Some More Reds compared

These are bit deeper and richer than the last set. I like a true red, and a blue-red sets my heart afire. I find them very hard to resist. Here are a couple of each...(and, Yes I do have the Nubar Reds!)

The contenders:

Essie Fishnet Stockings, Miss Marion Mamey, Essie A-List and OPI Xmas 2009 red with no name. Help is welcome. Natural daylight (but indoors). And below is with flash.

As you can see even with the flash, Essie Fishnet Stockings is the bluest-red and I think I love it. Did I mention it's also a jelly?

In the same order on my nails: Fishnet Stockings, Mamey, A-List and OPI in the shade and below is in sunlight.

HAHAHAH! I just found my notebook and I have ZERO notes on these except what I've already noted above. I checked and they are ALL still in my stash...I guess I love them all and can't let them go. I do love a red jelly. Still, I have to let a couple go...I think it's going to be A-list and the OPI. I love Fishnet Stockings and Miss Marion holds a special place in my heart...

The Lizard Rates these like so:
Fishnet Stockings: Toasty
Mamey: Toasty
A-List: Toasty
OPI: Tepid

Which ones did you like best?

Stay tuned, next up I think will be the corals.

Thinking about what Beauty means to me...and a Red Comparison (long, but good post!)

While recovering from knee surgery, I took the time to read a ton of books. Some fiction series follow ups that I love and a few books of the "self-help" genre. A friend told me about a book she was reading so I checked out the prologue on Amazon.com and knew I needed to read it. Why? I've been dieting and beating myself up for most of my life and so I could relate to this book. 

I'm sharing this now because I was moved (as many of you were) by Andrea's Post over at Black nail polish and lip gloss and have been wanting to share this book with the world since I got so much out of it. I know that not everyone will, but when I find a gem like this, I usually end up telling everyone I know to CHECK IT OUT CUZ IT'S THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD!!! Yeah, that's me...and that's ok. :)

It took me the whole week to read the book not because it is a big book, but because I kept having to set it down to think, absorb, cry, thrash, get angry and, finally, accept. I realized that I had, once again, forgotten who I am and gone back to believing what other people's stories told me I am. I also came to realize that I was trying to fill my non-stuff compiling life up with stuff again to counter the difficult financial times the husband and I have been facing. I mean, if I have all this nail polish, then we aren't struggling so bad, right??? RIGHT???

What I learned mostly was to be present again. Be passionate about life and most of all, remember that I am beautiful just as I am right now, and now and now. 

First thing I did was to cancel my Weight Watchers membership. Yep, I've had great success (you'll find this very post over there if you click but there are a couple years of posts and a huge transformation over there if you're interested in learning more about who I am) and some backsliding with that plan but, I learned so much there and because of the time I spent learning their "Tools for Success" I was ready to hear the message in this book.  

I'm done dieting. I'm done telling myself I don't measure up to someone else's idea of what is beautiful. I'm also done eating absently and not enjoying every minute, including the minutes I spend feeding this glorious body I've been blessed with to walk on this beautiful planet I get to call "home."  

And when I hear that little nagging voice, the one that tells me I am not enough, I don't have enough, I'll never BE enough...I will, as soon as I realize I am buying it's bs, tell it to shut the hell up!  It has been a little over a week. ONE WEEK and without counting calories, points, or carbs, without weighing and measuring, without denying myself what my body wants, I'm getting healthier. I've lost 9 pounds. NINE. Just by being present when I eat. I share that because, as the author, Geneen Roth says, "It's not about the weight and yet, it's not NOT about the weight" For some of us, healthier means losing weight, for others, it means gaining or maintaining while nourishing our bodies. For me, it means some weight needs to leave my body...and I will never, EVER diet again. I'm free. I'm back to being me and that is a very cool thing.

What is this book? If you clicked the Amazon link above, you already know, but if you didn't, the book is 

Women, Food and God: An unexpected path to almost everything.  

So the changes to my attitude lead me to look at my stash and decide it was time to do some culling. I don't need all these bottles taking up space in my tiny home and already increased the size of my stash to at least 20 times my initial plan. Part of that is seeing all these gorgeous colors all you ladies are posting. I love so many of the colors, but I don't NEED them. Hence my asking how you'd feel about some used polish giveaways. I don't want to replace them with swaps...I want to reduce my stash and have the colors I love and only those colors. I want to travel light while I'm here. I forgot that about me... That's not to say I don't envy you all your helmers...it's just not something I want as much as I want to travel light. 

I began the culling with comparisons, which I shall share with you, to help me decide which polishes I want to keep and those that, while still quite nice, are so similar to what I'm keeping, I don't need them in my stash.  I know already, from reading other blogs, that all of my comparisons may show my lack of understanding of dupes and all that stuff, but for me, really, how many red nail polishes do I need? Certainly not 40...more like 4.

I give you the contenders and I think these are Jellies, but there may be a creme in here.

Left to right: Cheeky Monkey Pop My Cherry, Zoya Harley, Miss Marion Carnival, Essie Lollipop, tictac unnamed red

On the nails in the Sun: (all are 3 coats, no base, no top)

Beginning with the Thumb they are in the same order: Thumb = Cheeky Monkey, Forefinger = Zoya, Middle = Miss Marion, Ring = Essie and Pinky = tictac.

In the Shade:

Cheeky Monkey Pop My Cherry is a wonderful true red jelly with a formula I had to learn to use and am now quite fond of. I don't have any complaints about the color, the formula or the brush. The brush is average but the formula would work if all you had to paint your entire nail was a toothbrush. :) Lizard rates this one: Sizzling!

Zoya Harley wasn't a true red, a bit more orange and I thought the formula was a bit on the watery side. Lizard rates this one: Balmy, but I have enough reds so it's downgraded to Chilly because of the formula and it just can't compete with CMPMC.

Miss Marion Carnival is one I really liked when I did my Miss Marion review...I still really like it. The formula is great, the brush is really nice and it builds the color really well. This one was the most orange red of the bunch and that, plus my love for this company makes it rather special to me. It's an orange red I can wear and look at that shine. The Lizard rates this one: Toasty.  It stays

Essie Lollipop: This is a bright red jelly with a delightful formula but the brush is scrawny. In fact, I didn't much like the brush in this one at all. It's very similar, maybe even a complete dupe for Cheeky Monkey Pop My Cherry, but I had to choose the Monkey over this because the brush was challenging and I simply love Cheeky Monkey. Still, the Lizard rates this one: Sizzling! (it's Essie after all.)

tictac unnamed red: This one was a bit of a surprise. I won this in a giveaway and I wasn't expecting very much since it's a brand I'd never heard of nor seen until just before the giveaway.  This was the wateriest polish in the bunch. Cuticle flooding and all. That might be because I am getting used to Cheeky Monkey and Essie but still, this was one watery polish!  It dried super shiny though not as shiny as the others. I think with practice and some topcoat, I might be able to make this one shine. Still, it's not a favorite so it goes in the cull pile. Final Lizard rating: Tepid

Bottle picture with Flash:

In the end, I am keeping only Cheeky Monkey Pop My Cherry and Miss Marion Carnival with a wandering eye on Essie Lollipop as it sits in the cull pile along with Zoya Harley and tictac unnamed red.

Some of these were review samples, some were giveaway winnings...I honestly didn't purchase a single one. Still, it is harder to let them go than I thought it would be.  How will I do it?  A few different ways actually. I'll be having another nail polishing party with my co-workers and friends and I'll take an assortment there for them to choose a few to take home, some will be in various giveaways and if I can make enough room, I may swap and do the Zoya exchange for truly unique to my collection colors. 

I hope you enjoyed my comparison and review of the red jellies I have! Next up: The Darker Reds

Til then, be present, be loving, be true to who you are!

~The Lizard

Miss Marion GARNET

Here it is, the one you've been waiting for and I apologize that it's taken this long. I love this polish just as much now as I did way back in the day. I can't stop looking at my nails. The formula is amazingly easy to apply once you get used to it. It's a little thinner then some, but the consistency is such that it stays where you put it, so you just have to get used to how much you need on the brush for best application. This is another one that doesn't like being brushed over, and seems to level itself out. The brush is a little thin, but I had no problems with it during application.
Garnet is labeled as a frost, but it's truly a shimmer. Here she is without topcoat:

sorry for the sheet wrinkles, she's not a quick dry polish, though I did give her plenty of time to dry.

I put the polish on yesterday and let it get good and dry so the transformation would be obvious. Unfortunately, there wasn't any sun today, but this is in overcast natural light and I actually think it's best for show you all what this polish does. I love this part! I put a coat of Seche Vite over the top because I needed to head to work right after I took the photos, but ANY top coat creates this transformation. 

With topcoat, the blue-red of Garnet becomes this awesome Candy Apple Red with depth and that "lit from within" appearance. This is the color every pinup girl needs to have in her arsenal. Observe:

G E O R G E O U S!

And to reiterate the transformation, here is left and right, can you tell which one has topcoat and which is nekkid?

come closer

and closer til it's a bit blurry...

Do I need to tell you that you have to get this polish? Just remember to get it directly from J Pinon and stay away from Peachtree World. They are not authorized dealers and you may not get what you pay for.

I still cannot stop staring at my nails. I've missed this color so much. GAH! Garnet, I love you.

That is all

~ The Lizard

Miss Marion - The Frosts

Here we have the collection of Frosts I received from J. Pinon Cosmetics, the makers of Miss Marion Nail Polish.

The players from left to right front row first we have - Red Volcano, Confetti, Malva Rose, Garnet, Platinum Champagne and Brown Sugar.
I left Garnet and Platinum untried as I only have 5 fingers and you know I have to review Garnet by herself. :)

Here we have Red Volcano, a frosty red orange and very vibrant!

followed by Malva Rose a frost rosy pink

next up Confetti a super silvered rosy pink. Note: the tone of Malva Rose and Confetti is the same, the frost is much more intense in Confetti and lightens it up, makes it almost chrome-like.

and skipped Garnet to save her for a future post and went to the back row and chose Champagne. I imagine a platinum blonde rocking this color with a black gown. It's very frosty.

and for the thumb I used Brown Sugar, a gorgeous glimmering brown frost.

I know a lot of you are not fans of the frost, but I would urge you to give Miss Marion Frosts a chance. Some of them are brush stroke-y but many of them are just beautiful. Look at that brown! They appear a lot more like the best chrome polishes out there, just shiny metallic goodness adding to the pretty color.
I've always loved the Miss Marion Frosted polishes, they just know how to do a frost the right way....simply gorgeous.
What do you think?
Til next time!
~The Lizard

Miss Marion - The Cremes

I received a rather large package from J Pinot, Inc. the makers of Miss Marion Nail Polish, for review. I will begin with the cremes in the package. Here are the players:

They are from left to right starting with the front row: Cocoa, Elizabeth, Carnival, Mamey, Midnight Red and Ebony.
 I don't yet have "where to find" information other than you can order direct from the company for now by writing to customerservice@jpinon.com
First up is Cocoa, a light nude creme that covers well in two coats but I did three because I am a three coater by habit.

My Namesake - Elizabeth, didn't impress me much in the bottle, but after wearing this "Miss Marion Skittle" mani for a day, she really grew on me. A pretty rosy beige that is office friendly and elegant if maybe just a little bland. :)

Then we have Carnival a bright fiery red creme that wows at two coats. This one leans just a little orange, but it's sexy!

And Mamey, a rich lady in red that I just love.

Sexy, no?
And then there is this Midnight Red a gorgeous deep red-brown similar in color to Cheeky Monkey's Social Climber. Maybe I'll do a comparison in the future.

These applied without any issues. The formula is B3F and they've got it down quite nicely. I thought the consistency of these was very easy to work with, stayed where I applied it and spread "like buttah" :) They dried just fine with a coat of Seche Vite on top and wore extremely well the next day when I shuffled at least 2000 pages of paper while assembling a bazillion tax returns. I did see a few marks on the white pages as the polish left traces when my nails scratched the paper, but it was mostly Mamey and Carnival as they were on the index and middle fingers, the ones I use the most for the task I was doing at the time.

Cocoa was a bit too light for me as I tend to go toward the more dramatic colors, but I am betting it would be the perfect nude for someone out there. Elizabeth grew on me and I'm quite fond of my namesake. :) Carnival suits it's name quite well as it's a very festive red, Mamey is just plain sexy, and Midnight Red is a great go to color. 

Next up, the frosts...but tell me, what do you think of these cremes?

til next time!

~The Lizard

Ladies and er...Ladies! I give you Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics' Social Climber!

Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics describes this color as a dark brown, but my description of  it would be more like this: it's the color of the dried blood found under your finger nails after a long day of climbing the social ladder. :) I hope they don't mind.   I love this color! It's the perfect purple brown, like milk chocolate but a shade darker. It's a creamy jelly (is that even possible?) that is opaque in two coats.

Upon the first application of this, I found it to be a bit too thick for me to apply. I added some thinner and it applied the way I like a polish to apply - it stayed where I put it without running all over the place and pooling. 

I used 1 coat of the Cheeky Monkey base coat, "Wet Dream" followed by three coats of "Social Climber" and one coat of Cheeky Monkey top coat, "I Like it on Top" to finish the manicure. I stayed up for another 4 hours, went to bed and woke up with sheet wrinkles. :(

I talked with Andrea about it and she let me know exactly how awesome this formula is. And so I tried again with fantastic results (which you see above, the first try was so bubbly and thick it was awful!) I started with 2 coats of Wet Dream, followed by two three-stroke coats of "Social Climber." I did, however, finish this mani off with Seche Vite because it was late and I wanted to sleep and know there would be no sheet marks.

What is amazing about Cheeky Monkey is how the formula works so much like Seche Vite. I over worked it the first time and got tons of bubbles. The second time, I used Andrea's tips and the polish did just what she promised it would, it self-leveled! Are you kidding me??? This stuff is amazing! Stays where I put it, levels and evens itself out and looks just as good on day three as it did the day I applied it. I wonder if I didn't really need to thin it at all...

Well, I had a bit of a learning curve, but I am a huge fan of Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics nail polish.

Next up: Trailer Trash!

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me by Cheeky Monkey for my consideration and honest review

Zoya Anaka I love you.

I was really looking forward to this one from my latest Zoya Haul, and she did not disappoint. Thank goodness after that Miss Marion Fail!

Zoya Anaka is a gorgeous violet red with shimmer that seems to be multicolored. I simply love this one. Take a look! These are swatches, no top coat.

Come Closer...

Closer and let your focus blur a bit to enjoy the lovely multi colored shimmer that is Anaka.

Ain't she purdy??? This is a favorite for sure.
What do you think?

Blast from the Past is a disappointment. :(

So here she is, she's been reformulated or this is a bad fake...so the change isn't as dramatic as it was long ago when I was 18. I am so sad about this and plan to contact the manufacturer to find out if I got a knock off or if they did, in fact change the formula.

I give you Miss Marion "Garnet" She used to dry almost matte and about 5 shades darker than the bottle and you'd think, wth??? But now, that doesn't happen. It does dry about 1 shade darker, but not enough to blow your mind anymore. Here it is: I did 3 coats


The "special" thing about Garnet was the whole put the top coat and watch her shine and transform into this amazing Candy Apple Red. What I got here is more like Candy Tomato Soup. :( So disappointed!!!


There IS a slight difference, left side has no top coat, right side has top coat. Pardon my cotton fuzz, I was seriously swatching my brains out.


I'll let you know what I find out, and hopefully this is a knockoff. What do you think of it?

Valentine's Day Manicure FAIL.

I am jumping on the Valentine's Day Manicure bandwagon. We don't do much for Valentine's Day, the Husband and I...we figure we need to be showing each other romantic thoughts all year long and not just saving it up for one hallmark holiday. :) Though I am not against a little something for the day. So we exchange cards and sweet sentiments and that is enough. Of course, if he wanted to give me a gift, I would certainly accept it! :D

This year though, he is off on a lone motorcycle ride clearing out the cobwebs of his mind while I enjoy some alone time at home - doing my nails, hanging out with my son, relaxing - So we'll share our cards later, when he gets home.

The manicure you see before you is already changed. I did say I was doing my nails while hubby is away! This is Essie Fishnet Stockings - an absolutely gorgeous, sexy, back to the 40's red. I love it. Picked this lovely up along with Berry Hard and a mini ridge filler at Ross a few weeks back. I then ATTEMPED to Konad heart tips using Konad #M73 and China Glaze Good Witch? and that was a horrible fail. So I grabbed a striper brush and did a messy angled line across to try to make it look fun...then used a dotting tool to put some dots on the thumbs...thought about other fingers...actually did a dot or two and decided against more... And so here I give you: Valentine's Day Fail #1!! The ONLY reason this stayed on for a couple days is because I loved the Essie color! Then I noticed some of my dog's hair in the topcoat...stuck in there til I removed the mani...so it had to go.




My dog has the softest fur...it's like cat fur...floaty, soft and gets into EVERYTHING. It's a good thing I love her, because she has such a sheddy attitude! Always making more fur, that one! But I'd rather she make fur than the alternative. :) HEHEHE, if you click on the bottom pic and look really carefully at my middle finger...you'll see that darned hair!

As I said, I've already changed it, and I took my time last night...relaxing and creating something pretty for today...and I just kept going and going and going until I created Fail #2!!! It's sparkly and fun, but a little overdone...however, the point was relaxation and that is what I did...I spent at LEAST 2 hours, just playing with polish and creating the fail...pictures in the next post.

I hope all of my readers enjoy a special moment today, whether you are single or attached, take some time to share some love with someone you care about today/tonight. And think of ways to keep doing that all year long.

Wishing you a colorful, sparkly and shiney day!

Red Satin (my first Matte Top Coat)

Middle of October 2009, I wanted something simple but elegant and sexy. I started with a mini Sally Hansen that I picked up Christmas 2008 and hadn't used yet. I had just started checking out the world of nail blogs and read about Matte Top coats. So I picked up China Glaze Matte Magic and this one took my breath away. It's exactly what I wanted right then. Feast your eyes on my crappy cell phone pics! heeheehee!

I loved how they changed color depending on how the light hit them, just like satin. This was true love for a few days, I'm tellin' ya!

Huh, I just noticed these pics have dates stamps, I wonder when I set my phone cam to do that? Sometimes I'm pretty darned smart, and then I forget!

I hope I'm not cramming your readers with too much polish porn.

I am just so happy it's the weekend...and I have more to get all caught up to date!

I promise you, after reading some of your blogs, I realized my snappy camera was the best way to take photos and I worked toward more natural lighting so I didn't have to adjust for the warmth of my house lighting...hang in there, the photos get better.