Some oldies-but-goodies

I had some extra time this weekend and gave myself a much more careful manicure than I usually do.

I need to remember what a difference it makes to do this every now and again...for my cuticles, primarily. Even with the warmer weather my cuticles have been pretty bedraggled lately.

This manicure was pre-cuticle cleanup: Orly Cashmere Cardigan.

You can see the dry bits here but let's talk about the polish. I bought it at the very beginning of my nail polish collecting obsession, in early 2009-ish. Cashmere Cardigan was part of the Prepster collection along with Country Club Khaki, Tennis Anyone and Polo Princess to name a few.

Here is the kind-of psycho thing about nail polish collecting: I've owned this polish for more than four years and this is the first time I've worn it. That's kind of crazy, no? This is before I knew better than to just buy stuff willy nilly. I actually have a lot of polishes that I bought early on and wasn't really crazy about...most of them I've sold and passed along, but some are still sitting in my Helmers.

ANYWAY. The polish is a dusty, muted purple. I think it would be considered work appropriate in all but the most conservative offices anymore. Orly's formula is great, no complaints. It wore very well with my usual base and top coats.

For Memorial Day weekend I gave myself the aforementioned full manicure and then pulled out one of my long-time favorites, OPI Dutch Tulips (old formula!).

I've worn this one so often and so far as I know haven't shown a picture here. It's a vibrant deep pink creme. The formula is nice if a bit on the thin side, and of course, this old formula version is full of those lovely bad chemicals that make the polish so easy to control. Old formula means old brush, unfortch, but I manage.

What are you wearing on your nails for the long weekend (if you're in the US)? If you're outside the US, what are you wearing for the regular-size weekend? :)

OPI Did It On 'Em

I pulled this out a few weeks ago when the weather started to get more determinedly summery (of course at the moment it's about 40 degrees outside but at the time it seemed like a good move).

I can wear pretty much any polish I want at work, which is fortunate because this is a pretty shocking color. A couple of people remarked upon it...remarks along the lines of "Boy that's...really green." I don't exactly think that was a compliment, but you know, whatever.

This picture is a little misleading, because the polish isn't neon in the truest sense of the word. It is greener than it appears here, but it is very vivid.

Colors like these are very polarizing, and it didn't do much for me as a manicure. I think it would look great as a summer pedicure, though.