June 29, 2010 by pam
I loved American Apparel nail polish the first time I saw them so when they were brought back to the stores and online in March after the recall, I immediately asked Tatin to help me order them. (Tatin has magic online shopping powers, I’m telling you.)
Tatin then had the package shipped to my friend Ver in New York who then sent the polishes safely inside a box that she sent her family.
Then, a few weeks ago, the box arrived and our friend Lele got the polishes from Ver’s house. Lele then left the polishes with Jolo, who is her next-door neighbor and also our friend. Then, Jill and I went to Jolo’s house to pick them up.
Yes, there are a lot of thens in this story and yes, like raising a child, it takes a village to build a nail polish collection.
I love my friends.
And here are the beauties:
And here:
And here:
And because my nails have been busy with Paradoxal, I swatched them on popsicle sticks.
They’re so pretty.
Here’s a closer look:
This is Manila, a yellow creme. I will always be biased about this color, I have no idea if it will look good on me and will not care if it doesn’t because it shares the name of my city. I love you, Manila.
This is Factory Grey, which I am wearing on my toes now. I love this color, it’s a purple-tinted grey. I love greys.
This is Mouse, which should have a little more brown in it than this picture shows. It’s a pretty taupe. I should compare this to Particuliere and my million other taupes soon.
This is Hunter, a deep green. Pretty too and shinier than this photo shows.
This is Peacock, a medium blue. I can’t wait to wear it.
Passport Blue is a deep blue. Again, like Hunter, this has more gloss than the photo shows.
These six bottles made me love American Apparel nail polish. Now I want them all.
American Apparel nail polish is available in 24 pretty colors here for $6 each. Save $$$ by getting the three-packs for $15.
If ordering stuff from the US isn’t your thing, you can also find some of the shades at Sol’s Online Shop.
Category police files | Tags: american apparel,american apparel nail polish,blue,factory grey,friends,green,grey,hunter,manila,mouse,package,passport blue,peacock,taupe,yellow | 13 Comments
June 27, 2010 by pam
My friends and I loved Toy Story 3. We loved it so much we watched it twice.
But here’s the funny thing, before Toy Story 3 came out, I had not seen Toy Story and Toy Story 2. So a few hours before we went to watch Toy Story 3, I watched Toy Story.
Then, today, days after I watched Toy Story and Toy Story 3 twice, I finally watched Toy Story 2.
I loved it. Toy Story 3 is still my favorite but I enjoyed Toy Story 2 too.
I was concentrating on the movie which was pretty easy because the internet connection was down. But during the flashback with Cowgirl Jessie and her owner Emily, I got distracted. I was being swept by the drama of the sad song and the story of how Emily was growing up and starting to abandon Jessie… and then I went, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute.” And I paused the film.
Why?
Because of this
And this:
Emily the little girl had grown up and abandoned Jessie for nail polish and makeup.
And instead of thinking, “How horrible for her…” or “Poor doll…” I thought, “Nail polish by Pixar! Awesome!”
Yes, I am a nail polish geek.
And now I’m feeling guilty.
Because I can’t say I’ll choose Jessie over nail polish either.
Category confession | Tags: jessie,nail polish geek,pixar,police files,toy story | 4 Comments
by pam
Sometimes you need to pay attention to the underdog.
I was tempted to go for a Chanel Nouvelle Vague mani, a proper one this time, not a streaky one hurriedly done in a hotel room, but I resisted the urge.
Instead, I got a Chanel Nouvelle Vague pedicure and, for my nails, I chose Chanel Mistral.
The truth is, I feel bad for Mistral. When Chanel’s Summer 2010 shades came out, everyone was all, “Nouvelle Vague, Nouvelle Vague, Nouvelle Vague. And oh yeah, two pinks.”
I figured it was time to give Mistral attention.
Like I’ve said recently, I’ve been neglecting my pinks so I’ve been trying to pink it out. Mistral is the lightest pink I’ve gone for in forever.
It’s a soft pink with micro-glitter. It’s pretty but a little too girly for me.
My friend Ram said, “I like that polish on you. It’s fresh.”
But I couldn’t help wish I had crazy green or vampy purple on my nails.
Crazy how your taste in polish shades change over the years.
I used to love pink and reds but now, I like them dark, dirty, weird and ugly beautiful.
I still love Mistral though. You gotta love the underdog.
Category mug shot | Tags: chanel,chanel mistral,chanel mistral swatch,mug shot,nail polish,pink | 2 Comments
June 26, 2010 by pam
Friday night, right? I was out with friends, we had a nice dinner (as a big treat, we all ate a lot of carbs) and I was waiting for them to finish buying popcorn so we can watch the new Cameron Diaz/Tom Cruise movie.
The snack bar people were taking their sweet time so I decided to geek out and check my e-mail using my phone.
I had a ton of new messages but these words jumped off my screen:
From: Illamasqua
Subject: Congratulations – you made the shortlist!
Holy effing crap!!!!!!!
I quickly opened the e-mail and read the rest of the message.
Thank you for entering our Nail Varnish Competition. We received over 6000 entries, and were overwhelmed by the level of creativity we saw. Which is why we have selected three winners instead of two!
We’re delighted to let you know your entry was one of our final 50 shortlisted shades – well done!
I spent the next few minutes freaking out. That e-mail made it really hard for me to concentrate on Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise. On one hand, I was a little disappointed because I didn’t win but on the other hand, I loved that I was one of the final 50. Fifty out of 6000 is pretty damn good.
A couple of days before I got the e-mail, Illamasqua announced the winners of the contest.
The winning colors:
Shrapnel by Loren Perry – a pink-based metallic copper inspired by the dazzling shine of a new penny
Raindrops by Ann Black – a creamy pale grey with a sheer silver sparkle inspired by watching raindrops running down the window while riding the monorail in Seattle
Eclipse by Dami Lawal – a deep grey/purple blue that reflects the theatricality of a lunar eclipse
These polishes won’t be released until October but I’m excited about Raindrops (I’ve been on a grey kick). I’m curious to see how Eclipse would look on the nail and, because it’s also a grey/purple, I’m wondering how it would compare to Chanel Paradoxal.
It would have been wonderful to see my dream shade in a gorgeous Illamasqua bottle but for now, I’m happy with the big five-o.
That doesn’t mean Sluterella and I will stop dreaming. Yes, my dream shade was inspired by Sluterella, the S&M doll I made with my own hands. It’s my tribute to her.
The hardest part about joining the contest was cutting down the words to just fifty. That was crazy.
This was my entry:
I made Sluterella then accidentally lost her in Beijing during the Olympics. This polish is for Sluterella. A slutty red-black – red for her hair and the blood I shed while making her and black, our favorite color. Maybe now she’ll forgive me for leaving her in a strange country.
I miss Sluterella, I still think about her from time to time.
She probably hates my guts for leaving her behind in Beijing but if she found out we made the final fifty, I bet she’d be proud too.
Category confession | Tags: confession,illamasqua,nail varnish competition,sluterella | 14 Comments
June 25, 2010 by pam
Chanel describes Paradoxal as a grey violet plum. They call this Fall 2010 release “an enchanting color” and they aren’t kidding. Chanel Paradoxal is quite magical.
(new pics added)
No flash.
With flash.
I’ve previously expressed surprise at how different the polish looks in the bottle and on nails and my attempt at swatching Paradoxal confirms that while it looks shimmery in the bottle, it applies like creme on the nail.
Here is Paradoxal out in the sun:
When it catches the light, the subtle shimmer appears.
Paradoxal doesn’t look too violet on the nail. In fact, on me, it looked like a purplish greyish brown.
Here is how Paradoxal looks inside, away from the sunlight, with no flash.
Here is Paradoxal with flash.
Yes, the shimmer is subtle.
Here’s a close up of the shimmer.
Notice how it appears to have a grey film over it.
I love Paradoxal. I love how it can’t seem to decide what color it is, I love how it changes colors under different lighting conditions. It’s sexy, it’s interesting and I have no polish like it.
Paradoxal and I will be in love for a long time.
Chanel Paradoxal will be available in Rustan’s in July.
Category mug shot | Tags: chanel,chanel paradoxal,fall 2010,gray-violet,grey violet,nail polish,paradoxal,paradoxal swatch,swatch | 16 Comments
