I can’t harp enough about how much I love
this super shimmer red.I ‘ve been
hanging onto some very old Revlon polish that I believe I bought around 15
years ago because despite the fact that there are literally thousands upon
thousands of polishes out there, it not easy to find a really great looking red
polish like this one.The formula and
application for this polish is much better than OPI has been in the last year
or so (and by that I mean the dismal quality of the Holland Collection).The polish comes with one problem: it stained
my nails so badly that it took twice the amount of time to remove it and I had
to give my nails a buff to completely get rid of the splotches it left behind.
Deustch You Want Me Baby?
The colour orange has never been high on my
list of favorites.Something about a bad
orange can make anything and everything look cheap no matter how much you paid
for it. Despite the fact that I look great in orange, I have a good chunk of
orange shirts and a pile of orange makeup just for that reason but not because
it pleases my eyes.Still, this is a
lovely orange shimmer and an almost perfect fall shade.I would recommend it more highly if the
formula was a durable as Danke-Shiny Red is but unfortunately, it isn’t.
Anybody know what time it is? Why it's Tom Hiddleston All The Goddamn Time...
I'm really getting to like Nail Inc. nail polish quite a bit! Although I've only got 4 bottles from the line (all of them picked up at a GTA Sephora), I'm quite found of them...even the glitter polish. I found Hampstead Gardens in a clearout bin for $5 CDN and I completely love it! Sure, it almost looks like I've smeared mustard all over my fingers but what's not to like about that? Mustard equals hot dogs and hot dogs equal tasty BBQ! Definitely what some would consider a fall colour. This had a good formula and application and there was full coverage in 2 coats.
Although I'm still into matte finishes, I can understand why trend that keeps coming back goes away just as quickly: The Formula! The vast majority of matte polishes chip away within a few hours of application. Gatwick (also $5 CDN in the Sephora clearout bin) was no exception here. It's a beauty rose red but as you can see, I had major issues with its chipping off in no time at all. Matte polishes dry extremely quickly but they are also much thicker than regular polishes. Retouches take only a few minutes but the texture will make every flaw on your nail show up, as evidenced by my index finger.
By now, Rock of Ages has been in the theatres for 2 weeks and has cemented itself as a colossal dud that people seem to be laying all the blame on Tom Cruise for its failure. I don't know about you but I just sort of think that if you have a film that has two not so big names as the leads and then you pepper that same film with supporting actors that are a million times more talented than your leads, then you film is going to have some problems. Rock of Ages was one of the movies that I had actually hoped would have a polish tie-in, not because I was going to see the movie (never wanted to see it, probably never will either) but because I thought the polishes could be fun. Instead we got the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips and some pretty uninspired designs. I only picked up one of this said designs, Sticks & Stones. Its name makes little sense to me unless it's trying to be the most half assed reference to the Rolling Stones that you can find.
The better name for these polish strips would have been "Frankenstrat" since the designers had the good sense to literally copy the red, black & white paint job of Eddie Van Halen's most famous guitar called the "Frankenstrat" because he cobbled it together out of different guitar pieces but mainly out of Fender Stratocasters. I don't see why they wouldn't go ahead and name it the right way...
Yeah, well, this was my first experience with nail strips and I found that I wasn't too nuts about them. The peeling, fitting, pressing and scraping just was so much of a hassle that it would have been easier to just slap on a few coats of anything else and be done with it. I won't argue that for the price (I got them on sale 2 for $8) it's far cheaper than going to a salon and having a manicurist do this for you but don't print on the box that it'll last for over 8 days when I couldn't get it to last 8 hours...
You can see the obvious problem at the top of the pinkie & middle finger, those chunks just came off right away and many chips quickly followed on the rest of my nails that resulted in my removing S&S two days after application. Tsk! Well, here's Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat in action with Van Halen's "Dance the Night Away". I hope that there's enough cowbell in there for you!
It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you without a dope beat to step to...I'm trying to get back into the swing of things after going through some changes, a bit of travel, got my hair done and have gone to multiple viewings of The Avengers. Seems like all I do with my time is work, sleep for 15 hours straight and download pictures of Tom Hiddleston. In fact, I've gotten so good at downloading pictures of Hiddleston I've been thinking of adding it to my resume as a "special skill"...
How Many Teeth Does This Guy Have In His Mouth?
That's Just Hot...
I Was Less Than 10 Miles From Him At The Time This Picture Was Taken, But Did I Know He Was in Town? NO I DID NOT!!!
When I Look At This Picture, I Get Horny and No, I Am Not Joking. I'm all "Hey Baby, Meet Me At My Place In 30 Minutes & Bring That Getup With You"
Who Do I Have To Kill To Get In The Middle of This Manwich?
If I get any more pathetic with this, I'm going to end up changing this blog from shehasgreenfingers.blogspot to alltomhiddlestonallthegoddamntime.blogspot. It's that time at my house already.
Yeah, so nail polish! This cute muted red is something that I actually picked up months ago and I wouldn't be surprised if I've already blogged about it and the clean forgot I did! In any case, Pupa has been expanding its presence in Canadian drugstore in terms of polish as I've seen a number of displays pop up in the last month. This kind of colour is a staple for me, I just love a good red creme and as I recall, I wore this for 4 days before I saw any sign of tip wear but not chips. Other than that the formula was good. Not extra ordinary but not terrible either. Not a waste of cash!
It is an extremely gloomy Sunday here in the GTA, so what better way to brighten things up than with a classic red polish. Sultry Siren, from Maybelline's Fall 2011 collection, is just the kind of red tone that I always fall for: creme formula, deep, more on the blue side and with a good amount of shine to it. I really like Maybelline's Express Finish line. While they aren't usually the longer wearing of quick dry polishes, I've found that they do dry a bit quicker than others and have a glossier finish. The brushes are usually thin but spread across the nail well.
Despite the fact that I'm obsessed with nail polish, I have long admired a woman who, when she made public appearances, kept her hands hidden under gloves: Grace Kelly!
The Apex of Class & Elegance!
Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess is exhibiting at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto until January 22, 2012 and I checked it out yesterday, which also happened to be her birthday. The collection on display features her personal clothing and film memorabilia including:
A letter from Yul Brenner asking her for a stamp to add to his collection
A letter from a friend warning her that Jack Nicholson was looking to have an affair with her (what an d***!)
Pre-production artwork from Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window
The show also includes things I'd never thought I'd ever see...
...This Dress & That Oscar!
I've met two Oscar winners in my life, the first being Patty Duke (Best Supporting Actress, 1962) and the second being Martin Landau (Best Supporting Actor, 1994) but I hadn't actually seen an Oscar statue, so that was fun. But I have to admit that I had been captivated by Kelly's Oscar Gown since childhood and it was a thrill to see it right before my eyes. That dress is why I actually like the colour Seafoam!
You Wish This Was Your Bridesmaid Dress!
Although there are interesting items from Kelly's film career, the exhibit is more of a treasure trove for fashion lovers and vintage enthusiasts. If fashion is your thing, then get your butt down to the Lightbox because you will not want to miss all this:
This Dress By Her Paramore, Oleg Cassini
The Dress Kelly Wore to Her First Meeting With Her Prince
Her Royal Engagement Suit (In Which The Polka Dots Are Printed With Gold)
Royal Portrait Dress
And Not Just a Kelly Bag...THE KELLY BAG!
There's also stunning dresses by Yves Saint Laurent and Givenchy. I don't include her wedding dress on that list because:
I admire her work as an actress, not that she married a prince
I'm one of the few women on this earth who really doesn't give a crap about weddings
The dress on display as part of the exhibit is a replica, not the original gown
So if weddings and being a "princess" is your thing, then not seeing the actual dress will be a disappointment for you. I have to admit that I don't understand the current North American "Princess" culture and I don't want to attempt to delve into it right now except to say this: Not every girl is going to become a princess but it's in every girl's realm of possibility to become a lady, which is what Kelly always was and always will be in my eyes.
Audrey Hepburn & Grace Kelly: A Master Class in Class.
A shout out & welcome to my new follower, Roy de Vos! I look forward to the music, no matter what your mood is!
Well, another Monday, another fantastic red nail polish to add to my collection! This one is Ignite from Revlon's Top Speed line. This one is a lot more on the orange side and not like the darker or blue based reds that I usually am attracted to but hey, look at it! That is a slick and glossy golden shimmer glowing out of that bottle and I got a lot of compliments on it as well. Yes, you can see a few nicks and some tip wear but that's after four days of wear and the handling of many archival boxes. If you're looking for an inexpensive holiday red with no glitter in it, then this is a great option!
I saved the best for last! Look at the shiny penny beauty that is Warm & Fozzie! I've got quite a few bronze polishes and I find that although I find they suit my skin tone very well, not many bronzes can really distinguish themselves or stand out. WAF is different! Super shiny, shimmery and highly reflective, this polish lasted 4 days without a single dent to it. It's an extremely warm brown tone and you can clearly see how it reflects a strong red undertone when the light hits it just right. It doesn't say "Christmas" to me but that's fine by me as I plan to wear it all year long!
Well, this is a first for me in the sense that I never really thought I would give a bad review to an OPI polish but Color to DinerFor is of such crappy quality that I have no choice but to say it's lousy. It's a very pretty bluish red with a hint of shimmer to it and Lord knows I'm a sucker for that but what truly sucked about this polish is that it is so thin, it took me three coats to get good coverage and it chipped almost immediately. It had no lasting power at all! I guess it was bound to happen at some point that they would make a polish that wasn't so great, I just wish that I had found it in a clearance bin instead of paying full price!
I've made no secret of my dislike of the crackle trend that's been dominating the polish world for the last few months. It seems as if every company and it's mother have released some kind of variation of crackle polish, invading salons and drugstores and making me wonder if it will ever go away. I also didn't like was how the Serena Williams polishes from OPI are packaged with a more traditional polish finish and paired with a shatter polish that I didn't really want (but if I showed patience, I could have waited until a retailer removed the pairs from their boxes in order to sell them separately). Well, for the sake of review purposes, I didn't wait to pick up the Rally Pretty Pink set with Red Shatter. And to my surprise, I don't hate it! Let's take a look at RPP without the shatter top coat:
It's a lovely golden, glass flecked finish, but it's awfully similar to Zoya's Faye from Zoya's Sunshine Collection, with the difference of Faye being more pigmented and looking more purple than pink. You can see visible nail lines but once you apply the shatter top coat, it's not noticeable. Application was good, no stray lint in the bottles, good dry time but applying the shatter top coat is still a little tricky since it dries very quickly. So despite my shatter fatigue, I did like this colour combination quite a bit, even though from a distance, you might look like you're back from an extended stay at Buffalo Bill's Nails & Spa:
It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it is told.
Well, OK but I've been waiting over and hour for my manicure. Could you send down some Red Shatter?
That's funny, that's the same polish the last girl asked for....
So despite being really sick all last week, I had to drag my butt out to the El Mocambo last Friday because I bought tickets to see up and coming British recording artist Anna Calvi over a month ago and I didn't want to waste my money and mainly because she's awesome!
I understand that Brian Eno & Nick Cave are big fans so that was good enough for me to check her out and I really liked what I heard. I shot that video myself, so if her lawyers are out there and would like me to remove it, just let me know. Calvi has a signature look: She wears bolero pants with her hair slicked back and sports a smokey eye with red lipstick. Considering how many female artist don't even wear pants, she's a breath of fresh air as far as I'm concerned. So she got me in the mood to wear red, so I picked out OPI's Bullish On OPI from their Spain collection last year. It's a really nice red creme that's not too flashy. I've been really into red cremes lately, especially if they aren't too bright:
Application was good but I've come to expect that from OPI to the point that it would be worth mentioning if mainly if the application was lousy.
I've got a few photos of polish kicking around that are just waiting to get posted. So without further ado, here's a bunch of polish.
I picked up Personal Shopper from Sephora by OPI in a boxed set with 2 other polishes for free with beauty points, Yay! Lord knows I love good red and this one is a pretty good one. This red creme had a smooth application, was glossy & opaque in two coats and had minimal staining when I removed it. No complaints here!
This one's from my sister's stash. Rockstar Candy from the Complete Salon Manicure by Sally Hansen is a lovely pinkish/mauve shimmer with a terrible name. I dislike marketers slapping the word "Rockstar" on anything and everything in a lame-ass effort to make it sound like it's cool or edgy: e.g Rockstar Chef...ugh! Regardless, this is a good polish that has a durability that is standard with this line. It's a good choice if it's still available.
Canadian clothing retailer Joe Fresh continues to expand, both in locations and with their cosmetics line. They have added 24 new polish colours for spring: More than any other company that I can think off of the top of my head. One of the new polishes that I picked up is Pineapple. It's a yellow so bright it verges on orange. I would have named it Mango. You'd think this polish would glow in the dark and I like it a lot. The round brush handle is still difficult to hold but the brush itself is wide and I got good coverage in 2 coats It's funny how sometimes the simplest image can bring out a memory that you don't expect. When I took this picture, I immediately thought of this image:
I love Duran Duran and John Taylor & Nick Rhodes are awesome guys, but that colour combination wouldn't look good outside of a country kitchen!
Rose Blush by Estee Lauder is a polish that I bought by accident. The salesperson at the store that I bought it from put the wrong polish in my bag and I didn't realise it until I got home. At first I was pissed but then when I looked the polish, I knew that I actually really liked it and now it's one of my favourites! Go figure. it's a calm and warm, shimmery neutral that's slightly on the pink side. It's light enough that a few little nicks or chips can go unnoticed so bonus points for that.
This golden oldie comes courtesy of my sister's collection. As you've probably noticed from the bottle, Cuckoo a light green shimmer, is an old polish from L'oreal's Wear Extraordinaire line from God know when. It's like OPI's Simply Smashing without all of the glass flakes and if you're looking for complete coverage, you'd need 4 coats! If you like this one, you'll probably have a hard time finding it. I think she bought this in Montreal and that would have been, I don't know, 10 years ago?
I'm still feeling just as nostalgic as I was feeling last week. I guess sometimes when you're down, you want to think about happier times. Because of this I've compiling a itunes playlist called My Favourite Songs of All Time. It's a pretty wacky mix that would most likely reflect the tastes of someone with multiple personalities. I've got no specific taste in music, I just love what I love but the choices are odd enough for it to include songs from:
Electric Light Orchestra
David Sylvian
Enrique Igelisas
Danielle Dax
Bauhaus
Gladys Knight & the Pips
John Hiatt
Nick Cave
Roger Miller
Janelle Monae
Actually David Sylvian's song Red Guitar is the song that kicks of my list and it keeps on worming through my ear, so I'll leave you with a little bit from the guy who was once named "The Most Beautiful Man In the World"
Pictured: What My Infected Ear Would Say: If Only It Could Scream.
Lucky Me! Not only did our new building superintendent make good on her promise to fix our collapsing bathroom and spray our apartment for bugs, she made it happen within the same three days. So now, I have pretty much a day and a half to pack up a 2 bedroom apartment as if for a move with the dizzying pain of an ear infection to slow me down just enough to make me pray for death... Don't get me wrong, my new super is awesome!!! She makes things happen! If those things happened a few days apart from one another, that would make me fell physically better. The contractors drills and hammers are making my ear twitch in pain. But in the long run, we'll have a better pad to live in and that's what counts.
When the contractors went on their break, my good ear picked up on the sound of this little guy shouting it out from the treetops at my window:
Wassup Mama!
Hello to you too Little Red Guy! Look at him singing and standing out against this crummy grey day. With all this grey clouds in the air, its time to share a little colour. Namely, Madison Avenue from the NYC Quick Dry line. It's an older colour but a good, simple red never goes out of style.
I can't speak for other nail bloggers, but I am getter increasingly fond of NYC's quick dry polishes and personally, NYC beats Revlon's Top Speed hands down because NYC just chips less in my experience. It's just that simple. Yeah, their core colours are a bit limited, but they have been branching out with seasonal collections lately, so that will keep me coming back again. And now, back to packing!
Hey out there! I`ve been so swamped with school and stuff that I haven`t had time to craft together a long, convoluted post as I so like to do but my birthday (and my twin sister`s too!) is this weekend so I`m not planning to do any posting for a few days. But that doesn`t mean I can`t fill the gap a little with a few polishes that I`ve being sporting lately!
Here`s OPI`s Just a Little Rosti from the Swiss Collection. I have dozens of polishes that are similar to this one and I always tell myself I`m not going to buy anymore. But then I`ll be in the store and I`ll see them and that notion flys out the window. I`m just kidding myself. I will always buy polishes like this because I love them and this one is no exception!
I found Borghese`s Stellare Notte a few months back at Winners for $4.99 CDN which is much more fair than the $17.00 CDN that Shoppers Drug Mart shills them for. This is an awesome colour with a nice douchrome effect which you can see in the bottle but I couldn't capture it on my nails in the photo.
I wore Purple Gala from the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear line on Christmas Day and I got lots of compliments on it. It applied well, wore well and was easy to remove to. It was a definite winner at $2 CDN.
Another win from the Joe Fresh makeup line is Orchid. A really pretty purple that I was glad to add to my collection, especially when I was going through my Purple Pandemonium a few months back. It`s hard to say no to a polish line that sells at 3 for $10 CDN, the cost of one bottle of OPI up in the Great White! I`ve read online recently that Joe Fresh will be opening their first US store in Manhattan soon, so if things go well for them, any American readers will have access to the brand. Happy Future Shopping USA!
After a few months of darks, greens, purples, glitters, shimmers and crackles, I was pretty eager to sport some more calm and sedating colours and Zoya`s Nikkiis one of my favourites. I actually find it a little difficult to describe the colour, it`s not really pink, or beige but it has a great blue shimmer in it that keeps it from being too bland.
As much as I love grey polish, this one drives me nuts! OPI`s Moon Over Mumbaishould be one of my all time favourites but it isn`t because, look at that photo. That`s 3 coats of polish and still it`s nowhere near the coverage it needs. What a nail fail!
Now I love this colour. Leotard Optional from Sephora by OPI`s Urban Ballerina collection is for me the perfect neutral. It goes with any outfit I put on which is great BUT...!
Everyone I Know Has a Big But! This Big, In Fact!
Legwarmers Optional has a dupe! A low cost dupe at that too! I was in a big ass Loblaws last weekend and when I checked out their Joe Fresh nail polish display to see if they had anything new, I found that the LO that I was wearing was exactly the same as their polish called NUDE and it would have cost me only $4 CDN or 3 for $10 instead of $13 for one bottle! I could have saved $9...
Nine Bucks!!! AAAAAHHHH!!!!
Sigh...that brings me to my last polish for today. Zoya`s Gemma from their Spring 2011 Collection. This another one of their greens that just knocks it out of the park for me:
Yes, it`s a hospital green but if hospitals had that awesome blue shimmer in them, I`d be less reluctant to go to them. Zoya is starting to be my favourite salon brand as I haven`t bought anything from them that disappointed me yet but it`s still not the easiest brand to find in T.O. and when I do, the store`s stock is not always up to date.
Well that`s it for now...I hope that everyone has a great weekend and the next time you hear from me, I`ll be a year older!
