Can't think of a clever title for this post about smiling soap

I was feeling pretty crappy yesterday (having a rough month, if it wasn't already obvious) and I was hoping a hot shower would make me feel better.  Usually some really good smelling soap cheers me up a little, but I just wasn't feeling it... and then I looked at my soap dish.

It also has the ability to fold space. (Thanks, EB!)

My soap was smiling at me and I couldn't help but laugh about it.  Hell, I even brought my camera into the shower to take a picture of it so I wouldn't forget how (eerily) cute it was.  Message from the universe or weird soapy coincidence?  I'll never know, but it sure made me smile too.

Hope everyone's having a good day today!

NARS Disco Inferno Nail Polish Spring 2013 Swatches and Review

NARS Disco Inferno.  A light greyed purple-based, frost-finish multichrome.  It starts out with grey edges and a blue-toned purple in the center of the nail, but shifts to blue, green and just a hint of orange, depending on the angle and lighting.  The overall effect is soft and faded, keeping a grey-ness in every color it flashes.  In addition to the multichrome effect, it also has a good amount of tiny silver foil sparkle. 

The formula on this was good.  Thick enough to keep it from being runny, thin enough that it wasn't clumping or bubbling.  It needs to dry for a minute or two between each coat, but otherwise decent application.  It's pretty sheer and needs at least three coats to eliminate visible nail line.  I did four here.  Each additional coat enhances the duochrome effect.  Dry time is average.

Very cool polish, but not a unique color.  It's basically the same as Wet n Wild Gray's Anatomy / Deborah Lippmann Wicked Game (and I'm sure there are others), just with a little more sparkle.  It is more opaque than those two, but it's priced a few bucks higher than the Lippmann so it's not the most economical choice for a purple-grey multichrome.  Super pretty, just kinda pricey.

(This was sent for review.)

Color Club Halo Hues Holographic Nail Polish Collection Spring 2013 Swatches and Review

Hey, more holos!  Good ones.  Linear ones.  Holos pretty much speak for themselves, so just soak in the rainbowy goodness of the Color Club Halo Hues collection:

Color Club Angel Kiss.

Color Club Beyond.

Color Club Blue Heaven.

Color Club Cherubic.

Color Club Cloud Nine.

Color Club Cosmic Fate.

Color Club Eternal Beauty.

 Color Club Halographic.

 Color Club Harp On It.

 Color Club Kismet.

 

 

 Color Club Miss Bliss.

 Color Club Over The Moon.

The formula on these was very good.  Some of the older linear holographic polishes had huge problems with streaking and bald spots when not used with an Aqua Base-type basecoat, but these do not have that problem at all.  They apply evenly without bald spots, streaks, running, pooling, excessively thin formula or sheerness, or really any noticeable problem.  Some colors apply easier than others, but overall I'm pleased with the application.  I'm also happy about how long they wear; the past few times I've worn these has been without any base or topcoat and each one lasted almost a week without chipping.  Usually the stronger the holo, the faster it chips, but I didn't have that problem with these.  Fast dry time, as expected.  Zero complaints in the formula department.  Opaque at two coats, which is what I'm wearing here.

Topcoat does seem to dull the holographic look a little, but it gradually returns to full strength the longer you wear it.  I don't wear base coat or top coat with these, though- they don't seem to need it for wear, dry time or shine.

One thing I like about some of these is the intensity of the base color.  Angel Kiss and Miss Bliss are two good examples of a colorful holo that's not overly faded or silvery-looking.  Not all the shades have saturated, colorful bases, but they all still have a very strong linear holographic effect.

You may have noticed that there's a black holo in this collection.  It's good.  It's better than Revvvolution.  I don't like it quite as much as my beloved OPI My Private Jet, but it is one of the better black holographic polishes I've come across.  Good formula, reasonably and affordably priced and easy to obtain.  I'd pick it up if you are a fan of black holos.

The price of these varies depending on where you get them from.  I paid $8 each for mine at 8ty8beauty, but I just saw them on clearance at Meijer for $3.50 a bottle.  Much cheaper than pretty much any other full-sized holo polish on the market right now.

Beyond The Zone Color Jamz Pro Formula Hair Color in Bubble Head Pink

I know you all want to see nail stuff and not the side of my head, but I just finished my last bottle of this yesterday and it reminded me to write a review.  More of a warning than a review, really.

This product gets a special award from me because it's the worst hair color I've ever used.  I have pretty realistic expectations when it comes to beauty products, so it's rare that disappointed in anything as much as I was with this. 

I bought it because it was on sale and already cheap (around $5).  I'm really happy with my usual color, but I could get two bottles of this for the same price as one jar of Manic Panic, and the color looked similar in the bottle, so I figured why not?

I have two good things to say about this.  One, the squeezy bottle packaging is convenient (except the texture of the color really thick and hard to squeeze out).  Two, it's a pretty color right out of the bottle.  Oh... And I guess it smells okay.  Maybe that's three.

Other than that it has no redeeming qualities for me.  Why?

• It stains everything... except my hair.
• Really, even leaving it on for five hours didn't make it stick to my hair.  
• It bleeds more than any color I've ever used.  Even when my hair is dry.  It gets on everything.
• It dries my hair out really bad and makes it feel gross. 
• It only lasts one wash before any noticeable color it deposited on my hair fades drastically or disappears altogether.

I had already used one full bottle a few months ago and the second one I bought was just sitting in my cabinet taking up space, so I used the whole bottle to touch up my just-starting-to-fade ends. 

Beyond the Zone Bubble Head Pink over Manic Panic Hot Hot Pink (Manic Panic Lie-Locks on bangs)

Really not much of a difference in color than before I applied it except that the parts that were starting to turn light pink are a little darker now.  The only real difference is that now my hair feels dry and my neck and back are stained hot pink.

I purchased mine from Sally Beauty. 

All better!

Still sick, but at least I fixed it!

Manic Panic Amplified Hot Hot Pink mixed with one tiny, dime-sized dab of Manic Panic Atomic Turquoise

Oops

I know, it's obnoxious, I keep complaining about it, but... I've been sick for almost an entire month. It's getting on my nerves.  I missed the flowers blooming on my pear tree because I've been doing nothing but sleeping and coughing!  I've been waiting for that all year!

The sickness started out as an innocent-enough itchy throat during the last week of March and then mutated into some flu-like monster that put me on my ass for two weeks straight.  Then I felt better for about a week and BLAMMO! Back with a vengeance.  So it seems I have bronchitis (nobody got time for that, et cetera, et cetera) and I'm feeling very lethargic because of it. 


Lethargy and sickness = gettin' lazy with my normally enjoyable beauty routine.  No polish.  Cuticles a mess. Clarisonic battery dead.  Every time I've put makeup on this week, my eyes just water until it all runs down my face.  And... my hair.  Yikes.

Lately I have on Manic Panic Hot Hot Pink with some combination of Atomic Turquoise or Ultra Violet in the front or sides, but I've been letting it fade out because I wanted to try a different color (Manic Panic Pretty Flamingo, anyone tried it?).  The (extremely porous) ends had already faded to a nice pastel pink, but the roots were still super bright and it looked weird.

I didn't feel like bleaching my roots (even though they need it) and I didn't feel like touching up with mega-super-staining hot pink while I'm this sick, so for some reason I decided to just cover everything with Electric Amethyst. 

 Freshly washed Electric Amethyst over Hot Hot Pink (still damp)

So... black roots.  Then a stripe of dark fuchsia, then a stripe of purple, and then... Grey in the front, blue on the sides and pink around the back. Oops.

After three washes with Shimmer Lights shampoo and blow-dried

Right now it's turned into a nice faded lavender/mauve type color, similar to all those grey-purple-taupe-putty polish colors that were popular a couple years ago. It's a lot bluer than I thought it would be, but I'm going to fix it as soon as I'm not hacking up my internal organs.  I like the pastel/faded/antique look on other people but I need bright.

Just thought I'd share this so you can laugh with me while I'm recovering.  I mean, don't laugh too much, but... yeah.  I'm going to go make some tea and pass out in front of Adventure Time reruns now.