Some Layering Stuff

   Hi guys! Yes, I am still alive and even better, I'm starting to feel some interest in nail polish again, which means that I'll probably be back to posting regularly in the near future. I won't have anything current to show because I haven't bought polish in a month (seriously), but maybe that will change soon too. But anyway, a few days ago was my 21st birthday, and I needed some sparkly nails to go with it. I didn't have much time though, so I did some quick layering. 

This is two coats of Zoya Phoebe and two layers of Sapphire Shimmer. Sorry about the cracks...I guess Phoebe wasn't all the way dry before I put the glitter on top. It dries so slowlyyy. -___-

Ottlite, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, with flash.

I blurred it to show some of the holo sparkle, even though I felt like there wasn't much this time around I remember the first time I wore Sapphire Shimmer in early fall and I wanted to marry it. Not sure what happened. 

Ottlite, no flash.

    This combo was okay. It was bright, glittery, went on quick and dried quick, and that was pretty much all I wanted, so I am satisfied.

But better than my nails were these awesome cupcakes I got from Sweet Themez Bakery. If you live in DC, I would definitely recommend paying them a visit and getting their sweet potato cupcake. All their cupcakes are delicious (except maybe the marble, which is a little too delicate for me) but the sweet potato one brings tears to my eyes. It's the one in the middle and is magically delicious. 

Also, the giveaway post should be up in the next couple of days, so look out for that!

And that's all from me for today! Thanks for reading guys, and have a great Sunday!!

Finger Paints Icy Iris

           I was in a purple-y mood, so I've got on Icy Iris, from Finger Paints' Holiday 2009 Collection. 

Icy Iris is a deep and rich purple base packed with flat, multi-sized shimmer. The shimmer comes in shades of amethyst and this redder purple that I can't really describe. Anyway, it also shows red. You might have to enlarge the pictures to see that though.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     Icy Iris was a giant lemming of mine for quite some time. It felt really good to finally be able to get a bottle, and it feels even better to wear it and see that it was totally worth all the agony. Icy Iris is lovely. The base is dark without looking black, and provides plenty of contrast for the shimmer. The shimmer itself is insanely dynamic. It's extra sparkly in bright sunlight, shows a bunch of colors, and makes the polish glow in lower light. So beautiful. ^_^

    I was also very pleased with Icy Iris' formula. It was quite smooth to apply, didn't bubble at all, and was very well pigmented. In two coats of polish, I got perfect coverage. And the polish dried really quickly and smoothly, which impressed me, given how sparkly it looked. I was definitely expecting at least a hint of texture, but there wasn't any. However, it did dry a bit dull, which was easily remedied with the addition of a thin layer of glossy topcoat. 

And that is all I've got for today!! Have a great Monday, guys! :D

Finger Paints Winter's Whisper + Haul

           Guess what, guess what, guess whatt?! I GOT A JOB!! *does Survival Scroll dance*
           It's as an office assistant in my major department's office, and even though it's going to be tedious bitch work, I am so super happay! Unemployment and brokeness begone!! ^__^ 
          It's a shame I don't have something more cheerful on to celebrate the occasion, but oh well...we're gonna roll with it. This is Finger Paints Winter's Whisper from the Seduced by Fall Collection. 

Winter's Whisper is a graphite grey polish with lots of flaky silver shimmer. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     I don't really like Winter's Whisper. I admire the color...it looks so deliciously cold and industrial. But I don't like the effect that the shimmer brings. It's not the kind of shimmer that sparkles at all....it's definitely the kind that shines, which gives the polish a dull metallic sheen. It makes me feel like I colored my nails with a pencil and then covered it with topcoat....it's just so...flat. No bueno.

    Application-wise, Winter's Whisper gave me a bit of trouble as well...the formula was thin, and it took about four coats to get it to bottle color. It felt like it took a million years too. But on the upside, Winter's Whisper actually went on smoothly and dried quickly. 

I decided to try it matte and added one coat of Essie Matte About You to the mix.

I like Winter's Whisper much more as a matte. The flatness is so becoming and makes the polish look even colder and more industrial. Interestingly enough, the matteness really brings out that "pencil lead" look. But it somehow appears much better. 

And I have some haulage to share! Don't look at me like that. 

This first set of pictures are from Magic Maid's blog sale, which I  mentioned yesterday:

Konad Plate M12

That reindeer makes me so uncomfortable...why does he look so evil? o_O

Konad Plate M13

Ahh I love the little voodoo man and the zombie girl. So cute!

Sally Hansen Mystic Lilac and LA Girl Rock Star Groupie

OPI La Paz-i-tively Hot Matte and China Glaze Pink Rox-E

I've been lemming these for so long, and it's great to have them. 

Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm and Misa Toxic Seduction

Finger Paints Evergreen Dream and Icy Iris

Huge huge huge lemmings, both of these. Especially Icy Iris...*sigh*

This second group is from Sephora. Upon hearing about the Family and Friends sale, I went to the website and acted a fool. :(

But the shipping was crazy fast, you know...I ordered like at 3am on Friday morning, and bam...they were here by 10am today. O_O

Illamasqua Rampage and Phallic.

Ahh I love the names on these...they sound so wild and animalistic. 

Illamasqua Baptiste and NARS Tokaido Express

I would feel worse about these, except for that they were on sale. Plus, I am currently standing on top of a mountain of dead lemmings, and it feels so gewd. Plus, I'm still on budget, because I ate less than normal thi month. 

PLUS. I got a job. Ohohohoho. 

  

But that's all I've got for today...gotta gotta run to class. Wishing you a beautiful Monday! ^_^

Essie Midnight Cami + Finger Paints Sapphire Shimmer

        So I'm still wearing my crazy hand mani today. I'm a little mad, because I forewent doing my nails + I stayed up till like 3 am to finish my assignment. Then five hours later, I'm dragging myself into class, when I find out that my teacher extended the deadline to the end of the week. Because half the class didn't do it. 

Omfg...

 I like my teacher, but I was sooo mad at her. Since when do you reward people for not doing their homework?! But on a positive note, I have a job interview lined up for this week! I don't know if it'll amount to anything in the end, but it's the furthest I've gotten since I've started looking, so I am full of hope. But enough blah blah about my life and woes. Onto the pitchas.

This is one layer of Finger Paints Sapphire Shimmer over two coats of Essie Midnight Cami.  

Sapphire Shimmer is composed of small round glitter and larger hex glitter in a sheer cobalt blue base. The glitter is silver and holo, and there is a ton of it.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

       It's not the most innovative thing, but I love this combo so so much!! Sapphire Shimmer's glitter is disgustingly holo...it makes me sick with joy. ^_^ The flashes of color and silver stand out really nicely from Midnight Cami's dark blue base, and the whole look reminds me of outer space. I know...lots of polishes look like outer space. But this really does look awesome, lol.  In lower light, the holo calms down a bit, so the glitter looks more silver. But there are still rainbow flashes, so basically, it's never boring. I was actually walking to the library last night (to do my freaking assignment), and even with just the streetlights, there was still mad bling and rainbows.  And in sunlight...ahhh it's absolutely dazzling. The shimmer from Midnight Cami shimmers and the glitter from Sapphire Shimmer glitters and it just makes my heart sing. My camera was even nice enough to let me make a little video:

Ahh you like my Easy Mac background, no? 

   I'm ready for my nails to look like a normal person's again, so I'm looking forward to sitting down with some nail polish remover later tonight. But at the same time, I'm gonna be sorry to see my left hand go. However, it did get me thinking that maybe I should stop being such a punk and try to franken an actual nail polish that looks like this. If I do, I'm not gonna use Sapphire Shimmer because I only got one bottle and they don't make this stuff no more. Which sucks...why does Finger Paints discontinue all the good stuff? But I'll try to find something with similar glitter and go from there. 

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

Finger Paints I'm A Survivor

            LOL, I totally bombed that test. Like, I opened the booklet, read through the exam, put down the pencil, and silently asked Jesus to take the wheel. He politely declined...too busy napping in the backseat or something. So I finished my test, turned it in, and with my life crumbling around my ears, I went to ceramics to work on my thingy. And then I returned to my lair to paint my nails. I chose Finger Paints I'm A Survivor, from the Breast Cancer Awareness Collection because it looked like it would cheer me up. And hay, it worked! ^_^

 I'm A Survivor is a deep hot pink creme base packed with small, flat silvery-white shimmer. This picture looks crazy, but I couldn't get a better one, because my camera was so freaked out by being that close to the color. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash. 

     So, there are good and bad things about I'm A Survivor. Let's do good things first. The color of the polish is really nice. The shade of pink is deep enough to be flattering on many skin tones, but it's bright enough to be a happy-making polish. The shimmer isn't particularly noticeable...like, it's not Strawberry Fields status. But it's visible enough to make a statement, both in sunlight and lower lighting conditions. My only complaint about the color would be about the base...I would have preferred a jelly base, instead of a creme one. I mean, the creme is okay and pretty, but I just feel that a jelly would have been better. 

    Finger Paints also gets a thumbs up from me because of the name they chose. I'm A Survivor is such a good and upbeat name. It carries so much meaning, even to those who haven't necessarily had their lives touched by breast cancer, but have survived other things. And it fits in well with the color, which is always a bonus for me. 

    And of course, Finger Paints created I'm A Survivor to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and that's a great thing. I don't think that the proceeds from the collection goes to breast cancer research or anything...if I remember right, Finger Paints already has a set pledge. But even so, it was a sweet gesture for them to make this. 

   But the bad thing about I'm A Survivor was the formula. I really don't want to complain about this polish, but here at The Phalanges Files, we strive to keep it all the way realz. While the formula wasn't horrible, it also wasn't any fun. It was a bit streaky going on, and it felt like....thick and sticky. The good news is that it was highly pigmented, and was opaque in two coats. A more careful person might be able to get away with only one thick coat. I ended up with three coats though because I used one extra to get it smooth. Also, it dries really fast, so yay!

  And that's all for today. Enjoy your Friday night! ^_^

 (Icon courtesy of  lizbot)