My Butter London Obsession

So I think this might be getting a little out of hand -- my Butter London nail lacquer collection has grown from zero to six (six!) in a month's time.  Clearly this was the Obsession of February 2012.

My six shades are: (top, L-R) Snog, Tea with the Queen, Wallis (bottom, L-R) Victoriana, Henley Regatta, and Rosie Lee.

"Wallis"

I started with Wallis -- my username might suggest that I'm a wee bit obsessed with British history and culture, and who doesn't love the American who almost brought down the royal family?  (Yes, yes, she had super sketchy German connections during the Second World War and was maybe awful; depends on which biography you read/movie you watch.)  I don't have a single color in my polish collection like this -- it's a really cool, unusual combo of gold and olive green, something like tarnished glamour.  Very Wallis indeed!

"Snog," "Tea with the Queen," and "Victoriana"

Next up: the Valentine's Day haul.  BL offered a 3/2 deal on V-Day with Snog (a vibrant, almost fuschia hot pink, so bright I'm almost a little afraid to try it until summer!) and two colors of the buyer's choice.  I snagged Victoriana -- a grayish blue with silvery shimmer; wore it last week and got tons of compliments -- and Tea with the Queen, a pinky beige that I've yet to test drive.  (It does look like it would be very appropriate for tea with Her Maj, though.)

"Henley Regatta" and "Rosie Lee"

And then I had a little moment of weakness at Ulta and went glitter happy, picking up Henley Regatta (a gorgeous glittery teal -- so amazing) and Rosie Lee (which I think I'm going to try today -- it's glittery pink, but it's somehow still sort of subdued -- it's definitely not a Barbie shade).

These go on really nicely, and they're 3 Free, so they don't have harmful chemicals in the formula.  That's really good, but I also find that it slightly impacts the staying power of the polish -- lots of tip wear after a couple of days, and some of the colors chip fairly quickly without a top coat.  They're also a little on the pricey side for nail polish, almost double the cost of an Essie polish.  Even so, the packaging is amazing, the colors are wonderful, and the branding with the British-themed names is a great hook.  

So I'm still hooked, even if I may need to lay off purchasing another for a little while!  (Even though I'm lusting after Royal Navy.  And West End Wonderland.  And British Racing Green.)

TLC's Top Tens: The 2012 Academy Awards

So, I started a blog!  Turns out tumblr, twitter, and livejournal just weren't enough social media outlets for me, LOL.  This is where I'm going to stash random things that I want to talk about, fandom or otherwise.  (I'll probably talk a lot about nail polish, fair warning.)

And what better "otherwise" to start with than the Oscars, hm?

***

TEN THINGS I LIKED ABOUT THE 2012 ACADEMY AWARDS

10. One of my honest-to-God idols, Miss Piggy, gracing the not-Kodak Theatre with her presence, even if she was criminally underused.  Her hair looked better than half of the nominees.

9.  Melissa McCarthy and Rose Byrne playing the Bridemaids Scorsese drinking game in the middle of presenting a category, and Martin Scorsese having zero idea what they were talking about.

8.  Penelope Cruz showing up looking like a real-life Disney princess.  I WANT THAT DRESS.

7.  Nick Nolte showing up looking like drunk Santa, complete with his son who is apparently named "Brawley" (way to handicap your kid early, Nolte), and the growly noises Billy Crystal used for Nick's inner monologue during the show.

6. Angelina Jolie's stupid extended right-leg pose.  (WE GET IT ANGIE.)  It has its own twitter feed now, with 15,000+ followers.  I have 7 followers on twitter, and I'm an actual person, not a body part.  Oh, the humanity.

5.  Freaking DEAN PELTON FROM COMMUNITY winning a screenplay Oscar.  (And making fun of Angie's right leg pose during the acceptance speech.)

You go, Dean Pelton!

4. BRIT! from Flight of the Conchords winning an Oscar for the song from the Muppets.  (But I don't think he thanked Jemaine, sadly.)

3.  Captain von Trapp winning his first Oscar at eighty-two going on eighty-three.

2.  Will Ferrell clanging cymbals right in Brad Pitt's face.

AND

1.  UGGIE!  I hope he gets his own mini Oscar to put by his dog bed.

***

And on a sidenote: I uploaded chapter eighteen of both alike in dignity yesterday.  So glad no one has threatened me yet over the angst.  I'M SO SORRY, I LOVE THEM TOO.