Zoya: Veruschka

I have to admit I was extremely hesitant to purchase this polish, because I had problems with Zoya Crystal staying on and because it is a matte I figured it would be much worse. Wow was I wrong. This wore like glue! It might be because I followed the advice of other bloggers and made a 'sandwich' with coats of CND Sticky and Veruschka. Anyway, I love this polish! I love the matte finish, mainly because it is still sparkly. I love that it is a dark green that maintains its green-ness on the nail. 

Color Club: Snakeskin

Hey, I hope everyone had a good holiday in the US. Today I have Color Club Snakeskin, from the Untamed Luxury collection. I know a lot of other bloggers wrote about how they hate the texture of this polish, but the texture didn't bother me that much. For me, the texture of De-luxe-cious is 100 times worse. The formula on this could be better though. I found it to be really thick. A little Seche Restore should fix it, but it is disappointing that I would have to use it on a brand new bottle of polish. 

Anyway, I love the color of this polish. Very dark silver... or perhaps pewter. This is the color of most of my purses. I think it goes with almost everything. I also love the golden shimmer. Normally I would think it would be impossible for gold and silver to go together, but that is apparently not true at all. 

I love Color Club. They have great polishes with great colors. And Color Club always wears really well on me. 

Absolutely Alice French Tips

Today I really wanted to wear OPI Absolutely Alice, but I also really didn't want to spend 1/2 hour trying to remove it later, so I decided to do a french manicure with Absolutely Alice tips. And I have to say, I really love it! I usually don't do glitter french manicures, and I have no idea why!! It is awesome. And I think it is still school-approprite. Not that something not being school appropriate has stopped me before. But since becoming a TA I really have been trying to be more professional looking.

I love love love this. I'm going to wear a french with China Glaze Ruby Pumps tomorrow... to try and get that in before Thanksgiving. 

Barry M: Dusky Mauve

I bought  Barry M Dusky Mauve after I saw the comparison between Barry M and Chanel Paradoxal on Lacquerized. And I have to say - I love it! I didn't have much desire to pay 25 bucks for Paradoxal to begin with, but I was curious to see what it would look like on me. Granted, usually I would give into my stupid curiously and blow the 25 bucks, but in this case I'm glad I didn't, because not only did I find a spot on dupe, but I also ordered a bunch of other Barry M polishes, and they are all gorgeous. I love discovering new (to me) brands that I haven't tried before. 

Here are some pictures of Abby. When I went outside to take these pics I found her under a cushion on my lounge chair. She's so adorable sometimes. 

I think this polish does a great job of recreating that signature subtle Chanel shimmer. And I think it is a fantastic fall color. Plus it shipped in record time! So if you're looking for Paradoxal and can't find it - or don't want to pay 25 dollars... grab this instead!

H&M: U Must Have This

Today I have H&M U Must Have This to show you guys. I saw this polish for sale on a blog sale site, and after googling it I realized that H&M was totally right - I absolutely needed to have it.  I should compare it to Sally Hansen Brisk Blue, which I think would be the closest color I have to this. It is a gorgeous bright sky blue creme. Please ignore the tip wear, this picture was taken on day 3.  

China Glaze: Strawberry Fields

China Glaze: First Class Ticket with Pure Ice Cheatin

Here is a one finger bling mani that I did using China Glaze First Class Ticket and Pure Ice Cheatin. I'm not really a fan of this mani. For some reason I had higher expectations for it, and I thought it was kinda boring on my nails. Oh well. 

Giveaway!

Not mine, but it is still a giveaway nonetheless. The Lacquerista is giving away an entire set of the new Essence magnetic polishes. I am coveting these soooo badly. But I really don't want to spend any more money on polish until at least after Christmas. Though I'm thinking that I will probably grab these as a gift to myself when my semester ends. My willpower sucks. 

Don't they just look amazing!?! I hope more lines come out with magnetic polishes, because the concept is awesome. 

Rock n' Roll Nails

Here is the mani I submitted to The Lacqueristia's nail art competition. The purpose was for the nails to embody rock n' roll. Needless to say, I didn't win. But I figured I would show them to you anyway. They came out a little sloppy. And my record looks downright ridiculous. But... hey. It's not like I'm a professional or anything. 

I used China Glaze For Audrey for the base, and painted the white french tip with China Glaze White on White. I added the pink stripe with Orly Basket Case. I did the dots for the tips and the black of the record with China Glaze Liquid Leather. And I added some silver with Nina Ultra Pro Velvet Revolver. 

Diamond Cosmetics: Matte Mulberry

Sorry that I haven't been posting that much lately. Regular old end of the semester bullshit got in the way. But now I'm pretty much done with all the major assignments for my actual classes this semester, and all I really have to focus on now are my thesis proposal, and the applications I have to complete for PhD programs and for Law School. Although every day I'm thinking that going on for more school seems like a huge mistake. I've been told by countless people that even after I get a PhD I might be stuck working at a community college as an adjunct for 10 years! I'm qualified to be an adjunct professor right now - so why on earth should I waste the next 5 years of my life and hundred of thousands of dollars on getting a PhD?? Aside from my own pride, and the desire to force my brother to call me Dr. ______, it just seems to be an impractical decision. I'm already in enough debt. I don't want to be dirt poor for the next 5 years pouring over research being forced to read old documents in Spanish and Dutch. I don't even speak Spanish or Dutch. 

So.. I figure I'll apply to some schools anyway, but I would really rather just get a Museum Studies Certificate while I'm doing my Masters right now, and then get the hell out of here. I'm so ready to be done with school and get on with my life and maybe make some money for a change instead of living off of student loans. 

Sigh... such big decisions. 

Anyhoo, I ordered some more polishes from Diamond Cosmetics and this beauty was part of the haul. I absolutely adore it! Matte Mulberry. I don't even like matte polishes, but I love this one. And it actually doesn't seem to be that matte. It is more like the finish on those Orly Plastix collection - which was a combo between shiny and matte. Reminiscent of vinyl seats or something like that. 

I love the color - a purple/punk fusion that definitely leans more on the cool purple side. I just think it works well with my skin tone and it looks sharp because the finish is so different from what I normally wear. If you're buying from DC I recommend adding this to your cart. It is only 2 bucks. How could you go wrong? 

Maybelline: Glass Slipper

This is probably the ugliest polish I've ever purchased. It is just way too frosty for its own good. And I'm not a frost-hater. But this is just ugtastic. I thought it would be a good winter polish, but I am just not a fan at all. 

China Glaze: Outrageous

Here is China Glaze Outrageous. It is a very bright salmon creme. Really pretty. If I were to wear pink, this would be the pink I would choose. Vibrant, but not neon. Suitable for interviews, but not too boring.