Still Painting... ^_^

Hello Lovely Readers!
I'm still painting and all my other stuff! Sadly, the pictures I took of the last couple manis didn't turn out well at all. I'm really sad about that because Sapphire In The Snow and Suzi Says Da! Are both a couple of my favorite colors! =( Sapphire In The Snow is a rich, deep, purple tinged navy with a creme finish and Suzi Says Da! is another creme finish in a shade of rich chocolate, like melted fudge. Both felt perfect for the cooler weather we're finally having!

My current mani is China Glaze Hippie Chic. I felt like wearing this one because so many of the trees by my house have this color dressing their leaves. Not to mention, it's been in my untried section for quite a while!

As I was taking the pictures I was reminded though, that the attack of the dries is well begun. Dry air, dry skin, dry lips (I put on my Clove Burt's Bees lip balm about 50 times today). But I hope you like seeing this color. It's my usual recent routine of a coat of Zoya Anchor, 2 coats of color and the Zoya fast dry drops. I hope you enjoyed seeing this color!

Happy Fall and Happy Scratches!
(mew) carakitty >^. .^<

Steel-etto and Ick-A-Body

I felt grey so I pulled out one of my old favorites. It's Steel-etto by Revlon. It came out as part of their Dark Pleasures limited edition collection in Fall of 2008. There were two other "Blacker Lacquers" in the collection, all of them shimmery. One was a blackened purple, the other a rich shade of crimson. This was my favorite of the bunch, with it's shimmery charcoal base and barely noticeable blue tones sprinkled throughout.

If you like this shade, it appears that Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal may be your closest match. Should I pick up a bottle of it for myself to swatch side by side? =)

Then after about four days of wear I noticed the tips looking a bit ragged. My local stores finally got in the China Glaze Awakening collection for Halloween so on my lunch break from classes I dashed over to snatch up my bottle of Ick-A-Body. *happy dance!* I almost got Mummy May I as well, but didn't spring for it because it didn't look quite right to me in the bottles. They looked like the glitter wasn't mixed in the right amounts or something.

I was so excited to have my hot little hands on the reddish orange glittery goodness that I couldn't help myself and swatched it right there in the parking lot! I had to wait until I got home from class to get a picture. This is two coats of old Steel-etto with one coat of China Glaze Ick-A-Body with a flash.

Remember to let the acetone-soaked cotton ball sit on your finger for a few moments before trying to remove this baby because like most glitters removal can be a bear. I really love this color though, I hope to show it to you in all its unlayered glory soon!

In other news, I forgot to mention that I changed up my manicure routine a bit. I am now using Zoya with my other colors. It is working out really well! The change took place starting with the mani of Orly Galaxy Girl, if I recall correct. I'm now using Zoya Anchor as my base coat and topping off with the HurryUp drying drops and no other top coat. I'm not sure if this change is what is allowing my manis to look fresher longer but will keep doing it for now because I am loving the results!

Another thing that's really making me happy is fall is falling here! Today it was gloriously gloomy and drizzly and downright chilly! The high was only in the 50's I believe. My daughter and I went out and got her some new boots with cozy lining and sneakers. I found for myself a pair of black and multi-color stripey mittens with the fingertips that convert to fingerless gloves! They are going to look so cute with my cat hat! =)

Happy Scratches!
(mew) carakitty   >^. .^<