We cannot change...

[Photo by MKL taken in Kukup, Malaysia, 2008]

Comparing two climates

Sometimes I really consider myself lucky. I saw some pictures coming from Slovenia around this time, showing the huge amounts of snow. Well, at the same time I was looking at that photos, I was in slippers and shorts, sipping beer in the tropical heat of over 30 degrees. What a difference, don't you think?

[My MALAYSIA page][Photos by MKL, 2008]

Kinda-sorta posting...

Still feeling pretty sick, but I got this email from Carolyn New York I thought I'd share. Basically, it's:

Free shipping on all orders over $20
Free basecoat and topcoat with every order with code FREECOAT
"Discounts on everything" but I can't figure out what's on sale....

I have a few Carolyn New York swatches up on NailGal if you're curious.

My one gripe about this company is that processing/shipping (turnaround time) took a very long time.

Carolyn New York

See you all soon! *passes out*

Essie Winter 2008 Collection

I've finally seen the Essie Winter 2008 collection (does this collection even have a name?) in person, and I'm surprised! A lot of these are much different than they looked in the promo pics from Essie- not a bad thing!


Bold and Beautiful. A deep red jelly-like cream. This is the one polish from the collection I'd probably never wear. It's boring. Unlike some of Essie's other reds, this one has no character, no edge, no 'BAM!'.... It's just... red. Doesn't stand out at all.



Damsel in a Dress. Deep, dark eggplant with very fine silver shimmer. Very pretty. Reminds me of OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight or Laura Mercier Avant Garde. It's very dark but still purple- I think the silver shimmer makes the purple stand out more. Nothing at all like the promo pics suggest- they describe it as "Oh-so-deep currant"- I like the real life version better.


It's Genius. Bright grape-purple with fine gold and silver shimmer. Oooh! This was a pleasant surprise. It looks nothing like this in the promo pictures! In this picture it looks like a full-on metallic like Zoya Rea, but it's really not. It's just so packed full of gorgeous shimmer that it looks metallic.



Rock Star Skinny. Kind of a plum or mulberry shade with fine silver shimmer. Stupid name, really nice color. Again, nothing like the promo pics. It's described as "glamorous crimson red"- huh? Maybe I'm colorblind- I don't get glamorous crimson red from this. Either way, it's really pretty.



Sexy Divide. Bold, saturated purple with multicolored shimmer. My favorite from this collection. My picture makes it look blue, but it's much more purple in real life. The bottle color is closer to the actual color. I was hoping it would be like Viva La Vespa, but it's a different type of purple. It has really interesting shimmer, too- sometimes it looks gold, sometimes red, you can see some blue in there... Really cool. Love it. I only wish it was brighter.


Shifting Power. Sheer metallic gold. This one is kinda 'meh' to me. It's really sheer, definitely a three coater. This picture is three coats and you can still see my nail through it. It's kind of streaky as well. I was hoping for something richer based on the promo images, but this is sort of anemic. It's not a bad color, but it's not anything special. The promo picture made it look like a dense, shimmery cooler gold, but this is very warm, almost orangey, and not very shimmery at all.


Again, I think Essie played it safe, but despite that there are some really great colors in this collection. Two were total disappointments to me, the rest were nice surprises (and no sheer pinks! Hallelujah!). Sexy Divide is, in my opinion, the standout color. It's so un-Essie like! I love it! Keep it up, Essie!

The formula on these was great. It was thick but not runny, like three-free polishes tend to be. The thickness made the colors nice and opaque and the polish was very easy to control. No mess. These also dried extremely quickly. The Essie formula is really nice. There was also no staining after removing the polish, which is also pretty rare for reds and purples.

Overall, pretty solid collection. None of the colors strike me as particularly 'wintery', but I'm not complaining. Nothing too exciting here, but if you're into vampy colors or fine shimmer, you'll probably like these shades.

CHI Holiday Earth Tone Collection

I just got my latest issue of Nails magazine, and there's a full page ad for this GORGEOUS trio of CHI polishes. Razzle Dazzle, a shimmery golden metallic, Out Of Town Brown which appears to be an OPI Music Hall Curtain Call dupe and Last Minute Shopper Copper, which is a shimmery metallic copper that looks a little duochromey.

Again, I'm lamenting my lack of a scanner cause I'd love to post this picture.

My point in posting this: I WANT THESE!!

I have no idea where to get CHI polishes anymore, Ulta seems to have phased them out and I've never seen them anywhere else. Any ideas? Somewhere online??

Village comparison: Slovenia and Malaysia

The countryside is same everywhere!

[Photos by MKL (2003-2008]

Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Singapore's little bad brother

I've been to Johor Bahru today (in Chinese New Mountain or 新山), or JB as the Malaysians like to say. One would never expect how big JB is. It's the second biggest Malaysian city, with it's suburbs, stretched around the border with Singapore, the JB metro area has a population of 1.8 million. Compare that with 4.5 million inhabitants of Singapore, and you'll see JB, his small brother, is getting fatter and fatter. Sure, you can't compare these two cities in some other aspects, such as prosperity, safety and importance in the world. While Singapore is known for being a very safe and clean world-known economic hub, full of interesting things to see, JB is just crowded, not very well-known, has not plenty sights to offer. In addition to that, it has one of the highest crime rates in Malaysia (so I've been told by my Malaysian friends). Ok, I felt pretty safe, although I heard so many scary stories how people got mugged or even stabbed. So be cautious when you're heading there. Some parts look quite nice, remind me of Singapore, especially the architecture of some high-rise buildings and the way they pave the streets. Many say JB is very good for shopping. So enjoy it, while being cautious. Despite what I said, JB is worth to visit. At least once.

See my photos of Johor Bahru:

This is a suburb of JB. The suburbs are huge and long.

Inside JB the traffic is congested.

Looks a bit like Singapore.

One of the main roads is paved.

Malaysian styled high-rise building, a mix of Muslim elements with post-modern touches.

One of the taller buildings in JB. I don't know the name.

Another high-rise nearby.

This is a shopping mall, where my da jie and I went to have a drink.

High-rise buildings again.

A closeup.

A church, probably a remain of the British colonialization.

[My MALAYSIA page][Info: Source][All photos by MKL, 2007]

Comparison: OPI Paris Couture For Sure and Color Club Magic Attraction

I'm pretty crazy about holographic polishes, and just as crazy about glitter, so when a holographic glitter polish comes out, I snap that sucker up without even blinking. Holo. Glitter. Good stuff.

Anyway, I got a request to compare these two holo glitter polishes:


Index and middle finger: Color Club Magic Attraction
Ring finger and pinkie: OPI Paris Couture For Sure

Slightly different angle and lighting:



OPI Paris Couture For Sure is one of my favorite polishes of all time. It's a smooth holographic silver glitter. It's different from other holo silvers like China Glaze Sexagon because it's definitely glitter particles as opposed to the smooth foil-like particles that make up the China Glaze Kaleidoscopes and OMGs and OPI Designer Series.

Color Club Magic Attraction, the star of the Color Club Glitter Vixen collection, is a dense, thick, chunky holographic silver glitter with a hint of lavender or lilac tint to it.

The biggest difference between these to is the density. OPI Paris Couture For Sure is thin and smooth and requires three coats for opacity. Color Club Magic Attraction is extremely thick and dense and only really needs two coats, but is really pretty opaque with just one.

The size of the glitter particles is also different- Paris Couture For Sure has very fine, irregular shaped particles, and Magic Attraction has larger round glitter pieces.

Magic Attraction appears to have more 'fire' in these pictures, but Paris Couture For Sure is just as sparkly. Paris Couture For Sure will sparkle more in low light than Magic Attraction, which is one reason why I love Paris Couture For Sure so much. In low light, Magic Attraction can seem like a flat silver/lavender glitter.

Both are extremely nice polishes, but you'll have much better luck finding Magic Attraction. OPI Paris Couture For Sure has been discontinued for quite a long time, but it still shows up in stores and online every now and then. Magic Attraction was just released in Color Club's fall/winter 2008 Glitter Vixen collection, so it's readily available and as far as I know, not limited edition.

Free Zoya polish, woohoo!

I just got this email from Art of Beauty:

From now through Tuesday, November 25th, 2008, get a Free Fall or Winter
Zoya Nail Polish Seasonal Sampler, with the purchase of a Zoya Color Lock
System.

Simply enter one of the three codes below in your shopping cart
that corresponds to the Zoya Seasonal Sampler you want and
the Zoya Sampler will automatically be added to your cart.

Codes:

PULSE = Pulse Fall Winter Collection
VIBE = Vibe Fall Winter Collection
FLOURISH = Flourish Holiday/Winter Collection

The above codes are available on www.qtica.com and
www.zoya.com and may not be combined with any other offer
or promotion or free gifts-One deal per order.

Kluang, Malaysia

A small town in Johor

I've been to Kluang (Chinese 居銮) today, a small town in Malaysia. It really seemed small, but comparing to Slovenian towns, it would be considered a big town. It has 140.000 inhabitants, seems as if it had more than my native town of Maribor (110.000). But you walk around the place, it's really smaller than Maribor. So it made me think, how come it's so small in size, yet it has more inhabitants. The answer is simple: While in Slovenia we have a big house, yet only 2 or 3 people live in it, in Malaysia, houses are small and full of people, families can easily exceed 10 members (usually mum, dad, 3-5 children, grandma, maybe even some grand children). Then it's no wonder you don't see huge blocks, because there's no demand from the people. Sure, Kluang is less developed than Maribor and even less important. In fact, who ever heard of 'Kluang'? Only people in Malaysia and Singapore maybe. And some travellers who happened to travel around there.

Kluang is just a typical Malaysian small town: Crowded, dirty, but partly clean and neat, full of cars, hot, many shops, many shopping malls and with very friendly people. But you won't find anything special there, so if you go to Kluang, don't expect too much.

My photos of Kluang:

Taken in early morning from a top of a shopping mall garage.

Another view.

This is a new central shopping area.

Very colorful.

The lanes are wide here.

Typical Malaysian small town.

Hotel Anika.

The road out of town.

The old Kluang.

Interesting old house.

A backstreet, seen many of these in Malaysia.

A public park, not in the best condition.

Another road.

Another hotel.

Tropical rain in Kluang. It started pouring in the evening.

[My MALAYSIA page][All photos by MKL, 2008]

Malaysia - the land of sun

Finally! I returned to the place, where the sun plays the main role in every day life - Malaysia. It's like a kingdom Far Far Away, where the people are much different from the ones I left behind. These days I am walking around in slippers and short pants, while the ones I left behind, have to remove enormous amounts of snow, have to fight the freezing cold and merciless winter.

And I think to myself. Is that fair? While I'm enjoying a summer-like adventure, the people I left behind suffer the fickle winter? I feel bad for them, but I guess wheather I'm there or not, they still have to face the winter. They are used to it. They have a warm and cosy home where they can survive the agressive winter. I just wish them all the best. Sometimes I fight my own battle in The Land of Sun: It's not only paradise. The Sun burned my back, my skin is peeling of and the mosquitos are very dangerous as well. We all hope that in few months the world finds it's way back to normality.

[My MALAYSIA page][Photo by MKL, 2008]

Why don't men wear nail polish?

This article from The Polish Addict got me thinking about something I've wondered about for a long time.

Women all over the world love nail polish. Most women own at least one bottle, and very few would turn down a nice salon manicure or pedicure.

Nail polish looks good. It can help you portray a specific image- professional, clean, wild, fun, sexy, spooky.

It is not only socially acceptable for women to be seen wearing nail polish, it's often a requirement.

Manicures and pedicures are relaxing and are, in my opinion, essential grooming. Gnarly feet, broken nails and cracked cuticles don't just look bad, they're downright uncomfortable.


If it's so normal for women to care for their nails, why isn't it the same for men?

My question: Why don't more men wear nail polish?

I suppose the main answer from all the guys would be, "that's for girls!" I can't get my husband to wear nail polish, but I've sure tried.

I don't understand why it's perceived as girly when it can be equally manly.

Observe:


Steven Tyler does it...


Ozzy Osbourne does it....


Dave Navarro does it....


Kirk Hammett does it...



Alexi Laiho does it...


Richard Kruspe does it...


Hell, even Nathan Explosion does it.

All of these guys could contend for Ultimate Badass, so why don't more badass men rock nail polish? These are shining examples of how nail polish can be the exact opposite of girly.

There's even a company that makes nail polish especially for men- ManGlaze. They feature edgy artwork by Joe Simko, who's also done artwork for GWAR, and if you think that's still wimpy... Their black polish is the exact color of a Glock.



Hard Candy even had a nail polish line for men called Candy Man, but I can see why that one failed...

My message to men: It's okay to wear nail polish! And not just black. Any color your heart desires. And it doesn't have to be badass, it can be whatever you want it to be- hell, it can even be girly if that's what you want.

And another question: Why are women so opposed to men wearing polish? A lot of women will scoff in disgust when presented with the thought of a man in polish. I've seen many women respond negatively to pictures of manicured or pedicured men. Why is this? I just don't understand.

Do women feel like it's competition? Do they feel that it's not right because painting nails traditionally a women's activity? This isn't women's underwear, people, it's nail polish. Chemical soup in rainbow colors. To me, that is completely gender-neutral.

Hopefully, in the future, a manicured or pedicured man will be accepted as normal- not 'goth' or 'girly'- just normal.


What do you think? Are you uncomfortable or are you delighted with the idea of men wearing polish? I'd love to hear your opinion on the subject!

While you're at it, check out this man's experience with the fish pedicure.