YVES SAINT LAURENT LA LAQUE COUTURE NAIL LACQUER IN BLEU MAJORELLE

I love Yves Saint Laurent's long product names, and their products, of course. However, they're expensive. This nail polish was $25. Who the hell pays $25 for one nail polish? Not me. I used a Saks gift card (from my mom, it was free with the Margiela perfume) for $25 and all I had to do was pay shipping and tax, which was around $6. I'd been eyeing Nails Inc's Baker Street or Sally Hansen's Pacific Blue but I chose to try this.

Bleu Majorelle is a gorgeous vivid blue creme. It's opaque in two coats but it's rather thin. I can see the texture of my nails even with a top coat. Otherwise, the formula has nice consistency and is easy to apply. The brush makes it even better since it's a little wider than most brushes I've used and it can hold more polish. I usually have to dip back into the bottle since my nails require a lot of polish but for this, it's quick and applying this was one of the easiest times I've ever had painting my nails. Would I actually pay $25 for it? Probably not, unless I had another gift card.

"CASUAL"

Just casually applying lipstick. I'm not a fan of smoking but I think the hand gestures are interesting.

My eye makeup was a pleasant surprise. I typically don't have luck with using this much glitter but I used two different sizes and it turned out stunning. I applied the one with larger particles first and it looked harsh, so I added one with smaller particles and the transition between them was almost seamless.

Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Coastal Scents hot pot in Chamois Nude and Brownstone
Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
Icing body glitter in silver
MAC Mineralize eyeshadow in Cinderfella
Givenchy Eye Fly Mascara in Black

Lips
Dior Extreme Lipstick in Incognito

Nails
American Apparel in Neon Purple
Revlon top coat

DISTORT

dress Forever 21
Yesterday, I went old school and shot in nature with a little bit of my older style and methods. I've actually shot in these same locations before in 2011. I thought I'd worn them out but maybe I just needed time away from shooting there. It was one of the most fun shoots in a long time, especially the last part with the fishing wire. It was inspired by Hellraiser and Clive Barker, Inge Grognard, and Gottfried Helnwein. I don't think I've ever had this much trouble narrowing down my final selection of photos. There were so many different distorted faces to choose from, the funnier and creepier the better although I chose to leave out some of the truly bizarre ones. At first, I wished I'd had more exciting makeup even though the wires scraped it off but now I think it worked out better with less makeup.

MARASCHINO CHERRIES FOR EDIBLE NAIL ART?

Felt like wearing a nice, vivid red. Maura by Zoya with Revlon top coat for extra shine. I thought the cherries would be brighter than the polish but nope. I actually didn't eat these afterwards, I used to be highly allergic to red dye and learned not to like most foods and goodies with it.

It was awfully easy to stab my nails through these, although I have ruined several pairs of tights with my nails while putting them on. Imagine eyeballs. That'd be cool.

IT

I had some serious Cousin It action going on with my hair yesterday. I mean, it's the same nearly every day but it looked like there was more volume than usual. I'd actually love to have hair more like Cousin It. Some day...

I tried a different style of fake crease on my eyes than I normally do. It's very harsh straight on, I should've taken a better photo to show how interesting it looked. I'm sure I'll play with that style with other colors. On my lips, I'm wearing my newest YSL glossy stain which is a fuchsia color. This is only one layer and it has a darker, slightly more purple look with additional coats.

Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Coastal Scents hot pot in Chamois Nude, Coconut Husk, Ash Grey, and Tuscany
MAC Mineralize eyeshadow in Opalesse
Givenchy Eye Fly Mascara in Black

Lips
Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres Glossy Stain in 26 Violine Surrealiste

NAILS NAILS NAILS | FAVORITE SHADES FOR SPRING 2013

NYX in Perfect Grey | American Apparel in Factory Grey | Illamasqua in Jo'mina | Kleancolor in Pastel Purple | American Apparel in Malibu Green | Revlon in Posh
This spring has been pretty fun for me when it comes to nails. I feel like I have a consistent theme going on but without repeating myself too much or going too far off track. Manicure phases are the best. Here's what I've been feeling for spring this year, some of these have been used in other recent looks.

Black and white creme polishes are always essential and I use them all the time, but lately I've been incorporating more grey. I chose a nearly neutral one and a slightly cool toned one. When it comes to colors, I'm really liking gaudy, harsh ones that clash with my skin. I think anyone with any skintone can pull off any nail color, but I can see how a color can take over your hands and make your skin look significantly different than usual. It's bold and can appear somewhat surreal. The bright purple shades above almost glow against my skin. I'm wearing Jo'mina in the photos below, although the effect isn't as apparent as in person. The greens are simply to go with the return of green in nature.





CH Nail in #15 | Illamasqua in Load | CH Nail in #13 | American Apparel in Summer Peach | Kleancolor in Pastel Orange | Salon Perfect in Bellini
At the zoo the other day, the albino burmese python and flamingos were my favorites to photograph. I might just really like fluorescent yellow and peachy pinks and oranges. AA's Summer Peach is one of my favorite nail colors ever. Some of these colors definitely go with the gaudy look, the last one is especially intense.







Candy Lacquer in Black Ice | Hard Candy in Black Tie Optional | Dollish Polish in Bazinga! | Candeo Colors in Zef
A few of my favorite toppers for adding a little more depth to a look. The second one is particularly amazing, I used it below in an ombré effect with CH Nail in #13 and #15. I'm always looking for polish with black glitter. Only recently did I pick up a few with color as well.