Honest Babes

I love midnight showings and I love good books, so of course I had to attend the last Harry Potter film as soon as it came out.  While the theater's disorganization and disregard for previous policies sucked, I'm still glad we went to see the movie.  Neville and Snape were particularly good in my opinion, and this was my favorite part by far!  We're going to have to see it again since we were so close to the screen the first time.   Did anyone else go see it?

Funky Fingers' Snakeskin (901) is mostly gray with a slight green tinge and gold shimmer.  You can see the green tinge if you're looking for it, but it definitely looks gray at first glance.  The formula is a bit metallic, so you may see slight brushstrokes.  I had no problems with two coats, but the topcoats I used gave me bubbles so my pictures below are with three coats.  I had no complaints about the brush, the formula was easy to work with, and the bottles are so darn cute!  Funky Fingers polishes retail for US$5 for three bottles at Five Below stores, but I'm not sure what the cost is if you only want one bottle.  Since Funky Fingers and Color Club are made by the same company, you can get Color Club Snakeskin if you don't have a Five Below near you.  Scrangie reported that Color Club's Snakeskin has microglitter, so it's possible that this is also microglitter (and not shimmer like I'm seeing) or the formula was tweaked just slightly.  It's a bit of an unusual color, and even though it's a bit too warm for me, I like it.

Bottle picture:

Snakes on a blogpost!

The first thing I did when I got Riva, swatch-wise, was compare it to some polishes I already own.  I wasn't all that impressed with it at first.  But after doing an almost full hand manicure with it, I think I like it more than I initially did.  Is it worth US$27?  Well, that I'm not sure about just yet.

Riva is like a grayed dark light blue, if that makes sense.  It looks different to me in person versus the promotional pictures and dries darker and less dusty/dingy than the color you see in the bottle.  The electric blue shimmer is much more noticeable in the bottle than on the nail.  I originally wrote that Riva wasn't unique and wasn't worth $27 unless you like the color or collect Chanel polish, but I find myself backing off of those statements now.  Riva goes on jelly-like, which I appreciated more with each nail I painted.  I did have to use four thin coats to get my nails to look even, which I don't mind for the right color.  I did get bubbles both times I had Riva on, but I blame that on my China Glaze Fast Forward top coat and Sally Hansen drying oil.  I am really disliking Fast Forward so far- it bubbles and it doesn't dry very fast at all. How much do you like light blues?

Lippmann's Lady Sings the Blues and Across the Universe debuted during the Nordstrom Anniversary sale, and I'm sure you've seen them on every other blog by now.  What can I say- I got distracted by other colors.  A magpie is me! Wall of text and four pictures of dubious quality...

OPI's Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow Suede (NN E48) is more shimmery and lighter than the almost black regular version of Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow from the Fall 2009 España collection.  I never purchased any of the original Suedes because the large contrast between shimmer and base color just wasn't my taste.  I don't mind not using lotion, which alters the finish of the Suede polishes.  (My hands are always bone dry because I hate having anything on my palms.)  The Suedes aren't supposed to last as long as regular OPI lacquer, and using topcoat to extend the life of the polish meant it wouldn't have the suede appearance.  I am wondering how Essie and CND's matte topcoats would work with the Suedes, but I am thinking I'll just see how long this polish wears for now.

In the bottle, this color was instant love for me.  On the nail, it was streaky but dried quickly.  Well, until I had three coats on.  Then I felt like it was still tacky to the touch 10 minutes after the final coat.  But perhaps I'm being overly cautious.  I did ding my middle finger, but I tried to smooth it out with my finger and then painted on another coat of polish.  I also put a Wet n Wild topcoat and then their quick dry topcoat over that on my pointer finger.  That finger usually wears more quickly than the others, so I thought it'd be a good guinea pig.

I ordered this polish from a big etailer, and it came with a scratched-off number on the side, as well as the first sticker on the bottom peeled off.  The latter bothers me, because I never peel those off.  I like how the top sticker looks, so sue me.   The former isn't much of an issue, but OPI is developing a bottle for the future that will break when people try to scratch the bottle.  There was also a wonky bristle on the brush, but I did manage to do a decent painting job (IMHO ) despite that.  A bristle is always snippable.  I was pleasantly surprised by how quick the etailer shipped my order and very surprised by how well it was packaged.  I did get a Color Club mini that was supposed to be Strawberry Candle, but it said Firelight instead.  The item number appears to be the same, so maybe the name was changed?   At least one of the OPIs I ordered was still black label, too.  Mmm, chemical goodness...Less blah blah, more pictures...

A few weeks ago, one of my most favorite bands finally came to town. I only had to wait five years... I didn't end up doing my own nails in time, but I did end up having enough time to get a salon manicure. My buddy showed me a blingy, light holo by Color Club that was perfect for the occasion. Unfortunately, the manicurist only did two coats, which was far from adequate for opacity. But only having two coats meant that the whites of my nails were clearly visible so chips didn't really show up until almost a week later.A few pictures...