So school has been whupping me soundly. It’s been fantastic and I’ve been very happy to be back in the books and papers mode, but my energy levels are not what they were ten years ago. How embarrassing! So I’ve been being a bit lackadaisy with both doing my nails and photographing them.
Today’s polishes are older ones that do not belong to me, rendering this a sort of guest-post. Lent to me by one of my dear peeps, the Scientifically Awesome S., please meet rather vintage Sally Hansen Aqua Chrome and Black Pearl Chrome. (Please also forgive the complete lack of cleanup and relatively sad lighting. I wanted to take very quick pictures because, lacking use of a base or topcoat, I was worried that they might chip within a short amount of time.)
I chose these two entirely because the skirt I was wearing had both blue and silvery-black as part of the design, and was very pleased. They are still very shiny, very brushstroke-prone, and very pleasing.
I don’t own any of the more recent chromes (e.g. Essie) to compare these to, so I cannot make any statements on how they might stand up to those. They did bubble a bit, but considering how old they are, I thought these did quite well.
The Black Pearl Chrome was especially lovely. It’s a dark, somewhat tarnished-looking silver that does indeed resemble photos of black pearls.
Mmm, brushstrokes. Clearly I was a little more careful on the accent nails than on the rest.
And here is her full collection. I may sneak over sometime later and borrow other colors, too. Fun fact: I hadn’t taken these off by the next day, which was the first day of school, so I layered three coats of Butter London Knackered over the top and it looked fabulous.
Nothing here was purchased by me, though I have found these around the internet for prices varying from $4-15 each, depending on where you look.
October is Holo Month, so you will be seeing a lot of rainbow action of all types on my nails. I think my next post (which may be tomorrow or may be next weekend. I’m still figuring out exactly how to manage my energy levels with school.) will be Enchanted Nails I Am The Walrus, a very lovely multichrome holo.
I’ve been posting a lot of brand shiny new things lately (and with more on the way!), so I think today will instead be vintage madness day! Note that this will not be a frequent occasion, and possibly will never be repeated; I don’t have that many vintage polishes, and this is by far the most entertaining one, or at least the oldest. I do have a few other older Urban Decay polishes, but not quite this old.
Urban Decay Mildew. This is circa their very early days, when they were selling at Hot Topic — which is where I got this after reading about the brand in some goth magazine or another. Propaganda, maybe? — and still used brown paperboard for their boxes and brushed aluminum for their tubes. Yeah, I have a couple of vintage lipsticks, too. Scary!
It took probably the equivalent of a full dropper of polish thinner to actually render this usable, and in the couple of days since, it’s gone right back to gooey again. That’s okay, I still have more thinner. :) Mildew is a vaguely metallic, yellow-toned green, more reminiscent of moss or mold than mildew. It’s hard to say whether the high tendency to show brushstrokes is a result of the formula or just the age. This polish is probably around fifteen years old. This is two coats of polish and a quick-dry topcoat. Incidentally, Mildew smells awful. It’s been stinking up my polish boxes for months.
The accent nail is Daring Digits Why So Serious, and I’m sure, if you are familiar with The Joker, you can accurately derive the inspiration. It’s a somewhat thick purple polish with variously sized green glitter and the odd red sparkle. It covered evenly in two coats.
I enjoyed wearing this bizarre blast from the past. The day after I put it on, I went to see Dark Knight Rises, and giggled quietly at myself. It’s interesting; the bottle is about half-empty, so clearly I must have used it somewhat (though I understand evaporation happens and all that), but I don’t actually remember ever wearing this when I was younger. I must have, and yet.
Here you can somewhat see the mini-bottle of Why So Serious. I should consider actually planning superhero/villain-themed manicures, rather than stumbling into them with the grace of a bison. Considering that I’ve worked on and off in comic shops for almost as long as I’ve had this polish (since 1999!), it would seem to be a theme I’d feel comfortable with.
Oh, man. I’ve just had a brilliant idea for Aquaman nails. I’ll keep that one on the burner for later. Heh.
Daring Digits has an etsy shop where you can buy Why So Serious and other variously geekly and non-geekly polishes. As for the ancient Urban Decay — perhaps try ebay? Or elder goths of your acquaintance? A time machine? Good luck! :D
Vanitas Rex 