Model's Own Lilac Dream... Y U HAVE SUCH BAD FORMULA

Have you ever bought a polish in a colour that you loved and then tried to put it on only to find the formula to be so absolutely horrible that you almost stopped halfway through application?

Yeah, me too.

So I got my first Model's Own polishes from Ninja Polish recently, and I had heard good things about the brand and was excited to try it.  I decided to go for Lilac Dream first as I was going out with a friend who loves pink and purple and thought she'd appreciate it.

Well... If thinner doesn't help this one, she won't be coming out to play again.  This formula was an all around MESS.  Thick and goopy as hell, stringy, and there was no levelling in sight.  I am AMAZED it looked even remotely okay after top coat and drying, because this was just a hot mess.  I have never used a polish with a worse formula.  I haven't tried my two other polishes from the brand yet out of fear they'll be anything like this.  I hope I just got a bad bottle :(

(Don't get too used to my long nails! I chopped them down again, but not TOO short!)

Wherein people know me better than I know myself...

So I didn't buy anything from the OPI German collection.  After a cursory glance at swatches there wasn't much interest and I didn't feel like throwing any money at it.

But then, as is often now the case, someone gave me a bottle of polish(As a gift for baking them cookies, how sweet!), and they proved that sometimes people know you better than you know yourself. 

Nein! Nein! Nein! Okay Fine! is an olive-y grey colour that I didn't think was too exciting until I actually put it on my nails.  Now we're in love.  It's so oddly flattering and wonderful!  I can see myself pulling this out for classy occasions.  It's just really cool.  This is two easy coats

I hate the name, though.  I think it was Kas who said it sounds creepy.  And it does.

Ooooh, Almost Paradise...

So if you read my first few posts here, you know that Kas and I aren't really fans of Deborah Lippmann polishes due to their propensity to... How do I put it?  Chip like CRAZY.  Well, I decided to give her another chance.

So I love Footloose.  I am not ashamed to admit it.  I love the original movie, I love the musical, and damnit... I enjoyed the remake kinda sorta.  Not as much as the original, but you know what?  Stop hating on it, Footloose lovers, it was fun and I loved the newer takes on all the music!  Absolutely adored the new versions of Holding Out For A Hero, Footloose, and... Almost Paradise.

So when I saw that Deborah Lippmann was doing a footloose collection, I'll admit I was tempted.  But then I realised that the only one that I really liked was Almost Paradise.  But... With that Lippmann formula and crazy price tag, I didn't bite.

But then.... Someone emailed me to swap, and right there on their list, there it was!  I bit, they bit and now I own this lovely, perfect pistachio green polish.  I am in love, for real.  It's so flattering on me, I can't believe it.

It's been on for nearly 24 hours and nary a chip.. Won't be able to do a wear test, but we'll see!

This is three thin coats(two thicker coats would be okay) with Zoya Armor and seche vite(because BUBBLING HOLY HELL), Photos taken in natural light in the shade.

Illamasqua Cameo + GOBAMA.

So I found it.  I don't know why it took them so long, but I found the world's most perfect blue.  It's magic.  It's like periwinkle and cornflower had a beautiful bouncing blue baby.  It's RIDICULOUS how gorgeous and sexy this blue is.  I can't get over it.

It's a Sephora exclusive, and early indications said it was a US exclusive... But being that I am in Canada and here it is in my hand... It's not US exclusive.

But you know, the REAL REASON for some blue nails today:

Elizabeth Warren. Karen Gillibrand. Claire McCaskill. Tammy Baldwin.  And you know, Barack Obama.  

I had the pleasure of spending the entire night watching the polls with my very close group of American girlfriends via the magic of video chat.  Tears were shed, drinks were drunk.  These girls, well, they're some of my best friends.  They're strong, amazing women who have helped me to grow in a million ways I don't think I would've had we not crossed paths.  They helped to spark my interest in politics, and they have taught me what it is to be a strong woman with strong ideals who takes no shit from anyone.  They make me so proud to be a woman.  It pains me to know that there was someone on the ticket who didn't see them the way I see them, but it fills me with joy that for at least another four years, they and their rights are protected.  Women made a huge impact in this election, so I was really glad to be able to watch the election with some pretty great ones, watching some other great ones taking their rightful places in the history books.

Let's remember:  Senate seats, not binders, full of women!

Color Club French Tip... The best white around?

I'm gonna go with yes.

So I got this in a mini set I found at Winners like... Gosh, probably nearly two years ago.  These were some of the first polishes I bought when I was just getting into nails.  It came with a black creme, Revvvolution, and Worth The Risque.  I'll have to swatch those sometime too!

So, I totally forgot about them until I was putting my new polish storage system(a plastic chest of drawers from Canadian Tire) together.  I've been hunting for a great white for ages, and I think the search is over.

This is two thin thin thin coats with no topcoat.  It covers perfect and pretty much applied itself.  I've never found a white, or a pastel for that matter, that applies so perfectly!  This means that my other whites are going to be franken-only from now on.  I've found my HG white!

Isn't it great?

Our 100th post! Have some cake and body painting!

HAPPY 100 POSTS!

So I knew this post was coming when I had it done about 10 days ago, but when I noticed we were close to 100 posts yesterday, I thought that maybe I'd do it then to make it kind of special.  So yeah, happy 100 post-iversary, Valkyries!  We're so glad to have you all with us and we thank you for following!

So this started when my good friend from school, Matti, asked me to be a part of an art project he's doing, where he blends music and painting to create human canvasses of people he meets/knows/loves.  I thought it sounded cool and I was really excited to be a part of it.  I was an art model in college(and occasionally still am) and it was always a TON of fun and a great challenge for both mind and body.  Until you can say you've fainted, naked, in front of a roomful of strangers, you haven't really had a rough day at work :P

So for Matti's project he has you pick out 10 songs or pieces of music and 5 colours that you feel represent you and then he hits play and starts painting.  I chose bright pink, leaf green, sunshine yellow, bright turquoise, and a royal blue.  He posts a blog about each experience afterward, so here's mine!. (If you look closely in the "before" picture, you can see my spectraflair holo nails!)

As he painted, the colours started to blend together and we had purple, orange, and all sorts of other bright, happy things.  Matti thought I looked like a tropical fish, and I have to say I kind of agree.  And no, he didn't watch the Gotye(is that how you spell it?) video first,

So enough talk, let's get to the pictures!

The inspiration:

The polishes I used:

L-R:  Essie Good To Go top coat, China Glaze Surfin' For Boys, Finger Paints Outta Sight Orange, Kleancolor Neon Yellow, OPI Did It On Em, China Glaze I'm With The Lifeguard, OPI Green-Wich Village, OPI Fly, Orly Royal Navy, Urban Outfitters Bandeau, and OPI Pompeii Purple.

Instagram pic - Left Hand.  Any of you on instagram?  

Feel free to leave your name or follow me @likeyoursilence.

Left Hand: Indoor lighting.

Left hand: Outdoor, natural light. 

Right Hand: Both pictures show outdoor lighting.  

For some reason my middle finger photographed horribly.  I promise it looks good IRL!

Happy 100 posts :)  To celebrate(or, you know, because I've had tickets for months...) I'm going to a Parlotones concert!  Can't wait :D

OPI Coney Island Cotton Candy

So I'm not a huge fan of nudes, as you guys know, but I have a few that I really like and today I'm sharing one of them with you.

OPI Coney Island Cotton Candy isn't QUITE mannequin hands for me(OPI Samoan Sand is closer), but it's a nice, easy nude that brings out the yellow tones in my skin more than the pink.  It's RIGHT on the edge of flattering, any more yellow and it wouldn't work.

It isn't, however, the most even shade.  This is three thin coats and one thicker one, plus topcoat.  I think I'll be thinning this before I wear it again, because it's definitely gotten claggy in the time that I've owned it, but the formula is still manageable, if thick.  I don't wear it too often because unless I'm doing a fun layering mani, four coats is generally a bar I'm not into clearing.

What are some of your favourite neutral colours?

Illamasqua Kink + My new pretty.

So yesterday my mother returned home from church with a present for me.  Apparently someone at our church decided to MAKE MY DAY by giving me the one item that I'd been longing for since the early days of my baking obsession...

A BRITISH RACING GREEN KITCHENAID MIXER.

HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE aside from that one day where I met Laura Linney or the time I bumped into Stephen Schwartz on the street I THINK YES.

So once I was done flipping the hell out and hugging it asking over and over again if she was sure we weren't just borrowing it, I thought that in order to properly show off my new pretty, I should do a matching(ish) manicure.  So I pulled out one of my favourite greens, Illamasqua Kink, and took a few pictures.  Kink is a little bluer, but it's pretty close!

Also yes, I did file my nails down again.  Kas, Robyn, Eliza(an illustrious commenter from the drunk post) and I are going on a trip and I want my nails to be beautiful in time for that, so I did a final file and now I'm letting them grow til then and pampering them.

Kink was one of the three first Illamasquas I owned(bought them together), along with Throb and Load.  My bottle has a wonky lid, but aside from that it's one of my favourite polishes.  It goes on smoothly in two thin coats and dries to a pleather-like finish.  Usually I wear it that way, but I also like it with a coat of top coat, as above.  

Have a great day, polish-aholics!

OPI Pink Friday

So I've said it before here and I'll say it again:  I like bright, crazy colours, preferably with glitter.  I like things that make people stare.   So it came as a major surprise to me when I fell in love with this colour.  OPI's Pink Friday from the Nicki Minaj collection is my perfect pink.  It's a gorgeous bubblegum shade that is both bright enough for my taste, but also muted enough to wear to work(or I think so :P).  

I loved the texture, so creamy and lovely.  It applied easily and built up nicely in three coats.  Thicker coats and I could've done two.  It's SUCH a gorgeous colour, totally backup-worthy in my opinion.

While on the subject:  I LOVED the Nicki Minaj collection, but funnily enough I only bought the cremes!  I got Metallic 4 Life, but realised that it was just not me, so I passed it onto Kas.  Bar glitter leaves me cold, so I left Save Me as well.  But the cremes... Oh the cremes.  OPI has reignited the love for cremes that lay dormant in me for so long.  This is what I need, more beautiful brights with such wonderful formulas.  Absolutely thrilled with that collection.

I have no idea why this is upside down.  But I have to go to work so DEAL WITH IT :P

What did you guys pick up from the Nicki Minaj collection?  And can someone explain to me why people like bar glitter?  It looks like fur!  And not in a fun way D:

Illamasqua Nomad and some news!

So I've been a little missing lately because life has been crazazy, but I am making my triumphant return!

First things first:  Varnished Valkyrie is now on twitter!  FOLLOW US for all kinds of surprises, I promise they'll be well worth your while.

Secondly:  I broke a nail on the weekend, so I have nubbins for the time being.  Luckily my nails grow fairly quickly, so I should be back to normal in no time.  I have a few swatches from before, but there may be some nubbin posts in your future.  Just an FYI :P

And finally:  Some swatches of the beautiful Illamasqua Nomad!  As you know if you've picked up on a few things, we are Canadian, so there are a few brands that we can't really get here, and until recently Illamasqua was one of them.  Canadian Sephora stores now carry Illamasqua polishes, but not the makeup.  Oh well, it's a small step in the right direction!  For now I'll be saving the lion's share of my Illamasqua purchases for visits to the USA as it's cheaper, but I made an exception for this collection, which is one of the nicest colours I've found this spring.

One thing I love about Illamasqua is how they put out comparatively few products, but what they do put out is generally of absolutely fabulous quality.  I wish some other brands would take their cues from them.  Illamasqua is the longest lasting polish I've found, I've worn it for five days with tip wear and no chips, which is beyond amazing wear for me.  It's absolutely excellent.

So Illamasqua describes this shade as a "bright jade" and I think that's pretty apt.  This colour is stunning in person, really one that needs to be seen.  The colour is bright and gorgeous, but not obnoxious.  It's not mint, it's not aqua, it's the perfect bright jade.  Just amazing.  It was opaque in two coats, no dragging, and the formula practically applied itself.  Perfect.

Do we have any Illamasqua fans here?  What's your favourite shade of theirs?  Will you be picking up Stance or Nomad from this collection?