Tiffany Blues

It's the beginning of winter here (though it feels like winter has been going on for at least a month, it's been so cold!) and you know how you always get a little bit blue in winter? Having it be dreary and bleak most days can really be a drag.

Now, memories are a funny thing. The smell of a certain perfume can remind you of an occasion or a certain someone. Seeing a sign can remind you of an inside joke. Places can remind you of good times (or bad). When I'm driving down the I-5, there's an exit called Utica Avenue and I think of The Office episode (S4EP06) where Dwight proclaims "We will burn Utica to the ground!"

I distinctively remember the nail polish I was applying when my dad called to tell me he had cancer again (OPI Cara Mi Crimson), but a nail polish color I associate with happier times is China Glaze For Audrey. It is, of course, Tiffany blue. There's no other way to describe the color because Tiffany & Co. literally has it protected by a color trademark. It's the blue that is synonymous with the high jewelry company Tiffany & Company. So if you can't afford a piece of jewelry at Tiffany's (aka me), you can at least have a bit of luxury in this amazing color on your nails. It really is a very aesthetically pleasing shade of blue. I don't know what it is about it, but it's just really awesome. It might be because it's not quite baby blue and has a bit of sophistication that can't really be categorized as light blue yet. Or something like that. Well, now I'm just typing my thoughts out which I tend to do.





I love, love, love this color and part of it has to do with the fact that in September I traveled to Disney World with my sister (our first real vacation together without our parents) and this is the color I wore. So obviously, this color reminds me of the Happiest Place on Earth. Or rather, the most exhausting place on Earth. Disney World is HUGE. I mean, it's amazing but wow, it's huge. There's so much to do, so much to see, so much to EAT and so much to drink (non-alcoholic and alcoholic of course).

So whenever I'm feeling down this winter, I'm definitely going to be reaching for this color. It reminds me of Disney World and most importantly, getting to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios too. Talk about amazing!! Also, the butterbeer is amazing. Get the frozen kind though because it is pretty sweet and the ice dilutes it.

A Blue Bird

I am so pleased that my favorite tennis player, Serbia's Novak Djokovic has advanced into the quarterfinals of the Olympics! Unfortunately tennis matches last way too long for NBC to show it in prime time but hopefully they will show the final, which will most likely be another fantastic Nadal-Federer showdown. I'm still rooting for Djokovic to push through though! The last three nights of Olympic coverage has really focused on gymnastics, and the stuff those gymnasts can do is really incredible. I could never play a sport where you can practice so hard and do a routine so perfectly over and over and then mess up in a competition....KNOWING that you can do it is just way too heartbreaking.

Speaking of heartbreaks, let's talk polish! China Glaze's Blue Sparrow, from their recent Ink Collection, is one that kind of breaks my heart. It's sooo beautiful in the bottle, and also when you first apply it. It's a neon blue with just a cornucopia of light blue glitter. It's pretty, yes. Here it is with two coats



As with all neons, it dries matte because of the amount of pigment they have to put in it. However, the downfall of Blue Sparrow is what makes it beautiful: the extraordinary amount of glitter in the polish not only makes it dry matte, but also gives it a gritty finish. Now, I've mentioned before that my favorite topcoat, INM Out the Door is super thin. Needless to say, in order to make the finish of Blue Sparrow smooth, you will need a thicker topcoat, such as Seche Vite, Poshe, or Oh So Wet. I used THREE coats of Out the Door and the finish still wasn't smooth. I will have to try this polish some other time with another topcoat combination, because the only reason I had patience to put on three coats of freaking topcoat is because the Olympics were on.

Blue Sparrow was a pretty polish, but I was kind of unsatisfied with it. The grittiness and the overabundance of the glitter distracted from the pretty base color. Maybe with a glassier finish, it would be a lot prettier and the glitter would sparkle more. On the upside though, with three coats of topcoat the color wore like iron.

I could say a lot more about BS (bad acronym for the polish name!), but I have to get up in oh I dunno, three hours? for my flight =/. I had to get this post out though because a) blogging is quite a stress reliever and b) I will have internet in Canada but I'm not sure if I will have time to edit some swatch pics I've taken.

Hello Pretties, Goodbye Money

As I mentioned I would, I got Chanel Rose Tourbillon today, the Nordstrom exclusive Chanel polish for their annual anniversary sale. It actually had been an Asia-exclusive earlier, which is why and how ebay scalpers have been able to get their hands on it. I can hardly blame them though, this color is absolutely amazing. It's delicate and a must-have to pink lovers, I think. I really can't think of a dupe for this color off the top of my head. It's sheer with the first coat, but buildable and opaque at 2 coats. I did 3 coats just to bring out the color more. It's a light pink with incredible light shimmer that is really cool. I have to say even though I was unimpressed with Gold Fiction, Fantastic, and Kaleidascope, Rose Tourbillon was really worth every penny (I ended up not getting anything from the Robertson collection. I wanted LA Sunrise and Sunset but budget-wise at this time it's just not feasible and I didn't want them that badly. Ok, kind of but I have to be realistic with my money).

Here it is in the bottle, it actually looks pretty plain:

On the nail it's just so pretty though!

I'm not going to lie, I really love this polish and I'm happy with the money I spent. Maybe for some people they will think it's too conservative and blah, but I think it's very versatile. It's work appropriate but sparkles like no other close-up. It's also one of those perfect pinks that can go with any outfit because it's a very light pink. I'll be attending a wedding in August so you better believe that I'm going to be wearing this!

After enduring the madness that was the Nordstrom anniversary sale, I dropped by a nearby Sally's Beauty to see if I could find either China Glaze For Audrey or Turned Up Turquoise. The one I went to didn't have many ChGs, though I think they added some more Orly polishes. I ended up getting ChG Rainbow and Fairy Dust, as well as Nina Pro Out of the Blue.

Rainbow is really pretty in the bottle, a light pink with a blue flash. But translated onto nails? Ehhhh...I don't like how I can see the brush strokes.
You can see the bit of duo-chromeness happening, as my pinky is pretty pink while the rest have that blue flash. I like the color, but I'm iffy on whether to give it another chance. I was really rushing with this swatch so maybe I should be more patient? Anyone else have this color? Thoughts?

I was much happier with Nina's Out of the Blue, which is an inky blue with blue microshimmer. It actually reminds me a lot of Chanel Blue Satin, except maybe a bit more lighter since Blue Satin is pretty dark. And has more shimmer. But this is a pretty good, and much cheaper alternative:

These pics are with two coats, though the application was a bit gloopy. I've added some thinner because I plan on using it tonight.

Yesterday, I went to Ontario-Mills and Victoria Gardens (both in Rancho Cucamonga, CA) which I must recommend for anyone in the area who wants to do serious damage with their credit card. Ontario-Mills is HUGE and has some great stores, though after the first couple of times the excitement wears off. Victoria Gardens is really chill and kind of a romantic place to shop actually, because it's all outdoors and very quaint, despite the huge crowds of people. Victoria Gardens has both a Sephora and an Ulta actually...but I was good yesterday and resisted the pull of Ulta because of the Chanel price tag.

Anyway, I ducked into the Hot Topic at Ontario-Mills yesterday to get their Kelly Green polish after seeing pictures of it from my amazing friend Jen. It looks so....blah in the bottle. Look like an average green right?

I think the lovely Stephanie (aka Polish Addict) will LOVE this one, it's a gorgeous dark green creme

Soooooo opaque, this is two coats! It's so rich...so dark....so GREEN

It really is a beaut. I'm sure Stephanie can tweak this into a NARS Zulu dupe since it's pretty close to the base color I think. I do have a bit of a gripe with this polish though: the formula is super gloopy/thick, and the brush is a bit more difficult to deal with. Some polish ended up dropping onto the palm of my hand from the brush "stem'. Really, I think the easiest way to deal with these problems is to add some thinner and pour it into an empty bottle. Otherwise, you really have to be careful while putting it on because luckily the polish globbed on my hand instead of the carpet or my friend's wooden desk! Ahhh! I had to dip the brush against the sides a LOT to prevent more polish from free-falling everywhere. Also, the name 'Kelly Green' comes from the website, the bottles are NOT labeled with names.

And, because I'm a Nintendo geek, look what followed me back from Victoria Gardens:
It's 1-up mushroom candy tin! It has mushroom-shaped sour candies inside, which is so cool.

Oh, I also saw China Glaze Naked in Sally's today, for anyone looking for it. Have a great night everyone!

How To Look Good Naked

Though I've never watched it, I'm fascinated with the concept of Carson Kressley's show "How To Look Good Naked" on Lifetime. I think it's very important for women of different sizes, shapes, and color to feel good about themselves and feel good in their skin.

Recently my roommate and I were chatting and I couldn't help but notice that even though her nails were devoid of color (try not to faint), they were a healthy, pretty pink. Even though she's since then painted them, I can't get over how nice they were. So even if you're going through a nail polish funk, know that your nails can still look good naked! If you haven't read it already, check out my tips on how to get healthy, strong nails here.

But once you're out of your funk, know that your nails can still look good naked even with nail polish on. I'm talking of course about China Glaze Naked...


These pictures don't really do this polish justice, it has gorgeous silver microshimmer and the color just makes people feel happy. Naked is definitely a must-have for all pink lovers and luckily it's part of ChG's core line, which means that it's easy to find wherever China Glaze polishes are sold.