Maybelline Gray-T-Glamour

Gray-T-Glamour is such a pretty deep grey with subtle shimmer.  I swatched this at night so to my eye I can't see any shimmer.  Tomorrow I will be admiring it in the sun.  Can't believe I almost past on this one.

Look at the bottle don't know where that gold came from

Did you get this one...

Until next time please have a great nail polish day. (✿◠‿◠)

Green Voodoo

Hello ladies,

Today I have another Halloween look from plate Konad plate M13. The stamp seems to represent a wobbly person with a pin and a voodoo doll or poppet. I can't help but find this design cute. The person has a round head and torso reminiscent a doll. Perhaps the poppet in his hand is holding it's own pin and voodoo doll and this will continue through Halloween into infinity. That could be a bit of whimsy on my part. The image is probably meant to be scary, but I can't be afraid of a little guy who resembles a chubby bird with a mohawk. 

The sky was grey and overcast in center city. I did the best I could for you ladies without the sun's assistance. The base color is a new Maybelline Express Finish polish in Glad to be Green. The stamping was done in white Konad special polish.  

  

Do you ever have a day when your manicure in process is not participating with your ideas and intentions? I was feeling cranky when I began, which could have initiated some of my challenges. I had to keep repainting the nails on my pinky and my pointer fingers on my left hand. One of the difficulties with the Maybelline Express Finish formula is it's incompatibility with Orly Smudge Fixer. When the polish is wet or tacky, Smudge Fixer makes it gooey instead of smoothing out flaws. The formulas are cooperative when the Maybelline color is dry. By that time, it's easier to have removed the polish and begun again.

When my date called on his way to pick me up last night, I was in full battle with the voodoo people on my nails. I told him I was having a hard time and asked him to bring me a Reece's peanut butter cup. He stopped at the corner store a couple blocks away. 

It took Glad to be Green three coats for perfect opacity. I do love the color. It has a dark green base with an abundance of light green shimmer that brightens the shade overall. It's certainly worth a purchase for green lovers.   

Happy painting, ladies.

Signs of life

Hello ladies,

Today I have a Halloween manicure with Optimistic, a shimmery taupe from Maybelline.  The polish is actually labeled OPTI-MIST-IC. Since excessive capitalization and hyphens without puns or meaning deserve nothing but to be ignored, I will carry on. I used the dripping blood design from Konad plate M13, stamped in red special polish. I added red rhinestones so the blood would trickle elegantly. 

I had an interesting conversation with my boss, Eric, who formerly was a nail tech and currently does hair and makeup for drag shows. He reads my blog. It used to be that I would wear colors he didn't find appealing, when I was not working at the store. Now I have absolutely no privacy! He doesn't leave his feelings in the comments section, but they don't go unmentioned. It's all very cheeky and often hilarious.

Diana: What do think about taupe?

Eric: Horrid! Absolutely horrid!

Diana: Taupe with shimmer?

Eric: When I was a nail tech, I had no neutrals at my table. They are wretched.

Diana: You wouldn't allow your clients to choose neutrals?!

Eric: Taupe makes you look dead!

Diana: But I really like dark taupe.

Eric: That is better. Then you have gangrene, but at least you're alive. 

I figured my demure take on gore would be appreciated. 

Maybelline Optimistic next to Sephora by OPI Metro Chic.

An outside view of the garden. Today was the first cold day in Philadelphia. The roses remained comely and bright.  

The bottle of Maybelline Optimistic came with some challenges. I had one super long brush strand that required trimming. I may pluck it permanently with fine point tweezers. I found that the Express Finish 50 second formula works best if the bottle has been sitting upright overnight. The agitation caused by walking home seemed to create bubbling on my nails. I fixed them in the morning using Orly Smudge Fixer and added another coat. Optimistic needed three coats for evenness. The formula was thick to apply. I think the results are worth the extra dedication.

Optimistic would make a reasonable substitute for SOPI Metro Chic. While it is not an exact dupe, it is an affordable way to experiment with the mushroom colors trend. Optimistic has silver shimmer that makes it lean more towards grey where Run With It has a stronger beige undertone. Both contain coppery flecks of shimmer. Lovely.

Happy painting, ladies!