deborah lippmann, you bloody genius

Deborah Lippman - Across The Universe

Before I start, I'd like to apologize for the serious backlog... I swear I'll update more!

So on Friday I had a shoot, and I returned home with black nails. And I felt really sad, because black nails are so cliched and so boring. So I had the biggest inspiration ever to try out the ever-anticipated Across The Universe!

I've on 4 coats of Across The Universe. It has a midnight blue jelly base, filled with Bleu de France glitter and Carolina blue as well as Sea green medium-sized hexagonal glitter.

As you can tell I have tried to get creative in describing the colours within the polish ;-) (Wikipedia helped a lot)

Anyways I just want to point out how amazing this polish looks as it's layered coat after coat. JUST LOOK AT THE DAMN PICTURES. The dark hue of the jelly base doesn't eat up the glitters and in fact, gives it a very embedded and suspended look, like how seaweed and salty (haha) things float in the ocean. Or rather, with respect to the name of the polish, how perhaps stars and extraterrestrial things float aimlessly in the galaxy.

Honestly I was quite disappointed after painting the first few coats... But come to think of it, I'm pretty sure that the final look of the polish on nails doesn't really have much to do with the name of the polish. It looks so (too much so) mermaid-ish and beautiful and the jelly base reminds me so much of deep waters. It's so mysterious. Deborah Lippmann named this after the Beatle's song, and I suppose she just wanted to reflect the mysterious and somewhat haunting, lingering feel of the song and yet also its somewhat cheery tune. Not so much trying to create a galaxy-looking polish.

I'm actually listening to this song right now, for the very first time. And I... (haha I sound mad, but) I feel a sense of wholeness. Yet a hole. I don't know why I feel this way; perhaps this song just lingers and lingers and lingers till it fades out. Like it's not ended, it's just passed. So, so mysterious. Here's the song for your listening pleasure:

Amazing, huh. I'm not exactly listening closely, but I'm quite sure that the boys were high when this song was written. And hence like there's nothing very specific about the universe and the galaxy.

Again, looking at my nails... most people wouldn't think about this but how the heck does this polish allow the glitters to shine through the dark jelly base! As in... it's still sparkling!!!!! How is that even possible!?!?! It's a freaking paradox! Like how the song is like, for me.

Perhaps I'm just reading too much into things, but this is how I interpret and appreciate this polish and the whole sensory experience of listening, applying, experimenting and admiring the finished product after that. And I really think all girls should get their hands on this polish if they have a chance to, because I would love for you to experience something similar to my experience.

However, I feel too much for this polish to share my own bottle, so sorry girls... I am not lending this baby to anyone. Hehehe. Then again I believe experiences as such (or in general) are very personal, because everyone connects to things and ideas differently.

Well. This is officially my favourite nail polish of all time :-)

x, Ish

Ps, This is the worst review ever!!! I do feel that this polish has some flaws but I just don't want to burst my happy bubble right now. And for even allowing me to feel so happy, this polish is tops in my list of favourites :-)

Pss, 4 coats may be excessive but I always apply very thin coats. Perhaps 3 or even 2 will do fine.

Psss, I will do an edit for this review because I really think I do need to raise a few issues. Well goodbye, for now!

the first time i sported red nails

Sally Hansen - Red Carpet

This is the first time I ever wore red!!! :-) I was so excited, and yet worried at the same time that my untrimmed claws would make my hands look witchy. I can't really decide if my hands do or don't though, Red Carpet blew my mind!

Red Carpet has a pure red jelly base jammed packed with red micro glitter which sparkles like crazy in the sun!

Somehow I thought I would have chosen a slightly vampy shade because I was always too afraid to try red. I guess that's because my mom always told me ''that's too womanly for you'' and there was just something about the way she said ''womanly''. It carried with it a heavy tone of judgment.

Anyhow, I'm sooo glad I scored this darling, at <$5 (USD)! Thank you Sally Hansen. It dried quickly (I completed my manicure in under fifteen minutes complete with Seche topcoat) and wasn't that much of a pain to remove despite the glitter in it. No staining too, as I'd expected with a red colour.

Also, while in the US, I stopped by Sephora and checked out CND effects polishes. (I truly cannot remember the name of the collection right now... I will update this post once I remember it/manage to find it through Google!) The flakies were so hyped about but when I tried them I was rather disappointed. For the quality of flakies and the price of the sets - purchasing Nubar 2010, Essie Luxe Effects Shine of the Times or Cult Nails Clairvoyant (aka Unicorn Puke) is a way better option because they're all $10 (USD) or under.

x, Ish

i like it haute!

China Glaze - Some Like It Haute

Ta-da!!! I wore this for my prom. Many compliments from me to this polish:

1. GREAT dry time! I only did these like half an hour before my prom and no dents, no scratches (which couldn't be easily fixed with just a little dab of polish) and no major problems really.
2. Glitters like craaaazy!
3. The dense micro glitter in the clear base once layered on the nail (pictured here is 2 coats) gives it a very smoky, deep look and I just LOVE it!

Oh gosh I LOVE GLITTERS!!!! Preferably dense micro-glitters with some chunky glitters. Which is basically perfected in this polish!!! Best coverage and best sparkles!!! Perhaps I should invest in Material Girl, the pink counterpart to Some Like It Haute. It just bothers me that its colour is so similar to OPI's Teenage Dream. I mean I know they are different but they look reaaally similar from afar anyways and I'm not that addicted to the point that I have to have near-dupes because they're not dupes.

Well there is a downside (isn't there one to every polish haha) to this wonderful polish. It's a major topcoat-eater. It's not sandpaper-y feeling anymore on my nails right now, but it isn't perfectly smooth, which I really expected after 3 layers of Seche Vite... Plus, what I did was I'd painted 2 coats of glitter and 2 coats of top coat on a few of my left-hand nails about 3 hours before I did my right hand (which means more dry-time on the left). But when I layered a 3rd coat of top coat on all my nails, the pre-painted ones turned out exactly like my freshly painted right-hand nails. Somehow the top coat sinks between the little spaces of the glitters, regardless of dry-time. Weird huh. I really don't think it's possible to achieve a totally smooth finish for this polish! THOUGH, it would be truly amazing if that was done!

Still a fantastic polish for me though. Like Scrangie once commented on OPI's Burlesque Holiday Glitters, it feels like craft glitter glued to my nails! And yet the gun-metal grey glitters and the holographic chunky glitters make it so elegant and luxurious.

Thanks China Glaze! For creating such a nice polish!

I've yet to try Marry a Millionaire.

x, Ish.

Ps, And yes, for once I shaped my nails. Hehe oops 0:-)