Barielle Gotta Have Fate

Hey everybody!  Tonight I have another of the Barielle polishes included in my Wife Appreciation Day (I still love that) deal.  Earlier I posted Slate of Affairs, and this time I have something that shocked me...shocked me rather thoroughly:  an orange that I love.

Meet Gotta Have Fate.

I can hardly believe I'm saying this, but this orange creme is beautiful!  And see?  I have proof that it doesn't look gut-wrenchingly dreadful on me!  The formula was perfection.  I used two coats of Gotta Have Fate to achieve this juicy, shiny, yumtastic look. 

Oh look.  There's Angelo's hair...

Gotta Have Fate is not bright enough to look really summery and not dusty enough to look completely autumnal.  It's just a true tangerine that is very flattering.  

How about that?  First the pinks take over my collection...will it be oranges next?  Nah, probably not. :P  But that won't stop me from wearing this one! 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! :)

Barielle Slate of Affairs

Hey everybody!  Today I have a gorgeous little number by my favorite under-appreciated brand, Barielle.  If you get Barielle's email of the day, you know that sometimes they will offer a really great deal for that day.  Today's polish was part of one of those deals in honor of Wife Appreciation Day.  Hey, I'm a wife!  How convenient for me. :) 

Let's take a look at one of the three polishes I got (in my self-appreciative package), Slate of Affairs.

Barielle describes Slate of Affairs merely as "a worn denim", but there is more to it than that.  It's a gorgeous grey-toned blue with a strong bright blue shimmer.  It's practically an antique too, having been released back in 2009 in the All Lacquered Up collection.  I used two coats, and the formula was typical Barielle creamy perfection.

I didn't mention that I got Slate of Affairs and two other shades for $7.95 plus free shipping.  It's really great being a wife! :D  Be sure to sign up for Barielle's daily deal emails, and you'll get great offers like this one.

As always, thank you for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

OPI Taylor Blue

Hey everybody!  

Hmmmm...I was TJ Maxxing the other day (you didn't know that was a verb, did you?) when I found a mysterious bottle of OPI there in the buckets o' polish.  I already had a heads up about said mysterious bottle when I had read a post in one of the Facebook polish groups that Taylor Blue, a polish that was created to be an exclusive charity polish for the Taylor's Gift Foundation for organ donor awareness and registrations, was spotted at TJ Maxx and Marshall's here and there.  Well, I have no idea how these bottles ended up at a discount retailer, as Taylor Blue was (and still is) sold on the charity's website, but I purchased one of the two bottles I saw.

Taylor Blue is a beautiful turquoise creme with, honestly, one of the most wonderful formulas I've ever encountered.  I have historically had trouble with cremes.  I'm not sure why they don't cooperate with me, but it sure is a pleasant surprise to get one like this!  Makes me feel way less untalented.

I've heard that differences in Taylor Blue and OPI Fly are practically imperceptible, but I don't have Fly and couldn't say yay or nay.  (That sounded almost like a Mother Goose line.)  I used two coats and see Mr. VaNeLi in the pics, but it's not out there in real life.

While I was on a roll feeling less untalented, I decided to do some stamping.  I used a giraffe pattern from MoYou London Pro XL 05 and stamped with OPI DS Radiance.  The color of Taylor Blue looks quite a bit greener is this photo than in real life.  The actual color is closer to the first photo.

If you're interested in purchasing Taylor Blue from the Taylor's Gift Foundation, it is available for $10.  Otherwise, there's no telling if or how this will turn up elsewhere. :/

As always, thank you for reading, and have a lovely day! 

Sally Hansen Plumtarius and Age of Aquarius

Hey everybody!  My, the title of this post sounds like it could be a Dr. Seuss book. 

Tonight I'm showing you a couple more drugstore finds from a Mr. Sweets Polish Shopping Weekend from last spring.  Sally Hansen released a Complete Salon Manicure limited collection called Beachside Astrologer that I have seen exactly one (1) time...anywhere.  Now that's limited.  This collection is made up of 12 (of course) shades representing each zodiacal sign.

I, being the utterly predictable sort that I am, was immediately drawn to Plumtarius.

Plumtarius is a blue-leaning purple creme with an excellent formula.  This color is slightly dusty.  Although it was released in a spring collection, it is easily appropriate for fall.  Very nice.

The moon is in the seventh house...Jupiter has aligned with Mars...more hippie stuff...and it's the dawning of the Age of Aquarius!  You twenty-somethings have no idea what I just said, do you? :)

Age of Aquarius is a blue-leaning jade green creme that also has that lovely, dusty autumn feel to it.  And Age of Aquarius makes me look only 23% crustacean!  Greasy bottle thumbprint and paper cut not included.

The very elusive Beachside Astrologer collection had some very nice offerings, some classic colors with a bit of twist.  Complete Salon Manicure, in my opinion, has consistently good formulas and continues to impress me with application and wear time.  I hope I run into this horoscope again someday!

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day! 

I Wished Upon a Barielle Falling Star...

Hey everybody!  It's true.  I wished upon a star.  Or, maybe I should say that Barielle Falling Star was on my WISH LIST.  Yeah, that was it. :)  It has recently been crossed out and is officially mine, thanks to my blogger bud Liz of Lacquer Slacker Liz.

So the story goes that about a year ago, I saw lots of those super value-tastic Barielle 5-packs in Marshalls.  I examined one set that contained Falling Star, but I decided not to pick it up because it also contained a couple of polishes that I already had.  Well, that was a Stupid Beauty Decision.  Good grief, the whole pack of 5 polishes was only $5.99.  Needless to say, I have regretted setting down that pack ever since then.  So when Liz asked me if I'd like for her to send me her extra Falling Star, I was thrilled!

First off, let me say that I love Barielle.  I haven't met a stinker Barielle polish yet.  Falling Star is all the beautiful-ness I thought it would be. :)  It's a medium blue, slightly dusty-looking creme with copper microglitter.  My 2-coat application was fabulous, so if you see mistakes or anything in the pics, it was because I was sleepy when I was painting. :P

AAHHHH, it's so pretty...and unusual.  I love it so.  And now, rather than declaring that "I slayed a lemming" (shudder), I shall now declare that my wish has been granted.  Thank you again, Liz, for playing fairy godmother! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

Financial Responsibility, Part 1: Sinful Colors

Hey everybody!  I have been really busy this week, but I did manage to do something I've been meaning to do for a long time.  I made a list of all my unworn polishes.  I feel rather ashamed of myself.  I won't give you a number, but let's just say that facing an addiction is pretty sobering. :P  SO...that being said...I'm ushering in a new series here at my Reverie to feature said polishes.  It's the Era of Financial Responsibility!

Another thing:  you may have noticed that I do not like using typical nail polish language.  I will not use the words "dupe" or "stash", and don't even get me started on "lemming".  Another term I really dislike is "untried".  I mean...who came up with all this stuff anyway?  Who invented the nail polish language??  Anyway, as I always call my terms by a different name, I am officially calling my unworn polishes my never-worns.  I think it lends a sort of elegance to my unhealthy habit. :D

Today's post features two polishes by Sinful Colors that were both *meant* to be a Blogger Made Me Do It post blaming the ever-charming Liesl Loves Pretty Things.  So I guess you're gettin' a two-fer!  First off, let's hear it for Graine de Poivre.

Graine de Poivre (translation: peppercorn) is a mushroom taupe creme, introduced fall of 2013.  I fell so in love with this when Liesl featured it that I went looking for it right away.  I have some close-but-no-cigar colors like it.  Graine de Poivre turns really grey on me, but I still like it.  The formula is very good on this one.

I did a little comparison shot of some taupe-ish and greige colors, just so you can see about where Graine de Poivre falls in the spectrum.  Oh, and I have no idea why Berlin There, Done That looks matte...:/

The other Sinful Colors offering that I just HAD to have after Liesl's feature is Hot Chili, a sort of "texture lite" introduced around May of 2014.

See how pretty this is?  Would you believe me if I told you it's even prettier in person??  Hot Chili is a barely pink-tinged red metallic with textured bits of something and small holographic glitter.  Yeah, this is nice.  I was surprised that the formula was super runny.  My results after one coat were disastrous, but two coats seemed to help quite a lot.

Well now.  I feel better already.  Two down from my long list of never-worns and many, many more to go.  At $1.99 each, these two SC polishes don't induce *that* much of a guilt trip.  I blame Liesl anyway. :P

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

Julie G Rio de Janeiro and Santorini - PLUS Monster Plantation Party Pics!!

Hey everybody!  Hey, it's Monday again.  That was one quick weekend...but more about that in a bit! :) Today I have a couple of Julie G polishes to show you from the Summer 2014 Cruise Collection.  I had actually bought these several months ago on a weekend jaunt with Mr. Sweets, but then I went on hiatus and didn't get a chance to show them until now.

You know my feelings about pink with a dash of purple...and Rio de Janeiro is just that.

Rio de Janeiro is a gorgeous, purple-tinged, deep pink creme.  *Broken record alert*  I didn't have anything else like this color in my collection.  I used two coats, and the application was easy and covered Mr. VaNeLi quite thoroughly.

Although the Cruise collection was introduced in summer, I can absolutely see this deep pink as a fall color too.

The other polish I picked up from the collection was yet another purple-tinged color, this time a blue:  Santorini.

Yep...I realize that my coloring looks at least 7 levels of weird in these pics...but BLAST YOU, SANTORINI!!  I could NOT get an accurate color shot of this without doing funky things to my skin color.  But this is a nail polish blog and not a Melissa's complexion blog, so the funkiness won out.

I used two coats of this lovely periwinkle creme, but I needed 3 because I was having some streaking issues.  I was too darn sleepy to apply a third coat.  I guess it's the nature of a light blue to behave badly. *sigh*  The streaky patches aren't noticeable in person.

I purchase my Julie G polishes at Rite Aid, where they retail for $3.99.  I love Julie G products!! :)

And now, as promised...some pics from my sister Melanie and brother-in-law Chris' Halloween party at their home, The Monster Plantation!!  You may remember my post last year that showed how much they love to decorate for Halloween. Well, they also throw a themed party every year for their friends and co-workers.  This year's theme was circus/sideshow freaks from the early 1900's, entitled Lord Rapscallion's CarnEVIL.  I was the official party photographer and created a vintage group of photos reminiscent of those old circus sideshow acts.  Incidentally, some of the costumes were based on actual performers.

Lord Rapscallion himself...legend says he set fire to his own circus for the insurance money!  What a jerk!!

Pip and Flip - read about the real Pip and Flip here.

 

The Bearded Lady and Half-Girl

And a group shot of all of the circus performers during their glory days...that's Koo-Koo the Bird Girl on the front row!

Be sure to click on the group shot for a closer look.  That very short, demented-looking Pierrot clown is yours truly. :D

As always, thank you for stopping by, and have a fantastic day! <3

Wet n Wild Chambray Showers and Ferris-Wheel Romance

Hey everybody!  I hope you're all having a lovely weekend.  Yesterday was beauty salon day...YAY!  My hair grows like a weed, so it's always a huge relief to go for my 6-week haircut.  And besides, I love getting my scalp scrubbed. :)

To continue with my drugstore bonanza shop fest from last weekend, today's post features 2 polishes from the Wet n Wild Wild Shine Summer Festival collection.  This collection was a summer 2014 limited edition. 

First up is Chambray Showers, a light blue creme reminiscent of Sleeping Beauty turquoise.

The formula on Chambray Showers was great.  I used 2 coats, and the wear time was really good.  I don't know where all those little spots you see in the pic came from.  I sure don't remember seeing polka-dotted showers in person. :/  And a word of warning:  Chambray Showers will stain a bit.

Another of the Summer Festival collection I chose was rather NOT me, but I really like the way it looked in the store, so I decided to give it a try.  I'm glad I did, because Ferris-Wheel Romance is a cool-toned apricot that doesn't have those annoying coral tendencies that irk me.

I've read other people describe this color as coral, but I wouldn't call it coral  It's too respectable to be called such a thing. :D  Ferris-Wheel Romance had another fantastic creme formula with great wear time as well.  

Ferris-Wheel Romance...what a name.  Mr. Sweets finds nothing romantic about a ferris wheel.  He is rather panicky during the duration of the ride and gets unnecessarily chatty to get his mind off the fact that he can see over the trees.

I found these LE Wild Shines at Walgreens during their Wet n Wild sale...so I paid a whopping $.69 each for them. :)  There is something a bit retro about these two colors.  Chambray Showers has that 1960's turquoise blue kitchen look.  I especially recommend Ferris-Wheel Romance for anybody who wants a true, non-yellow influenced apricot.  Oh, and they really are shiny. :)

Thanks for reading, and have a lovely day! <3

A Disturbing Green Post: Nicole by OPI and Orly

Hey everybody!  Today I'm continuing my green polish posts...I've already posted about some grassy greens.  Today I have the category of green that's a fun one:  disturbing greens.  These are the greens that are a little off for some reason.  Or maybe they just plain bother you. :)

First up, I have a polish that a lot of people love, but in the bottle it looks so...I don't know, murky?...to me, Orly Coachella Dweller.

Let me begin by saying that Blogger magically turned the color of Coachella Dweller into a pea soup green.  It looks totally different from the picture I just took and uploaded.  Oh well.  The second pic looks like the The Real Coachella Dweller. :)  I decided after I got it on my nails that it's not as disturbing as I once thought...more like that comforting fern green you'd see in a therapist's office at your weekly session.  I used 3 coats, as the formula was a tad thin.

Next up is a polish graciously given to me by sweet Yun of The Polish Hideout.  You may remember all of my whining last year about not being able to find the Nicole by OPI Tink Collection...well, Yun kindly sent me 2 of the polishes that I loved from the collection, including Sweet on Pete.

Wow.  Now that's one frightening green.  I remember having been somewhat bothered that I liked it so much on Yun.  That's just plain old zombie blood there...or rotting meat...or appendicitis.  I used 3 coats after experiencing some streakiness.  Oh, and please excuse all the dents in the polish...I was doing yard work for a couple of hours and poked myself with quite a few sticks before I took pics. :P  Sweet on Pete is touch greener than Sally Hansen Triple Shine Statemint I posted about earlier.

And last I have another disturbing Orly, It's Not Rocket Science.  This one could be called "Glamorous 70's Funeral."  This one is from the Cosmic FX 2010 collection, and I'm not sure if it's still a part of their core line or not, as is another one from this collection, Space Cadet.

Ahhhh, well, if it's got to look like nausea, at LEAST it can sparkle, right??  It's Not Rocket Science is a goldish-green with a crazy amount of glittery goodies that just light up the polish.  It's a bit sheer, so I used 3 coats for opacity.  And I checked:  butter LONDON Wallis is darker and more gold; It's Not Rocket Science is definitely more green. 

So...what are your feelings about my disturbing greens?  Are they the stuff of your nightmares, or perhaps your dreams?? 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! :)

Sally Hansen Triple Shine, Chapter 3

Hey everybody!  Here am I, back yet again with some super-shiny prize winnings. :D  Tonight I'm continuing my Sally Hansen Triple Shine post series with two really pretty cremes.

First up is Pixie Slicks, a delicate baby pink. 

Pixie Slicks is a charming little pink that's truly pink...and it doesn't have that vague coral-ish look about it that annoys me to no end. :)  Formula on this was good.  I used three coats, which I've had to do on the Triple Shines in my attempts to...well, you know the story. 

Next I have a color that really made an impression on me, and for a couple of reasons: Statemint.  One reason is because this is plainly not mint.  It's chartreuse.  The other reason is because it IS chartreuse, and I LOVE it.  I love the way this looks.

Why do I love this?  I think it's because it offers all the brightness of yellow without actually being yellow. There is just enough to green in there to make it really interesting.  I used 3 coats of the decidedly not-minty Statemint.

Fun fact:  Statemint is the exact color of a banana pepper.  See?

Better than my famous food analogies...it's PROOF!!

So, do you like the latest installment of Triple Shine colors?  And how are you feeling about Statemint? 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! :)

Sally Hansen Triple Shine, Chapter 2

Hey everybody!  I hope this week is going well for you. :)  My sister Melanie and I recently won a fantastic prize of 16 Sally Hansen Triple Shines in a photography contest, and I have some to show you today.  I've already posted about Red Snapper and Wavy Blue, so today's post is a continuation.  And now that I have so many, I'll probably continue even more. :P

Let's dive right into it, shall we?  What an awesome segue...first off I have Dive In! 

Ahhhhh, isn't it lovely??  Dive In is a turquoise blue cream that is probably my favorite of all the Triple Shines.  It's just so happy.  And for all you girls who just LOVE the arrival of spring, this is definitely a springy polish.  I am still a bit surprised that I don't have this color already, but I don't.  I used two coats of Dive In.

Next I have Kelp Out, which is a medium green crelly.  This is a really nice color that I could have posted about in my grassy green comparison if I hadn't wanted to keep my Triple Shines separate.  The formula was easy to work with but a little thin for my desire to avoid Mr. VaNeLi, so I used three coats.

And in case you were wondering, Kelp Out is quite the shiny little number.  And I know my coloring looks a little strange(r) in these pics, but I wanted to capture Kelp Out correctly. :)

There are several glitter toppers in the Triple Shine line.  I layered Sparks Fly, a silver/blue glitter combo, over Kelp Out...and I'm kinda loving this look.  It's like Swamp Thing goes to Vegas.  This is one coat of Sparks Fly, and the formula was very good on this one.

And if Dive In is my favorite Triple Shine, Flame On has got to be a *very* close second. 

Flame On is a BEAUTEOUS hot pink metallic with a subtle shimmer.  And it looks just like shiny vinyl on the nail!  Seriously...you see a teensy weensy bit of brushtroke stuff in the pics, but you cannot see any in real life.  It's just like you wrapped your nails in plastic.  LOVE!!  I used three coats of Flame On for opacity.

I love the application and colors of Triple Shines, but I have the same problem will all of them:  inordinate tip wear.  I don't get it.  Have you all tried any, and what has your experience been with them?  Is it just me having these issues??

Stay tuned for more Triple Shines in all their glory!  Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! :)