Hydrated Chromium(III) Oxide

... a blue-green pigment of medium saturation and relatively dark in value.

Aka Illamasqua Viridian


That's how wikipedia (heart!) described viridian. Illamasqua describes this Polish as Metallic peacock green. I think that works too.

This is a shapeshifter. It's not really a duochrome, but it appears different colors depending on the lighting. Indoors, it's a standard forest green shimmer. Outdoors, in the sun, you see way more blue making it more of a teal color.

Price: 13.50 GBP (approx. $21.31) on Illamasqua.com or $14 on Sephora.com (unless you're lucky enough to live near a Sephora brick-and-mortar that carries these).

What I used: One coat of Nailtek Foundation II, 2 coats of Viridian, one coat of Seche Vite.

Application/formula: Very nice. This was slightly more watery than the other Illamasquas I have tried, but still a very, very good formula. Went where I wanted it to go, no pooling, dripping or balding. It even dried pretty fast. I only had to wait about a minute and a half before doing the second coat. Also, completely opaque in 2 coats (definitely needs 2). Not much else to say except typical Illamasqua loveliness.

Sorry if the reflections on the pics make my nails look lumpy. I assure you those are just reflections (because it's so shiny!) and this is a smooth as a baby's butt.

Little By Little...

I am losing my freaking sanity over this freaking POLISH!

Aka Rescue Beauty Lounge Poco a Poco (pretentious Italian music term meaning "little by little", duh)

As I have mentioned before, my first RBL purchase was the "Firebird" collection. There's a story behind it, but I won't get into it because I am so absolutely disgusted that I spent $18 a pop for these horrendous Polishes.

My only experience with RBL before this was second hand. My friend at work got me hooked on Polish a couple of years ago and, when her addiction far exceeded mine (it only slightly exceeds mine now), she started buying these "$18 Polishes" and I thought she was out of her mind. Then I started reading Polish blogs and seeing all these rave reviews over the formula, I became intrigued. When one of my favorite bloggers posted the Firebird collection, I had to have it.

I coughed up $60 for 3 Polishes from the collection. They all have fancy Italian names, so let's call them "the blue one", "the pink one" (the one I am showing you today) and "the really light lavender one". The best of the three is the blue one. Good pigmentation but still not an $18 formula. The lavender one took forever to dry and went on very goopy and sheer. The pink one... well... Let's look at some pics first:

Ok, very pretty color, I will give it that. And unique, as far as I know. After all, that's why I bought these. This pic is outside with flash. There's not going to be any sun in Pittsburgh until about May, so I have to work with what I have here. Doesn't look too bad, right? I will say, the pink is a bit darker and more mauvey than shown here.

Hmmm, what do we have here? See that bump on my middle finger? Yeah, I didn't nick the Polish... That, my friends, is a brush hair. Yes, I kid you not. On the THIRD coat, one of the hairs from the crappy, floppy, bendy brush fell out, onto my nail and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.

Ok, I could have removed and repainted, but this formula was so damn frustrating, that was the last thing I wanted to do. I didn't even bother cleaning up or moisturizing, so excuse the Seche fingers and ragged cuticles.

What I used: 2 coats of Nailtek foundation II, THREE coats of ($18) RBL poco a crappo, and one coat of Seche. Thank god for Seche Vite.

Application/formula: BIG FAT F. F for FAIL. EF for EPIC FAIL. No, seriously, I am so angry with this Polish right now, I am considering crushing it with a hammer and sending the pics to RBL. First coat, applied very thin, was watery but dry. It seemed like I never had enough polish on the brush to cover my nail. I just cut my nails, so it's not like they are unusually long or anything. Other than that, though, first coat wasn't too bad. Mind you, this is the second time I have tried this Polish with the same results. Second coat was when the trouble really started. I made sure I waited until the first coat was almost totally dry (still just slightly tacky, which is more time than I usually wait for coat 2). I started applying the second coat and I had the same issue with what seemed like never enough polish on the brush, so I used thicker coats, as I had no choice. This is when the first coat decided "no, I'm not really dry" and it seemed like I was applying Polish over wet polish and making a huge mess. I waited even longer for the third coat, because it needed a third coat. Pretty much the same thing, so what I ended up with was a goopy, uneven mess, with a brush hair in it, to boot! Applying the Seche really helped even things out, but I am not happy at all.

The brush sucks. Once again, it's a floppy, bendy disaster. When I say bendy, I mean that when I go to apply to the nail and start farther up than I mean to, so I can push back toward the cuticle and get a clean line, instead of moving the Polish, the damn brush bristles would BEND. I have no words for this... Ok, maybe I do: UNACCEPTABLE! Seriously, I paid $18 for a crappy formula in a smaller than average bottle and you can't even give me a decent brush with which to apply said crappy formula???

$18, ladies and gentlemen. Yes, I am harping. I paid $60 for 3 friggin Polishes and have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, and yeah, I seriously DOUBT I will ever use them again (MAYBE only the blue one). I pay $3 for China Glaze, and while sometimes it is hit or miss, I have never used one with a formula (or brush) as bad as this. In fact, the Polishes from the Metro collection are some of the BEST Polishes (color- and formula-wise) I have EVER used. While I will gladly pay $14 a pop for Illamasqua, I will NEVER EVER AGAIN pay $18 for RBL.

After all this, and a coat of Seche, it's STILL not even close to dry (and I am typing away, hoping to screw it up so I have an excuse to take it off). 45 minutes was how long this mani took me. I am usually done and dry in 20 minutes TOPS. What, exactly, did I pay $18 for again? Maybe I can use it to sign xmas cards or something.

***Update: I posted this at about 2:00, which was about 15 minutes AFTER I had finished the mani. It's now 3:30, so almost 2 hours after I FINISHED the mani. Guess what? It's STILL not dry. I can lightly tap a nail with the edge of another nail and get a nice, big dent. So wonderful.

Big Burrito Nails

Aka Even an Envelope Can Be Inspiring

So my wonderful non-state-sanctioned husband is a subscriber to the "Big Burrito mailing list"... It's basically a restaurant franchise that includes Mad Mex and Casbah here in Pittsburgh. And now you're asking "WTF does this have to do with nails, Trbo?" And I answer, "Stop being so damn impatient! I'm getting there!"

Sorry, didn't mean to yell at you. Anyway, he got some holiday coupons from Big Burrito (nothing to write home about really - $10 off an entree at a place that's approx $60/plate? I'd feel totally ghetto pulling out that coupon, I have to say). They came in this gorgeous metallic/shimmery/matte green envelope. I told him that I needed a nail polish that color. To which he replied something like "you mean you don't already have that color? I don't believe it."

So, I set out to recreate that beautiful envelope... (Picture of said envelope is, sadly, unavailable)

Ok, wipe your chin, there's a little drool...

Here's what I used: One coat of Nailtek Foundation II, 2 coats of Sephora nail color in Prom Night (not to be confused with $OPI, these are the little mini Sephora brand Polishes), one coat of CND Effects in Gold Pearl and 2 coats of Essie Matte About You topcoat.

Application: Sephora Polish - Very nice. Love the brushes in these. They're like the Sally Hansen Instadri brushes if those brushes were done right and not put in a horrible Polish formula. Flat, thick and rounded at the edges. Plus, it's  mini bottle so the stem on the brush isn't too long causing dripping. They're also not so wide that they splay off the nail. It was opaque in 2 coats.
CND Effects - Ok, this one is a "pearl" which pretty much translates to "Hello, brushstrokes!" but other than that it applied nicely.

I am really digging the matte over shimmer/frost. It's still very shiny, but satiny shiny instead of glossy shiny. It looks like metallic velvet to me.

So did I get close to the envelope color? Well, I don't have the envelope handy to compare, but I will say there was much less yellow in it. If they had "silver pearl", it would have worked better. Alas, this is what I had to work with and I am quite pleased with the outcome.

Heart Purple

I LOOOOOVE purple. So much in fact, that I caught myself using purple twice in a row (I usually change it up every time). 

I got a couple of hauls from transdesign and Sally's, plus a nice little gem of a Polish at Ross. Have a look:

This was after a couple of days of wear. It's Essie Sexy Divide ($8 at Transdesign.com or at Giant Eagle and Rite Aid) with CND Sapphire Sparkle ($5.50 at transdesign.com). This was taken with my Droid without flash (damn mercury bulbs!!)

With flash. Isn't that sparkle DIVINE?? It's a predominantly blue (very bright and almost teal) sparkle that flashes a purple/pink color. Duochrome sparkle? I'm in! Sexy Divide applied well, 2 coats over Nailtek Foundation II, one coat of Sparkle and one coat of Seche Vite.

*@&*#&*^!*$)($$!!!!!!!!!! Do you see this??? Yes, slightly less blue than shown... this color is effing AMAZING! It's Cosmetic Arts, made by Forsythe - makers of Color Club and Fingerpaints, and found at Ross Dress for Less for $1.99. I have a few of their Polishes and really like them. This one was a bit watery, but in a weird way. It was watery but didn't want to spread very well. You'd normally think that watery would mean a dripping, pooling mess. It wasn't awful, but not top-notch formula either. It did reach opacity in 2 coats, however, and dried super fast (and semi-matte, which makes me think there is some neon pigment in there).

The accent nail is a brand I have never heard of before that I picked up at Rite Aid for $3.99. It's Hedy's ma.nish.ma. holographic nail color. That's what the brand is called. The color is Blaster. I don't see much holo but it is sparkly and duochrome-y. There are tiny pink and blue sparkles suspended in what look like a milky, lavender base. One coat, went on nicely, not much else to report expect the $4 bottle is pretty small - .22 oz. Not really worth it for what amounts to a layering Polish that I probably won't use much.

Proof of My Addiction (AKA BIG Sephora haul)

So I've been thinking about how much money I spend on cosmetics. I even had a convo with a fellow beauty hoarder. We've come to the consensus that this is "Collector's Mentality" combined with a little Retail Therapy. Stuff looks cool, we buy it, we admire it, we stash it and we may or may not ever use, or even look at, it again.

Who cares, though? On to the HAUL!

As proof of my above assessment, I bought this sweet lipstick sampler from Kat Von D, and I don't even particularly care for or wear lipstick:

How could I resist? These things are quite tiny, but that's actually perfect because I have yet to ever use an entire lipstick. The only one I know I will NEVER wear is the second one from the left. It's called Backstage Bambi and makes me think of a cheap hooker (as does the word "Bambi", which makes the name perfect). I am going to try to actually swatch all of this stuff later, but I wanted to at least share it now.

Next up, something I have been drooling over since I saw it and also something I will actually use:

Ahh, the Too Faced Sweet Dreams palette. I bought the holiday palette last year... some deal with all kinds of glittery pin-up style fairy ladies all over it... and I use it ALL the time. I think I use that one more than my Urban Decay. One of the shadows, Teddy Bear, is the perfect matte color for my brows.

Anyway, look how AWESOME this is! Some of the colors are dupes from last year, some seem to be exclusive to this palette (unlike last year, they have names instead of just being labeled as "Exclusive", duh) and some are from their new shadow collection (Enchanted Garden or some similar fluffy crap).

There are 15 eye shadows, 2 blushes, a bronzer and their "Candlelight Glow" powder (which I am pretty stoked about because I've been looking for a good highlighter). It also came with a full sized shadow insurance (YAY!!! My other one that I got last year is almost gone). I can't wait to try this!! Particularly, Nice Stems! (the green).

Then I got one of the new Urban Decay travel sized 24/7 Liner sets (The bright one):

I got it mostly for that green one. Forget what it's called but the swatches looked amazing (and it is). Perversion (the black) is a SUPER black matte. I can't wait to try it.

This was my 500 point perk. Boxum Passport thingie. It's in a shiny, pleather looking passport case. It's got a mini lipstick, full-sized gloss and mini mascara. I've been wanting to try their lipstick (and this one is a great nude color). I did try this mascara and I really like it so far. The gloss was a bit on the pink and sparkly side, but I actually liked it, so did my boyfriend, even though he ended up with sparkles all over his face (we kiss a lot, that's why I don't wear crap on my lips, usually).

And last, the only thing I was really disappointed about: LaVanila Vanilla Blackberry. I have 2 LaVanila perfumes and LOVE them both (Pure Vanilla and Vanilla Passionfruit). Awesome Boyfriend calls the Pure Vanilla (of which I also have the body butter and deodorant) "The Secret Weapon". This one? Blech. Seriously, it smells like old lady. I smell some blackberry, no vanilla and lots of old lady. Oh well, that's what I get for buying a fragrance online. I do plan to do a review of my other ones, as I do really really love them. Mostly because they smell good, but also because they are natural, don't smell synthetic and don't make my eyes water.

I also got 4 Illamasqua Polishes: Load, Force, Jo'Mina and Rare. All of which will be reviewed separately (aside from Load, which I did in my last post).

Oops, Honey, I Think I Stuck My Hand In It

Yeah, seriously. I'm not kidding... Why, you ask?? Blame Illamasqua...

Aka Illamasqua Load


Yep, you heard me. LOAD. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!

It's actually quite a delicious color, even with that name. It looks like butter. REAL butter, not that awful hydrogenated oil crap that your body has no idea what to do with. It's only slightly less yellow than shown in this pic (thanks again, mercury bulbs and crappy Pittsburgh weather!).

Cost: Illamasqua retails for 13.50 GBP on their site http://www.illamasqua.com, I'm not sure of the exact exchange rate of GBP to Dollars, but given the constant and considerate devaluation of the American currency by the Federal Reserve Bank (hyper-inflation caused by printing fiat money), I'd imagine this is quite a bit more than $13. Anyway, it's easier to get some of their colors (like this one) at Sephora.com for $14. I used my FF 20% code to get 4 of these, since I refuse to pay $14 for Polish after my awful experience with paying $18 for Rescue Beauty Lounge. I digress.

What I used: One coat of Nailtek Foundation II, 3 coats of Load (I giggle every time, I swear) and one coat of Seche Vite.

Application: Well, it's white, with a yellow undertone (overtone? - whatever). Application was... well... spotty to say the least. It wasn't necessarily bad, in fact, better than I'd expect for a color like this. It's a little sheer and milky. I think if there had been a bit more pigmentation, it would have applied better, but not looked as awesome - maybe more chalky. This isn't chalky at all. First coat is a streaky awful mess, second coat starts to even out and third coat is absolutely necessary to even everything out completely. You have to be careful though, as there is definitely some balding that will occur if you don't let it dry sufficiently between coats. You don't have to let it dry completely, but I am the Queen of waiting a whole minute and a half between coats and that doesn't really fly with this one.

Dry time: Good on the Polish alone. Faster than most but not super fast and not so fast that you can't apply it nicely. With Seche, it was completely dry within 15 minutes.

Final verdict: A very wearable, flattering, white-ish Polish. The name, for me, makes it even more wearable hehe. Also, unique. I do not own nor have I even seen a color even remotely close to this. Winner!

What Happens to Your Nails After the Zombie Apocalypse (Also Great for Vampires)

Ok, maybe not... But I got this idea from the lovely Scrangie and while thinking about my makeup for my Vaccinated/Fluoridated Zombie costume, I thought this would be the perfect way to still have well manicured nails (the thought of putting dirt or smudgy stuff on my nails just wasn't flying with me). Have a looksee:

Excuse the background, I actually snapped this with my Droid to send to my friend and my boyfriend and I was extremely impressed with how well it turned out.

Doesn't it look like my nails are sliding off of my fingers in a bloody trail?!?!

Slightly different lighting. Some of these turned out weird because of the damned mercury bulbs in this house. Oh well, just another cause of my Zombification, I suppose. Maybe I'll hang one of those bulbs around my neck as part of my costume. Of course, in my inevitable drunken stupor, I might break it causing all of the party guests to have to flee to the outdoors in the freezing cold and rain for fresh air so they don't get mercury poisoning. Yeah, maybe not...

Much messier than Scrangie's, but I think it adds to the whole "OMG my nails are sliding off of my fingers!!!" look. Besides, this was just a test run and I had about 3 very large cups of coffee. Not conducive to smooth-lined manis, yet something I often do before painting my nails, because being tired isn't conducive to nice nails either.

Mercury lighting.

I did this shot to show how thick the matte polish is. Normally, I find it to be quite a pain, but it works out really well for this look, adding depth to make it look the way I want it (like my nails are sliding off in a bloody trail).

What I used: One coat of NailTek Foundation II, 2 coats of Essie Limited Addiction, 1-2 coats of Orly Iron Butterfly.

Cost: Essie retails for $8 in drugstores, Giant Eagle and on their website, but I think you can still get them at transdesign.com for $4. I got this one as part of a 4 piece mini cube (Winter 2010, I believe) which cost me $17. I got the Orly at Sally Beauty on clearance. I don't know if they even make this color any more, but I do believe it's a dupe for ManGlaze Fuggen Ugly (what Scrangie used in her version). You could also probably use any black with small silver glitter and a matte topcoat just on that part.

Application: I love Essie Polish. Most of them apply beautifully, and this one is no exception. It went on beautifully in 2 coats. The matte Polish is a different story. Mattes dry REALLY fast so you have to work very quickly so as not to drag where you already put Polish. Hence the 1-2 coats for this. Some of them I screwed up and had to fill in a little. Plus, this one is really thick, which helped with only needing one coat, but made it a little harder to work with.

Dry time: Here's the tricky part... Essie isn't the fastest drying polish (it's not bad, just takes a little time) and again, the mattes "dry" really fast... EXCEPT, they're not really dry. I would recommend, since there are so many coats here, allowing the red to dry COMPLETELY before applying the matte. Then, you won't have tacky Polish under the matte which could cause you to really screw it up.

Musings: Limited Addiction is my ALL TIME FAVORITE red. It's a really beautiful blue/slightly brown based classic red almost jelly. Let me explain... Jelly Polishes have a nice semi-transparent, squishy feel. This one has that semi-transparent quality without the squishiness. It's almost like a semi-opaque stained glass. It looks great on my pale skin, but most reds I have tried look good on me; this one just looks REALLY good. It's also kind of a shape-shifter. In some lights, it's an almost vampy deep wine red, in other lights it's a bright, classic (but not pin-up) red. Really awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I bought a full-sized bottle, as my mini is over half gone, and that's with hundreds of other Polishes to choose from.

Oh, I guess I should also mention that this is called a "Ruffian Manicure"... I didn't know brutal people painted their nails... Or horses did. Hm...

First Sergeant Trbo

AKA China Glaze Westside Warrior

Hey, slacker!!! Drop and give me 20!!! This is the Polish I wear when I use my bullhorn to yell at my kids (and believe me, my big mouth doesn't NEED a bullhorn).

Ok, that's not entirely true. I yell at my kids through a bullhorn wearing other Polish colors. I mean, how difficult would it be if I had to change my Polish before yelling at my kids? They'd get away with whatever made me want to yell at them in the first place!!

Cost: $5.99 @ Sally Beauty or $2.99 @ http://transdesign.com/. This is from the fall Metro collection, which is a fantastic collection. All of the polishes I have tried so far from Metro are spot on.

Application: In a word? Excellent. This is a GREAT formula. Because I favor thinner brushes, CG has the perfect brush in my opinion - thin but not too thin, long but doesn't drip too badly and it spreads out perfectly allowing me to get a nice rounded edge at the base of the nail. The polish was just a bit on the thick side, but it wasn't too dry so it spread out nicely. It also allowed for thicker coats.

What I used: 1 coat of Nailtek Foundation II, 2 coats of Westside Warrior and 1 coat of Seche Vite.

Dry time: Because of Seche, it was dry enough to type within 5 minutes.

Musings: China Glaze is really on the mark lately. Getting them at Transdesign, they are super cheap and they perform better than a LOT of higher end Polishes I have tried. 

Don't Shoot, Mr. Cheney!!

AKA Essie Bright Tights


If I were out hunting with Dick Cheney, I would wear this color to avoid getting bird shot to the face. Just sayin.

That being said, if I came across some chick wearing tights this color, I would more than likely point and laugh.... OR take her on the hunting trip with me. Hmmm.


Cost: Essie - retails for $8. Limited availability in drugstores and Giant Eagle, Ulta. Also available online at essie.com and transdesign.com. I got this for 50% at the website mentioned, Essie is 50% all of September.

Application: Well, ...it's a neon. It applied ok for a neon, but typical to neons, it was a little streaky, it pulled and made bald spots in areas and took multiple coats to even out (not entirely, either). It was also very thin, which caused some cuticle pooling. Please remember that I have been described (by my lovely boyfriend) as impetuous, so perhaps if one waits more than 30 seconds between coats, it will apply better :-)

What I used: 1 coat of Nailtek II, 4 coats of Bright Tights, 1 coat of Seche Vite.

Dry time: Neons dry semi-matte and dry quickly. So quickly, in fact, that you have to work very fast when putting it on to prevent it building up over areas you already covered.

Color: Bright, neon, hunter's orange.

Holy Moly, Great Claws of Fire!

AKA Color Club Wild and Willing (over black)

OoooOOoOooooOOoO, sparkly goodness!!!

What I used: 1 coat of Nailtek II, 1 coat of Wet'n'Wild Wild Shine in Black, 2 coats of Wild and Willing, 1 coat of Seche Vite.

Cost: WW Black is $0.99 - seriously, this is THE BEST one-coat, opaque, fast drying Polish I have ever used, for NINETY NINE CENTS, people! It can be bought at pretty much any drug store. 
Color Club is $3 at transdesign.com.

Application: WW Black is a one coat black. Mine is getting a little thick but it still applied well. My only complaint is the brush - it's a little stiff and uneven. CC Wild and Willing is a bit sheer, that's why I used black under it, but it applies well.

Dry time: about 15 minutes or less with Seche Vite.

Color: Again, Wild and Willing is a bit sheer, so it's best to apply over black. Doing so REALLY brings out the duochrome, as well. It's a sparkly coppery color that has a green duochrome flash. I actually bought a backup of this because it is one of my favorites. It looks AMAZING in sunlight!