Diamond Cosmetics Under the Willow Tree

    Hi guys! I'm still in Florida and am having a great time, but unfortunately, I am also still at the hotel of death/no wi-fi. Happily though, we were able to find an internet cafe nearby, and I finally got to set up some posts to publish automatically. So if everything goes as planned, it shouldn't be so dead around here. And even better, we're going to a different place on Saturday so fingers crossed for internet!

For today though, I have Under the Willow  Tree, from Diamond Cosmetics Fall 2010 Collection.

Under the Willow Tree is a rich and deep midnight green creme. 

It actually looks more blue than green to me. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     Under the Willow Tree is stunning, and I'm expecting to have it in heavy rotation this fall and winter. The shade of green is unique, chic and sophisticated, and I love its ultra-smooth creamy finish. I also love how it looks on my nails and can see it flattering a wide variety of skin tones. 

    Under the Willow Tree also has a perfect formula. It applied like a dream...smoothly and easily, with no dragging, bubbling or other such things. It was also pretty much opaque in one silky coat, but for the sake of security, I went with two.

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic Friday! ^_^

I'm Not Dead!

Hi guys! Sorry for dropping off the face of the planet! My family and I went to Florida and for whatever reason, the hotel has no internet. I can use my phone to do some stuff, but all my nail photos are on my computer. So I just wanted to check in and say hi and things of that nature. Until we go somewhere with internet, here is a picture of the cute towel swans at our hotel. Thanks for reading and I hope everyone is having a good weekend!
P.S. Shark week!!!!

Shooting Shoots

       Sorry about missing yesterday! I was languishing in the cool air (heat wave begone!) and literally did nothing all of that day. But today, I have the final installation of Barielle Week. Huzzah! But since I didn't have a new color to show you guys (only had six colors), I decided to do some quick and simple nail art with one of my favorite Barielles, Shooting Star.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

           To do this, I started with two layers of Shooting Star and then used China Glaze 2030 to stamp on the bamboo shoot pattern from Konad Plate m66. I wanted to use a bronze polish, to match with the glitter, but it turns out I don't really have one. *softly weeps* But anyway, even though I feel like this looks a little unfinished (like there should be something else on there), I'm still happy with it and I think it looks pretty darn good.

And with that, Barielle Week is all done! Thanks for reading, and have a happy day!

Barielle Elle's Spell

    For today, I have Elle's Spell from last year's Holiday Hustle Collection.

Elle's Spell is a wine red jelly base with tons of multi-sized and duochrome flakes in it. The flakes are the same kind as the ones in say, Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

      Elle's Spell is beautiful and totally reminds me of the holiday season. Thanks to the rich color and jelly finish, my nails look like little radioactive cherries, and I just want to nibble them off. My only gripe is that the flakies don't change color on the nail as well as they do in the bottle, but maybe layered over a darker color, one could get more colors out of them. I don't know yet, but if I do that, I'll update with pictures and stuff. 

     In terms of formula, Elle's Spell was fine but for one terrible flaw. It was really really really sheer. This was like four coats over one layer of Essie Limo-Scene (five coats on my index and middle fingers), and I'm still not quite satisfied with the depth of the color on the four coat fingers. So this is one definitely best saved for layering.

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone is enjoying their Saturday! ^_^

Barielle Blackened Bleu

    Today's Barielle actually came from a blog sale instead of from the actual place, but whatever, I'm still including it. This is Blackened Bleu, from the All Lacquered Up Collection. 

Blackened Bleu is a black jelly base stuffed with bright blue to teal shimmer. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     I'm so superbly in love Blackened Bleu. I was kind of scared that it would be another NOPI Drama in the Dark dupe, but it's actually so much better. It's deeper, richer, and the shimmer is more distinct and sparkly. It's so pretty...like looking at the ocean on a gorgeous starry night. 

     Blackened Bleu had an okay formula. It was a bit thinner than what I would have liked, but it wasn't terrible. I needed four coats before I was satisfied with the opaqueness and depth of the color, so next time I wear this, it'll be over a black or dark blue creme. Also, it needed a really shiny topcoat to be at its absolute best, but at least after all the struggle and whatever, the end product is lovely. 

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading, and enjoy your Friday!

Barielle Swizzle Stick

        It is so damn hot today. I want to go outside and do something, but I'm too afraid, since just taking these pictures, I feel like the part in my hair got sunburned. To make myself feel cooler, I decided to put on a chilly blue. So here's Barielle Swizzle Stick, from the Sugar Rush Collection. 

Swizzle Stick is a bright baby blue creme. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

       Swizzle Stick was one of the colors that I went back and forth on, but I'm glad that I ultimately pulled the trigger. I have such few pale blues, and this one is beautiful. I love that it's bright, but still quite soft against my skin, and I really like the vaguely squishy finish. 

       And finally...finallyyyy the formula was not thick or gluey. On the contrary, it was actually pretty thin and liquidy, but happily, not unmanageable. I went with three layers for opacity, but upon reflection, I could have used one more, just to make it all perfectly even.

       My only sadness is that Swizzle Stick did nothing to help me....my nails make me smile, but I continue to lounge beneath Satan's balls. *weeps softly*

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

Barielle Blossom

        Hello guys!! For today, I have a polish that I was lemming for like a million years, so I'm excited to wear it and show it to you guys. Meet Blossom, from Barielle's Wildflower Collection!

Blossom is a pale but saturated peachy pink creme. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Natural light. no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     I really love Blossom's color. It's very cute and ladylike, and satisfies the intense craving I've been having for peach and coral polish. I don't know why, but I just really want to wear them. And I like that Blossom is probably more wearable for most people (including moi), because it leans more towards pink than orange.

    However, Blossom was again kind of hard to work with. It was thick and gluey, and needed three coats to be opaque and streak-free. And really, I'm kind of reaching a point of annoyance with Barielle over this. It's easily solved with thinner, but I'm lazy in my soul and don't want to go through the trouble of thinning the polish. I have to open the bottle and then pour it and shake it and test it....ugh, I don't want to do that stuff!! Whyyy? *rolls around in bed*

But enough whining...time to go find something productive to do with my life. Have a beautiful evening and thanks for reading!!