Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Helloooo sixties!

::pant:: Just making it under the wire for Pink Wednesday. Whew!

Although I'm back to Stubsville. ::sulk:: I know this polish looks really white, but it's a MEGA FROSTY pale pink. Did I mention frosty? If this were the temperature in here my fingers would be snapping off. Like liquid nitrogen frosty.

Nina Ultra Pro in Powder Puff. I shall hide behind a poor iPhone photo. The frosty, frosty nubbins:


Did I mention frosty? Brrrr. Absolute zero Kelvin. -273 Celsius. -459 Fahrenheit.

Applies well, though. Now I am off to bed. Today sucked. Tomorrow is not shaping up to improve. Wish me luck.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Ah, tragedy!

I was about ready to leap into the shower this morning -- okay, trudge into the shower, not much leaping happening this morning -- and thought, Huh, my nail feels funny.

*Robin Williams/Genie voice* "Eet BROKE."

::sigh:: An hour later, I put on my most ruthless panties and did this:


I'd apologize for the horrific iPhone photo, except -- who WANTS a good photo of this? You can sorta see where it broke; not a good angle, so I figure in a week or two I can even them out a bit. But rather than try to nurse it along and wind up yanking it off, I decided to just start fresh.

Well, at least I'm typing faster again. ::slump::

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Question: Tunneling?

Way back in the day, I used to get acrylic overlays on my nails. I stopped after a short time because I hated the damage to my natural nails, but during this time frame I noticed that as my nails grew longer, they curled at the edges of the tips, eventually pulling away from the acrylic. My tech called it "tunneling."

Thing is, my nails still do it, and I'm wondering why. I attempted to get a photo of it tonight, although I'm not sure if it is adequate. Left thumb:


The nail itself is this length:


I wonder if there's something I can do to prevent this. It isn't unsightly, not yet, but if I don't trim soon I'm really going to notice it, and not just on the thumb. I'm not sure if you can see it starting on the rest of my nails:


Maybe there's a sort of event horizon with nails. A maximum attractive length, something. I know my nails will grow longer than this, but I'm at my PERSONAL max in terms of usability -- I'm constantly having to be careful with things, because about now is when they get a lot more fragile. (Mad-Eye Moody Moment(tm): Constant vigilance!) But it isn't only the fragility issue here -- it's also this curling thing I got going. I esp. notice it on thumbs, of course, and on both middle fingers. But it's starting on all of them, just not as noticeable yet.

Any thoughts?

(Polish is 2 coats of Nfu Oh 52 over a coat of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Black Heart. Poshe on top. Sorry the photos are crap. But oh wow, is this polish purty.)

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Still not dead!

Hello, you. Still grinnin' here in nasty dry West Texas. How are you?

I took a short vacay from blogging and Cityville, but I have returned here before Cityville, I'll have you know, so there. I'm fresh off an entire WEEK with the same mani. ::dizzy spell:: Yes! But it was a week with my BFF I'm Not Really a Waitress, which makes it all right. Best Red on the Planet.

Tonight I'm wearing a new color for me -- OPI Brisbane Bronze, another from my gift pack from a few weeks ago -- no pics yet, but my my, she is comely indeed. I'll show you soon as the sun comes back up.

Also am edging back into Dragon Lady territory, and I likes it, precious, I does. The longer nails get the more I love dark, Mata Hari-ish colors. Sup with that? I dunno, but I do.

Then I went and dinged up my middle right finger. Sorry, Brisbane! I might visit you next year and I'll make it up to you then, I promise, 'kay? 'Kay.

Meanwhile, Texas is still the Inner Pit of Hell, work is still cooking AND eating my lunch, and in other breaking news: Sun rises in the east.

I hope to return soon with photos and a resumption of my interrupted blogging schedule. Until then, be shiny.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Am not dead.

On the contrary, I am a year older. However, I sort of...lost momentum there for a bit, and as today was my first day back in Hell -- well, you know, work -- I'm feeling rather as if I aged several decades instead of a measly year.

To briefly sideline to yet more personal and less humorous subjects, I have a couple of health-related issues going on, which are causing a bit of worry. Nothing too serious, I hope, but I am a melanoma survivor, and any tiny whiff of scary shit really, truly ruins my day. With work becoming a kind of daily crapshoot as to who will even be there (my quite beloved managers have all left, with the last one only official for me today, thanks to my vacay), and hoping my dad's cancers/plural stay the hell away, and that I don't grow any gorram NEW ones -- etc., etc., I'm only halfway here at the mo. If you are on Livejournal I post regularly there; it's really my main squeeze. janissa11 is my username. But that's the non-nail/sometimes-fannish content. I shall entirely understand should you choose to eschew it.

Y'all take care of yourselves.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Hello again, Mr. Pink!

Huh. That header's giving me Reservoir Dogs flashbacks. Eeek.

If you're going to wear pink, wear PINK, man. This OPI Flashbulb Fuchsia is PINK ALL OVER. Heee. Bits of glimmer inside, but just as fuchsia as they come. (Adult language alert: You just KNOW someone involved in naming these things REALLY wanted to call it Fuck-You Fuchsia.)

(Or maybe it's just me. Tra la.)

I'm in a bit of a hurry, no regular camera, so resorting to iPhone again. Blurry, I'm afraid, but it's the gist.


This is yet another in the gift set from my friend L.



My mom's birthday tonight, so off to get various food items prepared. Hope this top coat's dry enough. Y'all have a good day and stay cool! (Or warm, as the climate dictates.)

Monday, August 8, 2011

Piggy piggy piggy

I may have pics from yesterday's incredibly brief mani sometime, but since it was really INCREDIBLY brief, right now I won't bother. (Nfu Oh, and the stink was so bad I nearly yarked, SO. Bye-bye. To be fair, I was already feeling fairly ill when I applied it, sort of exacerbated the problem, but I think I'll take an Nfu Oh break for a few days nevertheless.)

Today, however, is the first official day off of my vacation, and I have a slightly less stinky OPI for y'all. Part of my gift set: And This Little Piggy.... Which is sparkly and girly and very much fun!

Substandard iPhone photos, due to my laziness, sorry.



This seems like a very good everyday polish to me -- nothing outrageous, but still sparkly and pretty. Then again, I'm on vacay, so I can wear whatever the hell I want this week, so there.

Full sun pics are a bit blurry, but that shows the sparkly well, I think.



I have a special pink I've been saving for Wednesday, so not quite yet. Have another non-pink (!!) for tomorrow.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Pink! How I have missed thee!

The good, and the bad:

Good: I have pink polish on, for Pink Wednesday!

Bad: It's only Wednesday.

Good: I have very, very cool new polish!

Bad: I have very, very cool new polish that sucked canal water to apply.

Good: It's Wednesday! Two more days to vacay!

Bad: It's Wednesday. Two more damn days to vacay.

Nfu Oh #61 is simultaneously the most amazing and most aggravating polish currently available on the planet. I feel confident in that assessment. Prove me wrong. I dare you.

Shit is NASTY to apply. I just barely kept myself from heaving the damn bottle against the wall -- mostly b/c of the high price tag -- and did finally get it ON there, although my neatest job, she is not. I wound up with two coats, then top coat, then a third coat. Smooth enough, I guess. And honestly, looking at it, I initially thought, Meh. It's... harmless.

Then I saw it in the sun this morning, and my brain melted.

Oh, wait, that's every day in this heat. But no really. I need a gif of a Warner Bros character doing the CLANG/jaw drop thing. It's sensational in sunlight. Dayum.

I have only crappy iPhone photos, but they'll suffice.





It looks incredible in sunlight, and under some incandescent bulbs, but looked very meh under fluorescents at work. Still -- my first holo, and I really am impressed.

And to be honest, my nails have grown enough to satisfy me a bit better. Can't type worth a damn, but that's why I'm a supervisor now: Don't have to type for a living. HAH.

I also have the 52 and 56 coming up, so stay tuned. Major Nfu Oh-gasm coming this weekend.

::rim shot::

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Shriek!

Okay, you know how you feel when you're at work/home/someplace not the post office, and you're waiting to go pick up a package? And that package has SUCH UNIMAGINABLE PRETTY IN IT that waiting is somewhat akin to hanging by one's thumbnails from the ceiling? Or, at the very least, the worst clock-watching afternoon ever?

That was my day. Compounded by Week-Before-Vacation Fever. It's not that I'm GOING anywhere, or doing anything in particular. It's just that I won't be at WORK, right?

Staring. At. The clock. All. Day.

BECAUSE....

I was getting this:


OK OK, crappy iPhone photo, but -- more Nfu Ohs. ::shrieks some more:: I got 52, 56 and 63. Oh, I am so out of control, and it's GREAT.

So I shall have a PINK for tomorrow, finally (erm, I never did change out of the 51 -- I'm still wearing it, plus a third coat and another top coat, and it hasn't even chipped. Tiny bit of tip wear, that's all).

But not until tomorrow. Until then, here is a photo of Bei Bei the Wonder Kitten, at ease in his recliner. I think he needs a martini and a smoking jacket, myself.


Now to see if I can chip these five pounds of purple polish off my nails. MAN, I love these polishes.

ETA: I have been horribly remiss. Bei Bei is not my only cat. In fact he is my more recent cat. This is Mei "There Can Be Only One" Mei, who did come first. Tucked under her feather blanket, as befits a princess. Or an Immortal.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Yeah, well, um.

So I generally do my manis in the early evenings, after work. And yeah, yesterday I had plans to do my pink mani.

And then I came home and slept for four hours. ::scratches head:: So yeah. Not so much with the pink.

I'm actually having a bit of an issue with tiredness, as you may be able to tell. The godforsaken boulder from Hell -- aka renal calculus, aka kidney stone -- left me with some unexpected anemia, and man, it's kicking my not-insubstantial booty. I think I could sleep 18 hours a day if it were allowed.

And also: Hmm, I am evidently besotted with this Nfu Oh polish. I kept staring at it yesterday, and this morning instead of doing a new mani I added a third coat and another top coat. It is even MORE ravishing. I honestly think this is the polish for the stranded-on-a-desert-island scenario. I love it that much.

So of course I had to order more polishes. There's a blue flakie and a green flakie on their way to me, along with one of the holographic polishes -- pinkish, I believe.

I also like my current length. It's long enough to be pleasing without being talons.

Oh, this polish is killer. I feel like kissing the bottle. That sounds like a game we played in junior high, doesn't it? Heh.

So: Fail with the pink this week. But utter WIN with the new polish. ::swoon::

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Okay, this is not pink.

Although it is Pink Wednesday. BUT! I went back to work yesterday, which was VERY much a Monday for me. Which makes today functionally my Tuesday. Which means! Tomorrow is Pink Wednesday, not today! \o/

Yes, I know you saw what I did there.

The REASON today is not Pink Wednesday is -- impatience. I got my bottle of Nfu Oh 51 the other day and I could not wait any longer to try it.


Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh la la, yes, now I see why so many people freak over this line of polish, and this color too. I did not know enough about it to layer it, and so it is a bit sheer and unevenly applied, but OH.


I do now think it would be even more spectacular layered over a dark complementary polish -- I think I'll try it over Russian Navy and see what happens. But oh, it is gorgeous. The flakies are SO PRETTY. Gahhhh.

(I've, erm, blanked out the booboo for your eyes' safety. Lightning bolt in honor of Harry Potter.)


In a very blurry photo suddenly showing me how desperately my carpet needs vacuuming, here is a candid shot of Bei Bei the Tailless Wonder Kitten, complete with Mini-Me Toy. Light of my life, and bane of the existence of Mei Mei the Older and FAR More Sophisticated Cat Who Came First, Damn That Little Red-Haired Usurper.


And one of these days I'm going to get my cuticles and fingertips under control again. But. Evidently that day is slower in coming than I'd like. Bleh.

Pink tomorrow! ;-)

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Booboo in pink.

The past week has been MOLTO difficile, and I strongly recommend against ever acquiring a kidney stone. Last Sunday and Monday -- well, let's just say that this revised pain chart accurately depicts it, as in TOO SERIOUS FOR NUMBERS.

And then taking all gorram week to feel remotely human again. I don't even know. The upshot of which, nail-wise, is cuticles ripped to shreds. I am sparing you the bulk of the horror. One picture only, and the worst booboo is kindly blacked out.

The polish, however, is so much fun! Another of my gift OPIs, Ladies and Magenta-men. LOOOOOOOOOOVE.


I get my stent removed tomorrow, and I hope that this marks the end of this decidedly unpleasant episode. Then to attempt to heal the nail damage and forge ahead. Ugh.

Drinks LOTS OF WATER, folks! Water is your bestest, bestest BFF!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

First of the new haul

My friend has awesome taste, and picked out some colors I am just dying to try. First off is OPI Significant Other Color. It looks pale purple/metallic in the bottle, but my skin pulls the pink in shade. In the sun, though, holy cow, iridescent green shimmer! My camera had a small cerebrovascular incident trying to capture the green in the sun, but wowie.



I saw some commentary on this polish here and there that mentioned it being sheer. It is a bit sheer, but honestly? This is two coats, and I have only a tiny bit of VNL. Now, I like a bit of VNL so it's not problematic. But also I use Nailtek Foundation II base coat/ridge filler, which is a bit opaque, so that could explain why I got decent (IMO) coverage from two coats.


I really, REALLY like this. Indoors it does go a bit on the pinky/lavender side, which is very pretty. Again, not the easiest to capture for some reason.


And in the sun it really sings.


SO PRETTY! Anyone else tried this?

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Oh, Pink Wednesday --

-- you snuck up on me. I'm just not feeling up to doing anything nail-related tonight, still sorta bleh-feeling, but I CAN say --

YAY!!!!! I got a delightful package from a friend, with six new-to-me OPIs inside! And she knows my taste and chose the most glorious colors. There's a fuchsia that I really, really wanted to do for Wednesday, but anyway -- oh man.

So I'm pretty much set for some time, because I still have about five polishes in addition to those that I haven't yet tried. And I'm really wanting to give stamping another try. I read some tips about scuffing the pad before picking up the polish, and I think that's the part I was missing.

Time for a visit from my new best friend, H. Codone. Hy for short. Y'all have a lovely evening and hopefully I'll be back on course for next week's Pink Wednesday.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Hello, with a side dose of whining.

I had no idea how much it REALLY wasn't my week last week. Nor this one. Yeah, a little surgery yesterday, got out today, felt awesome, now feeling -- way not so awesome. Word to the wise: Be kind to your kidneys and ureters. They are not the forgiving sorts.

And I had the same polish on for days and days, and I was so TIRED of it but, yeah, sick as the proverbial dog, and all I wanted to do when I came home was paint my nails. But by the time I actually got around to it, I felt cruddy again, so I've done the worst manicure of my life, and will only subject you to two pics. If I were you I would not click on the enlargements. I had LOTS of time to royally screw up my cuticles. And bleh, bad painting.

I did have a new polish to try -- OPI Russian Navy -- and I adore it. Only realized after I'd finished that it's supposed to have a suede finish. Oh well! C'est la vie and alla that.



I...think I'm gonna go not feel so good now. But looking at all the polish blogs updates just really cheers me up. There is just so much new pretty out there!

Ciao bellas.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Well, best-laid plans.

Pink Week was a bust, unfortunately. I'm in the midst of experiencing that infamous state of affairs: the kidney stone. My nails have gone utterly by the wayside.

Regular service will resume presently. I have good meds and lots of drinkables, and that's about all I can ask for at this point. Short of a house falling on me.

(I almost said "Short of the Vogons showing up to create way for a new interstellar bypass." Which is symptomatic of my re-reading Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Along with my conviction that kidney stones probably feel about like it would to listen to Vogon poetry.)

(Anyone else ever listen to the BBC radio broadcast from back in the day? It is pure and utter brilliance. I have a huge set on cassette tape somewhere. I'm not however sure I still have a cassette player. Hrrm.)

Wishing you all cool days and excellent health.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Pink Week, Wednesday edition

This week's festival of daily pinks interrupted by yesterday's, well, this:


In the midst of a highly aggravating phone call to an insurance company at work yesterday, I went OW, and realized I'd just ripped the ever-loving bejebus out of my left thumb. That is to say, yes, the left thumb lateral nail fold. So I have a booboo. I put the bandaid on to keep myself from worrying at it.

In any case, I bared the horror to the world again today, and oh well. It is what it is.

Tonight's Pink Wednesday polish is OPI Play the Peonies. Which is, honestly, juuuuust baaaaaaarely pink at all. Any paler and it'd be white. I missed the evening sun again (what IS it about days getting shorter so FAST, so soon after the solstice? I realize it's probably my imagination, but MAN), and I'm not certain you can make out any pink at all. Nonetheless, erm, supposed to be mega-pale pink.


I really disliked this after the first coat. Ick. Wonky to apply, and sorta streaky. And then I did a second coat and some Poshe top coat, and now I fancy it pretty well.


I admired this polish a great deal when I was seeing it on others. I can't say I'm just nuts about it on myself, but I don't hate it. It's nice. I just wish it were REALLY sheer. I guess I'm weird, but I like some VNL. What I'd love to find is a very, very, very sheer milky green. Like jade for your fingers. Anyone know of such a thing? For some reason it just sounds yummy to me.

Now I shall take my whiter-shade-of-pink nails and crispy-fried tater-tot cuticles and go play Cityville. Y'all have a great evening.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Pink Week!

In honor of the *cough*five*cough* pink polishes I got this weekend, it's now Pink Week over here at NWR. \o/ I loves me some pink, I guess you could say. None of these are new polishes to anyone but me, but that's okay! Yay pink!

Tonight/tomorrow day is OPI Princesses Rule! And I LOVES ME IT. Sadly I missed the sunshine tonight, and my pics all came out somewhat-to-very blurry. I sharpened these as best I could, but nothing special.




All left hand tonight. I have come to the conclusion that I am insufficiently hardcore yet. Today was fiendishly busy at work, and I just tend to forget to apply any lotion or oil to my hands.

And...okay, I confess it. I have ripped my right hand nearly to shreds the past few days. That old miserable lateral nail fold. I'm far, FAR too embarrassed to show the world my right hand. Left is bad enough -- witness that poor index finger there -- but oh, the right is so bad.

So. Back to rehab. Problem is, I do much of the damage unconsciously, stranded on the phone at work, that sort of thing. Too late, I look down and YOWIE, poor fingers.

Wish me luck. I may purposefully blur my pics for the next week or so, so's to save your eyes from the horror.

In closing: PIIIIIIIIIINK. \o/

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Green again.

I tried a green a month or so ago, and was not particularly happy. Translation: Could not get it off my nails fast enough. Lobster hands, something, but yellow/apple green, she does not flatter me:


Friends STRONGLY recommended cooler greens to me. I didn't take the plunge until recently, and I'm more pleased now. This particular polish is China Glaze Watermelon Rind. Seems a bluer green indoors, a very clear cool green outdoors.




I saw a couple of reviews which pointed out it's pretty sheer; appears people were doing three coats. I don't mind VNL, and it seemed okay to me, so this is two coats. It's probably a little too Christmas-y for me at the moment, but I do like the color.

I also hit up the Mecca of OPI polishes locally, Drug Emporium, and now have a number of new additions to try out. PINKS! I got all but one of the Nice Stems collection. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Soon.....

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Well. Bleh.

Sorry for the brief hiatus; things somewhat busy and frantic this week around here.

I found out I'm having mail and packages stolen from my porch, among them a much-anticipated shipment of polishes from a dear friend. CUE SOBBING. No kidding.

So I rented a PO box, and took myself to Sally's last night for some retail cheer. One of the polishes that caught my eye was an unfamiliar brand -- Nina Ultra Pro -- in Molten Gold. (Molten Copper also, but I finally went with Gold since it had a tiny bit of pink duocolor in it.)

Erm. Not with so much of the liking. It's thick, maybe old, not sure, and for no reason I can determine it's -- ugh -- bubbly. The pink hardly shows, and not at all in the photos. Mostly it looks like a rather brassy gold.


I'm also using a new top coat, Out the Door, and I guess it's all right. But it doesn't go on as cleanly as Poshe. And man, I don't like the smell. I don't mind regular polish-smells, normally, but this one smells fairly foul. Works all right, I guess.


Possibly I should apologize for my cuticles yet again. But really: I hate this polish so much I'm going to blame everything on it instead. See what I did there? (ETA: Oh, that booboo on my index fingers looks just horrid. It doesn't hurt, and I'm surprised it looks like such a WOUND. Yeeeikes. Sorry about that!)


So. Feh. I got a new China Glaze that's very interesting, so I may change to that shortly. Green!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

We're...in the pink, still.

I fail at remembering to hold off on my new pink mani until today -- I posted the pics last night, even though I actually wore that mani today. Anyway! So, erm, peek at yesterday for today's actual, uh, pink Wednesday.

In my defense I'll say that last week's root canal is still problematic, for some reason, and the dentist's office is closed for vacation this week, which means, y'know, sucking it up until next week, I guess. Take care of your teefs, y'all, you'll be glad you did.

Also shakeups at work. But for dinner tonight we had surprise!barbecue with all the homemade trimmings, and that never fails to please. (I am going to HOUND my cousin for her potato salad recipe. Man, that shit was a FOOD GROUP. So good I could cry, even if I did have to chew on one side of my mouth. Hey. I was motivated.)

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Monday? No, Tuesday. No -- Monday.

I've been confused all day.

Was looking forward to tonight's polish, a new one for me, last of my Ativan-fueled shopping last week. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 260, So Much Fawn. I'm hard-pressed to say exactly what color this is. It's a slightly brown-tinged pink, except when it looks like a dusty rose. However, I'm pretty pleased with it.

Indoors, using the new *eek* camera:


Couple of outdoor shots:



I'm very much happier with the shape of my nails this week. The square/squoval look is growing on me, and I'm looking forward to gaining a little length back.

Now, to smear this entire tin of shea butter on my fingertips. Y'all have a good one -- hey, we actually had some minor amount of water fall from the sky today. Is the end of the Great Drought of 2010-11 over? Not yet. Stay tuned.

(Trivia for the day: Around here, many, many people pronounce it "drouth." I have no idea why, but both my parents do it, along with lots of others. Can't figure it.)

Monday, July 4, 2011

Hoooly hot dog!

My mom has a later generation of the Coolpix -- 7600 -- and it has a better macro function on it.

Annnnnnnnnnd, ah, yeah, my nails are SO NOT READY for their closeup.

::cringes:: Wow. That's pretty damn unforgiving, that close. Hiiijo.

NOT coming to a blog near you, until I can, I don't know. Muster up my nerve.

Happy 4th!

Outside the air is fragrant with wet grass and barbecue grills. Guess people are watering the yards, because ain't no rain fallen here. Still, clouds and still only around 80*, so I won't complain too much.

I gave some thought to trying out some sort of American-flag mani today, but at this point red will have to do. I might get adventuresome later. ;)

Milani Ready to Wear Red. I've worn this once before and really liked it, and still do. It's creamy and levels itself out well, a definite plus for Ms. Shaky-Hands here.


I began looking at cameras yesterday, and may go with the nth-generation from my current one -- I have a Nikon Coolpix 4100, and looking at an S8100. Not too horribly pricey, and will allow some features I don't currently have.


There's just something about deep vampy red that I cannot resist.


Have a happy and safe holiday, you Americans out there celebrating, and see you later!