NARS Pokerface

I'm going to warn you, if you're aware of the Lady Gaga song of the same name, this polish will create an earworm that wiggles its way through your brain every time you look at this manicure. Or maybe it's just me. Oh, well - I'll just suck it up because I love this color.

P-P-P-Pokerface P-P-Pokerface (muh muh muh muh) 

This was my first foray into NARS nail colors. I have frequently had the Orgasm nail polish in my basket, but always put it back for some reason. I adore the Orgasm blush (oh, I can't wait to see what kind of Google hits this post will get), but never pulled the trigger on the nail polish. This one jumped at me right away. It could be my weakness for all shades of purple polish.

I had just applied peppermint cuticle oil, that's why my fingers are so shiny.

The color is a pastel lavender with a very subtle blue-white microshimmer. The shimmer is only visible in the proper lighting. I had no real problems with the formula, although it was a bit on the thick side. It applied nearly opaque in the first coat, but the second coat evened it out beautifully. Although I did have to be careful because it seemed like if I used too many brushstrokes, it could get clumpy. I don't know if I'm still stuffy, but I didn't notice as much of a smell as I do with other polishes. I really liked that.

The one complaint I do have about this polish is the bottle. Well, more precisely, the cap. It's a square cap, and unlike Chanel, Dior and Illamasqua (which also have square caps) this one does not slide off to reveal a cylindrical cap underneath. The square cap make is a bit uncomfortable to paint my nails. As long as I was careful and polished slowly, it looked fine but it was uncomfortable. This is definitely not a polish to pick if you need to be out the door in 15 minutes as you will need to take your time.

After wearing this manicure for a day, I decided to do something that is VERY unlike me. I decided to add an accent nail.

Revlon Galaxy with a coat of Northern Lights

Now, I know I've said before, I'm a little bit OCD. Nothing too bad, but there are little things that bug me. Asymmetrical things bug me. I hate different color accent walls in rooms. If there's a pillow on the right side of a couch, the must be a matching one on the left side of a couch, things like that. So, an accent nail is actually pretty far out of my normal. I wanted to try and break out of that mold, though, so I tried it. I added a coat of Revlon Galaxy (clear jelly base with regular and hex glitter) topped by a coat of Northern Lights (all shaken up, of course).

I'm not sure how I feel about it. I want to keep it, but I have a feeling that I may need to remove it tomorrow. It depends on how much I stare at my nails. It does look cute, though.

Hey, we all have our thing, right?

Illamasqua Baptiste

Goodness, has it really been almost a week since the last post? Between sickness and trying to re-do a powder room, my time seems to go *poof*

However, I do have something for you dear readers today. Illamasqua Baptiste. I picked this one up at Sephora a few weeks back because I just love the Illamasqua formula, and this one absolutely did not disappoint. The color is a very deep purple with a generous amount of purple and dark magenta shimmer. Inside it just looks like a deep dark purple, but in any kind of light it shimmers like crazy.

Baptiste in the direct sunlight

I applied this on Friday and now, on Monday, it is still looking great with one minor chip on my thumb (from lifting a sticker). This one is definitely in the win column.

Baptiste indoors with flash

Indoors with flash

I am really loving the Illamasqua polishes. They are quickly becoming my favorite formula.

Have a good week, everyone!

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips

I've jumped on the sticker manicure bandwagon. I had a coupon for $2.00 any Sally Hansen product and Walgreens was having a buy 1 get 1 50% off, so all the stars lined up and I gave in. I bought two packs of the Salon Effects nail stickers, one of which is called Fly With Me, and it is multicolored butterflies on a white background.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips in Fly with Me - day 1

I'm most definitely not a butterfly kind of person, but a lot of the designs were sold out, and I really didn't want a plain creme or a plain glitter, so I grabbed this one. The strips are easy enough to put on, albeit a bit tedious. The sized were strange, there was one very narrow strip, a bunch of closely sized medium ones and two large ones per hand. I did have to do a bit of trimming. They do give you 6 extras, so if you mess up you have a cushion. Along with the 16 stickers, the kit comes with a mini orange stick and a mini file. The file is a buffer on one side and a dual file (very fine grit/fine grit) on the other. You place the sticker at the base of your nail and then gently stretch it to cover the entire nail. You smooth the sticker over the end of the nail and use the file to file away the excess sticker. Then, you take the buffing end and buff the sticker over the entire nail to ensure a good adhesion to the nail.

Closeup - day 1

I do have to say, I couldn't stop staring at my nails, they were really fun to look at. I got tons of compliments and comments on my nails, more than any other manicure I've ever had on my nails. They are quite fun. And boy, do they last! I did have a problem with my left pointer finger. One corner refused to stick, so I lifted it ever so gently, put a dollop of a clear top coat on my nail and then put the sticker back down on it. Once that dried, I buffed it out and it was fine.

Manicure on day 5

I kept these on over a weekend where we were demo-ing our bathroom in the basement, and they still looked good. After 5 days on my nails I had a couple of ships and some pretty nice tip wear on my right pinky finger. It lasts long for a single manicure. It comes off with nail polish remover like any other manicure, unless, of course, you're mildly OCD like me and end up picking it all off. I know it's bad for my nails, but oh my it is so satisfying!

Closeup of manicure on day 5 - some good tip wear there

All-in-all, this was fun manicure. I have another set and I'll use them next week when I go to my annual pajama Oscar party (The neighbors all gather at one of our houses in our pajamas and watch the Oscars with many bottles of wine).

Too Faced Romantic Eye

I don't own many cosmetics in the Too Faced line. Honestly, there just wasn't anything that tickled my fancy, until I saw the Naked, Natural and Smoky eye palettes. I settled on the Natural Eye palette and I loved it. When I read that they were coming out with a new 9-color palette, I waited patiently until it was released. Finally, I saw it on Sephora's website and jumped on it.

Romantic Eye palette

This palette has the same layout of the other 9-color palettes, 3 rows of eyeshadows with a large light color, a smaller medium and dark color. Each row is separated out into Day colors, Classic colors and Fashion colors.

The colors in each row are meant to be worn together, but the fashion police won't come after you if you use the base from the bottom row with the crease and lid color of the top rows. All of these colors lean towards the cool side, however are very wearable on my warm skin. And like the other palettes, Romantic Eye comes with three "look" cards jammed into the lid.

The colors are very nicely pigmented. Some of the matte shades are a bit chalky and need to be built up to get a nice, even color. The shimmers are all very nice. I did find that the color "Soulmates" (the large color in the first row) was VERY soft. When I went to swatch it, I took a large chunk of color out without too much pressure. So take care with the colors as they can be soft.

Day colors

Classic colors

Fashion colors

I'm very happy with this purchase, and for $35 for the palette, it's not a bad price. I've had this for about a month now and I have used it quite a bit. I also have the Natural Eye palette, and this one has one very large advantage over the previous three that were released:

The size! Too Faced have decided to get rid of the silly cardboard drawer that held the completely useless brush. The palette itself still has the floppy, magnetic lid, but it is now significantly slimmer and less bulky. I do love that upgrade.

I would definitely recommend this palette.

Sephora by OPI - Hell To The No

Ok, I have a confession. I don't watch Glee. I have never watched a single second of it, which is surprising, because I adore Jane Lynch. However, it just doesn't interest me. So, when SOPI announced they were coming out with their Glee line, I thought - meh.

Well, I actually saw the line in Sephora the other day, and my initial conclusion of "meh" still stands. However, one did stand out to me as unique, so I grabbed it. The color is called Hell To The No (no idea how that fits into the show) and it's a great bright purple color with a nice amount of fine golden/copper shimmer all throughout.

Hell To The No - no flash

The color is a little deeper than in the picture, but not too much. I love the shimmer, how the gold is a little unexpected in a purple polish. What I didn't like? The formula. It was a bit thick and gloppy. I wasn't very happy with how it went on my nails. These pictures are two very thick coats with a topcoat of Seche Vite. Even after it dried, it felt thick, almost like I had applied many many coats and let them dry. I have another SOPI color - 212 - and it's not nearly as thick as this one.

no flash

I really like the color, so I think I will keep this one. However, if you're not completely sold on the color, I'd just move on.

Stila Make Me Blush

I have been neglecting the blog. Things have been a-brewin' at Chez Lacquered Mom, which I'll share later, and have severely diminished the blog upkeep time. It'll get back to normal soon. In the meantime, I have picked up Stila's new Make Me Blush.

I found this one at Urban Outfitters for $14, right up near the register. There's something about seeing a cosmetics line in an unexpected place that automatically makes it jump into my basket. I think I may have passed this over at Ulta or Sephora, but plop it in an Urban Outfitters, and it comes home with me. Strange how my mind works.

It's a fairly large compact, the package says 0.34 oz - As a contrast, a regular Nars Blush is 0.16 oz. Stila is twice as much for half the price, sounds good to me!

The blush is a mixture of three peachy-pink colors, a deeper, mid and lighter color. The colors seem to go all the way down to the pan. The bright gold? Yeah, that's an overspray. One swipe of a brush results in this:

The gold wipes off very easily

If you do purchase this blush, unless you want to shine like crazy, I would suggest wiping off some of the overspray and use what's left sparingly. This blush is very pigmented and it's very easy to go overboard, so I also suggest using a light hand. The resulting color is very pretty and very flattering.

My NC25 skin

When used with a light hand, it gives a healthy, just-in-from-the-cold flush. Too much and you'll become Bozo the Clown, but at just the right touch, it looks quite lovely. Overall, I suggest it. It's a nice blush at a really nice price, if you can deal with all the gold overspray. I'm happy I purchased it.

Happy Friday!

OPI Black Shatter and Indecision

As I'm sure everyone has seen by now, OPI has released their Black Shatter nail polish. Pictures of this polish has been all over the blogs.

I simply cannot decide if I want this polish. On one hand, my minor OCD would go into overdrive at the crackling of the polish. Once my polish chips, I pick and pick at it until I remove all of it. The shatter effect would most likely affect me the same way and I would obsesses over it.

On the other hand, the last polish I posted about, OPI Teenage Dream, practically begs for some kind of topcoat like this. But, the biggest reason why I'm considering buying it? Because I can't find it. Yep, you read that right. I have 3 Ultas near me, and I can't find the polish. Apparently, they sell the second they hit the display. I'm stuck in the typical want-what-I-can't-have syndrome.

Yes, I know I can order it, but then I'd have to pay for shipping, and, really - that would just spoil the fun of finding something in a store that's hard to find. I had to stop myself from squealing when I finally found a bottle of Paradoxal after 3 stores (before they began shipping more).

Yeah, I have issues.

What say you? Interested in the shatter polish? Or are you passing on this fad?