OPI Summer Splash, Surf Party, Beach Party and Nocti NanoBrites

In honor of the approaching Summer and related OPI summer collections and my disdain for 3-free polishes, I bring you....

A few wonderful chemical-filled OPI summer collections from the past:

Summer Splash

Amazing Lazing Lilac, Tangerini Bikini, Cabana Banana, Pooltime Lime, Cool in the Pool, bottle is To Dive For Pink.

Surf Party:


Sun Streaked, Beachen Peachen, Ocean love Potion, Berry Tubular, Vio-Let's Surf, bottle is My Fave Wave.

Beach Party:


Strawberried in the Sand, Maliblue, Bikini Envy, Abalone Shell, Seagullible, bottle is Just Beachy.

And, to contrast, some polish that is 3-free but is pretty much hell in a bottle, I'll explain why after the pic.

Nocti NanoBrites. Kiss and Tell, Bikini, Swag, Nip Tuck, Flying Naked, bottle is TMI.

Despite the great colors, these are honestly the worst nail polish I've ever used. Even though they are brand new, they are thick, goopy, stringy and impossible to apply. They bubble wildly even if you haven't shaken them. The picture was taken about a minute after application. A few minutes after that they bubbled so much that they were completely unwearable.

Not only that, but they take ages to dry. Seche Vite caused a weird cloud to form when I used it on top of these. I used half a bottle of Flying Naked one day just trying to get it to look good. Between the bubbling, bad texture and weird Seche cloud, I gave up.

So, sadly, I can't recommend these. I'm not saying I'd never wear them again- I'm just saying I have to be in a particularly brave mood.

One last picture:
Some of my China Glaze collection. I could probably name the colors, but I am far, far too lazy for that.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of trying to build Aerith a better flower wagon.

The color of money.

Wow, I apologize for the lack of interesting posts. To be completely honest, I've been busy playing FFVII: Crisis Core. And, after this post, I intend to play it some more. But don't worry, I'll return to blog again! (Not that anyone was worried. )

I'm getting ready to do a massive amount of pictures (any requests?), but in the meantime, I thought I'd give my opinion.

Personally, I am not jumping on the "Green" wagon. I'm not "going green" with my beauty products, nail polish especially.

I mean, sometimes (most of the time) it seems like one big scare tactic or advertisement- Buy THIS nail polish or you'll get CANCER!!! Your other nail polish is TOXIC and you'll DIE and the earth will IMPLODE and millions of people will DIE!!!! Our nail polish will keep you from dying and save the universe (see the green font and the bunny picture? We mean business!)

I really miss my nail polish with "deadly toxic chemicals." It was so much better with them - smoother, thinner, easier to apply, lasted longer, dried faster, et cetera. I hoard my old OPI polishes and I'm always looking for more.

Sure, I'll still use the new "big 3 free" polishes, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it- it means I don't have a choice! You may even catch me adding toulene-rich thinner to them. But, big 3 or not, I'll always love nail polish. I just hope this whole guilt-trip/scare-tactic advertising trend dies down.

If you need me, I'll be cutting down trees and burning a pile of tires in my backyard while applying aerosol hairspray and breathing deadly, earth-destroying carbon dioxide fumes into the ozone.


Just kidding - except the carbon dioxide part. A girl's gotta breathe. :)

(I'll really be playing FFVII Crisis Core.)

I promise not to awaken Mustakrakish.

Welcome, Finnish friends! You have the best metal, and also The Dudesons!

Love,

Scrangie

Naughty Nauticals!

My MAC Naughty Nauticals pigments and polish just arrived! Let's get to the good stuff.

Naughty Nautical polish:

Naughty Nautical comparison:


Index and ring finger are MAC Naughty Nautical. Middle finger is OPI Yoga-ta Get This Blue, pinkie is Essie Aruba Blue.


Here's the pigments:

Lark About, Mutiny, Bell-Bottom Blue


My thoughts? I love the Naughty Nautical polish. It's completely opaque in one coat and the color really has depth. I'll try to take better pictures, but the lack of sunlight doesn't help.

As for the pigments, they all seem to be that weird flaky texture that's hard to work with. I like the colors, but Lark About is much sheerer than I anticipated. Bell-Bottom Blue has glitter, bonus! Mutiny is gorgeous, but I don't see myself wearing it too often.

I'll have pics of some of the OPI Retro Fun In The Sun polishes next week, so stay tuned.

Retro Beauty in 2008?

It seems to me like the beauty world is going "retro"...

The most obvious being the OPI Retro Fun In The Sun collection, but even makeup seems to reflect it. Take a look at Naughty Nauticals, and if that doesn't feel retro than I don't know what does. Even the Neo Sci-Fi stuff feels more Star-Trek than modern!

I'm not complaining at all! I'm digging all the bright neon shades that remind me of the early 90's or maybe even the 80's (if I could remember them!). I loved how everything in the early 90's was neon pink and green and blue...

I'm so glad to see the bright colors getting some attention. All too often it's bland, boring neutrals. Neutrals do have a time and a place, but a world without color is just plain depressing!

Totally unrelated, but apparently Hard Candy is discontinuing their Super Shine lipglosses! That's sad! They are, in my opinion, the best smelling lipgloss there is. It smells exactly like cake. I love the shade Piglet, which is nothing at all like the lipstick they used to make by that name.

Okay, and speaking of smelly lipgloss, I tried that LaVanilla Healthy Lip Shine in Vanilla Coconut. It's not the same scent, I'm disappointed. It's shiny all right, but it doesn't smell or taste very good. It tastes kind of like melting plastic. I'm not usually one for returning makeup, but I might just have to return this. It's gross.

OPI Mod About Brights 2008 Swatches, and also Allure magazine hates fat chicks.

I'm so excited! Allure magazine sent me two awesome gifts- a Pureology shampoo and a Paula Dorf Heartbreaker eyeshadow palette!!

As much as I rag on Allure for their ridiculous advice, they always treat me well. One time they sent me a Redken styling balm and Herbal Essences conditioner! Yay, presents!

This issue of Allure really had me furious, though. It's the yearly "naked" issue which features celebrities posing nude. They make a big deal about having a size 16 girl in the spread, but then when you get to the picture... THEY HID HER BEHIND FLOWERS! You can't see her body at all, just her head. Everyone else is stark naked and on display.

What kind of message does that send? It doesn't say "all sizes are beautiful", that's for sure. I think the message they're trying to get across is, "If you're bigger than a size 2, you need to be hidden until you conform" or "being bigger than a size two is something to be ashamed of, so we need to hide you behind flowers. Fatass." Maybe even "only tiny women are worth looking at."

I oughtta give them a piece of my mind... That's insane, insulting and infuriating and it's not constructive and it doesn't promote a positive viewpoint on body image!

Anyway, enough being pissed off for today... How about some pictures?

Here is the OPI Mod About Brights collection that I meant to post:



That's Hot! Pink, Mod-ern Girl, Brights Power, The "It" Color, Green-wich Village, Dating a Royal.


Dating a Royal, Green-Wich Village, The "It" Color, Brights Power, Mod-ern Girl


That's Hot! Pink.

So, on a non-polish related topic...

I'm not all that impressed with MAC Naughty Nauticals. I picked up the three new pigments and the blue nail polish. I'll see if seeing it in person can persuade me, otherwise I don't need more blue eyeshadow that I look weird in anyway. Blue eyeshadow makes my skin look weird. Bleh.

Does anyone besides me care about Dazzleglass? I love Dazzleglass. I think I need all of them now.. I hope they stick around for a while! It's glittery without being glittery. Mmm, glitter.

Manglaze Swatches - Matte Black and Grey

I have some pretty pictures to post!

First off, my brand-spankin'-new Man Glaze polishes.

Man Glaze Grey, Man Glaze Black:







I love these... They look very industrial, and you know, that suits me. A nail polish to go with my favorite music.

As you can see, they're completely matte, which is awesome, but if you add topcoat like I did on my thumbs, they have some serious shimmer.

They dry amazingly fast and are opaque in one coat. I can definitely see a man liking these, for a nail polish they're completely low-maintenance.

I love all the promotional images and the packaging. It's edgy, but not like Urban Decay trying-too-hard edgy. This polish says, "If you don't like me, I'll kick your ass!"

Love it. Two thumbs way up from me. \m/\m/

MAC Dazzleglass

Ooh, I have lots of new toys today!

I have MAC Dazzleglass (Comet Blue, Funtabulous, Glamor OD), Man Glaze and I should have the rest of the new OPI Mod About Brights collection sometime today.

I might try to take pictures, but there's no sunlight at all and I can never get my pictures to look good under artificial light.

These MAC Dazzleglasses are awesome... I have a feeling I'm going to need all of them. The texture is similar to lipglass, but they're in a huge tube with a brush applicator. The color is pretty sheer, but they have this outrageous multicolored sparkle in them... It's absolutely gorgeous! I'm wearing Comet Blue right now, and it's sort of like Too Faced Sparkler Glamour Gloss in Sapphire Spark, but better- less blue.

I'm off to play with my new stuff... I'll be back!

Urban Decay Surreal Skin and De-Slick

Just a quick post since I don't have much time today!

I'm in love with Urban Decay Surreal Skin foundation and De-slick powder.

Applied with the Beautyblender, Surreal Skin gives me great coverage but feels light and look luminous! I'm surprised. You don't usually think of great foundation when you think of Urban Decay.

De-Slick seems to be just like the discontinued Hard Candy O-Blot-Erate, and I love the lavender tint that seems to even everything out.

What I want to know is why both companies (Urban Decay/Hard Candy) discontinued all ther most unique and awesome products? Nail polish and lipstick, which were the first two products people loved (I still have Hard Candy Piglet and Skitzo lipstick!)... All the cool shades of everything are long gone... Lip gunk! Why would they discontinue Lip Gunk?! And the lipstick that looked like bullets was awesome!

OPI Kinky in Helsinki

Need more pictures?

OPI Kinky in Helsinki (I'll admit, I bought it for the name...)




How about a really, really old one?
Givenchy Lash Pearls, OPI Feet Black

NARS Orgasm Nail Polish

Here it is, NARS Orgasm polish!

China Glaze INK Collection 2008 Swatches and Pictures

I really love the China Glaze Ink collection!

I took some pictures of it... Wanna see?







Flying Dragon, Blue Sparrow, A Rose Among Thorns, Japanese Koi, Sacred heart



Shocking Pink, Pink Voltage, Purple Panic, Celtic Sun, Turned Up Turquoise



And last, but not least, Ink.

Palette Porn: MAC DressCamp and Stila Kitten

I've been a good little blogger and have been busy taking pictures.

I promised some palette pictures yesterday, so here they are:

MAC DressCamp

Stila Kitten:





Bigger pictures on request.

MAC DressCamp and Stila Kitten palette reviews.

I completely forgot to mention my MAC Dress Camp and Stila Kitten palettes!

So, Dress Camp. Or is it DressCamp? One word, two words? Ah, I don't know. Anyway...

I got the lipstick, palette and both the lipglasses and I love them! Yes, I know there are plenty of hot pinks out there.... But these come in fancy zebra striped packaging!

All of the colors in the palette are similar to existing MAC colors, so I guess there's really nothing too special about it besides the packaging. Truthfully, I got it for the packaging, but coincidentally, all the colors are perfect on me. Bonus!

The lipstick (Too Fab) is a nice bright hot pink, but the finish is glossy and light and that makes it different from some of the previous hot pink lipsticks. The lipglasses are really just standard hot pink and gold, nothing too special, but they look awesome on me so I'm happy.

So, to summarize, the colors aren't unique so you don't have to worry if you had your heart set on buying them, but they are very flattering and come in cool packages.

Now, the Stila Kitten palette. I'm surprised by how small it is. The shadows inside are decent sized, but the compact is so... compact!

I haven't used it yet, but I can already tell I'm going to love Mystic and Sun.

I don't know why it's called the Kitten palette... I mean, yeah, Kitten is in there, but wouldn't Summer or Bronze or something be more appropriate?

I think I'll take some pictures later on if anyone is interested. They're definitely nice to look at.

I should be getting my NARS Orgasm nail polish tomorrow... I'll post pictures when it gets here.

Urban Decay Friends and Family Sale

Urban Decay is having their friends and family sale again!

It's 30% off your order, and you can't combine it with any other coupon codes.

The code is FFA30.

I already hauled my butt off.... Who can resist 30%??

Now I'm trying to resist ordering more...

I don't need more glitter liners.... I don't need more glitter liners.... I don't need more glitter liners....

OPI Mod About Brights Dating a Royal and Green-Wich Village, Part 2.

Pics, as promised. OPI Mod About Brights

Left: Dating a Royal
Right: Green-wich Village

Natural light.

OPI Mod About Brights Dating a Royal and Green-Wich Village, Part 1.

I have a few of the new OPI Brights collection!

Dating a Royal and Green-wich Village.

I'll have pics as soon as I can find a camera, but for now I'll describe:

Dating a Royal is a beautiful blue/indigo creme color, not exactly what I would call "bright" but it's pretty unique. I haven't seen this exact shade before.

Green-wich Village is a muted grassy green creme shade, very similar to China Glaze Tree Hugger. It's greener, but no shimmer.

They're both gorgeous, but I'm not sure why they're classified as "brights"...? I don't remember what the name of the collection is.. Mod Brights?

Anyway OPI 2008 Brights. Pics soon.

Debunking the Myth: Acrylics are Bad For Your Nails

Ok, I am so tired of hearing "Acrylics are bad! They will ruin your nails!!"

Seriously people. Enough already.

Even I might have said this in the past, but it's just not true.

Want to know what really ruins your nails?

Going to a cheap salon to get acrylics, and then removing them yourself.

Why does going to a cheap salon ruin your nails? Because they use that damn e-file (like a dremel) and completely destroy your nail plate. They practically grind it down to the bone, not to mention cut the skin around it. I know some nail techs can probably use one correctly, but come on. You won't find one going to a place called BEAUTY NAIL. I won't even get into how they lie about what products they use. But hey, if you want a full set for $30, go ahead, be my guest, better your nails than mine.

Why does removing them yourself ruin your nails? Tell me, have you ever had acrylic or gel nails and one of them broke or lifted or you didn't like them or whatever? Did you pick or chew it off? I'll bet you did. You somehow pried off that nail and it took half of your natural nail with it. Then you had thin, sore, peeling ruined nails for a month and you blamed it on the enhancements.

Don't get me wrong, I love my long, strong, beautiful natural nails. I have nice nails, and it's just easier this way. I have nothing against acrylic nails at all. I just don't need them.

To prove a point, I did a few liquid and powder on myself. After soaking them off properly, surprise, my natural nail looks exactly the same as it did before. No damage. If anything, it was more protected while I had the enhancements on.

In conclusion: STFU, n00b.

OPI Retro Fun In The Sun 2008 Promotional Image

YAY! New OPI collection! Retro Fun In The Sun!

I have no idea when this is coming out. I'm thinking after the new Brights collection (which should be out any day now.)

I wonder what else they will release this year...

Exploding Hookers

I've done it. I'm finally embarrassed by my manicure.

Today I have on the most obnoxious, hideous, nauseating abomination of a french manicure I've ever seen.

Get ready.

Nails are China Glaze Shocking Pink, with Sinful Dream On tips, coated in OPI Text Me, Text You. Left hand has different glitter polishes (China Glaze Wireless and Fairy Dust, Misa Confection Section, Candy Girl and Sweet Pleasure) instead of Text Me, Text You.

I'm not sure I can leave the house wearing this. It looks like a hooker exploded all over my nails.

China Glaze Ink Special Edition Cuticle Oil and Nail Art Polish

News flash!

Much to my surprise, China Glaze Ink (the color with the special nail art brush) isn't black... It's a dark navy blue!

The bottle is slightly smaller than a regular China Glaze bottle (.5oz?) and the brush is long and skinny, like a nail art brush. The brush looks perfect for doing stripes and other kinds of art. I can't wait to use it.

Also, the special edition China Glaze orange cuticle oil in Ink packaging has no brush. It's smaller than I thought it would be, and has a screw-top orange plastic cap. Not an issue, just unexpected.

To summarize:

China Glaze Ink is blue, not black.
China Glaze Ink Cuticle Oil has no brush.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Nail Care Tips

My nails are starting to become claws again. I like the way they look, but they keep getting caught in things, like in between the keys of my keyboard. They're really not *that* long, but they're longer than I usually keep them. I measured. They are one-third of an inch past my fingertips.

I physically can't get my nails shorter than a few millimeters past my fingertips. If I try to go any shorter than that, they bleed and hurt like crazy. I used to work with a habitual nail-biter, and if the habit itself wasn't disgusting enough to keep you from doing it, her nails sure would. Gross. Stubby bloody little nubs that didn't even come up to her fingertip. Just thinking about them makes me a little nauseated.

Aaaaanyway....

I do have a few tips to keep your nails long and healthy.

1. This is the most important. Solar Oil. Constantly. I keep a mini bottle with me wherever I am. Nightstand, car, purse, kitchen, couch, bathroom, desk... Put it on whenever you see it. Not only does it keep your cuticles looking nice, but it helps your nails stay conditioned. I'm sure you can use whatever kind of cuticle oil you prefer, but I have the best results from Solar Oil.
2. Always keep some sort of polish on your nails. Nails can not "breathe", they don't need to "rest"... What they need is to be protected. Polish keeps your nails protected. If you don't feel like having color on your nails, just use treatment like Nail Envy or Nailtek.
3. Use a nail treatment as basecoat. If you're going to wear one, why not have it do something good for your nails at the same time? If you're worried that they don't make good basecoats, let me just say that Nail Envy prevents chips on me way better than Bonder or Stickey ever did.
4. Your nails are not screwdrivers or paint scrapers or crowbars. Do not abuse them.
5. Even if you want your nails very long, you need to shape them. It applies to hair, it applies to nails. Shaping them with a glass file every now and then can actually prevent peeling at the ends and keep them looking nice and not ragged.
6. Wear gloves when doing housework. Scrubbing toilets, doing dishes, scouring the bathtub, whatever. It's hell for your hands and nails. Splurge on a 99 cent pair of rubber gloves. Ha. Anytime you have your hands in water for an extended period of time, put them on.
7. Don't peel off your nail polish or over-buff your nails. This takes off layers of nail and really weakens them. Occasional buffing is good, especially if you have stains or ridges, but every time you buff your nails get thinner.
8. Take your vitamins. Especially Biotin. Do it every day. Fish oil, too. And no, drinking Knox Gelatin or eating Jell-O does not make your nails grow.
9. This almost doesn't need to be said, but be careful. Digging around in your purse or rummaging through drawers, carrying groceries, that sort of thing. This goes with number four. Don't blatantly abuse your nails, but also be careful of inadvertent damage.
10. I'm not sure I can think of a number ten, but the list doesn't look right ending in nine.

Now that you're all sick of me playing self-proclaimed nail Guru.... A quick comment to my googlers.

WHAT IS SO INTERESTING ABOUT SLUTTY RED NAILS?!?!?!

Is it some sort of fetish? I don't get it. I get a bizarre number of hits on any combination of the words slutty, nails, slut and red... (Oh great, now it's going to double.) Are you looking for pictures? Is there some sort of movie or book with that title? Or do you just like hearing someone say red nails are slutty?

I get almost as many hits on "Carol's Daughter moldy" and I can only hope they're talking about beauty products.

OMG MISA SUGAR SUGAR GLITTER SUPER HAPPY FUN TIME YAY

Okay, I just got the new Misa Sugar Sugar collection and WOW! They're nothing like what I thought they would be.

THEY'RE SPARKLY!!!! AND IRIDESCENT!!!!!

GLITTER!!!!!111!!!!!one!!11

China Glaze Ink Collection 2008

My manicure right now is... China Glaze Flying Dragon!!!!!!

I got my Ink! Yay!!

Let me tell you, I think I've found THE color. Flying Dragon is incredible. I might be wearing this for a long time. The only downsides are formula related- it's thick and goopy, and dries to a weird gritty matte finish. I guess nothing a little topcoat can't fix, but still.

I'm really impressed with the Ink collection, color-wise. They're way more vibrant than they appear in the promotional pictures. Celtic Sun is nearly blinding, it's even brighter than Color Club Yell-Oh.

I do feel a little guilty to have ruined a perfectly good OPI Peel Me a Gobi Grape manicure this morning. It's like Catherine the Grape, but fifty bajillion times better. I was in a glitter mood so I thought I'd make it even better with some Nutcracker Sweet glitter topcoat, and to my dismay that totally ruined it. Oops. But, now I'm wearing more purple, so it's all good. (Did I just say "it's all good"?)

So, Ink. If you like neons (who doesn't?) get them. Half of them are re-releases of the older neons, but the rest are brand new and awesome.

P.S. Clarisonic uber alles.