Ulta Concrete Evidence

Back to school, yea? Yea.  Fortunately I only attend two days a week but I spend most of my Tuesday there.  I think I may lose my mind seeing as I'm taking Shakespeare Survey and haven't a clue how to interpret his plays.  I need those special books that 'translate' old English into current English.

My first day back was last Tuesday and it rained and rained. OK actually - it POURED.  I did my nails the night before and coincidentally it was the perfect color.  Ulta Concrete Evidence.

Three coats of Concrete Evidence

I think I may have a new found love for gray cremes.  This may not have been the best match for my skin tone but there was something sort of chic to it.  Made me feel a little fancy.  This needed 3 coats as it isn't very opaque but I'm a pretty habitual 3-coater.  I think you could get away with two coats.

I bought these at Ulta for $2.  I believe they are still having the sale but this bottle was $2 because it was in the discontinued bottle. While the newer bottles may look nicer, there is actually more polish in the old bottles.  New bottles have .33 fl oz while the old ones have .40 fl oz.

Avon "Wicked" + "Gunmetal" Swatch and Review

My friend the Avon rep bought two polishes from herself to keep at my house because I am her official unofficial manicurist.  The two colors she picked are not my personal bag, they're dark and vampy and I am cremes and pastels but I decided to swatch them anyways to see what they looked like.  And we're off..

Gunmetal - One coat.

I thought this was a one coater but that's because the crappy lighting in my room tricked me.  You can see bald spots but under standard lighting it looks fine.  This applied smoothly but as mentioned before, most definitely a 2 coat kind of color.  I didn't hate this on me!  It made me feel a tab rebellious actually - LOL.

"Gunmetal" Indoor, flash.

The other polish she picked completely surprised me by being a one coat wonder.  I think I have maybe 10 of these total, and they're mostly holos and the super pigmented WnWs.  Anyway, this is an honest to goodness one coater.

Indoor, flash

Indoor, flash

OPI Silver Shatter - Indoor, flash

This was difficult to photograph but we haven't had much sun lately.  I work with what I've got, and I've got rain and monsoons, lol.  As I said before, this color is not for me.  It's really pretty, especially in the bottle.

If you're interested in these colors you can go through my own personal Avon lady, Coryn, by visiting her website HERE.  She does ship in the US.  Most countries have their own Avon site, as well.

Confetti "Moonstruck" + SH "Hidden Treasure"!

Before we get onto the polish I have some sad and inconvenient news.  Yesterday I was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  I have to wear a brace on my right hand for 1-2 months and then probably get cortisone injections.  There is a surgical option but I don't think it'll go that far.  Typing with a brace is hard, polishing with a brace is hard, writing with one is damn near and impossible and changing diapers for the kiddies at my job is actually impossible.

Last week my right hand went numb, mostly the fingers.  And four key fingers to diagnosing CTS were all going by the book.  My thumb, index finger, middle finger and half of my ring finger are all numb and there's some aching in my wrist.  It's pretty uncomfortable but bearable.  Right now I have my brace off because I needed to give it a rest for a little bit, but I normally won't be removing it.  That being said, posting may decrease in frequency or decrease in text.  I can post but typing is really annoying and difficult, so we'll see

Anyways, onto my NOTD! I saw this color on the NB at MUA but also on a coworker and when I went to pick up my brace from CVS I saw it was the last one and had to grab it!  For $1.99 you really can't say no, hehe.

3 coats "Moonstruck" + 1 coat OTD

Yes you read that right, Out the Door (OTD).  I am trying Out the Door for a bit.  I currently have two active bottles of SH ID red bottle but one has been causing bubbles really bad.  I figured I would give another TC a try.  OTD is about fifty cents to a dollar cheaper, depending where you shop.

It's muddy and murky but oh so pretty.  It's a strange color.
Kind of a gray with hints of lavender with some kind of
murky brown undertone.  It's unique!

Application was great.  After one coat I thought we were in trouble, it looked streaky and a little hopeless but this color took such a positive turn.  I am in love!

And we know I can't leave well enough alone, so after wearing this for a day I came home and added SH HT!  One of my favorite layering polishes, ever.  It brings something different to the table and I like that.

1 coat SH HT + 1 coat OTD TC

It's a rainbow (=

Love!

So what do you think about "Moonstruck"?  And what about the addition of HT?