But anyway, the blue that I'm wearing today is TJ's Blue Suede Shoes from the house of Brucci. This polish first made its debut here as a part of a konad design, so I wanted to get it documented and out of the way. Additionally, I wanted to start the week with something dark and somber, because although Earth Day is supposed to be about celebration and education, I think it's also a time to reflect and mourn over how much we have effed up this poor planet with our foolishness!
TJ's Blue Suede Shoes is a shimmery, deep navy blue, with a slightly dusty quality to it. It's not jewel-toned at all, and is much more reminiscent of the uniforms worn by the NYPD.
Sunlight, no flash.
Sunlight, no flash.
Natural light, no flash.
This is a nice color. It's not the very best dark blue in whole wide world or anything, but I like it. That...dusty thing it has going keeps it from being boring. And I really appreciate how even in lower lighting, it always looks blue.
The formula was okay...it didn't spread as evenly as I hoped it would, and it took a long time to dry. I used Seche Vite and Essie Quick-E drying drops after painting, then waited a few hours before going to sleep. In the morning, I still had sheet marks...I couldn't even believe my eyes. On the upside, it is highly pigmented...these are two coats, with one layer of topcoat. It was even opaque in one coat. I just used two for security and to smooth out the streaky places.
This polish was a cheapy...only $2.79, so I wasn't expecting magic or anything, but man...Blue Caribbean kicked its butt.
And the tip for the day: Don't buy exfoliaters with plastic in them! Many body scrubs today unnecessarily and irreponsibly use little balls of plastic to slough off the dead skin. And many people buy these body scrubs, use them, and wash millions of little balls of plastic down the drain. But what most people don't realize is that these little plastics end up in the ocean where they make a BIG mess. Lookit:
Yes...this is the ocean. The Pacific, to be exact. And ALL of that is plastic!! But nobody dumped it there...it got there and accumulated on its own. O_O
Of course, larger things like containers, packaging, bags, and bottles make up most of the mess, but the microscopic plastic bits are also dangerous! They end up in the bodies of zooplankton, which end up in the bodies of fish, which end up in OUR bodies, doing only Jeebus knows what. Plastics also kill marine animals by lodging in their poor intestines, wreak havoc on ecosystems, and overall, they just make the planet a big ugly mess. Worst of all, plastic does not break down, because microorganisms in charge of biodegradation don't know how to do that. And it can take them thousands of years to learn how. Meanwhile, plastic is piling up all over the planet! So when you buy body scrub, buy the kind made of sugar, apricot hulls, or other natural exfoliants, because those are perfectly biodegradable and won't be harmful to the planet.
To know which is which, peep the packaging...if you see that it contains "microbeads", or if you see polyethylene or polyurethane in the ingredients, run like mad!! And for more information about that nasty looking patch of ocean in the picture, google "Great Pacific Garbage Patch".
*hops down off soapbox* ^_^
