Honest Babes

I pretty much covered my description of Obscurity here, but I do want to say that Obscurity's wear does depend on the quality of your base.  I must've used CND's Stickey (my non-Big 3 Free bottle, no less ) or Ridge Out (possibly more likely ) as a base coat this time, and the wear has greatly improved.  I wouldn't bank on this color lasting forever- I have the very, very tiniest bit of tipwear after a few days- but the lasting quality is not as poor as I had once believed.

In these images, the base coat on long nails is NailTek Foundation II.  On the short nails, it's one of the CND base coats I mentioned above.

Can you guess what book that is?

***Disclaimer: I always hesitate to post my own opinions on non-polish items that could be inflammatory.  I am not aiming to offend anyone!  So I'm going to take a deep breath and post this, because it's been on my mind.  As always, please feel free to comment or e-mail if you agree, disagree, or couldn't care any less.   This is a big, daunting chunk of text, so feel free to click the "next item" in your reader or scroll over this! ***

Rodarte for MAC, Ginger + Liz and Oprah

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...

I recently came across an article that questioned how long nail polish was good for.

“Two years,” says Dashing Diva’s head nail tech, Pattie Yankee, who explained that after that time, polishes have a tendency to become thick, sticky, and stringy. Yankee recommends keeping your stash in a cool place and flipping the bottles from right side up to upside down every couple of months to keep them at their best.

Issue #1: You can combat that thick, sticky, stringy issue by using nail polish thinner (not nail polish remover.)  Someone who is a head nail tech would know this.  However, if someone throws out all of their nail polish and wants to replace some of it, guess who said nail tech wants you to buy from?  The company she works for!

It is entirely conceivable that not all nail polish will survive after say, ten years.  There may be some ingredients that just won't last.  But by and large, nail polish will last just about forever if the following steps are taken:

Store nail polish away from excessive heat, cold or humidity.  Keep it out of the sun.

Gently shake the nail polish bottles every 3-6 months.

Use nail polish thinner if the polish gets thick.  Do not use water or nail polish remover.  Start with a few drops of thinner, then put the brush back in the polish, close it, and gently roll the bottle between your palms.  Wait a few minutes, then check the polish consistency.  If it's still too thick, repeat the thinning process.  If you overthin the lacquer, just leave the top off of the polish off and check the consistency of the polish every 15-30 minutes.

Issue #2: I also disagree with the suggestion that you should flip your polish over every few months.  Have you ever had a bottle of polish that you just couldn't open?  One possible explanation is that polish got onto the threads of the polish bottle and dried, essentially glueing the bottle to the cap.  That can happen when nail polish isn't stored fully upright.  Granted you can also have the same issue by not being careful when wiping polish off your brush, but I find the former more often than the latter. If you do store your polish upside down, and then can't get it open... you might decide to throw it away and replace it with more polish.  I know a nail tech who would be glad to suggest a brand...

If your polish does get to the point where you can't open it, use "tools" that may be at your disposal:

Put rubber bands on the cap and the bottle of the polish and then twist them in opposite directions.

Use a rubber jar opener to grip the polish cap and twist it.

Put rubber gloves on and twist the cap and bottle in opposite directions.

Run very hot water over the cap and top of the bottle (be careful that you don't ruin the polish label by running water over it) and as a last resort, soak the polish bottle in hot water.  (I have achieved success with hot water on the cap and top of the bottle, but if you are going to try either hot water option, be very careful.)

Use a dropper to drip some nail polish thinner into the cap while holding the polish bottle upside down.

It's really very simple.  You don't need to throw out your polish every two years.  At the end of the world, only the heartiest of things will have survived.  Cockroaches, Spam, Willie Nelson and nail polish all fall into that category.

Lest it sound like I am impugning Ms. Yankee's character, I would like to make it clear that she is entitled to her opinion.  Mine just happens to differ.   Don't believe everything that you read, ya dig?   For those of you who'd like to try some press-on nails (is that what these are called?), Dashing Diva has some for sale on  Sephora.com.  I actually look forward to checking out Dashing Diva's polish next time I'm in Hickory, NC, preferably after a meal at the Old German Schnitzel Haus.  Mmm, Spaten Optimator...

For some reason, I found myself at Wal-mart.  A nice, new, sparkling clean Wal-mart.  Like a shopping zombie, I wandered around the different departments, marveling at all the different things I never knew I needed.  Making my way through the cosmetics area, I saw that Bic is apparently a big Stephenie Meyer fan!

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