Seriously Disturbed (with my own habits)

I hadn't worn MAC Seriously Hip since purchasing it over a year ago. That really bothered me (my consumerism is starting to do that, but we'll save that for another post), so I decided to finally get some use out of it. I wore it for a few days plain and then layered Butter London's A Tart With a Heart on top for the easiest galaxy nails you ever did see. Love the final result- hate the final pricetag. 

I really should do a post on the consumerism that runs rampant in the polish community and how that's affected me, a student. But I wouldn't want to bore you all to tears. Hmmm.

Shameful Cuticles (but lookit that polish)

I make it a rule to moisturize before taking pics. I suppose I got so excited by this polish (and the maybe-sorta sunshine) that I didn't. I am SO sorry, I almost didn't post this because those cuticles could not be uglier and the nails aren't great either (these pics are from a month ago, my nails are much longer now).

Anyway, I've worn Lippmann Sugar Daddy three times since receiving it, which puts it on par with Chanel Malice for repeated use. I just love how it almost is a neutral but is a bajillion times more interesting. LOVE IT.

I'm not even a huge duochrome addict (don't kill me!), but all the colors are so pretty.

China Nails

This is Pure Ice Draped in Satin with an Ulta polish (I don't remember the name, sorry!) stamped on top using my MASH plates. 

I really adore this combination.

Some products in this post were sent to me for review. 

Sation Dance with the Drummer

A super gorgeous, dusty navy blue. I love this. Sation got it right with this one (Dance with the Drummer, in case you didn't read the post title).

Then I put Sation Can Buy Me Love on top. There we go, look at that black glitter (!). It really makes it come alive, no?

What would you call this color?

Brown? Gunmetal?
Hmmm. It's a dark grey that definitely leans brown (or brown that leans grey) loaded up with silver shimmer.

First pic is Sation I'm With the Bandana (how does that name even make sense for this color?). Second pic has Sation Oh My Gaudy thrown on top.
I adore this combination.

Another Sation for you

'Can Buy Me Love' is impossible to photograph but actually really pretty. I didn't think I'd like it (I am not a bar glitter fan in the slightest), but the charming purple and blue combo won me over. It just looks super festive in a non-denominational kind of way! And yes, yes there is some black glitter in there. So pretty!

I wore it as one coat over a black creme polish.

This is the best thing that's ever been on my nails. Ever.

 So, I started with my new favorite polish: Chanel Malice. I splurged on this one immediately following hitting "submit" on the application to my #1 school out of hopes it'd distract me. Well, it did.
I wore it for three days, which isn't usual at all for a polish addict like myself. It's so glowy and beautiful.

 But at some point I realized I had another untried that I wanted to use. I didn't want to remove Malice, like, ever, so I just tossed another polish on top. The result was breathtaking.
That's Sephora by OPI It's Real, a real 18k gold topcoat.
The retail value of this manicure (as totaled by its components  not labor and such) is the most expensive that's ever been on my nails: $60. But it looks so rich, doesn't it?
I wore it for another three days. The lesson here is that gold and red look gorgeous, real gold makes everything even more luxe, and Chanel can have my wallet and soul if I can live in their creations. That is all.

Sation's like that indie (or all of those indies) that have gorgeous colors but are never in stock. Except, Sation's in stock, and considerably cheaper. There's something undeniably unique, though, about these glitters.

To start, here's a nude of theirs. It's called 'Down & Dirty Flirty'. It's a bit pinker than the usual beige, and I love that. I think it plays off my skin tone very nicely.

On that I layered 'Oh My Gaudy', a super complicated glitter topcoat. It has silver foil, red large glitters, gold small ones, and then red and silver bar glitters. It does have a tendency to settle, so make sure to shake it up!

Here's a close up of Gaudy. So unique, isn't it?!

Dr.'s Remedy

Dr.'s Remedy sent me some polishes for review.

They're all pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Good cause and some good polishes.

Each is shown at three coats.

I like them all, though Nude Pink is definitely my favorite. It has this secret red shimmer that's just gorgeous on.

Alive alive alive

Hey, ladies (and gents?)!

I know, I know, I disappear for a bit and then come back with a "life got hectic" and then leave again.

I'm currently applying to college and being full IB and serving on the board for four non-profits and doing debate locally and nationally and basically overworking myself to the point of awfulness.

Anyway, I know I haven't been consistently blogging this summer and fall, but I do promise I'll fix that.

A lot of the challenge is that I like posting in groups, four or five polishes instead of just my NOTD. I don't have time for extensive swatching anymore, so that's just not going to happen. I'll start posting a lot more frequently, but it's going to be one polish (what I'm wearing) at a time.

I've gotten a flood of polishes to review in the past two weeks, so I both HAVE to post and, well, I want to be an active blogger for you all.

Anyway, sorry for being an absentee blogger. I will fix that.

Also, if you look at my blog regularly but you don't follow on Google Friend Connect (that's the little button under 'Fellow Addicts'), please fix that! In my college apps (EEK, the future is coming so fast and oh my goodness) I'm trying to make this little polish thing I do seem important because it actually is to my life. For that I'm showing that I actually have people who read this blog and the best way to show that is through an impressive follower count. 540's pretty cool, but it'd be even awesomer if that could be a bit more when I click "submit".

For those of you who have been with me since I was in middle school, you're amazing. For those of you who are new to my blog, thanks for stopping by. And for everyone who's been any part of this journey, you are the best. Thanks for being part of my life :)

-Allya

Ulta Lust in Lace

This collection was super cool. Four dark vampy shimmers. Here's the breakdown:

Underneath it All (green)

Of Corset it Is! (brown/red)

Let Your Garter Down (blue)

Let it Slip (emerald)

A long time between posts

I know, I know, I haven't been posting regularly.

Well, I just want to say that I'm a senior in high school now (WUT?) and am pretty busy. If I don't check in for a bit, that's why.

Pure Ice sent me some awesome polishes right after Fourth of July and I got them way later (wohooo, vacation), but I'm posting them all now. I think they're still available at Walmart for a pretty cheap price.

There's silver glitter called Beware which I really liked. It was opaque to the eye in three coats, though macro disagrees (should've done a fourth, I suppose).

French Kiss is this incredible blue creme that took two coats. LOVE this one.

Draped in Satin is a frosty white. Yes, it is frosty, but it felt so elegant on. I surprisingly liked this a lot.

Show Stopper is a red crackle. I'm not super in love with crackle anymore, but playing with it was fun.

Speaking of playing, I threw the last nail look together in less than a half hour. Yup, patriotic nails can be *that* easy. No special brushes or anything, just the polish and the brush that is already with it.

Essence Peaches

It's SO pretty. A very soft sherbet-like orange jelly polish that I wore for almost a week, which is crazy as I'm, well, me!

It refused to photograph but I did the best I could. Please keep in mind that it's actually pinker than the photo, though I couldn't capture that.

Alpha Nail Polishes!

Alpha Nail, a polish company for men, sent me some of their nail pens and Clean Slate remover for review. Check their products out here, just don't do it at work!

The polishes come in a pen applicator, which is, I suppose, intended to look less feminine for their target audience. Honestly, I found it just made things more difficult, especially on Cocaine. I eventually got the hang of application, though, and the nails came out a little better looking. My method was pumping the pen for polish, dabbing that on a piece of paper, and then using the brush to put that on the nail. More complicated, yes, but also more uniform.

Now, as for the colors, these were pretty darn cool! Deep Ocean has this shimmer that's unbelievable and Burnin' Rubber is SO matte. Gasoline has a slight holographic effect. It's not a lot, but it's there. Cocaine, though, wasn't salvageable. I love how dirty and off-white it is, but the formula was too chunky for the unforgiving finish.

The remover Alpha Nail sent me is called "Clean Slate" and comes in a twist-off cylinder that contains the pre-moistened pads. It smells a little odd and feels a little greasy. They weren't my cup of tea, but my little sister now uses them and swears by them, saying she can get all the polish off her fingers and toes with just one wipe. They're acetone free.

Overall, I'm never super crazy about products being branded for one specific gender but I see what Alpha Nail is trying to do here. The polishes deliver cool "toughness" without looking too feminine, though they just as easily work on any girl.

These products were sent to me for review. I still have given my honest opinion of them.

Hi guys

I'm still alive. I'm on vacation, but I'll be posting soon. I had some uploading troubles but never fear, the planned posts (Pure Ice, I'm looking at you. You too, Alpha Nail [ladies, go take a look at this, there's a dark brown/black holo in there!]) will happen when I get home and then vacation nail photos will be in the meantime.
Here are my bare nails as of now:

And here's where I currently am:

Station Polishes!

I'm missing two of the six sent to me, Stirring Silver and an unnamed (or, at least, nameless due to label adhesive issues) red jelly with red glitter. I need to swatch these again as it appears that I saved them to the wrong folder and thus lost them. D'oh!

One & Only Orange is AWESOME. My favorite of the group. An almost neon jelly orange with an easy formula and a good shine when dry. This is already on my toes.

Lemon Pearl is a pretty pale yellow with silver shimmer. I like but don't love this. The formula rocks, though. I could see some darker toned gals rocking this color.

This one was impossible to photograph! Miss McTeal is a teal (duh) with a good dose of blue shimmer. Very murky/moody/pretty.

Power to the Purple is a purple, of course. It practically broke my camera, hence the blurry photo. Anyway, it's a red toned purple with gold and red shimmer. Easy application, if I remember correctly. 

I liked most all of these. Lemon Pearl didn't look super terrific on me, but I'm going to give it another shot when I'm a little tanner. Of the six, One & Only Orange is the most glaringly obvious necessity. Power to the Purple looks dupe-y for $OPI Hell to the No, which I'll compare soon enough. 

I did get these for review, but I stated my opinion on each polish honestly and without any bias.

Mash Stamping Plates!

I got 25 Mash (http://www.mashnails.com/) image plates in the mail recently and so far I'm over the moon with 'em. They work like a charm, the images are unique and fun, and there's so many to choose from. They all come individually wrapped and are each backed with some paper, just like Konad. Something to note: they're covered in a thin blue plastic film. You gotta peel that off before you can stamp!

Here's where you can pick these pretties up for an inexpensive $12.99, just about $.50 a plate: (CLICK ME!) Mash 26-50 is the set!

And here's some on the nail shots. This is Sally Hansen Presto Pewter stamped over Sally Hansen Blue-Away

And here's some quick comparisons to Konad. The images with the stamped "47" (pinkie and middle) are Mash. The other two are similar Konad designs I had in my stash. Of the two designs, Konad's houndstooth works better for me though I love Mash's abstract lines MUCH more.

Overall, I adore this set. It's inexpensive and has some really, really cute designs. I do think that all the individual packaging amounts to a lot of waste, and the Oregonian in me cringes at that thought, but that's just about the only negative I have.

I know this is a rave review, but that was not influenced in any way by the company's sending me these for review. I gave my honest opinion, just as I always endeavor to do.