Ruby Pumps

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After I saw The Hunger Games today, I decided to revoke my show of support for District 12 by removing Smoke and Ashes. Yes, I love the books... But I didn't feel the same way about the movie. I thought it was awfully slow in some parts, and sped up the parts I'd actually like to see. I remember the director's movie Seabiscuit being the same way -- a great story, but too slow of a movie. I'll give it another viewing later (probably on DVD) before I make my final call on the movie. But it could have been so much better.

I've been pretty excited to try China Glaze's Ruby Pumps since I picked it up, so that was the first thing on my list tonight. I wish I could have gotten a good picture of it, because to me it is exactly the color of Dorothy's slippers in The Wizard of Oz. It's a bright red polish with fine red glitter in it, so it doesn't feel as rough as most other glittery polishes I've used. It's not completely smooth, but I was pleasantly surprised. Still might do another topcoat though.

It's a deeper red (more like the bottle)

I will say that the base coat of Gelous I used with Smoke and Ashes made it a lot better. I thought black polish would never come off, but it slid off easily. I might be regretting not using it with Ruby Pumps in a few days...

Edit: Ruby Pumps came off just as easily as any other glitter polish. Which is to say not quickly... 😉

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You're S-teal the One

Today, in between steps of trying to dye yarn (more on that later), I tried out my new Nicole by OPI polish in "You're S-teal the One." First, let me say that if you look at the bottle, it's a gorgeous shimmery cerulean with hints of purple. The actual polish not so much. I thought the name was odd because the polish didn't look teal, but it's a neon, hits-you-in-the-face teal when applied. It's still shimmery, but it's more of a blue shimmer than purple.

The worst problem though is that this polish is messy. I have it all over my fingers, fingertips, underneath my fingernails... Everywhere. It's like translucent blue water when it comes out, so you need several coats. But each coat gets more polish oozing and dripping everywhere. I'm definitely not a huge fan of this stuff. I wish it were a better consisency and the color it looked like in the bottle. Plus, I paid $7.25 for this crap, so you'd think it would be good. China Glaze is way better and I picked up a bunch of those yesterday for $3. I guess I'll just have to wait for those to arrive now...

It's even more electric teal than this.

My First Color Foam

I've gotten really lazy and hadn't dyed my hair in a while, so I decided to try something a little different. I don't have as much time as I used to, so I was hoping that the new Garnier Fructis Nourishing Color Foam would be quicker and easier than regular hair color. I picked it up in 5IM - Iced Mahogany Brown. At first I was a little wary because the directions are like "don't put the cap on -- it could explode!" and "DO NOT shake but gently rotate bottle." And it was super messy; there was foamy liquid all over the bathroom counter. Then I discovered a secret -- if you pick up the bottle and tilt it into your hand before you pump it out, it comes out cleanly. I had it sitting on the counter and was pumping it out like a soap bottle, and every time I pumped it like that, liquid came out the top and got all over the bottle, which then ended up all over the counter.

Once I got the hang of it, I loved it. It took me probably less than half the time it normally takes to dye my hair, and it looks better. Because it's closer to a liquid consistency, there are less "uh oh" places where your hair is still the same color it was before. I used to call these "highlights" since I dyed my hair basically the same color every time, but sometimes they still looked pretty wonky when you missed a larger section. If you color your hair at home, I'd definitely recommend checking out Garnier's Color Foam.

Harvest Moon: Let the Games Begin

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So I have to admit that I'm more than a little obsessed with The Hunger Games. I have the books, and now I've added magazines and a book about the movie coming out later this month. My blog post yesterday was about the Hunger Games nail polish collection, and I went and bought another one today! This one is called Harvest Moon, and it's a beautiful, fiery copper that I just adore. I'd post a picture, but I lacked the time and patience to completely remove the Stone Cold first and it looks like a hot mess. Not to mention that I waited until too late in the evening to start, so I colored "outside the lines" if you will. It looks like a three-year-old painted these fingers. I'm super excited about the color though, and glad I changed it for my birthday tomorrow. I might have to go back and pick up another Harvest Moon before they stop making them. Next up to try is Electrify... They were out since some girl came in before me and bought all 12. 😢

Ah well, I decided to post a picture anyways.

I also picked up another Seche Vite topcoat, since the Seche Clear basecoat was free with purchase. So I ended up getting about $19 worth of products for only $7. I'm beginning to be a Sally Beauty addict too!

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Photo Printing

I've been getting photos printed from a variety of places recently, and was really disappointed with the online photo printing retailer Snapfish. The paper the photos were printed on was very thin, and the color in many of my photos was distorted (e.g., purple spots in the blue sky). I have been impressed with photo prints from Costco's Photo Center.

Holly shared a link with me about this issue, where the same photo was developed at several retailers and compared on print quality and price points. It is a great indicator for where to go before you pay for prints!