California Condor

Hello people! The animal we're gonna look at today is the California Condor. Warning, there's nothing cute about it.

Except for the baby. The baby is kind of cute. 

     The California condor is a gigantic bird that lives in Arizona, Utah, and of course, California. It's a carrion bird, so it pretty much only eats things that are already dead, being particularly partial to the bodies of large mammals like livestock, coyotes, and deer. The California condor is perfectly content to live its life minding its own business and peacefully eating dead things, but it is facing extinction today because of dumb people. Dumb people killing them to put them in museums and dumb people hunting them out of fear that the condors were killing domestic animals. A quick trip to the library would tell you that these animals are lazy and don't even like to hunt. Finally, the condors were dying from other things like lead poisoning, flying into electric wires, and eating meat poisoned by pesticides The government has been trying to bring their numbers up by breeding them in captivity and teaching them to avoid dangerous things, but these birds are still very close to extinction right now, which would be sad because in a way, they're the last of their kind.

 For my California condor nail look, I did this:

This was about as easy as it looks. I did two layers of Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Radiate, and then put one thick layer of Zoya Loredana on top, in a v-shape. Lastly, I put a little yellow gem at the bottom of the V. I didn't use any topcoat, because I wanted to keep the flatter texture of the colors. 

This time around, I didn't want to do a literal thing for the bird, but more wanted to represent the colors on the condor in the same proportions that they appear on the actual animal. My index finger came out kind of janky and the lines on the other fingers are not straight (I should have used tape), but all in all, I'm happy with how this turned out. In real life, you can't see the imperfections, so it looks a little smoother. I also like the contrast of Radiate's brightness against Loredana's darkness and the flatness.  So I'm a pretty happy camper.

And that's all from me today!

Thanks for reading, and have a great Monday!

Hunger Games Stuff!!

      Hi guys!!
So yesterday, I got to go see The Hunger Games in IMAX, and it was a super-glorious experience. Like all film adaptions, it didn't quite match up to what I expected from reading the book, but I really did enjoy it. Except for in Effie's case, I think they could have been a little more creative with the makeup and wardrobe, I wish they had paid closer attention to detail (they forgot President Snow's rose a few times for example), and I wish they had stayed truer to the book because they cut out some parts that I felt were important, but despite those quibbles, it was definitely worth seeing.


Also, I was really pleasantly surprised by Peeta! When I heard who was playing him, I was like no no no nooo this shit is not going to work. But Josh Hutcherson did a really good job...once he started acting, I forgot my complaints and started being able to root for him the way that I did when I was reading his character in the books, so that was a relief. Nothing is worse than watching a movie and having this one character ruin it for you LOL. But enough blabbing about the movie...I don't want to spoil it for others. I will just say that it was great, and if you are still on the fence about seeing it, I think you should do it. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.


But anyway, for this momentous occasion, I of course had to do a girl on fire mani. I suck at free-handing or making nice-looking flames (I know because I tried), so I just did a little konad stamp-on thing.

Sunlight, no flash. 

Ottlite, no flash.

Close up of the design.

Sunlight, no flash.

    This was pretty simple to do. I did two layers of China Glaze Electrify (I'll review that by itself soon), and put a layer of topcoat. After letting it dry, I used Color Club Where's the Soiree? to stamp on a vaguely flame-y pattern from one of my random knockoff konad plates. Then, I put a red gem in the gap at the top of the flame-y pattern, sealed it all in with topcoat, and that was it. So yep, very easy. 

    I was also really happy with how it came out. The black flame-y thing pops out great against the glittery base, and the gem pops out nicely from the black. And in sunlight, the base is so sparkly that it really does look like my nails are on fire. I don't really like how the pictures look (toooo much detail lol), but in person, it's beautiful and didn't look like Beetlejuice at all for once. I was so proud of myself ahahaha. I also got compliments all day, and some people were even able to guess that I was going to see/had seen the movie that day, so that was nice. 

I also did my eye makeup like one of my favoritee characters in the whole series, Cinna. I know, I usually don't show makeup and will most likely never do it again, but I was so excited that even with my makeup ineptitude, I didn't come out looking crazy LOL. So I wanted to share. 

Here was the original look:

And this was my version:

This was also really easy. I used a thin liner brush to put some primer and then some Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy close to my lashline. Then I used a little water and glycerin to apply Shiro Cosmetics Triforce  over the Pixie Epoxied part of my skin. On top of that, I did a thin line of Wet n Wild's Creme Eyeliner in black. Then, put some pencil liner on the inner lids, both top and bottom. The last thing I did was to curl my lashes and apply Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume. 

   I was nervous that I would look like a freak, because the gold was very bright and intense, but I actually got alot of compliments, which was nice because no one ever compliments my face lol. So yep, it was an all around good day. 

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has an awesome weekend! And if you've seen the movie and want to talk about it, please comment! I'd love to hear what ya'll thought about it. 

Black History Month Nails!

    With February drawing to a close, I wanted to do a nail look to commemorate Black History Month. I always plan to do a really pretty and complicated look for this, because BHM is near and dear to my heart, but then I'm always too busy and end up rushing it at the end. This year was no exception unfortunately, but I did like what I ended up with.

It was as easy as it looks LOL.

I started with two layers of China Glaze Go Crazy Red and let that dry for about twenty minutes.  Then I put a thick layer of Gelous on my ring finger, let it get tacky, put in the green and black gems, and finished off all my nails with a layer of Barielle's quick drying topcoat. 

Easy peasy. 

Ottlite, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Close up of accent nail.

I hate how I always get bubbling with jewels. -__-

Ottlite, no flash.

    After finishing it and thinking about it, I do wish that I had done some things differently, because it did come out kind of overly simple, and doesn't really read Black History Month. Like, I feel like you would have to think about the colors to get the connection, which isn't good. The one I did last year was more obvious, so I think I liked it better. But besides that, I think this came out pretty well and enjoyed wearing it. I also got some good wear out of it...I've had it on since Monday, and it still looks pretty presentable, so I am satisfied. 

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

I'm going to go watch Coral Reef Adventure in IMAX at the Smithsonian, so I'm really excited. ^_^

Zoya Kissy

   Umm...Happy Valentine's Day guys!! LOL I know I am late as hell with this, but I actually did paint my nails for Valentine's Day. I'm forever alone, so to counteract the inevitable Valentine's Day depression, I wanted to wear something happy. So I chose Kissy (such a good name for a V-Day polish, no?) from Zoya's Gems and Jewels Collection. I meant to put some lovey-dovey decals on there too, but I forgot. My bad.

Kissy is made mostly of small red hex glitter, with lots of pink and holographic bar glitter scattered throughout. There's much more pink bar glitter than holo though.

Bottle shot. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

       Kissy is pretty and actually made for a fun Valentine's Day color. All the glitter is really sparkly, and although I generally don't like pink, Kissy's shade wasn't vomit inducing. I also think it looked pretty good on me. My only gripe is again, the fact that the holo bar glitter isn't as visible as I would have liked. You can see it straight on, but not that well. To really see it, I had to do finger Cirque du Soleil or look at it in lower lighting conditions. However, it does show up more in Kissy than in Rina or Twila (I'm planning to post that soon), so there's that. 

    Putting Kissy on was kind of tough though. The glitter isn't too sparse, and covered in three coats, which was nice. But I had a hard time getting it to stay put and it was pretty messy...little bits of glitter hanging off my nails and such. In the future, I'll probably just layer it over a similar color. 

   And a note on Kissy's wear, I had several fingers where the polish just popped off in a big nail-shaped chunk. The same happened with Twila and Rina. I didn't use Zoya's Anchor base with any of them, so maybe that would help, but I just thought I would mention it.

And I wanted to quickly put it out there that my giveaway is closing in one week, so don't forget to get your entries in if you want to play!

And that's all from me today! (Haha that rhymed.)

But anyway, thanks for reading and have a happy hump day! (HA I RHYMED AGAIN. I'm a poet and didn't know it. ^___^)

Strange Layering Stuff....

    Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday guys!! I hope you all had amazing Thanksgivings

, with lots of love, food and fun. I had a good one...I ended up doing a good chunk of the cooking, but it was fun and delicious in the end. And it's so nice to be away from school, I can't even explain. For today, I have that Facets of Fuchsia layering experiment that I mentioned at the end of that post. I put one layer of Diamond Cosmetics Chunky Red Glitter on top, and here's how it came out!

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash. 

    So, like I said, I think it came out a little strange. I don't dislike it, but it just looked funny to me. Especially up close...the red glitter is just sitting on top of the purple and it just looks...funny. Maybe I would get more of the look I expected by frankening the two of these. But I do think it looks kind of cool, especially in lower light,  because the red glitter really pops out. 

And with that, I am all done for today!! I hope everyone has an awesome and fun Black Friday!  I know that I need a coat, and some new hair products, and I'll probably get in on the e.l.f. sale going on today. What are you guys gonna buy? ^_^

Zoya Astra

   Hi guys!! I finished doing the entries thing, and am happy to announce that I finally have a winner for my last giveaway. So yayness for...

Noir Lacquer!!

  She has a fab blog, so make sure to go check it out! A big congrats goes to her and a big thank you goes to everyone who entered! 

On the nail polish side of things, some of you may have noticed that October has begun (Happy October, btw!), which of course means that it's Breast Cancer Awareness and Depression Awareness Month! I'm planning to wear lots of pink and green this month, and starting off the parade will be Astra, from Zoya's Ultra Glitter Collection.

Astra is pepto pink and rose red hex glitter in a raspberry pink-tinted base. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash. 

      Going in, I didn't think I'd like Astra very much, but I do. It's cheery and youthful, and I love how the glitter is sparkly and bright in all lighting conditions. I also appreciate that Zoya made the glitter two different colors, because they give Astra some dimension and make it more unique. And I like unique polish...makes me feel like I didn't waste my moniez. 

    Astra's formula was pretty good. It applied smoothly, built easily, and dried quickly, which made for an entirely stress-free application. Removal is another story altogether. x_x

The pictures are with three coats of color and two thick layers of topcoat, because Astra dries gritty and eats topcoat like I would eat chocolate sauce off Cristiano Ronaldo's stomach. Which is quickly and greedily. 

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

 (Icon courtesy of  lizbot)

400 Follower Giveaway! (And Back to School Nails)

     Happy September everyone! I know it's been a while since my last post, but I'm hoping that once I get settled down, find a job, and can figure out when I get sunlight in my new room, I can go back to a more regular posting schedule. So please don't abandon me, lmao.


*Giveaway is now closed! Thanks for entering!*


In the meantime, I finally have that 400 follower giveaway that I've been talking about having for kind of a long time now. So without further ado, here's what's up for grabs:

Sinful Colors Adventure Island Collection (minus Rise and Shine)

And some polishes donated by the beautiful people at China Glaze!

R-L: Liquid Leather, Flip Flop Fantasy (which I'll be posting soon), White Cap, and Fairy Dust

Everything is brand new and has never been used, as far as I know. The Sinfuls are kind of a toss up because they come from the drugstore, and someone may have opened it. But if that did happen, rest assured, it was not moi. >_>

And that's it! Good luck to everyone, and thank you all for reading, commenting, participating, following, and basically not leaving me to blog....

.

*Giveaway is now closed! Thanks for entering!*

I also have a few pictures of the nail look I wore for the first day of school! 

I used two layers of Zoya Phoebe as a base and then put two layers of Diamond Cosmetics Chunky Red Glitter on top of that. I wanted to matte-ify it, but I can't find my Matte About You, so I just used regular topcoat. I really liked it and got lots of compliments too! A guy in the student store said that it looked like a Smurf with chicken pox, which was pretty funny. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

And that's all from me!! Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic Thursday!