Nails

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish: 7 Days With Smith & Cult Analog Fog

August 24th, 2018 by Karen 12 Comments

Desperately Seeking Persistent Polish is a series where I wear a nail polish for seven days and take before and after pics to document the condition of my paws over the course of the week!

At one point over the seven days I wore Smith & Cult Analog Fog on my paws, the weather took a decidedly dark, chilly turn…

It started to look like fall.

We closed the windows and contemplated turning on the heater.

Also, I started baking stuff in my oven again. I cranked out three lasagnas (one was even gluten-free, what-what!), two banana blueberry oatmeal bakes, a gluten-free pizza from Costco, and two batches of oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies. Really, Smith & Cult should have named this polish “When It’s Cold, Bake Your @ss Off” instead.

Taking everything I did into account, and considering how much time I spent blending, chopping and whisking while wearing this polish, my manicure held up well. It was still shiny and relatively chip-free after five days, with just a few dings around the tips of my fingers.

It jumped the shark after I made the third lasagna and washed the dishes without gloves, which was probably, um…not the greatest idea. That’s when I really started to see pieces of polish chipping at the base of a couple of my nails (granted, they weren’t big chips).

Like I did for my last seven-day nail experiment, I wore two coats of the polish atop a base of Smith & Cult Basis of Everything, and with Above It All as a top coat on top. Point being to isolate the polish to try to figure out how it holds up to real life.

Also like last time, I didn’t refresh the top coat at all over the course of the seven days, but I think if I had, like if I’d refreshed it on day three or four, I could’ve made this mani last at least one or two more days.

I think Analog Fog did great, all lasagnas considered! Plus, the color is gorge! It’s one of those mysterious, elusive purples… Ooh-la-la! It’s a cream, so there’s no shift or pearl or anything like that, but sometimes it looks like a pinkish purple. Other times, it looks like a straight-up plum.

I’ll definitely be wearing it again. ?

❤️❤️❤️❤️ 4 out of 5 hearts.

Smith & Cult Analog Fog: Day 1

Smith & Cult Analog Fog: Day 7

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I Have Feeeeeeelings About Gel Nails

August 7th, 2018 by Karen 37 Comments

I historic moment — my first (and last) salon gel manicure

Yes, it’s 2018, and yes, I’ve officially left behind my wooden cart and my donkey and ye olden times to join the modern world because — GASP! — I got a salon gel manicure for the first time a few weeks ago.

I know, I know, I’m only eight years late to the party, but here’s the deal: beauty-wise, nails are something I can actually do myself, and I can usually do a pretty decent job, which I attribute to steady hands after 16 years of playing classical piano.

So, 1) I very rarely get my nails done at a salon, and 2) even when I have, I never saw the point of getting a gel nail mani after hearing so many nightmare stories from friends about how gel mains absolutely trashed their nails.

Never say never

But you know how it is — one should never say never in Beauty Land! The opportunity presented itself for me to get a gel mani a few weeks ago at a brand meet-and-greet in the city, and I carpe diem-ed it with a deep teal from OPI.

I wish I could remember its name, but I can’t. I was too distracted by this sign at the salon…

weird texting sign — Is this sign confusing, or am I writing too much into it…? It’s confusing, right?

Like, what does that sign even mean? Are they saying, “Don’t even try to talk to us. Just please shut the hell the up,” or is it code for “feel free to chime in on that group text because we don’t mind if you stare at your phone the whole time?”

And don’t even get me started on Papyrus! I’m just glad it wasn’t Comic Sans…

Three weeks of WOW

Anywho! #rantover. Gel nails. Mine lasted until I got tired of them and wanted them removed — an incredible three weeks — with nary a chip, and trust, I tempted fate during that time, too. I washed dishes and gardened without gloves a few times, and I also made a point to type with mucho fervor when I found out about Nick Jonas getting engaged.

Even though it was fun to actually have a mani that outlasted all of my crazy, by the end of the third week, I was SO DONE. Weirdly enough, the gel polish started feeling heavy, and I felt like my nails couldn’t breathe. (Side note: I have a mild case of claustrophobia.) And I was really annoyed that I couldn’t just chip or peel off the polish on my own. Suddenly, my gel manicure turned into a needy boyfriend who wouldn’t leave me alone, and I desperately wanted to break up with it but couldn’t figure out a way.

The DIY removal route

I googled a few “how to remove gel nails at home” tutorials, and HA HA HA. All I have to say is that unless you love being frustrated while sitting around with foil-covered fingertips, find a salon, and have it done professionally.

I’m sure there are peeps out there who are able to successfully DIY remove their gel nails at home, but I tried twice and failed.

The day after my second attempt, I boogied on down to a salon and paid $7 to have a very nice lady soak, scrape and chisel the gel polish away, and while she was doing this, she talked at great length about how she never, ever does gels on herself because of the damage they cause.

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Chanel New Dawn Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour

August 16th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

chanel new dawn swatch — When you’re trying to pose with your nail polish and you feel hella awkward

OK, makeup conspiracy theory time! 🙂

Here goes: I think there’s something going on with the bottles of Chanel Le Vernis nail polish in the Travel Diary collection, because they look so completely different in the bottles than they look on my nails.

I dunno… The first shade I tried, Horizon Line, and now this second one that I’m wearing right meow, New Dawn, look dull and uninspiring in their bottles, but it’s a whole different story on your paws.

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Chanel Horizon Line Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour, Available Now in the New Travel Diary Fall Collection

August 8th, 2017 by Karen 11 Comments

chanel horizon line swatch — $28 Chanel Horizon Line Le Vernis Longwear Nail Colour, available now in the new Chanel Travel Diary Fall Collection

I was born in the Philippines, but I’ve been a Cali girl since I was a wee lass of year one year old. In that time, I’ve traveled all across this state from top to bottom, from the mountains to the valleys and up and down the coast (This is starting to sound a little like a folk song, isn’t it?).

Anyway, when you spend a lot of time in a place, certain colors start to remind you of it, which is what Chanel Horizon Line Le Vernis does for me. My, gosh! It’s the exact same grayish green you see all over the beaches from the central coast/Big Sur up to the Oregon border.

I see it in the green algae- and seaweed-covered rocks, in the water, in the plants (especially the succulents that cover, like, every other sand dune). It’s everywhere! And it’s spot on.

Horizon Line is from the Chanel Travel Diary Fall Collection, which is out right meow, and my friends at Chanel HQ tell me that it was inspired by a road trip that Chanel Creative Director Lucia Pica took from Los Angeles to Big Sur. Like a mermaid from the ocean, Horizon Line emerged from that trip.

And I’m glad it did, because I’ve got a thing for greenish grays, man! (Hello, Essie Beauty Nap and Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist.)

chanel horizon comparison — Chanel Horizon Line, Essie Beauty Nap and Smith & Cult Bitter Buddhist

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Paint Chips, Vol. 1: Smith & Cult Exit the Void

April 4th, 2017 by Karen 8 Comments

smith cult exit the void day 1 — Smith & Cult Exit the Void: Day 1

How long will it last? THAT’S the question. Let’s find out! 🙂 Paint Chips is a series where I paint my paws with two coats of polish, a base coast and a top coat, and see how long it lasts.

Even if you aren’t a hardcore makeup collector — even if you’re just a part-time product enthusiast — you probably remember at least one product that turned a casual interest into a full-blown brand obsession. For me, one such product was Smith & Cult Exit the Void.

I’d worn a couple of shades from Smith & Cult before, but oh, my goodness… When I discovered this creamy periwinkle blue (came out with their spring 2017 collection), it took my eyeballs by surprise!

It looks like a perfect spring sky — that dreamy, rich blue that rocks your world after so many months of dreary, wintry gray. It brings a smile to my face whenever I see it on my nails. 🙂

What makes me REALLY happy, though, is how pigmented it is (one coat is like three coats of any other brand) and how freaking long it lasts.

And dude, I beat the crap out of my nails. I’m serious, these poor hands. I put them through a lot. Lots of typing, baby handling, kitty handling, chores, and even some weightlifting and burpies (which are the devil’s work). My nail polish, to paraphrase Rihanna, needs to work, work, work, work, work, work.

Exit the Void, when I wore it with a Sally Hansen Green Tea + Bamboo base coat and OPI Top Coat (they’re my current faves), looked perfect for five days. Then, about halfway through the fifth day, the first chips started to appear.

But that’s great for me! I left it on to see how long it could go before it passed the absolute point of no return.

smith cult exit the void day 5a — Smith & Cult Exit the Void after five days

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