Butter London Posh Bird Nail Art + On Deal Hunting

I know I've been on a bit of a nail polish kick lately, but here's the latest installment: Butter London's Posh Bird layered with Zoya Caitlin.

Caitlin always draws compliments and is very Michelle Obama-esque, but I usually find it to be a little blah and inelegant on me.

Posh Bird is a new purchase and is BEAUTIFUL. The color was created for New York Fashion Week earlier this year. It's a silver microglitter that's taupe-y enough not to read like the little girl costume polish I slathered on to celebrate New Year's Eve in 2000. However, like with Deborah Lippmann's Ray of Light the overall effect of a nail full of sparkles was just way too overwhelming.

So, picking up on the purpley-gray undertones I layered on some Zoya Caitlin and voila—a nail that is greater than the sum of its parts. I painted Caitlin on freehand, drawing the outline of the triangle first and then filling in the top part with upwards brush strokes.

Artificial Light, Day 1

Natural Light Day 4

While by no means subtle, the combo reads as a subtle gradient from far away, at least to the point that my boyfriend, when asked for an opinion, squinted, looked up close, and said "Are there two colors?" ... though maybe this is a greater reflection on his eyesight and general obliviousness to such things.

Verdict: Posh Bird is worth it if you, like me, don't have any metallics or sparkly colors in your collection*. I can imagine layering it with so many colors—gray (Essie's Master Plan), dark vampy purple like OPI Lincoln Park After Dark, blues (I have a cobalt from Color Club I've been wanting to try out)—that I'm sure it will get a prominent spot in my nail polish rotation.


*I just couldn't live with spending $18 on a bottle of nail polish, no matter how beautiful, and returned Deborah Lippmann's Ray of Light. BUT THEN--surprise! I regretted the decision and found a bottle on eBay for $11 including shipping, which I promptly snapped up. Was the time I spent looking for a cheaper bottle worth the $7 I saved? Probably not. But do I feel like a deal-hunter rather than a sucker? I wish, but I feel more like a sucker for deal hunting.

Butter London Tea with the Queen

In honor of Butter London's Friends and Family Sale, on until November 7th, 2012:  I think Butter London's Tea with the Queen might just be my HG nude. I usually shy away from wearing light colors on short nails, but I was feeling like a low-maitenance manicure after I found myself on the wrong side of the file and had to clip off a couple of shredded edges. Even on such short nails Tea with the Queen is perfect and lady-like! Most nudes highlight the ruddy tones around my knuckles. Dusty roses are flattering but just too grandma.

I'm wearing two coats here with CND's Stickey base coat and Speedey top coat and application is a dream! The first coat looked a little streaky but after the second the color appeared perfectly smooth. Cheap nudes, especially sheer nudes, are so often such a streak-fest (I'm looking at you Revlon. Or worse, Barielle) that I'll happily shell out $14 for something that provides such a beautiful color with a perfectly streak-free application.

Click any photo to enlarge--and ignore for the messy surroundings!


Natural Light:

Artificial Light:

Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light Nail Art

I just updated my manicure to include some designs in RGB's 1996, on sale right now at Need Supply for $10. Such a small change makes a huge difference in the manicure's overall look--I'm calling it Star Trek Chic.

Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light Swatches and Review

I've only recently begun to dabble in the world of high end nail polishes, but the consensus seems to be that the more "unique" the color, the more worth the splurge. Deborah Lippmann's Ray of Light is certainly unique--a dark purply blue with flecks of coppery glitter. The formula is very sheer and very gloppy; it applies thickly and feels like you don't get a lot on each brushful. Despite that, the end result is not as blotchy as I had expected. I'm wearing three coats on the middle, ring, and pinkie fingers, two on the other ones after I saw what little difference the third coat made, except in terms of thickness.

The color changes dramatically depending on the lighting situation and how far away your nails are--and it certainly does not scream "glitter."

Click on any photo to enlarge.

Natural light

Natural light far away--looking a little more opaque

Artificial Light:

Ray of Light is worth the $18 I paid for it (cheaper than a manicure!)--with reservations. While it's certainly a pretty piece of ready-made nail art, it's a little too sparkly to for my professional life. I need to remind my students that I'm a real grown-up and I'm not sure sparkly nail polish is a step in the right direction. Still, Ray of Light is the most polished of all the glittery nail polishes I've come across, and as a limited edition I'm happy to snap up such a unique color while it's still available.

My eBay Secret (and Blinc Eyeliner)

I am loathe to share my eBay secret with the world, but here goes:

Buy minis on eBay.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Blinc's Liquid Eyeliner (Easy to apply! Easy to take off! No squiggles! No smudges! Heavily pigmented! Miraculous staying power!)

But I get such sticker shock at the $26 price tag I've never been able to bring myself to buy a full size.

I tried the crappy $7 Revlon Colorstay pen that lasted 2.5 seconds and took 3 applications just to get some pigment down (at least the pen was sleek looking).

Then I discovered eBay. Two Blinc minis for $9. The last mini I had (when I fell in love) lasted me about a month. And with the tiny wand, it's actually very easy to apply—easier, I would imagine, than the full-sized. I find eyeliners to be like chopsticks: the farther up along the wand you have to hold them, the less control you have. (Ok, maybe I'm just bad at using chopsticks, but the principle remains...)

Right now I'm seeing two eyeliner minis plus two mascara minis for $10.99 with free shipping.

If you're thinking "Ew, makeup on eBay!" keep in mind that these Blinc babies come all sealed up—and someone took that liner off the shelf at Sephora, tried it on, and put it back in its box.

The Balm Stainiac

The Balm Stainiac in Beauty Queen might just change my mind about lip color. It's a light, sheer, buildable pinkish red that adds just enough healthy glow that I don't look in the mirror and think "lipstick." A full sized tube costs $17. (For the record I am anti-lipgloss, that sticky mess that never lasts, doesn't moisturize, and is a fly-trap for hair. Also yes, I do need to wax my upper lip.)

Bare Lips

One Layer of Stainiac

Two Layers of Stainiac

However, Stainiac really lives up to its name--and not in a good way! I applied the balm with the wand applicator, then rubbed it in with my finger. 

Here's my hand after applying Stainiac:

And here's my hand after washing with soap and water:

The good news is that it stayed put on my hand, lasting longer than the 2-ish hours I normally get on my lips. Stainiac, my off-white couch thanks you for your miraculous staying power.

Verdict: On the fence--an everyday lip color is worth $17 in my book, but only if you're willing to wear the lobster hands that come with it.

For the record, I had a full-sized tube and a mini free sample, and I returned the full-sized. The lip color is pretty enough that I'll occasionally wear it, but I'd feel like Lady Macbeth trying to scrub it off my hands every morning.

No More Tangles

I dreamed of a product that I could spray onto a bun that would moisturize and get rid of flyaways without turning me into a helmet head. A light leave-in conditioner that came in a spray, not a pump. I'm sure there are a lot out there, but I wasn't ready to take the plunge on a $15 product I would have to sheepishly return to the drugstore. 

Then I remembered No More Tangles.

The lovely people at my drugstore directed me first to the hair aisle, then to the body lotion aisle (?), then finally downstairs to the baby aisle where I found this lovely product I haven't seen in 20-something years. It comes in a not-embarrasingly-kiddie bottle, and it tames flyaways like magic. Not only that, but when I'm running super late and I skip conditioning my hair in favor of dousing it with No More Tangles, running a comb through and putting it up in a sleek, not-quite-80's but neat-looking pony tail.

 

Lulu Organics Hair Powder

See this dirty hair? This is hair after using Lulu Organics Hair Powder in Jasmine. The smell was great, but it left a residue, which is slightly visible in the form of generally unclean gunky-looking bangs. They look a little weighed down but still greasy. Not worth it at $30 for a large container.

If you don't suffer from greasy hair or bangs, and don't mind spending $30 on a nice-smelling pick-me-up then this might be the thing for you. But if you do, well...this product took me from from 100% greasiness down to about 40%—in other words, from shut-in to no-longer-a-shut-in, but certainly not ready for anything other than a quick walk to get coffee while praying I don't run into anyone I know.

For my money I'll stick with Suave Keratin Infusion, which seems to do wonders at only $5 or sometimes less: http://www.drugstore.com/suave-professionals-keratin-infusion-dry-shampoo/qxp378917

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse: I never saw your point until I ran out of moisturizer. People raved about you, my French roommate had a bottle of you, but with my acne-prone skin and oily hair the only thing I thought was "more oil, really?" I kept the free sample I had just for the incredible (truly incredible) smell. 

Then, with winter and dry winter skin fast approaching, I put you on after wiping my face at night with Trader Joe's Tea Tree Oil Facial Pads (http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp?ItemID=146802). They're really wonderfully scrubby and exfoliating and feel like they're killing all sorts of bacteria and cleaning out your pores—maybe that's the medicinal smell talking—but they are terribly drying. That's where you come in, Huile Prodigieuse. When put on my dry, freshly washed face, it sank right in without the slightest oily sheen or stains on my pillow. I tried it the next day when I got out of the shower—same thing. It didn't even interfere with my makeup. The only trick seems to be to put it on freshly washed, dry skin. I've tried putting it on after applying moisturizer or serum and it just sits there all oily until I wipe it off.

I'm now on day five of my twice-daily Huile routine, and my skin just has a certain...je ne sais quoi. 

If it didn't seem to last forever (I haven't made a dent in my tiny 10ml bottle) I'd love to buy the adorable 20th anniversary edition on sale until tomorrow at Vente Privee for $28. 

Welcome to Drugstore Cowgirl, where I review makeup and beauty products and answer the age-old question: is it worth it? $3 for an eyeliner is $3 that you might as well have burned if the eyeliner is crap.

In my real life I'm a graduate student, so on my limited income I have to make sure that every dollar I spend is a dollar well spent. Thanks for reading!