Weekend mail...

I got some spectacular mail over this past weekend, which I am just getting around to posting.

Here is Chanel Holographic, one coat. I didn't get the base coat that was suppose to accompany this, but it is pretty "opaque" in one coat anyway.

Then I have Versace V2077-W. As excited as I was for this, when I actually tried it on I wasn't as impressed with it. :( You can clearly see the multi colored shimmer in the bottle, but I had a hard time capturing any of the other colors on the nail.

A post with pictures!

For the first time in a long time, I actually got home before 5pm...which meant seeing the UPS guy for the first time since the summer. Well, since I didn't feel like doing any actual work, I thought I would treat my hands to a manicure and then test out some of my newly acquired polishes. All of the pictures are taken indoors with flash. It hasn't stopped raining cats and dogs since yesterday...and my umbrella decided to crap out today and break because of the strong winds.

First up is Locavore by Rescue Beauty Lounge. I have had my eye on this one for a while, and now it is finally mine (post- seminar splurge and all). Anyways, it kind of reminds me of Mardi Gras or some really festive party with all the confetti.

The next RBL I ordered was Scrangie...which is a polish I have heard so much about on other blogs and MUA. It is actually darker in real life, and something that isn't captured as well in pictures is the depth of the shimmer. My toes are currently painted with Scrangie and I can't stop wiggling my toes in the light to watch them shimmer and flash.

Okay, so on a very big whim I purchased 5 Lippmann nail polishes during the Beauty.com Friends and Family sale. I think it was around 7pm in lab and a fellow TA was making media and was probably like..where did Grace go? And I was secretly buying nail polish...I mean, after 12 hours in the lab and having visited Smithfield early in the morning to watch pork processing (I smelled like a piggy for the rest of the day, gross!)...I think I was entitled to a little crazy shopping.

Anyways, Lippmann Wicked Game is much more amazing in real life. In these pictures it is hard to see the flashes of green and whatnot. I took a picture of the bottle and you can kind of see the colors that the polish flashes when on the nail.

Here we have Don't Tell Mama...a teal/green shimmer in black that "glows". It really is quite gorgeous, and I'm surprised at how pretty the polishes I ended up buying are, especially since these were ordered in approximately 5 minutes.

Well here we have the 10th anniversary set. After all the reviews I had seen, I was skeptical of getting this, but then I decided to splurge since I wanted the Ruby Red Slippers...and it was on sale, so that makes it better right? Anyways, I am in quite the chatty mood today so I will try to cut to the chase. Superstar is pictured below. As you know, it is a copper glitter in a black jelly base. This is only 2 coats!! I didn't think I would like this, but I do.

And then we have the controversial one:

So I decided to try it with one coat, just to experiment...

Hmm....

I really don't know what to think about Funky Chunky. So I'll move on...hahaha.

My manicure/NOTD for tomorrow is going to be the following:

Ruby Red Slippers!! Isn't it pretty? :) I love how you can definitely see the layers of glitter so it has a 3 dimensional quality to it, giving it some depth.

I guess that is all I have for now...I'm still waiting for 2 packages that should be spectacular *crosses fingers* Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of them before all the hustle and bustle of grading, weddings, Thanksgiving, exams...and let's not forget applications. *sigh*

Anyways, have a great weekend, and if I don't get a chance to post for awhile, have a great Thanksgiving too! :)

quick update

I haven't posted anything in the past week mainly because I haven't had time to do a decent post, paint nails, plus my nails and cuticles are in terrible shape. This is mainly due to the last week of bench work lab for the students... they are all doing their own projects of their choosing related to food micro. There's been a lot of media prep, lots of biohazard waste and tons of hand washing...not to mention the constant questions. Some of the results are surprising to say the least. The good news is that within the next few weeks, classes will be winding down and then it'll be Christmas!! Still have a lot to do though...but I have a bunch of goodies on their way to me in the mail. I'm soo excited and I can't wait to share them with you :)

Essie Winter Collection

I decided to finally post the polishes I received last week. I did a mint green comparison a week ago, and today I will post about the other polishes from the Essie Winter Collection.

Of the many polishes I own, I did not own a true red cream polish. I have vampy reds, glitter reds, brownish reds...etc. So when this collection came out and I saw fellow bloggers pictures, I knew I should get all three in the collection ( I also like to have complete sets of a collection if the majority are good). Anyways, first up is the very jelly finish red, Lolipop. The application of this was amazing and pictured below is 3 coats.

Next is Mint Candy Apple (which I already did a comparison on). I really love this color esp since it looks like one of my favorite flavors of ice cream...mint chocolate chip! I am tempted to do a manicure with this and do brown squares all over, but I digress :) The application of this was a bit streaky, but it evened out by the 3rd coat.

Lastly, there is Rock Candy. I remember when I was little and how I loved to eat rock candy. I actually wore this shade when I gave my talk a week ago and even though it is very sheer, I love it. The application is smooth but pretty sheer, pictured below is 3 coats. I really like using this color when I have to be more "serious" at work.

Overall, I really like this collection and I am pretty sure all 3 are keepers for me.

Nicole nail polish from TJMaxx

I picked up these 3 Nicole polishes at TJMaxx last weekend. These are all black based nail polishes with glitter. The glitter in the bottle has a duochrome effect, which unfortunately does nto translate once you paint it onto your nails. In the bottle, Blues in the Night flashes a teal blue to purple; Black to the Future looks really cool in the bottle flashing magenta, dark purple, gold, green; and then Turn Out the Lights is a green to gold glitter (not that exciting but it's still pretty).

Left to right: Blues in the Night, Black to the Future, Turn out the Lights

I posted the same nails with two different bottles to try to capture the colors in the bottle. I am not entirely sure you can see the shades of the glitter, but it was worth a shot.