Thursday, July 21, 2011

Nail Polish Review (Shatter, Crackle, Graffiti)

I know this "review" is late since this type of nail polish has been out for months now. I guess I just want to tell you my own personal experience with the different brands that carry them...

So my first encounter happened when I was in NYC running errands with my parents about a month ago. To kill time, I walked to the nearest Urban Outfitters store to do some (window) shopping. This is when I came across the Graffiti Effect Nail Polish by Layla Cosmetics. The black and the fuchsia pink caught my eye... $12 a bottle???!!! Yes, sadly it was that expensive... What's even more sad was that I desperately wanted them that I gladly forked over $24+ for the two bottles of nail polish!



What was the reason for this desperation? Besides the fact that I was bored? The fact that whenever I go into a Target or a CVS or something, they were always out of the OPI Shatter, and I've been wanting to try them for months now (damn it!)... since the day I first saw that Katy Perry ad in a magazine!

Anyway, that day I had on the Revlon Top Speed nail polish in Guava that I got from Target (my favorite store... ever!), which I'm sure I only paid a few bucks for. Within minutes of buying the Graffiti Effect nail polishes, I started putting the black one on... I was amazed at how I can actually see the nail polish "crackling." I was definitely happy with my purchase, and started showing it off to my mom...

Base color: Revlon Top Speed in Guava; Top Color: Layla Cosmetics Graffiti Effect in Black


Base color: Revlon Top Speed in Sheer Cotton; Top Color: Layla Cosmetics Graffiti Effect in Fuschia


Fast forward to a week or two later... My sisters and I walked into a Walgreens, and guess what we saw? Sally Hansen Crackle... for about $5 to $6... I can't remember the exact price, but it was half of what I paid for before so naturally I went a little crazy and bought all the colors available, which were blue, white, and gold. Naturally. LOL.



I was super excited to try them so I started trying all three colors on one my sister's hands. We were so disappointed! All three weren't "crackling" that well... Sometimes, they wouldn't even "crackle" at all! The blue one looked like I took a blue Sharpie and colored my nails with them! I looked up reviews online, and found that people actually gave it a good review... Maybe I just had a bad batch? But all three? Or maybe the Layla nail polish worked so well that, in my eyes, the Sally Hansen nail polish just couldn't measure up to it... One thing is for sure... at that point, I was more than happy to pay $12 for a bottle of the Layla Cosmetics Graffitti Effect.

Dejected, I went home and went online to urbanoutfitters.com  to buy more of the Layla nail polish, and to my disappointment, found that they don't carry the nail polishes online. I then decided to search online for any stores that might carry them. It was really hard to find the Graffiti Effect, and when I finally found a store on ebay.com that sold it, it was being sold for $102! I kid you not... that was the listed "Buy Now" price. Typo? Maybe. But it was highly unlikely since all of them were listed for, or around, that price.

Dejected, yet again... but not for long. I ended up buying the OPI Shatter instead. I found a seller on amazon.com who was selling a package of 5 different colors (white, black, blue, red, navy blue) for $24.80. I definitely wanted a red, white, and black, and since each bottle costs anywhere from $7 to $8, it made more sense for me to get the package deal.




I personally have not tried the OPI Shatter yet, but I've read the reviews online... Plus, I know people who have used them, and I have seen their nails  I don't think I'm going to be disappointed at all. :)

- Pamela Joyce

P.S.- Justice (the girls clothing store, formerly known as Limited Too), also carries their own version of the crackle nail polish. I heard their pretty cheap too!

----------

Update (11.04.2011) - I have something new to say about the Sally Hansen Crackle nail polish.  Please click here to read it.  Thank you! :)

Previous Knitted Projects...

As I am so behind in updating this, I am now going to overwhelm you with blog updates and pictures...  I've decided to break them up in separate entries since there will be quite a few pictures involved. This post will be on some of the knitting projects I have finished... Enjoy!

WARNING: Photo Overload!


Black Hooded Scarf (Knitted)

Gray and Green Striped Hooded Scarf (Knitted)

Striped Beanies and a Black Cabled Newsboy Cap (All Knitted)

Cabled Newsboy Cap in Green and Brown (Knitted)

Purple, Gray, and Black Slouchy Beanie (Knitted)

Pink Cupcake Beanie! (Knitted)

Convertible Black Balaclava: also known as a ski mask/helmet liner (Knitted)
Can be worn in 4 ways (clockwise from top left): 1. as a ski mask, 2. as a beanie and a cowl together, 3. as beanie alone, 4. as a cowl alone

See you in the next entry!

-Pamela Joyce

Meet The Husband...

My most recent picture with my husband, taken in the wee hours of the morning on July 16, 2011 at Olive Tree Cafe in NYC. (P.S.-  They have the best nachos!)

His name is Angelo. We were officially together for a year (dated longer) before he proposed. We then married a month later. Fast, huh? I guess to some it is, but not for us. It felt right, so why wait? We only had a civil wedding and celebrated with close family and friends. However, our parents really want us to have a church wedding, so we are currently saving for that, and possibly a bigger reception. We'll see... I have a feeling that after all that saving, we might just use the money as a down payment for a house or something. Maybe we'll still have the church wedding our parents want, and just have a small reception in the form of a pool party and barbeque!

- Pamela Joyce

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Meet my new camera...

I did it. I went and bought the Panasonic Lumix GF2... in white!  I even bought the 14-42mm lens... I feel like such a pro. LOL.  I definitely spent more that I would have wanted on a camera, but it was so worth it.

This is how it looks with its 14mm pancake lens.  Photo courtesy of: Panasonic.com

And this how it looks with its 14-42mm lens.  Photo courtesy of: Normancamera.com

I am still learning about this camera and its setting... I love taking pictures, but I am a noob when it comes to photography.

New camera = more photos = more blogging?  Maybe.

And since I am in a blogging mood, be prepared to be bombarded by posts and pictures within the next few days... or hours!  Hahaha!

And yes... my first post after a very long hiatus is to brag!  I should first blog about the fact that I am now married. MARRIED.  I'm no longer a Miss Pamela... Mrs. Pamela?  Eh...  It doesn't quite have the same ring to it...

www.pamela-joyce.blogspot.com

There.  Married or not, that will always stay the same...

- Pamela Joyce
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...