CND VinyLux - Wow

BMWWU put this on me last time, two weeks ago. It's a new system from CND.

I've never been a big CND user, I just never got into them. I know they make a great product, I understand them to be cruelty free, but I never jumped on that band wagon. It's not something I can go anywhere locally and look at or buy because I don't have a license of any kind. I'm just a simple addict. They were one of the spearheaders of the gel revolution but I hope this well overtakes that trend because I do not like so many things about gels, it's well documented in this blog. The removal, in particular, plus all that extra UV light exposure. I don't like it. It peeled, it yellowed, it damaged my nails...blah. Hate.

Well, I let her do this because it didn't require all that mess. And it's uh-may-zing. I only have the one swatch because I don't have this color, it's BMWWU's and while I had intended to photo the wear after EIGHT DAYS (yeah, you read that right) I kind of spaced. Plus, while I don't mind reviewing colors she's applied, for wear discussion I like to apply for myself. The reason being I'm not trained, I'm no expert. I'm a regular gal, I've learned from the school of hard knocks and maybe I won't always do things exactly as they should be done from plain old lack of experience and know-how. You know, probably a lot like you.

So the deal is, with this VinyLux there is no base coat. You DO have to have their top coat, but I bought mine for the same price as the polish, so bonus. There is a wide array of colors, something to suit everyone, and the price point where I bought mine is so completely affordable. The color I'm going to show you is "Coming Soon" there, but I have faith in this e-tailer. I've bought from them many times and always had great service and fast shipping. The only thing I find them not very competitive on is Ruby Wing and the Color Club Halo Hues collection, which is an amazing holo collection but they are not marked down. They're too popular, I think. I can do best on Ruby Wing at Meijer, if you have those where you are. $5/bottle as opposed to $8 everywhere else. I do love those, too. They're so fun.

...

Hope no one from Meijer is reading this! Don't mark them up, please!

I was afraid of staining, this is a pretty vibrant color but there was none and it removed like normal polish. It took a little bit of soaking the cotton ball on there just to make life easier, but that was my own choice. It certainly does NOT require soaking your nails like gels, not by a long shot. I've tortured you long enough.

Here's the color:

Limeade. And OOOO. I checked the spelling on that to be sure and discovered one of the ones I'm lemming is no longer "Coming Soon" but full on arrived! DANG! I have no fundage. CRAP. Being a grown up sucks.

OK, back to the regularly scheduled programming. This is listed as a "Semi-Sheer" but we didn't like that look so this is 3 coats. The polish will not dry on it's own, you MUST have the top coat. Their top coat, the special kind. It has all kinds of hocus pocus stuff on it about how it's supposed to work which experience has taught me...take with a grain of salt. I don't know how it works and I don't really care to be honest. It will harden in ambient light, though if you have a UV or LED light it sure won't hurt it to sit in there for a little while. (Wear sun screen!) The idea is that as this is exposed to ambient light it will continue to harden and I did find that to be true.

This wore for a solid 8 days before I got so restless and sick of the color I had to remove it. It probably could have skated longer. The right hand was showing signs of tip wear and some minor chipping. I don't know if you can repair this or not, as I've mentioned this one isn't mine.

Because of the nature of this polish the top coat comes in a black bottle which I would keep in a drawer in the box. As soon as it sees ambient light, it's going to start to cure. BMWWU said she's seen signs of it thickening just from applying it on people. The polishes are in regular clear bottles, which is nice because you can see where your usage is. I don't like that about gels either. Is there anything I like about gels? Nothing is coming to mind....

Ok, so where to look into buying. 8ty8beauty.com - creative

I like this e-tailer a lot. Tons of product, great prices, I mean, look at the China Glaze and Orly prices if you don't believe me, or Seche, or Poshe...those aren't AS discounted but still a little better. If you can tag them on another order you blend them in on shipping and it works out. They no longer carry OPI, not that I care, but you may. They were culled in the great OPI hate the little e-tailer raid of a few years ago. However $3 for Color Club? Hells yeah. They ship fast, they carry a ton of stuff and I've never had a problem. I don't know what these VinyLux are going for at salons but I bet it's not $5.25. I also love that they have listed the colors and told you sheer, opaque, etc. That's stuff you just can't tell from a website unless they help you out. Nice size pics on these as well.

If you're interested, there is a mini set available for a little bit of nothing. It has 4 mini colors and a mini top coat. Great way to try a nice variety of their colors and finishes and this new system without investing a ton. The entire set is less than a luxury brand and I almost guarantee it will wear a lot better.

So that's what I know on that!

Gonna give it a shot? I think you'll really like it.

Happy Talons!

The new love of my life

I had to share this with you because let's face it, getting that special photo of the love of your life can be challenging. Especially when we're talking about an energetic lively soul who just can't sit still.

Please meet Mina, my puppy. I have had her since May and I adore her. She's a lap puppy, which I love. I've never had one but always wanted one. Pekingese tend to need to grow into their faces, which she's doing now. I was concerned because her eyes were so prominent, so easy for a cat to scratch or to get hurt while playing, but her forehead is starting to come around and I think she's going to turn into a lovely flat faced girl. I miss my Molly so much, but having Mina does help. She's a completely different personality than Molly and I'm grateful she's all black and white rather than the lovely fawn brown that Molly was. It just makes it a little easier and feels less like I've replaced her.

We also got Mina's half sister, same Daddy different Mommies, but she seems to defy naming. Three months and nothing has really stuck. By default she seems to be Angel or Cookie Wookie (my doing). I would have chosen something by now but she's not mine so Angel Cookie Wookie is usually what I call her. I don't think Angel suits her at all, not because she isn't one, she just doesn't seem to care for the name at all. Mina, on the other hand, took immediately to it. I had wanted to call her Domino, but she didn't give a rat's ass about that. When I called her Mina she looked up, licked my chin and turned her head to it every time after that. We think we choose, but we don't. They do. Don't kid yourself. I think maybe Sadie would be a good name for Cookie Wookie...or just Cookie. Or Wookie. But...no convincing Moms, whose puppy she is.
She has a perfect head already, she's still growing into her muzzle, and her eyebrows are a new development, but she is already so pretty. And so MELLOW. Mina is go go go, Cookie Wookie is more meeehhhhh...whatevsies. 

I'm so glad we got two. They play and keep each other company. Of course, that's twice the mess, twice the training, twice the food and upkeep...also twice as many puppies to fight in your lap!

This is a pretty common thing. Fierce, aren't they?! LOL I think because Mina and I have chosen each other, whenever there is playing going on and I'm at puppy level, Mina will conduct battle from my lap or right next to me. Adorbs!

I hope you enjoyed meeting them!

In editing these I realized I have so many swatches out there for you. Oh my. I'm so far behind. And so much great stuff has come out, too. I haven't been able to jump on every band wagon, my life flat needs a change and money is essential to making that happen, which means I need to spend less of it. Period. But I've got on some. I will have a post up tomorrow to show you a new product that I think is pretty great. I did invest in some of this, but it wasn't a large investment at all and I'll tell you all about that as well.

Happy Talons! And FANGS! Look at those choppers! LOL

Good Lord. A new Cruelty Free brand - Haven't tried it yet

Yes, guys, I do know I've just been babbling at you lately and not posting pictures or reviews and I have some stuff I DO really want to show you.

Maybe I will just do that. I have a new phone, great, GREAT camera, and honestly, I haven't totally figured out how to use it all yet. I can do what I gotta. That's about as far as I've got with it.

However, I simply HAD to share with you all my discovery through Vampy Varnish (hope she doesn't mind me linking back to her!) of a new polish which comes in...bootay shaped bottles. She's actually reviewed it for you there, so please check that out if you're interested.

Yeah. It's kinda crazy, but there are some interesting duo-chromes in here so I'm intrigued. I am trying to be on an essentials only shopping lock down and I'm not doing too badly. I did pick up one Wet-n-Wild Fergie color I'd never seen before, which is beautiful, but a $3.50 lack of discipline I can manage.

So here's the linky: BootieBabe.com

Tell me what you think!

Thank you, Ji

OK, so I think I mentioned I had faith that Ji Baek at Rescue Beauty Lounge would do right by us fans. She is trying to get more Scrangie 2.0 to be available for a fall release with the next collection.

I feel better that she's heard us.

Thank you, Ji!

Disappointment and my disappearance

I'd love to tell you I'm back, I'm blogging, I'm loving life. I'm not. I've been going through a great deal of random crap. I'm broke, I mean, dead broke. Don't have lunch money kinda broke. June was a rough fiscal month. So my go to feel better strategy, which I DO NOT recommend, lads. Do NOT! Shopping for polish and make up and jewelry, is not even viable. Not to say I haven't been doing some of it. I'm sorry, the ModelsOwn sale is ON. Go hit it. Box sets of gorge for 20BPS? I was so there! But my financial sitch guaranteed I could only get one set and update my HedKandi collection. (Excited for Bora Bora!) I must be on a no buy. I must. A no buy from EVERYTHING, mind you. Excepting essentials. You know, like dinner. Because lunch is not in the budget.

Given this horrible situation should fall right when the Rescue Beauty Lounge Blogger collection 2.0 was coming out...*sigh* All I can really say is *sigh*. However. And you know I love RBL, I was in the first round of ReBeLs to sign up for the Lounge online, I have been a ReBeL since freaking Black Russian was new. Yes. That long. (and it's fab go pick it up) So I try, I try to find a way to pre-order because pre-order is the shit. You know you'll get your polish and it's all good. Only...by the time I could get to the computer and try to find a way to make this happen financially...Scrangie's new one was already sold out. In pre-order. I don't know how the business works, I don't know how the polishes are created and supplied and I'm not really interested in becoming a blogger with a polish business. I think lots of others do this better. Ji Baek, who owns RBL is one of those. But it sold out? It kind of poisoned the collection for me, I have to admit. I was so disappointed. I tried to order the others and wound up not doing it. It sold out in less than 24 hours. I haven't been back to find out what is going to happen now. I was just...deflated. I've been deflated a lot lately. Literally. I've been losing weight, through no magical process of my own, I promise you. Or maybe it is because I don't know how I'm doing it...but still. Regardless. I digress. Bet you guys have missed that, haven't you? LOL

Now mind you...I had seen Scrangie's post on her polish and it's pretty but I wasn't that jacked about it. Olives don't look that great on me, they're OK, and they don't go with anything I wear, not makeup or clothes...but I was interested. It's to have an oil slick appearance and that's intriguing. However, in the swatches she posted, it looked primarily olive to me. I apologize Scrangie, if it's actually not! That's what I saw. It was sort of the principle of the thing. Wha-huh? Gone already? HOW? I assume they get a certain number of bottles, they throw the pre-sale out there and then when those are filled they release it to the not so big of fans who don't get the emails? Maybe? I guess?

I'm not swearing off RBL, far from it. I am going to try to pick up what I can when they release to the public if I have any fundage, which is debatable. But I feel kinda spurned...kind of kicked. How dare I have a job that is so freaking up tight that I have to watch every internet usage and not be able to hit the pre-sale right when it's announced? Who do I think I am to not make that my number one priority? That I didn't have the money is irrelevant because that's my problem. The thing is, I couldn't get the entire collection even if I did have it. How dare I have to spend my evening comforting a bestie going through hell rather than rearranging my limited resources to buy polish?

I know this is not what RBL is saying, I know Ji is probably scrambling her brains to try to fix this for us, I have faith. Maybe everything else I'm going through right now is coloring my perception. I'm sure she was shocked and amazed to have that kind of turn-out in pre-sale, probably was blind sided by that. And that's great. It means her business is booming, it's growing. I'm happy for that. No ill feelings at all. If she ever reads this post, Ji, I'm telling you! I love you! I love your polish! I love you read and talk about what you're reading on your blog! (I'm reading smut. We don't talk about that. And no, not 50 Shades of badly written smut, either.)

But still...I feel a little rejected.

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Thanks Kell!