It’s a Trap! The Perils of Precipitous Polish Purchases! (And Remedies for Same)

Greetings from a position doing the splits over a spike pit, fellow rogues!

Since I’m in a rather delicate position at the moment (re: spike pit), I’m actually going to try and keep this post rather short. There’s also the fact that I don’t really like negatives, but I thought this was an important and useful conversation to have! After all, as rogues we’re supposed to see the traps before they happen, so on the off-chance you  do fall into a trap, what can you do about it?

As I mentioned in a recent polishy post, I’m not generally an impulse purchaser – especially when it comes to makeup! With the prices the way they are here in Middle Earth, added to the fact that you can’t return things once opened, unplanned expenses aren’t really an easy option. However, we all have our moments, even rogue (who are generally more preoccupied with suddenly finding gold than suddenly losing it). Mine came in Dubai, where I spied a rack of bright and gorgeous Nailstation Paris polishes on sale, and scooped up three. Two have been pretty successful (I didn’t just grab them totally at random, after all), but this last one, sadly, didn’t quite hit the mark (unlike that spike in the pit down there that’s threatening to, well, you know…). 

I present: Nailstation Paris Cocorico, a bright sky blue with hidden white pearl…

 

Sky blue goodness, with a pale whitish (superfine) pearl, if you can spot it!

 

Looks good, right? Well, it is, in the colour sense – I actually really like it. The pearl isn’t overt, so it doesn’t get to ’80’s frostpearl’ on you (frost mages from the ’80s had an interesting style, to say the least), and the colour is neither too cobalt nor too baby/pastel. It’s like that door that looks totally innocuous, and has some nice, nonthreatening carvings on it. Can’t be a trap, right? We’re in a hurry after all, and the treasure must be much further in….

Anyway, it’s when you put the polish on me that the problems begin to crop up…

Lobster claws! 😀 Also, Nailstation Paris Cocorico (blue) and OPI Rose of Light (glitter). Pardon the particularly mangy looking cuticle area on my little finger – eczema waits for no swatch picture…

 

As you can see, this polish gives me the dreaded ‘lobster claw’ effect – when you wear a (usually mint green I think) polish on your pale/cool toned hands, and they magically look INCREDIBLY PINK. This blue also brings out some yellow splotches as well, which is interesting, but not particularly attractive. Now, as much as I like this blue as a colour, it made my hands scream at me in all the wrong ways. My nails stabbed me in the eye from arm’s length every time they passed into my vision. It was like that time I picked up that gorgeous sparkly ring in that dungeon…some weird sh*t went down that day…

Cuddly sweater shot, because every polish deserves at least one turn with a cuddly sweater.

 

Next to my flamboyantly fluffy cuddly sweater, the colour is still incredibly hard. Now, although I’m bitching and moaning about it, your mileage may vary – if you have a skintone that suits these colours better, or if you’re just really a fan of bold sky blues, then this colour may be a winner for you. Before you go, however I’m afraid I have to warn you that there are a couple of other issues here as well – for a start, the polish is…chewy. You know, the kind that manage to be thick *and* streaky, and seem to dry partly as soon as you get the brush past the opening of the bottle. Secondly, the *actual* dry time is really long. I think I waited for about half an hour for this to stop being tacky (let alone dent-proof). Even the next day I could still gouge it without much effort. Part of the reason I’m harping on this is that the other two polishes I tried from this brand didn’t have any of these problems, so this one was kind of a letdown.

However! I promised solutions in the post title, and you’ve already pretty much seen it – my ultimate solution, if you’ve gotten a polish you don’t really like, is to whack a favourite glitter topcoat over it. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: ‘Syl, you complained about this colour smacking you in the face, and now you want to make it sparkle as well?’. But since I like glitter so much *especially Rose of Light OMGBUYITDOITFLAIL* I find that it actually softens the effect for me. The reflection from the glitter takes the hard edge off the colour, and, well, sparkles are always OK in my book. An alternative solution would be to reserve the colour for nail art purposes (where it will make an excellent sky blue if you need one) or paint a design with it/over the top of it (it might actually make quite a funky ‘modern french tip’ over navy blue or orange). I know you could also just sell it/give it away or throw it away, but I feel bad about selling/giving a polish to someone where the formula itself is iffy, and I CANNOT just throw things away (comes from living in a world where an OPI polish used to be close on $30 a pop).

What’s your favourite method for dealing with a polish you regret buying (depending on why you regret it, probably)?

Of course, one solution, to make yourself feel better, is just to remove the offending polish and put another favourite combination on instead. To that end, I give you Chanel Rose Insolent (which I have waxed lyrical about, in actual iambic pentameter here), and OPI Blush Hour (of which I took my first ever successful super macro shot here) with two coats of thick lacquer topcoat to make it SUPER SHINEH. In a word: ahhhhhh 🙂 Now if you’ll excuse me, I just need to get this spike out of my…

 

The other hand! 😀 Same light. I changed the sweater so the fluff wouldn’t get too busy with the sequin explosion… my thumb is still pink, but that has more to do with the fact that the thumb-hole in the sweater is kind of tight 😛

 

One of the benefits (?) of natural light photography is that occasionally you don’t even need a computer to achieve arty, semi-overexposed shots…

 

What do you think, fellow adventurers? Have you had any impulse purchase disasters? How do you deal with them? Does it ever involve ‘add glitter’?

The practicalities: Nailstation Paris polishes cost EUR 15 /AED 50 (I think) each for 15 mL and may be acquired from assorted stockists listed on the Nailstation website. You can check out the details for Rose of Light here, Rose Insolent here and Blush Hour here!

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, be prepared to find that your morning hot beverage tastes a little…different than usual. Didn’t the rogue say something the other day about that new poison that makes your inner ear itch maddeningly for the rest of your life? I think she did…

The Bridal Rogue – Be Romantic Yet Adventurous with OPI Rose of Light

Greetings from under a massive pile of tulle, fellow rogues!

Recently, I acquired some glittering loot from OPI – two polishes from their recent glitter-focused collection, Blush Hour and Rose of Light (the pick of that bunch, in my rogueish opinion). I’ve already succumbed to the dual charms of Blush Hour (it’s purple *and* sparkly) with this manicure, and since then I’ve been experimenting with the glorious glittering glamour of Rose of Light. As part of these experiments, I’ve been trying to achieve a look suitable for (or perhaps evocative of) ballet, which in turn lends itself to conservative-ish wedding nails. As I mentioned in another post, French manicures (perhaps the stereotypical wedding manicure?) aren’t really my cup of mead, so I was looking to break that mould! The result? Well, glitter, obviously! Tasteful glitter. Yep.

 

From left: OPI You Callin’ Me A Lyre, OPI Don’t Touch My Tutu! and OPI Rose of Light

In the picture above you can see all the polishes used, although I’ve created two manicures for this post. Similar to recent posts, I’ve been working my way through the OPI NYC Ballet Soft Shades collection from a couple of years ago, this time working with You Callin’ Me a Lyre? which is a peachy pink jelly, and Don’t Touch My Tutu!, which is a marshmallowy white jelly. As you might expect, these go on quite sheer, although you can build up to a reasonably squishy opacity with three or four coats. They’re smooth and self leveling, and generally awesome. Dry time is a little longer than average for me, but I get a solid two days wear out of them at least (excellent on this rogue’s magical polish-repelling nails!)

Because no day is complete without a half-assed macro shot, right? I thought so, too.

Rose of Light is, quite simply, gorgeous. It’s packed full of square silvergoldpinkhologlitter, and lots of tiny pale pink glitters. Seen in natural light, from normal viewing distance, the polish has a decidedly pale gold tone to it, but there is a warmth there, a pink glow that catches the light and really makes this a gem for your polish hoard. You would not *believe* the dragon I had to fight off to get this one. Ended up beating her at a game of Guess Who, actually. True story. Anyway, you get a full broadsword’s worth of glitter on the brush with this one, and one generous coat is enough to give you some seriously loot-worthy sparkle. Stunning.

So I guess you’d all kind of like to see some actual manicures, right? And hear some more about this ballet/wedding business I’ve been blabbering on about? Well, here you are! The first manicure uses two coats of You Calling Me a Lyre, with one coat of Rose of Light over the top:

Two coats of You Callin Me a Lyre, one top coat of Rose of Light. Also pictured: loot of this rogue’s own design (sometimes you just can’t be bothered going dungeoneering for pretty things). Also also pictured: random polish remnants that I forgot to clean off before photographing. Professional, that’s me.

I call this one the ‘ballet’ manicure, because, well, it’s pink and sparkly. Not that ballet has to be either of those things, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t part of the attraction. The tulle in the picture at the top is, after all, from one of my tutu skirts! I do, however, think that this look could work equally well for a wedding where you want some sparkle, but don’t want too much colour or chunky glitter (by polish standards) on your nails. Rose of Light is so magically natural-looking on the nails (for glitter, obviously), that the wizard kept wanting to do an arcana check on my hands in case it was just too good to be true and there was a curse in it somewhere. Fortunately, Rose of Light just really is that awesome!

Raking light, because I’m telling you, you need more pictures of Rose of Light in your life. Even though they don’t do it justice!

The second manicure is a little more conservative, but involves white. I had been meaning to try a jelly sandwich manicure with the NYC Ballet shades for a while, and this seemed like the perfect excuse! This one is three coats of Don’t Touch My Tutu!, f0ollowed by one coat of Rose of Light and one more top coat of Don’t Touch My Tutu!:

Bridal rogue nails! You get to be soft and romantic, but you also get GLITTERING LOOT on your nails. What’s better than that? Well, OK, watching Susie the Rockbard try to catch the bouquet, possibly. She’s not even really interested in marriage – I think she just dives for it on principle…

This mani does it all. It’s white without being stark, it’s soft without being wishy washy, and you can wear glitter without feeling like you’re, well, WEARING GLITTER. Stealth glitter is a thing, people. Embrace it, like the rogue you are. 🙂 Either that or just go full dungeoneering mode and have your glitter unmuted. Perhaps add a rhinestone on the feature nail. Then test the wear by punching a goblin (or paladin, if he’s getting too righteous). Unless your significant other *is* a paladin. Or goblin. I’ll shut up now.

So! What are your thoughts on these bridal/ballet-inspired nails? What would you wear for a bridal/ballet manicure?

The practicalities: OPI colour/gitter polishes cost NZD ~20/USD ~8.00 each for 15 mL/0.5 fl. oz, depending on where you shop,  and may be found on the OPI shelves at your local pharmacy/Farmers, as well as various online distributors. OPI and China Glaze ($15.94 for 14 mL) polishes are also available in New Zealand (along with Zoya, Picture Polish and a number of other hard-to-get brands!) from www.candygirl.co.nz.

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, be prepared to find a dagger in your back. Possibly with a legal troll attached to it. You don’t even want to *know* what he powders that wig with.

Rogue’s Comfort: A Glittering Purple Sequin Manicure with OPI Care to Danse? and Blush Hour!

Greetings from the safe room in the dungeon, fellow rogues!

We seem to be in manicure mode here at Rogue HQ! I recently tried (and hopefully succeeded) opening my mind a bit to grey nail polish. As you know, of course, opening one’s mind is an arduous business, especially when it comes to nail polish (#rogueproblems again, I think), and so when the grey manicure came off, I immedieately turned to the comfort of purple! I didn’t want to backslide too far, however, so this sparkly feature nail look still includes a very pastel shade of purple (something I don’t usually wear uncovered by glitter or similar).

Rambling aside, the result was an OPI Care To Danse? mani (from the same NYC ballet mini set as My Pointe Exactly) with an OPI Blush Hour (from this year’s Spotlight on Glitter collection).

OPI Care to Danse and OPI Blush Hour. Feast your eyes on the glitter and purple goodness…

So! First up: Care to Danse? This polish is, like its siblings, a soft jelly polish (and it it is the colour of the purple Mentos candy that you get in the mined fruit tube). Unlike My Poine Exactly, however, it doesn’t self-level *quite* as nicely, and the result predictabley requires three oo four coats to both achieve ‘opacity’ and smooth out the streaks. Mostly, I was in it for the streak smoothing, as opacity is – well, come on, it’s a jelly polish! As I’ve mentioned previously, the need to scale walls and broken dungeon stairs quickly means that I keep my nails very short, so visible nail line isn’t really a big concern. Dry time is average to long, dentability is in the red zone, but the finish is lovely – squishy, shiny, pastel purple goodness. Still a little more pastel than I’m used to, but pretty nonetheless! Basically, you shouldn’t start applying this on your watch if you know that goblin raiders are likely to eventuate, but if you have some more extended campfire time, it’s worth the trouble.

Note the soft, Mentos purple of Care to Danse. Note the awkward hand pose to display thumb. Try to ignore alchemical splatters on side of forefinger and terrible cuticles…

Blush Hour is a strange beast – it’s a purply pink clear base stuffed with tiny violet hexes, small silver hexes, medium pink, fuchsia and lavender hexes and a troll-load of strange white ‘liquid sand’ style grit. No kidding – this isn’t marketed as a liquid sand/textured polish, but you could re-grip the soles of your adenturing boots with it (handy in those slime dungeons, actually). This isn’t a deal-breaker for me, because the colours and glitter are exactly what I’m after, but it was certainly a surprise. This means that if you are looking for a shiny, tinted glitter topcoat, Blush Hour is not your friend. However, if you are looking for a gorgeous, densley glitter-packed, feature-nail all-star (hyphens!), then you’re in the right place.It requires basically zero effort to coat your nail with glitter. Dry time is average, and it sets like concrete (as most liquid sand polishes do on me.

SO PRETTY! Seriously, all you have to do is make it purple and stuff glitter into it, and I’ll excuse all the random grit you toss in there as well…

All in all, I feel this manicure was pretty snazzy indeed, and provided a balm to my poor, grey-polish-wounded rogue soul (nope, still can’t type that with a straight face) :-P. Care to Danse lasted maybe two days, with Blush hour still going strong at that point (liquid sands are the only polishes to regularly last up to a week on me). If you like pastels, purples, glitters and sequins, and you don’t mind a rather textured feature nail (I toned it down and polished everything up with Sally Hansen Mega Shine topcoat), then give this manicure a shot! I think this little pastel adjunct to my grey polish adventure has taught me that if I’m going to wear pastels, jellies help as they’re not so intense and white-based. Yay for learning! 😉

This week’s cuddly sweater shot is also my first attempt at a super-macro picture, in honour of Jaa and her mad skillz!

So! Would you try a purple pastel sequin manicure? Do you mind if there’s random grit in your glitter polishes? Susie and the Paladin want to know (they had a bet – don’t ask).

The practicalities: OPI colour/gitter polishes cost NZD ~20/USD ~8.00 each for 15 mL/0.5 fl. oz, depending on where you shop,  and may be found on the OPI shelves at your local pharmacy/Farmers, as well as various online distributors. OPI and China Glaze ($15.94 for 14 mL) polishes are also available in New Zealand (along with Zoya, Picture Polish and a number of other hard-to-get brands!) from www.candygirl.co.nz.

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, be prepared to find a dagger in your back. Possibly with a legal troll attached to it. You don’t even want to *know* what he powders that wig with.

No Hate Rogue! An Introspective Grey and Electric Pink Manicure with OPI and Hello Kitty

Greetings from the warm, fuzzy heights of attempted open-mindedness, fellow rogues!

First up, I just wanted to thank everyone who participated in the caption contest! The results are being considered carefully by a panel of experienced (if a bit sniggery) kobolds, and the winner will be announced soon! 😀

Right! So: a couple of days ago, the fabulous adventuress Kelly From VampyVarnish had an important post on her blog: it was part of a #StopTheHate campaign, and was a great piece on the mysteries and evils of ‘hate’ online, and cyber bullying. You should go and have a read, if you haven’t seen it already! Go ahead, I’ll wait ^_^.

Done? Great 🙂 Now, her post got me thinking about hating on stuff, and how it often has to do with a lack of open-mindedness. From there, this rogue’s brain leapt to thinking about situations in which I myself am a little less than open minded when it comes to beauty. I hope I do OK when it comes to accepting peoples’ differing tastes and choices (wouldn’t be a very effective adventuring party if everyone was identical, would it?), but I do have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to certain shades and styles on myself. This dislike is totally irrational, and I decided to have a go at breaking through a couple of my pet ‘hates’: grey nail polish, and french manicures!

The result:

A grey and pink french manicure with the polishes responsible: OPI My Pointe Exactly and Hello Kitty Pop Fizz.

 

So, obviously, due to my dislike of the idea of grey polish on me, I only actually had one in my stash – and that was one I got ‘collaterally’ in the OPI NYC Ballet Soft Shades Collection mini set. It’s My Pointe Exactly, and it’s a cool grey jelly polish. I was casting around for something that would look cool with grey for the french manicure part, and came across a mini bottle of Hello Kitty polish that I bought in Hobart (of all places) for a dollar once. It’s Hello Kitty Pop Fizz, a neon pink base with pink and iridescent hex glitter in it.

 

This is how it looks if you overexpose your photos slightly (or you put neon polish in bright diffused daylight and your camera packs a sad :-D)

 

In terms of the polishes themselves: the OPI grey jelly is marvellous – it flows onto the nail smoothly, self-levels any streaks, dries to a gorgeous squishy shiny jelly finish, and is reasonably opaque in three coats. BUTITSGREYSHUTUPSYL!. Pop Fizz is, er… a little more difficult. It’s incredibly thick, and dries practically on the brush. The upside of this is that you get really dense, opaque coverage. The (other) downside is that it’s lumpy and gritty and incredibly hard to freehand french manicure lines with… 😛

 

Grey and pink manucured nails clutching an invisibility potion. What does it mean? No-one knows…

 

So you might be wondering, at this point, what my problem with grey polishes and french manicures is. After all, this manicure actually looks pretty snazzy, right? Well, the grey part has to do with the fact that I’m a cool-toned vampire, and tend to assume that anything in the grey/taupe spectrum will make me look even deader than usual. Like ‘will-get-confused-for-one-of-the-undead-by-the-cleric-and-friendly fire-shall-result’ kind of confused. The french manicure part probably has to do with the fact that I think it looks better on longer nails, and my nails are never very long (makes scaling rooftops and disarming traps much harder, you see).

 

A little thumbnail diversion….

 

My thumb nail, in fact, is so short at the moment that I couldn’t even bring myself to give it the thin french manicure line that the other nails had! I decided to go with a chevron instead, as I figured including an element that just looks ‘objectively’ strange  and contrived wouldn’t really help the goal of this little quest of beauty-related self discovery…

 

Never let go of your invisibility potions, guys. Once you drop one, you will never find it again, trust me…

 

Incidentally, if you’re wondering why the very tips of some of my nails aren’t pink, it was an unfortunate result of the rather thick pink lines catching in the topcoat as it dried and being pulled back a touch. Obviously, I didn’t penalise the grey/french issue at hand for this 😉

 

Cuddly sweater shot! 😀

 

So, the big question: what did I get out of all this in terms of my little enlightenment quest? Well, for starters, since most enlightenment quests involve schlepping to the top of some precipitous spire to have a singularly obtuse conversation with a wizened old sage, I’d say the cost/benefit ratio for this one was pretty great! No mountains to climb, no sour yak butter tea to sip politely, etc, just a bit of faffing about with a rather sticky pink polish. As for my opinions on french manicures, I still think the traditional colour scheme on my shorter nails is beyond me, but two unconventional tones are actually growing on me. And the grey polish issue? Well, even though I probably started at the shallow end with a soft, cool, sheer grey, I’m still not sure I would reach for it over, say, my beloved purples. I will own, however, that it has opened my eyes to some of the possibilities with grey polishes, and even made me curious about…

…taupe…

*ducks*

…

Hm, no lightning. Anyway, there you have it! a couple of assumptions challenged, a mind wedged slightly further open, and a spiffy manicure accomplished. Would you give this combo a go? Do you have any little pet beauty ‘hates’ that you would be open to trying (again)?

 

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. These may not be reproduced without permission, unless you want a fleet of gelatinous cubes after you. The ones with rotting corpses inside and dicky digestive systems. I’d run, personally.

Thaw Your Heart: A Spring Madness (and Friendship) Manicure!

Greetings from the crisp, cold edges of the spring thaw, fellow rogues!

OK, full disclosure: technically, we’re going into autumn in these parts of the world, but I received an email from Julep inviting me to try my hand at their spring-inspired manicure contest! No strings attached, no Julep polishes need be used (fortunately for us, as Julep is, sadly, not a thing in these parts). Although, as I said, spring is quite a while away here, I seized the opportunity to have some more nail-art practice. I also seized Ooly, as I thought it might be nice to try what I think of as a ‘friendship manicure’ – looks good on its own, but if you put two peoples’ hands together, it makes a bigger picture.

(Tip: if you’re going to seize a ranger, warn them first. You can only take a crossbow bolt to the neck *once*, folks!)

The ‘madness’ part of the name of this manicure comes from the fact that we pooled our polish collections and used (in total) about 33 different polishes! They range from bottom of the apothecary’s bargain barrel (Miki) to idols from the Temple of Luxury (Chanel), and all the way across the rainbow! Obviously, of you would like to have a go at this crazy, springtime mani, you can use whatever colours and brands your little adventuring heart desires. 🙂

Most of the polishes used in this manicure. This is what happens when two PhD students try to do a manicure. Things get…complicated.

So: the ‘picture’ we wanted to get across was the thaw of winter into spring, all the way from sparkling frozen wasteland to a riot of colourful spring blooms and green shoots. Ooly has much experience of what this looks like from her travels through the mountains, and I needed a bright, fun antidote for the grim, dark catacomb I’d just finished clearing out. The broad concept entails a story from thumb to pinky finger:

Thumb: Icy, swirling, frozen winter. Red berries and bare branches, stark against the snow.

Index Finger: The first blooms of spring, breaking through the snow: daffodils and crocus.

Middle Finger: The snow receding slowly, to reveal hardy little flowers in soft spring colours.

Ring Finger: The snow is gone! Flowers bloom in full and more green shoots start to peep through.

Pinky Finger: Spring in full swing! A riot of brightly coloured flowers and green shoots, with extra glitter, because duh.

The highly sphosticated tools required for this look: a yoghurt pot lid, one dotting tool to share and about a zillion toothpicks (not all pictured).

By now I expect you’re wondering exactly what the actual manicure looks like! So here we go:

Ooly’s Nails…

Syl’s Nails!

Details from Syl’s manicure, with the main ‘themes’ of the story. Please excuse the hideous dry cuticles >_<…

Now, where does the friendship part come in? As you can see, the individual hands tell their own spring thaw story, but if you put your hands together in friendship (your choice of ‘awww’ or ‘pass the bucket!’ at this juncture), you can see a larger picture. It turns out that putting your hands together in friendship to show a large story manicure is actually quite difficult, but with the assistance of a further PhD student (a wizard) and an engineer, we managed to get some photos!

*phew* Spring Friendship (and Madness) Manicure Ahoy!

How we did it (take a deep breath):

ICY THUMBS
Base = OPI Bond Girls “Solitaire” + Orly Mini “Winter Wonderland”
Snowdrift = China Glaze “Lorelei’s Tiara” + OPI Katy Perry “Last Friday Night” + OPI NYC Ballet “Pirouette My Whistle”
Berry Branches = OPI Oz Collection “What Wizardry Is This?” + OPI Russian “An Affair in Red Square”

INDEX THAW
Base = as for thumbs
Leaves = Butter London “British Racing Green”
Crocus = Petals(Orly Mini “Velvet Rope” + Chanel “Coco Blue” + OPI NYC Ballet “Care to Danse?” + OPI San Francisco “Alcatraz… Rocks”) + Stamens(Sinful Colors “Let’s Meet” + MIKI No.15 “Orange”)
Daffodil = Petals(Sinful Colors “Let’s Meet” + CoverGirl Glosstinis “Bahama Mama”) + Middle Part(MIKI No.15 “Orange” + OPI Russian “An Affair in Red Square”)

MIDDLE WEISS
Base = Dior Trianon “Perlé”
Snowdrift = OPI Bond Girls “Solitaire” + OPI NYC Ballet “Pirouette My Whistle”
Flowers = Chanel “Rose Insolent” + Chanel “Coco Blue” + Dior Gel Shine “Mirage” + Mix(OPI Mariah Carey Holiday “Ski Slope Sweetie” + OPI Skyfall “Goldeneye”)
Stalks = Butter London “British Racing Green” + MIKI No.2 “Green”

RING SPRING
Base = Dior Trianon “Perlé”
Gradient = OPI Katy Perry “Teenage Dream”
Flowers = Chanel “Tentation” + OPI Brazil Beach Sandies “Samba-dy Loves Purple” + OPI Euro Centrale “OPI… Eurso Euro” + Chanel “Gold Fiction”
Green Buds = MIKI No.2 “Green”

PINKY FLING
Base = Picture Polish “Douceur” + Etude House “Pyjama Party” + OPI Katy Perry “Teenage Dream”
Flowers = OPI Brazil Beach Sandies “I’m Brazil Nuts Over You”, “What’s A Little Rain Forest?” & “You’re So Flippy Floppy” + OPI Russian “An Affair in Red Square” + Butter London “Come To Bed Red” + MIKI No.15 “Orange” + MIKI No.2 “Green” + Chanel “Gold Fiction” + Butter London “British Racing Green” + OPI Euro Centrale “OPI… Eurso Euro”

 

Well! So that was Ooly and my spring friendship manicure adventure…quest…marathon 😀 Are you rocking a spring (or autumn!) inspired manicure at the moment?

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images on this blog, are the property of the author of this blog (unless otherwise stated) and may not be reproduced without permission. If you do, I’ll send minotaurs after you. Crazed ones.

Exploring an Ice Dungeon! A Frozen Glitter Gradient Manicure with OPI and China Glaze

Greetings from the twinkling depths of a frozen crypt, fellow rogues!

Sometimes, adventuring can take you to some pretty unseasonable places. In this case, a crypt full of skeletonized warriors slumbering uneasily in their icy alcoves. All I can say is that there mustn’t have been this glacier here when they were buried, because I have no idea how they’d have persuaded the stonemasons to work in that chill. Presumably they had a fire elemental on hand.

Anyway! While exploring this ice-themed world, I found myself overwhelmingly tempted to re-create the idea of it on my nails when we got back to the surface. Minus the skeletons, but with additional glitter! And so I present, for your amusement, my Ice Crypt (or Frozen-themed, if you’re on a Disney kick) glitter gradient manicure!

 

Glittering, sparkling, glistening icy beauty. Cuddly sweater optional but highly recommended, especially if it is actually cold.

 

 

This manicure was simple enough – basecoat, two coats of OPI Happy Annniversary (a shimmery, pearled silver) as a ground layer, followed by gradient coats of China Glaze Lorelei’s Tiara and one layer of topcoat just to seal everything in. If you want more detailed info on how to create a gradient manicure, check out this post! Below we have the polishes I used to create this look:

 

China Glaze Lorelei’s Tiara and OPI Happy Anniversary, the polishes responsible for this glacial manicure.

 

Normally I’m very much a fan of having things as smooth and shiny and lacquered as possible,  but for this manicure I wanted to capture the gritty, crystalline nature of ice, especially ice particles that have blown over a surface and stuck. Or, you know, blown over your face and stuck while you were trying to fight off the skeletal undead. Very distracting.

 

Bit more of a closeup to get an idea of the whole look in the shade…

 

Quick review of the polishes in question:

OPI Happy Anniversary is a reasonably thin, sheer, pearlescent white/silver polish that takes at least two coats to build up to even visibility. It is very thin, though, so you can easily layer up as many coats as you like to achieve your desired opacity. I like this one as a staple base for doing arty things like this ice manicure, or just two coats on their own for a subtle pearly-but-not-too-white effect. This polish appears to be part of OPI’s permanent collection, so it’s always on hand!

China Glaze Lorelei’s Tiara is a dense silver glitter with medium cyan blue hex glitter in a clear base. This polish is…tricky. Like some of the Butter London glitters, I find that it’s absolutely gorgeous, but tends to dry out quickly, meaning that it crusts up a bit on the brush and inside the neck of the bottle. If you’re prepared to work quickly, it yields lovely results, but it is a bit more awkward than I’d like. You can build the polish itself up to a completely covering foil layer on your nail, which is quite spectacular! Lorelei’s Tiara belongs to a collection that came out in 2011, so I’m not sure what the availability of it is like. However, you can try any other glittery blue/silver polish you have for a similar effect!

 

Another cuddly sweater shot! This manicure sparkles and glitters something fierce in actual direct sunlight – it’s really quite glorious. 

 

More delicious manicure goodness, in a couple of different lighting schemes and with a couple of different cameras. Don’t you hate how it’s never quite possible to capture the full glory and wonder of glitter-based manicures? I don’t know about anyone else, but the camera never seems to take in all the detail and sparkle my eye can see. I do, of course, realise that eye ≠ camera, but still…it’s like going into a new dungeon – no matter how many times you get decomposing ancient warrior on your shoes, you hope that this time will be different!

 

This was more of a warm-sunlight and indoor artificial daylight shoot, as opposed to the first picture in this post, which was a cool morning daylight set. Blur is deliberate  for the sparkle in the left hand picture.

 

The verdict: Glitter gradient manicures are a lot of fun, and it’s relatively easy to create a very artistic looking effect! If you’re new to nail art, or just a glitter fanatic (like me), I’d say definitely give something like this a go! Maybe try a more seasonally/dungeonally appropriate one than I have here 😉

Tip: Glitter gradient manicures are also quite a good way to get some use out of polishes that aren’t so fantastic on their own – particularly a glitter that doesn’t cover evenly by itself!

The practicalities: OPI colour/gitter polishes cost NZD ~20 – 26.00/USD ~8.00 each for 15 mL/0.5 fl. oz, depending on where you shop,  and may be found on the OPI shelves at your local pharmacy/Farmers, as well as various online distributors. OPI and China Glaze ($15.94 for 14 mL) polishes are also available in New Zealand (along with Zoya, Picture Polish and a number of other hard-to-get brands!) from www.candygirl.co.nz.

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. These images may not be reproduced without permission, unless you want a fleet of gelatinous cubes after you.

Polychromatic Dungeoneering! A Rainbow in My Kitbag

Greetings from the best-decorated catacomb I’ve seen in a long time, fellow rogues!

Yes, that’s right, your trusty rogue guide to all things beauty related has rummaged around in her stash and unearthed a rainbow of makeup for your perusal!

The inspiration for today’s post was twofold – first, I saw a gorgeous post by Christine on Temptalia, in which she sampled a rainbow of beautiful products. At the end of the post, she made the mistake (?) of asking her readers what our favourite rainbow of beauty products is, and, being the rogue that I am, I shamelessly stole the opportunity to present my answer on my own blog! If, by some freak chance, you haven’t yet visited Temptalia, I urge you to drop everything and do so. Go on, I’ll hold off the drow for a bit…

Back? Excellent. 😀 Where was I? Ah, yes. Inspiration…

Then, as I was gathering up the makeup to take the photos, I remembered that we are in the midst of the Pride Festival here in my corner of Middle Earth, making a rainbow-themed post satisfyingly appropriate for the season as well 🙂

I won’t be including any reviews here, but some of these products are in the works. If you see something you’d like a full review of, let me know in the comments!

A Rogueish Rainbow

A colour for every rogue – hopefully! The rainbow that fell out of my kitbag when I upended it in the middle of the dungeon’s alabaster altar. Needless to say, the paladin was scandalised. Equally needless to say, I ignored him 🙂

Red was a fairly easy place to start for me, although I did want to include only things that I hadn’t featured on this blog before – my adorable minature Lancôme lipstick came to the rescue! Orange would have been impossible for me without the generosity of the peerless treasure chest opener Karen, who sent me this outrageously pigmented Mirenesse lip bomb. Yellow is actually impossible in my collection – I literally own nothing yellow! So instead you’re getting a yellow-toned gold, the glittering dragon-hoard replicating Goldeneye from OPI.

Red, orange and yellow gold makeup goodies, the colour of a dragon, lava traps and the dragon’s hoard, respectively.

Green was another slightly tricky one – as you’ve seen from my previous post, my wishlist of greens is longer than my stash list of greens, but I selected this shimmering loose eyeshadow from Bare Minerals for its appropriate name. Blue, indigo and violet, by contrast, are not difficult at all to find in this rogue’s hoard. OK, my hoard might be modest enough to fit into a regular size shoebox, but what it lacks in overall magnitude it makes up for in blues and purples. We have Urban Decay’s 24/7 liner in Chaos, a mesmerising desert-sky blue, the indigo shade from my trusty Maybelline Hyper Diamonds Palette (BU-1), and my (already half-finished) Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in the very appropriate Sugar Violet.

Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet, the colours of a gelatinous cube, a magic missile, the astral sea and a mindflayer respectively.

What do you tink? Have you tried any of these products? What’s your personal rainbow of favourite beauty items? 🙂

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com, or use the contact form provided! All images are the property of thepaintedrogue unless otherwise stated, and may not be reproduced without permission, unless you want gobins unleashed on you. Really smelly, annoying ones.

Rogue of the Jungle – AmazON…AmazOFF from the new OPI Brazil Collection

Greetings from the passages of an overgrown jungle temple, fellow rogues!

Occasionally, our adventuring party gets to wander even further off the beaten path than usual, and tackle a quest in far-flung, exotic lands. Imagine my excitement when I walked past a local adventure posting board (i.e. Farmers) and noticed a posting for a new series of quests in Brazil…

Yes, that’s right, it was the new display of OPI’s latest collection – Brazil. Full disclosure – my heart leapt when I saw the bright cardboard display, then sank when I saw that what appeared to be half the shades were either brown, or dupes of things from previous (recent) collections. Don’t get me wrong, there are some bright, fun colours here (including a vibrant canary yellow and some hot coral/oranges), but then there is a putty coloured one, and a brown one, and a dingy red one, and a duochrome that is (in the bottle) not wildly dissimilar to the grey/purple duochrome from at least three or four recent collections. To qualify this – the ‘dupes’ are probably not exact at all, and how excited you are by any shade will depend on personal preference, but I just somehow wasn’t as buzzed by this collection as by previous ones.

BUT! There was one posting on that board that stood right out…a gorgeous, deep, slightly teal-y jungle green that I couldn’t take my eyes off. I had to have that quest! To sweeten the deal, I noticed that Farmers seem to have permanently reduced the price of OPI polishes (from ~$26 to $19.95), and there was a 10% off promotion. Huzzah!

I present: AmazON…AmazOFF (cue groans at typical terrible OPI puns)

OPI AmazON…AmazOFF from the new Brazil Collection. Green! Glorious green…and it is acctually a bit less blue in real life.

As mentioned in the caption, the shade is actually a bit more green in real life, which will hopefully be obvious from the forthcoming nail swatches. It’s a creme polish, a little on the thick side like similar OPI shades (Eurso Euro being a good example). This means that you can get nearly opaque coverage in one coat, but I did two over my usual Sally Hansen base coat for good measure.

I was at a bit of a loss for jungle-y things to photograph with this manicure, but I think the design on the cover of this little book is perfect! It may or may not contain spells for getting rid of minor skin afflictions – you’ll have to ask the wizard.

I could be going insane, but when I look at this polish in direct sunlight, on my nails (not in the bottle) I could swear that there’s almost a slight pearl to it. It most definitely just looks like a normal creme polish usually, but…? Anyone else see this? Maybe I took a swig from the wrong vial on my kitbelt…

Dry time was normal for a polish this creamy, and I’d like to note here that the gloss finish you can see in the photos is entirely due to AmazON…AmazOFF itself. No topcoat here! I may put some on to protect it, but like the greenstone necklaces that Sigryn found that one time in that one dungeon, this has its own glossy finish. Unlike those neckalces, this polish does not appear to be cursed with a necrotizing spell.

Wait a minute… I don’t see any spells in here! Sneaky wizards…

The reason I mention that charming little anecdote about the necklaces is that for a couple of minutes I thought the polish bottle was cursed with necrotizing enchantments, as my fingertips started to take on a bluish green colour. Then I realised that it’s just that this polish stains skin (we’ll have to see about the nails, but a good thick layer of basecoat should help) – you can see it particularly on the lower edge of my little finger in the photo above. The cleric and paladin were kind of freaking out and babbling about curses on jungle temples, but I think it just means that you have to be as tidy as possible when putting this polish on.

Amazon…Amazoff in a couple more different lights, so you can see how the colour changes. Still can’t find any spells in this damn book…

I’m predicting that wear time for this will be the ‘OPI average’ for me (i.e. 24-36 hours), which is perfectly decent wear on my nails (yes, I am a freak). I will update this post if this somehow differs from that average, but I highly doubt it – I find OPI creme polishes to be very consistent in that respect! I’m already eyeing it up for a whole slew of topcoat options, the first one being OPI The Living Daylights, followed by Butter London Henley Regatta. What are your suggestions?

 

UPDATE: Here are the pictures of The Living Dayights (from the OPI Skyfall Collection) over AmazON…AmazOFF. I think it works well!

 

 

 

The verdict: This is a gorgeous, jungle green polish that is nearly opaque in one coat and dries to a lacquer-glossy finish. It does have some tricky staining potential to it, but the proper precautions and care should help with that. Definitely the best of the Brazil collection (in this rogue’s humble opinion)! Now for a jungle-themed arty manicure…

The practicalities: OPI colour (and glitter) polishes cost NZD ~20.00/USD ~8.00 each for 15 mL/0.5 fl. oz, depending on where you shop. Topcoats, treatments etc tend to be much more expensive, around NZD 40.00/USD 16.00. OPI is available at your local pharmacy/Farmers, as well as various online distributors; OPI polishes are also available in New Zealand (along with China Glaze, Zoya, Picture Polish and a number of other hard-to-get brands!) from www.candygirl.co.nz.

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided!

An Ode to Pink: Chanel Rose Insolent, OPI Pink Yet Lavender and Iambic Pentameter

Greetings, my fellow rogues!

This post was inspired by Susie the Rockbard, both in the sense that it is about things that are pink, but also in the sense that it will strive to be as poetic as she is. Today’s Zero to Hero task was to post in a style that we’re not used to, such as a photo scrapbook or a short inspirational quote. Since I had already planned to post this particular review, which requires both photos and a certain amount of text, I thought I would spice it up a little bit by doing the whole thing in iambic pentameter.

Iambic pentameter is a literary/poetic technique in which the lines of the text are written to give a series of five ‘iambs’. In English, an iamb consists of a pair of syllables, with the emphasis on the second one. In the original ancient Greek/Latin tradition, an iamb is a set of two syllables where the first one is short and the second one is long, because that’s how they did it back in the day. If you’d like some examples, Wikipedia and xkcd have your back. (I should note for the purposes of this text: ‘OPI’ needs to be read as the individual letters, not ‘Opee’!)

I make no guarantees that I will succeed in this endeavour without fault, but I hope what follows gives you a chuckle at least (and let you know about a couple of polishes!). Iambic pentameter does not have to rhyme, but I  think I may have gotten a bit sonnet-y at times, and not at others, because…poetry. Enjoy! 😛

An Ode to Pink (by Sylirael)

At left we have Chanel in Rose that is
Most Insolent and then at right we see,
A shade of OPI that glitters bright;
a ‘Pink Yet Lavender’ it seems to be…

Chanel Rose Insolent is creme and pink

A bright and vibrant shade to cheer the mood

and lift the spirits when the orcs attack.

Its application is quite smooth and clean

Though shaking is a necessary feat

As pigment settles quite deceptively

Three coats are best for colour most opaque

But two will work if glitter tops the nail.

The finish is a mostly shiny one,

though I prefer a ‘lacquer’ look, which makes

A Sally Hansen topcoat best for me.

A rogue who rests her hand on flasks of wine,
whose thumb appears most odd in corners right,
has painted nails in shades of brightest pink.
Yet when upon the pink the glitter rests,
it actu’lly looks more like silver, see?

Now Pink Yet Lavender from OPI:

A shade Mariah Carey ‘made’ you know!

See holographic tiny glitters mixed,

with hexes in a pale pink-purple shade.

The application is most irksome, on

occasion needing pushing ’round the nail,

to get the glitter cov’rage where you want.

However I will say that it is cute

and makes an end-effect that’s worth the quest

In artificial light they look like this:
the pink takes on a much more coral hue.
The glitter seems to better match its name,
as now you see the ‘lavender’ there too.

The wear time for Chanel is very long,

on me, that is, which only means two days –

maximum, I mean it, seriously!

The glitter in the OPI is more

long wearing by sheer virtue of the fact;

it’s glitter top coat here I mean, come on!

But by itself it prob’ly lasts twelve hours…

(Remember though that I am freakish here,

and twelve is ‘normal’ in my polish hours!)

Yes, rogues have cuddly sweaters too you know,
they keep the dungeon chill at bay quite well.
The glitter statement nail is one of my
fav’rite ways to cheer a troll-filled hell

The Verdict here is one of mixed design:

Chanel’s Rose Insolent, it stole my heart

with vibrant, cheery pink that fends off gloom.

Pink Yet Lavender is more ‘okay’,

but little work rewards with glitt’ring light.

Practically: these polishes aren’t rare

Chanel is found at counters, stores and at

chanel dot com across the world, it seems.

A bottle, thirteen ml, costs forty eight

In Middle Earth that is, in ‘Merica

the cost is twenty seven for the same.

The OPI is even more widespread,

and may be found in Farmers, drugstores too.

A bottle, fifteen ml, costs twenty six

in Middle Earth again, where costs are high.

Americans will find them for a snap!

Just eight, the dollars needed in that land.

Until next time, my rogues, you must take care,

to check for traps in every dungeon lair.

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided!

Treasures from Waters Deep – A Glittering Gradient with OPI Eurso Euro and Last Friday Night

Greetings from the alley behind the tavern, my fellow rogues! (Don’t ask)

One of the things about adventuring is that it often takes you into places where you’re absolutely sure you’re going to be murdered by mindflayers or eaten by ettins. While there is probably a good chance that something like that might happen (especially if there’s good loot in the offing), you square your shoulders and march on (because there’s good loot in the offing).

If you’re still hanigng on after that obtuse introduction, what I’m trying (laboriously) to say is that I attempted my first piece of nail art yesterday evening. Nail art is something that I’ve long been leery of, mostly because I am convinced that I will make an absolute hash of it. However, I was searching through my (miniscule) nail polish stash, and two polishes caught my eye – OPI…Eurso Euro and OPI Last Friday Night.

Left: OPI…Eurso Euro. In the morning sun! Right: OPI Last Friday Night. Blue and glitter – how can you lose?

These are two of my favourite polishes – they look good alone, they look good together. Eurso Euro is a dark cobalt blue creme from the Euro Centrale collection – super pigmented, this goes on opaque in one coat (it can stain a tiny bit though). Last Friday Night is a pale blue transparent base with loads of super iridescent glitter in a couple of different sizes (tiny and, uh, tinier?). This time I thought…perhaps…a glitter gradient manicure?

Once I’d finished diving for cover in case the nail polish gods zapped me for my hubris, I set about putting together my very first piece of ‘nail art’, inspired by a recent adventure in Watersdeep, a city perched (in true RPG style) on top of a cave network filled with things that want to separate you from your delicious flesh. Ahh, the loot we found down there – and I thought the name matched the colour scheme quite nicely!

Syl’s first attempt at nail art, displayed with some of the loot from Watersdeep, place that inspired this glittery blue manicure.

I used the classic method of painting my nails fully with Eurso Euro, then putting a thin layer of Last Friday Night over the top 3/4 of the nail, then another layer over the top 1/2, then another layer over the top 1/4 and so on to build up a decent gradient that photographs terribly :-P. Topcoat was my usual Sally Hansen Mega Shine. Dry time is on the long side of average for Eurso Euro, because it is so thick and pigmented. Last Friday Night dries in about half the time, but then again I was applying thin layers and it is a glitter polish. Wear time (individually) for these is about the ‘OPI average’ for me (i.e. 24-36 hours), with the glitter polish eking it out to the longer end of that. I should probably state that ‘wear time’ for me means ‘the polish is still absolutely perfect’.

Loot is MINE! ALLL MIIIINE!!! *cough* uh, I mean..yeah. Manicures and stuff.

The result turned out pretty well, all things considered. Certainly, the first time I tried to disarm a trap things ended a lot worse for both me and the eyebrows of the wizard standing next to me.  The gradient isn’t as nuanced as I might have liked, but Last Friday Night can actually get a bit chunky of you’re not careful with how many layers you end up with, not unlike goblin blood after a long fight.

The best for last? I feel like you can actually sort of see the gradient a bit better here! No potion this time – I drank it and then some water got in while we were wading around in the caves…

A note for those interested: Waterdeep (no s!) is a very famous campaign setting from the Dungeons and Dragons universe. It’s a fabulous city, sitting atop a sinister place called the Undermountain. If you’re curious, check out the details here. If you’re new to D&D, and would like an amusing introduction to what in the name of Corellon it all is, you can see Chris Perkins from Wizards of the Coast (they own the D&D brand) teaching the guys from Robot Chicken how to play below. Highly recommended!

(See ZerotoHero? I embedded a video *and* tried a new manicure! New experiences FTW!)

The verdict: Like the glimmering vault of a starlit night, or the iridescent depths of enchanted waters, this pairing makes for a gorgeous manicure. If you have these shades, or similar ones that you think might work, I say give it a go!

In general: Glitter gradient manicures: I think this is a nice place to dip your toe into the waters of nail art – it’s hard to really make a total hash of it, you might (like me) just have to work a bit on the detail of the gradient! The two polishes I used are favourites of mine – they apply well, they look pretty,  and I think they make great staples for any rogue’s polish kit.

The practicalities: OPI colour/gitter polishes cost NZD ~26.00/USD ~8.00 each for 15 mL/0.5 fl. oz, depending on where you shop. Topcoats, treatments etc tend to be much more expensive, around NZD 40.00/USD 16.00. OPI…Eurso Euro is from a recent limited edition collection, but these typically hang around for several months (to years!) on the OPI shelves at your local pharmacy/Farmers, as well as various online distributors. Last Friday Night seems to have been made permanent (?) as it’s been around for ages and appears in the permanent ranks at my local Farmers. OPI polishes are also available in New Zealand (along with China Glaze, Zoya, Picture Polish and a number of other hard-to-get brands!) from www.candygirl.co.nz.

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided!