Clarins 230 crappy pictures.

Since I'm in a nails mood right now, I thought I'd post a few pics of one of my favorite colors. Clarins 230.

It's this translucent glossy purple with a green duochrome and gorgeous red/orange/amber/yellow shimmer that just comes to life when light hits it. It definitely needs three or more coats (my pictures are three coats with Poshe on top), but it's worth it. I found it extremely difficult to capture on film, but it's obviously because I'm a crap photographer.

Flash:




No flash:
















I think I need to take photography lessons. There HAS to be a way to catch this stunning color on camera, and I'm determined to do it. Oh well. There you have it, Clarins 230.

LaVanilla Vanilla Coconut Healthy Body Butter rocks!

Quick comment:

I just tried the LaVanila Vanilla Coconut Healthy Body Butter and... OMFG. This stuff is awesome!

The texture is nice, not greasy, just like the other scents, but this one is special. It's the PERFECT coconut-vanilla scent that smells like both coconut and vanilla without smelling like suntan lotion, glade, or play-doh.

I'm definitely getting the Vanilla Coconut EDP after smelling this. Haters be damned, if it smells good, it smells good!

And... My China Glaze OMG collection polishes should be here Monday, and I'll take pictures, because they sound really cool.

Makeup Doppelganger. Zoya and Seche Vite don't play well together.

First things first, for all you googlers, as far as I know, the entire Sephora Indulgences line has been DISCONTINUED. Very sad, especially since I really loved the Vanilla Frosting scent. The new Sephora bath and body line is okay, and I'd recommend the Coconut Almond scent, it's somewhat similar. The Creme Brulee is kinda funny, very similar to the also discontinued Bath and Body Works Tutti Dolci Creme Brulee scent.

With that aside, I have to share my excitement. I think I met my doppelganger! It was weird. She works at Home Depot (even weirder.)

While she wasn't quite my identical twin, she had the same haircut as I do, and was wearing black (or some variation of black) nail polish- and get this- the same makeup I was wearing. I was in the checkout and she says "I like your makeup!" and I looked up (she was almost a foot taller than me) and noticed hers. It looked like Urban Decay Blunt and Gash. I was wearing Blunt and Gash, with Make Up For Ever Diamond Powder (02) and a few other things .... It was so weird. Sure, she didn't really blend it at all, but the sheer fact that she was wearing it nearly made me pee my pants.

So, there's my story for the day.

Also, I've been having a problem with my Seche Vite! I think something may have gotten into it. Now when I apply it over wet polish like I usually do, it scrunches up and looks squiggly and becomes cloudy white. It seems to only happen with Zoya. It never did this before. I used it over Zoya Casey and Nocti Flying Naked. It happened once on my toes with Yasmeen, but I thought it was a fluke. Does this happen to anyone else?

I got sick of trying to make the Zoya/Nocti/Seche Vite manicures work, so I'm wearing OPI Who Are You Wearing. In the bottle I thought they gave me a mislabeled bottle of Russian Navy or OPI Ink!, but once it's on your nails and dry it looks like a blackened purple. Really pretty, but not as interesting as Ink. After using Zoya and Essie for my last manicures, I now realize how superior OPI is. It dried in absolutely no time at all (under 5 minutes with Seche Vite and Qtica Half Time), it's rock hard and shiny as glass, went on smoothly and was completely opaque in two coats. It's a shame they raised the price by a whole dollar.

I also have the entire China Glaze OMG collection (sans Wireless, because it was out of stock =( ) on the way... I can't wait to try it. I freaking love those holographic polishes. I have the whole Kaleidoscope collection and most of the OPI Designer Series. Having holographic nails is very distracting.

Makeup Musings....

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one I know who's this obsessed with makeup, products... "Beauty" in general. It makes me wonder... Just how many people that I see every day are secretly as obsessed as I am? Do I brush shoulders with other addicts in the grocery store? In line at the post office? In the drive through at Taco Bell (okay, maybe not that one...)?

There's this one lady who really made me wonder. She's a cashier at SuperTarget (I freakin' *love* Super Target....) and she's just beautiful. I always go to her lane when she's there. She has perfect hair that she obviously takes her time doing, it's by no means a "wash and wear" style. She has great makeup, and it's not always the same look every time. Her nails are always perfect, very long but not trashy at all, never chipped, and I can usually name the color she's wearing, because it tends to be from the new OPI collection at the time. She's always wearing really cool jewelry, not enough to be tacky but enough to be noticed, and it always coordinates with what she's wearing. She looks like she cares about herself enough to take the time to look presentable and beautiful, and that seems to be rare around these parts.

It's rare to see someone who, to put it bluntly, looks kinda like me. I mean, not style-wise or feature-wise, but someone who looks like they enjoy beauty products and knows how to use them. When I see someone like that, it really makes me think... Maybe we have something in common. Maybe we would have a great time together... Hmmm...

Are there other people that I encounter that might share the same interests? I get a lot of compliments at the salon I go to, but then when I start to talk about the products, their eyes glaze over and you can tell they have no idea what I'm talking about.

Same with when I go to Ulta. Last time I was there, pretty much every employee that walked up to me raved about my eyeshadow, and I don't know if they were blowing sunshine up my ass or actually complimenting me.... But they asked "how did you do it?" "what did you use?" and when I tell them I get that same "I have no idea what you're talking about" look. I guess their makeup should have been an indication of interest/skill level/obsession.... But for a while I had that little glimmer of hope that I might have found someone to talk to.

By the way, never trust the "makeup artists" at Ulta. They will make you a burnt looking orange faced clown with squiggly eyeliner and brown lipstick. There have been so many times I walked past while they were applying makeup to some poor soul and telling them how fabulous it looked and really, I felt bad for them. I have heard advice given such as, "put bronzer on your entire face", "just spit in it", "you really don't need mascara", "don't moisturize before your foundation", "I just lick the brush", et cetera, et cetera, et cetera....

So, if it ever happens that I meet someone as obsessed as I am, I will be thankful. But, for now, I think I'm okay being the one who needs and intervention.

(and please don't spit in anything that you put on your face. kthx.)

OPI Light My Sapphire is ugly, but OPI and Apple Pie isn't.

OPI Light My Sapphire is easily the ugliest nail polish I've ever worn.

It's just so.... blah! It's not blue, it's not black, it really just looks dingy and uninteresting.

Light My Sapphire and Catherine the Grape are the only two colors I've taken off just hours after applying them because I couldn't stand having BLAH nails anymore.


I like OPI and Apple Pie better than this!

Cumming: The Fragrance: The Best Commercial Ever

Yes, I did actually pay $69 for Cumming: The Fragrance.

Not only because I love Alan Cumming, but it has the most hilarious commercial for a fragrance EVER.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7SHFQ5V3kZE

Warning: Don't click unless you want to see naked man ass. I suppose you might call it NSFW....

Earthy... Really earthy. *nod*

Too Faced Shadow Insurance, L'Oreal Volume Shocking, Make Up For Ever Diamond Powder, Essie Viva La Vespa- all rock. Big 3 Free Polishes - suck.

This is sad. I've been too busy playing Guitar Hero to post. Yes, I've been busy with other things. But mostly Guitar Hero. And Rockband.

*cough*

About that Shadow Insurance. I've used it three days in a row and I don't miss Primer Potion at all. It does a much better job of intensifying colors, and the tube is way better than the stupid thing Primer Potion has.

I'm just about finished with my Makeup For Ever Diamond Powder 02. I use it every single day... I've never finished anything! I just adore this stuff. I think I need a case of it.

Another thing I need to buy by the case is L'Oreal Volume Shocking. It's the best mascara in the entire world and I will never use anything else ever again. It's THAT GOOD. I've tried every mascara, high end, low end and in between and nothing even comes close to the magnificent Volume Shocking.

I know people seem to hate it for some reason, and I really don't understand why. It gives me huge, beautiful, glorious fake-lash lashes and I can't seem to get that effect from any other product. Sure, sometimes it takes a little lash combing to even out, but not much more than that! It's perfect. I will love it forever. If it ever gets discontinued I will probably cry. No, I will definitely cry.

I've been wearing Essie Viva La Vespa for the past two weeks... I know, it's unheard of! Scrangie, wearing the same nail polish more than two days in a row! This color is THE color. It's so cool. I have three bottles of it, I love it that much. It's weirdly reflective, I can't describe it... It's not really metallic but it has depth and it seems to glow. It's glowy purple. I love it. That and Zoya Yasmeen. I seem to wear that one a lot too. Oh, and OPI Ink! Can you tell I have a thing for purple?

I can't wait to see what kind of new colors OPI and China Glaze come out with this year. OPI sometimes disappoints me, they seem to release too many muted colors. I like unusual colors, and boring red and mauve just don't do it for me. China Glaze does more interesting colors, but they take too long to dry. And they BOTH have the crappy new "Big 3 free" formulas, which means thick goop that goes on shitty and takes too long to dry. Please, give me back my chemicals! I need to find some brands that still have those wonderful, carcinogenic chemicals.

I also need to find somewhere to get CND VIP Status. I saw a picture of it and now I have to have it. I have Disco Ball and Pulse, but I can never find VIP Status. I'll even deal with having wet nails for two days just to wear this. I love glitter. A lot.

Did anyone else notice that Creative changed their name to CND? Weird. Maybe next they'll make polishes that actually dry.

One more thing: Skyn Iceland Oxygen Infusion Night Cream with Biospheric Complex. A mouthful, yes, but it's my new favorite moisturizer. I need a vat of it. And maybe I'll admit that I only bought it because it said "Iceland" in the name, but I'm so glad I did. It doesn't irritate me, it smells amazing and it makes my skin bright. Kind of like my Shiseido brightening stuff, but it says Iceland on the label. Yes, I know, I bought a moisturizer where the secret ingredient is... Air.