Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Deborah Lippmann - Mermaid's Kiss

OK, I'm a bad blogger. I've just had the most odd couple of weeks. I do have new puppies on the way, T Minus 2 days and counting! I haven't had puppies in the house in 15 years and I missed most of those because I was in Chicago then. I am very excited. This no dog thing is torture. I've never been through this before. We've always had more than one dog! So we have two coming, not litter mates, but half sisters. I am planning to do a lot of spoiling.

I'm still working through all the swatches I did for you guys, I have a ton. I'm just not motivated to sit and do pictures. If someone would edit the pictures as I like I'd be able to sit and write....but the control freak OCD neurotic in me just wouldn't really do that. I have to do it!

On with the show.

Mermaid's Kiss...This is another of the Mermaid polishes, duh. I just knocked something heavy off my desk. Whatevs.

This is the pink one. My first impressions are that it's really pretty sheer. If you're into that, this can be worn that way, I have some swatches.

Pretty, right? These are mirror glitters, they're very flashy, and the polish itself has a lot of shimmer to it.

This is a much better shot, really. I've been trying to introduce more interest to my swatches, are you feeling it?

You can see the pink, the pink glitters and if you cross your eyes a little you might see some green flash. This definitely has a kind of watery feel.

Interestingly enough, this is only two coats. Odd, huh? I never expected that kind of coverage given the sheer look of just one coat, but here it is. You can also see that it's pretty chunky, but some Gelous will fix that if you don't like it.

Sorry, a little blurry, but very color accurate.

Last and best swatch. Here is what annoyed me about this. Look at the glitter distribution. Really good on pointer and birdie. Not bad on ring. Dismal on pinkie and no matter what I seemed to, short of globbing a bunch of polish on there, I couldn't get more. I don't know why that is. I guess be careful as you apply and don't let this happen to you!

What do you think? Pretty, right? I love the flash, which you can kind of see here, and I love the color, it's good on my skin tone. Miserable to get off, though. Miserable. Most glitters are, I'm afraid. I've taken to soaking in acetone. I know, I hate that but it seems actually less damaging than scrubbing at it. I only put it in a cuticle dish deep enough to submerge the nails and I don't leave them there. I dip and wipe and dip and wipe. It seems to work. Just hit the cuticle oil and hand cream heavily afterward.

Happy Talons!


Friday, May 10, 2013

Deborah Lippmann - Mermaids - Million Dollar Mermaid

The Mermaid collection is really beautiful. The colors are fun and springy, they're clearly capitalizing on the success of the original mermaid polish and who doesn't love mermaids?

Well, I've been accused of being a siren whose sexy voice lures men to their icy watery deaths so maybe not those guys....and I think I sound something like a small woodland creature might if they spoke English with no accent...but I digress. As usual.

These first couple of pictures are with flash and aren't really great, but they do do a great job of showing you the sparkle in these polishes, which I think you want to see, right?

You can see this really washes out the color quite a bit but it emphasizes the glitter and how that lays. These were some cute toe separators I got with...I don't know, something I ordered. Thanks, whoever you were!

This is a pretty sherbet orange color, the base has a lot of shimmer, which is a characteristic of these polishes, and it gives an almost foil appearance. It's not really very opaque, though. This is three coats and you can see there is still some VNL.

Another flash photo, but it lets you see the glitters and where they fall and their pretty complementing color to the base. You can also really see the pretty shimmer.

OK, no flash and quite a bit closer to real life.

You can see this really dries pretty smooth. Relatively speaking, you understand. It's a glitter so it's not like glass smooth, but it's pretty good. A thick top coat and you're golden with this one. No pun actually intended for once.

I was trying to show you the color comparison to a coral here. Did it work?

I love this little votive thing. When you put a candle in here the little fishes look like they're moving. :)

Last one. You can see there is some bumpy, but you can handle that. The glitter disburses nicely and the color is nice. I love the shimmer in the base, too. Really pretty and really very wearable. This isn't going to draw negative attention at work unless your office is super conservative. It went on really nicely,  and looks good on my whiteness. Kind of a bear to remove, though.

More of these coming up. I really enjoy these kinds of glitters.

Happy Talons!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Finally!

After some doing, I got the pictures loaded to my computer, I have a ton of swatches for you, now I just need to get writing!

First up I have an oldie. But a goody. A moody polish that is perfect for those days you want something edgy, or for when you are just plain upset and can't stand a bright color. And that's the state I was in when I chose this. A bright color just wasn't going to work for me.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Stormy is one of those been around forever colors that Ji keeps in her repertoire and I'm glad she does. At some times in life, this is just the color you want, need, suits...I don't have a lot of pictures of it, though. I don't think if you're in the mood for Stormy that you're in the mood for swatching.

This is with flash and it's not at all color accurate, but it does show the underpinnings of the color and that's why I kept it. You can see the blue here. The next two pictures are more color accurate, but I wanted to show the kind of workings of the color. I'm not sure how to describe what I'm trying to say!

This is much more color accurate. You can see how in this lighting the color subdues, quiets. This is a really nice rich color. It's appropriate for anything, but there is something different in it. It's a color that will change a tone without your quite understanding why. I dare say I think there is something kind of unhappy in it. Maybe it's my projecting the feelings I had while wearing it into the color, but I think it's still a little true. I really like this, but you're not probably going to choose it for a Summer day.

Me with my nippers trying to show the kind of steeliness to the color. It's not a metallic, it's a straight cream, but it has that feel to it. Like a dark stormy sky. Hence the name, I'm sure. **facepalm**

This wore really quite well and it applied beautifully, of course. It's an RBL! I expect nothing less from this company. Rescue Beauty's are always quality.

I hope you like it! Sorry I didn't take more swatches. I don't know, I just was unmotivated for awhile.

Happier Talons!