Sorry :(

I know it's been absolute ages since I posted, so I guess it really goes without saying that I'm on an indefinite hiatus. Before, I had a camera that wouldn't focus correctly, and now I don't have a camera at all. I would love to start updating this blog again (and I'd especially love to retake the photos I had uploaded so they will be in focus), but I have no idea when I will be able to have a camera again, so it could be quite a long time. :(

Until then, though, my sister-in-law over at Dancing Phalanges has had a chance to return to her nail blog, so you should check her out, and in the meantime I will be returning to my book blog this weekend (I only had a short break from that one)!

Milani - Dude Blue

I've been hearing a lot of good things about neon polishes lately, so when I saw Dude Blue by Milani, I knew I had to try it! I got one other in this particular line, and will definitely be going back for the rest. I really never expected to like the neons, thinking they would end up being far too bright against my very pale skintone (and maybe a yellow would be. That's never been my colour), but I love this! Every time I look at my nails with this on, the glossy finish and vivid colour makes me think of jellybeans (which, since we are having an Arctic end to the winter, makes me feel a little less cold and a little more Spring-y).

The application was fantastic. I've seriously never had an easier time with applying polish than I had with this. I'm not sure if I'm just getting better at it, or if the brush on this thing is magical, but it was almost a 1-coater. I only needed 2 coats for it to be completely opaque over my nail tips (hate having that pesky whiteness peeking through, it's like a panty line on my nails!). I accidentally dragged a little bit of polish when I brushed against something before the 2nd coat was completely dry, but the formula on this polish is excellent...it was just the right consistency that I could easily pat down and push the polish around until I had basically filled the snagged spot back into place. You can only tell if you are REALLY looking very closely. I have never been able to do this before with a polish; normally I would have had to just put another coat on or remove everything on that nail and start over. Not sure if this is the way of things with ALL neons, or if this bottle, again, is just magical. Either way, I adore it, and if you are looking for a fun set of neons for Spring/Summer, or to cheer up the rest of your Winter, I would definitely look out for this set by Milani.

(Side note, I don't know that this polish will last very long on the nail, since I am already seeing a little tip wear, and I've only had this on since yesterday. I still think it is worth it, though.)

Where I Got It: Walgreens

How Much: about $5

(Another side note, I'm sorry again about the blurry photo! I don't know what is going on with my camera, but lately all it wants to focus on is the background, and it never used to do that. I didn't have time to play around with it since I didn't want to be late for classes this morning, but I promise once I have a chance, I will replace these pictures. Looking at them makes me feel like I need glasses, so I'm sure you guys would appreciate clear photos, too, haha. Please bear with me!)

OPI - Ski Teal We Drop (and Friends)

It is a snow day today! This doesn't happen very often in Texas, so everyone is freaking out and because of all the ice on the roads and the ice covering the snow, a lot of places closed for the day.

So, with all my unexpected free time today, I thought what better time to make my first nail post? I want to start out with a couple other products before I get to the featured polish, though. Hope you don't mind!

The first is Equate's nail polish remover pads (non-acetone). I tend to prefer remover pads to the regular liquid remover, just because I hate having little pieces of cotton stringing along and sticking to things once it's soaked in. If anyone has a better way to use the liquid remover, please leave a comment! I'm really new at the whole nail polish thing, so I am very open to suggestions and tips!

This is the first time I have used this particular pad, and I have to say I was not impressed. They were cheap in price, and the polish came off fast, but the pad itself felt very wet to the touch, which I didn't care for. They say on the package that one pad cleans all 10 nails - the truth is, one pad is definitely big enough to clean off all 20, if you do your fingernails and your toenails! I know my pros are outweighing my cons here, but if I can find a pad that has all these and feels less soaked, I would go with that one instead of this. I got the non-acetone kind because I thought they might be less fumey, but that wasn't really the case.

Where I Got It: Wal-Mart (in-store)

What do you use to remove your nail polish? Liquid or pads? Do you prefer acetone or non-acetone?

The second is Sally Hansen's Double Duty Base & Top Coat. I never used to use a base or top coat, and then one polish I have stained my nails so bad that it was suggested I get one. So far, I really like this product! Since it's the only base/top coat I've ever used, I can't really compare it with others, but it seems to work really well. A side note with this, I tend to use two coats of base, because the polish that prompted its purchase actually still stained my nails with one coat. Two coats, and no staining!

This is also supposed to be "strengthening", but I really don't have a comment on that. I don't see any difference in my nails since I've been using it.

So, what's your fav top/base coat? Do you have one you use, or several? I may be buying a few different top coats, and maybe looking for some different base coats as well. Maybe I will find one that keeps polish from staining with only one coat! I'm sure they are out there.

Where I Got It: Target (in-store)

And now, the feature of the post! In honour of the weather, I decided to kick things off with a winter-themed polish: Ski Teal We Drop by OPI. I know many (if not all) of you are probably very familiar with it already, but I know I don't get tired of looking at it!

Ski Teal We Drop is such a lovely polish - I originally bought it to accent an outfit I got to wear to a friend's band's show, and never thought it was really a colour that I'd wear for everyday. Turns out I was wrong.

In person, it's actually darker than what my photo represents, but it's just as pretty! My bottle is a little more blue in person, but my camera I guess decided to bring out the green. It's a very rich hue, and just light enough to keep from being vampy, if that isn't your thing.

I don't know much about formula yet, since I'm just starting out, but I have to say that the consistency of this polish is wonderful - not goopy, not runny.

The first coat didn't apply so great, but that could easily have been my inexpertise at work, lol. I ended up applying two coats for opacity.

I wish I could get a more true-to-life photo of this beauty! My camera has apparently become uncooperative in its old age, so it likes to focus anywhere other than what I'm trying to photograph, and so these came out a little blurry and the polish not how it really appears in person. I may have to play around with it, or use a different camera next time, but today I was just too excited about posting to wait any longer! When I can get a more accurate photo, I will be editing this post as well as the Collections Swatch link to switch the images out. Please bear with me until then!

Also, I have applied a top coat to my left hand and left my right hand without a top coat. Once the polish starts wearing off and chipping like crazy, I will update with a STWD life expectancy!

Where I Got It: JC Penney Salon

How Much: Average cost of OPI - ~ $7-8 US. I remember thinking it would cost more, since I was buying it at a salon, but it was the same as any regular retailer.

Thanks for reading! I had a lot of fun putting this post together, and I look forward to doing more!

ETA: STWD lasted a little over a week for me before it started getting a little tip wear! Not too shabby.

Mission Statement

Hello, fellow nail polish enthusiasts! My name is Colleen, and this is what will soon become my own little blog about nail polish. I wanted to start out by telling you all a little bit about myself, and why I am here and doing this.

First off, the very basics: I'm 25 years old and a (VERY) full-time college student in Texas. I'm on campus from about 9am every morning until about 5-5:30 every evening. Then I come home and do homework. For those who are curious, I'm majoring in Anthropology with a minor in Linguistics. Every weekend, I stay with my boyfriend at his apartment. He lives about an hour away from me, so those are the only times we really get to spend much time together.

As far as nail polish goes, if you had told me even a month ago that I would be starting a blog about this, I'd have laughed in your face. I've never been very into the more girly things like hair and makeup and nails, and the last time I owned more than two bottles of polish at one time, I was in the 7th grade and only painted my nails at sleep-overs.

Recently, though, I've been getting more interested in delving into my more feminine side, and started doing makeup now and then, wearing dresses and heels when I go out somewhere special, and sometimes I do more with my hair than tie it up into a quick ponytail.

Then, my sister-in-law started her blog, Dancing Phalanges, and I started buying polishes for her. The more I got for her, the more I was hooked.

I've built up quite a starter collection for myself, so we've got a lot of posts coming, but they will be fairly far between. Because of my daily schedule, I don't have much time for painting my nails and removing the polish on a regular basis. Mostly, I just do my nails and leave it be until it is all kinds of chipped off. This does have its benefits, though!

Since I will be going with my usual polish routine of letting it live its natural life on my nails (lol), I will make a point of letting you all know in each post how long the polish lasted before it started chipping. If it doesn't look too bad, I might do one hand with top coat and one hand without, to compare the life expectancy of each.

Other things you can expect from each of my posts:

- A note of where I bought the polish and/or how much it cost (if I remember; some of these, I may not). Hopefully this will be useful to others for reference if they would like to keep a lookout for that polish, or would like to compare prices between other places they have seen it for sale.

- Once I have posted, a clickable swatch will appear next to the polish's name on my Collections page; the link will take you directly to that particular polish's review in the blog archives.

If you read through all of this, you are awesome! I hope you will enjoy reading Felix Phalanx (which, since some of you may be wondering, essentially means "Happy Finger") as much as I know I will enjoy posting for you! If you have any questions or comments, of course feel free to leave a comment on an individual post or to send me an email at felix.phalanx @ gmail.com.