign was done with a pencil. 

Anyway, I hope you like the design. Here are all the polishes I used for the look...

Heart: Confetti I <3 U, Essie Sure Shot

Rainbow: OPI Color So Hot It Berns, Zoya Willow, Zoya Pippa, Orly Lucky Duck, China Glaze Manhunt, Sally Hansen Good to Grape

Tuxedo: Confetti I <3 U, Essie Licorice

HRC Symbol: OPI Color So Hot It Berns, Milani Paradise Pink

More photos of the design...

REVIEW of Butter London Marrow With SWATCHES

Hello my little osteoblasts,

Today I have yet another purple nail polish for you. I get on one of these kicks where I decide I need a certain color and then I end up with more purple polishes than I know what to do with. I'll be doing a comparison post eventually so you can see how they all stack up. I want to compare Butter London Marrow, Zoya Monica, Zoya Lael, Zoya Neeka, and Essie Carry On as purples can be a little tricky, leaning more red under one lighting condition and more blue under another. This review is for Butter London Marrow, which has the distinction of being used/designed by the team behind Vena Cava. Now, despite my reservations about Butter London polishes (I had a bad experience with Artful Dodger and while Wallis was an improvement, I still needed four coats to get it fully opaque) I was so in love with the swatches I'd seen of this polish that I threw it into my order along with Butter London Wallis. 

Color: Butter London Marrow is a purple creme polish with shimmer. Maybe I've just tried too many purple polishes but this one seemed a little unremarkable. It tends to lean more red under most lighting conditions but it can also lean more blue under other conditions. This polish was a little tricky to photograph which is why I want to do a comparison post with my other purple polishes so you can get a better idea of how this one compares.
Formula: The formula was nice, not too watery and not too thick, it could cling to the brush without immediately sliding off.
Application: The first coat was pretty opaque. I could see where the brushstrokes overlapped but it wasn't noticeably streaky. By the second coat, the polish was opaque (though I did use a thicker second coat to get a smoother application). So, while it wasn't a perfect formula, I do have to give it credit for being opaque in two coats. As faithful followers of this blog know, I'm generally a three coat kind of girl and a polish really has to be opaque in two coats for me to avoid adding that third coat. The shimmer is somewhat hidden. You can really only see it where the light hits the highest curve of the nail. I felt like it was stronger before I applied top coat so that may have played a role in reducing the effect of the shimmer (though I don't know if that's likely).

CONCLUSION: Butter London Marrow isn't an incredibly special color and the shimmer isn't noticeable enough to really differentiate it from a similar purple creme polish. The formula is alright but not spectacular. The biggest selling point is that it's opaque in two coats. I'm not sure if that's worth the bump in price compared to Essie, OPI, and Zoya but if you really like this particular shade of purple or if you find this polish on sale, I feel OK about recommending it with reservations.

Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. If you would like to help support this site, please consider making your next purchase at amazon.com through the links on my page.

SWATCHES (semi-color accurate)

Clinique Long Last Lipstick Mini in Red Red Red

Clinique Haul

Hi chickadees!

I was so thrilled to get my order from Clinique in the mail yesterday. They were running an offer where you could get three free deluxe samples if you spent $30. Now since I already have a ton of Clinique Chubby Sticks, I chose to try out two of their mascaras, Lash Power Mascara in 01 Black Onyx and High Impact Waterproof Mascara in Black. For my samples I chose to get the Take the Day Off Makeup Remover Mini, Long Last Soft Shine Lipstick Mini in Red Red Red, and Chubby Stick Mini in Super Strawberry. Of course, I will be trying out all of these products and reviewing them for you soon.

Promotion running until March 23, 2013. https://www.clinique.com/checkout/samples.tmpl?show_promo=1

Lash Power Mascara in 01 Black Onyx

Lash Power Mascara in 01 Black Onyx

Lash Power Mascara in 01 Black Onyx

I noticed a bit of a scent. The wand is very thin and the bristles are also short and thin. I feel like this will be great for getting corner lashes and bottom lashes.

High Impact Waterproof Mascara in Black

High Impact Waterproof Mascara in Black

High Impact Waterproof Mascara in Black

I didn't notice any scent to this one. It seems to be a creamier formula. The wand is also fairly thin with short bristles but I feel like this one might give a bit more volume. 

Take the Day Off Makeup Remover Mini

Long Last Soft Shine Lipstick Mini in Red Red Red

Long Last Soft Shine Lipstick Mini in Red Red Red

Bright tomato red. I'm pretty happy with this color. It's exactly what I expected it to be. 

Chubby Stick Mini in Super Strawberry

Size comparison to a regular Maybelline Chubby Stick 

Size comparison to a regular Maybelline Chubby Stick 

I would say the mini has about half the amount of product of a regular Chubby Stick.

REVIEW of OPI Samoan Sand With SWATCHES

Hello my darlings!

I can finally write a post with some good swatches again. Thank goodness. I picked up OPI Samoan Sand in a drugstore.com haul even though it seems to always be available at every drugstore with a OPI section. Even though I"ve never been a nude polish kind of girl there was just something about the swatches I'd seen that had me captivated, especially when I saw how this looked with a matte top coat. I haven't tried that out yet but I did wear this polish for quite a while and I think it's a perfect foundation nail polish shade for me. You know, that color that's a shade or two off from the foundation you wear? There's something that looks so polished about it.

Color: OPI Samoan Sand is a light sandy, peachy beige creme polish. It reminds me of my foundation and I used to wear L'Oreal n2 so it's a pretty pale shade. I feel like depending on the lighting it can take on more of a yellow tone or more of a pink tone.
Formula: Like other OPI polishes, this one is definitely on the thinner, less viscous side but I wouldn't call it remarkably watery or gloopy.
Application: The first coat was pretty smooth, though a bit streaky on the thumb. The second coat was also smooth, though I did feel like the brush was prone to making ridges in the polish if it wasn't held flat and flush with the surface of the nail. At two coats, I thought opacity was decent but I felt like I needed a third for full opacity. On my third coat, I feel like ridges were more of a problem but it was easy to smooth over imperfections. It wasn't a perfect formula but I felt like it was manageable. When I was painting with my nondominant hand, application was still smooth but you could see more of the ridges because I had less control with the brush. Seche Vite worked wonders but it didn't completely even out the ridges. Though I will say it was a very minor thing and it probably won't bother most people. I'm just looking for a perfect polish and I'm going to tell you what's wrong with all the ones I do try.
Wear: I wore this polish for over a week. I thought it wore beautifully during that time and I grew to love it.

CONCLUSION: I think this is a beautiful nude creme polish to try if your skintone is anything like mine. I love the look of foundation nails. This is a polish that takes an experienced hand as the formula is a bit tricky to work with so if you're looking for something easy, you might want to skip this one. But I'm happy to have this one in my collection.

Cat is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. If you would like to help support this site, please consider making your next purchase through amazon.com through the links on my page. 

SWATCHES:

REVIEW of Sinful Colors Why Not With SWATCHES

Hi chickadees,

It figures that things would have to get worse before they can get better. I have some more bad swatches for you today as it was impossible to get a color accurate photo of this polish. I scoured the web and this is the most color accurate swatch I could find.

http://www.rightonthenail.com/2012/08/sinful-colors-why-not-and-traveling-in.html

However, my reviewing skills aren't impaired so let's begin there.

Color: I've been longing for color this winter and Why Not is a very pretty saturated blue creme polish. It doesn't have enough green to be teal. It reminds me of swatches I've seen of Nails Inc. Baker Street and Essie Butler Please, though I think this polish has a hint of green to it and may not be as bright as those polishes.
Formula: The formula is a little bit watery and runny.
Application: The polish applied a bit streaky with smooth brush strokes. That is, I had no problems with the brush dragging, but it was difficult to get even coverage. I think it was because this is one of those brushes that cause ridges to form in the polish. I needed 3 coats to get this polish opaque because of the balding. I think the formula is manageable but it isn't my favorite. Painting with my nondominant hand, all of the issues were much clearer so I wouldn't recommend this polish for a beginner or anyone who doesn't have good control. If you don't do a clean job you can see every place the brush strokes overlap.
Wear: The polish wore fine without fading but it did stain slightly when I was removing it. It wasn't nearly as bad as the one YSL polish I bought and with a bit more nail polish remover, I managed to take the remaining residue off my nails and skin but I thought it was worth noting as most polishes won't stain your skin and nails when you remove them.

CONCLUSION: If you don't already own a similar color and you really want a cheaper alternative I think the formula is manageable but I would probably recommend paying a few dollars more for a better formula.

SWATCHES (Though these swatches aren't color accurate they'll at least give you an idea of how this polish photographs)

Update and Bad Swatches

Hi chickadees!

Have you missed me? I've been here. Life has just been a little crazy with a lot of things piling up lately. Added to the miserable weather and my perpetually average state of health and I haven't really felt like writing posts lately. Also, my lips are back to being dry and awful looking so it really isn't the best time for testing lip products. But I do have some nail polish reviews and I am slowly getting through the makeup I need to test, though with 8 AM classes, it's hard to find the time to apply makeup before running out the door.

I've been keeping these awful, not color accurate in the least swatches from when I let someone do a hack job on my nails at a salon. They're of Essie's Headmistress and I thought I'd just share them now as I don't really like this color enough to purchase it and swatch it for myself. This is three coats. Like most reds it was very difficult to photograph. Outdoors in direct sunlight it photographed much brighter than it actually is. It's somewhat similar to Sally Hansen Red Zin, kind of a muted, medium dark red like a brick red.

These photos are still a bit too bright but this is the best I could do. I know the manicure looks messy. This is what I get for letting someone else do my nails.

These are the swatches that are entirely too bright.

REVIEW of Orly Lucky Duck With SWATCHES

Hello my little cygnets,

I'm still trying out the new endearments and that one seems appropriate given the fact that today I'm reviewing Orly's Lucky Duck. I picked this up at an Ulta during my trip to California when I was still mad about green polishes. My fervor has diminished but I'm happy with the purchase as I think I've finally found a good standard green creme polish.

Color: Orly Lucky Duck is a standard green creme polish. It's the kind of green you pull out of the crayon box. Arguably, it leans a bit more blue unless you're indoors and the lighting is yellow but I would say that this green is a very nice balance between blue and yellow. It doesn't demand that you take notice, but it's not exactly quiet either. I think it provides a nice pop of color for your nails that isn't overly bright or aggressive. The color strikes me as very Kate Spade. It seems like the perfect green for a boxy, simple handbag that you would carry everyday if you mostly favor black or neutrals in your wardrobe.
Formula: The formula is on the thinner side and the consistency is a little bit watery and runny, though that doesn't affect how strong the color is.
Application: The brush seemed a bit on the thinner side but application was very smooth. It was a massive difference from all the trouble I had with Orly Gumdrop. I needed 3 coats to get the polish opaque.

CONCLUSION: If you're looking for a nice basic green for your collection, I would definitely suggest picking up Orly Lucky Duck. Application is easy and I think it'll be a good color to have, especially if you like doing nail art.

SWATCHES

Outfit of the Day

Hi bumblebees,

Just a quick outfit of the day post. February has been so dreary that I've been craving some color in my wardrobe and nail polish. I also wore this outfit with a wide black belt but I forgot to take photos with the dress belted.

Dress: Erin Fetherston $75 (purchased at a sample sale) 

I know it photographed orange but it's actually a bright red dress.

Earrings: CherryRoseDesigns $25 (purchased at Union Square Holiday Market)

Necklace: Accessories $3 (70% off)

Bag: LeSportSac (gift)

Boots: La Canadienne

Glasses: Kate Spade

Lips: Clinique Chubby Stick in Voluptuous Violet