The Kitchen, the Closet and the Laboratory...

SITE MOVING

2011-07-02T20:20:00.003-04:00

I have decided to move the blog to a different account. Please take a look at the previous post (July 2nd) and then visit me at my new home: http://grace-ms.blogspot.com

Hope to see and hear from you there!

It's been awhile...are you still there?

2011-07-02T19:27:00.005-04:00

Hello! Long time no see! I'm not too sure if anybody still reads my blog anymore, especially since I haven't had proper time to devote to this blog. Since I last posted, a lot has happened. Here's a brief update:

I'm still in graduate school, but now I'm a doctorate student! I officially defended my Masters of Science thesis and degree (I can now put Grace, MS), passed my doctorate preliminary exams, and I am presenting at an international conference later this summer (which I am extremely nervous about since public speaking wigs me out)! I have also gotten into photography as a hobby after buying a DSLR camera as a reward for myself after my MS degree. Hopefully with this new camera, I can take tons of nice pictures of my nails :)

Unfortunately at the moment, my nails are in a very sad shape since they've been neglected. I resorted to the Sally Hansen nail stickers for a few weeks, and my nails haven't stopped peeling since. (refer to figure 1)

Figure 1: State of Grace's Nails

So what does this mean for my blog? I hope to return to posting as soon as I can, but I have decided I might need to clear out the closet yet again of old nail polishes that I never use anymore. Would anybody be interested? Please comment at my new site: http://grace-ms.blogspot.com

See you soon!

Pampering to destress

2010-10-09T21:14:00.005-04:00

Hello! It's been a very stressful semester so far, but one of the things that I have been doing to de-stress is splurging on a few limited edition polishes. This post is mainly on NARS Zulu..and what I have done with it :)

When I found out NARS Zulu was being re-released, I knew I had to have it. And to make it a little more special, I topped it off with some Rococo Gold Leaf Lacquer.

And since I was at the mall, I decided to pick up the MAC Disney Villains Maleficient nail polishes. Here is Zulu with MAC Mean & Green painted diagonally. The ring finger has a bit of the gold flakes on it too ( I couldn't resist)

In other news, the NC State Fair is coming up next week. Time to bulk up those arm muscles and scoop tons of ice cream!

...now back to writing :(

Oh, and GO GREEN!! Victory for MSU!! :)
(I think my green & white toes with the Spartan logo are good luck )

Unattainable no more!

2010-08-15T15:29:00.007-04:00

Since I heard about magnetic nail polish, I have been on the hunt for these little guys. It was no surprise that the one I wanted the most would be a blue one, since that is my favorite color. Unfortunately, the only one ever made (to my knowledge) was a limited edition UK exclusive. I thought I would never get my hands on this little bottle of Lancome Le Magnetique- Blue Enigma. Miraculously, I had the opportunity to buy this little guy (off the bay of evil), and those last few seconds of the auction were the most nerve racking.

So without saying anything else, the hunt for my biggest lemming to date has ended. Observe...

The anticipation builds up....

The little magnet that comes with my most prized 5ml liquid...

Ta-da!! Lancome Le Magnetique- Blue Enigma, 2 coats in natural light
I only painted 3 fingers just because it is such a little volume, and I want to save it for special occasions only.

(with flash)
Now that I have this little gem, I feel "complete"...until the next lemming. The application was typical of magnetic nail polishes, and the blue color is gorgeous and has a slight green tinge and purple glitter in it (which is hard to see in pictures). I really wish they would make more of these truly unique polishes in all sorts of colors...but until then, I will have to be satisfied with the ones I do own.

brief update

2010-08-06T17:01:00.002-04:00

I just got back from a conference across the country and while I was away, I received my biggest lemming of all time in the mail!!!! I'm sooo excited to try it out, but I have other more important things to do than paint my nails (for instance moving everything in one day). When things calm down, I will resume posting to this blog.

Thank you to everyone that participated in helping me clean out my nail polish collection!!! I hope you all enjoy the polishes!!

It's been forever...

2010-04-27T22:02:00.002-04:00

The semester is quickly coming to an end, and I apologize for the severe lack of posts. I haven't painted my nails much this semester, but I just wanted to quickly check in to say that in the next few weeks, I need to get rid of most of my nail polish collection (yup, another blog sale but this time everything must go!!) So stay tuned...

Taupe/Mushroomy color comparison

2010-01-17T18:14:00.003-05:00

Long time no see! Since the beginning of the year, I have been sick and in no mood to paint my nails. I am finally getting over my sniffles, so I decided to do a comparison of some of the taupes/mushroomy/nude colors I recently acquired.

From left to right (pointer to pinky), I painted OPI You Don't Know Jacques!, Chanel Particuliere, Rescue Beauty Lounge Grunge, Rescue Beauty Lounge Opaque Nude.

If you follow my blog, you have probably seen the OPI YDKJ many times, but since it seemed similar to the new Chanel, I couldn't resist doing a comparison. I also purchased a bunch of RBL nail polishes during the 50% off sale in December, so I will probably be posting more pictures of those in the near future. As you can see, the Chanel is a tad bit lighter than the OPI, and a tinge more brown. RBL Opaque Nude is my current favorite nude polish to wear to work/school. Speaking of which, this semester is crazy busy so I don't know how much attention I will be able to devote to blogging and nail polish. However I did make two little hauls recently so hopefully I get a chance to post those soon.

TOP 20: #1!!!!! Happy New Year!!!

2010-01-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Wow, it's 2010!! Another year gone by, and new resolutions to be made. I think my resolution this year is to not spend an uncanny amount of money on nail polish...and then the usual resolutions to be healthier and lose some weight. What are your New Year's resolutions?

So after a long wait, I bring you my number 1 nail polish of 2009. You have probably guessed it is.... *drum roll please*

Essie Starry Starry Night.

(with flash)

(without flash)

I think this polish is perfect for a New Year's Celebration at midnight. The depth of the jelly with silver glitter make this a truly mesmerizing polish. It really does look like the night sky when you're out in the middle of rural America...away from the city and suburbs.

After all the trouble and heartache I went through to get this polish, it was all worth it. :)

So that concludes my 20 polishes of 2009...I'm excited to see what polishes are in store for 2010. It seemed that mint green was the trend of 2009...I wonder what it will be for 2010?

Top 20: #2

2009-12-31T00:00:00.001-05:00

Number 2 on my countdown is....Ruby & Millie 720C. Oh yes, it's a close dupe for NARS Zulu and I was soo excited to receive this in a swap. I don't even think this needs any other comments, it's that gorgeous. *sigh* The perfect black jelly green. Isn't it pretty?

Well, stay safe tonight as you celebrate the coming of a new year!!

Top 20: #3

2009-12-30T00:00:00.001-05:00

Woo-hoo! Top 3!! My number 3 is a deep, dark blue jelly: NARS Midnight Express. The flash kind of makes it look a bit streaky, but in person you can't even see the streaks. This is with 2 coats, by the way. The 2nd picture is without flash. This polish is such a rich, true dark blue...with a hint of barely there shimmer that is mostly nonexistent. You can kind of see this shimmer on the brush, but it disappears once on the nail. I kind of wonder if this is the blue version of NARS Zulu...it doesn't look like it in the pictures, but it is really a dark, almost black, blue jelly.

(with flash)

(without flash)

Top 20: #4

2009-12-29T00:00:00.001-05:00

I can't talk about Seasonal Peach without mentioning its buddy, Peppermint Patti. Well my number 4 on the countdown is MAC- Peppermint Patti. Boy did this one give me a run for my money...and tons of headaches. I absolutely adore this color and at one point, I had a few of these babies...which all found nice homes, save for one. I'm still upset over the fact my backup of this polish got swaplifted from me. :( Oh well, such is life. Well, this one isn't as streaky as Seasonal Peach, but it still requires 2 coats to make it opaque. It is definitely the favorite mint green in my collection, and I use it very sparingly.

Top 20: #5

2009-12-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

What would my top 5 be without the polish that started it all? About a year ago, I managed to get my little paws on this one. I saw this polish on MAC's website probably in November (way after it was no longer available). I saw the promo pictures of it and I had to have it. So I went hunting in all the department stores seeing if they had any left over from the collection. During my after Christmas shopping back home, I managed to find this at one of the counters in Nordstrom. I was soo happy to finally have it, but in mental shock after spending $11 dollars on this baby. Now that I look back on it, I have to laugh and think...oh how times have changed. So my number 5 is MAC Seasonal Peach. This color was re-released this past spring with another hard to find nail polish: Peppermint Patti. Seasonal Peach has some issues with application. It is quite streaky but man, I love this color and it is totally worth the extra coat (3 coats total) to get this color.

Top 20: #6

2009-12-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

If there was one word to describe me (aside from the usual descriptors), I would have to say nerdy. I am a science nerd at heart, and when I heard about magnetic nail polish...well I was hooked. The first polish that spurred my obsession is in my top 5, but these magnetic polishes really drove me to start hunting down polishes. I was in a mad obsession trying to find the Lancome Le Magnetique and in doing so, managed to also get a few of the L'Oreal Star Magnets.

Of all of the magnetic nail polishes I currently own, this one is by far my favorite. The number 6 spot goes to L'Oreal Star Magnet- Copper. Reason why this one beat out the others? It is because it has a unique duochromeness about it, much like how a copper penny tarnishes. It was a bit hard to capture on camera, but in person it is truly spectacular. I wish more of these magnetic nail polishes would be easily accessible, especially if it came in a blue or green! I still can't seem to get my hands on the Lancome Bleu Enigma :(

Top 20: #7

2009-12-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

How many of you are going out to brave the crowds to go after Christmas shopping? I know I am, especially with so many shopping malls around and people watching to do, and let's not forget the crazy crowds and lines...
Well, seeing as I am far away from my extensive collection, I can only wish I had this polish with me. If there is one RBL polish I have consistently turned to to make me feel better, it is Purple Haze (my number 7 on the countdown). Something about this color just cheers me up, even though purple is far from one of my favorite colors. Easy application and it makes me happy as a kid when I have this color on. What's not to love?

Top 20: #8

2009-12-25T00:00:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!! I hope everyone is having a wonderful and safe holiday season! My number 8 polish is Essie Aruba Blue. Isn't it pretty? I don't usually like frost polishes, but this one has amazing application and I just love the rich, vibrant blue.

(with flash)

(without flash)

Top 20: #9

2009-12-24T00:00:00.003-05:00

It's Christmas Eve...did you get all your holiday shopping done? That means only 9 more days until 2010!! and then a few more days until I am officially a year older. But I digress, I will try to keep these next few posts short and sweet since it is the holidays.

Well, in this top 20 countdown, I realized that I love RBL polishes. Number 9 on my list is RBL Starfish Patrick. It has the similar jelly like consistency as Bikini Bottom, but the application of this one is a dream. "opaque" in 2 coats!!

Top 20: #10

2009-12-23T00:00:00.003-05:00

Whew! Half way there... My #10 polish is Sally Hansen- Garnet Lapis. It is a polish that has a unique duochrome flash about it that makes you want to wave your hand in front of your face like an idiot trying to watch the color change...(not that I will ever admit to doing this). Joking aside, this is truly a unique polish, as are the other Sally Hansen Nail Prisms and it makes me wonder why these were ever taken off the market...or not replaced with something similar in color.

(with flash)

(without flash) This picture shows the purple/dark blue hues you get at certain angles.

Top 20: #11

2009-12-22T00:00:00.002-05:00

So today I am actually traveling back home...where the weather is frightful (as in they have at least seen snow this year). I'm sure I will be freezing my butt off, since I am quite used to this 40-60 degrees weather we have been having.

Anyways, one of my favorite polishes is RBL's Bikini Bottom. Yes, it's quite sheer...I think this was 3-4 coats, but I absolutely LOVE the way it looks. Light sky blue has been one of my favorite colors since I can remember. This polish has a "squishy" jelly-ish look to it that makes me smile inside. Application isn't the typical flawless, buttery formula typically associated with RBL's, but it is also not the worst polish I have come across. The color and finish are definitely worth it in my opinion.

Top 20: #12

2009-12-21T00:00:00.000-05:00

Number 12 is a polish that makes walking straight a little difficult. It is Chanel- Holographic. I somehow managed to snag this baby up on Ebay for a "reasonable" price...around $30, much to my relief, even though it is quite a bit of money. It is amazing how this polish sparkles and is opaque in one coat! I haven't had a chance to wear this one more than once, but I'm sure I'll find another special occasion to blind everyone with its sheer awesomeness ;)

Top 20: #13

2009-12-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

Number 13 is another RBL polish...Teal. It's a bit darker in person than in my picture but I think this shows the pretty blue, with a tinge of green that makes it teal (I'm not making any sense am I?) This one is undoubtly one of my all time favorites, having buttery application and a good color payoff....and I haven't noticed a staining problem. yay!

(with flash)

Top 20: #14

2009-12-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

So have you noticed a trend yet? I have scheduled these posts to be published every day until New Year's...which will be my number one favorite polish of 2009.

Anyways, #14 is: OPI You Don't Know Jacques!

I love how this taupe/mushroomy color can look light brown to dark brown just by changing the lighting. It makes me feel uber chic when I wear this one out.

Top 20: #15

2009-12-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

My number 15 is none other than Chanel Jade. Its pale mint green, with a hint of green shimmer makes it unique for a Chanel, therefore quite sought after...seeing as how it sells for a fortune on Ebay.

I sometimes wonder if I should have bought a back up of this polish, as I can definitely see how much I've used so far. This one also applies pretty well and is opaque in 2 coats.

Top 20: #16

2009-12-17T00:00:00.000-05:00

My number 16 is: Rescue Beauty Lounge- Scrangie. These pictures do not capture the depth and beauty of this polish, which was inspired by Scrangie. In real life, it is a bit darker purple and the greenish blue shimmer gives it the depth of one of those iridescent insect wings. It really is quite mesmerizing watching it flash in the light. I tried to show some of the depth of this polish by using flash and without flash (first and second picture, respectively).

(above: with flash)

(above: without flash)

Application of this one is just as flawless as the usual RBL formula. Pictured is 2 coats.

Top 20: #17

2009-12-16T13:07:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted about my top 20! I also can't believe how fast time flies and that Christmas is next week! Anyways, my #17 is China Glaze- Emerald Sparkle.

It's a little hard to see in the picture, but it looks like bright green glitter in a black jelly base. The way it layers on the nail also gives it a certain depth about it. This one is completely unique in my collection and definitely a keeper!

I also recently did a NOTD for my department holiday lunch with Emerald Sparkle.
I used one of the China Glaze Khromes- 2030 to Konad with.

Late Thank You to Mary from Body and Soul

2009-12-10T20:57:00.004-05:00

I've been quite swamped lately with the end of the semester (not to mention all the travelling), but now that I have some free time I wanted to show you what Mary, from Body and Soul sent me as my Secret Santa (Elfster). I got this package a few weeks ago, and I'm embarrassed to say that I completely forgot about posting about it on my blog!

A few weeks ago, I had just gotten back from NY and I found that a package was waiting for me! I was so excited, and even more so when I saw what was inside.

Lots of nail polish AND CHOCOLATE!!! M&M's and chocolate covered marshmallows...Mmm :) Did you know they make mint chocolate M&M's? I did not, but they are absolutely delicious. Anyways, there was also a tub of Mango Mend, which I had heard about and am excited to try. Then there were polishes from my wishlist, the OPI Merry Midnight and Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers (always can use a backup!). And then to my surprise, she also sent SH Opulent Cloud along with 2 cute Wet n Wild nail polishes and an Orly Smudge Fixer. I wonder if I can use this for gradients... :)

I'm so excited to try out all of these polishes and treatments!

Thank you again, Mary!!

You have really brightened my week of finals, esp with all the chocolate :)

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

2009 Top 20: #18

2009-11-29T00:00:00.001-05:00

On with the show....

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!!

Anyways, the next polish that landed a spot on my top 20 is:

#18.) Rescue Beauty Lounge- Stormy

A very chic gray (in my opinion). It is the perfect warm toned gray that compliments my skin tone just right. This is 2 coats and as you can see in the bottle, I have used this quite a bit (my top 20 are polishes I love so much that I have used more than once). Like the other RBL creams, this one had flawless application and is opaque in 2 coats. The name also reflects the color as it is the color of the sky when it is raining...which is quite often during the winter months.

Grace's 2009 Top 20: #19

2009-11-25T00:00:00.001-05:00

2009 Top 20:

#19.) Nfu-Oh! #52

This is one of the amazing flakey nail polishes by Nfu-Oh! This one is very similar to #51, which is said to be similar to the coveted Clarins 230 except with flakies. I did not choose to feature #51 just because let's be honest, blues and greens are my favorite colors and #52 packs a pretty punch with the blue/green/purple duo-chromeness plus all the flakey goodness (and of course I'm not making up any new words...) This is over a black cream polish, and like any glitter or flakey nail polish, is a PITA (pain in the... butt) to remove. But this is easily overlooked as it is hard to resist the sheer awesomeness of the shimmer, flakes, and color...and not to mention very cool looking bottle.

And now we must take a break from the countdown...

which will continue after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Please have a safe and wonderful holiday with friends and family!!

And happy shopping on black Friday if you go out!

Grace's 2009 Top 20: #20

2009-11-24T00:00:00.001-05:00

I can't believe how fast the year has flown by! After almost a year of collecting nail polishes, I plan on posting a countdown of my 20 favorites as the end of the year draws closer.

Kicking off the countdown is...

2009 Top 20

#20.) Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers

A black jelly with multiple sized red glitter. This is part of the 10th anniversary set from Lippmann Collection. This polish received a lot of love from many people and it isn't hard to see why. The amazing depth and 3-D quality from the glitter makes this one a truly unique nail polish. It takes approximately 4 coats to achieve this look, but it can also be layered over black for thinner layers.

Weekend mail...

2009-11-18T21:59:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-11-11T22:36:00.006-05:00

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

2009-11-11T14:33:00.003-05:00

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

2009-11-04T22:10:00.003-05:00

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

2009-10-29T18:56:00.004-04:00

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.

Halloween manicure :)

2009-10-29T18:17:00.002-04:00

This is what I did to my nails last night after I compared all the mint greens in my collection. It is China Glaze Fortune Teller and Spellbound over the Liquid Leather black.

I wore this for our department Halloween lunch and I actually won a door prize

...which was a tote bag!!

It was pretty funny b/c the people from my lab that went all won something..one right after another. They must not have mixed the tickets very well :)

Mint Greens

2009-10-28T20:57:00.004-04:00

After my presentation, I was sooo excited to be done. So without further ado...I bring you a comparison of the mint greens I currently own. These are labelled left to right, with flash indoors.

Essie: Greenport, MAC Peppermint Patti, Chanel Jade,

Essie Mint Candy Apple, Essie St. Martin Mint

Thumb to pinky: Essie St. Martin Mint, Essie Greenport,

MAC Peppermint Patti, Chanel Jade, Essie Mint Candy Apple

I love how in this picture you can see the shimmer of the Chanel Jade and the slight silver shimmer in the St. Martin Mint. All of these polishes were only 2 coats.

I am planning on doing a Halloween manicure now that I have nothing formal to do, so I will post that tomorrow :)

Have a great evening!!

Coming up later tonight...

2009-10-28T10:16:00.002-04:00

So I have to give a presentation to my department today and I'm SOOOOO nervous, esp since they are video taping it and I have to watch myself and give a critique! Eww...

Anyways, the FedEx guy just dropped off a package and now I can't wait for tonight so I can relax...and paint my nails. I got the Essie Winter collection and some of the ChG chromes. I think I will do a comparison of the mint greens I currently have tonight and put a picture up tonight. Til then, time to practice some more!!

What I've been up to the past couple of weeks....

2009-10-22T21:09:00.005-04:00

Today's manicure was Sally Hansen's Garnet Lapis. After a day of wear, it is actually pretty chippy. The duochrome-ness of this polish looks pretty sweet in the 80 degree weather outside. The first picture is with flash, and the 2nd is without. It flashes teal, blue and purple.

A few weeks ago, I did a comparison of some of the similar polishes to Essie Starry Starry Night (one of my biggest lemmings to date).

Well here we have (pointer to pinky): Chanel Ciel De Nuit, Sephora Blue Sapphire, Essie Starry Starry Night, CM Midnight Imposter. First picture is in the sun while the second one is indoors with flash.

Chanel Ciel De Nuit is a grayer version of Essie SSN with the same finish (finer glitter etc). Sephora Blue Sapphire has similar sized glitter to CM Midnight Imposter, but as you can see in the picture, CM's MI is a dark black blue base.

Anyways after obtaining Essie SSN, I have been quite busy with work, school, TAing...and the state fair. Over the past week, I've had to drive the ice cream over to the booth.

Behold...200 tubs of ice cream that sells out in a day!! This is the back of th 15 seater van that I have to drive.

Back view, and not all the things we had to move. The other two stockers also had to drive their own cars to help cart over all the boxes.

So other than shuttling ice cream to the state fair, I tried out some old and new foods. Being from Michigan, I had to try EVERYTHING last year, but this year I have limited my fried foods intake.

Fried alligator on a stick...actually does taste like chicken.

Fried pickle chips...I was told these taste better than spears but in my opinion, they taste nothing in comparison to how good spears taste. The chips were too salty and sour and not exactly crunchy.

Mm..fried pickles. I have to say though, after sharing both sets of pickles, I got pretty sick of fried pickles after the 2nd spear.

And we have fried bacon...I thought this was chicken wrapped in bacon, then fried. But then I found out from a friend that it's actually the way it's fried...i.e. chicken fried steak.

And meet Hibachi, my pet goldfish we won at the fair.

And the cute chickies and duckies!!....the chicks were being raised for Chick-fil-A.

And we have chocolate dipped bacon. I think this would be better if the bacon was actually crispy, but this one was kind of soggy so it ended up being pretty gross.

And at the end of each day of fair, they do fireworks.

Have a great weekend!!

sneak peak..

2009-09-23T22:30:00.004-04:00

It's been a gloomy few days but I thought I would show a picture to give you guys a sneak peak of my biggest lemming to date.

It's a comparison of two of my most prized nail polishes....

warning: beware of toes!

2009-09-21T20:59:00.002-04:00

After a very looong day, I painted my nails and I can't wait to show you what I have on my fingernails!! But I think I will wait for another gorgeous day to take a picture b/c the pictures with flash don't look as good. I know I promised the de-stash 2 post, but I haven't had a chance to go through the pictures quite yet and the next couple of weeks are even busier with TAing, exams, papers, projects and seminar. Last week, our undergrad helper came down with swine flu (he's all better now)...but he's out of commission at least until next week.

Anyways, I didn't want to leave you guys hanging for too long, so I thought I would post a picture of my toes, which I painted free hand.

My right toe has been slowly growing out since I bruised it last winter, hence why it looks a bit strange. Anyways, nail polish on my toes last a lot longer than on my fingers so I decided to do a little bit of school spirit on my toes.

Go Green!!

Some pretties... :)

2009-09-09T21:25:00.009-04:00

I have a terrible lemming for Essie Starry Starry Night...so I thought I would kill my lemming by getting a similar dupe for it. Unfortunately it did nothingi to soothe my lemming but it's still gorgeous and doesn't really need an introduction.

The first coat goes on a very greyish, barely blue jelly with glitter. The brush was kind of stiff, but I guess that's expected since this polish is from ages ago. The "magical" part of this polish is that when you put the 2nd coat on, it became a deep blue/grey jelly with glitter. I paid a hefty price for this baby, but I keep telling myself that it's not the most expensive liquid per mL that I use (granted work related stuff isn't my personal money).

Can you guess what liquid costs $3K/mL??

Anyways, moving away from my most expensive bottle of nail polish and onto some others. Aside from Essie SSN, NARS Zulu is another one I wish I could get my hands on..a dark green jelly! And since my favorite color is blue, I am also on the hunt for a dark blue jelly, which I think I have found. I first saw Illamasqua's Propaganda on Brooke's blog (Getcha Nails Did) and I knew I had to get something similar to it. So I first got Nfu Oh! 119.

This is pretty but for some reason I was still lemming Propaganda...so after a few months, I decided to take the plunge and buy it, along with a few others that are only sold overseas. Propaganda is a darker blue jelly than 119.

Next we have Illamasqua Rampage, which I somehow managed to snag from Sephora before it was sold out again. It's actually a bit darker green than seen in the picture.

Another green, which in real life is like the "green" in the Crayola crayon box. It's a very bright true green.

Illamasqua Fern is next...a shimmery bright sky blue.

Then there's Illamasqua Baptiste...

and then Phallic...makes me giggle. hehehe. It reminds me of other dark blue shimmers I have so it's on the chopping block.

And lastly, Illamasqua Lament, which is a flamingo/coral cream. I think I like RBL's Coral better...

Well, I'm pretty sure the next post will be purge 2. I just have to get motivation to take some pictures...which I seem to lack when I get home. I don't even have my nails painted b/c I don't want to sport chipped nail polish due to the fact that I'm too lazy to change polish frequently :( After being at work for 11 hours, I just feel like vegetating when I get home....

A quick hello!

2009-09-09T08:24:00.002-04:00

Hi guys!! I haven't abandoned the blog...I actually have taken quite a few pictures but I haven't found the time to resize them and whatnot to post. I have also gone through and de-stashed some more polishes...I just need to take some pictures and put them up. Well, have to run...another busy day. Nothing like delegating an undergrad to help make 1,300 plates....

MAC Jin Soon

2009-08-29T22:24:00.000-04:00

Like true fashion, I always try to swing by MAC when they release a collection that has a nail polish in its collection. I picked up a few colors that were a bit more interesting in my opinion. All pictures are 2 coats with flash.

First up is Beyond Jealous. It's a very dark blueish green...that looks so dark it looks black. I managed to catch the blueish hues with this picture.

Next up is Dance All Night. It is a brick red and looks a little bit streaky with 2 coats, but I am pretty sure it will be opaque with 3 coats.

And lastly, I picked up Dry Martini just to try this dirty olive green again..that has been described as baby poo. To my surprise, I actually like this one a lot better than RBL's No More War, which is a bit more yellow than brown.

I see Red....

2009-08-26T11:26:00.006-04:00

I have seen many pictures of Essie Ruby Slippers and I instantly had a lemming...I already had China Glaze- Ruby Pumps but since I didn't find a side by side comparison of the two, I went ahead and splurged on evilbay and bought Essie Ruby Slippers. So without further ado since I'm on a quick lunch break, I bring you a side by side comparison of the two Rubies: Pointer and Ring finger are China Glaze Ruby Pumps; Middle and pinky fingers are Essie Ruby Slippers.

As you can kind of see from the pictures, ChG is a finer, golder glitter while the glitter in Essie's is bigger and a darker red. They are both very beautiful but I might end up selling/swapping one of them away. Have a great day!!

a week into the semester

2009-08-26T08:17:00.002-04:00

can be summed up into two words...extremely busy. For having only one class and a seminar this semester, I feel so productive but super busy mostly b/c of everything I'm responsible for outside of classes (if you haven't guessed already, I'm a graduate student). Nothing like having to prep over 600 plates for a lab for the kiddies and whatnot. You never realize how much work goes into prepping for a lab class until you have to do it. That being said, I might not be able to post as much as I would like, although I will try to take pictures if I do paint my nails at night and post them in the morning. *sigh* Anyways, I do have new polishes to show you guys and hopefully I can post blog sale 2 up soon. Thanks to all who helped take some of these polishes off my hands!! It was a great success and I can't wait to show you what's up for purge number 2!!

NOTD first day of classes

2009-08-20T09:07:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of classes so I thought I would go a little bit more neutral. Sorry for the blurry picture, I didn't realize it was out of focus until after I got home and by then, this manicure was all chippy :(

Since this pink manicure was all chipped, I took it off and played around with some of my Illamasqua nail polish and some foils I received yesterday in the mail. Unfortunately after an hour of trying to get the foils to look decent, I gave up and tried something different. Here is my first half moon manicure with BB Couture nail polish. The darker green is Poison Ivy and the lighter green is Laguna Lagoon. It didn't come out as great as I wanted it to...but I guess I'll just have to practice a bit more.

Christmas Polish Exchange!!

2009-08-19T08:32:00.002-04:00

I am catching up on reading through blogs that I follow and yesterday, Nicole at MagicXMaid posted details about the Christmas Polish Exchange (click for more info)! What a cool idea and it sure does bring back memories from many years ago of secret Santa's and whatnot. :o) Don't forget to join!! The deadline is Sept. 14th.

Anyways, what am I doing posting so early? Well it's the first day of school and due to the awful parking policies this year, I decided I better get in early before all the undergrads start creating havoc. I haven't been in my office this early since last summer, and it's actually kind of creepy. The phone keeps ringing and when I pick up it's the dial tone. *sigh* I just looked at my new manicure for today, which I will post later tonight if I get a chance, and it's already chipping. I wanted to paint them a more neutral color but I couldn't resist spicing it up with some flair.

Recent NOTDs with RBL

2009-08-16T00:11:00.004-04:00

While I was sorting out my collection, I was playing around with some of my polishes and I randomly selected to paint them RBL's Dead Calm...and then I topped it off with Nfu-Oh! 52. I have to say, it's quite amazing to look at, esp. in the sun. The only problem I had with this manicure was taking it off...Dead Calm stains like something terrible and if I didn't have the Zoya-Remove+, the flakies would have been harder to get off!

I did the manicure below to go watch Harry Potter 6 in the theater. I visited the RBL store last month and I stumbled upon a red cream nail polish with gold shimmer and I immediately thought Gryfinndor! (yes, I'm a nerd). I was curious b/c I had never heard of this color before and so I asked if it was a new color, but found out it was a discontinued color that isn't up on their website. It's called Noisette and it has pretty good application.

And lastly, this is my current manicure, Purple Haze. It does a relatively good job of covering up the staining from the Dead Calm.

I have concluded weeding out my collection is harder than I thought...I am having trouble with the thought of possibly parting with some of them even though I've never used them and probably won't ever wear them. I have about 50 so far that I am willing to part with so I might just go ahead and post those tomorrow.

a brief update

2009-08-10T08:49:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't been around as much as in the beginning of summer. I seem to be getting busier and busier and the end of summer is fast approaching. My goal was to have all my nail polish sorted out and post an entry of everything I want to get rid of, which I think I will have that done sometime by the end of this week. I want to "weed" my collection to around 50, so that means I have to get rid of 100+ bottles...that is if I can part with them, haha. So stay tuned if you might be interested.

Results a few days late..

2009-07-28T19:16:00.005-04:00

I took these pictures on Saturday before I removed the nail polish. These pictures show about 2 days of wear. First picture is my right hand which had Zoya Color Lock and the second picture had the RBL treatments.

I didn't seem to notice any big difference with using these treatments, versus using just a regular base coat and top coat. I was kind of hoping that the treatments would extend the wear of my nail polish, but since I use my hands a lot and not to mention the constant washing of hands, I have yet to find something to make my nail polish last more than a couple days before chipping.

Treatment testing

2009-07-22T22:44:00.004-04:00

I recently acquired a few of treatments from the Zoya Color Lock system and the Rescue Beauty Lounge treatments as well. I thought I might as well do a comparison of the two using my two hands. I ended up using Zoya Remove + to remove old nail polish but then I used the different treatments on each hand. My right hand consisted of using Zoya Anchor Base Coat, 2 coats of L'Oreal Star Magnet Purple, Zoya Armor Topcoat and Zoya HurryUp Speed Dry Drops.

My left hand has the base coat prep, base coat, 2 coats of L'Oreal Star Magnet Purple, and then top coat from Rescue Beauty Lounge.

This is what my left hand looks like at day 0. I will post pictures everyday (but of both hands!) to see any wear and tear that appears.

Glitters and opinions?

2009-07-21T18:35:00.006-04:00

One of the nail polishes I have been lemming after for a long time is Essie: Starry Starry Night. I ended up swapping a bunch of hard to find nail polishes trying to get it...but ended up getting swaplifted..yah, the girl disappeared and no package ever showed up :( So in trying to find it, I bought a few colors that are said to be similar to it.

1.) Sephora- Blue Sapphire

2.) Cm: Midnight Imposter

And then a few other glitter nail polishes I have received in swaps...

3.) NARS: Arabesque. Pink glitter nail polish

4.) Anna Sui: 214. Purple glitter nail polish that smells like roses after it dries

5.) Anna Sui: 106. Light blue holographic glitter nail polish that smells like roses once dry

On another note, I have been debating about selling off a bunch of my nail polish. I am not too fond of selling them on ebay and I don't have enough swap tokens on MUA to sell on nbmarketplace. I was thinking of selling them on this blog but I am not too sure that many people that would be interested in them. It seems to be a waste to just throw them out, so I was wondering on your opinons? I wouldn't mind putting them up for adoption as long as shipping/handling are paid for.

Thanks in your advance!!

I'm back!!

2009-07-16T20:17:00.005-04:00

I finally have some time to update!! I just got back from Texas and it sure makes 90 degrees feel like nothing. Anyways, over the past couple weeks I've accumulated a bunch of polishes. The pictures in this post are older colors...some hard to find ones! Enjoy!!

1.) China Glaze- OMG. Silver holographic nail polish.

2.) China Glaze- Ruby Pumps

3.) China Glaze- Blue Island Iced Tea

and then some hard to find colors...

4.) China Glaze- Emerald Sparkle

5.) Opi- Black Tie Optional, it's hard to tell in this picture but it's a tri-chrome nail polish.

Purple with flashes of olive greenish yellow, red and purple.

6.) Essie- Barbuda Banana

Also, I would like to thank Angie for nominating me for the Adorable Blog Award! Stay tuned for Nfu-Oh and a few others.

Nails for the next two weeks

2009-07-06T21:47:00.004-04:00

I am using this week to make my nails as pretty as they can be "naked" since I have to be quite professional next week. They are somewhat stained from previous swatching and some nail polish just won't come off my cuticles.

Here is Rescue Beauty Lounge: Clear Pink

I think I am going to post some pictures later on this week of other polishes I own that I have swatched in the past couple of weeks (but haven't gotten around to posting yet). I also have a bunch of newly acquired polishes that I can't wait to share with you, but those will have to wait until end of next week as I will be out of town. If I don't get around to posting before I leave, feel free to look through my photos on the side of my blog. I finally got all 100+ pictures of the nail polishes I have owned or own posted!!

Have a great week!!

For the upcoming weekend...

2009-07-01T21:58:00.003-04:00

I know it's early, Happy 4th of July!!

konad plate m44, RBL- Dead Calm, China Glaze- Wireless Holographic Top Coat

Maybelline Mattes part 1

2009-07-01T17:14:00.002-04:00

I am in the process of getting a bunch of Maybelline matte nail polishes to try and I thought I might as well post some pictures (just in case you were at a Dollar Tree and were curious as to what these look like). All of these pictures are with flash.

1.) Maybelline Matte Sapphire no top coat

2.) Maybelline matte sapphire with top coat

3.) Maybelline Matte Ruby no top coat

4.) Maybelline Matte Ruby with top coat

Overall, application was kind of bumpy. I think I really like them better with a top coat, what do you think?

Nail of the Day

2009-07-01T16:19:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I was in Sephora and the girl that rang it up had her nails painted 2 colors. I absolutely loved the color she had on..it was a aqua teal color. I looked it up and it's the Sephora Opi Ocean Love Potion I think. Anyways, rather than buy another nail polish, I decided to hunt through my own stash and use a color that is similar to it. Outside in the hot, hot heat.

Essie- Greenport

Dark Side of the Moon...

2009-07-01T00:11:00.004-04:00

So far this week has been great for dark, jelly colors. I recently got my little hands on something I have wanted for a long time and I can't wait to show you...later. These past and next few weeks are really busy for me, so I probably won't be able to post as much as I would like.

Anyways, it's a dark eggplant purple that is very dark it looks black in some lights. In this picture you can definitely see the purple because of the flash.

Lippmann Collection: Dark Side of the Moon

The packages I wasn't expecting... :)

2009-06-24T21:53:00.007-04:00

Sometimes I think the best things you get are the ones you weren't expecting. I got home and was feeling kind of bummed that nothing was in my mailbox, but then not half an hour later, the mail man knocked on my door and handed me two packages! Unfortunately only 1 of them is one of the ones that has taken forever...the other one I received in a swap that was shipped on Monday! Talk about super fast shipping!! Anyways, I was so excited about my new polishes I had to do some swatches and take pictures.

1.) Anna Sui 900: A very pale greenish grey shimmer (and smells like roses when it dries)

2.) Anna Sui 702: A olive greenish gold shimmer

3.) and my FAVORITE Anna Sui...111. A peacock blue/green shimmer!

4.) And then we have this one from a swap that took a bit longer to get to me, but totally worth it...all the way from Finland!! L'Oreal Star Magnet Copper

Went on a little treasure hunt after work..

2009-06-23T19:11:00.002-04:00

I have been eyeing the Opi Designer Series for awhile and decided to take the plunge and buy one. So with my $3.50 off coupon for Ulta, I made a little trip over there and found one I liked. I decided to peruse the clearance bins as well and found an electric aroma-bowl that heats up essential oils. After my browsing, I decided that I was done and went to check out...and to my big surprise, the Opi Designer Series nail polish rang up as $2.99!!! After I puchased everything, I asked the girl if there was a sale going on with these that I didn't know about because I would have to buy more. She said she didn't think so but I could go grab another one and see if it also rang up as $2.99...which unfortunately rang up as $12.99. Anyways, here's my little gem:

Opi DS: Fantasy- "A deep, dark blue with magical shimmer" (pictured with flash)

It smells like flowers!!

2009-06-22T23:03:00.007-04:00

Over the past couple months, I have read and collected a bunch of nail polish. A few weeks ago I found out about Anna Sui nail polish when I did a image search for NARS Zulu Dupes...and came across Anna Sui 915 (which is just as equally hard to find as Zulu it appears). Anyways, I found out what is unique about this nail polish is that once it dries, it has a light rose scent. Well, that had me sold and I had to try one...but to my dismay, they aren't sold in the USA. I did a bit more research and after a little more than a month of disappointment and patience, my search for Anna Sui nail polish on google came back as a success. So before the offer disappeared, I quickly ordered the Anna Sui 2008 collection part 1 last Friday from an online store based in Hong Kong. Well, if memory serves me right, today is Monday and look what got delivered today!!!

(All of the following pictures are with flash)

After I ordered the set, I looked at the other sites google had discovered and found a website that had the brown one pictured below....I managed to also snag that one for a whopping TWO ($2.00) dollars AND free shipping from a site based in Australia but shipped from Hong Kong. Apparently getting items from Hong Kong arrive much faster (I mean, I ordered both on Friday night and they arrived today!) than packages from the USA. Frustrating eh? And since I mentioned this sore subject, I have YET to receive the 3 packages... oh well, these Anna Sui nail polishes made my day though. Not only are they cute, they made it smell like I had a vase of roses sitting near by.

Pictured left to right: Anna Sui's 204, 104, 501, 006, 002

Anna Sui 501 (the one I got for $2.00!!! plus free international shipping)

Anna Sui 002 top coat with multicolor glitter

Anna Sui 006: greyish, whiteish, pink/orange duochrome with multicolor glitter

Anna Sui 104: a clear teal with lots of glitter

Anna Sui 204: reminds me of Nubar Pasadena Purple or China Glaze Coconut Kiss...the only difference I think (haven't done a comparison yet!) is the rose scent after it dries.

So as you can see, this brand not only has a unique rose scent but also cute little rose shaped bottles. I can't wait to get some more to add to the collection!!!

Anyways, I figured I might as well give an update on my "project" of taking pictures of all the nail polishes that I own and are listed in the google spread sheet (can be found on the right side of the blog above "labels"). I finished swatching 99.9% of my nail polish collection and took over 700 pictures...now I just have to go through them all and then integrate them into the spreadsheet. I'll let you know when I finally have it completed!!

Well it's getting kind of late, but a sweet smell just made me remember I wanted to further embellish my post with more floral scented items...my jasmine plant has a tendency to bloom at night and occassionally I will get a strong smell of it. It smells SOO delicious. Unfortunately the flowers fall off in the morning :( So here is a picture of my jasmine plant blooming. Enjoy!!

Del Sol color changing nail polish

2009-06-20T17:25:00.004-04:00

I have had these guys plus others for a while now, and I figured I might as well post them. I am a sucker for anything that is unique (like the magnetic nail polishes, scented nail polishes, color changing nail polishes...you name it!) Anyways, since it's 100 degrees outside plus a high humidity, I did the "expose to sun" part out my window.

Nail polish IDs are pointer to pinky!

1.) Rockstar, Electrick, Spike, Ruby Slipper. Indoors and holding "Spike".

2.) same colors as picture 1 but in sunlight. (It's kind of hard to see, so rockstar changes to a greenish blue glitter, electrick changes to green, spike changes to greyish purple, ruby slipper changes to red.)

3.) Middle finger- Surfer girl; ring finger-sun kissed; pinky- peek-a-boo. Inside holding "Sun-Kissed"

4.) same as picture 3. surfer girl changes to orange, sun kissed changes to reddish orange, and peek-a-boo changes to red

"Grilled" Pineapple

2009-06-19T23:35:00.005-04:00

I always love trying new food and within the past year, I got to try Brazillian BBQ. Aside from the tons of meats, I absolutely LOVED the grilled pineapple dessert. I remember sitting at the table, and the gaúchos coming around with a skewered whole pineapple with carmalized cinnamon sugar grilled rotisserie style. The other day I saw these tiny pineapples from South Africa and I decided to try and make my own version of the grilled pineapple. Since I don't have a grill, I had to improvise with my oven.

1.) Mini Pineapple from South Africa

2.) After prepping the pineapple

3.) Another picture without flash

4.) Coating my mini pinapple with some cinnamon sugar that I mixed up

5.) "Grilling" in the oven at 400'F. You can see the water and sugars bubbling

6.) After baking in the oven for half an hour

7.) My pineapple on my plate...I have to say, it smells SOO delicious. Fruity cinnamon buns, sort of.

8.) Slicing it like the gaúchos did, also "coring" the pineapple

9.) Another picture...look at how juicy it is!

10.) After I cored and sliced the pineapple. It was absoutely delicious!!!

Have a great weekend!!!

yay! the weekend is just around the corner...

2009-06-18T23:22:00.004-04:00

After feeling kinda bummed earlier today, I did some retail therapy (online though) which made me feel good enough to finish my first draft! yay!! now I just have to wait for edits...but anyways, I am in a better mood and I finally went through my polish collection to make an inventory list.

Click here to see my polish collection.

I am even thinking of being ambitious and taking pictures of all of the polishes and linking images to them as well, but we'll see.

Wow, t's getting late so I'll leave you a picture of what I bought that made me feel better!

Cole Haan platform wedge with Nike Air technology :)

(I have been hunting for a pair of comfy sandals for awhile now since I don't own any sandals other than flip flops. Granted I won't be able to wear these to work, but it doesn't stop my excitement of owning a pair of Cole Haan Heels!!)

feelin' kinda down

2009-06-18T14:22:00.002-04:00

So I've been busy writing for an upcoming conference and I had high hopes of finishing it all up today. Unfortuately my mind's been a bit preoccupied today from a recent discovery. I mentioned in a previous post about the snail mail and how it's taking freakin' long...I have been (im)patiently waiting for 3 packages over the course of 3 weeks. I know the explanations of one, another one I will give a few more days, but the last one is the most curious case ever.

So my question is, how do you know if you have been swaplifted? I have a hunch (since the DC the girl gave me doesn't work) and her account has been deactivated since yesterday. I'm really confused b/c of the great communication she had over the course of the past 2 weeks and her "supposed" looking into it at the post office spiel...but now I just have a sinking feeling in my gut ever since I tried to message her this morning, and found out she no longer exists! I guess I wouldn't be as upset if it wasn't something that is relatively hard to find...aka my backup copy of MAC's Peppermint Patti along other things. I like to believe the best in people but sometimes...

Well aside from that downer, it's really hot and muggy. I can't believe it's suppose to be in the 100's this weekend esp with all the humidity. I really miss Michigan at times like this...

Pretty busy..

2009-06-15T22:41:00.005-04:00

My nails are naked and pretty short right now, so I thought I would post something I did awhile ago when I was wearing Essie- Aruba Blue. At the time, I had just received my Nubar order which included the V For Men Matte Finish Top coat. This picture is in indirect sunlight.

This week is pretty hectic for me, so I won't have as much time to paint my nails and post pictures as I would like. Although, I think my nails want a teeny break since they are probably not enjoying all the nail polish remover (and they're starting to get stained yellow from the darker colors).

Friday's Manicure of the Day

2009-06-11T23:29:00.004-04:00

I decided to paint my nails with the RBL- Teal..and then since I liked the dots I did yesterday, I thought I would try it with one of my holographic nail polishes...China Glaze- Kaleidoscope Him Out. After I did a few dots, I was reminded of one of my favorite books as a child. When I was little, this was one of my favorite books because of the sparkly holographic glitter on the pages...I even bought a bookmark at the book fair. For the whole affect, click on each picture and you can see all the rainbow-ness!!!

Can you name that book?? (see end of post for answer)

The Rainbow Fish

Impatiently waiting for mail...

2009-06-11T21:46:00.004-04:00

It is a commonly known fact about me that I am very impatient. Usually it takes a couple days to receive items in the mail after I order them...but sometimes it takes FOREVER!!! (at least it feels like it!) This is never due to the person sending it, but due to the USPS. For instance, it took 4 weeks for me to receive a package from a friend from Michigan (RIDICULOUS!!)... I have been expecting packages for the past 3 weeks...and only 2 came today, and they were the last ones shipped(shipped on Tuesday). I'm still waiting for another 3 which seem to have entered limbo at the post office somewhere.

ANYWAYS, today's packages included my RBLs from a recent swap and the Rescue Your Nails book from Amazon. I have already gone through the book and I highly recommend it!!! It's a great read on nail care and teaches do it yourself manicures/pedicures along with many other things. When she talks about autoclaves I just had to start laughing b/c of my experience with them (it's one of my least favorite lab chores)! Well, here are some pictures of the RBLs I got from my swap. Enjoy!

1.) Ani- A shimmery sheer nude color...with flash.

2.) Sweet Sixteen- creamy pink shimmer...with flash

3.) Grunge- shimmery taupe color...this is the one that is currently out of stock on the RBL website.

When I read about Grunge and saw pictures of it on various blogs, I was curious as to how similar it was to Orly-Country Club Khaki and Opi- You Don't Know Jacques! I couldn't find any good pictures that compared them, so I decided to do my own comparison.

The colors in question...(left to right) Orly- Country Club Khaki, RBL- Grunge, Opi- You Don't Know Jacques! (with flash)

left to right: Opi- YDKJ, RBL- Grunge, Orly- CCK without flash

with flash!

Overall, RBL- Grunge and Orly Country Club Khaki are relatively similar in color. CCK is a little darker brown by a tad while Grunge is lighter with a tinge of silver micro-shimmer.

Hmm..college loyalties??

2009-06-10T20:34:00.006-04:00

So today I wore RBL- Bikini Bottom to work because I loved the color so much. I received a few comments...but none were what you would expect. It was more like..."What are you wearing on your nails?! that's Carolina blue (UNC)!!!" Of course I was a bit oblivious to the fact that baby blue is in fact, UNC's color and a rival. Hm..this got me thinkin', does this mean I shouldn't wear dark blue (Umich is maize and blue)? I only thought it would be bad if I wore blue and yellow on my nails but even then, I don't care THAT much since I did work at Umich for a while...

Anyways, I decided to change my nail polish to green and white for tomorrow

( I can't imagine painting my nails red and white)

First picture is with flash, 2nd is without.

Polish is: RBL- Recycle (green) and Revlon- white on white.

Konad plate m64 and used a dotting tool as well.

When nail polish reminds me of work...it's not a good sign.

2009-06-09T20:07:00.007-04:00

After a lot of going back and forth trying to decide whether or not to cave and buy these, I finally caved. A few of them were what I expected and more...while some kinda made me cringe. As usual, all of these pictures are with flash (for some reason, the color looks more true on my computer this way; I know sunlight is good but the weather's been a bit weird with hurricane season and all). Anyways, enjoy!

1.) Teal- This is 2 coats and is a really pretty color!

2.) Bikini Bottom- 3 coats and it was everything I expected and more! I really love how watery this looks, I think this might be my NOTD for tomorrow!

3.) Stormy- 1 coat...I didn't realize it was a little streaky until after the picture. I'm sure more than 1 coat would even it out. I bought this because I didn't own any grey's prior to this and this was one where the pictures made me want to get it. It does not disappoint...the name really does reflect the weather outside right now!

4.) No More War- 2 coats and when I used a cotton ball with remover, I was reminded of what I work with (**hint** my work involves food borne pathogens that cause gastroenteritis). It is an interesting color, and I'm trying to think of it as split pea soup, but it really isn't working. I think this might have to be swapped for something else...I mean, the last thing I want is my co-workers to think I got some of what I work with under my gloves and then forgot to wash my hands! What do you think? To Keep or Not to Keep?

I have also decided (again) not to buy any more nail polish...this time I mean it! I am pretty sure I have most everything I want except for the hard to find ones. I have a few more RBLs coming to me from swapping on MUA but that is about it. yay!

Purples!

2009-06-08T21:36:00.010-04:00

I just realized that if I keep posting on all of the polishes I have in a particular color, I will not have many posts. However, being relatively new to collecting nail polishes, I decided that comparisons of nail polishes in a color are very helpful.

I'll just have to post new colors as I get them. Enjoy! :o)

All Pictures are with flash labelled pointer to pinky.

1.) Rescue Beauty Lounge- Bruised; MAC- Love & Friendship; Essie- St Lucia Lilac; China Glaze- Visit Me In Prism

2.) L'Oreal Star Magnet- Purple; NARS- Gimme Shelter; MAC- Vin Goth

3.) China Glaze- Coconut Kiss; Nubar- Pasadena Purple; Orly- Plum Noir; Opi- Can You Dig It?

4.) L'Oreal Star Magnet- Magnetic Prune; BB Couture- Maleficent Magneta; Sally Hansen- Alluring

5.) China Glaze- Secret Peri-Wink-Le; Revlon- Not So Blue-Berry

If you were observant, I'm sure you picked up on the more "interesting" nail polishes I have collected...

aka the magnetic nail polish

(star design due to the iron in the nail polish when held up to the magnet)

or the blueberry scented nail polish!

What can I say, the unique things really attract my attention!

Go Green!!

2009-06-05T22:49:00.008-04:00

I'm feelin' a bit nostalgic today...so I thought I would post all my greens I have so far! All of the following pictures are with flash, and colors are listed left to right (middle finger to pinky). Enjoy!

1.) Krackpolish Green over white; Nfu Oh 40 over black

It's hard to see the cracks in this picture, but the Krackpolish 'cracks' and you can see the white underneath it! (if you click on it to enlarge it, you can kind of see them better)

2.) NYX- Jungle; China Glaze- Watermelon Rind; China Glaze- He's Going in Circles

All of these were 2 coats.

3.) Sally Hansen Hard as Nails-Emerald City; Zoya- Midori; Zoya- Irene

Kinda Squished picture...oops.

4.) Del Sol- Spike; BB Couture- Laguna Lagoon; Essie- St. Martin Mint

I think I will do a post on all my Del Sols sometime since I bought a bunch of Del Sols a while ago, before the sale...I was upset to say the least when I heard about it :o(

5.) China Glaze- For Audrey; Essie- Greenport; MAC- Peppermint Patti

6.) BB Couture- Poison Ivy; Rescue Beauty Lounge- Recycle; BB Couture- Green Goblin

Green Goblin is a little greyer than the Recycle.

And then a little nail art I did a few months back that really brings back the nostalgia...

Have a great weekend!!!

Friday's NOTD

2009-06-04T23:56:00.004-04:00

I thought I would do my nails while it's storming outside...and my electricity was flickering on and off.

NARS- Bohemia with flash. 2 coats with MAC overlacquer

It's a pinkish green chrome.

Yay!! They're here!

2009-06-02T18:07:00.008-04:00

I ordered a bunch of Rescue Beauty Lounge nail polishes last week from LindsayLou when they had the Memorial Day sale. I got most of them, except for Teal which turned out to be out of stock. After I tried these all on, I really wish I had Bikini Bottom, No More War and Stormy(all out of stock as well). I guess I'll have to wait until next time there's a sale on them! Anyways, here are my pictures of the colors I got. They all had wonderful application.

1.) Starfish Patrick- I think this is my favorite from this bunch. First picture is without flash, 2nd is with. This is 2 coats.

2.) Square Pants. First picture is with flash, 2nd is without. This is 3 coats.

3.) Dead Calm- My other favorite of this bunch! This is only ONE coat!! First is without flash under fluorescent light and 2nd is with flash.

4.) Bruised- A very interesting purple. This is also 2 coats, first picture is with flash, 2nd is without.

5.) Atame- A darker red. First picture is without flash, 2nd is with flash. You can see how with a flash it is bright red. This is 2 coats as well.

6.) Au Chocolate- A pretty rich, dark brown. 2 coats and first pic is with flash, 2nd is without.

Can't believe it's June!

2009-06-01T22:51:00.004-04:00

I find myself so amazed at how fast time flies. I really can't believe it's June already. Anyways, I thought I would post a picture of a few nail polishes I acquired recently. I hope you enjoy! All three of these colors is 3 coats and picture is with flash.

Pointer is Essie: St Lucia Lilac

Middle finger is Essie: St Barth's Blue

Ring finger is Essie: St Martin Mint

Pinky is naked...

The St Lucia Lilac that I have seems to be different from the others in the label is different(blue vs the black) and I had the chance to compare them. The St Lucia Lilac that is pictured here, I acquired from the Ulta near where I live. At the time, I did not realize I already had a St Lucia Lilac (see, I really need to clean out my polish collection b/c I seem to have duplicates without realizing it!). Anyhow, the one with the black label has a more pink/mauve hue, with more obvious silver shimmer whereas this blue label one is more purple/blueish (if that makes sense) and not so obvious shimmer. They are both a very light purple and very pretty.

On another note regarding my cleaning out, I have concluded that it might be more cost efficient to just toss out certain nail polishes rather than mailing them all out (yes, I can hear all the *gasps of horror* now). I am wondering if it is better to just "cut the losses" right now, before I spend more money. I would love for all these colors I'll never wear to go to good homes, but the reality is the fact that the hassle of shipping them and the shipping cost seem to not be worth it. I feel like I am paying a lot of money just to get rid of certain nail polishes even though the quickest way would be to just toss them. If anyone has any good ideas on how to efficiently clear up a nail polish collection, let me know!

Opi- You Don't Know Jacques!

2009-05-30T20:46:00.002-04:00

I decided to wear Opi- You Don't Know Jacques! for this weekend.

First picture is without flash, 2nd is with.

I love how the color seems to change with the lighting;

it's a brownish grey that is definitely very interesting.

I have been trying to clean out my collection, and I didn't realize how hard it would be!

There are so many colors that I like but don't think I would wear...but can't part with either.

I have been trying to give a lot of them away while swapping on MUA, but it seems like the more I try to get rid of them, their numbers keep growing! Am I the only one that has this problem?

Anyways, I really can't wait to get my RBL polishes next week...I'm sooo excited for them!

Orly: Plum Noir

2009-05-27T23:43:00.002-04:00

I have been looking for a cream dark purple for awhile, and I finally found a color I like. Unfortunately I realized that it was a discontinued color which was a bummer...until I decided to check ebay. I managed to find it from a beauty store for 5 dollars with free shipping!

So here is Orly: Plum Noire with Barielle No-Chip Speed Dry with Silk Protein.

This was my first time using the Barielle no-chip, but I don't know if I like it as much as I like the MAC overlacquer.

first picture is without flash and the 2nd is with flash

End of Spring Cleanout

2009-05-27T18:00:00.002-04:00

Hello!

I haven't forgotten this blog but I thought I would drop a quick little update. I am currently trying to get rid of a ton of nail polishes that I won't use since my polish collection has gotten way too big (especially since I have more coming, which means more posts!).

I bought a bunch of Rescue Beauty Lounge nail polishes on Memorial day from www.lindsaylou.com because she had a 30% off everything sale. I think the sale might still be going on since she extended it (enter code memorial30 to try), but a lot of the colors have sold out. I emailed Lindsay regarding a few, and said that they will be in stock in a few weeks. The best part is free Fedex shipping!!

some old pictures :o)

2009-05-22T20:14:00.002-04:00

I can't remember when I did these,

but I just found them on my computer so I thought I would share.

Have a great weekend!!

Base is Essie: Classical

Konad with China Glaze: Gussied Up Green

Base is Orly Country Club Khaki

Konad is with China Glaze Bahamian Escape (blue) and Revlon Hot Chocolate

Base is Orly Country Club Khaki

Konad is with Revlon Hot Chocolate

Pastel Frankens

2009-05-21T22:27:00.004-04:00

First picture without flash, 2nd is with flash.

Blue!!

Green!!!

Yellow!!!

All were mixed with NYC White and Clear.

Blue- Misa: Blue over a Boy

Green- Opi:Green-which village

Yellow- Orly: Spark

Food Safety Lesson/Tip of the Day

2009-05-21T15:20:00.005-04:00

Since work was pretty slow and uneventful today, I have decided I might as well stimulate my brain a bit and give y'all a little lesson on food safety. This topic was brought up this semester and the lack of public knowledge astounded me. So this is for anybody that plans to become pregnant, is pregnant or has somebody close to them that is pregnant.

Did you know that a pregnant woman is not suppose to eat deli meats or other ready-to-eat foods? I don't know if the doctor tells a woman when she's pregnant about the foods to avoid or not (as I have no experience with pregnancy and whanot), but the main reason is because of Listeria monocytogenes. Pregnant women are more likely to get listeriosis, which can cause stillbirths, abortions, septicemia, meningitis, encephalitis or lifelong health issues for the baby. Listeriosis has a high fatality rate and generally affects people with immunocompromised immune systems (i.e. pregnant women and fetus, neonates, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals)

Prevention: Properly heat up a food prior to eating or avoid unpasteurized products or ready to eat products altogether (deli meats, ready-to-eat products, soft cheeses). This mainly affects the ready-to-eat foods because these types of food do not require further cooking prior to consumption. L. monocytogenes is able to grow in the refrigerator so proper cooking and holding temperatures are important.

If you are interested in more information regarding things you should avoid when pregnant, you can go here to learn more! You will find that most food borne illnesses are generally caused by improper handling of food and lack of common sense.

So my tip of the day is a simple one, make sure your food is kept below 40 degrees Fahrenheit and when heated, make sure it is above 140 degrees Fahrenheit. You want to avoid the "danger zone" of 40-140 degrees Fahrenheit...this is temperature range where bacteria can multiply rapidly and cause problems.

If there is anything in particular you want me to talk about regarding food or anything remotely related to it, let me know and I'll be more than happy to do a post on it!!

Nail of the Day: Essie- Aruba Blue

2009-05-19T23:53:00.002-04:00

I think this might be one of my favorite blues that I own, so I decided to wear this one for Wednesday. First picture is with flash, 2nd is without flash.

Blue, blue and more blue!!

2009-05-19T21:58:00.005-04:00

Blue is my favorite color...so I guess it explains why this color dominates my ever growing nail polish collection. I decided to do swatches on all of them to find similarities and whatnot. Enjoy!

Nail polish ID is left to right, pointer to pinky (1-4).

P.S. Sorry in advance for some of the blurry pictures and messy nails! Most of these colors are much prettier in real life.

1.) Zoya: Indigo Dark- dark blue with multi-color glitter

2.) Opi: Russian Navy- dark blue with purple/red shimmer

3.) Lancome Le Vernis: Midnight Glam- dark blue with a hint of purple

4.) Chanel: Blue Satin- dark, almost black blue

1.) China Glaze: Bermuda Breakaway- indigo blueish purple

2.) Essie: Aruba Blue- it's that dark blue on cell phones, I will have to try to get a better picture of it in the future

3.) Misa: A Sin Worth Committing- Another dark blue with blue shimmer

4.) Zoya: Kotori- very sheer teal/blue glitter with a black base

1.) China Glaze: Shower Together- An aqua blue cream

2.) Nfu-Oh : NFU 53- Blue shimmer plus flakes that change color depending on the angle the light hits it, ranges from yellow, green, red to purple

3.) Zoya: Tallulah- summery blue with a flash of purple and blue shimmer

4.) Del Sol: Rock Star- A bright blue glitter that changes to green in the sun!

1.) Misa: Blue over a Boy- A robin egg blue

2.) Essie: Shelter Island- creamy blue

3.) China Glaze: Bahamian Escape- Light blue

4.) China Glaze: For audrey- Tiffany's Blue

1.) Del Sol: Electrick- A blue frost that changes to a pale green in the sun

2.) Essie: Barbados Blue- A very light frosty blue

3.) China Glaze: Kaleidoscope Him Out- holographic light blue

4.) Opi: Go on Green!- a sheer light blue with green shimmer

How to: Eat an Artichoke with lemon butter

2009-05-18T19:02:00.000-04:00

How to eat an artichoke: Steps taken apart

1.) Trim off all the sharp points with scissors

and then boil in water with garlic and bay leaves for 30-40 minutes...

or until the petals come off easily

2.) Drain artichoke and time to eat!

Peel each petal off when you are ready to eat.

3.) The white/grey meaty part of the artichoke

is what you eat, not the entire leaf

(you will notice that the petal is very tough)

4.) Dip in some lemon garlic butter

To prepare, melt some butter with a little bit of the water the artichokes were cooked in, add in the cooked garlic, and add lemon juice.

5.) Place the end of the petal in your mouth between your upper and lower teeth. (basically scrape off the meaty flesh with your teeth)

6.) Throw away the rest of the petal as it is inedible. Continue steps 3-5 until you reach...(see next picture)

7.) Keep peeling away and eating the artichoke meat until this point.

You will notice that the petals are thinner and sharp. Do not eat this part and throw away the remaining thin petals.

8.) Here we have the choke, another inedible part of the artichoke!

It is furry and must be scraped off to reveal the Heart of the Artichoke

9.) The most delicious and valued part of the artichoke!!

(the part above the stem without the choke= Artichoke Heart)

10.) Dip the artichoke heart into dippin' sauce and enjoy!

food science...a little background

2009-05-18T16:47:00.000-04:00

I recently realized how the general public does not know/understand things that I have taken for granted regarding food. Since I have decided to start a blog revolving around my interests, I feel a little obligated to do some public awareness regarding food safety. I don't know how many people will end up reading this blog, or the information I present will be things you already know or don't know.

Anyways before I begin with my first topic, I might as well give a little background about myself. I have always had a passion for food. Now before you think the only thing I love to do is eat (which I do), I should also explain this statement a little more. I have no hesitation to try new foods, as I will try anything at least once...except don't expect me to eat anything that looks like a bug (I will gladly admit that I have an awful case of insectophobia!) Also, I love learning about anything food related. So with that in mind, I was very lucky to stumble upon something in my undergraduate career that fit my passion for food completely. Thanks to a bunch of significant people, I stepped out of the box (and medicine, which I had been preparing for over 5 years) to pursue food science.

So what exactly is food science? No, it is not spending time feeding animals nor is it about nutrition, which is related to how the body uses food after we ingest them to promote and maintain our health. The definition quotted from a textbook is: "Food science is the scientific study of raw food materials and their behvaior during formulation, processing, packaging, storage and evaluation as a consumer of products. It is concerned with all quality and safety aspects of foods before a person consumes them". Within food science, there are many fields that range from food engineering to food microbiology to sensory analysis to product development...and many others!

Anyways to sum it all up, I enjoy learning every single aspect about food (which is probably too much information for most people). Since my background is microbiology and molecular genetics, it was quite an easy decision for me to do graduate work in food safety...mainly food microbiology. With that said and without further ado, welcome to the food safety aspect of my blog.

Rescue Beauty Lounge: Recycle

2009-05-18T00:18:00.000-04:00

I saw this on a few other blogs and I couldn't resist splurging to buy it. For $18 + shipping, it was a bit pricey but totally worth it (in my opinion). The shade of green is absolutely gorgeous and applies like a dream. Pictured here is 2 coats of RBL Recycle with MAC overlacquer (first picture is w/o flash, 2nd is with flash).

Feelin' a bit blue...

2009-05-14T00:09:00.000-04:00

Essie: Shelter Island with China Glaze: Kaleidoscope Him Out

Obsession No. 1: Nail Polish

2009-05-13T22:49:00.000-04:00

About a month ago, I started getting sucked into the world of nail polish. My collection of a meager 4 bottles quickly grew into more than 70 bottles of nail polish over the course of 3 weeks. How was it possible that my nail polish stash grew like bacteria? I think the answer is stress related along with the fact that reading the many blogs about nail polish opened a can of worms. Being who I am, I am very prone to seeking out products that are more unique than the norm...

Anyways I digress, this quickly brought up many challenges such as draining my wallet and lack of space to keep all of them. So my first post will be about nail polish storage. After searching for the past few weeks for the ideal storage (cute, space saving, sturdy and can hold a lot)...my answer was found at Michaels along with Target. I purchased the mini 3 drawer unit at Michaels and then proceeded to sand and cover it with contact paper purchased at Target.

Ta da! Here is my little nail polish storage, less than a foot wide and 18 inches tall. Stay tuned for what lies within the drawers...

So it begins...

2009-05-13T22:28:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my newest blog that revolves around some of my interests. These often range from food to makeup and everything in between. So if that sounds like your cup of tea, then let's begin!

The Kitchen, the Closet and the Laboratory...

SITE MOVING

It's been awhile...are you still there?

Pampering to destress

Unattainable no more!

brief update

It's been forever...

Taupe/Mushroomy color comparison

***TOP 20: #1!!!!!*** Happy New Year!!!

Top 20: #2

Top 20: #3

Top 20: #4

Top 20: #5

Top 20: #6

Top 20: #7

Top 20: #8

Top 20: #9

Top 20: #10

Top 20: #11

Top 20: #12

Top 20: #13

Top 20: #14

Top 20: #15

Top 20: #16

Top 20: #17

Late Thank You to Mary from Body and Soul

2009 Top 20: #18

Grace's 2009 Top 20: #19

Grace's 2009 Top 20: #20

Weekend mail...

A post with pictures!

quick update

Essie Winter Collection

Nicole nail polish from TJMaxx

Halloween manicure :)

Mint Greens

Coming up later tonight...

What I've been up to the past couple of weeks....

sneak peak..

warning: beware of toes!

Some pretties... :)

A quick hello!

MAC Jin Soon

I see Red....

a week into the semester

NOTD first day of classes

Christmas Polish Exchange!!

Recent NOTDs with RBL

a brief update

Results a few days late..

Treatment testing

Glitters and opinions?

I'm back!!

Nails for the next two weeks

For the upcoming weekend...

Maybelline Mattes part 1

Nail of the Day

Dark Side of the Moon...

The packages I wasn't expecting... :)

Went on a little treasure hunt after work..

It smells like flowers!!

Del Sol color changing nail polish

"Grilled" Pineapple

yay! the weekend is just around the corner...

feelin' kinda down

Pretty busy..

Friday's Manicure of the Day

Impatiently waiting for mail...

Hmm..college loyalties??

When nail polish reminds me of work...it's not a good sign.

Purples!

Go Green!!

Friday's NOTD

Yay!! They're here!

Can't believe it's June!

Opi- You Don't Know Jacques!

Orly: Plum Noir

End of Spring Cleanout

some old pictures :o)

Pastel Frankens

TOP 20: #1!!!!! Happy New Year!!!