REVIEW of Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer in Pink Cadillac

Hello my dears,

I have been a very lazy bunny lately when it comes to blogging. I've been too busy to add running around to sample sales to my schedule and I haven't felt like doing much more than keeping my nails trimmed. But that's no excuse because I still have a bunch of swatches and notes in the tank ready to go for nail polish reviews. This is one of them. I tried Deborah Lippmann's Pink Cadillac polish out at the very end of September (9/30 to be exact). From my understanding, this polish originally came in a kit. I bought a mini bottle at a street fair.

Color: Deborah Lippmann Pink Cadillac is a blue-based medium pink polish. It's the kind of color I've stayed away from (except in lipstick) since my goth phase in high school when I decided I was too cool for pink. Normally these kinds of pinks do not do great things for me but I think because it is a blue-based pink, it counteracts whatever normally clashes with my skintone. It does have a bright, artificial kind of Barbie look but I'm into it.
Formula: Oh, here is where we run into problems. The polish didn't seem that thick at first. It was kind of medium thickness, solid but not gloopy. That changed as I went through my manicure.
Application: Applying the first coat of this polish was like doing a very tentative dance. It wasn't really flowing onto the nail so I had to do thicker coats than I normally like to paint in order to get the polish to go on smoothly. However, any time I tried to go over the polish with the brush at all, it went streaky. It didn't matter if I was actually trying to work with the polish to even it out or just to add that center brushstroke, this polish wanted to apply streaky and patchy. The second coat went on a little smoother than the first now that I had a base down. You could still see ridges instead of one smooth, even layer but it was mostly because of the bad first coat. Though the brush was not helping. At two coats, it failed a light test and you could really see the unevenness of the paint job. I think you could get away with it on short nails if you didn't do a light test. Because the polish was applied in such thick coats, there were no noticeable bald spots. I added a third coat which made the manicure more opaque but still not fully opaque. This coat applied more smoothly but it was still very difficult to not create streaks whenever you went over a fresh layer of polish with the brush. There was also this weird pilling and clumping happening which is generally not even a thing nail polishes do. Painting my right hand (using my nondominant left hand) was just a mess. The first coat was even worse than on my left hand and for some reason the polish had thickened to the point that I was just kind of slopping polish onto my nail. It was ridiculous. I did not feel very much like a professional nail polish blogger who had a handle on the situation.
Wear: After a week, as usual, my nails grew a lot so I took the polish off. My left hand held up really well. The polish only wore away at the tips. My right hand experienced more tip wear but it was still fairly minimal.

CONCLUSION: This is why you try cheap mini polishes. I'm definitely going to give these kinds of colors more of a chance in the future but yeah, the formula on this one was so bad I couldn't possibly recommend it unless you can work some magic with polish thinner. But even if you can get it cheaply, I'd save your money and look for a similar shade with a better formula.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of Deborah Lippmann Looks Like We Made It With SWATCHES

Hello my lovelies,

I am so behind on my polish reviews! It's just been such a hassle. I do my nails less frequently and even though I'm still swatching and taking notes, it's such a process that I've been saving the photos instead of going through the trouble of trying to color correct them. If anyone knows of a better program than Picasa (that's still simple to use) please let me know. Anyway, since it's the holidays, I thought I'd share more of a holiday manicure so I bumped this review to the top of the list even though I just tried this polish out recently.

Color: Looks Like We Made It is a red jelly base containing red hex and regular glitter particles. I don't review a lot of jelly polishes. They're just not my thing. This polish doesn't completely register as a jelly on short nails because of all the glitter. I don't mind that it's a jelly because it makes the polish a little easier to apply, like a glitter top coat and you don't have to worry about the creme base covering up the glitter. The red is a little darker than a true red. When the glitter catches the light, it reflects it back as a bright red but I actually think it's the same color because when you remove the polish, the red wipes away and you're left with silver glitter. And on a few nails, you could see one or two pieces of silver glitter. I think this is pretty polish. When it catches the light it's sparkly and makes me think of Christmas and Dorothy's slippers in The Wizard of Oz. But for a Deborah Lippmann polish, it looks a little cheap. It doesn't have a lot of depth and I have more affordable glitter polishes that I prefer.
Formula: The formula is thin but pigmented, almost like a cheek stain. You get a deep color but it's not opaque and you can apply a thin layer of product.
Application:
Wear: Normally I like to use glue so I can peel off glitter polishes but I thought that would be tough since this isn't a dense glitter. Instead, I just used my regular base coat. I'm using Essie at the moment. The first coat went on pretty smoothly. I added a thin layer. There was a little drag and the layer was a little chunky because of all the glitter but it wasn't hard to get on the nail. With the second coat, I added a thicker layer. It also wasn't difficult to apply though it was less even because I didn't want to move the glitter around too much. The brush isn't great for evening out the polish because it's loaded up with glitter. I did like that the polish had a thinner, more fluid base. Because my nails were short, two nails were good enough. I wasn't at full opacity but the polish had applied evenly and the glitter covered most of my nails so opacity of the base wasn't really important.

Everything went to hell when I tried to apply this polish to my right hand using my nondominant hand. For some reason, the polish had become very thick and it was threading (threads of polish were forming when I pulled the brush from the bottle). It wasn't impossible to apply polish to my nail but there was no technique to it. I was just slopping it on. I applied two coats and didn't end up with terrible results but I had more clean up to do and I couldn't get the polish as close to the edge of the skin.

I wore this polish for 5 days. At the end of my wear time, it didn't look terrible but I had a lot of growth at my nail beds and also a little chipping/uneven tip wear. I could have still worn the polish for a few days and most people wouldn't have noticed aside from my right hand where the growth was more noticeable because I wasn't able to get the polish that close to the nail bed on initial application. But I was over it after 5 days so I just took it off. Glitter is always tough to get off, but I was able to get most of it off with cotton pads and q-tips (though admittedly there was scrubbing involved). But at least I didn't have to pick the polish off piece by piece. The polish did lightly stain my fingertips red when I removed it. It didn't last more than a day but it's something to keep in mind if you want to switch your polish and immediately go out.

CONCLUSION: This polish made for a pretty holiday manicure and I'm glad that I had it on hand but I wouldn't recommend it. The formula turned on me halfway through application and while this polish is pretty, it didn't have a lot of depth. Red glitter polishes are not that hard to come by.  I would suggest searching out another one instead.

If you're planning on doing any last minute shopping at Amazon, please consider starting your shopping trip by clicking on one of my Amazon affiliate links. It would help me out so much. 

I know this isn't the song this polish is referencing but this song puts me in a good mood. Enjoy your holidays! I'll see you back here next year. :)

SWATCHES 
(This polish photographed slightly brighter and less blue-toned than it was in person).

Winter Eye Makeup Inspiration

Hello darlings,

You know that I like to try new things on this blog and this is one of those experiments. I'm not as adventurous as I once was in my makeup habits. You know, it just gets too expensive trying out new products and different crazy shades all time. But when the seasons change, it's a great opportunity to step out of the comfort zone of your holy grail makeup routine. It's a chance to be a little more playful with your look and try out some darker colors and different textures that might feel too heavy in the summer when you have to worry about everything melting off your face. With that in mind, I thought I'd show you some makeup looks inspired by lingerie sets from the company Adore Me (Not a sponsor. God, I wish. Why won't anyone ever pay me?)

Now, I don't believe in splurging on an entirely new makeup stash every season. You can easily transition to fall by just incorporating a few new colors. It's all about having fun with your makeup and being creative. So with that in mind, I'm just going to show you some simple looks with techniques you probably already know (a smoky eye and a cat eye), keeping the rest of the makeup very simple and natural. I chose products in my collection that I like but you can always adapt these looks for your skin tone and based on your personal makeup stash.

My skin is having some reactions to the products I've been testing so instead I drew you up a makeup template to show off the looks I came up with. Bear in my that this makeup is being applied to blank, white paper and not natural skin so some of the makeup is going to look a little different. But using a template like this is a good way to experiment with looks without applying makeup to your face. It can also be a good guide when you're trying to recall a particular look. Feel free to use my template if you'd like as long as you remember give me credit and/or credit this blog. I will leave a copy of the template at the bottom of this post.

This gray silk teddy inspired me to play with the gray eye shadows in my collection to come up with a classic smoky eye. With its deep V and barely there straps in the back, this piece seemed to call for something sultry and colder months are a great time to experiment with darker eye makeup. But a doing a smoky eye or using darker eye shadows doesn't have to mean looking like a raccoon. With that in mind, I did a softer daytime look with my Rimmel Smoky Noir quad (which also makes for a great low budget option) as well as a deeper nighttime look with my Urban Decay Naked 2 and Dangerous palettes.

I would keep the liner thin for your daytime look. Try more natural, fluttery lashes and keep the rest of the makeup simple and natural. Soft pinks pair well with gray so it's easy to just use the subtle pink makeup you already own for your lips and cheeks. You don't need a full face of makeup and contouring with a look like this. Just make sure you're keeping your skin moisturized. Maybe apply something light coverage like a BB cream, fill in your brows, and let the eyes be the focus of this look. For nighttime, you can go a little thicker with the liner and wing it out a bit more. Maybe apply falsies or use a very sooty mascara but again, keep lips and cheeks natural.

DAY LOOK: Rimmel London Glam'Eyes Quad Eye Shadow in 1 Smokey Noir (shades 1 and 2)
Anastasia Dip Brow in Dark Brown
Stila Stay All Day Liner in Black
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Dollface
Lancome Color Design Cream Lipstick in Love It

NIGHT LOOK: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette (shades Verve and Pistol)
Urban Decay Dangerous Palette (shades Mushroom and Ace)
Anastasia Dip Brow in Dark Brown
Stila Stay All Day Liner in Black
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Dollface
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 668 Primrose

The pairing of this lacy, pale blush bra with this muted pine green nightshirt brought to mind one of my favorite ways to play with makeup colors in fall and winter, which is deep jewel toned liners. They work for every day or a special holiday party. Sadly, Maybelline refuses to make their gel liners in the colors I used to love but Stila is back to save the day. They make their Stay All Day Liquid Liners in a huge range of colors, to the point where I don't even understand why people who aren't professional makeup artists would need some of those colors. Who needs bright pink eye liner? Anyway, they have some great blues and greens in their line which is fun way of injecting some color into your makeup look without going too crazy. Bobbi Brown also has some brighter colors of gel liner but I haven't tried them yet. If you stick to a darker shade, it'll only be a tad out of your comfort zone if you usually stick to black or brown eyeliner. Keep the rest of your makeup routine the same and just try a more colorful shade of eyeliner. You'd be surprised what a difference it can make.

Keeping the lingerie set in mind, I wanted to keep the makeup very simple and neutral with a lot of soft pinks so the liner would really pop. Of course you can adapt this for your skin tone if light pink shades don't flatter you. Just use your natural makeup and pair it with a bold shade of eyeliner.

BRIGHT LINER: Stila Stay All Day Liner in Teal
Anastasia Dip Brow in Dark Brown
Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Dollface
Urban Decay Pulp Fiction Palette (shades Righteous and Tyranny)
Stila Color Balm Lipstick in Evangeline

DARK LINER: Stila Stay All Day Liner in Midnight
Anastasia Dip Brow in Dark Brown
Rimmel London Glam'Eyes Trio Eye Shadow in 621 Orion (shades 1 and 2)
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 668 Primrose

Inglot Bronzer

If you need more cold weather makeup inspiration, Adore Me has shared this graphic with me. Feel free to check out their bras, lingerie, and sleepwear collections on their website if you are so inclined. Enjoy your winter whether you decide to venture out or spend a cozy night indoors.

As promised, here is the makeup template.

Thanks for reading,
Cat

Josie Natori Sample Sale Report November 2016

Hi chickadees!

It's going to be a short sample sale report today. I couldn't get to the sale until later in the day and they were basically shooing us out so I did the best I could in scoping out the place and getting photos and info for you.

The sale is being held at the same location as the last time I attended. I feel like this is a company that doesn't change their sale venues. The building is 102 Madison Avenue between 29th and 30th St. There are a bunch of subway stations, but I took the R (well, really the W because the trains were being ridiculous when I went yesterday). Just take the elevator up to the third floor. There's no room at the end of a long, winding hallway to look for here. The sale is running from December 7-8, 10:00 am through 5:00 pm. Yes, that means if you want to shop this sale, it has to be today. There was no coat or bag check required.

So... is it worth heading over? Personally, I think it depends what size you are. I went later in the day so I don't know what the stock was like in the morning, but there was still a lot of merchandise out. The problem was that certain sizes definitely dominated. One of the things I like about Josie Natori is that they're a brand that caters to a wide range of sizes. And as you'll see from the photos, there is something for almost every size. But if you really want a selection, you'll be best off if you're a B cup. DD's and 34D's also had boxes of their own that you could dig through. Aside from the section on the wall with larger band sizes (and also larger cup sizes) I was surprised at how hard it was to find larger band sizes among the regular bras. I'm not even talking about 38's or 40's. I was having trouble finding 36's in the C cups and D cups, but maybe they already sold.

You'll find a range of styles at this sale. I like Natori bras. I think they're well made and they come in pretty designs and colors while still being practical. At least in the sections I was looking at, I saw more soft bras (not bralettes but underwire bras without padded cups) but there are all kinds of styles floating around. Again, it just depends on your size requirements. As usual, the prices are incredible. You can barely find bras this cheap at places like Target and TJMaxx and even if you do, they likely won't be as well made. 

As for the non-bra items, there are a few rows of underwear in S, M, L, and XL as well as some boxes in the back I didn't have time to look through. I don't think this is really like a Hanky Panky or Cosabella sale where it's worth it to go for some pretty underthings but if you know you like Natori underwear, if you're going to the sale anyway, or if you want something a little more practical, maybe check this section out.

November Sale Roundup

Hi bumblebees,

This is not a sponsored post and there are no affiliate links except the one at the bottom. I was just trying to clear out some of the almost 19,000 emails I have in my inbox for some reason when I realized that I'm constantly getting bombarded with sales and promotions (which is a problem when all my newsletters with actual articles end up in the same tab). So, where am I going with this? I can't promise this is going to be a regular thing but at least for Black Friday/Cyber Monday I'll try to update this post when I see a sale that looks interesting. No fuss. Just whatever discounts I see floating around. I'll link to the website when I've verified that the codes are working.

Tarte: (November 23-25) Early Black Friday code. 25% off with the code FRIYAY, Free Shipping on $25+ orders

Ann Taylor: 50% off with the code CELEBRATE

Macy's: (through November 26) Extra 20% or 10% off select sale and clearance departments with promo code THANKS, Free shipping on $50 orders

Paula's Choice: (through 9pm PT November 28) 20% off, free shipping, excludes kits and sets, choose 3 free sample packettes on $5+ orders, No code needed

Eva Franco: 50% off select styles, No code needed

Bebe: Up to 50% off Black Friday Deals, priced as marked, No code needed
$30 off every $100 spent in store and online with the code FRIDAY30

Journelle: Up to 15% off orders of $150, 20% off orders of $300, 25% off orders of $500 with the code JUSTSAYYES, Free US Shipping on $75+ orders, Free Returns

Speedo: Use the promo code NOVSAVE for $10 off $40+ orders, $25 off $75+ orders, or $60 off $150+ orders

Zoya: (November 25) 70% off any purchase with the code YAY

Ulta: (November 24 5pm CT) Black Friday Beauty Busters

From MusingsOfAMuse...

Stila: (November 25) 25% off and free shipping with the code 25BFSALE

Shiseido: (through November 28) 20% off, free shipping, and 3 free samples with a $25 purchase with the code FF2016

#GOMO with Eventbrite: Exploring Downtown NYC

Hello chickadees!

Today we'll be taking a break from our regularly scheduled programming to discuss something a little different. I hope you'll enjoy it. :)

You may or may not know this depending on how closely you follow this blog, but I live in New York City, and when I'm not reviewing nail polish or beauty products, sometimes I leave my apartment. Shocking, I know. I was raised to appreciate the value of music and theater, and living in the city allows me to indulge my passions for them both. These days I'm more of an observer than a participant, but wonderfully, theater invites you to be a part of a community regardless of what side of the stage you're on.

When I was younger and saw one or two shows a year, my entire concept of theater in New York was centered around Broadway. In actuality, there's so much amazing music and theater happening in the city on a daily basis that it can be overwhelming. I've had to get very good at scheduling, and even then sometimes it's impossible to fit everything in. I'm more than familiar with the feeling of FOMO or Fear Of Missing Out. So that's why I decided to team up with Eventbrite and participate in this project. If there's anything I've come to realize in the last few years, it's that the only way to combat FOMO is by getting out more often. Cute, isn't it? Squash "Fear of Missing Out" by Getting Out More Often.

In the spirit of Getting Out More Often, I thought I'd take you around with me downtown and show you that there's more to see in the city than the tourist attractions around Times Square. And to prove that there's more to theater in the city than Broadway, I'll finish up by reviewing two of the shows that I've seen recently at downtown venues. OK, let's go! (Expand the slideshow.)

Of course there's more to getting out more often than just wandering around the city. Once in a while it's nice to treat yourself to an event and one of the great things about off-Broadway theater is that it can be considerably more affordable. Eventbrite is one avenue for finding unique and free events in the city every week. In fact, I purchased the ticket for one of the shows I'm about to review using Eventbrite. I swear it's true. Part of the reason I wanted to work on this project was that I'd just used the service a few days before Cara wrote to me. I have the confirmation email to prove it. :) I'd wanted to see the show because I'd discovered a great Danny K. Bernstein musical at the festival last year. Of all the musical entries this year the show I ended up seeing, Lamia, jumped out at me because of one of the composers, Janna Pelle. I urge to check out her albums. The first one is particularly great.

-----

 Lamia is a story of transformation but, like its protagonist, I'm not sure if the creators really thought through what they wanted it to be. The story at the core of this play is a simple one. Like Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, Lamia tells the story of creature who falls in love with a human man and wishes to become human so that she can be with him. I believe the inspiration for the play is probably the Keats poem. This play frames that myth as the story that a bride is being told on the night before her wedding day as she deals with her anxieties and misgivings. Given that the running time of the play is less than an hour, you might assume that much of that time would be spent trying to flesh out the characters and give weight to the narrative since the framework is so straightforward and easily understood. Instead, Lamia abandons a lot of traditional storytelling wisdom in favor of a convoluted book, songs that have nothing to do with the plot, and a framing device that adds very little value. It's the sort of play that serves as an example of why conventional storytelling structure has held up for so long. Even though it isn't difficult to grasp the story or the point of the play, it's still important to have a certain amount of connective tissue to give the story emotional weight.

REVIEW of Anna Sui Nail Color in N400 Anna Red With SWATCHES

Hello my darlings!

This was my birthday manicure. That's why I'm reviewing this polish two months after my birthday. Don't judge me.

Color: Anna Red is a true red creme. It's a gorgeous color. It leans slightly on the brighter side without being an orange-based red. It's a great kind of staple red to have in your collection, like a good red lipstick.
Formula: The formula was thin.
Application: The first coat of polish applied so smoothly. Drag was not even up for consideration. The brush just glided over the nail. The polish applied very evenly and even though it was thin I was impressed at how red the polish already was in one coat. The opacity wasn't high, but it was already a very strong color as opposed to some thinner polishes that go on sheer and watery. At two coats, the polish wasn't entirely opaque but as I said, this was my birthday manicure so I was in a bit of a rush. I had a party to go to. ;) In the future, I might try three coats and update this post to let you know how it went.
Scent: What? New category? Yes. I would never recommend smelling a polish while it was a wet, even if it claimed to be natural or nontoxic, but while I was painting my nails, I already noticed the absence of that oppressive chemical smell a lot of polishes (especially the cheaper ones) have. Then once the polish was dry, I kept thinking I was smelling roses, especially when I would flutter my hands around my face while talking. It turns out this polish is scented! It was a wonderful birthday surprise, since as a June birthday, the flowers for that month are roses. I don't really believe in the magic of the universe but it was a wonderful coincidence that I chose this polish that day.
Wear: The rose scent lingered a day or two though I was washing my hands a lot more often than I usually do because I was hosting a party. It's possible you could get the scent to last longer than that but I haven't tested it out. I'm not sure if it's because I only applied two coats, but the polish did wear very well. I got a lot of tip wear and it also picked up scuff marks and cuts very quickly.

CONCLUSION: I would recommend this polish. I don't think you need to have it because there are plenty of great red polishes. But if you want something for a special occasion to make you feel fancy and you're only going to wear the manicure for a few days, I think Anna Red is a great choice. Application was really easy and I loved the experience of having the rose-scented manicure. Wear was not great but I will try and revisit this review after applying three coats to see if that improves anything.

The next time you're about to buy something at amazon.com, it would be amazing if you could take a few seconds to come to this blog first and get there through one of my amazon.com affiliate links. It won't cost you any extra but it would be an incredible help to me.

SWATCHES

REVIEW of Essie Strut Your Stuff With SWATCHES

Hello peaches,

I think it's time for a fun summer color. Though technically I swatched this polish at the end of March. Let's keep that our little secret. This is going to be a shorter review because I was busy and apparently I didn't take very many notes or photos.

Color: Essie Strut Your Stuff is a bright aqua blue creme polish. It reminds me of OPI's Can't Find My Czechbook but it's been a while since I swatched that one. As always if you'd like me to try to find dupes and do a comparison post, just leave a request in the comments. Bright blues like this aren't for everyone but when they're flattering to my skintone, they just make me happy every time I look down at my nails.
Formula: The formula for this polish was pretty thin, though I will admit I bought it secondhand so it's possible that it was diluted or that it's not the genuine article.
Application: The first coat applied smoothly without any drag. However, because the polish is so thin, it kept getting pushed around when I would try to paint another brushstroke. The brush was also more streaky than usual. The second coat also applied smoothly. On short nails, the opacity wasn't bad. It failed a light test because light could still pass through my nails but because the polish application was even, I think you could get away with it. I added a third coat to see what would happen. The results were slightly more opaque but not terribly different. I think the debate between two or three coats with this polish is just a matter of preference. Though, on my right hand (painting with my nondominant hand), two coats were not enough and I definitely needed three.

CONCLUSION: Assuming I actually bought a bottle of Essie Strut Your Stuff, yes, I do think I would recommend this polish. It's on the thinner side, but as long as you're OK with that look, it applied fairly well and the color looks great. I don't think it's a polish you need to own if you have a lot similar colors but if you're just looking for one that applies pretty well or you want to do some kind of jelly sandwich, Strut Your Stuff might be what you're looking for.

Please click the amazon.com affiliate before starting your next shopping trip at amazon.com. It would help me out so much.

SWATCHES 

REVIEW of OPI Embrace the Gray With SWATCHES

Hello (dust) bunnies!

It feels good to be writing again. Before we get into the review, let me address what's been going on. Essentially, there have been two things keeping me from writing. My life/future is still in a state of flux and I have been very busy. On one side of things there's a lot of chaos and scrambling and toxic, anxious feelings. And on the other side there was work and scheduling and stress (and some fun!) but also a lot of chaos. I was recapping for a while which took up a lot of writing energy. I was also taking advantage of living in New York and seeing a lot of theatre and concerts which used up a lot of critical brain power. Basically, I was draining up my reserves for both positive and negative reasons. For the moment things have calmed down. I'm not working regular full time hours anymore (but if you're hiring, wink wink) and I don't have more than the usual number of events on the horizon. I'm very happy to be talking to you again. I say this every time but I really did miss you. Anyway, I think I still remember how this goes. Let's get into the review, shall we? ;)

Color: OPI Embrace the Gray is a medium gray creme polish. It feels like a fairly straightforward, no nonsense color. As a gray, it doesn't lean too brown or too blue. It embraces the color it purports to be. If anything, it's slightly more blue/cool-toned. If you like grays, I think it's a flattering shade. You see a lot of very light neutral grays and a lot of dark grays, especially in the fall but there aren't a ton of mid-toned grays. I like having it in my collection. To me, it's not really a summer color but it doesn't need to be relegated to fall and winter. I wore this one in early March.
Formula: The formula wasn't notably thick or thin but I ran into application issues.
Application: The first coat of polish applied smoothly without any drag but it did cause me a bit of trouble. I had to be careful to use medium thick coats and not go too light or thin with the coats of polish. For some reason it didn't want to adhere to the nail and trying to work with it using the brush only made it worse so it was difficult to get smooth, even coats. The polish kept coming off in patches and then when I would try to even it out it would form streaks and ridges. The second coat was more of the same. I had to go very lightly with the brush to avoid brushstrokes and yet try to have enough polish on the brush and at the same time not have so much polish that I'd lose all control and have polish pool in my cuticles. That run-on sentence is great evidence of the juggling act that was taking place. On short nails, two medium thick coats was basically opaque but there were some tiny patches of balding so I added a third coat. At three coats the polish was fully opaque. The third coat was the same as the previous two in application.
Wear: The polish wore well without a notable amount of tip wear. It did dull a bit and pick up scuff marks but that might have been more noticeable because it was a gray polish and inclined to look dingy.

CONCLUSION: If you can handle this polish, I would recommend it because of the color. It certainly isn't impossible to work with. I've dealt with much worse, including with similar grays. It's just fussy so I wouldn't get it unless you have an experienced hand.

 

Click the affiliate link before your next Amazon.com shopping trip. Thanks! ;)

SWATCHES

Korres Sample Sale Report August 2016

Hello my darlings,

I know I've been gone for awhile. If you're not a longtime reader and aren't interested, skip this first paragraph. This isn't really the post to talk about it but I will try to write something soon. To catch you up a little... I'm still here. I've been here. I have some ideas for what I want to write and future projects but I just haven't had the time to devote to it for the past few months. As far as sample sales go, I haven't been going to as many of them as theatre has become a bigger part of my life. There are only so many places I can run around to in the same day. I'm going to get back into hauls and review posts but sample sale reports will probably stay infrequent. I am thinking about theatre reviews but I have yet to decide if that's going to be happening here or on another blog. This is a weird time to be jumping back into sample sale reports as this summer cold is trying to murder me but I was going to check out this sale anyway and unlike the MAC sample sale (haul coming!) I thought I could actually manage to cover it since I didn't have to wait outside for hours to do so. Anyway, after all of that preamble, here are the details...

I was going to check out the first day of the sale but, as I mentioned in the intro paragraph, I'm not feeling too great. I went to the first Korres sale (which I don't think I reported on for the blog) but I've been too busy to go to subsequent sales and it's not a brand I follow very closely. I mainly know about their products from the items I picked up at their first sale.

The 530 Broadway sale space is right on the corner. I was expecting an office building so I breezed right past it but it's actually a pop up storefront on the ground floor. There is a coat check near the front door but it doesn't seem mandatory and in this weather, I don't think anyone has extra layers unless it's a raincoat. The register is a little past the coat check on the left hand side. They take both cash and credit. I asked and they said they are anticipating on some kind of restocking (maybe different items, maybe more of the same) but they can't commit to anything. Based on the print out price signs and the longer run of the sale, I would expect some markdowns as well towards the last few days but if there's something you want and you're willing to pay what it's currently marked, I would grab it now instead of waiting.

 Checkout desk in the right corner

OK, on to the good stuff. Prices and products. First I'll do a bit of rambling based on the photos. You can find a full price and product list at the end of this post. In this first photo you can see the honey syrup, mini body butter, and Japanese Rose Butter Whip. One thing I really appreciated is that almost all of the products (excluding a few like the eye pencils) have testers out so you can get a sense of the scent, consistency, and color. This is especially helpful since a lot of Korres products tend to be heavily fragranced.