Look What I Made!

As I've mentioned before, my 22 year old son moved to Seattle almost a year ago. I haven't seen him since April and I'm really looking forward to spending some Christmas time with him. We celebrate the American Christmas...all the fodder without the religion.

He has expressed that he prefers gifts that were made for him rather than purchased and for that I love him even more. But still, I like to get him something unexpected and purchased when I can. Things that will help him accomplish the goals he's set for himself.

This year, for his handmade gift, I thought it would be kind of cool to give him ornaments that symbolized...well.. Me! That way, he could have his mom nearby even while we're apart, and when the time comes that I leave this life, he'll have these to put on his tree each Christmas and remember me by. What better way to give him something to remember me by than to use nail polish in the creation? Yep, I did! I got into my stash, picked some of my favorites and I made these: *click to make 'em BIG
The pictures aren't the best they can be, and I'll probably take better ones and post 'em up here again...these were taken with my cell phone at work today.

All colors are listed Clockwise from the top left.

OPI Merry Midnight, Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud (GORGEOUS), OPI Shim-Merry Chic and 

China Glaze Emerald Sparkled.

 Close up of the Shim-Merry Chic bulb.

 Essie Huckle Buckle, Sally Hansen Sea and Be Seen (Scene?), Milani 3D Holographic Gold, 

Diamond Cosmetics Canyon Sunrise, Borghese Stellar Notte and China Glaze Good Witch?

Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, Orly Space Cadet, Zoya Delilah, My LOVE: China Glaze Atlantis (this photo doesn't do the bulb justice at ALL), Sally Hansen Prisms Diamond, My Sage Franken that I made HERE (because my son really like desaturated colors...I suspect this one will be his favorite.)

This last is a Franken I made. I call it "Lights on the Tree"

I mixed equal parts Orly Enchanted Forest and Clear, just a tad less of OPI Shim-Merry Chic and a few drops of China Glaze Atlantis (about 6 or 8). This added holographic sparkle and brought some of the blue back that was lost from adding the Shim-Merry Chic.

I got the idea while looking at Ambefrski's Franken she made with Shim-Merry Chic and some red.

My kiddo doesn't even look at this blog so I'm not concerned I'll spoil the surprise. I am loving the way these are turning out and have 6 more I can make...the fumes though... WOW. My husband came home yesterday, and our little house was so gaseous he asked me if I was feeling ok.  I was getting a headache and so we left the house for a while so I could breathe fresh air. Small house + fumes = not good. We slept with all the windows wide open last night and that helped a ton. They are sitting in my office at work tonight...should be interesting tomorrow. :) 

Any suggestions for other colors I might use? I was thinking De-Luxe-ious from Color Club might be good. I think I need a few more reds though...ideas? I also think the Delilah bulb could use another coat. Amazingly this isn't using much of my pretties. There is some waste, but it's not unbearable and I'm happy to share it with the ones I love, even the ones who don't wear polish. 

I sure hope he doesn't think it's a silly thing to give him...he is, afterall, a young MAN. Something tells me he'll love it though. I think they'll be good for next year...then they won't be flammable anymore. LOL

Please comment your suggestions! I have trouble when I open up my stash and try to decide, it's almost as hard as doing a mani!

Burgundy Comparison

The clearing of my inventory continues. This week I'll post more of the comparisons I did, and interject those with some other fun stuffs...like pictures and review of RBL Diddy Mow which I put on today and will test the "9 day wear" claim made there.

On to the comparisons.  Here are the bottles:

Left to right, the players are: Nubar Chocolate Raspberry, Borghese no name mini from Christmas set, Diamond Cosmetics Cherry Tobacco, Sally Hansen mini from Christmas set and OPI mini All A-bordeau the Sleigh.

Same order, starting with my thumb then to my index finger left to right in the sun.

And indoors, indirect daylight.

Nubar Raspberry Truffle is a brown based creme with burgundy flecks. I love the Nubar formula and the brush is good. Two coats to full coverage, but a third adds depth and is so devine. I love this color, it's yummy and has depth to it so it gets to remain in my collection. Lizard rating: Toasty!

Borghese Unnamed mini has an exceptional brush for a mini polish. I found it very easy to use, pro wide and not super short like some minis. They also have a great formula and the pigment was impressive. This is only two coats. Lizard Rating: Balmy only because it is a mini and I'm over minis. LOL

Diamond Cosmetics Cherry Tobacco is a favorite after seeing it on all the other blogs and before this, an untried.  A gorgeous red-brown base with shimmer. Yum! This was as delightful as you've seen out in the blogosphere. The brush is ample, if rather standard. The formula was nice and very well pigmented, also 2 coats to this beautiful finish.

Sally Hansen unnamed mini. This one was also 2 coats of YUM. A rich, dark wine with shine to spare. This brush was also amazing for a mini polish. I loved this color but recently decided that my space won't allow as many bottles as I'd like to own and therefore I'm going to purge Drug Store polishes that I can dupe with a higher end polish. Besides, it's a mini...I'm over 'em. :)  Lizard Rating: Toasty, but no doubt can find a dupe I'll want to keep.

OPI All a-Bordeau the Sleigh was just "meh" for me. Cuticle drag, streaky and the typical issues I have with OPI. I am so not a fan of OPI...has to be a spectacular color that I absolutely cannot get elsewhere before I even consider going there, and usually skip it anyway. This is a not-so-deep red wine. Lizard Rating: Tepid
Maybe a fourth coat would have made this one better but 3 is my limit. Besides, it's a mini...it's gone. :)

I hope you enjoyed my Burgundy Comparison! Next up: Duochrome Purples.

Stellar Notte has been added to the core line for Borghese Nail Polish

I visited Walgreens, CVS AND Rite-Aid today and all the Borghese core line racks now have a slot (with at least ONE bottle in it - one of the racks had 2) for Stellar Notte. So if you wanted it and didn't get it, don't fret, just go check out the core line rack. It's there!
You can see my comparison of Stellar Notte vs Nubar Peacock Feathers HERE.

And a Picture, because that is the best part of a blog post...sometimes!

My hubby and I got married Sept 20, 2008 and we're about to celebrate our 10th anniversary of first meeting so I thought I show you some wedding pics. I finally had a chance to eat and the photographer wanted a pic so...I had to. :)

Please ignore the back fat bulging out the back of my dress. NOTICE how I wore something "blue" :)

Mr. and Mrs. Jef and Elizabeth. :) Yay, it's party time!

Our Ally-girl was there for the reception. :) She's so pretty.

Our cake, because we don't believe flowers (the real ones) belong on a Cake. Isn't it gorgeous???

hehehehe, goofin' off...and since I know you're here for the nail polish, these were the best shots I could find to show you my NOTD. :)

and:

Remember, you can click the pics to view them larger. I've gained weight since this, and will be back to weight watchers as soon as this knee issue is fixed and I can exercise again.
Hope you enjoyed this post.
Til next time!
~The Lizard

NYC West Village - Borghese Plumaggio Purple Comparison

I thought these two might be dupes (they're close, but not quite) and thought I'd share pics in case any of you were wondering...or trying to pick only ONE of these two lovelies.
I like them both, but I'm happy enough with N.Y.C.'s price and the color that, had I known, I'd have saved my 8 bucks for some Nubar. LOL :)

Now, BEFORE You look at the pictures, I have to tell you that the length in that last mani was what I like to call "The Breaking Point" and I have a nasty tear on the index finger of my right hand. *tears* So, I got a week more out of the nail with my trusty Orly Nail Rescue, but after doing all the swatching I did Friday night and yesterday, it just wasn't holding well, and I need to give my nail a chance to grow out without making me BLEED. So I chopped 'em all down to a more "work appropriate" length (I can type faster now!) and yet they are still beyond my fingertips and therefore not nubbins. But I will tell ya, my fingers look nubby to me today! LOL. Long nails are slimming, period.

I give you my comparison: I have N.Y.C. West Vilage on index and ring fingers, Borghese Plumaggio Purple on middle and pinkie. My cuticles are dry from all the swatching. They're happy now, but cut me some slack for the next few posts. :)

in different lighting...

and a close up shot so you can see the different shimmer of each. NYC on the left, Borghese on the right

These both applied well, the brush in the Borghese is wider so smaller nail beds will struggle. They both seem to have the same teal base jelly with the shimmer adding the color. Both appear dark blurple but the Borghese has a red shimmer that adds to the effect. Doesn't much matter from a distance, but it's pretty up close. To prove my point:

So, how much are you going to spend for a drug store blurple? 

VD Fail #2!

Hi there!
As I mentioned in my last post, I spent last night giving myself a new manicure. I used The Manicured Manatee's Tip found HERE (THANK YOU for that one Lady!), and started with my usual base coat (more on that in another post) followed by 2 coats of Diamond Cosmetics Nice 'n Naked, 3 coats of Essie Huckle Buckle, two coats, sort of applied gradiently, of the pretty Borghese Holiday sparkly stuff and a little bit of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear In the Spotlight on the very tips.

I think the Xtreme wear was overkill, but I was having fun and kind of in a ZONE...does that ever happen to you? You just start trying this and that and your in this space where it's just relaxing and your just painting away and the next thing you know you have the unbelievable 12 or 13 coats of nail polish on your nails!!! ROFL!!! I sit here in amazement just realizing this! That's a zone alrighty!

I give you the results of my relaxing creativity that just seemed to flow out of me and out of all the different bottles and onto my nails. :) And I'll tell ya, the zone flowed so well, that I had to do absolutely NO cleanup. I love the formula of Diamond Cosmetics and Essie. They go where ya tell 'em to and stay there quite nicely. After years of using nothing but drugstore brands this is such a sweet treat!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Polish Porn starts NOW!

Shade, and yes I am showing my rings here on purpose. Both were gifts from my husband. The opal was our first Christmas together, and I think it's so cool that the wedding set design is so similar to the very first ring he ever gave me. :) Close up to show the blingtasmness of this lovely color. I love Huckle Buckle.

See those little holographic strips from In the Spotlight? overkill, but oh well. :)

Have a colorful, sparkly and shiney day!

Barbie in pearls

Hey everyone! I actually have a manicure to post!!! I was going to do something Valentine'sy, but with the pain meds and all the hassle just to get BARBIE to cooperate, I gave up and just went with a fairly basic manicure.

I am not sure I like Zoya very much, but this is only the second one I've worn since taking advantage of the free greens special. Veruschka is lovely, and a sweetheart to put on, but Barbie...well, Barbie is a bitch! She went on gloopy, took forever to dry and then decided to give me hell when I put pearls on her! Borghese Patina Pearl to be concise. Topped them off with Seche Vite and allowed them to dry for HOURS before bedtime and yet still she's wrinkly. However, I did this Mani on Saturday...and it is now Wednesday night. So I am VERY impressed with the wear on this brand. Been pushing paper and ticking along on the keyboard all week!

I just took these photos with my phone camera because my laptop doesn't want to read my camera card. I hate it when technology doesn't work like it's supposed to. Anyway, these are the best I can do tonight so I apologize in advance for crappy photos. The color is true though, so that's a good thing.

Patina Pearl is a gorgeous color and I may one day try to wear her all by herself to see if she does well at 3 or 4 coats. Until then, she made Barbie feel Sexy and that's what I was going for.
Enjoy!

Until next time, wishing you color, glitter and gloss!

Nubar Peacock Feathers and Borghese Stellar Notte Comparison

I have been by the end cap display of the Borghese Fashionista nail lacquer collection at least 134 times now...each time, I pick up that lovely bottle of Stellar Notte (or is it Stellah?) and also the deep, dark, rich purple creme as well. (I forget the name as soon as I put the bottle back!) I keep putting Stellar Notte back telling myself, "No! I already have Nubar Peacock Feathers WHICH I've not yet worn and it's pretty much the same color. No, No, NO!) Space is a very special thing where I live, so dupes are not allowed.

I remembered that I picked up the little mini bottle holiday collection with this lovely in it so I ran home to do comparison. I painted Nubar Peacock Feathers on my ring and index finger and Borghese Stellar Notte on my middle and pinkie fingers. Stepped out into the sunshine - when it came out - snapped some shots, took some in the shade and here you go. Picture heavy to truly show the comparison:

Full Sun:

PF, SN, PF, SN

SN, PF, SN, PF

Indoors with some cloud cover outside:

PF, SN, PF, SN

Indoors with the sun peeking in:

And this one is blurry by accident, but it shows how similar the colors can look at times:

These are both duo-chromes and about as similar as RBL Scrangie is to Sally Hansen Grape Going. :p (I've seen the comparisons...I've got serious lemmings for the whole blogger series from RBL, I couldn't take advantage of the year end sale since the holidays were upon us and the husband had just gotten laid-off. Happy Happy Joy Joy and all that...*reminds self to stop whining*)

Let me say, I love them both for their color. Peacock Feathers starts out as this gorgeous teal, applies like creamy buttery goodness and as you add each layer, it becomes more purple with depth and flash. It appears to be a teal jelly packed with purple - and a touch of pink - shimmer. Stellar Notte starts out kind of an icky, murky gray with a hint of teal shimmer. The first coat goes on streaky and fussy as all get out but - if you're careful - it does even out nicely on the second coat. I did 3 coats for both and they are topped with Seche Vite fast dry top coat.

This is my first Borghese and my second Nubar. Stellar Notte's mini bottle had a decent sized brush but it had a few wild hairs sticking out all crazy like. They settled down with use. The Nubar brush is pretty typical while the Borghese is similar to the Sally Hansen Insta Dri brush. I had no trouble with either one.

I know that Nubar has some staying power, I've been wearing Swiss Chocolate on my toes for two weeks now. :) I thought I would have a little fun with this mani and just finish it up as is...all skittle like, so I painted my left thumb with Stellar Notte and then did my right hand opposite my left. It will be interesting to see if anyone else notices I have two colors on...but also, I want to compare the wear on these two. I'll wear them all week if they'll last and I'll post up the results here when I have them.

What do you think? Did I help any of you decide which one or did I just confirm that we need both of them?