Hello, 'moto

2011-02-26T18:27:00.000-08:00

I'M BACK! - kind of

2011-02-23T18:32:00.000-08:00

More like... I sort of miss having a web presence (though I moved to Tumblr, it's way more anonymous). Anyway, I finally bit the bullet and ordered myself Illamasqua's Baptiste - after seeing so many pretty swatches. Once I got it though, I sort of put it in a box (inside of its own box) - because I have way too many polishes. Today I decided to organize my stuff (as well as list up blogsale items!) and realized - what the crap. I use too many dashes.

Also, that Baptiste looks a LOT like China Glaze's Let's Groove.

However, there's a minute difference: let the (crappy/iPhone4) pictures illustrate.

With flash. Can you tell which is which? :P I'll give you a hint, pinky/middle is ChG and index/ring is Illamasqua (there really is no shortening of that name, is there?). There's a slight different, ever so slight.

In the bottle, ChG looks more warm toned, Baptiste looks more... blue. Blurple. Illamasqua doesn't look anything special in the bottle, whereas ChG's shimmers come out more... making it look more interesting. In the bottle, anyway. On the nail, they're both equally interesting IMO.

HOWEVER, I decided that I really don't like Illamasqua's packaging. Do I like squares? Yes. Do I like this packaging? NO.

Not only does the top not fit on squarely (harhar, pun intended) it feels like it's very... thin. Squishy? Like it could break if you used it a lot, or even had it stored the wrong way... like it would mold and bend. ChG is hardy and will not budge. Also, it doesn't go back to being "straight" without some effort - not much, but it takes some. What do I mean? If it's a square bottle, I want the cap and the bottle to be at the same angle when closed. However, when you close the polish, the top swivels slightly past straight... which annoys me all of the 4-5 times I opened and closed it.

Plus, Illamasqua's smooth packaging leads more towards dust and fingerprints, as you can see. If this were FaceBook, I would be pressing the dislike button... or commenting that I wanted a dislike button to press.

In nice super-mega-yellow light. You can still see the slight difference between the two shades.

So, what does that all boil down to?

Availability: ChG Let's Groove came out in Fall 2009. Looks like it's fairly available (clicked on the "shopping" tab of google). Illamasqua Baptiste is always available, but it's $14 per bottle.

Packaging: ChG wins due to aforementioned qualities.

Color: Since I tend to lean more towards cool colors (and more inky black colors as well).... I'd have to say Illamasqua. But I really do love the ChG too! Where it really gets me though is that Baptiste's shimmers seem a little more dimensional - deeper - purple, whereas ChG is definitely fuchsia/pinkypurple.

Brush/handle: ChG wins for the handle. The brushes are actually about the same.

Application: They seemed... about the same. Illamasqua seemed slightly more finicky to me - but maybe that's because I'm not used to the square handle? Either way, both were one-coaters to me (but I prefer slightly thicker coats). I did two anyways just for funsies and it worked out just fine.

Amount: The same for both, .5 fl oz. So, for the price, you can purchase two ChG for one Illamasqua.

Final verdict?

I'm going to wear this mani on my nails for a few days, see about the wear... but overall, I'm pretty sure that I'm sending Baptiste back. No offense Illamasqua, but with ChG around (and not being a HUGE nail nerd), I could use my $14 back. As much as I love you, Baptiste, I don't think the difference between the two is that big of a deal to warrant me having BOTH shades - plus your packaging annoys the crap out of me, haha.

BUT, had I been debating between the two, based on color ALONE, I think I would've chosen Baptiste - IF they were priced the same. But they're not. And that's definitely something I can't ignore, especially with the lesser packaging.

Prepare yourself for more sporadic posting. It is quite annoying to me that I have to switch google accounts to be able to post to this blog though.. so.. we shall see.

MIA

2010-12-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

Going to be MIA from Facebook and Blogger for a little while.

Why? Beeeecause.. the world has turned without me and I need to catch up ;P

I'll still be on Twitter though. Stop by and say hi!

Excessive spacing.

Day 06 + rambling

2010-12-02T23:50:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates... had a wedding all day Wednesday (before Thanksgiving), then Thanksgiving with my family, then I left Friday 6:30AM for Houston... got back Monday, early afternoon.. and.. headed to San Diego that night for a job that I'm still currently on. Why am I blogging? I can't sleep -_- insane huh. Esp after you read my hours, lol. I ranted for a bit, just to warn you..

Day 06- A hobby you have.

Moto Jewelry: check it out!

Started sometime around March/April of last year and been going since. Now that I've graduated and am out working, it's harder for me to find time to craft but I definitely still love doing it. I love that there are people all over the world wearing something that's handmade - by me!

Man... I know all jobs are pretty hard but photography/cinematography is definitely more strenuous than people think (even my mom was surprised). I've been on this particular job since Monday night (flew in from Houston on Monday also) and so far I've had a 5:30am wake up, leading to a 13 hour day (insanely packed schedule) + 3-4 hours managing media (downloading, organizing and backing up files) as well as a 7:45am wake up (even though I wasn't supposed to go in until 10am) which lead to a 7 hour day (abnormally short but insanely packed as well)+ 3-4 hours managing media. Ate at 8:30am, 10:00am then didn't eat again until 6:30pm, just because I didn't have time.

At weddings, your days are usually 8 hours (contract standard, but sometimes it's definitely way way longer) not including driving time or the time for set up/break down (packing), or the prep you do before the wedding. Not to mention that some people don't factor in time for us to take a break (or eat sometimes), just because we're "on the clock" and "need to be working all the time". I understand that, a wedding day is about the COUPLE and not ME but it's nice to be considered as a human being sometimes, you know?

I'm not trying to sound inconsiderate, I definitely love being able to do what I love for a career (not job), being able to chase my dreams. It's just hard sometimes. People think, "oh you're a photographer/cinematographer... what are you doing to do?" because the industry makes so many consumer cameras (geared at non-professionals) and the new Panasonic ad just tells people to get their camera takes such awesome pictures that you can have your own gallery showing.. it's sort of frustrating. I'm all for people who love photography/cinema but when the art of photography is cheapened by these ads, then it makes it a little harder on us who are trying to make a living with it versus picking up a side job or hobby. What's the point of having a DSLR if you're going to put it on automatic?? The controls are there for a reason, not only to "keep up appearances".. looking like a less amateur amateur. #iknowimbeingharsh

I think what frustrates professionals the most is people comparing prices without considering the level of service they would receive. "I want this price because I found it on here and here... but I like your stuff better." It makes me want to reply with "sooooooo?" or "where were you going with this?"or "did you realize that I'm not that and such company/ies?" I guess it's also partly society because we're almost trained to "just ask" because "you never know what will happen". It's not that we don't WANT to empathize, it's just that we also have bills to pay. This is our job, our career, our life path. Other people may be able to offer lower prices because of this or that, maybe they don't understand the reasons behind pricing, maybe they don't need the money... but that's not me. I know lots of companies and people who aren't those kinds of people either.

But then again I guess that goes for all professionals, no matter what the field is.

Keep in mind these are my own opinions.

(IT'Z AWL IMO, LAWLZ)

#imjustsaying

and also:

#ivebeenawakeforwaytoolong

#ithinktoomuch

#iamverypessimisticwhenexhausted

#insertpanasoniccommercial

What do YOU think?

Day 26 & 27 & 29

2010-11-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

Day 26- Places you want to visit before you die.

1. Japan (a few more times)

2. Ireland

3. Europe (in general)

4. UK

5. Asia (in general)

6. St Lucia

7. Costa Rica

8. South Africa

9. all across the US (only been to CA, AZ, NV, TX and OR)... especially AK and the east coast.

10. everywhere else inbetween!

Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge?

To get me to blog more... haha, you know me, I looooove scheduled blog posts... and this was easy-peasy (for the most part). It's a little revealing at times but you know, whatever. This is MY blog and this is where I put MY life and MY posts and this is probably the closest I've gotten to a diary in YEARS... anyway.. BECAUSE I WANTED TO! *nyah*

Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned.

- I'm way more easily distracted than I thought.

- My immune system isn't as bulletproof as I thought (but it's pretty close.. recovered from food poisoning in one day and avoided the flu with just a sore throat).

- I type the word "just" way too often.

- It's easier for me to start a project than to finish it (I haven't completely moved in yet and it's been about a month).

- If I get focused, I am FOCUSED.

- I was holding on to a lot of things from my past... maybe it was because I've been gone for 3 years or maybe it's because I just didn't want to get rid of stuff. And now that I've gotten rid of a bunch of my stuff, I want to help others clear space as well hahaha XD

Day 25

2010-11-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Day 25 - What we would find in your bag

(or something like that)

Was about to make a vid but I am not the most interesting person via video :P so I decided just to pic spam ya'll. SUFFER! :}

My purse that I loooooooooove.. if you know me.. you'll know that I wear grey.. ALL.. THE.. TIME. If I had to wear one color for the rest of my life, it would be grey. And ALL of my jeans are dark. I can't live without dark jeans. Lighter colored jeans just make my already pear-shaped-body seem even bigger, which is a no-go D:

Back story// I hate walking into expensive places because I know if I see something and I like it, I won't be able to get it (either that or I rationalize and say "I don't need that purse because I've been getting $20 purses all my life and they work just fine" but still secretly want it and be secretly sad). This goes for clothing stores.. anything. BUT.. the boyfriend loooves going into expensive stores.. either because he can afford it or he likes seeing what's new. Either way. So, we've walked through this Coach store (yea I know, it's not THAT expensive but to ME and my rationalizing, it is) a few times and I finally see a purse that I like.. of course being grey.. and I'd been looking for a new purse for awhile.. the boyfriend quickly ushers me out because he recognizes the signs of me wanting something, hahaha XD

So then I head home for a few days.. go shopping.. see a purse I kind of like and send a pic to the boyfriend and he says "don't get it". And I whine a bit but he keeps saying that I have enough purses (he doesn't see the point in having more than one purse) etc etc, and I figure he's being logical so I don't get it... but I do get a new wallet (mostly because mine was falling apart).

Get back up to the house (that I shared with the boyfriend at the time) and GUESS WHAT.. there was a box sitting on the top shelf! Of course it's too high for me to get.. but it says COACH.. and I get very excited (having NO IDEA).. and it turns out to be the very grey purse that I was eyeing. I guess when I was gone, the boyfriend went back into the store and they just happened to be closing that location.. and he was going to get it for me anyways.. and it was the last one there.. so it was meant to be :)

Cue me being VERY happy (and I still am!!).

Anywayyyy.. uh.. that was sort of a long, unneeded story. Sorry guys :P

So, this is my perfect purse. I love the size. Love the pockets. Love the lining on the inside (dark jean color!). Love the material on the outside, so easy to clean. Love that it's from the boyfriend. Love, love, love it.

A peek inside... yikes, so messy!

What I had (at the time) in the outer pocket. It's uuuuuuusually empty, minus like.. maybe directions or something.. but I've been rushing around lately and haven't cleaned out my purse in awhile, poor purse *pet*

Inside of my "pen" bag (don't you love the design?? handmade, but not by a fellow blogger. I can't remember the gallery she has for her stuff, else I'd post it up). Not sure how the lipgloss got in there.. and I totally never use that calendar/planner anymore since I've religiously been using iCal (can't wait for my iPhone!)

Inside of my makeup bag... guess who made it? XD one of our fav. bloggers! No, this isn't all of what I carry.. the others get dispersed in my purse as they get used xD you'll see a few more lipsticks later on. OH and this is my absolute FAV kabuki brush... bought it at Target.. now that they've revamped, I no longer see these brushes :( soooooo sad.

Wallet inside... kinda messy ATM, sorry!

Wallet outside (love this.. bought it for like, $10)

Tons of cards... these are my more "unused" cards, so they go in the gold card wallet in the next pic. 3 debit, 1 credit, MAC, Sephora, Nordie's, and some other random stamp card.

The rest of my purse... man, I should've organized my purse before I did this haha. NO I don't normally keep deodorant but I was rushing to pack and leave for the shoot so I just dumped it in my purse.

TONS of hotel room keys... that's what I get for being PA (production assistant) on a commercial shoot :P have to go drop off and pick up stuff from everywhere!

Various assortment of jewelry (though I put these back on my stands/racks after I took the pic haha)

Two kinds of gum

Gotta keep the pain relief meds in the purse too.. :P I actually had the Tylenol from when I got my tattoo and it just never left my purse.

Anyway.. really.. this post just made me want to clean my purse. So that's what I'm going to do xD 'scuse me!

Another F&F Sale!

2010-11-16T17:30:00.000-08:00

Hey ladies (and occasional gentleman)!

I know I can't be the only one who is looking around for another sale after the madness of the Sephora one has come and gone.

I don't know if you've seen the link on my sidebar for Apothica (makeup e-tailer) or seen the giveaways for a SkinCareRx or Apothica.. or read reviews via other bloggers.. but it really is a great place to shop. I've purchased CARGO brand items from the Apothica (I'll do a 'review' soon) and they ship very quickly, their customer service is helpful and the items are as pictured; I imagine SkinCareRx is going to be on par in terms of customer service and the service they provide.

SkinCareRx carries brands like La Roche-Posay, Kinerase, Clarisonic, Boscia -- and more! They also have the Personal Microderm System that I've been eyeing (after seeing reviews from Diana and Lulu).

My favorite part is probably how organized their site is... you know me and my "categories" with MotoJewelry. You can search by product type, skin type, condition, product category and even ingredient type! It'd be pretty hard to not be able to find something specific IMO :P

So if you wanted to check them out, here's your chance: they have an F&F sale running through December 1st 2010, for 25% off your purchase on SkinCareRx.com.

Friends and Family Coupon* Code: FF25
*Excludes some brands. Expires Dec. 1, 2010

Happy shopping! (;

Disclaimer: Giftcard was given from Apothica/SkinCareRx to be able to purchase the CARGO items mentioned. I do receive compensation for this post but it does, in no way, effect my opinion stated about this site.

I also apologize for the overly uppity sound of this post... my head is feeling a little fuzzy (sick again!) and I felt the need to overcompensate.

Day 22

2010-11-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

Day 22- What makes you different from everyone else

I am apparently a very ridiculous and random sort of person -- once you get to know me. I know way more words that begin with Y than my boyfriend, the default look from most of my friends is either when they're laughing (at me? with me?) and my lame jokes or giving me "wth" looks... my default "annoying person" voice is either a low voice with lots of "ouauaouaoua" random vowel sounds OR a teen-girl-squad voice (anyone? anyone?).

Anyway.

On a more serious level (and literal), I'm mostly different because I am me and nobody else is me. I could think that I am different all day and list all sorts of odd things about me but at least one person is going to comment and say that that characteristic is also very characteristic of them (haaa see what I did there?). Sort of a boring answer, so I had to interject a random and not-so-funny joke :P

I think this would be a fun question to ask all of YOU. What do YOU think is so different about ME? (I bet like.. no one is going to answer this hahaha)

Day 17 & 20

2010-11-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Day 17- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why.

My boyfriend... to see how he puts up with me, hahah. I'm always curious as to how I'm perceived... I guess you could call it being self-conscious (but I don't think it hinders me... TOO much -- and you know what I'm talking about). If you read my Twitter, you probably would've read that I had an appletini on an empty stomach. Bad idea for two reasons: one, because it was on an empty stomach and two, because my tolerance is pretty low as is. So I spent a good 20 minutes vocalizing my musings as to whether I was buzzing or drunk (as I had never felt like that before, but I didn't FEEL very impaired). I don't want to be "that drunk person".

Anyway, he totally sees me way more than anyone else (or at least he did, before I moved) so I figure my ups and downs would come out the most to him. Would I date me if I weren't me??? LOL! *doofus*

Day 20- If you had 3 wishes, what would they be.

1- For there to be less angry, bitter people. Where is optimism and hope and being kind? I don't even really bother reading/commenting on YT and certain blogs because I just find it annoying to read through the comments* to see people commenting about... stupid things. APPRECIATE THINGS! What is wrong with you? (though I s'pose I'm an angry bitter person about angry bitter people hahah).

*I'm sure people are going to say that I don't have to read it... but when I see text, regardless of if I want to read it, my brain reads it. So, no. Sorry.

2- For there to be more hours in the day (or rather, night). I am such a nocturnal person. I need the night to function, but that's really not all that reasonable :\

3- For food to be cheaper! There are so many good food places (not to say that eating at home isn't amazing!) that I want to go to or try or eat again at... but can't, because I have to watch my budget :(

Day 09

2010-11-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

Day 09- Something/someone you’re proud of.

Mine's more like... someoneS.

I heart and miss you girls.

Day 16

2010-11-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

Day 16- Something you could live without.

AP (Advanced Placement) Testing... had I known that my college wouldn't have accepted half of them (even though the third English class at my college covered books that I read in honors english) I definitely could've saved myself $80+ per test, spent more time with friends, and enjoyed high school way more often.. slept more.. oh, so many things.

but hey, here I am. I've survived.

and the one class that I opted to not take the AP version of, I sort of regretted because the "normal" class wasn't mentally stimulating enough.

Day 23

2010-11-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Day 23- What is something you crave.

Vacation!! A good drink and a nice view with someone you love...

Day view is from the 40th floor of the Hyatt in San Diego (also a bar/lounge, def worth a trip up even if it is a bit pricey.. $60 for 4 drinks). Night view is from the 38th floor.. apparently the system was shut down and the lounge closed early -__- usually 3pm-2am(?) every day.

ps-

all pics I had of the bf are after he's had 2 drinks.. so.. I think I'll spare posting them in case he decides to randomly blog stalk me (he does this) and find it and get annoyed at me :P and uhhhh I got QUITE red, esp after downing the second drink rather quickly... so I'm also avoiding pics of me... though I don't think the bf managed to get any.

Black Martini pictured

It was pretty good.. the night before I had had a dirty martini.. note, I don't like olives.. and don't really like alcohol.. but it wasn't bad. Needless to say.. this martini felt pretty weak compared to the dirty martini :P

Strawberry Lemon Drop pictured (: or, well.. sort of pictured. I really liked the glass, hahaha :P and was trying to get the reflection of the city in the glass.

^ AMAZING DRINK! New fav... along with the Strawberry Confusion at BJ's (but SC is waaay more widely available, haha)

suuuch a relaxing vaca.. might post a few more pics of it now that I've already posted up the drinks, haha.

Day 14

2010-11-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Day 14- A picture of something you ate and 10 confessions.

Sooo this is at Extraordinary Desserts in San Diego :P on the 24th, which was the boyfriend and my 3 year anniversary -- woohoo (:

1. I gave up a chance to see SNOOP DOGG (music video shoot) to go work... just because I told my boss that I would go before I found out that I had that chance... and because I couldn't just say "no" after already having told him I was coming in. Damn conscience!!

2. I've wanted to go see the Phantom of the Opera for yeeaarrsssss... probably at least 10 years. AND the boyfriend totally bought us tickets (on the floor! no mezzanine!) to go see it on Thursday!!!!! I am beyond excited.

3. Listening to the random gangster rap on my iPod makes me feel insanely silly and puts me in a really good mood.

4. I've never been a nail biter because I can't stand the feeling of having rough edges on my nails... but I can't seem to break the habit of picking at my lips (and it's horrible!). I'm working on it though.

5. I am a sucker for packaging... as noticed by the plethora of random boxes and tin cans (from random Japanese confectionaries)/etc that I have strewed around my room. I blame my mother :P she keeps them and offers them to me periodically when she notices I need to arrange something. They're very handy but periodically I go through them and throw some out. For awhile, I also collected the boxes that my makeup came in... though I've just recently stopped. BUT I just received this awesome nail polish from Rina and I don't think I'll be able to bring myself to throw away the box.... :X I'll post pics later.

6. I think I will end up owning the same stuffed animals that I have now, for the rest of my life.

7. When the boyfriend passes out before me, I like to bother him... hehehe. Not enough to ever wake him up, but it's still fun (to me, and he is always unaware). Speaking of annoying the boyfriend, I have a game where I randomly poke him and try to get his belly button... Catherine found this HILARIOUS.

8. Keyboard shortcuts are life.

9. I would never win a game of Trivia, ever. I don't like random knowledge in my head (I already have enough!!) and choose to learn a few things fairly well instead. Or random, obscure facts about a few things fairly well.

10. If I want to avoid spending money, I'll just give myself large bills. I have a really, really hard time breaking anything over $50. I even sometimes have problems spending $20s... but maybe that's just because I don't like

Day 21

2010-10-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

Day 21- Share a picture from your day.

Actually, this is from Tuesday... but, hey.

Sky is intensely blue because of the weird blue gradient on my car window -- plus Santa Barbara is known for its blue skies.. some company (was it Victoria's Secret?? I can't remember) comes to shoot in SB because of the awesome skies. Scene from driving down the 101 south (somewhere between Santa Barbara and like... Ventura). Beaaaaautiful day.

PS- Taking pictures while driving is dangerous, kids. Don't do it.

Day 15 & 04

2010-10-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

Day 15- Put your iPod on shuffle & share the first 10 songs that play.

Day 04- List 15 songs that represent your life’s soundtrack.

^ 'cause all of these songs have been with me through some part of my life.

Prepare yourself for epic randomness (as that usually ensues when I shuffle my iPod)

*epic randomness on pause as I charge my iPod... which is also usually dead*

^note unneeded as you cannot tell whether or not I paused while writing this

^gave up on charging and opened it up in iTunes instead

^feels the need to point out that I list artist, then a dash, then the song name

^has decided that she is going to write notes with... what is that symbol called?

^has also apparently decided to write in third person

^has also decided to list as many songs as needed to properly illustrate the fact that her iPod is, in fact, epic randomness.

01. Keane - A Bad Dream

02. Death Cab For Cutie - 405 (acoustic version)

^ not entirely sure why this is even on my iPod.. not that I dislike DCFC or anything.. but I usually only put acoustic versions if I like the song enough to merit it. I do not know the lyrics to this song.

03. Dave Matthews Band - Lie In Our Graves

^ boyfriend is a MASSIVE, MASSIVE DMB fan

04. Hirai Ken - Ookina Furodokei (Grandfather Clock)

^ woohoo! Japanese music!

05. Rain (Bi) - Oh Yea (feat. Ai)

^ I also like listening to music I cannot understand... does anyone else do this?? It drives the boyfriend crazy when I do this!

06. Amelie - Le Banquet

^ I LOOOOOOOOVE the movie Amelie! You should watch it if you haven't already. Not my favorite song from the soundtrack, but it serves the point for this day...

07. Andy McKee - Nocturne

^ I also love acoustic guitar

^ I apparently think that acoustic should be spelled accoustic, because that's how I keep typing it.

^ I also think that a "live feed" of me typing would be really amusing to some people.... they TELL me that I type really fast, but I also backspace furiously :P

08. Dave Matthews Band - Ants Marching

^ yes, the boyfriend is a DMB fiiiiiiiend and I added a bunch of DMB songs to my iPod in order to bond with the boyfriend. It's quite good. Go Carter Beauford!!

09. Priestess - Lay Down

^ haha okay.. I am also quite obsessed with the various Guitar Hero games.

10. Joe Hisaishi - Summer (from the Kikujiro no Natsu soundtrack)

^ loved that movie

^ love Joe Hisaishi... and Ryuichi Sakamoto

11. Trey Songz - Missing You

^ amazing

12. Goo Goo Dolls - Naked

^ I prefer "Iris"

13. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Charlie

^ epic group

14. Trick Daddy - Sugar

^ um.... yes.

15. Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc

^ very strange music video

16. Usher - Bad Girl

^ note to self, add new CD onto iPod

17. W-inds - Another Days

^ more Japanese music

18. Nivea - What You Waitin' For (from Drumline soundtrack)

19. Linkin Park - Vertical Limit

20. Edguy - Catch of the Century

21. Panic At The Disco - The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage

^ longest song name ever

22. Beach Boys - California Girls

23. Eiffel 65 - Now is Forever

24. Coldplay - A Message

^ I love Coldplay

25. Hoobastank - The Reason

^ what does their name even mean?

26. Black Eyed Peas - The APL Song

^ LOOOOOOVE this song!! Soooo soothing

27. Drifters - Save The Last for Me

^ I also am madly in love with oldies

^ yes, we have a record player

^ yes, we have tons of records

^ yes, I periodically listen to them

^ yes, it is marvelous

^ yes, I also love the Beatles.

^ and etc, and etc.

28. Joi - Missing You

29. Flight of the Conchords - Foux Du Fafa

^ if you're going to watch their TV series, the first season is WAY better than the second.

^ if you haven't heard of them at all, go look them up on youtube

30. Chronic Future - Time and Time Again

^ good band

31. Jack Johnson - Better Together

^ loooooove Jack Johnson! and Jason Mraz.. and John Mayer.

32. Ok GO - A Million Ways

^ best music videos

33. Outkast - Hey Ya

^ good song :P

34. Lemon Demon - The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny

^ entertaining, you have to listen to it at least once. just like.. Presidents of the United States - Peaches

35. Bonethugs and Harmony - Crossroads

^ when I was younger, I was convinced that I knew the lyrics. Now, I know that I was wrong...

okay... so, listing more songs probably doesn't make up for the fact that I haven't posted in a few days. sorry! :P hope you found a few more interesting songs to listen to, or at least rediscovered something that you used to like/etc.

Day 11

2010-10-21T01:30:00.000-07:00

Day 11- A picture of something you dislike.

Since I've been so bad about keeping up with this (in my defense, I've been moving in/cleaning/being lazy).. ya'll get FOUR pictures of TWO things I don't like. Woohoo!

I absolutely ABSOLUTELY FIERCELY IMMENSELY dislike having unread e-mails in my inbox. My friend sent me an e-mail as a reminder to give her something when I see her next, and I know if I read it, I will ignore the message (even if I star it, because I don't always look at the starred messages -- even though, that is a REALLY COOL FEATURE and HIGH-FIVE gmail!!) and thus the reminder will be rendered useless. Because we both have bad memories. And we both will forget. And I've already forgotten for 2+ years that I was supposed to give this to her... though it's not as bad as like, the 5+ years I've forgotten to RETURN something to someone ELSE.. anyway. SO I've been testing my will power to see how long I can have it say Gmail - Inbox (1) without driving me absolutely insane. I think it helps if I have another e-mail open, but what if I receive ANOTHER e-mail and it's direly important that I see that message but I don't because I have another e-mail open because I'm trying not to read the one unread message (which has now become two, apparently).

I don't care if it makes me seem like a loser with no life. I like responding to e-mails quickly and efficiently. Because I hate it when people don't answer my e-mails quickly and efficiently. WHO CARES IF I HANG AROUND MY COMPUTER FOR 25 HOURS OUT OF THE DAY?? (see what I did there? ehhh? ehhhhh).

I also think I have become increasingly sarcastic and hyperbolic (as in, overusing hyperboles) because I've just recently found THIS blog and it's amazing and-a-half: Hyper and a Half. Yes, I am addicted and I have been reading this entire blog backwards. Well, I mean.. one day I will accomplish reading it in its entirety. It's sort of like when I discovered NotAlwaysRight.com which ALSO consumed my life...

I also think I much prefer finding one blog and reading it ENTIRELY (yes, I've done this on numerous occasions, even for a few of you blogger ladies -- SIGH) rather than be a forum-fiend, which is what the boyfriend is. Yes, a forum-fiend.

And I am getting off topic and just as note, I also dislike starting sentences with "and" but if I don't, I tend to overuse "anyways".

Three dislikes in one post! Woohoo!

MY MAIN DISLIKE.... alcohol.

I can't stand how it tastes. It's pretty gross. I also tend to get red in .000000005 seconds and I CANNOT TAKE SHOTS FOR THE LIFE OF ME (I did it once in the first month I was in college and I had to throw up because I felt so queasy and sick and I had a hard time breathing -- maybe I'm allergic? Maybe I'm just a wuss? How does one know? I must find out).

My mom has finally stopped turning red when she drinks. She is also 40 years older than I am (sorry for exposing your age, mom). So I get to wait FORTY YEARS before I stop turning red when I drink... awesome.

HOWEVER.... I did find one or two drinks that I like.

1. The unnamed random fruity martini/cocktail (though I think it was a martini, but I can never remember the word "cocktail" probably because the inner child in me wants to giggle at the word so I just chose to not remember it to avoid random giggle fits) that I was given at Dargan's on my birthday night. Note to self, go back and see if I can get another one then REMEMBER TO ASK WHAT IT IS... ahem. Rendered useless, because I don't know what it is. Yes, I became insanely red but it also helped out my pool shooting abilities (do you shoot pool?) immensely.

2. Lindemann's Lambic! Preferably in peach, but raspberry is pretty good (but it's much sweeter and I can't drink a bottle of it in one sitting -- man, that sounds really alcoholic but this really has less alcohol content than a regular beer -- PROBABLY) and I don't like the other 3-or-so flavors.

Yes, it is amazing. And I've gotten other friends who don't really like alcohol to try it and they also like it.

/win

It is also probably the epitome of the "fruity drink".

Also, I dislike when I get into reading someone's blog, then find myself writing or talking like them. This also happens in person. I tend to take on traits from people -- usually traits that I think are cool or cute. Thus my phase "wHeN ii tYpEd lyKe dHiS" (FML, by the way. TOTAL FML. Um, mom, don't ask me what that means because I know you're going to). Or when my last boyfriend picked up his friend's laugh (REALLY, REALLY LOUD AND OBNOXIOUS -- yes, it was THAT loud and obnoxious to merit being in all caps AND bolded), I then in turn picked it up (I don't know if I liked it, but I was around the guy ALL THE TIMEEEEE -- the ex, that is).

I also dislike the fact that there's no "one song loop" on YouTube and that I have to hit replay every 3-4 minutes. I am seriously contemplating actually purchasing the(se) song(s), but then I remember that I don't remember what my iTunes name/password is and that the boyfriend probably would not appreciate me using his and his monies..

My life is much more interesting when I over exaggerate 90% of what's going on. If this were facebook, and that were my status, I would "like" that. Hardy har har.

Okay, I need to stop blogging at 2AM because apparently I think I am the funniest person ever. I'm not drunk. I swears. I think it's just Hyperbole and a Half rubbing off on me. Damn it. At least you got 5 dislikes in one post... that's good, right?

Time to go find something to eat.

Day 07

2010-10-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Day 07- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.

Hahah so I thought it'd be weird if I just posted a picture of this person up on my blog for other people to see/etc SOOO if you happen to know someone with this tattoo, then yes, chances are I'm probably talking about that person.

And due to today's foggy weather, I feel like being completely ambiguous and leaving it at this picture.

Gift from Kay + NOTD

2010-10-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

SOOOO Kay of CosmeAddicted (formerly BihadaDiaries) and I have been pretty good friends via blogger for... jeez, I'd like to say at least a year :P a little after I started blogging (whenever that was). Anyway, so we like to send sneaky little packages to each other... and she BOMBED me this time around, using the excuse that it was my birthday haha xD how could I not share pics of her generosity??

Yes.. my jaw literally dropped.

Snackies! Yummmm.

LE Kitkats? I haven't tried these ones yet, I don't want to open the box haha xD

Regular KitKats (less sweet, therefore the Japanese version is way more awesome), blueberry (actually does taste quite fruity) and the weird bubbly one is... literally chocolate with bubbles in it -- makes it lighter and helps it melt in your mouth more (also less sweet than normal American milk chocolate).

Aloe yogurt (green) is REALLY good... it's yogurt (automatically better than white chocolate, in my book) and is sort of... refreshing. Weird huh?

Caramel somethingsomething (the orange one.. I suck at reading kanji) is quite good as well :D I normally don't like caramel anything (yea, I'm weird.. except for Japanese caramel which is, again, less sweet) but this is GOOD! Not to mention the packaging is super cute :P

Mix Juice (cream) sounds weird but is also quite good. Less fruity than, say, the blueberry.. not quite as "refreshing" as aloe yogurt... but still good.

One of the Sleek palettes!! If you've been following me since before.... before.... a long time ago, you might've known that I had two of these palettes (bought off eBay since they're only sold in the UK)... pretty sure I had Original and... I forget the other one. I wasn't too in love but then again, I didn't know what the heck I was doing with my makeup (haha). Sold both in a blogsale... and am VERY happy to have Storm (look at those colors!).

If you're still on the edge if you want to get a Sleek palette... look at some of the FOTD's from Anastasia of MyMakeupMania. They were a few months back, but still definitely worth checking out :) and yes, I know I'm being an enabler.

You can also purchase these off of the Sleek website for $11.75

I'll probably do a review or look with this later xD

Nail polishes! Because she knows I loooove nail polishes.. nail varnish? Nail varnish sounds better. A nice neutral, 'cause I don't have any neutrals (basically haha), an OMFGWTF varnish -- don't worry!! Check out the bottom of the post for more pics!! and a BRIGHT PINK! Wow, my eyes hurt :P

A Barry M pigment!! In a gorgeous gunmetal grey, nontheless :) she knoooows me!

Kay has done a post or two with swatches, here's her most recent one: LINK.

Clear gloss from Bobbi Brown~ I was just eyeing a clear gloss for funsies but hadn't actually bought one. Perfect.

Aaaaand a Meltynude lipstick! After seeing the swatches on her blog, I must've commented that I liked them 'cause she sent me one. AND it's my favorite shade out of the 4 as well :D nice choice! Hehee.

As for the OMFGWTF polish... yes, it clearly deserved more attention.

Flakies AND little holo glitter bits, suspended in a black base.

I pretty much HAD to do a NOTD. Ignore my cuticles and horrid application. It's the COLOR we're focusing on anyways, right? :P
OOF = holo madness!

(OOF = out of focus)

1 layer Essie Protein Base Coat

1 layer of China Glaze 733 Let's Groove*

2 layers OMFGWTF polish**

1 layer Seche Vite top coat

*added so I would have an easier time removing the polish since it was so glittery

**please note, OMFGWTF is not actually the name. it's just what goes through my head every time I see it, LOL.

Day 28 & 08

2010-10-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?

Day 08- Short term goals for this month and why.

Combining two days because I feel what I talk about in this post.... covers both :)

This is pretty much exactly a year ago... the get together with some of my best friends for my 20th birthday last year :) and I saw them again this year for my 21st birthday. LOVES!!

Last year I...

- Turned 20 years old

- Was looking forward to a trip up to San Francisco (my first time!)

- Was starting my last year of school

- Had a fairly short a-line bob haircut that was medium-brown

- Was just starting to collect nail polish

- Was still very much into photography

This year I...

- Turned 21 years old

- Am looking forward to either a roadtrip up to Portland or a flight down to Mexico

- Recently graduated and am looking for more work

- Am moving back to my parents' house to save money and to spend some more time with my family as well.

- Am growing my hair out, and it's pretty much back to being natural (color)... BUT I am thinking of dying it back to a lighter brown

- Have a fairly large collection of nail polish... as well as other cosmetics.

- Am very much into cinematography (possibly moreso than photography, but we'll see).

- Have my own company (partnership with the boyfriend): Black Swan Imagery

- Am back on my road to being more of an independent person (5-6 years ago, one of the first thing people thought of when trying to describe me was "independent"), though I don't think this will affect my current relationship (for you naysayers).

- Am trying to reconnect with some old friends.. and feel that my relationship with my brother has gotten better.

- Am going to start working out and getting back into good physical condition and living a healthy lifestyle.

I guess what I'm trying to say is... this year, I feel like it's time to focus on myself a little more, especially since I don't have books and school to drown myself under. Find out what I like to do and do it, figure out what I want and how to get it or get there, find the people that I love and spend time with them, focus inside and stay centered. I've turned a notebook (gift from Cuzzo, thank youuu!) into a personal diary -- writing down everything I do during the day. At the end of the week, I'll look back at it and reflect and see if I'm doing everything I can do, how to utilize my time better, etc. FOCUS!

Day 18

2010-10-14T12:00:00.000-07:00

Day 18- Plans/dreams/goals you have.

There's my #1 goal in life, ever since I heard the phase "taisetsuna hito"... most precious person. I want to find the one person that I cannot live without and marry that person.. and be with that person until death does us part.

Other than that...

I want to have and run a successful wedding film and photography business... maybe only films, maybe only photography but in the end I'd like to have enough employees to do both (so about 2-3 cinematographers including myself and my boyfriend and 2-3 photographers). In, say, 6-10 years I want to run workshops to other budding prospective wedding cinema/photographers. Gradually I'd like to do less work for more selected clientele, be able to work with them closely, build better relationships and have amazing work... instead of working myself to the bone every weekend, 50 weekends out of the year. Oh, and I'd love to have an international business... traveling 2-3 times out of the year.

If I could have my own side personal photography venture, that would be awesome... I'd love to be able to make 40x60 fine art prints and have people wanting to purchase them, haha.

I want to have a nice house (not too big, not too small) with 2-3 dogs, and maybe a cat. An economical and eco-friendly car that is big enough for all of our equipment, as well as a stylish car to drive around in when we're not working. Do I know which ones? Nope. I'll leave it up to the husband :P who hopefully knows my taste enough to not get a hideous car.

In that house, I want to have our cars to be IN garages, not be sitting outside. I want a good-sized living room with a good sized office. A walk-in closet, with a separate closet for the husband (whenever I get there, haha). Preferably two-stories, but a nice spread out one-story would be okay too. Lots of windows for natural lighting. An extra room for a studio, and a guest bedroom, if possible. Not necessarily a modern-style house but country-style is nice... but I don't know too much about the styles of houses, so I could change my mind completely by the time we get a house, haha.

Outdoors, I want a nice sized backyard, especially for our dogs. And a good sized front yard that we can decorate how we please (no neighborhood committees telling us what to do). Trees that don't shed much, or at least ones that have nice leaves like Japanese maple trees or something. I don't want nosey neighbors, but I guess the world isn't perfect. I'd mostly like a nice view, whether it's of our great backyard or it's looking out into the hills/ocean/whatever.

I don't want to be drowning in debt, so I'm in process of paying off my student loans. I'd prefer a max of 2-3 credit cards, with low minimums. I kind of like the idea of having one joint bank account (besides a joint business account, which we already have) but then how are you supposed to surprise your SO if they can look online and see where you've been spending money? haha xD I guess we'll get there when we get there.

I guess overall, I just want to be happy and... content with my life. I'm sure I don't need all of those things, but all I know is that I want my taisetsuna hito. Did I already find him? We'll have to see how that pans out (;

Day 05

2010-10-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

Day 05- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to.

Guess where? Yep... a tattoo parlor :)

This particular one is called Otherworld Tattoo, my artist was J Medina.

Links: Website, MySpace, Facebook

Fun facts:

- For the first 20 years of my life, I was deathly afraid of needles and was convinced that I could never withstand the pain of getting a tattoo.

- The first time I saw a tattoo that I even remotely liked was when I went to Vegas... I forgot what restaurant it was but there's a Japanese place there and to mark the gender of the bathroom, they have the back of a man and a woman, both with tattoos. The woman had what looked to be lace on half of her back (right side) and the man had a more traditional body suit with a samurai image. I have never been able to get that image out of my head and am sort of considering getting a half-back tattoo if I could ever find something that meant that much to me to get done.

- I got the tattoo on Sept 24th, on our (bf and my) 35 monthiversary.

- For the first 2.5 years of our relationship, he was heavily opposed to me ever getting a tattoo.

- Surprisingly, the bf was going to surprise me with a tattoo as my birthday present, but decided he should ask me first (haha, as opposed to.. surprising me ON my birthday with "Guess what! You're getting a tattoo! Happy birthdaaaaay~")

- When I had it done, the only people who knew I was getting it done was my boyfriend, my brother and my best friend of 16 years. My parents didn't find out until I went home and showed them two weeks later -- kind of a funny story xD but the bottom line is that I'm still alive and they haven't disowned me, if you were wondering.

- The actual design is my father's side mon, or his family symbol. My mom thinks it means Wakasa tsurugi katabami （若狭剣片喰）. "Wakasa" is the name of the place and "tsurugi" means sword. Traditionally, the males take on their father's mon and the females take their mother's. I also know my mother's side mon, and am considering getting it done on my right wrist in the next few years.

- Placement: I had it done on my left wrist because my dad is VERY left brained. He's thoughtful, logical, very sensible, always looks for the best deals, etc. My mother, conversely, is pretty creative (right brained, thus my right wrist); she used to spend a great deal of time crafting, and is currently getting into Japanese calligraphy and water colouring. YES, I do realize that the right side of the brain controls the left and vice versa, but I don't really care. Thanks but no thanks.

- My artist, J Medina, is actually really into Japanese full body suits and is in process of getting his own done. You can't see it in the picture but he has his face and neck tattooed as well. He actually went to Japan and had a well known Japanese artist complete part of his body suit. His first tattoo? His entire back! It took 5 hours to complete.

As for what I had done..

Here's a bad picture of the mon... photocopied over a few times, then this particular picture was taken with my phone (not an iPhone4 haha, quite obviously). I forgot who actually found it for us but I've had a copy of it in my room for quite some time and recently re-discovered it a few months ago. I inverted the colors when I handed in the design.

PS- If you look closely at the top picture, you can see how hard I'm gripping the arm of the chair.... hahaha.

PPS- On that note, getting a wrist tattoo HURTS like a beeeeeyatch (pain comes and goes). But if you really, really want it, you can get through the pain.

I thought about making a separate blog or do a series of blogposts on the FULL details... process of healing, etc but figured it wouldn't be that interesting. PLUS I hadn't shown my parents yet and my mom reads my blog :P sooo it was kind of out of the question. Feel free to ask questions if you have any, though! :)

Day 13

2010-10-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

Day 13- Write a letter telling someone something you could never tell them.

Dear so-and-so,

I love being your friend but it's so hard to be a friend to someone who really isn't giving back and also being a friend. Out of the 365 days of the year, we don't talk for 355 of them, and of the 10 days that we do, I find that 1 out of those 10 days you text me at a random time, I don't see the message. The other 1 out of 10 times is when I don't really have anything to say to you, so I end the conversation. The remaining 8 out of 10 times, you just stop talking. It's hard to be a friend to someone who constantly disappears on me. Some days I have the feeling that you go to where ever or whoever gives you the most attention. I also feel like.. I'm holding on to something that may or may not be worth it, but is something that I should be putting less effort into, which isn't what I want to do with my friendships. We had some of the best times together and I know there's more of that somewhere, it's just hiding. I don't know what to do, but I feel like if I tell you this, that you either won't respond which will hurt ME and make me feel needy or will end up feeling guilty or sad or something and our friendship will suffer even more. I don't know what to do. I guess I'll just sit here and wait.

Signed,

Frustrated

Dear others,

Believe in yourself.

Live for yourself and THEN for others (don't wear yourself thin!).

Take a step outside of the box.

Make goals and take steps to reach them.

If something is bothering you, do something about it.

Please realize what you are doing to yourself.

You've learned grammar and punctuation and spelling... use it.

It's okay to show how you're feeling. It's not considered being weak.

Be who you want to be.

Grow a pair.

I love you.

Signed,

Your Friend.

Day 19

2010-10-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Day 19- Nicknames you have & how or why you have them.

Yes, I like going out of order - AND not posting everyday. Suck it :P

I was reminded of this since I *just* hung out with my best friend (that I've known for 16 years... aka since day 1 of kindergarten :P mwahah!) a few days ago sooo that means going through lots of memories, hahaha. This question usually comes up in those random surveys (via the bulletin board on MySpace HAHA or you know, just.. whatever. did a few of these back in my Xanga days).

Onwardssss!

SAKAMOTOOOOOOOOO

Because everyone thinks I have a really awesome last name. My AP gov't teacher always called me that.. with the last O being really drawn out.. and random people that I have just met like to tell me that my last name is awesome too. hahaha :) this is prooobably the longest on-going nickname besides maybe one other one.

izu

Short for "Izumi", my middle name (and also the name I use for my online presence :P thus lots of you probably think my name is Izumi). I also like signing "IZU" in all caps... maybe I should change my signature to that :P haha

izu face, usually typed IZUFACEEEEE

Another form of "izu", usually used by.... hm... two of my good friends. who also happen to call me, from time to time, "izu mizu pleazu" (middle name means "fresh water spring", also happens to rhyme with "izu", "mizu" means "water") or "risu" (squirrel) prooobably just due to the rhyming nature of it all, hahah :) I am consequently drawn (one of those two friends is an illustrator and the other draws awesome anime characters) as either a puddle, some form of water or a squirrel.

Mama T

HAHA okay.. more recent nickname. So this is short for "mother theresa". If it's of any condolence, my nickname for this particular friend is "g dawg" (ghandi). Don't ask. We're strange people. I don't particularly remember how these nicknames came about, either..

Sailor Moon

OKAY.. so really.. to believe this one you have to understand that "Sarah" when pronounced with a heavy Japanese accent sounds like "seh-rah" which in turn sounds like "sailor" (maybe a drunken sailor hahahaha) and this coupled with the fact that everyone and their momma liked sailor moon as a kid (I did, but it was only a like, not a love -- hope I didn't offend any die hard Sailor Moon fans that read my blog). I wasn't a huge fan of this nickname.

*This comes from a family who also called me "shellfish" because I was "selfish". Yes, yes, we're hilarious people, I can assure you of that. Moral of the story: don't question my sense of humor because.. now you know where I get it from.

Father Serra

This came to mind because I wasn't a fan of it.. we were studying missions in, whatever grade it is that you study missions in.. and the founder of whatever mission was named Father Serra and since MY name was Sarah, everyone thought it was oh so funny.. -___- thankfully it lasted only a few weeks, though I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm going to regret posting this on here.

Asian / Iron Claw / Asian sister

Various nicknames that come about from knowing someone for 16 years... her corresponding nicknames are "Whitey/Cracker", "NutCracker" and "White Sister". Yes, before all of you get on my back, have a cup of STFU. This kind of name calling is a privilege that we both earned :P

Ninja / Nagamuffin

Nicks from the boss-fellow (not the boyfriend, if you're wondering haha). Second one is because I aaaalways bug him about scheduling, when he needs us to work, etc. Aaaaalways. First is because I met up with him once at night to give him a hard drive and I saw him drive in (he was in front of me) and instead of texting him, I decided to stand next to his window and stare at him... shortly, he looked up and FLIPPED OUT, opened the window, told me he crapped himself. HEHEHEHE :3 I'm so mean sometimes.

Day 16

2010-10-10T12:00:00.001-07:00

Day 16- Something you could live without.

Hubris.

NP Swatches Galore! (pt 4)

2010-10-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

CG = Color Girl "430 City Lights" -

ChG = China Glaze "551 Fairy Dust" -

Talking about these two in conjunction because they're... essentially the same. I managed to get a larger drop of ChG that's why it looks a little different. The bases on both of these are clear, though the CG one looks more silver in the bottle. Here's a comparison (on the nail) from PolishGalore. Other than that... the consistency seems about the same, the holo effect is the same in both bottles.. and... maybe the CG glitter bits are a HAIR smaller and there's just a TOUCH more glitter per swipe in the CG versus ChG. The price is about the same (of course, it depends where you purchase from... I'd say on average, ChG would be more expensive) BUT I do believe it's harder to find the CG than the ChG version.

CG (gold) = Cover Girl "415 Gold Rush" - I want to call this a chunky gold glitter even though I know that it's not chunky... but it's chunky compared to, say, the ChG and CG (above). The base is clear and the glitter is dense enough to not make me want to chuck it against a wall or into the trashcan.

Here's a mani I did awhile back... like... St. Patrick's of 2008 :P when I still had round nails! I believe this was only one coat, and if I had wanted more glitter... I could've definitely done more coats (as you can see in the swatch, the glitter looks CRAZY dense).

SH = Sally Hansen "09 Disco Ball" -

SC QoB = Sinful Colors "923 Queen of Beauty" -

Top left corner...

SH SL = Sally Hansen "11 Strobe Light" - did a mani with it here. I think I keep it around for fun's sake, it's not one of my favorite polishes. It reminds me of what the sprinkles would look like on a cupcake if there was a million dollar birthday party themed as a "winter wonderland". Wait, maybe it'll look awesome as glitter tips. Okay, I guess I'll keep it around..

SC SYS = Sinful Colors "931 See You Soon" - just in case this didn't get put into another picture... it's an awesome darkened blueblack with teal shimmer in it. I haven't gotten a chance to use this one yet (starting to sound redundant huh haha) but it's WAY too pretty in the bottle to give up. It'll go great with my peacock sweater and oversized shirt with a peacock design on it :P it's just such a pretty color! And you KNOW how much I love almost-black colors..

Closer look of CoverGirl "City Lights" and China Glaze "Fairy Dust"... ChG looks more holo but it's just because it's out of focus. and a look at Sally Hansen "Disco Ball" too down at the bottom.. it may look a little purple but that's just light fall off/etc.

O LE = Orly "Lunar Eclipse" - gorgeous deep tone blue with purple glitter.. or maybe it's all glitter that flashes blue and purple (but other colors at different angles). Either way, I love this color :) it's a deep blue but it really pops (at least against my skintone). Annoying to take off but it's really worth it.

NYC = NYC "115A Skin Tight Denim Creme" - whaddya know, this is my favorite color and kind of jean :P haha. I feel like I've had this bottle for at least 2-3 years and I still love it. I wouldn't really call it a creme as it has some shimmer to it.. then again I'm bad at categorizing this kind of thing :P or maybe they meant that they made a cream out of skin tight denim?

Zoya K = Zoya "Ki" - a better bottle pic and a nail swatch is available on the two links I was adding before with every Zoya bottle I've swatched so far :P this is a color that I really want to love but it's SO SHEER. Probably better off using it for a gradation mani. If someone else wanted it, I'd be willing to give it away to avoid the heartbreak I experience everytime I try to use it :P

Z C = Zoya "Charla" - Gorgeous! I think I've made a blogpost about this before... it's a very pretty Caribbean blue... reflecting the light.. the water.... not that I've ever been there before, but it's what I imagine. Definitely one of my favorite Zoya's. Between this and Nail Junkie though... I'd have to say... I think I prefer Nail Junkie... but this is still a gorgeous and very close second.

SC 927 = Sinful Colors "927 Nail Junkie" - see below

S BP = Savina "Black Pearl" - described in the last post featuring purples

Crazy symbol (it looks like a copyright symbol.. but with a line through it.. and not quite a circle.. haha) = To be honest.. I don't know what the brand is or anything, I just know it's color "56". P.S., this was a giftie from Kay! I love this shade :) such a pretty robin's egg blue (man I hope I'm getting that color reference correct haha) with, you guessed it, HOLO GLITTER! Does Kay know me or what? (; I love that the glitter has a mix of different sizes, plus the bottle is super cute and... I just love this. The base looks a little frosty (I'm NOT a fan of frosty nail polishes because frosty = brush streaks) but on the nail it looks fine. Or maybe I'm just so distracted by the glitter that I don't care :P

NC2 = NuColour "02 Mystique" - Another one of those NuSkin colors that I've had forever. It's a really sheer lilac color with a soft blue flash. I bet it'd be awesome for gradation mani's but I don't know about the dry time, haha.

WnW409D = Wet n' Wild "409D Shameless"

WnW 409C = Wet n' Wild "409C Shameless"

Going to talk about these two in conjunction, seeing as they share the same name :P I had 409C from about 2003 or so, back when baby blue was my favorite color. 409D I received either late last year (2009) or early this year (2010) for winning a giveaway held by Katie. "Strange," I thought, "don't I already have a similar color to this?" so off I went to my collection and lo and behold.. there it was. These two are quite different though, so I'm not sure why they share the same name.

409C is a baby blue with a sliiiiight fuchsia flash to it.

409D is more of a lilac with a heavy fuchsia flash. Here's a mani I did with it.

SC 927 = Sinful Colors "927 Nail Junkie" - SO TRUE. This *is* a nail junkie color.. though it doesn't make any of the other colors less nail junkie-ish... anyway. Here's a NOTD I did awhile back. It just glows. It's amazing. I love it. Thanks Diana!