Sunday, September 30, 2012

What I've Been Up To

Hi guys!

I'm sorry I left you guys hanging and don't post as often anymore. Since I didn't do as well as I hoped last school year, I've been studying a lot... I still want to graduate in 3 years (this school year is my second year already) so that's added pressure. Lately, I've been isolating myself in the school library until the evening or late at night. On top of all this, I've been trying to get more sleep and stay healthy. Some of you guys are probably thinking that it's "just studying", but I'm trying to get in dental school (and graduate earlier than my program) and I have a lot of other people I have to compete with in my program (and from other schools as well). Sometimes, I think I'm lagging behind and/or can't match up to them... I hope you guys understand.

Since I had 3 exams on Friday, I decided to crash and take a break. I bought 50 clear swatch sticks from Amazon and I used most of them up (one I messed up on and another cracked) to swatch all the Fall colors in my collection. I have to buy more so I can swatch two more Fall colors and the Spring, Summer, and Winter colors. Honestly, I'm pretty disappointed in the quality of the swatch sticks. I had to file down the ends of the sticks and the nails and, with enough pressure, I could probably break them in two.  It was also pretty expensive (around $18 or so dollars). It doesn't help that I found a swatch stick with a cracked nail either. Though they did include some Doraemon fimo slices! The swatch sticks were sold by La Demoiselle and fulfilled by Amazon. Since I need more swatch sticks, I'll just wait until my friend (the one mentioned at the end of this post) orders from Born Pretty Store again. Their merchandise is cheap and appears to be of good quality. I'll let you guys know how they are.

Here is what I've been working on (the Fall colors are mostly done!):


(I care a lot about politics and the upcoming election, huh?)

Once I'm done with the Spring, Summer, and Winter colors, I'll do a whole post on what colors I chose for each season. :D

Last weekend, my roommate and I hosted a little nail polish/nail art party with a few of our friends. Three of my friends did their nails, but I only have pictures of one of them... But only because she photographed her own nails. She decided to do a Batman-and-Joker mani! I think it's pretty cool! :D

Left hand:
Color Club Almost Famous (not too sure though)
Essie Licorice

Right hand:
Essie Blanc
LA Colors Striper in Red
Maybelline Ice Queen
Sinful Colors Clementine
an Ulta green or Maybelline Go Go Green

My friend has a tumblr that you guys can check out here! She posts a lot of awesome nail art and Tom Hiddleston stuff, along with other things. (You've been warned! LOTS of Tom Hiddleston!) Enjoy! :D

Now, I'm going back to studying.

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Zoya Yara



Zoya Yara

Yara is my first Zoya polish! :D She's an olive green with gold shimmer and is opaque in 2 coats. (As you all know, I'm a sucker for gold shimmer!) I am quite impressed with the formula: Zoya uses a vegan-friendly formula so I wasn't sure what to expect. Yara applied well, flowing nicely onto the nail. She dried shiny, quickly, and darker than the bottle color, which I'm fine with. I love all the olive greens! *a meme reference* I'm pretty sure I'm going to wear her quite a bit this fall and winter!

What was your first Zoya? If you don't have one yet, then which one would you purchase first? I'd love to know!

See you guys on the other side of the day!

Michelle

P.S. Off topic, but I scored 3 Butter Londons (4 if you include the top coat that's part of the package deal) for $16.88 (includes shipping and handling and tax)! Wallis, All Hail the Queen, and West End Wonderland are finally crossed off my wishlist!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Finger Paints Late Night Rendezvous

Well, look who's back! I've been gone for a while because of school, sleep, and eating. That's really all I've been doing... :( I really missed blogging! However, I don't think I can do posts semi-regularly anymore, and I'm not going to try because I don't like empty promises. Let's just enjoy the journey once again, shall we? :D Now, moving on...





In a less sunlit area:



Finger Paints Late Night Rendezvous

Late Night Rendezvous is a mermaid-esque blue shimmer that flashes green. I used 3 coats here because it was a little patchy, but it can be passable in 2 coats. It had a really nice formula and dried quickly. Late Night Rendezvous was shiny and reflective, almost metallic-looking. Though it looks rough in the photographs, it was actually smooth to touch. The shimmer particles are just somewhat larger than normal. I took several photos of Late Night Rendezvous, attempting to show its beauty and the green flash, but I couldn't capture it. You have to see it in real life in order to see its full glory!

See you guys on the other side of the day! So so happy to be back!

Michelle

P.S. Loving the current length of my nails. I think I'll keep them this long from now on.