Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm

    I've been having serious holo cravings lately. I don't even know why, but I want to see rainbows goddamnit. But anyway, I decided to take Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm out for a drive and see if it would satisfy my desire.

Spoiler alert: It didn't. 

Chainmail Charm is a charcoal black - brown with a mild holographic effect. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

This was the most holo I could get it. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Look at them lies. 

Sunlight, no flash.

      Oh Chainmail Charm. I bought it a while back from a blog sale, and it was one of those things that I wanted to save for a special occasion.  Thank God I didn't go through with that plan, because this polish is such a dud. You get some holo at random times, but most of the time, there wasn't really much of anything. There was some, which my camera removed mostly (you can get a glimpse of it on some fingers), but it wasn't much. It's really painful too, because it looks great in the bottle. And then the brownish-black color is kind of weird. Ugh...my desire is so not sated right now. 

    Formula was really agreeable though. It was opaque in two coats and dried pretty quickly, so I was pleased about that. I'll probably get rid of it though...can't have a holo that won't work for its keep.

If you have Chainmail Charm, do you like it? Or is it lame for you too? 

And that's all from me today!

Thanks for reading, and I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Catherine Arley 673

   Hi guys! I'm sure many of you remember the Catherine Arley craze that hit the nail world last year, and although I generally try to stay out of the flow of those kinds of things, this time, I broke down and ordered some Catherine Arleys. Like five thousand years later, they arrived, but I was really over their shit at that point, so they sat in my room for another five thousand years, unloved and untouched. That all came to an end recently, because I finally decided to take 673 for a test drive. 

673 is a mid-toned red-based purple with a mostly scattered, but still vaguely linear holographic effect. 

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

I left it a little out of focus to bring out more of the holo. 

Natural light, no flash. 

Ottlite, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     I am kind of underwhelmed by 673.The holo effect is kind of mediocre, and the base color isn't particularly pretty or special on its own either, although it is flattering on the hands. And then there's the whole having a number for a name thing, which sucks, because now I have to come up with a new name for it. If I could do it again, I don't think I would include it in my order. 673 is adequately pretty, but I'm just not sure that it's worth the wait or the hassle, unless you actually like the more subtle scattered holo look. 

    Formula-wise, it was pretty good though. I used some aqua base under there (the stuff that Jessica sells with their silver holo polish) and it slid onto that really nicely and effortlessly. I used three layers for full opacity and depth of color and put some topcoat on top. It dried quickly and without incident, so that was nice. 

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading!

Thank You Giveaway!

    

Giveaway is over!! Thanks for entering everyone!

Okay, so that took more than a couple of days, but better late than never, right? This is just a small giveaway because I'm broke right now, but I still wanted to do something to thank and show my appreciation for you sweet people who didn't abandon The Phalanges Files when I was off being a terrible blogger lol.


So here's what's up for grabs:

Prize 1: WnW Believe Me, It's Real; Diamond in the Rough; and Back Alley Deals

Prize 2: Funky Fingers Sand and Stilettos, Baby Baby Baby, and Golden Coast

And the rules are:

1. You have to be a current and visible follower of The Phalanges Files. Meaning, if you follow after this goes live, I'm happy to have you but I can't count you for the giveaway. Sorry!! You guys can play next time, kay?

2. You gotta have a valid email address! Please make sure you type it correctly and it works, because if you get picked but your email doesn't work, I have to pick someone else. :(

3. Only one entry per person lol.

4. International polish lovers can play. 

5. Giveaway closes March 1, 2012 at 11:59:59 EST. If you enter after that, you won't be able to be counted, so make sure to get your entries in before!

Giveaway is over!! Thanks for entering everyone!

And that's all from me today Thanks for following, reading, participating,  and just generally being beautiful people! And I hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!! ^_^

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!!

Revlon Emerald City

     Hi guys! I was organizing my computer files and found these pictures hanging out, so I thought it would be good to post them. If for no other reason than to signify that I'm still alive LOL. So here's Revlon Emerald City!

Emerald City is a forest green base with tons of emerald green shimmer, all in a semi-matte finish.

Sunlight, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

     Emerald City features a pretty and rich shade of green, and I always love matte shimmers. What I don't like is the waxy finish. I know that some people prefer their mattes to have a hint of shine, but I love mine chalky and dry looking. No shine at all. With Emerald City, I'd have to apply either a matte or shiny topcoat, because I wouldn't be able to just wear it on its own. And since I generally reach for mattes when I'm pressed for time or energy, the need for topcoat totally defeats the purpose.

   Formula-wise, Emerald City was interesting because objectively, it was fine. Went on smoothly, became opaque in about three coats, and dried fairly fast. But for a matte, it was kind of terrible because I expect my mattes to be much more opaque and to dry almost instantly. With Emerald City, there was an actual period of waiting. Like about thirty minutes before it was completely dry and undentable, without the use of topcoat. 

   So while I like the color, Emerald City has to go. I like my mattes convenient and this one is5 kind of not.

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

P.S. I haven't forgotten that I promised you guys a giveaway. It's coming, I just need some time to get everything ready. ^_^

Revlon Mistletoe (Part 2)

    Hi guys! A while ago, I wore Revlon Mistletoe from their new holiday collection and hated it. It was gross and ugly and I just did not like it at all. I couldn't return it because I lost the receipt, (-____-) so I just added some thinner to it and gave it another go. Here's how it went:

Sunlight, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

Ottlite, no flash.

Sunlight, no flash.

    I didn't have the textural issues again, so it turned out much better. Besides adding the thinner, I made sure to wait like five minutes between coats this time, and I guess both of those helped out. But I still don't like Mistletoe...it still looks a bit on the flat side to me, and the color is a so muddled and uninspiring. But I've learned my lesson...no more impulse buys and no more losing receipts. x_x

But that's all from me today. 

Thanks for reading, and have an awesome Saturday!!

More Color Club Poptastics

    Hi guys!! First of all, Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a satisfying 2011, and that 2012 will be even better. To be honest, I'm really anxious about this year...this spring will be my very last semester as an undergrad and I don't know what to do next. I've been in school literally for as long as I can remember. So this will be...interesting, I guess.


Secondly, I have to say sorrrryyy again for being such a bad blogger lately. It's partially because I've been busy and partially because my heart isn't in polish and blogging so much anymore. I think I'm getting bored with it all...it just feels kind of futile, you know? I'm trying to get reinspired and fall in love with polish again, but idk...it's just not happening. And then it doesn't help that my nails are staging a rebellion. 


But anyway, I spent the holidays wearing mattes that I've worn already, so I don't really have anything nice to show you all. I did get a few other polishes from Color Club's Poptastic Collection swatched though, and can show you guys those. And all pictures are in sunlight, with no flash.


First up is the collection's namesake, Poptastic

   Poptastic is a pretty and bright neon pink. It's sweet and wearable, but not anything special and if it didn't come in the box set, I probably wouldn't have it. Formula-wise, it was okay. A little thin maybe, but not overly troublesome. Pictures are with three coats of polish and one layer of topcoat.

Next is Almost Famous.

      Almost Famous was a surprise for me because I really like it, despite my general aversion to yellows. I think it's just so bright and sunny that you can't help but like it lol. Formula was also surprise, in that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I used four coats of polish, but they went on pretty smoothly for a yellow. There was some streakiness and whatnot, but they covered up pretty nicely with more coats. 

Last is Wham! Pow! (their punctuation, not mine):

     Wham! Pow! is probably my favorite of these three. The shade of orange has a bit of extra red to it, which adds interest, and I love its level of brightness. It isn't a retina-searing polish, but it's still substantially bright, which makes it fun but still wearable. Application was also quite easy...three easy coats and I was all done. 

And that's all from me today! Thanks for reading and listening to me whine, and I hope your holidays were all perfectly lovely!