Pre-Fall 2011 - What Did I Buy, Part II

So to continue (I broke because Blogger was adding a huge gap between the picture and any subsequent text), I apparently am going through a silver/blue/grey phase right now.

3. Flare Jeans
I wear denim a lot more than I would like. I think it is far, far past overdone, especially on my campus. The problem is that this is a place where my fashion sense and common sense start to conflict. The town where I live is the windiest I have ever seen. Cold, icy wind blows for about nine months out of the year. The only thing that really cuts through that kind of wind, unfortunately, is denim.

So in reflecting upon this, I decided that I could at least bite the bullet and pick up a nice pair of on-trend jeans. I already love flares, especially when they're a little bit stretchy (I just realized I'm wearing a well-worn pair right now), so I went for this in a dark wash that is a little more on the classy side. Now I just need to find the money to pick up some good, seventies-style clogs to go with them and complete the look:

I was originally going to pick up some from Old Navy, but when I found these for ten dollars at Charlotte Russe, I had to rethink that plan. These look so nice -- again in a 2-short -- and I can't wait to get them.

The one concession I made for summer -- though I plan to wear my maxis into the fall -- is this absolutely gorgeous dress. It's the kind of maxi I love -- goddess-y and classical -- but it hits a beautiful trendy color that reminds me of one of my all-time favorite Escada ad campaigns from fall/winter 2007:

I still want that damned dress.

Okay, so the maxi isn't a glorious satin evening gown with a six-foot train, but it's still lime green, and it's pretty. And cheap, too -- $13.49. Though if I have to hem it to no end, I'll be in a cranky mood...

Last but not least, I picked up a few pretty accessories. I have been wanting a few snake rings for awhile now. It must be my alleged Slytherin side coming out. I picked up this and this, and then I was absolutely wowed by this stunning ring:

I could design half a wardrobe around that alone, I think. It's stunning as a statement, and I think the colors on the feathers are fantastic. And the lines of the tail are so elegant... it's almost vintage-looking. I woke up this morning and I was afraid that it would not be as nice as I remembered it last night, but I am not sorry I bought it at all!

That's all for now... and all my bank account can tolerate!

Pre-Fall 2011 - What Did I Buy, Part I

Not any of Chanel's new colors: Graphite, Crystal, or Peridot, unfortunately. They still haven't been released, though I am lusting after Peridot like David Beckham in the Armani shoots. That's a lot of lust. :D I did, however, pick up a lot of basics that I needed going back to work (and school) in the fall. I have an assortment of jobs, with dress codes ranging from wearing whatever I want that looks decent to more laid-back office/business-casual. Then I work at the sidelines of athletics events, too, which I use to dress up business-casual a little bit.

1. The Khakis
First of all, I desperately needed khakis. I wear them to work a lot, especially in winter when it is way too cold to have any bare skin that's not necessary (sorry, dresses/skirts). I also wear them to some of the less "formal" athletics events with a school-logo polo, and I look properly staff-like. However, my khakis that I had worn for a long time were not so much khakis as stretchy tan pants, and they looked nice enough until somehow I got bleach on them. I also do not know where they are... Sooo, here is the replacement. I got them in khaki, of course, and went for a size 2 instead of 0 to keep it comfortable and to give me a little flexibility if I want to wear them at hip-height. I love that Old Navy has the "short" size. I'm 5'2", and I get ridiculously tired of hemming my pants (and maxi-dresses). I can't wait to get these -- Old Navy's sizes are usually awesome on me, and when they something is petite, it does not just mean that they scrimped on fabric and made it tighter, like some brands...

2. Layering Camis
I bought a big load of the traditional, unlined layering camis sometime at the beginning of the year. They lasted through ballet and layering and lounging around, but for some reason, working outside and playing tourist in them them for twelve (hot) hours a day for five weeks killed the elastic on most of the straps. Ick and sadness. So I had to pick up some new ones. After planning on buying ten or fifteen, then seeing the total price in my shopping cart, I settled on these from Charlotte Russe:

Click here for links.

Polish Review - OPI "Not Like the Movies"

 

Today I have another of the OPI Katy Perry polishes to share -- this one is the purple/silver/green polychromatic "Not Like the Movies".

This is a really pretty polish, and I tend to shy away from most purples and pinks on anti-girly principle, heh. I ended up with the poly/duochrome version of this, though I find the whole "silver NLTM" controversy really interesting. Why? Because I remember that when I first added it to my Amazon wishlist, where I keep track of all of the clothing and cosmetics that I eventually want, I thought of it as a silvery blue, not a purple duochrome. Don't get me wrong - I'm not sorry that I bought the polish, but it is also nice to know that I'm vindicated in my original perception! I did not know at all how "purple/green duochrome" could translate to "silvery blue" in my brain, though stranger things have happened. Now I would really like to find the silver bottle. Now, enough conceptual comments. On to the polish itself.

For some great pictures and a comparison with the dupe-like Deborah Lippman polish "Wicked Game", take a look Polishology's fantastic post.

The application is really nice, though with two coats it is really easy to get semi-visible bald patches that are not really visible until you get it at the wrong angle in the sunlight (though that's annoying as crap for me). Especially when it's going "purple", there is a really nice silver shimmer running throughout, but I have had problems with it "piling up". What I mean by this is that on a couple of nails, I have these goopy little bits where lots of shimmer decided to aggregate once it started to dry. It isn't horrible, but I think you can see it in the Polishology pictures as well. It also likes to collect at the edges of the nail, which you can see in those photos as well.

The color is really, really nice. The "purple" is the predominant color, and it's somewhere between a deep lavender and plum. The "green" is gorgeous and I wish it came out more -- a pretty olive with a lot of shimmer. 

This lasts a nice amount of time --  a little edge-wear, but not a lot of major chipping.

I honestly did not like this with Black Shatter. This is the second time I've tried NWTM, and I got through applying one nail with the shatter last time before I realized it would not work. It effectively kills the duo/polychrome aspect, and looks more like purple leopard print than NWTM+Black Shatter. Hey, wait, I have a shimmery purple/silver leopard print shirt... maybe I'll have to give the combination another chance this winter.

Do I like it? Yes, I wore it before I went to Europe and I almost brought it as one of my three polish choices for wearing over there, but I think the purple holds me back from wearing it a lot -- it's elegant, but I am just not a purple girl. Still, it's definitely staying, and the fact I'm giving it a second/third wear already should say that it is a great polish.

Polish Review - OPI "Last Friday Night"

Today I have yet another nail polish review for you. I am wearing the sheer-as-hell blue-base, rainbow glitter explosion that is "Last Friday Night" by Katy Perry. The song is not one of my favorites off of the CD (and why don't we have an ET polish, I'd like to know, especially given the fabulous nail art that was about to come out of the video), but I do like the polish a lot.

It's sheer as hell. I am not exaggerating. The photo of the bottle might convince you that it has a fairly solidly blue base color, but it's barely even visible. But if you can tolerate that, and tolerate the fact that it will be between a four and seven-coater (also not exaggerating), it is a really, really pretty polish. It's eye-catching to me after two days wearing it, and even where it is a little bit goopy, you can't see it, because the eye doesn't like to see the lumpier areas. It's a really flattering shade of blue on light/blue-toned skin, too, once you can see it!

I also had the strangest phenomenon with this nail polish. Maybe it was because of the multi-multi-layers, but entire nails worth of polish would randomly start to disengage from the nail. They don't chip at all, but they completely come off! I do not understand why this is happening, but it's the only real drawback aside from the lack of opacity.

Will I wear it again, in spite of the problems? Definitely. It's shiny, and I like shiny things. :D

Polish Review - Catrice "Lost in Mud"

I picked up a bottle of this in the "Coin" chain while I was in Trieste, Italy, last month.

This is a really pretty neutral in that mushroom family that is so popular right now. It's a browned tan with grey undertones, and has a really nice rustic look. It also seems like it might be in the family of possible Particuliere dupes out there, though I don't have the original Chanel to confirm this.

Application was not bad, but it took a full three coats to be opaque; two coats left it fairly streaky. It didn't even have edge-wear for a couple of days, but I mangled it later; not really the fault of the polish. It's going to be a nice shade come fall, but for now, I think it's staying in the stash while brights reign.

A great picture (and comparison to Chanel) can be found on Lacquerized.

Not much more for now; I will post on starting some shopping later, once my new Invisalign-aligners stop driving me crazy...