American Apparel Malibu Green

    I haven't shown a bright color in a while (I suck at summer), so for today, I have American Apparel Malibu Green.

Malibu Green is not really green...it's more of a green-leaning teal than anything. A saturated, bright, green-leaning teal. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    I was planning on giving Malibu Green to my sister, but now, I think I'm gonna keep it. It's so pretty and cheerful, and is perfect for warmer weather. I also think it is very flattering on my skin, and will definitely be wearing it as a pedi this summer. I must admit that my soul burns a bit because this polish is from Satan American Apparel and I HATE them and promised myself that I'd never own their shit. But I have pretty much no self-control, so....yeah. 

  In terms of application, Malibu Green was quite good. I used two coats of color for the pictures, and there was no dragging or streaking. There are some weird-looking spots on the corners of my nails in the pictures, but that's from the ridiculously thick Poshe that I refuse to give up on. 

And that's all I've got for today! Thanks for reading and enjoy your Sunday! 

I know I will, because I'm going home home homeee!  ^______^

NARS Mash vs. OPI At Your Quebec and Call

      As I was decluttering my stash, I ran across OPI At Your Quebec and Call. I felt that it was pretty, but wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it or not, because I thought that I had a dupe in NARS Mash. To be sure, I procrastinated on life did a quick comparison of the two.

Sunlight, no flash.

L-R: Mash, AYQaC, Mash, AYQaC

Natural light, no flash.

L-R: Mash, AYQaC, Mash, AYQaC

Sunlight, no flash.

L-R: Mash, AYQaC, Mash, AYQaC

And some closer shots:

Sunlight, no flash.

L-R: AYQaC, Mash, 

Natural light, no flash.

L-R. AYQaC, Mash, 

Sunlight, no flash.

L-R: AYQaC, Mash

      Anyone would be justified in owning both of these guys, because they look quite different.  At Your Quebec and Call seemed to have more gold in its shimmer and Mash's base color is darker, greener and more saturated. The bright center, dark edges effect was also much less pronounced in At Your Quebec and Call.
     In terms of formula, I found Mash easier to apply...the pigmentation was better and I felt that it was more controllable than At Your Quebec and Call. And finally, I think that Mash looked better on me than At Your Quebec and Call did, so Mash was the clear winner in my book.
     I can't imagine ever wanting to wear At Your Quebec and Call when Mash is an option, so with a slightly heavy heart (because it's so hard to say goodbye ;_;), I will relinquish it to the purge pile.


Which one do you like best? o_o

NARS Mash + Egyptian Tortoise

         Like all good things, Earth Week must come to an end. So the last animal we'll be look at will be the Egyptian Tortoise, also known as Kleinmann's Tortoise.

Look at the little legs and toes!

I find this picture particularly amusing because it wasn't photoshopped at all. 

The lying down turtle looks so unconcerned too. 

(Photograph courtesy of Sexecutioner)

    The Egyptian Tortoise is a little desert tortoise native to Egypt and Libya, and is usually yellow, brown, or green. Like the rest of the endangered species we saw this past week, Egyptian Tortoises are largely victims of habitat degradation as a result of development. Also because of their cute tiny-ness, they are very much in demand as pets. So poachers will kidnap them from the wild and illegally sell them, which I guess is better than being killed. But it still sucks. 

I didn't have a color that would perfectly match the Egyptian Tortoise, but when I think of yellow, brown and green, I think olive. And when I think olive, I think NARS Mash. Since I needed to reswatch Mash anyway, here we are. ^_^

Mash features a slightly dark shade of olive green, with small golden, green, and what looks like amber shimmer in it. There's mostly gold though.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    Mash is so super hot. I don't  think it really looks good on me (olive in general doesn't look so good on me), but I absolutely love it. It's so mossy and sexy, and the shimmer gives it that beautiful effect where it's bright in the middle and blackens towards the edges. I'm happy that NARS brought it back, and I'm even happier that I bit the bullet and bought it. If you've been considering it and get a chance, I would surely recommend that you pick up Mash.

    I also have no complaints about Mash's formula. It took three coats before I was really satisfied with the coverage and was a tad bit brushstrokey, but it went on really smoothly and the shimmer helped cover up the brushstrokes. 

And with that, Earth Week is ovah!! 

I hope that these posts were as informative and fun to read as they were to write, and that they've somewhat inspired everyone to be (or to continue to be) more considerate of our planet and all the life forms that also call it home. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day! ^_^

Rescue Beauty Lounge Bring It Back Spam

       Tomorrow is Rescue Beauty Lounge's second Bring it Back vote, which is an opportunity for all polish fanatics to get together and bring back three discontinued RBLs from the dead. I have a few of the contenders in my stash, and decided to make a little post featuring all of them. Hopefully, this will help some folks who are still on the fence about which ones to pick.


First up, we have Scrangie.

Scrangie is hard as hell to photograph, so the picture doesn't do it justice at all. I hate Scrangie for that.  Anyway, It's much prettier in person...the shimmer is stronger than how it looks here.

A closer look at Scrangie's shimmer. 

Next is Recycle.

I love Recycle. It's the perfect forest green creme. 

Although I admit that I'm surprised to see it in the running. I thought it was a core color. Are there no RBL core colors? Honestly, I think that Ji should bring it back regardless of how the vote goes. I feel like Recycle is such an RBL staple, you know? 

Third is Catherine:

Closer look at Catherine's shimmer.

Bottle pic.

    Catherine is pretty, and in the right light, you can get lots of pop from all the colors of shimmer. However, I found it to be rather flat in a multitude of other lighting conditions, which keeps me from loving it completely. 

And then we have Anne:

Closer look at Anne's shimmer. You may have to enlarge this to see, but there's pink stuff in there.

    Anne is gorgeouss....I love the contrast of the pink and gold shimmer against the murkiness of the base, and I like that it always has some depth, no matter what the light is. I went back and forth on buying this, but I will always be grateful that I sucked it up and bought Anne when I did. 

Next we come to Frugalista:

 I'm a sucker for glitterbombs, and Frugalista is a really nice one. The color scheme is elegant and fashionable,    and in sunlight, my nails explode into sparkles.

Lastly, we have Locavore. It's last because it's the best. ^_^

Locavore is the love of my nail polish life. Like, if I could marry a polish, Locavore would be a serious contender. It's so pretty and blingtastic, and the colors in it are amazingg. This gorgeous guy was brutally beaten and ROBBED in the last vote, but hopefully, history shan't repeat itself.  

Ooh, last minute addition. Starfish Patrick is also coming to the party!

This beauty is one of my favorite RBL's. Love it!

And that is it! Personally, I'm hoping to see Anne, Locavore, and Recycle as the winners, although I would also accept 360, Moxie, or Frugalista in Anne or Recycle's place. Locavore  is non-negotiable. 

Do youuu know who you're gonna vote for? O_O

It's a Celebration!!

        Happy St. Patrick's Day!! Since today is a celebration, it called not just for greens, but for the most festive greens I could find. So of course, I had to whip out that good sparkly stuff.   


First is Ivanka, from Zoya's Sparkle Collection. 

Ivanka is a bunch of multi-sized, emerald green, flaky, metallic particles in a sheer emerald base. The little particles come together to form that sparkly-foil finish that was freaking everywhere last year. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash. 

Sunlight, no flash.

      By the time I bought Ivanka, I was so sick of this type of finish that I just kind of chucked it into my polish drawer and never looked at it again. But after taking a break from it, I really like it again, lol! In sunlight, the little particles catch and reflect light so beautifully, and it's so sparkly and festive. And in lower light, you get this really pretty glow, which combined with the visual texture of the polish, makes me think of a snake. My only complaint is that in the bottle, you get this great blue duochrome that doesn't show up all on the nail. So boo. 

   Formula-wise, Ivanka was much like the other polishes in this collection. It was a little bit thin, so I ended up using three coats for full opacity and depth, and a layer of topcoat to punch up the shine. But it applied really smoothly, and as long as I gave it a few minutes between layers, I didn't have to deal with dragging. 

More glittery fun after the jump! ^_^

Moah Greens! (For Less Green)

   Yep, more greens. Because they are wonderful and warm my heart. ^_^


First is Sally Hansen Jumpin' Jade.

 Jumpin' Jade is a deep jade green base with lighter green shimmer. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    I purchased Jumpin Jade to avoid buying MAC Jade Dragon, and although I'm fairly sure that they aren't exact dupes, I am well satisfied, yea verily. The color is so pretty and the polish has this beautiful opulence and glow to it that I really like. My only real complaint about it would be the terrible name....they couldn't do better than Jumpin' Jade? Forreal though? :/

   Since this guy is part of the Insta-Dri line, the formula is fairly thick and really well-pigmented. I only needed two coats for full coverage, and really, someone could probably get away with one coat. It also dried really fast, although it needed topcoat for shine. 

Next is Wet n Wild Morbid. 

Morbid is a really dark, kind of mossy, blue-based green with lighter green and blue shimmer.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    Morbid is amazing. It's so...cancerous and wicked looking, and although cancer and wickedness are normally awful things, when they meet polish, they become beautiful. As well as the base color, I love the shimmer...it catches the light so nicely when it's sunny and glows from the base when it's not. It's just a shame that Morbid is part of the Craze line, because it means that you only get a little bit of this awesome color at a time and it's in that terrible bottle with that horrible cap. I wish they could make it part of the core line and put it in a normal bottle.

     Despite the awkward application from trying to maneuver that stupid, stubby brush and round cap, Morbid's formula was surprisingly easy to work with. It went on easily and smoothly, and the pigmentation was great. I used two coats of color and one layer of topcoat in the pictures, and the coverage is perfect. Add in the ultra-cheap price and the availability of Morbid, and I really think that you can't go wrong with this deliciously macabre shade. 

Finally, we have New York Summer Amaranth. 

Amaranth is a bright grass green jelly. It was hard to capture the brightness in the pictures though, so it's really brighter than what you see. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     Amaranth puts such a smile on my face. It's just such an adorable and cheery shade of green, I think it looks awesome on me (yeahhh conceited moment) and of course, I love the fun squishy finish.
     Also fun was the formula on Amaranth...despite it being a jelly, I only needed three coats to get the coverage in the pictures, and the polish applied smoothly with no streaks, dragging or other such tomfoolery. The only issue I faced with Amaranth was that it dried matte, but that easily rectified with a layer of topcoat. 


   This particular grouping of polishes may seem random, but I chose to put them all together because they're all nice and cheap! None of these polishes are over $5, yet all of them are beautiful colors with great formulas, proving that you can celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a cute nail color on any budget. n_n


And that's all I've got for tonight! Thanks for reading!!