Embarassing to the MAC

Well, this is super embarrassing. I know I said I hadn't uploaded pictures from my camera to my computer (I still haven't, I don't know why but I'm extremely lazy). I was going through my pictures and I DID have some that I had uploaded AND watermarked already. One of these is the very pretty (and sadly Limited Edition) Liberty of London for MAC polish, a dark green-blue. And boy, is it pretty.

First, let's talk about the gorgeous packaging. I couldn't throw it away!

The outside is pretty and so's the inside:

It's just so, so, so, so, SO pretty. And I'm not talking about the box anymore. The application was smooth and the formula was opaque enough. Here it is with two coats:

Here is is in a slightly shady version:

You know, I'm not usually a fan of MAC polishes. Their base collection is rather drab...I mean Nightfall and Biker Blue are okay but you can easily find dupes for them. Their limited edition collections though are torturous because they're usually the best colors.

Anyway I apologize for leading you to believe I'm incredibly lazy. I mean, I am lazy but I'm just glad that I had pictures on my computer to share

Essie Officially at Rite Aid

I know there's been a lot of talk about Essie coming to Rite Aid (it's already available at CVS) and it's definitely opening up a greater market. I mean, some Sally Hanson polishes are practically the same price as an OPI and Essie products, why not expand into more drug stores? Again, I don't understand why Sally Hanson has so many different lines with different bottles and names, just please keep everything uniform! They either have 100 different formulas or just use the same formulas and put them in different bottles in order to drive up some prices. Either way, I don't care. Get your act together, Sally Hanson. I know some people that spring onto the chance of a new Sally Hanson display but honestly, it's just exhausting and overwhelming trying to keep up. @squarrell on Twitter has told me that the UK only has one line of Sally Hanson polish in which case you all are so lucky! I know it's a silly thing to have to rant about but bear with me.


BUT I DIGRESS, sorry. Anyway I received this email just seconds ago and I lovingly used old-fashioned Microsoft Paint to contain my excitement.


It had been expected to come around in March and it looks like it's been official (unless I already missed it? In that case, I fail). Now, I personally like CVS's Extra Care card more than Rite Aid's UP rewards. After an annoying experience with using the UP rewards, I decided that it's just not worth it. I am a loyal Walgreens and CVS girl. But...I will definitely swing by a Rite Aid sometime to look at the display.

Updates to follow. I have so many pics but I've been so lazy in transferring them to my computer.

You can always formspring.me and follow me on Twitter!

Zoya polish featured in Black Swan

I personally love finding out what kind of nail polish is used in TV shows, movies, and magazine ads. So, I was really pleased to hear that a particular shade of Zoya polish, Bela, made a brief cameo in the movie Black Swan. Bela is a gorgeous pale pink, a perfect shade to complement the strong ballet themes in the movie.

Highlight to read exactly where this Zoya bottle cameo is:
Early on in the film as the lead dancer, Nina (portrayed by Natalie Portman), prepares in her dressing room for a gala where she will be revealed to the masses as the new Swan Queen, a solitary elegant bottle of nail polish briefly takes over the screen. This is where the line between a little girls fantasy and reality blissfully blurs. The bottle shown is Zoya Nail Polish in a delicate shade of pink named Bela.

1.1.11

This weekend has been really stormy so I haven't had a chance to post pictures of my New Year nails. Not that it would really help, since I only had a 15 minute window to do my nails this year because I was so busy doing family stuff and I also had to get a cortisone shot in my right arm on the 30th! So typing is still a little painful, and since I was in such a rush to do my nails I have beautiful air bubbles all over (isolated ones at least, so I can take some comfort that they don't look terrible from afar).

Anyway, I did white nails for the New Year. Normally I'd go for something sparkly but I'm had quite an awful year...to be honest it was really shitty. So I just want to go into 2011 with a blank slate and the hope that things will get better and change for the better.

As for my New Year's resolution, it will be of course to be blog more and to buy less polish. I think things have picked up a bit on the blog front so I hope to continue that trend into 2011 =) As for the buying less polish part...well...we'll see.

Guest Blog Entry! + Green is Still the New Black

Recently I was given the chance to do a guest blog entry for the UK site http://www.become.co.uk, a fashion/lifestyle/shopping website. In my (fabulous) blog entry, I discuss winter trends in nail polishes and offer suggestions for the darker winter days. I mention that a very cool look for going out at night or a party in the winter would be an all-black outfit with either snow-white or mint green nails just to give that contrast. And let me tell you, I have found the perfect mint green.

Unfortunately, I also discovered that my beloved topcoat, Out the Door, has a tendency to slightly yellow the colors of light polishes, a problem I've never had before with it. In fact, I learned my lesson once putting on an unnamed other brand of topcoat that it did the same thing so I stuck with it Out the Door...except now Out the Door is doing the same thing. I don't know what's going on but for now, I'm looking for a new topcoat. I'm trying the Sally Beauty's store brand right now, the UV-shielding topcoat and I'll probably try Poshe later too. I'm really sad to be breaking up with Out the Door but sometimes, relationships just end. Maybe the problem is a faulty batch or something but I was really disappointed since the coloring of the polish in the pictures (coupled with poor lighting) don't convey how beautiful this polish is. It's so beautiful that I actually wore it twice in a row, which NEVER happens.

Now, when I think of Revlon, I immediately think of their lipsticks. I was never a fan of their mascaras, I don't really use face makeup such as foundation, bronzer, blush, etc, but their polishes were all sorts of awful. No real variety, and the formulation was terrible. The most exciting thing they did was a couple of years back when they had that Dark Pleasures collection that was such a big hit. However, Revlon's polishes are newly formulated and I can truly say that Revlon is back in the drugstore polish game. Now the only brand that really has to step it up is Cover Girl.

There's a variety of new colors of the new, reformulated line called "Revlon Top Speed," but the one that caught my eye the most was this pretty mint green polish called Jaded. I'm really sad that I had such issues with my topcoat because when applied before my topcoat it looks a lot lighter. It really reminds me of mint, but I had to describe it, I would call it a sort of "ice mint."

Anyway, here are some pictures. The lighting is kind of bad so my skin looks all sorts of ridiculous but the polish is actually lighter in person:


The reason I feel like mint green goes so well with black because it's a fresh color that's not really expected. It's like a breath of fresh air. I have to admit, I've been a bit jaded (excuse the pun) as to green polishes lately. I realize that there are only so many ways a color can be jazzed up but I felt like we were just seeing a lot of the same hue. Here's a slightly better picture that doesn't make me look quite as jaundiced:


But what I really love about this polish is the amazing microshimmer.


When the sun hits the polish, it kind of almost glows. And surprisingly, the more I wore it, the more I noticed that it went really well with all sorts of colors...even yellow, and even purple. I think it's because it's like white but takes a but of the edge off the starkness with a hint of color, much like how a pale pink also complements everything, but this is just something slightly funkier. I know I'm making this polish sound like the second coming of Jesus but this is honestly a color that has broken me out of my nail polish rut and reminded me why I freaking love nail polish. It really is a form of expression and sometimes it really is the ultimate accessory. Of course I couldn't resist one last plug.

Thanks to Ranjit from become.co.uk for allowing me to share my opinions for the site.

Tiffany Blues

It's the beginning of winter here (though it feels like winter has been going on for at least a month, it's been so cold!) and you know how you always get a little bit blue in winter? Having it be dreary and bleak most days can really be a drag.

Now, memories are a funny thing. The smell of a certain perfume can remind you of an occasion or a certain someone. Seeing a sign can remind you of an inside joke. Places can remind you of good times (or bad). When I'm driving down the I-5, there's an exit called Utica Avenue and I think of The Office episode (S4EP06) where Dwight proclaims "We will burn Utica to the ground!"

I distinctively remember the nail polish I was applying when my dad called to tell me he had cancer again (OPI Cara Mi Crimson), but a nail polish color I associate with happier times is China Glaze For Audrey. It is, of course, Tiffany blue. There's no other way to describe the color because Tiffany & Co. literally has it protected by a color trademark. It's the blue that is synonymous with the high jewelry company Tiffany & Company. So if you can't afford a piece of jewelry at Tiffany's (aka me), you can at least have a bit of luxury in this amazing color on your nails. It really is a very aesthetically pleasing shade of blue. I don't know what it is about it, but it's just really awesome. It might be because it's not quite baby blue and has a bit of sophistication that can't really be categorized as light blue yet. Or something like that. Well, now I'm just typing my thoughts out which I tend to do.





I love, love, love this color and part of it has to do with the fact that in September I traveled to Disney World with my sister (our first real vacation together without our parents) and this is the color I wore. So obviously, this color reminds me of the Happiest Place on Earth. Or rather, the most exhausting place on Earth. Disney World is HUGE. I mean, it's amazing but wow, it's huge. There's so much to do, so much to see, so much to EAT and so much to drink (non-alcoholic and alcoholic of course).

So whenever I'm feeling down this winter, I'm definitely going to be reaching for this color. It reminds me of Disney World and most importantly, getting to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios too. Talk about amazing!! Also, the butterbeer is amazing. Get the frozen kind though because it is pretty sweet and the ice dilutes it.

SP6

Don't forget to get your 6 free spoons at Zoya.com today with the code SP6! I already know one of the ones I'm going to get for sure is Gaia.

formspring.me

Don't forget you can ask me anything! http://formspring.me/BATpolish

Zoya Wants to Spoon With You, Do You Accept?

*UPDATE* You will need a code for the free spoon event. It will be released on Thursday




This Friday only, Zoya will be letting you receive 6 spoons for FREE! Including free shipping! Now I'm a sucker for anything with free shipping, and as a bonus the spoons are really cool in deciding whether or not you want to take the plunge and commit to a color. Because honestly, there's nothing worse than buying a color online only to decide that you hate how it looks outside the bottle. It's a modern day tragedy, really.

This offer is only good on Friday, December 10th, and you will also receive a $3 Color Spoon credit code for use on a future zoya.com purchase, which basically means 6 more free color spoons the next time you buy something from the Zoya website. I personally think it's a great offer, and I've already inputted it into my Blackberry calendar.

Impressions: Johnson's Baby Creamy Oil (Aloe Vera & Vitamin E)

I'm a huge fan of trying new products. I'm always loyal to my Eucerin Daily Moisturizer but lately my hands have been drier than usual. Maybe it's a sign of aging! I'm only 22 though so it's probably not that.

I've always liked Johnson's baby products. In fact, whenever I'm in China I only use their Johnson's baby products, especially their cooling body wash. While of course as we grow older our skins have different needs, I don't think it hurts to go back to basics sometimes.

Johnson's baby creamy oil with aloe vera and vitamin E is my new obsession. This is what the website promises:
"This creamy oil, enriched with soothing Aloe and Vitamin E, combines rich emollients with JOHNSON'S^® Baby Oil to provide long-lasting moisturization. Our indulgent, non-greasy creamy oil absorbs quickly and leaves nothing but softness behind on the skin. Its sweet yet subtle fragrance will delight your senses."

Effectiveness as a moisturizer: Um, amazing. I was very pleasantly surprised as how easily it absorbed into the skin, and even though it comes out as quite a heavy cream, once you smooth it out it is very light. It is very different from a lotion so less is more effective than you think! It really does leave skin quite soft, especially with continued use.

Good for body?: Absolutely! I use it on my scaly elbows and ankles, I think it actually might replace Lemony Flutter as my go-to lotion for those problem areas. This is definitely not something you can use on your face though.

Good for nails?: It doesn't specifically target nails so I don't think you'll see a radical change. I haven't used it specifically for my nails but I've used it for my hands and I really liked it as a hand moisturizer too. I don't know how effective it is for cuticles compared to Lemony Flutter or other cuticle creams/oils but it is very light, whereas Lemony Flutter is a bit heavier.

Price: It was around $3 at Target for 8oz. I like the packaging a lot. It's easy to use and easy to carry around.

Verdict: This is probably going to have a permanent place in my moisturizer rotation. The scent is really lovely. I'm not a huge fan of scented products but this one does have a very subtle smell that disappears...I don't know how to describe it. It's a bit like a sweeter baby powder but without the effect of your nose being tickled by the powder, if that makes sense.

Fun Fact: Johnson & Johnson is best known for their consumer products (Johnson's Baby products, Neutrogena, Aveeno, Band-Aid) but they also manufacture medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.