Sunday, October 24, 2010

I'm kinda-sorta thinking about getting back to blogging. I miss it.

Really, how will the world keep turning without me saying "Hey, Color Lock was a big fail"?

I dunno.

It's a tough decision. Seriously. I'm in the middle of a very tough semester; and internship hunting (it sucks, BTW); and I have a lot going on in my personal life.

And my Crystal has bubbles.


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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Couldn't come up with a good title for this post -

I've been doing a lot of thinking about my blogging latelingy. I feel like I'm doing not even a half-ass, but a quarter-ass job. The thing is, I have a lot going on in my non-polish life. For instance, I finally got accepted to the university. The program I chose is very competitive, demanding and time-eating. I really love straight "A"s; that definitely means even less time for blogging.

Yep, you can call me a blood traitor, for I'm going to trade nail polish for the concepts in federal taxation and such. I'm about to start a very intense and exciting May-mester.

Why didn't I simply delete my blog? Well, I hope some of you still read me via Google reader, so you'll be able to read it after I delete; I feel like I owe you some sort of explanation.

I have 90 days to change my mind. I might as well do that; I'm indecisive (except when it comes to buying a purple polish).

Happy polishing, y'all! Thanks for reading me!

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Friday, April 23, 2010

Misa Mardi Gras - full review and swatches

I have very mixed feelings about this collection. Well, to the swatches first; my feelings can wait.

Jester Ate The King Cake
I saw people describing it as a neon. Nah, it would be a neon with an extreme case of iron deficiency - anemic neon. I'd say, it's a pastel. I have yet to see a yellow that applies without efforts; Jester is not an exception. It was streaky, but 3 coats pretty much evened things up:
I'd say, the truest to life is pointer; second to it would be pinkey.
Do you guys think it's a neon?

Shake It To The Samba.
When I first saw it out of the box, I thought "Whoa, this is one ugly dude of a color!" Then I painted my nails and thought it wasn't so bad... It's a weird, fleshy-toned color with a hearty helping of orange. Surprisingly brighter than I expected it would be:
I believe shadow picture represents the color more accurately, so there:

Single And Ready To Limbo:
The most...convenient of the bunch - a true classic red; very warm one, no blue here. But boy, the formula blew me away. Extremely pigmented and completely opaque in one coat. Very smooth and glossy.
It's very close to Essie E!; but Misa has way less orange and looks more flattering with my skin tone.

Throw Me Something Purple Please
Purple? Hmm... I don't think so. It's a typical blurple; but I'm in a romantic set of mind today, so I will call it a color of Persian lilac:

It's a tad lighted in real life. Probably my favorite from this collection. I don't have anything similar in my stash. The closest relative would be OPI Dating A Royal, but OPI has more blue in it.

Now, the problem child: Blame It On Fat Tuesday. The color itself is nice; it's quite a unique (to my knowledge) green. But I cannot photograph it accurately to save my dear life. Misa describes it as a mint green. Nope. It's more of a turquoise with a shot of yellow; and really bright, almost neon. For some reason, the best picture I got was the one with skittles:
This one - obviously photoshopped to oblivion - gives a vague idea of a brightness.
(yes, I know, this picture is ugly)

I skipped Party In The Masquerade - it's a dark pink peon, almost neon raspberry, if it makes any sense. Pretty.

About my mixed feelings. I cannot understand what this collection has to do with Mardi Gras. Promo image with the sparkling beads was very Mardi Gras. In my opinion, it promised lots of glitters and/or sparkly shimmers. But cremes? Cremes, really? I wouldn't say a word if the name of it were "Easter Egg Hunt in Atlanta Country Club" It's a solid Spring collection; but it's as far from the floats, beads and sparks as a collection can go.

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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Quick skittles of MG

I came home from a very dull day at school to a box containing Mardi Gras collection.

From pointer to pinkey:
- Blame It On Fat Tuesday
- Throw Me Something Purple Please
- Single and Ready to Limbo
- Shake It To The Samba

I hold Jester Ate The King Cake

Sorry about pre-cleanup pictures.

Quick notes:
- formula is excellent
- red is much deeper and very fierce
- no, my camera's white balance doesn't suck: Throw Me Something Purple is, indeed, very blue
- Shake It To The Samba has all the potential to become a new OPI And Apple Pie.

This collection was sent to me by manufacturer for review.

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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Misa Spring - last installment (ETA - about this collection)

I won't be getting this collection for review. Unfortunately, the collection is out of stock at the moment. Keep your eyes open for other bloggers - I saw Mardis Gras review at Kelly's (Vampy Varnish).

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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

"But these polishes hate me" NOTDs

While I'm still waiting for the Spring Misa to arrive, I'm going to present you some ugly NOTDs. Because I'm so original I want to show you real life examples of semi-mythical "it's doesn't work with your body chemistry".

Zoya Casey. Spectacular vampy, universally loved. I feel very special because I hate darn Casey; and it's mutual. It was patchy. It bubbled like a swamp and chipped the next day.
You can tell me "Hey, Inna, shut up and learn how to apply your polishes first. Might use a little thinner as well." Nope, not my fault. I used a thinner appropriate for B-3 polishes; I tried several base coats; I reapplied several times; I danced a little dance for it - nothing worked. Still a bubbly, ugly swamp of a mani. Guess what: I did my BFF's mani with Casey the same day (same humidity and temperature). No bubbles, excellent application and acceptable wear. It just hates me, that's it. Your personal chemistry really can clash with a polish.

China Glaze Sugar High.
One big "booooo".
First, it's way more neon and way less pink than I expected it would be. Sorta neon coral or coral neon. Coral in general and neon coral in particular make my hands look dirty.

Picture is not the most accurate one; it exaggerates neon a bit:
Formula was as bad as Grape Pop's one. Actually, it was worse (see my middle finger). Couldn't control the application at all. I've seen so many wonderful Sugar High manicures; and it just plain sucked for me.

Guess what I'm trying to say here is no matter how other people love the brand, or the color group, or this one particular polish, there is a chance it won't work for you. At all. Don't get upset and don't expense too much efforts trying to tame a stubborn polish. I sent these two black sheep to the better homes, where they will be loved; and you can do the same. /I sound a little like a Martha Stewart, don't I?/

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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Misa Spring swatches...

probably will be posted by the end of this week.

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