Playing Catch Up with a Trio of Drugstore Polishes

So I could start this post off by apologizing for being MIA for the past couple of weeks, but…nah! It’s nice to be able to take a short break from writing without feeling guilty about it (which was so not the case with the post-a-day yearlong blog I did back in 2009-10), and I’m pretty sure my tiny pool of followers will forgive me, right gals? Rest assured that I’ve diligently kept my “no naked nails” resolution in my absence from the blog, and have been photographing the results for catch up posts such as this one!

First up is Stroke of Midnight by L’Oreal:

Attack of the Discount Polishes!

It’s been over a week since I wrote my last post, so today I’m playing catch up by writing about my last two manicures. Given my love of buying polishes on the cheap, it should come as no surprise that I didn’t pay full price for any of the lacquers I used last week. What can I say, I’m a gal who adores a deal!

First up we have Rimmel London’s Violet Metal. I snagged this one at my local Rite Aid for only 99 cents, woohoo! In the bottle it appears to be a dark magenta polish with a flash of icy lavender shimmer…is it any wonder why I couldn’t pass this one up?

Rimmel London Violet Metal

Trading Glitz for Glamour with OPI Russian Navy

Last Saturday was a Frank N Furter night for me, but I wasn’t feeling my usual sparkly self (long story that involves romantic disappointment, sigh). I figured that if I wasn’t going to go the glittery route, then at least my nails could match the darkness of my mood and still be Frank-appropriate so I decided to go with OPI Russian Navy, a rich dark blue polish with a blue violet shimmer that has been in my arsenal for years, but mainly as a warm-weather pedicure standby. Truth be told, I think this may be the first time I’ve ever worn this color on my fingers instead!

OPI Russian Navy

Going Overboard with Catch Me In Your Net

I was supposed to go out tonight, meet up with some people and see a friend’s play. As I was getting ready, I opted to not completely trash my St. Patrick’s Day manicure, as it had held up remarkably well since Saturday. With just minor tip wear and a small chip on my right thumbnail, I figured I could breathe a little extra life into it by layering something sparkly on top. Besides, I wasn’t going to have time to photograph my nails before heading out, so it seemed like a win-win plan. I picked up my bottle of OPI Catch Me In Your Net and got to work. Of course, no sooner had I begun than my friend who was treating me to this little evening on the town called to say he was going to be stuck at work and we’d have to reschedule. Ugh! On the bright side, my nails were mesmerizingly shiny and my evening was wide open for an impromptu photo session!

OPI Catch Me In Your Net over Sinful Colors Call You Later & Innocent

Layering Sinful Colors Greens for St. Paddy’s Day!

After convincing myself that it would be acceptable to stray from my normal Janet Weiss palette of pale pinks for tonight’s Toga Night/St. Patrick’s NYC RHPS show, I headed out to my local drugstores in search of some inexpensive green polishes that would give me a light, festive look. I’d spotted a promising Sinful Colors green glitter yesterday at CVS, but it was gone by the time I went back this afternoon. Fortunately, Walgreens had the color I was seeking – named Call You Later – in stock, as well as a nice light (but not quite pastel) spring green called Innocent (also from Sinful Colors) that I thought would work great as a base color and keep my mani from getting too dark, which would be a total no-no for Janet!

Sinful Colors Call You Later over Innocent

OPI Twofer Friday!

Ok, I’ll admit it, I’ve been a bad monkey this past week. I got so caught up playing Skyrim that I neglected my blog/Twitter duties! Terrible, right? It’s not like you guys missed out on a whole bunch of my DIY manicures though, since the one I did last Saturday night lasted all the way through to this afternoon with just tip wear and minor scratches in the top coat. I didn’t get around to posting any pics of last Saturday’s mani, which is why you’re getting not one, but TWO looks in this post! As my friend Ali would say, it’s exciting! Let’s start things off by taking a gander at what’s on my nails right now in preparation for tonight’s Frank N Furter performance!

OPI My Private Jet

Easy Frank-ified Mani: Just Add Mystical!

It’s been a relatively busy week as a large number of my NYC RHPS castmates and I have been preparing an awesomely complicated preshow (a skit or song & dance number performed before the movie begins) for tonight. The intensified home-stretch rehearsal schedule required that I be at the theater several hours earlier than normal last night, which meant I didn’t have time to do a whole new Frank mani before leaving the house. Fortunately, I’d recently acquired Claire’s Mystical, a purple, aqua & fuchsia glitter polish that seemed perfect for layering over the New York Color Purple Pizzazz Frost I already had on my nails. Dark & sparkly in a hurry, here I come!

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A Very Blue-Hued Purple Pizzazz Frost

I picked up New York Color’s Purple Pizzazz Frost a few weeks back at my local Duane Reade (a NYC drugstore chain, if you didn’t know) because I was entranced by how the the color looked in the bottle. I mean, for 99 cents how could I go wrong? Plus, I’m addicted to almost anything purple, so there’s no such thing as having too many purple polishes in my book, and I knew I didn’t already have anything similar to this shimmery dark shade.

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Show Me the (Color of) Money with Rags To Riches!

I kinda couldn’t wait to strip off my over the top Frank mani yesterday, even though I was scrambling to get my apartment ready for a small gathering of friends. Priorities, right? After I had some homemade chili simmering away in the crock pot I managed to squeeze in a polish change, but I wasn’t able to snap any pics until today, hence the belated post. Looking for a respite from layering overload, I selected one of my newest acquisitions, Rags To Riches by Rimmel, which I scored for $1.24 on sale (plus a $1-off coupon) at my local Walgreens. Rags To Riches is a dusty, near-olive green so packed with shimmer that it appears almost metallic on the nail. True to its moniker, the color is very reminiscent of the green dye used in most US paper currency…which is sort of ironic for a British brand, come to think of it.

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Frank Nails: Over The Top Edition

As much as I adore the fiery orange mani I did yesterday, I knew it wouldn’t be fitting to wear tonight while playing Frank N Furter with my Rocky Horror cast. Le sigh! I consoled myself by using it as a base for my requisite darker look, rather than starting all over. I thought a crackle polish would provide a pretty sweet effect, almost like lava breaking through the earth’s surface. Instead of reaching for black, I decided to try out Fault Line, a purple shimmer China Glaze crackle polish I found in the discount bin at one of my favorite beauty supply stores. I also thought it would be a good time to play with Claire’s Glow In The Dark iridescent glitter polish (no name, I got the un-colored version)…exactly why I have no idea. I slapped a coat of that both under and on top of the crackle polish, and finished things off with two layers of topcoat, mostly to combat the gritty finish of the glitter polish.

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