Friday, July 30, 2010

Mail Call

I got two very nice surprises in the mail this week, one from amusedPolish (who has a real name but I'm not sure she uses it on her blog) and one from Jennifer/jaljen at nailpolishUK.

Here's what I found in the package from amusedPolish, which she sent out of the blue as a thank you for a little something I'd sent her earlier this year as an "I'm sorry the swap package I sent you got eaten by the volcano" gift:

Goodies from Europe

In front, polish from brands that are not available here: Luminelle (shade is Mauve Captivant, which I think translates to "pretty purple") and Glam Nails (shade is Larissa, which has flakies a la Nfu-Oh). In back, there are Essence stamping plates so now the lone one I got at Ulta has friends. The one on the far right is something I put on my wish list when I decided stamping was for me; it's the plate from the Stampy Kit 02, which has never ever shown up in any Ulta I've looked at, and I check the display every time I'm in one of the stores. To say I was delighted to see it is putting it mildly! I was so eager to use it that I just went ahead and stamped on top of my (left on entirely too long so please pardon the chips and such) Stila mani using Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme:

Goodies from Europe

Those of you who have this plate (and/or really good eyesight) might notice that I never managed to get the littlest star in the design onto my nail. I'm not entirely sure if I wasn't getting it from the plate to the stamper or was getting it on the stamper but then not onto my nail because at the time I didn't notice it was missing, being so distracted by trying to make sure I had the arch of the stars oriented correctly and somewhat centered. You'll see I didn't do so well with the centering on my index finger, so I took that opportunity to add a butterfly in the open area. I was extremely pleased with myself for figuring out how to only get one butterfly from the two on the plate. I also managed to get topcoat on without smudging the stamping very much, so that's progress, too.

I knew the package from Jennifer was coming, since we'd arranged a swap, but I didn't know exactly what was in it because we did a "grab bag", just trying to send things the other person didn't already have but which we thought she would like. I didn't have any Models Own, so you can imagine how pleased I was when I opened the box and found these inside:

Goodies from Europe

Left to right: Blue Moon, Purple Poppy, Slate Green, Blue Gem, Dusty Mauve.


All colors I would have bought myself if a) this brand were sold here or b) I were braver about ordering from companies overseas (I love swapping internationally, but something about sending my credit card information to a company in another country makes me pause, which is really silly because I've used my cards in foreign lands when travelling and nothing bad has ever happened; indeed the only time I had a credit card number stolen was right here in the U.S.) I didn't know which one to try first, but eventually picked Dusty Mauve because the shimmer in the bottle intrigued me.

Goodies from Europe

On the nail, it is much more dusty than mauve, which is fine by me; I love a good pewter. I did not have a chance to get it outside in the sunlight to see what it would do there; I suspect it saves its flash for that sort of environment.

Goodies from Europe

Goodies from Europe

Emboldened by my star stamping experience (and since the WnW black and Essence plate were still nearby), I tried added flowers to the Dusty Mauve. Lots and lots of flowers. Stamping on top of stamping. What I got was rather a mess. I considered pretending it did not happen, but decided to share, hoping in a few months we can all look back and this one day be amazed at how much better I've gotten at stamping.

Goodies from Europe

Thanks, amusedPolish and nailpolishUK!

12 comments:

  1. Wow, what a fun mail day you had. I love the stamping designs you did. That flakie polish looks amazing.

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  2. Those must have been fun packages to open! Your stamping looks really good and I can't wait to see swatches of all the new colors. I'm hoping to get my hands on some Models Own one day.

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  3. Glad you like them. The DM looks way different on you. Must be the light or something. Does body chemistry affect nail polish so much?

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  4. Awesome swapping and a great gift! Your konads are really pretty too :)

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  5. swap packages are always fun ^^
    Your stamping looks really great, I still haven't mastered it yet but have a lot of plates (and sadly discovered that the konad full-nail images are too small for me- length wise)

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  6. Yay nail mail! I'm glad you finally got some Models Own.

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  7. Hi, Karen!

    I'm sure you enjoyed opening your packages! It must have made your day! :) I'm still practicing on my stamping. Sometimes, I can't get it on the place that I want it to be on my nail. I definitely need more practice.

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  8. if you have time can you do a swatch for glam nails? it looks gorgeous in the photo.

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  9. Very nice swap! P.s.: mauve captivant = captivating purple ;)

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  10. Am in dire need of Models own slate green and Beths Blue so dying to see Slate green swatched. Surprise nail mail, is there anything better?

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  11. I loved your blog and your nails!! I'm already fallowing you ;D fallow me too: http://lynails.blogspot.com
    Hope you enjoy! Kiss*

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  12. Thanks everyone! Yes, it was a very fun mail week.

    jaljen, definitely the light could make this look different on me, but maybe also my base or top coat? I wouldn't discount body chemistry, though.

    shortnails and Debbie, I can definitely swatch the Glam Nails and Slate Green; look for those later this week.

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Thank you for reading and commenting! I greatly appreciate knowing I'm not just talking to myself here. :) I'm moderating most comments now due to the spate of spammers who claim to be looking for sexy times.