NOTD: Gorramit by Nerdlacquer

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

Nerdlacquer was/is my favorite of the indie polish brands, but purchasing from them became such a crap shoot that I gave up after my last buy in 2015. Pulling out Gorramit to wear reminded once again of what I loved about the brand though, and it looks like the Nerdlacquer site is up and running and has new products, so who knows?

Gorramit is one of the "vintage" Nerds (but apparently still available) and is described as "a cantankerous golden yellow with silver sheen plus red, copper, rust and gold glitter. A little feisty, but easy on the eyes, and quite opaque in two coats. Keep away from liquor, women, and firearms."

Yellow is not the easiest polish color to make or wear, but the formula on this is superb. I've been wearing it for over a week now and had zero tip wear when I decided to clip my nails back after about 5 days, as they were getting a little long for my taste.

These glitter intensive polishes are top coat hungry, and I used two coats of Gelous to smooth things out and there is still a bit of texture. I don't know if Gelous is why Gorramit is wearing so well, but my bottle of Gelous is still going strong after several years with no signs of thickening/drying out, which is saying something.

I dunno if I'll be dipping my toe back into purchasing any new Nerdlacquers, but I do cherish the ones I own!

NOTD: Access All Areas by Ciate

This coral stunner is Access All Areas by Ciate, which I received in my January 2016 Birchbox. I decided to wear it on my toes a few weeks back and was so smitten I used it on my fingers a week later.

The finish surprised me, as it dries down to a waxy matte that just took this color to the next level for me.  It dries super quick and I found the rounded brush super easy to use.

I got about 4 days of wear before the polish started to flake off, which isn't bad considering the lack of a protective top coat. I'll be revisiting this baby again soon, and it may end up being the first bottle of polish I finish in like, forever. It's a mini bottle, which should help :-)

Pale to the Chief by OPI: NOTD

Dislcaimer: I purchased this. And there may be ramblings about the election outcome below.

I think it's rather ironic that I wore Pale to the Chief for the past few weeks, in light of our recent election cycle. It wasn't a conscious choice, but more because this pale beauty was the one I was most drawn to out of the Washington DC collection. Plus, I had a meeting scheduled with the top dogs of my organization, and I thought this would be a good "work appropriate" color to wear.  

However, the first day I wore it, the polish peeled completely off my index finger. In one piece, mind you. So, I reapplied using the same base coat (Julep's Oxygen Bonding), and it happened again, the day of my meeting with the top four people of my organization, all white middle aged males, by the way. Obviously, my recollection of the meeting is being shaded by the outcome of the election. The meeting went fine, although I did have some thoughts along the lines of how our society is still so patriarchal in structure. And yes, perhaps I shouldn't have started it by saying "I'm very blunt".  But I am, and I'm not good at pretending otherwise, because I'm also an INTJ female.

At the end of the day I preceded to peel off all the polish from the remaining 9 fingers. Clearly, something was wrong. Kind of like this week, if nail polish could ever be compared to, I don't know, the outcome of the election? Which of course, it can't.

I reapplied with no base coat for round two three, because I didn't have any other brand to use. This time Pale to the Chief wore beautifully, and what you see in the pictures is after 5 days of wear. If only all problems had such easy solutions. But, they usually don't. I'm sure my natural optimism will reassert itself at some point, but right now? I'm sad, and I'm not sure I'll be watching anything other than DVDs in the near future. I think I'll start with Detectorists.

NOTD: Tish by Julep

Disclaimer: I purchased this.

Tish by Julep is described as a silver bell full coverage microglitter, and it reminds me of crinkled up tin foil. It was part of the December 2015 All Night Long collection, although I received it in one of the mystery boxes offered this month.

I would say it is indeed a full coverage glitter, as I used only one coat for what you see in these pictures. I liked the glimpse of bare nail underneath, although from a distance it looks almost opaque.

The inclusion of the black microglitter gives it more visual impact than if it were a straight silver glitter, and I don't have anything quite like it in the rest of my collection.  The closest would be OPI's Wondrous Star from the 2013 holiday Mariah Carey collection, although the black glitter in it is much larger.  Here's a photo for comparison, although I'm only wearing it on my ring finger.

I'll leave you with a picture of this little guy, and have a great weekend!

NOTD: The Ring by NerdLacquer

There once was an indie polish brand called NerdLacquer. I say once, because I find it's really best for me to think of it in the past tense, even though it appears the site is still active. It was (is?) my favorite indie polish brand, but man has it been a strange ride.

You see, the owner/creator has a habit of going incommunicado for long periods of time, even though people have placed orders and paid their money for polishes. It's happened several times, in fact, which should have told me something, but I still placed an order last year for 3 polishes. I did use PayPal, however, as at least there is recourse to get your money back should something go wrong.

Which it did.  After about 6 weeks and no polishes I emailed the owner, but got no response. I filed a claim with PayPal, and in due time they refunded my money. Perhaps 3 months later, my 3 polishes showed up, and there was also a lovely pair of stone earrings in the package for good will (or something?). I was bemused but happy to have 3 more Nerdlacquer polishes in my collection, but also sad that I now know it's just not worth the gamble of placing an order, even when the site does look current and active. It is literally a crap shoot on if/when you will receive your order.

I still love Nerdlacquer's polishes and no other indie brand has captured my imagination the way these did. Too bad it's been such a bumpy ride for so many people with this brand. All I can say is buyer beware and I truly wish that wasn't the case.

NOTD: Yiyi by Julep

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I've been remiss in taking pictures of my manicures lately, at least partly due to the sad state of my cuticles and not wanting to see hangnails that seem to pop up again as soon as I clip them. However, Yiyi by Julep is too pretty to not post about.

Described as a "pink freesia holographic jelly", Yiyi was a breeze to work with. Due to it's sheer nature, I used 3 thin coats over Julep's Oxygen Bonding Base Coat. Wearing polish almost non-stop has got my nails peeling, and I'm hoping the Oxyden Bonding base and Oxygen Performance top coats help out with that. I did get a good five days of wear before the first chip showed up, so that's pretty good.

I hope Julep does more of the holographic jelly Special Effects finish polishes, as the delicate holo shows up quite nicely in the sheered out pigment.  It's got me wondering what a jelly sandwich would look like..............

NOTD: I Only Shop Vintage Sephora by OPI

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Gold in all it's many variations seems appropriate for this time of year, so I Only Shop Vintage was my polish selection this week. It's from the now discontinued Sephora by OPI line, which I really liked.  The new Sephora line of polishes haven't really tempted me, as I think I've only bought one and have yet to try it out.

I really don't even need the excuse of Christmas holidays to break out a gold polish, as it's a color that I think looks good year round.  This one is more of golden amber and I love the glass flecks which give it a glowing shimmer that is not over the top but still plenty festive.

Today is my last day of work before my "Christmas sabbatical" of 2 weeks off.  Joy to the Earth :-)

NOTD: Kerry by Julep

Let me start off by saying that Kerry is a pleasant surprise.  Even as much as I love gold/browns/neutrals on my nails, I wasn't completely sure if this color would be flattering on.  But both the color and finish are really doing it for me.

Kerry is described as a "matte metallic" finish, and it looks suspiciously similar to the "suede" finish that Julep came out with back in November of 2012.  I think they're the same, but that's okay with me as I liked the two I have, Amber and Nora.

I used two coats but I think you could get by with one thick coat.  It dries quickly but be aware that even though it feels dry, it's still soft underneath (at least with two coats it was).  I managed to ding one nail, so that's how I know:-)

I love how Kerry has a glow from within quality even with it's non-glossy finish. It looks really cool on my toes as well, a neutral with a bit of flash look.

NOTD: Morning Light by Rescue Beauty Lounge

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

My Rescue Beauty Lounge last ever order arrived and Morning Light was my first choice to wear.  The light blue/gray beauty with a soft gold shimmer is all I was hoping it would be and is perfect for the moodier fall weather Mobile is flirting with.

Sadly, Rescue Beauty Lounge has gone out of business so Morning Light will not easy to find, although I guess blog sales are a remote option.

I'm trying to motivate myself to shampoo my carpet.....not sure it's gonna happen.  Maybe I'll just window shop all the online Black Friday deals while watching PBS cartoons.  I love Peg + Cat.

NOTD: OPI's To Be or Not to Beagle and Julep's Florence

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

To Be or Not to Beagle is one of the Halloween Peanuts collection glitter toppers from last year and was part of the Lil Peanuts mini set I picked up.  It is composed of predominantly black multi-glitter with matte pale blue, pale yellow, pale orange, pale green, red and blue glitter.

Interestingly, not a single red glitter showed up in this manicure and I did two coats to boot.  I was suspicious that there was any red glitter even in the mix when I read the description online.  But there is red glitter in the bottle, at least.

The pale almond cream is Florence by Julep, and it's a bit thick but applied easily enough.  I love a good nude polish as a palette cleanser and I'll be revisiting this one again.

NOTD: Nic and Autumn by Julep

True to form, I'm being drawn to dark, vampy colors now that it is fall. Consequently, Julep's Nic with it's black cherry color was my first choose for wear this week.

Of course, I ended up with some serious sheet marks even though I gave it a good 2+ hours before I went to bed, but topping it with a coat of Seche Vite helped mask that problem.  I did end up chipping a thumb the next day trying to open a package (will I ever learn?).

So, after a few days I repaired the chip and some slight tip wear and topped Nic with the gorgeous glitter Autumn.  Just so appropriate, you know?  I noticed that Autumn is back from the Vault for $6.99 on Julep's site this month, so you might want to pick it up if it appeals to you.  I personally love it and find it to be an untemperamental beauty.

P.S:  Don't forget to Fall Back this weekend (Daylight Savings Time).  I'm personally not looking forward to it being dark when I leave work, but I do love the earlier light in the mornings!

NOTD: Today I Accomplished Zero by OPI

 Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

I may be wearing Today I Accomplished Zero by OPI on my nails, but I've been pretty productive on my staycation, which has only 3 days left.  Even more impressive is that these pictures were taken after 7 days of wear - days that included lots of cleaning and yard work.  I do have a small chip on my thumb, hence why I'm hiding it in the pictures.

Today I Accomplished Zero is part of OPI's Coca Cola collection polishes.  It's a lovely black jelly with dark pink glitter, but my eye translates the glitter as red.  Really, a great Halloweenish polish, as it reminds me of vampires :-)

I used 3 coats of polish but I probably could have gotten away with 2, and then topped it with Gelous.  I don't know if Gelous is why I'm getting such good wear time, but it's a great topcoat if you haven't tried it yet.

NOTD: Jinx by OPI

I was looking through my polish collection for late summer transitional colors but Jinx was the one that jumped out at me.  Probably more of a spring or early summer color but I had yet to wear it.  Plus, I love how easy and fast drying textured polishes are, so there ya go.

Jinx is a flamingo pink with gold shimmer, and application was a breeze. This is one coat over basecoat, just so easy. Jinx was one of The Bond Girl minis released in the spring of 2013, and the three I've tried so far have all been great..

Jinx made for a nice last summer splash before I start gravitating towards the moodier colors I associate with cool weather.