Fun Guy

****I know, it seems remarkably trivial to review nail polish. To spend money on nail polish even. All I can say is that we all have our vices. For some its magazines, or Starbucks coffees, or fast food, going to the movies or dub sacks. I don't do any of those things. I cut corners and make sacrifices to buy the little things that make me happy. Besides what good is it to be a filthy American if I can't indulge in rampant consumerism every now and again?****

This past winter after catching a glimpse of the latest Chanel color, 'Particuliere' I was smitten. However, previous experience with Chanel nail polish prevented me from going to Nordies and plopping down 25 bucks for this delightfully fungal shade. Instead I began the search for the perfect mushroom hue. OPI had a contender, 'you don't know jacques' but I could only find it in a matte finish. Sephora's 'Metro Chic' came close except like Chanel, Sephora's polishes chip easily. The following are not all quite as brownish and mushroom-like as the particuliere but 2 come close.

Essie: Playa del Platinum
This could not be less brown. It is however a refreshing shade of grey.


Rimmel: Steel Grey
This shade comes as close to the desired color that I was attempting to duplicate. It does have a hint of purple though. Its long lasting, dries quick, not too expensive. Great buy. Rimmel?!?! I know.


Essie: Chinchilly
I wanted this color long before I bought the Rimmel. When I got fired I walked past the beauty store that was the scene of many of my crimes (i bought, never stole). I wanted a brown polish to match my mood but found this one. It's a perfect shade of gray and given my mental state at the time its purchase was imminent. Besides who knows when I will be able to indulge and buy more nail polish now that I am unemployed?

STAY TUNED. I already have my eye on this fetching MUST HAVE Essie Fall 2010 four-piece mini set. With shade names like Merino Cool, Limited Addiction, Little Brown Dress and Sew Psyched, its enough to start digging through trash cans and start recycling!!!

des colores

"Sweet" by Milani on my happy noodle lunchbox. Pink is a hard color for me to rock on account of how large and dark my paws are. This one is the perfect shade I have been hunting for. (^-^)*

"Suzi in the Pyrenees" by o.p.i. Its a VERY dark gray, looks black it's really nice but nothing super special. I want a gray polish and this is not it. next time...















I went bonkers for the nail polish that the Trannie Gaga is donning on the cover of the April 2010 Cosmopolitan. Its a fabulous shiny mirror finish lacquer. I nearly creamed my plus sized jeans when while trolling the Rite-aid on my way to the beer section I found this Sally Hanson 'COLOR QUICK fast dry Color Pen' in Silver Chrome. I plopped down my 27 plus shekels for this dicey crap. One of my worst impulse buys ever. Its not chrome, its not shiny, its not long lasting, it sucks. Its essentially the same as using one of those permanent marker taggers use. Except with one of those you would at least get a cheap high. Total trash. Pass.

Sparkle Motion

from left to right: Chanel-Blue Satin, O.P.I-Absolutely Alice, Etude House-BL503, O.P.I-Mad as a Hatter, N.Y.C.-120A

Chanel was a rare treat. Dick and I were drunk and sweaty; Loudly working our way through the Forum shops at the Cesar's Palace. We walked into Chanel and I felt like Elizabeth Berkley in Showgirls. For $25 bucks (gulp) I got me some fancy nail paint. I was excited and then terribly disappointed. Although absolutely stunning, the quality is poor. It started chipping right away and that is not something I expected given the hefty price tag. You can't really tell from this picture; or from live and up close for that matter, but there are tiny sparkles in this polish. A very deep velvety blue that would make a sick color for a ranfla.

This polish was a gift from a friend who traveled to Korea. It too has a subtle sparkle but is longer lasting than the Chanel. I cant read Korean, and I failed to ask my friend what the tag underneath read. It's an obvious shade of blue, slight matte and quick drying. I wore it for about a week. It was able to handle daily wear and tear and then some. (I think this would work nicely as a base color for the 'Absolutely Alice')





'Absolutely Alice' (below) is part of a limited edition collection from O.P.I in tribute to the Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland movie. I love shiny shit, and this polish is as shiny as it comes. I remember having a Maybelline color just like this back in my early 20's. Unfortunately, My Maybelline polish was much tougher than its slightly more expensive doppelganger. The very next day the color began to chip off in clumps. :o(








Also part of the Alice in Wonderland collection is this 'Mad as a Hatter'(below). I creamed my jeans when I saw it. Flecks of gold, red, silver and green glitter make up this carnival in a bottle. A brief tid-bit of useless trivia. Did you know that back in the day hatters used mercury to cure the fur used to make the felt for hats? Sitting in poorly ventilated rooms making hats causing all sorts of infirmities. The shakes, irrational anxiety, missing teeth, madness? Crazy right? I learned that from the dude on Pawn Stars (it's on the History Channel Monday's at 10pm) Shameless plug aside, I learned my lesson from the flaky Alice. I used a base coat with the Mad Hatter. A cheap purple polish that I got at Target a while back did the trick. It's not a name brand expensive polish but I liked it so much I bought two. It also comes in handy during Lakers playoff. Gotta support the team even though Kobe is a scumbag. With two coats of the N.Y.C. and 2 coats of the Mad Hatter I got a long lasting suitable color. I put the polish to the test this weekend when I decided to do some Spring cleaning in the middle of Winter. Some menstrual induced madness no doubt. Boxes filled with old college papers, magazines from early 2000's and lots and lots of dust bunnies were tossed about. These hands saw a lot of action and I sustained only two small chips. Not bad, I expected much more damage.

Speaking of damage. The year is young and the collections out already show a great deal of
promise. I have a growing list of must have colors. I may just have to get me a side job at Sally's before I find myself forced to swear off polish for the year by mid-July.

Birthday Colours

I made a promise to stop buying nail polish for the rest of the year (2009). Thankfully a special exception was made for my birthday in October.

Ocean Love Potion: Sephora by O.P.I

The color is a combination of green and blue. Sephora calls it "Mediterranean turquoise". The pale hue sits perfectly with my skin tone. However at $9 I expected the product to last longer than it did. It started chipping the very next day. :o(

Green-wich Village: O.P.I

A beautiful retro light green. I got some sideways glances for rocking it even though I remember reading somewhere that green was all the rage. (maybe I'm making that up?) It reminds me of Kermit the Frog. $8, classic O.P.I quality. Long lasting. gold star.

Steel-ing the Scene: essie

Speaking of Gold Stars. This was my first experience with essie and I have to say it has made quite the impression. Radiant muted gold with tiny flecks of glitter. AWESOME! great quality, extraordinary shine and long lasting. Worth every penny of the $8 price tag.

I lerve you. I lo-ove you. I luff you.

Happy Birfdee Mr. M

No Room for the Blues

O.P.I is my favorite nail polish. Their product lasts longer without chipping compared to most other lacquers and comes in the most amazing colors. The only problem I encounter is finding this brand in my local stores. Sometimes i can find it at some beauty supply stores or CVS, but they never have the whole line. (Target has a sister opi brand called Nicole, and Sephora also carries an opi line.) The website is a great point of reference to identify what jean-creaming color will be the object of your latest desire. Sadly, the website does not offer the option to buy. So, you are left to scouring the Internet for those must have shades that will make your day complete. I found this one on Amazon, it came from an independent vendor. Normally an OPI polish will run you about $8. I paid $6.49 plus $2.99 s&h and i have absolutely no regrets!

(this is how i see all the other nail polish blogs format the pictures...and i realize now why they always take the pictures outside in the day light...)

Stay tuned: next week a special paint-job birfdee surprise for Mr. M! (i will take that picture outside)