Deborah Lippmann Today Was a Fairytale

Hi guys! For today, I have Today Was a Fairytale, from Deborah Lippmann's Winter 2010 Collection. I haven't worn some hardcore glitter in a while, so it was time.
Also, all these pictures are with artificial light and no flash because DC hasn't had any sunlight in like 500 years. I'll probably add some sunlit pictures at a later date (if I don't forget/am too lazy) because glitter is nothing without sunlight. 

Today Was a Fairytale (or TWaF as it shall henceforth be known) is a barely blue tinted base packed with big and small silver hex glitter. 

And here's a bottle shot, because I feel the first picture doesn't really show the detail well. 

       When TWaF first came out, I was not impressed. It was too expensive, seemed uninspired, and worst of all, reminded me of Taylor Swift, who I cannot stand. But beauty.com had a good sale, and I decided to pick it up despite my misgivings. Now that I have it on my nails, I feel kind of bad for dismissing it so quickly, because it's actually a little bit awesome. The glitter is super blingy and the different sizes give it some great visual texture. They also did a good job with the base, because it has just enough color for TWaF to look good on its own and layered over stuff. I really want to put it over New York Summer Amaranth for Slytherin-related reasons. But I stand by my assertion that the virgin diamond dust thing is some bullshit, because it doesn't show up on the nail. Wtf is a virgin diamond though?

    TWaF's formula wasn't bad. It went on fairly smoothly for chunky glitter, dried fast, and as long as I waited a little bit between coats, the glitter wasn't prone to shifting about. In the pictures, I have on four coats of polish and two layers of topcoat and am happy with the coverage and smoothness. 

And finally, my 400 Follower Giveaway was supposed to end yesterday, but I'm going to extend it until Monday. So if you'd still like to enter, you have a little extra time for that.

But that's all from me today! Thanks for reading, and have an awesome Sunday!!

Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe

           Yesterday was my birthday...it was pretty lame. I went to work, went to class, and then collapsed into bed. But before all that happened, I wanted to pick a really festive and gorgeous color to celebrate what was gonna be a glorious occasion. My first thought was Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe, but that stupid polish miser in my heart was like...no...you should save it for a special occasion. I don't know why I thought that....if 20 years on Earth isn't a special enough occasion to bust it out, then I don't know what would be.

Pictures and opinions (I'll keep it brief) after the jump!

Deborah Lippmann Ruby Red Slippers

            Ahh I'm sorry about the lack of posts lately! Finals are in full swing, and there has been no time to paint my nails and barely any time to read or comment on all the lovely blogs that I follow. But I did get to have lunch with Savvy from Addicted to Polish on Sunday, and it was almost as exciting as it was fun. Deborah Lippman's Ruby Red Slippers came up during the conversation, and she said it was pretty, so I decided to blow off studying for geology and paint my nails with it instead. 

Ruby Red Slippers is small and large jewel-toned, ruby red hex glitter in a black jelly base. 

And I apologize for all the damn bubbles. I repainted my nails twice with different base coats and topcoats before finally giving up. If I can ever manage to not get bubbles on this, I'll retake these.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     I love Ruby Red Slippers. It really is gorgeous, and all day, I have not been able to stop staring at my hands. Because the glitter floats in the black base instead of being swallowed up by it, the polish has this incredible depth and sparkle. And in lower lighting conditions, it reminds me of dying embers in a campfire.  I'm a little ashamed to love it, because I cannot stand Deborah Lippmann (the brand, I don't know the person) and I think the whole ruby slippers thing is overdone. But despite my personal feelings, I cannot deny this polish. It's the perfect vampy glitter. 

  Formula-wise, Ruby Red Slippers is pretty good. Besides the damn bubbles, I don't have any complaints.It was fairly easy to apply and although the first coat was fairly sheer, it built nicely, becoming opaque in three coats. It needed a few minutes between coats to avoid messing with the glitter, but at least the glitter didn't need to be fished or placed. Ruby Red Slipper will eat your topcoat though...I had to use three coats of topcoat for a glassy smooth surface. 

  However, I do have a big problem with the cost of Ruby Red Slippers, especially because it's not that hard to recreate. I ordered through Beauty.com and got four dollars off and free shipping and ebate cashback, which took some of the sting out of it, but it still cost mad money. Steph from Imperfectly Painted combined Wet n Wild Prancer and Black Creme to get something that looks really similar, and those polishes cost like two dollars together. You may even be able to mix them with some clear polish and get a perfect dupe. But I don't regret buying Ruby Red Slippers...I'm too lazy to hunt down Prancer or something similar and then mess with it and blah. For a lazy like me, it's easier to have it all in one (gorgeous and classy-looking) bottle for my using pleasure. ^_^

And that's all I've got for today! Have a great night!