Literary Lacquers Anne With an E: Aren't you the little surprise!

You know how there's always that one polish in a collection that you look at and say "I have nothing again you, you're pretty, but...I dunno.  I just don't think we're gonna click."  And then the more you look at in in the bottle the more your mind starts to say "Actually I think I do like you!".  I had these feeling followed by "I know what polish would look FANTASTIC with you" and "I'm hungry."

Little book info first!  Anne With an E is how Anne insists her name is spelt as it looks better than Ann without the E.

Now the polish!  It's medium silver and multicoloured iridescent, hex glitter.  As well as some large and super tiny multicoloured iridescent, hex glitter.  You can pretty much put this over any base.  Over a lighter colour you get this whimsical, fairy tale feel,  And over darker colours you get this cosmic feel.

The first colour I tried it on was Essence Sweet as Candy.  I knew these two HAD to be layered together.  I thought their creaminess would mesh perfectly together.  I used one coat on these ones.  I decided for my darker polish to use H&M Plum.  As I wanted something dark that wasn't black.  On this I used 2 coats.  You should know on the darker polish you could see the creamy base.  Not so much after the first coat, but after the second.  I would say if you are using more than one coat of this over a dark colour be careful.  The milkiness looks fin but if you're not careful it may look patchy.

I think I can safely say this polish is amazing!  Even as someone who dosn't wear soft colours a lot I think this is a great look and I have a dress that goes PERFECTLY with it!

If you would like a bottle of Anne With an E go over to Literary Lacquers etsy page.  The full size bottle retail for $10.61 Canadian.  Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow and I'll be able to photograph the last 2 polishes! Ps. Annie.

*Product sent for honest review.

Born Pretty Store Fimo Nail Decorations!

So I've been absent lately, which I should apologise for.  I've been dealing with some family things including a very sudden death back in South Africa, but I will be much more present now that we've handled it together, so BACK AT IT!

I got THESE from Born Pretty recently, they're adorable little fimo nail decorations in various shapes and colours.  I know that they're definitely not for everyone, but here at VV we can definitely appreciate the fun and whimsy of stuff like this, so if you're not into it... Jog on, I suppose!

I decided to wear these with Essie In The Cab(ana), which is a sweet, fun blue from this year's resort collection.  I love this colour and I can see myself wearing it a lot.

These fimo decals came with a tube of nail glue to attach them, which I really liked.  It's nice to get that little extra bit for your money.  I also love that there was no warping or strange variance in size with these, which is a definite hazard with inexpensive nail art stuff.  Everything was uniform in size and shape, with the only variation being in thickness.

Attaching them was very easy, I found the glue to be extremely effective.  It stuck fast and stuck well.

I decided to use a bunch of different decals so you can see some of the options.  I didn't do my thumb as I had a cut on it and wasn't wearing polish, so just ignore :P

I didn't do a proper wear test as I work in an environment where it really wouldn't be fair(I spend all day prying things with my hands, mixing stuff, and typing), but these did last through cooking myself a big lunch, walking my dog, and doing some light cleaning.  I think they would very easily last through a night or day out!  In fact, I'm going to wear the flowers to a music festival next weekend.

(While we're at it, let's all examine my weird skin.  Yellow in the first two photos, pink in the last.  Ohhhh, genetics.)

If you would like to get your hand on these head on over to the Born pretty website!  And don't forget to use our 10% code, EAL91!

Literary Lacquers Marilla's Amethyst Brooch: Any excuse to whip out my googly eyed amethyst

Blah, I'm getting sick :(.  My throat is raw and overall I just feel really yucky.  And to top it all off I'm cold.  Poop.  My problems aside lets move on to another one of Literary Lacquers polishes from the new Anne of Green Gables collection.

Today I have Marilla's Amethyst Brooch.  Now the name of the polish gives two things away. 1)It was a brooch that belonged to Marilla, the lady who along with her brother adopted Anne.  It was a favourite of hers.  2) The colour of the polish is Amethyst.  Well if you really want to get specific Literary Lacquers describes it as Amethyst shimmer with a pink to orange color-shifting flash.  I only needed 2 coats for full opacity but you may need 3 depending on how thick or thin your coats are.  While getting the orange shimmer to show may be a bit trickier the pink is very evident.  This polish kind of reminds me of Essence Color & Go Oh My Glitter.  This polish is like Oh My Glitter's complex, mature sister.  Overall this is a colour I really like.  It's glowy, fun, not afraid to show it, and at the same time is not obnoxious.

And just so you know he last 2 photos are with my chunk of raw amethyst.  And yes, the amethyst has googly eyes.  Because what 16 year old doesn't want a rock with googly eyes for her birthday!  I think it makes the rock even more beautiful.

Anyways if you would like Marilla's Amethyst Brooch go over to Literary Lacquers etsy page.  The full size bottle retail for $10.61 Canadian.

First 2 photos natural light, last 4 light box.

*Product sent for honest review.

Literary Lacquers Carrots Carrots and Lake of Shining Waters: Warning! Very Canadian Post!

One of my earliest memories is actually Anne of Green Gables related!  My mum took me to see Anne of Green Gables The Musical when I was 5 and after the show I told I thought Gilbert was very attractive.  She then waited until the guy who played him came out and told him I found him attractive.  This is why I don't talk to her about men anymore.  Seriously.

So back to the polish! This Literary Lacquers collection based off of Anne of Green Gables(but if you have been reading this post you already knew that).  Written by Lucy Maud Montgomery it is about the adventures of  Anne Shirley a young orphan girl mistakenly sent to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a middle-aged brother and sister who have a farm on Prince Edward Island and who had intended to adopt a boy to help them. There's actually five sequels following the first book written by Ms Montgomery they follow Anne from childhood(Aged 11) till adulthood(aged 40).

First I have Lake of Shining Waters.  This is what Anne decided to call Berry's Lake when she refused to call it that.  Lake of Shining Waters is a teal linear holo.  Like all of the holos from Literary Lacquers application was flawless in 2 coats, and it dried super fast.  Sorry about the lack of sun photos the sun wont be out for a couple days but I still wanted to show at least one of the holos(Yes there's more that I'll hopefully be able to show you with some sun).  But even though you can only see a tiny bit of holo it is very clear that even when the holo isn't out in full force the colour itself stands on its own.

Next up is Carrots Carrots.  Carrots is what Gilbert Blythe, a classmate(who goes on to be much more) call's her to get her attention.  I should add she has red hair just so you don't think he's some boy that calls people vegetables.  The polish is a creamy orange base and it's full of medium white matte glitter, and small, medium and large carrot coloured glitter.  I used 3 easy coats for full opacity.  And despite the 3 coats the glitter was never drowned out.  The layers gave the polish depth.  While I like the colour I'm not sure it works great in my skin(I have a complicated relationship with orange).  BUT for those of you who can rock this colour this glitter in a soft base look is very on trend.

If you would like to snag these go over to Literary Lacquers Etsy page.  Full size bottles sell for $10.63 Canadian!  I can't wait to show you the rest!  Fingers crossed the sun comes out!

*Product was sent for honest review.

BTW I hope this post touched everyone on a personal level!  So personal it embedded itself your soul.

Unleash Your Inner Queen...On Your Nails!

Ahoy Valkyries! Let me tell you about these fancy little crown decorations from Born Pretty Store. These pretties are metal with an ivory-coloured enamel detail, and 1x1 cm wide. Because they're metal, you can use them again and again! Value for money, guys.

For a truly regal look, I started with a base of A England Avalon,  the purple of my dreams! Finished off with Essie Good to Go! topcoat.

Application was quite fiddly, using nail glue, tweezers, and swearing. I recommend putting the glue directly on the crown, rather than the nail. This way, the glue kinda drips down onto the nail and creates a sort of "wall" between the deco and your nail. Maybe you knew that, but this was my first time gluing stuff on my nails so it was an "aha!" moment for me!

I LOVE how these look. They take a bit more time and some practice to apply, but they really add something special to your manicure. So head over to Born Pretty Store for these and more great nail art supplies, and don't forget to use our coupon code!

ETA: Because they're so big, I had trouble getting them to stay on for more than 12 hours. But those 12 hours of tacky, glamourous ultra-fab time were amazing. Highlight of my week.

*Product was sent for honest review.

Random Wednesday: I can't swallow

Pills.

You're a dirty bunch.

I actually had a review planned for today but the polish I wanted to use for a base (Cult Nails Time Traveler) bubbled like crazy and I don't know.  The formula was just off.  So instead I'm doing this.

Yes it's true I can't swallow pills.  Now before you start giving me advice know that I have heard it all. "It's easy," "Throw it to the back of your throat then just drink water," "Put water in your mouth first then pop it in.  That way you don't know it's there."  I get it guys.  Let me start by saying it is a head thing.  In theory I know it's not hard to do but I just can't do it.  There  is something that just stops me and that is the hard thing to get over.  I can swallow food and...other things(;P) but for some reason whole idea seems hard for people to understand.

Now you are probably wondering how do I take medicine?

1) Things like Oxycodone or Acetaminophen that aren't coated I put in hot chocolate and let it dissolve completely.  So long as it's not cotaed it's wicked easy to dissolve.  The hot chocolate generally tastes a bit less sweet but it's not bad.

Other drugs I wont mix apart from coated are iron(it made the hot chocolate taste like blood), and antibiotics(It tastes like licking the floor on the deepest darkest pits of hell.)

2) When I had my wisdom teeth out they prescribed antibiotics.  They originally gave me "easy swallow" capsules.  And let's be honest that really wasn't the time to learn and they ended up tasting horrific in hot chocolate.  I eventually got the drug in liquid form.  It tasted pretty good!  So I will get stuff in liquid form.  Loads of drugs come in liquid form you just have to ask.

3) Gummies.  I take my multivitamin in gummy form(they make them for adults).  It's actually the worst because you want to eat them all.

4) Things like ibuprofen generally come coated or in gel.  If you dissolve these they are horrific.  They are generally too harsh and will burn going down.  So when I have aches and pains(like my back the other week) I will sometimes use children's medicine.  I don't actually take a higher dosage because they recommend if possible you dose by weight.  I fall just outside the highest dosage by a couple pounds.  And yes, it does work AND taste like fruit punch.

 

5) I don't mind needles.  It hasn't come to this but I realize that some drugs do come in liquid form but need to be injected.  

I just keep getting weirder and weirder.  Questions?

Vein Nails: I have a semi. A semi fail that is.

Do you ever have one of those ideas?  Really random, weird ideas?  I do.

Well the other day I was thinking of transparent animals, because no one can stop me.  That lead to me thinking of veins that you can see through skin.  And I wondered could I do that on nails?

I knew I was going to have to sandwich blue in between a sheer nutral.  Now I had nothing that matched my skin so I used a random Nailene french mani polish.  As well as Milani Dude Blue(ugh) for the veins.  Finally I added a layer of matte topcoat.

Now there's a few things you should take note of when looking at these photos.  1) The Camera tends to make the Nailene polish look a lot yellower when under light that's not natural.  2) The more light the less visible the veins were in photos.  In real life they look more like the last 2 photos.  Which were taken with a tiny bit of natural light 3) What I'm trying to say is these were IMPOSSIBLE to photograph.  Any lighting I would consider good lighting essentially washes out the veins.

Now this is a semi fail because this actually looks pretty cool in real life.  The "skin" looks a lot more natural and the veins are a bit more visible.  But not too visible.  Enough that they look sort of like veins :P

You guys get any weird nail ideas?  Do you actually go through with them even though they my fail?