Shades of Purple: Ombre Nails

Since I happen to own every shade of purple known to [wo]man, I came to the brilliant conclusion that I had just the right tools to try the ombre trend.  This is my first attempt, and I'm pretty happy with it.  I originally had my index finger a different color, but I didn't like the transition so much.

Thumb: Violeta by Sonia Kashuk 

Index and middle finger: Play Date by Essie

Ring finger and pinky: Provence by Revlon Colorstay

Revlon clear topcoat

Doing this has served as some sort of experiment.  It has shown me the wearability of different brands of polish.  Essie was the first to chip, then Sonia Kashuk, making the Revlon Colorstay the winner. I will definitely be buying more from that line, especially since they're considerably cheaper than the other brands. 

Now, if only Revlon had Essie's color selection...

-Jillian

Soap & Glory Hand Food: Quick Review

I always have a problem with hand creams, since there's nothing worse, to me, than having an oily residue on your hands. I'm desperate for one though, since my cuticles are always dry.  I purchased the smaller size of this, and have been using it for a month so far.  I will probably continue to buy the smaller size, since it fits more conveniently in my purse.  It is a non-greasy hand cream with shea butter, macadamia oil, and marshmallow.  Marshmallow???

This hand cream is almost perfect.  My hands have never been in better condition, and it leaves them feeling so soft.  I apply this whenever I start to notice my cuticles are looking a little dry, or when I'm just bored.  I rub it all over my hands and massage it into my cuticles.  It dissolves completely into the skin within a minute, and there is absolutely no trace of residue left of my hands.  My only con about it is the smell.  It neither smells good or bad; however, it is subtle enough to tolerate.  I just wish it smelled good, of course.

I would definitely recommend this, especially for the cold-weather months that can be harsh on the hands.  The appearance of my cuticles has improved significantly, and I'll definitely be repurchasing this product.  It's only $6 for the small size!

Essie's Merino Cool

-Jillian

Essie's Mochacino

I was a little skeptical about the way this color would look on my nails, despite its beauty in the bottle.  However, it looks absolutely beautiful on my nails.  The pictures do not do it justice.  I have already gotten so many compliments on the color.  A lot of people think it's shellac, since the finely granulated shimmer gives it some dimension.  I think it's going to be my go-to taupe color! It definitely needs a minimum of two coats to get a opaque color.  I also added a top-coat for extra shine.

 natural light, no flash
(This picture makes it appear a bit darker than it really is)

 Without sunlight, with flash

I know it has been so long since I've posted, but school has been dominating my life even more than usual lately.  I had 5 exams in the past 2 weeks.  I guess that's what happens when you take 18 hours!  I asked for it, but I'd do whatever it takes to expedite my graduation! I'm going to play catch-up on posting these next few days because I am currently on "Fall Break".  Fall Break, meaning that I don't have class on Thursday or Friday.  Why they make it seem like a big deal and call it Fall Break, I don't know, but I guess I can't complain that I got out of two days of class. 

 

Until later today,

 

Jillian 

Mani Monday: Essie's Angora Cardi

As promised...

I think this has easily become my go-to color.  It is such a unique color, and I'll probably have this on my nails way too much this season!

p.s.
I just noticed that my blog is very nail polish-dominated right now.  I'll work on that; I've been a bit of a nail freak lately. 

-Jillian

Essie Fall Haul: Chinchilly, Mochacino, Merino Cool, & Angora Cardi

So, I went a little nail polish crazy at Target yesterday.  While my Target was all sold out of the new Fall line Essie just put out, I found some great colors for Fall that are part of their permanent collection that I've had my eye on for a while.

 Top to bottom: Chinchilly, Mochacino, Merino Cool, & Angora Cardi

A Closer Look

Chinchilly 

as gray as gray gets.  The photos don't differentiate it well enough from Merino Cool, but the difference is that Chinchilly is slate-gray, whereas Merino Cool has a purple undertone.  The Essie site describes it as a sleek granite gray.  Sleek granite, huh? Trust me, it's that classic gray you need in your Fall nail polish collection.

Mochacino 

a taupe color with silver shimmer.  Essie's site describes it as "a perky gray with shimmer."  I am still apprehensive about how this color will look on, but it sure does look pretty in the bottle.

 Merino Cool

You can never have too many versions of gray, I suppose.  This is another gray, except this one is more of a smoked dark purple to me. What separates it from Chinchilly is that it is a darker charcoal gray with a purple undertone. 

Angora Cardi 

This one is my favorite of the bunch (spoiler alert: guess which one I'll paint my nails first).  It is a gorgeous color.  I would describe it as a burgundy-maroon color.  The Essie site, however, describes it as a creamy dusty rose.  I was curious about what Angora was and how it could be a type of cardi, so I Googled it.  It's a type of wool (along with many other definitions, but I assumed the wool went best with "cardi").  I'm very curious as to who gets paid to come up with these names and descriptions! What a job!

Of course, the O.P.I. names are a lot more ambiguous.  I'm convinced there's a jar of puns they just pull out of when they come up with a new color.  There's a color called "Uh-oh Roll Down the Window." I hardly find names that actually reflect the corresponding color.  Like that matters...

Anyway, I have only swatched the colors on individual nails, but stay tuned to see what they look like on!

-Jillian

Just another Mani-c Monday: Essie's Ladylike

I know I said the next color I was going to paint my nails was Berlin There Done That by O.P.I., but I can't find it anywhere right now!  Then, I remembered how much I loved Essie's Lady Like, so I saved myself a few bucks and used a Fall color I already owned.  I bought this color back in January, and I am in love with it!  It's the perfect shade if you're looking to do a classy nude nail for Fall, but don't wanna go in the khaki direction; this color is far from khaki with it's pretty pink undertone.  Essie's site describes it as an elegant soft mauve, but I have a feeling that Essie just likes the word "mauve" because it seems to be in the description of most of their colors that, to me, do not even remotely resemble mauve.  Mauve is more purple than pink, and this color is definitely a muted or grayed pink shade.

I did just learn in my physio psych class that we all have different versions of colors.  If you were spoiled as a kid, and your parents bought you the biggest box of crayons, you have a much wider array of colors your eyes can distinguish.  If your parents didn't love you as much, and you got the box of eight colors, you just can't see as many colors... (joke).

Aside from all the color confusion,  I think Lady-like is the perfect name for this color because lady-like indeed it is.

Also, I just bought this cuticle remover by Sally Hansen.  Having horrible cuticles, I can't believe I'm just now deciding to tend to them. This stuff is pretty cool.  I think the thing I love most about it is the smell.  Smells like cucumbers.  It's extremely moisturizing and, for the most part, you can just massage your cuticles away!  It doesn't work miracles on the first use, but I can tell that with continuous use, I should have some good-lookin' cuticles.

Since I'm new to cuticle care, does anyone have a good cuticle remover/cuticle care they recommend?