Summertime Blues: Sally Hansen Mermaid's Tale

Summertime, Summertime, Sum-Sum-Summertime! It's now (unofficially) officially Summer! Kids are out of school, barbeques are aflame, and ocean-inspired tootsies are proudly on display! I don't know about you, but this time of year, I live in flip-flops. It's just too darn hot for shoes. Heck, today it was really too darn hot for the flippies.

The other day, I ran in Walgreen's for some sunscreen, and ran across this color from the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Summer Collection. It's called Mermaid's Tale, and is just gorgeous for the season.

Yuck. Foot picture. I am so, so sorry.

I can not apologize enough for the foot photo. I'm in the middle of "Wedding Season", so I'm having to keep the fingernails a little more subdued.

Now, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure has never been my favorite polish--not by a long shot. The formula is a little streaky, and can require about a gazillion (okay, three or four) coats to reach opacity. This shade is no different, turns out. The base color is a navy blue jelly. It's very sheer, and a little gloopy. The glitter and the overall effect make up for the effort you have to put into this, though. The glitters are a fine bright blue and a chunky, hexagonal teal. Applied, the color truly does have an ocean water/mermaid's fin kind of vibe that I...well, I just really dig. This color is. just. beautiful. The wear time is really good, too. I've had it on for over a week, and haven't seen any sign of chipping. Granted, my toenail polish tends to last longer than my nail polish, but I've been working out in the yard in flip-flops, pouring cement and laying pavers. If it was going to chip, it would have.

Mermaid's Tale retails for about eight bucks, but I got mine on sale at Walgreen's for five.

Final Verdict: 8 out of 10. It takes a little work, but it's worth it.

Rockabilly Glitter!: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips

This weekend, Fighting Owl filmed some stuff (details to follow, as soon as I know what's going on, myself), but I got to don the old Claire Renfield duds for the occasion! I've played a lot of characters in my day, but I have to say that she's one of very few that's earned a special place in my heart. Plus, her costumes are always ridiculously cute, and this one may have been the best, yet.

Anyway, since Claire is a little (okay, a lot) on the rockabilly side, I normally paint her nails bright red. This time, though, Thomas saw these, and nothing would do but I had to wear them.

Aren't they fabulous!?!

So, here's the deal with these little suckers: supposedly, because they go on dry, they're time-savers and fantastic for gals in a hurry. I call shenanigans. If you want to do these right, they take as long to apply, if not longer, as regular nail polish. You also really need to add a topcoat to secure the seal, which completely voids their whole "no drying time" claim. However, if you're into really intricate nail art, these might be right up your alley.



These are called Headbanger, and have, sadly, been discontinued, hence the clearance price. Would I pay $8.54 for these? Heck, no! You get one application! These are really only worth it if you can get them under five bucks.

  

I do like that they come with all of the tools you need. To apply, remove all existing polish. Then, push down cuticles with the included orange stick. Shape nails with hot pink side of file, then buff with the white side (not shown). Wipe nails down with polish remover, once more, to ensure the cleanest nails possible.



Choose the strip that best fits each nail, starting with pinky and working to thumb. Remove the plastic cover sheet and white backing, and break off silver tab. Apply to nail, holding strip in the middle for best control. Stretch stip to fit nail, then fold excess over the nail tip. Create a crease with the orange side of the nail file, and break off excess. Use the blunt side of the orange stick to seal all edges.

PROS: Really cute designs, relatively easy application, decent wear.

CONS: Pricey, chips easily during application and shortly after, requires a topcoat to seal, not a time-saver.

Final Verdict: 7 out of 10. I recommend these if you are into nail art and can catch them on sale.

Curious about that rockabilly look? This was taken after filming, and after I'd taken off my costume and put on my street clothes, so please pardon if I'm a little disheveled. 

Why, yes! That is a skull in my hair flower! If you like this look and want to know what products went into it, let me know in the comments.

One Of These Nails Is Not Like the Others...

Alrighty! So, here's the deal with yesterday. A while back, I came across this article on TotalBeauty about nail art after thirty. Seeing how I am *cough, cough* in my *cough* thirties *cough*, it seemed like something I should check out. Of course, this is the one that caught my attention:

Photo Credit: TotalBeauty

Besides the obvious glitter attraction, this look was also one of the easiest looks in the article. How hard could it be to just glitter one or two nails? I had a concert performance coming up, so I thought I'd try a little subtle sparkle for the occasion. The article mentioned highlighting your texting fingers, so I painted all of my nails a creamy nude, then topped off my pointer fingers and thumbs with gold micro-glitter. In theory, a lovely combination. In practice...well...



Yeah...it just looks like I got bored and stopped glittering halfway through...



It's a little too subtle methinks. Plus, by painting two adjacent nails, the look is less "highlighted" and more "did you forget to do the rest?" It's not bad, and I wasn't embarrassed to wear the polish for a few days. In fact, if you're interested in the colors I used, they're Finger Paints' Natural Talent (nude cream) and Clear Top Coat, with Sephora by O.P.I. in Wild About Shimmer as the highlight.

 

As I said, not terrible. Also, I am not a hand model.

I might add that I'm not a fan of the Finger Paints polishes. Natural Talent streaked like crazy and required several coats to even out, and the clear top coat was so liquid that I had almost zero control over it.

Left to Right: Finger Paints Clear Top Coat, Finger Paints Natural Talent, and Sephora by O.P.I. Wild About Shimmer

So, after a few days, I decided that I could do better. This time, I went in the complete opposite direction, and opted for a bright, chunky glitter to accent pale, barely there nails. I also picked only one nail per hand to highlight--in this case, the fingers that usually play host to jewelry: my left ring finger and my right index.

Don't you love my new throw pillow? It makes such a lovely backdrop for cruddy cellphone pictures.

The polishes I chose this time around were Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color in Champagne Toast as the base, with Sephora by O.P.I. in It's Bouquet With Me (sheer violet with chunky silver and holographic glitter) to highlight, and the same Finger Paints Clear Top Coat to finish.

Beige throw pillow is the new barn wood. Left to Right: Finger Paints Clear Top Coat, Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color in Champagne Toast, and Sephora by O.P.I. in It's Bouquet With Me.

I'm kind of digging this attempt, though now the colors are a little too different. I think this would work well with a violet cream on the non-glittered nails. Next time I try this, I'm going to try a nice beige (like O.P.I. Cozu-melted in the Sun) and top off the chosen nails with a copper glitter (like Sephora by O.P.I. Traffic Stopper Copper).

I keep seeing a blacked-out tooth here. Is it just me?

This is a deceptively simple nail trend. Sure, anyone can glitter just one nail, but it takes an artist's eye for color or a lot of trial and error to figure out exactly which polishes to use. Still, it's a fun trend to play with, and definitely one worth trying out. Good luck, and let me know how it goes in the comments!

The Old Switcheroo: Sally Hansen Review

Well, here's a new one. I started out planning to write a positively glowing review of the award winning (Marie Claire, Self, and Redbook!) Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish. However, before I could write this...well, circumstances changed...

 

Let me start at the beginning.

 

Last weekend, I realized that I didn't have any neutral nail polishes for Fall. I have several bronze-y colors, and more than a few bright pinks and reds, but all my sheers had pretty much dried up. While Thomas and I were in Target, he pointed out that the Fall Beauty Award Winners were on display, and maybe I could find a nice polish there. (Aww! How sweet!) Well, he was right. The Sally Hansen was front and center, and while it was still a little on the pricey side, it was a couple of dollars cheaper than my usual OPI. I left with a shiny new bottle of "Shell We Dance", a sheer, ballet pink.

 

Monday night, I went through my normal manicure routine: trim, buff, file, cuticle oil, push back cuticles. Then, I slicked on three coats of polish, waited for it to dry, and finished with a top coat of OPI Start to Finish. Now, according to Sally Hansen:

 

Sally knows you’re busy. So skip the salon, but get the results. With patented Vita-Care Technology for advanced wear, more shine, and nourishing care. Dare to compare to your favorite salon brand.

 

5 Steps in 1 Bottle: Base Coat, Strengthener, Growth Treatment, Color and Top Coat

With Vita-Care Technology for advanced wear, more shine, and nourishing care

42 salon-inspired shades

 

And you know, to start with, I loved this polish. The color was perfect. It was just bright enough to not blend completely into my skin, and made my nails look "done" without screaming, "I HAD A MANICURE!!!" The product applied smoothly, dried quickly, and two days later, there was not a chip to be seen. At that point, I was sold.

 

Then came day three, and all Hell broke loose.

 

Little pockets of air started to bubble up from underneath the polish on some nails. On others, cracks started to form, as if the nail had bent somehow. Soon after, I was able to peel off sheets of polish, leaving dry, scuffed nails in the wake. It's now been one week since I painted my nails, and of the ten fingernails, three have major air bubbles, four have large sections missing, one has been peeled completely bare, and two are in darn near perfect condition--nary a chip to be found. I have no idea how that happened. The toes, on the other, er, foot, look like I just painted them. Go figure.

 

I can't recommend this. Maybe, if it were only a buck or two, I could say it could work in a pinch. You know, for a function that night, or something like that. The problem is, this stuff runs $6.49 (Target). That's not exactly cheap for drugstore nail polish. For $6.49, I could have a decent dinner at the local chicken joint, see a matinee, or get a set of cute Halloween towels for my kitchen. In other words, I have better things to spend the money on than nail polish that comes off as easily as the brush-on/peel-off stuff my Mom bought me to play with when I was six. I'll use this stuff, because I'm stuck with it, but at least now I know that I need to be prepared either to remove it after a day or two, or deal with cracked, flaking polish.

 

Final Verdict: 2 out of 10. This stuff sucks.

 

Sampler Platter: Too Faced Sun Bunny Carribbean In a Compact

Photo by Sephora

Hello, my name is Casper, and I am white as a ghost. 

"Hello, Casper!"

Alright, so maybe I'm not that white, but I'm pretty fair.  The very first scene we filmed for The Night Shift required that Claire, my character, have a tan.  The makeup designer and I put together this elaborate design with darker foundation, powder bronzer, and that Sally Hansen airbrush leg makeup stuff (on my face!), all on top of sunless tanner.  I got out to the set, and Thomas took one look at me:



Thomas:  Where's your tan makeup?  Aren't you tan for this scene?
Me:  I'm wearing it.
Thomas:  Really?!
Me:  A lot of it.
Thomas:  Okay.  Um...well, it looks really good.  Just do that for all the scenes from now on, and we'll just change the "nice tan" line from sincere to sarcastic.  Okay, places!

I've seen the footage.  I am only slightly darker than the lead character, Rue, who is wearing super pale makeup because he's dead. 

I figured out a long time ago that I am pale, and there's nothing to be done about it.  I've tried sunless tanners, spray tans, real tans (mistake--I was young and stupid)...I eventually just gave up.  I have green eyes, freckles, and an Irish name.  I dyed my hair red and went with it. 

Unfortunately, sometimes I find myself looking a little too pale.  Like, "I want to drink your blood", sparkles in the sunlight pale.  That is unacceptable.  I wear makeup to keep from scaring small children, not to send them screaming to their mothers.  Basically, most days, a little bronzer is necessary.  It's just not always easy to find a good one.

Today, I pulled from my magic bag o' samples Too Faced's Sun Bunny Carribbean In a Compact, retail price $28, Sephora.com.  Here's what Too Faced has to say about it:

Dust yourself with this naturally naughty, perfectly tan-like bronzer. Enjoy year round bronzed perfection with the most natural and skin perfecting glow this side of the Caribbean. The silky golden warmth combined with a pink under toned bronze mimics a natural tan with out any of the orangey ick! So save you skin and stop harassing your travel agent, and fake your bake like a Hollywood Starlet!

Now, I have used many bronzers in my day, and nearly all have made similar claims.  They all say they look natural and won't turn you orange ('cause really, who's going to admit, "use me and you might as well stamp Sunkist on your forehead"?), so I was skeptical.

I peeled off the card's plastic overlay and swirled my brush over the two shades, as directed.  Then I applied to cheekbones, bridge of nose, forehead, and chin (the places that naturally receive the most sunlight).  Wow.  This bronzer actually lives up to its claims!  It's the most natural-looking color I've ever used.  It also went on lightly, so I could build to whatever intensity I preferred.  Best of all, I didn't look like I was wearing bronzer.  It just looked like I had a healthy glow.  There is some sparkle to it, but it isn't much, and it isn't obnoxious.  No glitter chunks, just a little shimmer, and not enough to make you look oily.  You just look healthy.  That's really the best word for it.  Healthy.

For a brief period of time, I used to mix E.L.F.'s mineral bronzer with it's mineral shimmer.  That ran about $16 for the two colors together.  I have used my Physicians Formula bronzer ($11.99) for so long that I have actually formed a sentimental attachment to it.  Neither one can hold a candle to this.  I'm using up the rest of the card, adding it to my Sephora shopping list, and as soon as I possibly can, I'm getting it and tossing my other bronzers.  I might hang on to the Physicians Formula for old-time's sake, but it's so old, I probably (definitely) shouldn't be wearing it, anyway.

Too Faced is more expensive than drugstore brands, but in this particular case, you get what you pay for.  I'm a convert, and I can honestly say I did not expect to be.