New Leaf Turning?

So, I had a thought. Perhaps the world won't spontaneously combust based simply on the fact that I may express an idea or emotion that isn't as "angsty" as the ones I typically share. This blog doesn't just have to be a den of doom, though I must admit that is the predominant emotional state I find myself in, more often than not. I have a damn good sense of humor, damn it, and quite the taste for quirky and surreal moments. So yeah, I'm thinking that perhaps I will try to post a bit more when I'm actually feeling decent, for a change. Fancy that!

So, on that note, here is the manicure I applied last night. Zoya, a rather independent nail polish company, ran a facebook promo last month which allowed fans, using a promo code provided, to choose three of their polishes (regularly priced at $7.00 each) and receive them for FREE, only paying the $6.95 cost of shipping. I was referred to this site by a friend sometime in November or December, in anticipation of this promotion (they had to have a certain number of fans by a certain date as a condition of their activating the code). During the course of the past month I spent a LOT of time on the Zoya facebook page, viewing pics and reading posts that have taught me a LOT about nail polish. I've picked up techniques and terms that I had never heard of before. I do tend to have a bit of a "hoarding" mentality. I packrat like crazy and when I get into a new hobby, I do it to DEATH, so I'm trying really hard not to let this new-found obsession with nail polish go to the extreme. Not long before the Zoya thing, I threw away almost all of my polishes (they were quite old and I wasn't using them) so I figured this gave me carte blanche to start buying new ones. However, my collection has quickly grown from the about ten polishes I had to at least twenty-five thanks to my six new Zoyas (I got three and Brian got three), several Pure Ice, NYC and Wet n Wild ones I've bought and several gifted to me by the same friend who encouraged me to fan the Zoya page (so sweet, right?) I bought one Sally Hansen last night (I had seen it swatched online and thought it was quite similar to a Zoya polish I have on my wishlist - yes, I actually have a Word file which is my typed up polish wishlist, see what I mean? - and at only $2.00 it seemed a fair compromise) but now I really REALLY need to slow my roll and enjoy the ones I have instead of hoarding more. Number one, I just can't afford to do it. Even 99 cent and $2.00 polishes add up. Number two, it's just not healthy for me. I have countless scrapbooking items, dozens of Sanrio goodies and so much miscellaneous whatnot overwhelming this tiny apartment (not to mention my bedroom at Mom's house. Oh, the Beanie Babies alone.) that I need to nip this in the bud before it becomes typical of me. Nevertheless, about that photo (I haven't forgotten), I'll post it now. I'm having a lot of fun with this new polish thing and thought I'd share a bit of the joy.



If I'm not mistaken in my newly-learned polish terminology, this is a skittled manicure. (Skittling, as I know it, simply means using more than one polish color at a time.) I used one of my new Zoyas, Adina, on my middle finger and pinky (and thumb, though it's not pictured) and alternated with Wet n Wild's Gray's Anatomy on my pointer and ring fingers. Adina was two coats and Gray's was three coats. These colors looked quite similar in the bottle, though Adina looked more purple, but as you can see, on nails they appear quite different. I'll probably end up using the Gray's mostly for layering as I tend to not be a great fan of sheer polishes.

Anywho, look at me, being all light-hearted and fun n' stuff. Bet you didn't think I had it in me. To borrow from Shrek, Kari has many layers, like an onion or a even a parfait.