Grapes of Gold

Aka Zoya Daul

So Zoya names all of their Polishes with women's names. So I'm thinking, WTF is Daul? I have never heard that name before, how do you even say it? So I Google it... The first page of results are some model named Daul Kim who hanged herself in 2009. Lovely. Mooooving on...

I'm really getting into painting my nails again for some reason, so I figured I might as well enjoy it while I can, because there will be no time for it with a newborn babe in the house. Plus, I'll be chopping all my nails off (well, as short as I can get them anyway) and keeping them that way for a while.

On to the Polish!

Daul in natural, indoor light, no flash. 

Sunlight.

Cost: I picked up this one at Ulta, where I think Zoya goes for $8. You can also get them from Zoya.com or Beauty First stores. I don't know of any reputable places to get them cheaper than $8, unfortunately.

What I used: I used Nailtek Foundation II, two coats of Daul, and a coat of Poshe fast dry topcoat

Application: Excellent. Zoya rarely disappoints, especially the foily colors. The shorter, wider brush is one of my favorites too, it really cuts down on Polish dripping and makes it really easy to cover a good portion of the nail and get a good line at the cuticle.

Color/Finish:This is a foily/glass fleck finish. The base color is a medium, cool-toned grape purple and the glass fleck is a yellow, almost coppery, gold. It's very very similar to Zoya Faye, but the purple is darker and cooler. From what I have seen, it's a dupe for Orly Oui (which I never bought because I thought it was a dupe for Faye!).

Most Awesome Polish EVER

Aka Ludurana Aurora Boreal in Show

No, seriously... For me, this is the Polish to end all Polish. I could wear this every day and never ever get sick of it. Unfortunately, my application and pictures kind of suck... Sorry about that.

No babbling for this one, here are the pics:

 Yes, I know this is blurry, but it shows the predominant colors best. When I wore it, this was mostly what color my nails were - this dark metallic aqua/teal with purplish magenta around the edges.

This shows more of the hard angle color shift... You can see the coppery orange at the very edge.

I believe I took these pics after 3 or 4 days of hard wear. It held up really well. This is somewhat color accurate, except that you couldn't see that darker blurple color most of the time.

 This color was NEVER flat. It always showed at least 2 colors, usually more, at the same time.

Another accurate one color-wise. The teal leaned slightly more green than shown here.

Cost: This was $14 at shop.Llarowe.com and worth every single penny (something I have said thus far for every Polish I have ordered from her site).

What I used: I used Nailtek Foundation II, a coat of Orly Bonder, two coats of Show, and a coat of Poshe fast dry topcoat

Application: Pretty good. I have heard bloggers describe Ozotics as being airy or fluffy when applied and I guess you could say this was sort of like that. It was definitely different than most polishes, maybe slightly thicker than normal, but not hard to control. It also seemed like it would be incredibly sheer and it wasn't at all! A lot of people apply these over black for that reason, but I really think this one looks best on its own.

Color/Finish: ZOMGWTFAMAZINGNESSS!!! It's a predominantly darker teal-aqua and purple-magenta multi-chrome that can also flash a darker blurple and coppery orange on the edges at more extreme angles. The finish is a metallic shimmer, but not chrome or foil.

Beach Nails

I AM GOING TO THE BEACH!!! Woo hoo! Leaving tomorrow night to drive to Holden Beach, NC for a whole week! This is the first time I have ever taken a real vacation that involves nothing but me sitting on my ass and doing whatever I want for an entire 7 days. Unfortunately, I have to be 29 weeks pregnant for it, but I'll take the bad with the good!

When placing my second order at shop.Llarowe.com, I kept my vacation in mind and found the perfect color for my nails and I give you....

Enchanted Ocean Potion!! This was really hard to photograph... This pic looks almost fake to me, but it was just my camera on the usual macro setting in full sun. It's definitely a more linear holo in real life than it shows here. It's also slightly more green and metallic looking.




Yeah, I know this pic is blurry and kinda sucks, I'm sorry, either the color or the holo made my camera freak out... this pic is most color accurate.

This is with flash and shows the holo better but removes most of the green from the color. I do like this color, but it's not accurate.

Cost: This was $15 at shop.Llarowe.com and worth every single penny. I ordered several more Enchanted Polishes and I currently have 2 from the Beatles Collection. I plan to buy pretty much all of them because they are so awesome, and this from someone who used to refuse to pay that much for Polish!

What I used: To give this, hopefully, more staying power, I used Nailtek Foundation II, a coat of Orly Bonder, two coats of Ocean Potion, a coat of Color Club Vivid topcoat and a coat of Poshe fast dry topcoat. We'll see if it helps it not chip in the sand and surf!

Application: EXCELLENT! Omg, everyone always complains about holos and how they bald after the first coat and are a pain to apply, yada yada. Nope, not this one, not at all. This applied totally smoothly in two opaque coats, it didn't drip, pool or drag, and I had minimal cleanup afterwards (from my own sloppiness). Not really a one-coater, but damn close. I am so impressed by the pigmentation and formula on this. Totally makes it worth every penny.

Color/Finish: This is a metallic aqua semi-strong linear holo. That's a mouthful! The color is on the lighter side of teal and just slightly more blue than green. The holo is very strong in sunlight and the particles are small and more linear than scattered. As with most holos, the effect is dulled indoors, but still visible.

This is so full of win! I am so happy I bought this, the other Enchanteds that I got with that order, and the ones I just ordered. They do NOT disappoint! I can't wait to review more of them.

Holo Yumminess (And My Renewed Polish Addiction)

Aka A-England Princess Tears (The Legends Collection)

I am pretty sure the princess is crying because this Polish is so effing AWESOME. Seriously, it's been a while since I have really been excited about Polish... It's become more of "Oh I want to get that one because it will be a good toe-Polish" or "I don't really have a color like that, I should get it"... until now.

I'd seen a post somewhere that Ozotic was discontinue some of their more awesome Polishes so I finally got my butt to Llarowe to make some purchases. Of course, while I was there, I threw a few more things that I had been wanting to try into my cart. Sadly (or fortunately for my bank account), so many of the things I wanted to try weren't in stock. So I ended up with a couple of Ozotics, a Ludurana (which seems to be an exact dupe for one of the Ozotics I got) and this gem.

Before I get on with the Polish, I just want to note that I have a renewed obsession for these unique and gorgeous Polishes. I can't wait to get more from A-England and I really, really want some Enchanted Polishes. I've been rather annoyed with all the blog posts lately of all the over-the-top (to me), glittery, chunky indie Polishes - just not my thing... but I can get behind some awesome holo-duochromey-goodiness. I see me placing some pretty pricey orders from Llarowe in the future.

Anyway, on to the awesome...

Outdoors, full sun, no flash:

You can see a bit of the pink/lilac duochrome on my ring finger.

The holo is definitely way more prominent outdoors in the sun.

Look at that holo goodiness!!! 

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I attempted an indoors shot to show how the holo translates out of the sun, but my camera kept focusing on everything BUT my nails! It's still a very lovely, subtle grey/lilac/pink mulitchrome indoors with a pretty sparkle and a hint of holo.

Where to buy: In case you didn't catch it above, here is where you can buy these: http://shop.llarowe.com/main.sc. They are $12 for 13ml or about .44 oz (bottle says 4 fl oz haha that'd be a LOT of Polish - and a great deal!)

What I used: 1 coat of Nailtek II Foundation, 2 coats of Princess Tears and 1 coat of Poshe.

Application: Pretty darn good! I don't have a lot of experience with holos, but I hear they can be a real pain. This one was great, opaque in 2 coats, very easy to control and no clean up required! The brush seemed a little stuff and weird, but actually worked perfect for a nice clean line - and the polish only went where I put it and spread nicely. I guess I was expecting some difficulty, it didn't give me any. My nails didn't exactly paint themselves, but great formula none-the-less. It can be slightly brushtrokey if you're super sloppy (like me), but it's hardly noticeable and most of them disappear entirely once dry. It's a little on the thick side so watch how much is on the brush.

Color/Finish: This is a subtle grey/pink/lilac multichrome base with a fairly strong linear holographic finish. I'd say the color is predominately lilac but the pink flash is fairly strong where the light hits the polish. In very dull lighting, it looks more silvery grey. The holo EXPLODES in sunlight but is still reasonably visible indoors.

Final Word: AWESOME. I seriously LOVE this Polish and plan on buying more from A-England. Even indoors with the muted holo, it's just a beautiful color and I keep looking at it. It makes me feel happy and anything medieval themed has a special place in my heart. I HIGHLY recommend this Polish and think it's 100% worth the $12 price tag.

Chrome Duochrome = LOVE

Aka OPI Just Spotted the Lizard

Today I have a Chanel dupe for you. The thought of paying $25 for a nail polish for myself is absolutely out of the question... It literally gives me heartburn. So when I picked up Chanel Peridot for my fellow Polishtarian, I had to take a few tums and remind myself how many giant martinis $25 would buy to resist the urge to but it for myself. My two Polish loves in life are duochrome and chrome... This is both.

I got over it eventually, but imagine my excitement when OPI FINALLY decided to do a dupe! I mean, yeah, Ciate and Jessica had dupes before OPI, but neither of those brands is readily accessible to me.

Anyway, on to the Polish!

With flash:

No flash:

Cost: $8 at BeautyFirst, Giant Eagle. I can't really think of any cheaper places online to buy OPI.

Application: Good. You have to be careful, because it is just a little frosty/streaky... Like - you'll get noticeable brushstrokes if you start the brush mid-nail. Other than that, very good application. Not too thin or thick and went where I wanted it.

What I used: 1 coat of Nailtek Foundation II, 3 coats of Just Spotted the Lizard and 1 coat of Poshe (my 3-free fast dry for pregnancy).

Dry time: The polish dried pretty fast, not as fast as actual chromes (thank goodness) and after the topcoat, it was dry within about 10 minutes.

Color: Awesome, shiny, chromey olive/moss/gold duochrome. The main color you see is a very yellow/brassy antiqued gold. The edges of the nail show a green that is sometimes olive, sometimes mossy and sometimes has just a slight hint of blue to it. Lower lights show more of the green and direct sunlight shows mostly gold.

An Open Letter to LUSH

Dear Lush,


Had I written this letter a few short months ago, I would have been singing your praises. You make the most delicious smelling, what I thought were natural, handmade beauty products. I have literally spent thousands (maybe even tens of thousands) of dollars on your products since becoming a Lushie only 4 short years ago. I swear by Cynthia Sylvia for my course, wavy hair and Big for the times I need to remove product build up and have amazing shine. I recently discovered the wonders of Dark Angels for my newly blemish prone skin. The scent of Olive Branch makes me happy and nostalgic.


This was all until I learned to read, REALLY read, labels. Until I got to know which ingredients in cosmetics and food were no-nos and even MORE dangerous during pregnancy. Even then, I figured my "Earth-friendly" LUSH products would surely be safe - environmentalist hippies don't put harmful chemicals all over their bodies, right?! Well... I guess I wrongfully assumed that a company who claims to care so much about the environment that they go out of their way to get "sustainably produced" materials would care about the environment (and health of their customers) enough to not put harmful chemicals into products that are eventually going to end up in the water supplies (after spending a significant amount of time on the skin of human beings).


Ok, so you're probably wondering what chemicals I am complaining about (at least, I hope you are wondering and that you're not perfectly aware of the dangerous garbage in your products)... Let's start here - a database trusted by most of the beauty community that rates companies, products and ingredients for safety.         Lush gets a pretty bad rating for a supposedly "green" company. Now, let me step back for a second and be fair:


I can't find anywhere on your site where you claim to be "All Natural", "Organic" or "Healthy". However, here are some misleading (at best) tidbits taken directly from your website (pages linked to text and italicized emphasis is mine):

• We believe in making effective products from fresh, organic* fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics.
  

• We invent our own products and fragrances. We make them fresh by hand using little or no preservative (emphasis mine) or packaging, using only vegetarian ingredients, and tell you when they were made. 
  

• At LUSH, we believe in protecting people, animals and the planet. 

• The core of our philosophy is based on the highest levels of ethical standards with the lowest possible impact on the environment.
  

• We choose to give our love (and money) to suppliers that respect the environment, as well as the animals and people living there. (hey LUSH, who supplies your parabens?)

• As we share our water with the entire planet, we feel that it is a precious resource. With only 326 million cubic miles of water on the earth, the decreasing amounts of access to quality fresh water is what bothers us most. (So you want people using harmful chemicals in the bath/shower to dump those chemicals into the water supply?)

Let's get to the specific ingredients, shall we? I link back to your statements on said ingredients.



Parabens (including methylparaben and propylparaben): I find this part of your lame explanation for using this ingredient quite amusing - " They are used globally and are permitted by every world health authority (500 independent safety studies have been carried out over the decades). Scare-mongering ‘studies’ into their potentially negative effects have now been widely debunked. " Did you know that aspartame, for example, has been proven unsafe in studies time and time again, but those studies are either not permitted to submit their results or can't get sufficient funding because of corporate monopolies and influence on the FDA? Regardless, here is some of the REAL info on parabens (there is a reason why so many companies can use "Paraben-free" as a major selling point for their products and why companies like Sephora specifically allow you to search for paraben free products)...

• Most recently, a study was done that found parabens in 99% of breast cancer patient. 99% 
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jat.1786/abstract

• Endocrine disruption, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Biochemical or cellular level changes - http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/703937/METHYLPARABEN/ 
  
• Intact parabens found in breast cancer tumors: http://www.eves-best.com/the-danger-of-parabens.htm 
  
• Breast cancer, eye and skin damage, male reproductive harm (with cited sources):  http://www.livestrong.com/article/21581-dangers-methylparaben/
  
• http://website.lineone.net/~mwarhurst/parabens.html 
  

You also state "Parabens occur naturally in some fruits and vegetables, including blueberries." Many "harmful" chemicals are found in nature, some that are equally if not MORE harmful in their natural form and some that are perfectly benign in nature because they are bound. Take cyanide for example - found in such natural items as apple seeds and apricot kernels. Cyanide on its own is HIGHLY toxic even in small amounts, however, when found in seeds of fruit, it is bound by other elements and is perfectly safe to consume. See more about Laetrile and B17 here. To make a long story short - arguing that it must be safe because it's found in blueberries and blueberries are safe is a complete logical fallacy.




Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate - Again, there is a reason why "Sulfate-free" is a huge selling point with cosmetics!

• Sodium lauryl sulfate is used throughout the world for clinical testing as a primary skin irritant
  
•  - http://www.healthy-communications.com/slsmostdangerousirritant.html
  
• Carcinogenic nitrosamines can form in the manufacturing of sodium lauryl sulfate or by its inter-reaction with other nitrogen-bearing ingredients within a formulation utilizing this ingredient. -  http://www.jasoncosmetics.com/sodium_lauryl_sulfate.html 
  
• Common contamination during processing with carcinogens -  http://www.greenwala.com/channels/eco-beauty/blog/13312-Sodium-Laureth-Sulfate-Dangers
  
• The US Federal Food and Drug Administration has encouraged manufacturers to remove SLS as an ingredient, although to-date there are no federal regulations to reinforce the removal of SLS. -  http://www.earthturns.com/Chemical-Free-Sodium-Lauryl-Sulfate-a/156.htm 
  

Perfume/Parfum: Going to be short and sweet about this one. Listing this in ingredients is a common way to hide over 3000 synthetic chemicals http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/fragrance-and-parfum/. The FDA doesn't force listing certain ingredients that scent the item so that companies can "protect" proprietary scent blends (sounds like a load of eau de poo poo to me). Why not just be 100% transparent, LUSH? Or would you rather your hippie-dippy customers not know that you are dumping environmentally unsafe chemicals into your products? I see no other reason to hide what is used to fragrance your items.




Linalool/Limonene: These are a little harder to find info for. You say on your website that they are found naturally in essential oils, but if that were the case with your products, why list them individually instead of just listing the essential oil? Is it mandatory to list these? If so, why? Are you adding additional, so that it must be listed separately? Forgive me, but your record of non-transparency precedes you, so I have a hard time assuming you're listing these for the purpose of transparency because they are known allergens. Here is some of the info I did find:

•   Linalool - Found in hand and Vaseline lotion, shampoo, bar soap, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergent, shaving products and nail enamel remover, Linalool is a type of narcotic. It has been shown to cause respiratory problems and disorders of the central nervous system. Results from animal testing indicated that Linalool is poisonous to bees and other animals, as it diminishes heart and respiratory activity.   https://www.facebook.com/notes/hannd-picked-organics/dangerous-chemicals-101-toxic-chemicals-in-lotions-shampoos/112879405420233 
  
• Linalool: A narcotic that causes CNS disorders and respiratory disturbances, which, in animal testing, have led to death.  http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/0608/softener.htm 
  
• LIMONENE (in: perfume, cologne, disinfectant spray, bar soap, shaving cream, deodorants, nail color and remover, fabric softener, dishwashing liquid, air fresheners, after shave, bleach, paint and varnish remover) - Carcinogenic. "Prevent its contact with skin or eyes because it is an irritant and sensitizer." "Always wash thoroughly after using this material and before eating, drinking, ...applying cosmetics. Do not inhale limonene vapor."                             LINALOOL (in: perfume, cologne, bar soap, shampoo, hand lotion, nail enamel remover, hairspray, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, vaseline lotion, air fresheners, bleach powder, fabric softener, shaving cream, after shave, solid deodorant) - Narcotic. ..."respiratory disturbances" ... "Attracts bees." "In animal tests: ataxic gait, reduced spontaneous motor activity and depression ... development of respiratory disturbances leading to death." ..."depressed frog-heart activity." Causes CNS disorder. http://www.ecomall.com/greenshopping/hrfragrance.htm 

The parabens alone are enough to make me stop using LUSH products. Sadly, I must now throw away my large half-full bottle of Cynthia as well as my almost brand new container of Lemony Flutter. I am going to really, really miss my $10 bubble bar/bath bomb combo baths, but they have gone from a relaxing bit of luxury to a toxic soup in which I soak my vulnerable body. I refuse to use even your products without questionable ingredients, as a matter of principle. That means I am going to be throwing away over $500 worth of Lush products, including a never used block of henna, various soaps, scalp oil, shampoos, lotions, toner and various lip products. I feel really betrayed LUSH, but it's not your fault, I have no one to blame but myself. Had I known 4 years ago what I know now, I never would have made that first $200 purchase that turned me into a $100+/month Lushie. 


I sincerely hope that you start spending half as much time actually caring about the health of your customers and the environment as you do coming up with marketing gimmicks based on those "principles" and posting your cause of the week. By the way, most of the items above are tested on animals, so you really can't call any of the many, many products containing them "cruelty-free". Though, I would certainly rather these things be tested on lab rats than my unborn child.


Sincerely,
Trbobitch

I'm Havin' a BABAY!

No, not a clever title for a Polish, I am really going to have another baby :-) It happened really fast, the first month we tried!!

I also moved over the holidays, so my nails are in HORRENDOUS shape. My cuticles are dry, cracking, peeling and, in some places, completely gone! UGH! Not to mention, my nails have been breaking like crazy (very very unusual for me). I had them completely bare for about a week, that was after having a week plus old mani that I finally took off.

I'm still up in the air about whether or not I think polishing my nails is safe at this time (there are definitely polishes I know I have to stay away from). I know I won't be doing it daily. I also have to stay away from my beloved Seche Vite :-( So, needless to say, there will be a bit of a posting hiatus.

There are also other nail care products that I will have to avoid, so I am wondering if anyone has any all natural remedy for awful cuticles? Please help, I don't want ugly fingers!!