Red Stick International Animation Festival- YAY!

We're heading out to the Red Stick International Animation festival this morning, and I'm so excited I can barely stand it! We've volunteered there for the last 5 or 6 years, and I absolutely love it! It's going to be lots of fun seeing everyone again, and seeing what all is going on.

I was going to do a manicure using the red stick man from the logo, but I decided not to last night at the last minute. Maybe tonight, since we're going to the festival tomorrow and Saturday as well. Amusing trivia- the stick man's name is Gaston Baton! How cute is that?

Instead, I'm wearing Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Mme Moriarty, which is a deep blood red. And when I say blood red, I mean it. The BPAL website describes this as "The wet crimson red of arterial spray." Isn't that cool? Creepy and funky, I love it!!

Pictures to come! If you'll be at the festival tomorrow or the next day, leave me a comment, maybe we can get some coffee or something! :D

Essence Lime Up!

Ohhh, my goodness. You may or may not know this, but I am almost obsessed with lime green. I've been looking and looking for a lime green that would actually be opaque, because out of the four or fice lime green polishes I've got, not one of them is opaque! This made me INSANE!

Then comes the best advice I've gotten in ages. I just wish I could remember who gave it. One of my polish friends on Twitter suggested I check out Essence Lime Up! I am SO glad they did, because I don't know that I'd ever have picked up an essence polish, and I'd have been missing out on such amazing stuff!

This polish applied like a dream, creamy and smooth and just... I don't even know what to say. Amazing. It was opaque with one swatch over the polish I was wearing on my thumb- I couldn't resist and had to try it in the car once I'd picked it up. If you're better with polish than I am (not necessarily that difficult!) then this could be a 1 coat polish for you. For me, I need two to get fully opaque and fill in thin spots, but still... not a problem.

The only problem is that it's a creme and I'm a magpie. That's easily remedied, though. I topped it with a coat of a lovely lime green BonBons glitter polish that has no name. I bought this one ages ago, and have worn it several times. LOVE IT! It's got several sizes of glitter, and they're iridescent which is a plus! (You know me and rainbows!)

And since I'm a total glitter freak, I added a coat or two of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Embalming Fluid. Ohhh, how I love this polish. I love looking at the bottle, it's such an almost-spooky looking sheer green that looks like it should be glowing. (It does, btw- it glows in the dark, and if I had a black light I'd show you!) Then it's got the most lovely shimmery microglitter. It's an amazing topcoat, and I can't recommend enough. (This was provided by the company for evaluation, and I'm strongly considering buying a backup bottle!)

Unfortunately, there is a problem. I covered this with a coat of China Glaze Fast Forward because I don't like the feel of glitter. For some odd reason, this topcoat made the polish shrink like CRAZY, and caused the edges to peel up! I've never seen anything like it, but it was pretty frustrating. =/ At least 6-7 of my nails had peeling around the edges, and I don't think I could have done anything to prevent. I still wore it for a couple of days, but I was really a sad panda.

That said, I wore this for three manicures in a row (!!! I know!! THREE!) and only had the peeling problem once. I don't know what happened, or if it'll happen again. But I don't really care... I'll wear it again, and again and again til my bottle is empty!

I'm even tempted to get another bottle to play with, because if I had my perfect bottle, this green would be a touch deeper and bluer. I think this might be perfect with a bit of Sinful Colors Love Nails, or perhaps my Sally Hansen Ultra HD Laser. We'll see, right? :D

What do you think? What color are you absolutely dying to find in a perfect, opaque polish?

Essence Lime Up! was a spontaneous post at Ulta. What can I say, I'm addicted to lime green..

See my disclosure statement for more information.

Another Layering Experiment- Adding Sparkle to Mme Moriarty!

What can I say, I am a layering addict. There's something fun and exciting about taking a beautiful color and giving it a different feel. It's almost like changing a look with accessories. I love it!

I'm not sure what made me reach for BPAL's Mme Moriarty, but I was really in the mood for a deep red. You don't get much better red than this if you're wanting blood red! But even though this is the ultimate blood red for me, I wanted a bit of sparkle as well.

I reached for the Revlon Glimmer Gloss. Honestly, winning kittypolishnbag's first giveaway gave me so many fun options for layering, and the glimmer glosses have quickly become some of my favorite polishes! They can take a polish from WOW to HOLY COW!!

They haven't failed me yet, and this was no exception! Instead of turning Mme Moriarty into an all out glitterbomb, Grapefruit Glimmer instead added a subtle hint of ... well, glimmer! In most angles there was just a deep, rich glossy red that absolutely worked well with my skin tone. But then I'd move and the light would catch the glimmer particles just right, and suddenly you realize that there's more to this than you thought...

It's understated, almost like having a secret. I know that sounds strange... how can you have a secret on your nails when everyone can see them! But this is a bit of a reward for those who take the time to pay a bit more attention to things. The world is filled with things that seem simple and straightforward at first glance. It's not until you take the time to slow down and actually examine them more closely that they yield their secrets, their interesting little uniquenesses.

So, consider this my reminder that we spend too much time taking the world for granted. Consider this a call to action- take a moment today to slow down and look at what's around you. You may find that something you've never noticed before is fascinating, and all you had to do was pay attention to it!

Making Faces With My Husband

Let me start by saying my husband rarely shows any interest in my nails. He thinks nail art is kind of silly, but he loves how much fun I have with my nail art and my blog. But recently he happened to be looking over my shoulder while I was cropping some pictures. Things got interesting then...

I was working on these photos of the stamped Bordello nails with a coat of Maybelline's Matte Maker. The matte topcoat did something interesting to Bordello- the satin finish somehow highlighted the shimmer in it, causing it to have a sheen almost like fabric. It's almost magical, really, seeing the change it made. I think I'll be using this Matte Maker again, perhaps to highlight areas on a nail design instead of over the entire nail.

Whew, that was long-winded! Anyway, so I'm working on a closeup of my thumbnail to show the pattern when my husband said, "That looks like a face!"

I turned to him, raised an eyebrow and said, "... wait, what?"

"A face," he continued. "You know, the eyes would go there, and the mouth..." He gestured with his hands, pointing in the general direction of my thumbnail photo.

I didn't know what to say, really. "I love you baby, but you're kinda weird," I said to him, giggling.

For some reason, he wouldn't take no for an answer. "No, really! Do it! Draw a face!"

So I did. He sat with me and told me where to put what, what colors to choose, even where to put the highlight in the eyes. It was cute, and I had to share. I had to tell him that it wasn't exactly what i would have drawn, though. Then he told me fine, to draw my own...

And so I did.

Mine was girlier. I think she could use some hair, too, but overall I think you get the idea. He liked my drawing too, and said she was cuter than his.

Then he dared me to post it to my blog. How could I say no? Besides, I thought it might make someone giggle...

Right?

Anyone?

Please tell me I haven't lost my mind. Please? :D

Manicure is done with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Claw Polish in Bordello, Maybelline  Matte Gold stamped using Konad image plate m79, topped with a coat of Seche Vite, then a coat of Maybelline's Matte Maker top coat. BPAL's Bordello was provided by the company for evaluation.

Stamping the BPAL Bordello...

Once I got that luscious bunch of BPAL Claw Polish, I couldn't stop at swatching. I had to wear at least one as a manicure, and Bordello totally stole my heart. Something about the shimmery sparkly depth of it called to me, and I won't lie- I didn't fight it. I wore it plain for a couple of days, then decided to stamp it using one of the polishes from my recent Dollar Store haul- Maybelline Matte Gold.

It was really pretty, if I do say so myself. I went with a pattern I've used before, simply because I like it. For some reason, of all the image plates I have (hee, not that many), I tend to gravitate toward m79. I love the netted pattern, and although I keep wanting to use others, this one draws me in often.

This time, I found that the pattern stamped in gold played well with the shimmer in Bordello, really capturing the essence of the description of the polish. Black Phoenix Trading Post describes Bordello as "the bright raspberry of Dance Hall flocked wallpaper," and the subtle repeating print mixed with the shimmer really brought to mind aged dance hall patterns.

Because I had a coat of Seche Vite between the base polish and the stamp, there was a subtle depth to the finished look that I loved. The interplay between the shimmers was interesting, and although I finished with another coat of Seche Vite, they almost looked as if they should feel velvety, as if you could reach out and pet them and feel them soft and fuzzy under your fingertips. It was fascinating, and I couldn't stop looking at my nails, shifting them in the light, loving the look of it all.

Of course, the next step would be to paint a matte topcoat over this look, but that's tomorrow's blog. :D

I tried to capture this in a photograph and failed miserably. I wish I could take video of this, show you just how downright magical it looked, the silver shimmer in the Bordello shining up through the raspberry polish, and dancing with the gold stamp. Unfortunately, I failed as a photographer, and am left with only this single image. Sad, isn't it?

But you can imagine with me the sound of the dance hall piano, the laughter of the people inside...

BPAL's Bordello was provided by the company for evaluation.

BPAL has NAILPOLISH now!! Really!

For years, I've watched my friends geek out over BPAL. They get to into it, and it's almost like they've joined a cult with its own language, its own practices. They organize everything into spreadsheets, imps and wish lists, things to keep and things to trade, and elaborate discussions of dry down and top notes and things that I just don't understand. It's smelly stuff, how could it be that awesome?

I stayed away from the mania contently, without feeling the pull. It was easy, because I knew I didn't have the money to get involved, so I'd just watch amusedly from afar, never getting too close lest I be sucked in. That is, I stayed away easily until last week.

Last week, BPAL reached out and grabbed my heart in a sudden, unexpected gesture, and my life will never be the same again. After seeing Magic Maid's post all about the new BPAL Claw Polish, I found myself drawn in against my control. They looked so lush, so beautiful. I found myself at the Black Phoenix Trading Post looking at each polish and its description, swooning. I sent an email to them, congratulating them on their new line, expressing my pleasure at seeing them have such a lovely, expressive line of colors for their first nail polishes, and a request to be aded to their PR list for future information.

I was surprised to hear back from an absolutely wonderful person named Puddin. We had a fun email exchange, but most of all he told me to expect a little package from them. I was ecstatic! But when it got here, I was absolutely dumbfounded! That lovely man had sent me 9 polishes from the line that seemed absolutely perfectly chosen for me. I'm not sure how he did it, just that he did, and I couldn't wait to swatch them all... I interrupted the post I was making just to swatch and photo. Finally, I'm ready to post the results!

First I painted them onto my nails in a sort of blood-related skittles mani. It actually worked well, showing the relation of the colors and how they're subtly different from each other. Photographing these was almost impossible, because flash severely altered the colors, but shooting manual made the colors have an incredibly orange cast to them. However, with a bit of photoshop I was able to rescue the manual shots into something that's almost accurate.

These polishes are decadent. I mean that... they go on silky smooth, creamy as ... the creamiest thing imaginable. I struggle for words. The colors are divinely pigmented, ranging from the deep dark blood-colored Blood Countess, to the dried-blood shade of Lady Macbeth, and ending with the color of fresh arterial spray in Mme Moriarty. These shots aren't 100% accurate- Mme Moriarty truly is the color of fresh blood, deep red and thick and absolutely beautiful on the skin. Sed Non Satiata is a more pink shade, described by BPAL as being "Lust captured: pulsating deep burgundy." They're all absolutely gorgeous creme polishes that I am thrilled to have.

Moving on, there is the other four, which are less blood oriented: Maiden is a very sheer, pale pink that would probably be good for french manicures or for people who want a touch a color, but not a lot. Opium poppy is a vivid  pink for those who love color, a bright hot pink that commands attention. Bordello is my favorite- a silver shimmer in this deep pink that is simply stunning on the nail. One coat of this is sufficient, but I chose to do two coats for every polish. The last polish on this hand is Midnight on the Midway, a plum frost that is my least favorite of the bunch. It's not bad, by any stretch of the imagination, it simply appears slightly dated compared to the other shades. However, it's still lush and beautiful, covering generously with one coat.

The final polish in the bunch is Embalming Fluid, a gorgeous lime green in the bottle that applies sheer and glittery over any polish you put it over. Unfortunately, I seem to have neglected to get any photos of it!! I'll hopefully remedy that soon, and do an update on it.

Of course, by this point, there was only one thing to do:  I had to test the stampability of these polishes! I used my new method of stamping onto a white sticker that I then apply onto the bottle, so that I know just how well it stamps without having to jump into my spreadsheet to check it! My husband and I came up with the perfect word for these- STAMPLES! As you can see, they're all extremely good for stamping except for Maiden and Embalming Fluid, which left the page basically blank and are simply too sheer to stamp with.

I highly recommend enlarging this one to see the stample details!

And so we reach the conclusion of my epic swatchathon. These polishes are available at the BPAL Trading Post for $9 each, are big 3 free, and in my opinion are at least equal in quality with my Deborah Lippman polishes. Add in the amazing customer service and you cannot go wrong with any of these polishes. I think they are absolutely amazing, and I ended up wearing Bordello as my nail of the day for a full week! It stayed on until I took a very leisurely hour-long bath, which soaked the polish off several of my nails. But any polish would have done the same, so I'm not complaining about that at all!

So- if you're at all interested in these shades (and I do so hope that you are), when you head over to the Trading Post, be sure to tell Puddin you read about them here!