Nails

Flip Flop Fantasy – New is Not Always Improved

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This legacy post has been given a facelift because it still hurts my heart. I loved this damn color! Content has been edited for clarity but opinion and, as far as I can tell, the status of the product in question are the same.

Raise your hand if you’ve been hurt by a reformulation! Maybe it was New Coke. Or the use of HFCS in place of cane sugar in everything in general. Your recently-repurchased signature fragrance not being so signature anymore. Pantene doing Pantene things. Innovation in general is a good thing. But we’ve all experienced product changes and came to discover that new is not always improved.

Take nail polish, for instance. Certain shades are so well-known that they have their own cult of personality. If you’re here, reading, you can probably name at least half a dozen OPI shades off the top of your head without Google’s help – and that’s saying nothing of other brands.

Flip Flop Fantasy

It’s a bright, rich neon coral creme from their 2010 Poolside collection. Or, well, it was. A friend wore the Gelaze version of Flip Flop Fantasy for her wedding last summer; it seemed peach then, but I chalked that up to the occasional difference in the gel versions of shades. Alas, it wasn’t because it is gel, it was because China Glaze changed the shade entirely.

It’s a completely different color, now, in both RNP and gel. Chit Chat Nails shared images of both bottles, complete with the same item codes…

China Glaze Flip Flop FantasyFlip Flop Fantasy – Chit Chat Nails (now defunct)

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Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 14 – Azature Diamond Nail Polish

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Diamond Nail Polish from Azature

 

If you’re new here, my hobbies include talking smack on unnecessarily expensive nail polish. I get (perhaps irrationally) angry when I see ludicrously expensive I came across another one yesterday, and to my surprise it was not yet another offering from repeat offender Louboutin!

Instead, this diamond nail polish from Azature more than takes the metaphorical and, hell, for that price, literal cake.

So Damn Foolish

Clocking in at a whopping $230,000, Azature’s Black Diamond polish was made as a single batch limited edition – and the formula was made with 267 carats of black diamond.

Why?

Aside from the, “I have so much money that I may as well shred it,” demographic…I don’t get it! Why even make diamond nail polish? It doesn’t enhance the color or hardness/strength-enhancing properties of the formula. It is nothing but brag fodder – but it isn’t impressive to drop a house’s worth of money on a damn bottle of nail polish.

Shockingly, there are no reviews to speak of.

The Bottom Line

There’s nothing this can do to be worth it. Not even my usual uncouth jokes that I refrain from on here would make it worth it! I realize that products like this aren’t targeted at us plebeians but it just seems ridiculous and ostentatious to do in the first place.

Don’t wish to take out a mortgage on nail polish – hey, me too! If the novelty of diamond in the polish excites you, they have less-ambitious formulas at $25 (pictured).

What ridiculous stuff have you seen this week?

Holographic Glitter Gel Nails (aka Rockstar Nails)

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This legacy post was one of my favorites to do. I’ve given it a bit of a facelift for flow and clarity, but the content remains the same! I shared these easy-to-reproduce glitter gel nails before the holo and chrome crazes took root – so take that, trends!

I recently reproduced some awesome glitter gel nails – but this time, with all ten in a stunning holo. You can see that on the BeautySkeptic Instagram.

Glitter gel nails, also referred to as rockstar nails, is a glitter-dense style is used both for accent nails as well as full manicures. This form of nail art is commonly considered a premium service (and is, therefore, more costly!) at salons, but glitter gel nails are easy and (to my surprise) fast. If you are so inclined, you can wear them all the time with minimal effort.

glittergel_11Glitter Gel Nails

If you’d like to learn how to achieve these glitter gel nails / rockstar nails, continue past the jump for details and a tutorial!

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Beauty Hacks & Tips

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This legacy post has been given a facelift. Content has been edited for flow and some updates have been added, but the essence is the same!

After comparing my list to so many top hits from Google from silly magazines, I’m confident that MOST of these are not cookie-cutter tips. So many of these, “beauty hacks,” are old hat to me just because I’ve been doing them so long – but it’s come to my attention that some of them are apparently, “sneaky beauty hacks.” I figured, “Why not share?” We’re all trying to streamline our life and make time for other things – even as someone who enjoys beauty, that doesn’t mean I have an hour or two to throw at it on a daily basis – in fact, writing that made me laugh.

Let’s get on with it!

Before I had highlights!

Hair Hacks

  • Maximize efficacy of your dry shampoo. It will absorb oils as you sleep so you aren’t in such a rush in the morning. As much as I love dry shampoo, sometimes I want it to do what it does faster than it does. Solution? Use your dry shampoo at night before you go to sleep. I like Batiste and Psssst!  [2022 update: Skip conventional dry shampoos; many of them are being found to contain cancer-causing benzene. Use tapioca starch instead!]
  • If you buy large bottles of shampoo and conditioner (such as Tresemme’s 39oz monstrosities [2022 update: Screw Tresemme, they repeatedly sell and resell formulas that lead to hair loss]) and transfer them to smaller bottles, you will be pleased to learn that the caps for Dawn dish soap fit on a lot of bottles that take pumps. Pumps aren’t the best for transferring thick product to other containers, but swapping one of those caps makes life a LOT easier. (2018 Update: These bottle couplers are nice too if you need to combine contents a lot – but I still use Dawn caps for all sorts of things. Reduce, reuse, recycle, save money etc.)

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March 2018 Favorites

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March 2018 FavoritesMarch 2018 Favorites
1. Scunci Stay Tight Barettes; long & short, $4.50 / 2. Wet n Wild Walking on Eggshells, $3 /
3. CND Solaroil, $8 / 4. Aveeno Stress Relief Body Wash, $7 / 5. Sensationail Express Gel, My Cherry Amour, $6

Without a purpose in mind, my March 2018 Favorites shaped up to be accessible in terms of where you can purchase (drugstore! Target! Online!) as well as an awesome <$10 each month. I shudder when I see favorites posts and videos where all the products are $25+; for most people, that just isn’t realistic. Details on my favorites after the jump.

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Bi-Weekly WTF :: Vol 4 – Racist Nail Polish Names

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Racist Nail Polish Names - Wycon

You know, there’s a first time for everything. Even, apparently, slurs being used in racist nail polish names.

Pioneering Ignorance and Stupidity

Italian cosmetics company Wycon thought it would be smart to name some products based on songs. That would have been fine if just one person in their entire organization recognized that, “Thick as a Ni**a,” is not an appropriate or acceptable name for a nail polish color.

Or, you know, anything.

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