30 Days of Blues for Autism Awareness - Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Lapis Amethyst

First off, I want to that you all so much for responding in my last post, emailing me, and participating with me in my "30 Days of Blues".  I appreciate it more than you know.

Today, for my "30 Days of Blues for Autism Awareness", I have for you Sally Hansen Lapis Amethyst...

Lapis Amethyst is an old Sally Hansen Nail Prisms.  It's a light shimmery turquoise with a purple shift.  I got it and a bunch more on eBay last year when I went on a gluttonous buying spree.  I had purchased Turquoise Opal and I added this one to my cart to justify the shipping (don't we all do that.  LOL).  

I didn't actually mean for this to be my blue polish of the day.  I had simply swatched it on one nail to see the duochrome flash.  However, it looked so pretty, that I decided to simply do more coats and make it my blue nail of the day.  Unfortunately, because it's a gazillion years old, it's thin, stinks to high heaven, and took a hundred coats to reach any sort of opacity (in actuality, it was like 6 thin coats).  And, due to the number of coats, the pretty purple flash all but goes away.  I also found that the flash also goes away when you layer it over another blue.  So, in my experience, there's really no way to keep the duochrome flash and have it be opaque.  Like I said, it's pretty, but not one of the Nail Prisms I would seek out, like Turquoise Opal.  

Thank you so much for reading.  If there is any blue polish in particular you would like to see during my "30 Days of Blues", please let me know and if I have it, I will be glad to add it to my list.  Just let me know in this post or you can email me your suggestions to megan@apolishproblem.com.  

Today's Nails - Zoya Megan

Okay I am sorry for being a broken record, but I'm addicted to glitter tips and I just can't stop.  :) 

This is 3 coats of Zoya Megan topped with 2 coats of Sally Hansen Ice Queen on the tips.   Zoya Megan is a light, opaque grey-ed lavender.  In my house, it's very grey and then when I get it in full sun, that's when the lavender comes out.  Compared to Zoya's previous Megan (which I didn't hate... click here for post), this new Megan is fantastic.  I even pretend that it was named after me.  :P   

I didn't have any application issues, but I did have to use a third coat to reach total opacity, but that's probably because I'm a barbarian and don't use a basecoat.  LOL.  That said, I was completely amazed that this type of color could look so saturated.  Usually, pale colors have a tendency to look washed out or watered down, no matter if they are sheer or not.  

Zoya Megan is from their 2011 Winter Feel collection.  Zoyas are available from zoya.com and from other retailers and online sources.  If you are interested in this grey Megan, be sure that you are purchasing ZP593 rather than the old milky cream Megan which was ZP362.  The older version of Megan is no longer available on Zoya's website, but I have seen bottles floating around eBay.  

Additionally, as I mentioned above, I'm addicted to glittery tips.  I had this bottle of Sally Hansen Ice Queen hanging out on my makeup desk for weeks.  My plan was to use it on a purple, such as Zoya Malia, but either I don't have Malia or it's MIA (I really need to reorganize and create a new spreadsheet).  So while it's not a bright purple, I thought Megan was the perfect base for Ice Queen.  Ice Queen has purple, blue, and silver glitter (of different sizes) in a clear base.  Just for fun, here's a bottle pic...

Isn't she pretty?  And dirt cheap, too.  This bottle was $1.97(!!!).  You do have to work with it a little bit to get the glitter to do what you want it to do, but that's pretty typical for this type of glitter.

Happy Friday and I hope you guys like this one.  FYI... the Blogger Round Up will be next Friday, so be sure to reply in the latest round up post if you are interested.  I will also post a reminder post early next week.  

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Turquoise Opal

I waffled on posting this all day.  Thing is, it took this about 2a, after taking a sleeping pill, so my cuticles look awful.  I'd been swatching Zoya's summer collection and I must have been high when I removed the last one.  However... this color is too amazing to not post it.  So, my apologies in advance for my bad cuticles and for any lemmings this may have created.

This is one coat of Sally Hansen Turquoise Opal over 2 coats of Illamasqua Boosh.

Remember all my whining about wanting an oilslick polish.  Well girls, this *almost* kills the lemming.  I still want something a bit more pastel, but this is so gorgeous that I may forget about the oilslick.  LOL.

Then, just a little bit ago, I got a little creative.  I was getting ready to take this off, so I figured I'd play with it. This is ChG Crushed Candy over my original mani.  I used a swirl/circular motion.  I also topped it with another coat of Turquoise Opal and then TC.

Unfortunately, Turquoise Opal is HTF and you have to resort to eBay.  I hate to say it because scalpers make me stabby, but if you can afford this... you need it.

These were all purchased by me.

Combating Winter Cuticles

I don't know about you all, but every winter, my cuticles suffer.  They're horribly dry.  They flake and peel.  And there doesn't seem to be much I can do about it.  Especially if they are too far gone.  However, this winter, I am starting early with the cuticle maintenance and hoping that will help me all season long. 

To start, I had to whip my cuticles in shape.  They weren't bad, yet, but they did need a bit of care.  To do this, I used Blue Cross Cuticle Remover and an orange stick.  What this didn't remove, I handled with a pair of nippers (use with caution, please). After that, I used this...

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Cuticle & Nail Refiner.  Basically, this stuff is a scrub that you work on and around your nails.  After massaging it in for a few minutes, I wash it off with water and scrub around my nails using a manicure brush.  I then use the nippers again to remove anything this didn't get. 

So the above is what I plan on doing every few days to make sure my cuticles don't go south.  For daily upkeep, I apply a healthy amount of...

Orly Cuticle Therapy Creme, followed by...

OPI AvoJuice Lotion (scent may vary. LOL), and then I finish it off with...

China Glaze Peppermint Cuticle Oil.

I keep these 3 products with in quick reach of my computer and I use them multiple times a day.  

So far, so good, I think my cuticles are in pretty good shape, but, consistency is my biggest foe, and I know I have to keep this up, if I want to have pretty hands by the end of February.  :)

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Purple Diamond

Like the Maybellines of last year, large amounts of Sally Hansen Nail Prisms have been showing up at Dollar Trees.  Unfortunately, the DT near me always has goose-egg in terms of nail products, and while you can find nail stuff at the next closest DT, it's always hit-or-miss.  So, a few weeks ago, when I happened to find a duo-pack of SH Nail Prisms White Diamond and Purple Diamond, I considered myself lucky.  No, they weren't the Nail Prisms that I would have chosen, given a choice, but I figured for a buck... why not.  However, the tops felt like they'd been welded shut, so, yesterday, I finally got them open and got around to trying one.

This is Purple Diamond, a soft purple holo.  Honestly, it's just okay, and if I had to get it again, I probably wouldn't.  It's not a bad polish, per se, just kinda dupey.  Application was fine, but stank to high-heaven (gotta love pre-B3F polishes).  It chipped within a couple of hours, but due to a crazy day today, I was unable to remove and apply something else, and it's been super chippy the rest of the day, but I'm sure a basecoat would have helped with that.  Pic is 3 coats.

Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Grape Going!

On Sunday, after a night of swatching, writing, and scheduling posts (which is my new way to not be a slack-ass blogger), I decided I'd pick my color for the next day or 2, do a mani, take a pic, and be on my way.  Unfortunately, I picked a big fat disappointment.

Probably like the majority of people that picked up this polish, I did so because it was supposedly dupish to RBL Scrangie.  Truth be told, Scrangie (the polish) had never really grabbed me.  It looked pretty enough, but perhaps I'm broken, because swatches of it never gave me a polish-gasm, unlike most normal polish junkies (ha... normal polish junkies, that's an oxymoron).  However, I did almost pick it up during RBL's fall sale just because it was LE and Scrangie (the blogger) is one of my favorites.  I decided not to, though, because I thought it would be best if I let someone that really wanted it get it, as I had a feeling it would sell out.  Then, I read that SH I-D Grape Going, was a close fascimile to RBL Scrangie, so I decided to pick it up.  It's pretty enough in the bottle... a shimmery blue-purple, but it didn't have the green flash of Scrangie, but I fgured for $5, that was okay.  Afterall, the RBL was 18 bucks. 

I picked this up several months ago, when the new Insta-Dris came out, but I just now got around to trying it.  OMG.  I couldn't get it off my nails fast enough.  Before I go too far, here's a pic:

All I can say is "ew".  Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think RBL Scrangie is in anyway "ew"-worthy.  Granted, I don't own it, but in pics, it looks pretty, it just didn't make me want to pay $18 for it (if that makes sense).  However, the flash in this from blue to purple was minimal, and it has a frosty sheen that just made my hands look gross.

Also the formula and application were shit.  Pardon my language, but there is no other way to describe it.  I've never tried an I-D (just the TC which isn't the same), and I'd heard the brush was troublesome, but I didn't know it was such a PITA.  It's like a big mop that slops polish all over your cuticles.  I can't imagine how girls with small nail beds deal with it.  Also, the formula is hard to deal with.  Given the name, Insta-Dri, it's only reasonable to assume that it would dry fast, but this was more irritating than a matte.  You have to work very fast, and if you need a second coat, you have to make sure that mop of a brush is fully saturated or you have pulling, and of course, that puts too much polish on your nail, so you are just chasing it around with that irksome brush.  Grrr.

All in all, IMO, avoid this polish at all costs.  If you wanted Scrangie, but didn't nab it before RBL sold out, fear not because Ji is bringing it back (along with No More War (yay!!!) and Opaque Nude).  I realize RBLs aren't in everyone's price range (and they aren't really in mine, if I'm being honest), but for such a specific color, I think it's worth it, especially if you've been lemming Scrangie.  And though it doesn't really wow me in pics, I think I'm going to pick it up myself\.  I kinda want to see what it's all about.  Certainly everyone that raves about it can't be wrong.

Almost 2 Weeks Without Glue-ons

I'm pretty sure tomorrow is the 2 week mark since I removed my glue-ons.  As always with these posts, I'm going to show you where I started, so if you get sick of this picture, I'm sorry.  I just feel it's necessary for comparison purposes.  So anyway, here's where I was when I took off the glue-ons.

And here's a picture of my nails I took about 10 minutes ago.  This is with my full regimine of Dermelect, as well as a quick-dry topcoat.  I also have on Mango Mend, as I find I'm using that stuff like crazy now.

I think they look tons better, but I'm also ready for them to be longer already.  I have absolutely no patience, so this process is becoming difficult for me.  Yesteday, I actually considered putting on a set of glue-ons.  It was fleeting as I realized I didn't want to take any steps back. 

This is with almost 2 weeks of Dermelect, Nail Nutrition, and Mango Mend.  The Dermelect products are the Launchpad basecoat (green), the Makeover ridgefiller (pink), and their High Maintenance top coat.  I also use a thin quick dry coat, Beauty Secrets, over the HMTC to prevent bubbling.  However, I've found that if the ridgefiller is too thick, you'll get bubbles no matter what.  Also, there is no color on my nails in the picture.  That's strictly from the ridgefiller.  It's a pretty shimmer pink, so it acts as a concealer as well as a ridgefiller.  Most ridgefillers I've tried have been thick and white, so this is a nice change.  I love that I don't have to wear a color unless I want to. 

I'm using Sally Hansen Nail Nutrition several times a day to help encourage growth, but the Dermelect is what helping them look healthier. 

Also, the other day in my comments section, I mentioned my mother's damaged nails.  She is so impressed by the results I'm getting with this combo, that she is considering buying Dermelect products, depending on my final results. 

I'll keep updating on my progress as I go along.  I'm hoping by Christmas, I'll be able to sport some polish.  If you are interested in my products, Dermelect is available on their website.  Mango Mend is available at Sally Beauty and Nail Nutrition can be picked up at just about any drugstore or big box.

Weekend mini haul and other ramblings...

So I think I have a compulsion to buy nail polish where ever I see it. We were in Big Lots on Friday evening and I happened to check the makeup section looking for some Revlons that were posted on the NB. Sweet Nothings, maybe? I can't remember the exact name. Anyway, so I found them... didn't like them, and saw these SHs instead. From L-R, Cardinal, Poppy, and Pink Sapphire. Unfortunately, I think Cardinal is going to the be only one I actually like. Poppy looks nowhere near as orangey-red as it did in the store and I think I have a dupe of Pink Sapphire, Maybelline Pink Carats, though PS looks darker. Cardinal, however, looks like a perfect true red, perhaps a cherry red. And I think it may be a jelly, but I can't really tell. They were only a buck, too, so not so bad. :)

Also, I received OPI Music Hall Curtain Call in the mail today. In the pic, it looks like a gold-tinged copper, but there's a little more pink in it, IRL. It's another one from the OPI Rockettes Holiday collection from 2006. I think the official name of the Rockettes collection is Kick Up Your Heels. This makes #4 in my collection from KUYH, with the others being Rose to the Ovation, Berry Good Dancers, and Star-ring the Rockettes. I'm also lemming Merry Crimson, Red Dazzle, Opening Night Champagne or I Get a Kick out of Gold, and Espresso Your Style. Though, since it's d/c'd and I'm having to buy off eBay, who knows if I'll get any more of these. It was an awesome collection, though.

I really think, however, that I need to slow down the buying. Not too long ago, I was freaking out about my car payment and my forgetfulness, and now, though things are okay, I'm buying polishes left and right. There is truly nothing that I need and buying for buying's sake is just a waste of money right now.

Lastly, I'm so over this mani I'm wearing. It's the same one that I posted about over the weekend, and it's just not working. I even applied a coat of Maybelline Golden Cloud over it and while it's helped, it still doesn't work with my skintone. I usually try to let my manis go 3 nights but I think I may soak this one off tonight and start over.