Chanel Peridot

Sorry for the short break, I got caught up last week with a couple of pretty important job interviews (**crossing fingers**), so I neglected to line anything up to be posted until today, which is Labour Day here, and Labor Day at home ;-) 

This isn't anything you haven't seen but here is one of two polishes that finally made me splurge on Chanel. Nothing, including Jade--which I was around for, and could've purchased--has prompted me to splurge until now, and I bought both Peridot and Graphite. So Peridot: I shouldn't like it in theory. I hate golds on me, except for very light, bright, white golds (this applies to yellow, too). Greeny-golds are hit or miss. This color is... green, gold, sorta blue, and all kinds of duochromey goodness.

While pretty, I have to complain: the formula sorta sucked. I mean this polish had a ton of hype, but a lot of people fail to mention its main flaw (in my opinion): it's frickin' frosty. Seriously. As in I had to apply it twice to get it right, because I kept trying to get the brushstrokes right and this caused bubbling. And, I got shrinking at the cuticle, which I never seem to have a problem with. So, formula-wise, Peridot is kind of a nay from me. However, it is beautiful.

I ended up using three coats. Here are my attempts to capture the color:

With flash:

Without flash:

I kinda love it, even though it's a fickle little thing. Glad to have it as a part of my collection, though. Definitely unique, and thus worth the money for me.

Happy Labour/Labor Day! Enjoy :)

Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black

Just popping in quick to share my update to Essie Smokin' Hot. I added 2 coats of Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black on top, and the effect was pretty awesome. These pictures do something weird. The flash turns it much more purple; in real life, you can't see the base color of Smokin' Hot, it just turned that murky brown-black that is Chunky Holo Black. Also, the duochrome on this glitter is a complete rainbow. It's amazing and gorgeous. None of this, unfortunately, seemed to pick up in my photos.

Here's a couple of crappy pictures. I may try this again over black to capture it better:

It has a lot of depth and is actually very fall-like in tone. So pretty.

OPI Big Apple Red & Kleancolor Chunky Holo Scarlet

I've been job hunting, which is, needless to say, a demoralizing process. My background is in writing, English, film, with a bit of arts education thrown in. I've worked with non-profit and for-profit theatres, music venues and arts education programs. And honestly, the semi-lame salary that often comes with being an arts person (whose value to society is not quantitative and therefore under-appreciated, in my opinion) is so worth it. My dad is an actor, so I grew up in a theatre (which was state funded until late last year, and was shut down by New York State because, again, the arts have no quantitative benefit to society... can you tell I'm bitter much??) But try finding a job. It's awful. It's starting to look more and more like I'm just going to be a cubicle rat, doing Administrative stuff for "the man." Shoot me. For crap pay (despite my Masters), at least let me do something rewarding, not staring at Excel sheets for 8 hours.

Anyway, anyway! I shouldn't let all this out here. It's supposed to be a happy place. Here's a recent NOTD: OPI Big Apple Red with Kleancolor Chunky Holo Scarlet on top. Pics are OK, but still not quite up to snuff...

Big Apple Red is pretty amazing. It's so vibrant, and my favorite tone of red. Slightly warm, I think. Scarlet compliments it well, and the warm red glitter, which is slightly duochromey, look so pretty on top. BAR had a great formula, but Scarlet was a bit weird. It was pretty thick, and took a bit to dry down... and smelled like chemical awesomeness, as Kleancolor has a reputation for.

These chunky holos are kind of awesome, and I'm not much of a layer-er when it comes to polish (though is pretty much my jam when it comes to fashion, kind of a bag lady chic thing I've got going on here). They're quite pretty, and I can't wait to try out Black! Gorgeous. But... not really black? I digress.

Hope you all are well and thanks for looking in! :0)

It's been a long, long time!

I didn't want to abandon my little blog here, but life has just been crazy for the last six months. I moved at the beginning of May to Canada (my hubby's homeland), after finally celebrating our marriage (9 months after the fact). Moving was nuts. So much paperwork and physical work and waiting, oh, and driving 1700 miles. My nails got trashed, and I kept them short. Also, my lack of work has curbed the polish acquiring (a bit!!). I also, unfortunately, ended up leaving about half my stash (over a Helmer's worth) at home in NY. I went through and just weeded out everything that I didn't feel I *had* to bring, boxed it up and stored it in my closet there. It was a lot of drugstore/dollar store impulse purchases and vintage stuff I'm keeping out of sentimentality. but I also left all my backups. I plan to go through it at a later date. So far I haven't found myself missing too much of anything.

Living in Canada is strange for me. It's so like home and yet so... not! Though my lack of a job has curbed my polish buying, another thing has helped: lack of CVS/Rite Aid/Walgreens! Oh my drugstores, how I miss thee! Drugstore stuff here is just hella expensive and hard to find exclusives (here's hoping Milani knocks off their awesome collections for a while). Anyway, it helps not being tempted. That said, I have an American Apparel a block away (uh oh, amazing polish), and OPI's are not exorbitant (~$8.95-9.95, though lots of places are 2 for $16). I made the mistake of buying one at a random beauty supply without asking, and it was $12.99 (Spark D'Triomphe backup), and uh no, never again. My husband, Chris and I are going to North Dakota this weekend and I CANNOT WAIT to go to CVS! Haha.

Enough rambling, here are a very few select NOTDs from the past few months:

China Glaze Crushed Candy over American Apparel Manila. Loved this combo.

Essie Mochachino. Didn't love the way this taupe looked on my skintone, but it was so pretty.

These are both OPI I Lily Love You over China Glaze Ahoy. I'm unfortunately not able to take outdoor pictures, and my lighting situation isn't ideal. So the first one is no flash, and you can sort of make out the detail. The second one is more color accurate, but the flash washes out the flakes and glitter. Not sure I love this one. It's pretty but...

These Sally Hansen nail strips are basically amazing. So pretty and fun. The only set I had any trouble with was the Frock Star glitter ones. They were a bitch to put on and stayed "tacky" and didn't seem to set. Oh well.

Orly Here Comes Trouble. I couldn't find Bubbly Bombshell, but this one is awesome. Love the different shapes of glitter and the color! Perfect spring green.

Love & Beauty. Stupidly labeled as "Blue." This polish is ridiculously amazing. It's probably got an LA Girls equivalent but I'm lazy and don't feel like looking it up. But seriously. Beautiful. Shimmer. Perfect application.

Super crappy iPhone4 pic! OPI Your Royal Shine-ness. Gorgeous, underrated. A warm, almost pewter silver foil. Seriously blingy. Love love.

Ohmygod. This is Sally Hansen Turquoise Opal over American Apparel Hassid. So, you'll all want to punch me after I tell you this, but I've had Turquoise Opal for years. I bought it and tons of other Prisms in 2 packs at Dollar Tree probably 3 years ago. Maybe longer. And I've never worn a single. one. WTF was I thinking?? Anyway. I got so many compliments on this. A sweet lady at the dollar store actually grabbed my hand. It wasn't creepy... yeah maybe a little. But seriously, I don't blame her.

And finally, a few crapalicious pics of today's nails... (I've seriously gotta figure out a new lighting situation. Basement apartment=not good.)

Kleancolor Holo Chrome with Chunky Holo Bluebelle on top. I'm also holding Bluebelle. Um, yay Kleancolor for amazing polishes. I don't hate the smell. It smells like chemical awesome. And Beautyjoint.com ships to Canada super reasonably. I'm gonna order more. Anyway, Holo Chrome had kind of a bitchy thick formula. Three coats. I shoulda thinned it. It's so beautiful. What you see above is mostly Holo Chrome. The Bluebelle you can't see in my lighting but in certain lights you can also see the effect in the bottle on my nails. The base color also sorta matches Holo Chrome.

More true to color.

Sparkle!

In the last few months, I have also grabbed the Serena Wimbeldon & French duos, hauled KleanColor's like crazy mad, got 2 Dare2Wear collections, all the OPI shatters, a couple Nice Stems, and got 3/4 of the Miss Universe collection. Also some Essies. My only leftover lemmings (until Christmas, fall isn't really doing it for me... maybe a couple China Glazes) are Chanel Graphite and Peridot, but I doubt my budget will be accommodating, at least to both. Maybe though :-)

What have you all been hauling/loving/doing lately? How's summer?

Also!! If any of you are on Pinterest, follow me! I post NOTD's and other things too.

http://pinterest.com/sarahrobo/ I'd love to follow you back :-)

The return & 16 manicures!

Hello readers, if there are any of you still out there!

I disappeared for a few months here, and with good reason: I was writing my Master's thesis. I thought I might be able to keep up with my blogging, but with two jobs and various life-craziness-health-related things going on, it just wasn't possible. But: on Friday, I turned in my thesis, and now I'm trying to remember how to resume a normal life! I just turned 25 in October, and finishing my Master's degree is a big deal for me. I finished my Bachelor's in 3 years (I was already a year ahead in high school, too), and after that I sort of lost my way. I turned down a full scholarship to do grad work at Emory University (after driving all the way down there with my stuff, no less). I took some time off and went back to the University where I got my Bachelor's. I did 3 semesters of grad coursework and then... never wrote my thesis. The university gave me a lot of trouble, they kept "forgetting" to notify me about course sign up and advisement.... and I inadvertently took a (calender) year off. This made it harder to get the project going, as to do your thesis it's good to have a current relationship with a professor, so they can serve as your advisor. I seriously considered abandoning my grad work. I was 23, burnt out on school, and feeling drunk on freedom. But... in the end, I opted to go back and finish, and I'm so glad that I did. It was a huge accomplishment, and I graduate on December 5th (finally!). I've considered going back to do Ph.d work, but that will be for another time in my life, I think. My Master's is in English, my focus being American literature, specifically Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Over the months, I did manage to take a few pictures... My nails have been of varying length over this time, tending towards the nubbin side of things... they're still kind of finicky. I hauled a lot too: Burlesque, NARS vintage, RBL sale, ChG holiday, and lots of Old OPI's that I've been acquiring... But anyway... what I have to show you isn't representative of everything, to say the least, but it's something.

Random spam for the last few months:

OPI Wing It!

Barielle June Bug (wore this for 4th of July... that's how old this is!!)

OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

Sephora OPI Midnight Mambo

China Glaze Foxy

OPI Diva of Geneva

China Glaze Midnight Mission

China Glaze GR8

Streetwear FX Flash (green) (awful pic, sorry... hard to capture)

Borghese Nero Magico (seriously gorgeous... underrated)

MAC Bad Fairy

OPI Show Bring on the Bling

NARS Midnight Express (I think this was day 2 or 3, looking a bit worn)

Color Club Pucci-licious

Orly Galaxy Girl

My Current Nails: China Glaze Zombie Zest (a bit late, I missed Halloween!)

The varying lengths are kind of amusing. Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things here! Not sure I'm up to posting every day or anything, but I'd like to keep it up :-)

Thanks for looking!!

Nina Ultra Pro Purple-Xing

Another real oldie here. Probably a month ago I wore this one. It's a shimmery gorgeous purple with multi-sized holographic glitter--and yes, this polish has been untried in my Helmer for over six months. I think my polish lover card needs to be revoked. Not only this, but it was flawless. The base was opaque in 2 coats, and it didn't swallow the glitter. It dried fast. It was freakin' magical. I only have a handful of Nina Ultra Pro polishes and I don't have a complaint about one of them (I've reviewed a few here before, see the Nina Ultra Pro tag on the right-hand column).

So here's two coats of Purple-xing (my take on the name: It's not Purple X-ing (like crossing) it's Purple-xing like perplexing, as in confusing, which I think makes more since because this polish is kind of busy and distracting):

If you do not own this, you must. I think these are $3-something USD at Sally's. Woo! And seriously? It's a must have. I can't believe I let this sit here for so long!!

Thanks for reading :D

Claire's Yel

So! After all that hauling in Canada, my first manicure upon returning to the States was... NOT one of the polishes I bought! Haha. Actually, it was a RAOK (Random Act of Kindness) from a kind lady on MUA! I'd always wanted Yel from Claire's, but my store never had it. It was discontinued a while ago. Anyway, after hearing of my never-ending yearning for this color, she sent it to me and I was super excited to try it because the color looked so fun. I'd worn American Apparel's Downtown LA for FIVE DAYS, so I was in the mood for something different.

Yel is a pretty shimmery sky blue with large sized holo shimmer and a purple-y duochrome. Not that I've been particularly down in the dumps lately, but this one sure brightens my mood--it's just so happy and funky and awesome. Application was actually pretty good--better than Dream Catcher. I used 3 coats for opacity, and didn't have any glopping or streaking or anything of the sort. Seche Vite dried it to a nifty shine.

Let's see if I can capture the glory of this one (OK, the duochrome is MIA, forgive me!):

Blurred here to show some holo sparkle.

Awesome, right?? So pretty for these sunny days we're starting to get in Upstate NY--going to be in the high 70's for the next few days!! Big change from Winnipeg where it we had a high in the low 60's and a low of 9 whopping degrees (Fahrenheit)!! They make us badass New Yorkers look like wusses, I kid you not. On another note: Anybody know where the name "Yel" comes from? I like it, but I don't get it!

Thanks for looking!

Nfu-Oh 51

This is a glimmering, complicated, legendary little gem. I hadn't heard about these little things called "flakies" until about a year ago, when this came home to me. Basically, they're little irregular shaped pieces of iridescent plastic, like glitter but bigger and awesomer. Nfu-Oh is a Korean brand, and though I have not tried their other polishes, their flakies are *outstanding*. I need more. This one is one of their shimmery flakies, so there's flakie and shimmer, causing awesome overload, as opposed to just flakies (a cleaner look) which are also pretty awesome. Have I said awesome? So, 51. Not only flakie and shimmery, but duochromatic. It's actually more than duo. Quadro? Qunit...o? It shines all the colors of the rainbow and others not invented, all of this packed in a sheer blue-purple jelly base. WHOA. Can you handle that?

Well, sometimes I can't. Hah. The only drawback to this baby is that to get that base opaque it takes about 4 coats which I do not often have the patience for. China Glaze's Grape Pop, a polish I've worn in the past, gave me a little brainstorm. Oh!, I thought to myself, This Grape Pop color is just about the shade of the base of Nfu-Oh 51. Hm!" So I dug it out and slapped one coat on and I oohed and ahhed at its adulterated glory: layering it over Grape Pop really highlights the base color (as opposed to layering it over black [awesome] or a lighter purple).

Pictures:

These are with flash which really makes the Grape Pop pull through more than in real life. You can see the shimmer, sorta. But look at the bottle! CAN YOU EVEN! It also has boobs. But seriously, imagine the effect in the bottle on the nail, because it's happening, you just can't see it.

Here are a few without flash, under my lamp, which show the texture and the multichromaticness of it all. Excuse any bluriness.

YAY. Do you have it? Well, maybe you're not in Korea but it is available at fabuloustreet.com, an awesome website. They have all the Nfu-Oh shades, do look them up.

Thanks for looking!