GOSH Ocean

A lovely friend from the UK sent me a bottle of GOSH Ocean. Rachel knows me well, because I love both turqoise and metallics. Ocean went on smoothly, didn't show too many of my horrible nail ridges, and matched the bottle color in three coats with no bald spots. This one is worth getting if you can!

Indoors with flash:



Indoors but in sunlight:



After a day with Ocean and China Glaze Ginger on my ring fingers for accent nails, I decided to do a quick copper crackle comparison. Apologies in advance for the blurry pre-cleanup picture--this was taken when my computer was out of commission, so I didn't know I needed better pictures until long after this manicure was history!

Anyway, the ring finger is China Glaze Ginger with Pure Ice Strike a Pose on top, the middle finger is Ocean with Cherimoya Sinner and the thumb, pinkie and index are Ocean with China Glaze Cracked Medallion on top.



The China Glaze and the Cherimoya have near-identical formulas, so I kept the Cherimoya because it is more coppery than the China Glaze.

Looking for Mr. Right White: Revlon Powder Puff

I really wanted this to be the one--a soft white satin-finish shimmer with hints of pink. The color is so beautiful! Unfortunately, it took four coats to become opaque, and didn't dry very quickly, so I had sheet marks and dents despite doing my nails two hours before I went to bed. :(

In sunlight:



Indoors, with flash:

Lucky haul

I stopped at my local Sally on August 29th to use up my 15% off coupon which was expiring on the 31st, and they had the new Orly Mineral FX collection. I'd also wanted another Orly from looking at nail blogs, plus I had a few China Glaze polishes on my wishlist. Then I swung by the drugstore on the way home and grabbed a Sally Hansen white for my Looking for Mr. Right White search.

Because I was yakking away with the sales associate, I didn't even notice the cost of the polishes, just handed her my coupon and my Sally card and continued to gush about Orly. I got Rock-It from Mineral FX, plus Close Your Eyes and China Glaze Flying Dragon.





I nearly died the next day when I was looking at the receipt. Before the coupon was applied, Flying Dragon rang up at $4.99, Close Your Eyes at $5.49 and Rock-It rang up at $0.25.

No, that is not a typo, I got a brand-new bottle of Orly Rock-It for twenty-five cents! I called the store to make sure it wasn't an error in their system, and the manager told me the error was on them and I was welcome to keep the polish.

Wow, just wow.

Greydient

My first time sponging and my first effort at a gradient. On top of my Glitter Gal Light as a Feather, I sponged Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Wet Cement, then China Glaze Awaken, and topped the whole thing with Orly Winter Wonderland. Awaken was probably too dark for this, but I had fun and will definitely do it again.

Looking for Mr. Right White: Glitter Gal Light as a Feather

I can't say enough good things about the linear holo effect in this polish! It's perfect and beautiful, and I couldn't stop staring at my nails. It's certainly one of the most beautiful whites I've tried.

There were only three problems. One, it was not opaque in three coats and two, because it's holographic, the more coats I applied, the more the grey tinge of the holo pigment showed up. So if I applied enough layers to make it opaque, it showed as a definite light grey rather than white. Third, it's very pricy--$14 for 0.3 oz.

Light as a Feather is definitely worth the price, and the customer service at Llarowe is phenomenal! I'm going to keep looking, and hope I can find an opaque white to put underneath this lovely so I don't waste any!

Here is three coats of Light as a Feather in shade:



Here it is in the sunlight:



Here it is in the sunshine with Confetti Ice, Ice Baby on top:

Looking for Mr. Right White

A one-coat white nail polish is like a narwhal--I've heard of them, but my chances of ever seeing one, let alone getting my hands on one, are non-existent. Instead, I am looking for a decent two-coat white nail polish, and will be chronicling my attempts to find one.

BPAL Metamorphosis 2011

Since my computer is currently in a bin in my father's garage and my loaner doesn't have MS Office on it, I'm trying to keep up with my spreadsheets by at least entering the data here.

Last summer, Beth Barrial of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab did an amazing series of moth & butterfly scents called "Metamorphosis," and she's done it again this year. I got decants of all 8, and am working my way through testing each of them. The scents are limited edition, available until August 15th, and you can buy them here.

THE MOTHS:

ATLAS
Mallow, oak bark, coffee bean, hinoki wood, and khus.

This is odd but beautiful--vanilla and wood.

BRAHMIN
Rose otto, red ginger, caraway seed, myrrh, orange peel, mandarin leaf, black peppercorn, and vanilla orchid.

Very spicy vanilla.

IO
Red musk, pomegranate, cranberry, blackberry, mango, purple sage, thyme, and angelica root.

On my skin, this is a soft, well-blended berry scent with just a tiny herbal edge to keep it from being too sweet.

PUSSY
Orange blossom honey, brown sugar, saffron, tonka absolute, and tobacco leaf.

Since I tend to amp sweet scents, it is no surprise that this is all honey and brown sugar on me, but I'm bummed that I can't find the saffron and the tobacco.

THE BUTTERFLIES:

BLUE MORPHO
Wild orchid, pikake, honeysuckle, calla lily, agave nectar, pink geranium, violet leaf, and white amber.

Soft, well-blended floral.

GOLIATH BIRDWING
White sage, lemongrass, lemon balm, dusty beige musk, and drops of anise.

On me, this is almost entirely sage flowers--not the leaves, but the faint floral of the flowerheads, which smell like a very light lilac. It's stronger than sticking your nose into a sage plant, where the flowers get overwhelmed by the herbal/cookery scent of the leaves. I wish I got even a hint of lemonbalm in this one, but it's pretty.

MOURNING CLOAK
Opoponax, kumaru, cocoa butter, Mysore sandalwood, verbena, almond milk, guiac wood, beeswax, and myrrh.

On my skin, this is sweet dusty sandalwood with a bit of spice.

PURPLE SPOTTED SWALLOWTAIL
Black plum, opium poppy, dusky amber, opoponax, castoreum accord, dried berries, tolu balsam, clove bud, and lime.

Oooh, this just does not work on my skin--very astringent with an undertone of fleshy flower petals.