ballerina bling

This started out as an attempt at a halo mani.  You can see the remnants of the fail on my pinky nail.  Funny enough, today a very similar halo mani was making the rounds on blogs and NB.  Guess I'm ahead of the game :)

pinstripe semi-fail

I call this a semi-fail because it beats my last two total fails.  (Which is why you haven't had any updates for a bit--don't want to burn your retinas.)

adventures in babysitting (aren't i so clever?)

I don't know if you can tell, but the pink has sparkles over it.  Sorry about the poor quality picture.  I was dealing with little kids here, so I just took what I could get.

brand practice

In my last post I mentioned that I plan to treat myself to polish for major events/accomplishments this year.  I will note that I am seriously cutting down on what brands I buy.  Not only do way too many of them test on animals, but I just found out that many reputable brands are supporting the proposed SOPA/PIPA legislations. I believe their support is based on fake or overpriced sales of their merchandise online, but if the Acts pass then it will mean serious censoring of EVERYBODY'S rights on the internet.  (Besides, if companies want stronger security of their products then they can find another way to get it by using their own resources, not by causing a scary and hazardous situation for millions of people.)


I can support a company even if I disagree with its CEO's choice for U.S. President.  However, I CANNOT support certain practices, and censoring the internet is a practice that infringes upon the First Amendment's guarantee of Freedom of Speech, which is one of the two biggest freedoms America has to offer (along with Habeas Corpus).  The internet is the main way of communication and information these days, and censoring it is out of the question.  (If I don't believe in censoring books in a library or in someone's own home, why on earth would I censor something so much bigger?)  Not to mention the slippery slope that is sure to begin, as it opens the doors to more and more censorship.


For further information on SOPA/PIPA itself, as well as which cosmetic companies are supporting them, check out the following links.  You can also always Google the acronyms and see all the latest news (FOR NOW! RIGHT?).  It's actually pretty interesting to see the reactions.

U.S. Government List of SOPA Supporters
Forbes: SOPA/PIPA Details
CBS News: SOPA/PIPA Details
CNN: SOPA/PIPA Details

my study-for-the-Bar-exam incentive

I'm on a no-buy for the entire year, with the exception of special occasions. Therefore, I can't use buying a polish as an incentive. HOWEVER, I can use painting my nails as an incentive! So tonight, for every segment of studying I get done (2-4 hours each), I get to do something else toward a manicure: remove polish and soak in cuticle oil, basecoat, one coat of color, next coat of color, top coat (and anything else that may be needed). Those alone are 5 segments! It will force me to get them done within one day, because who wants half-painted nails with like one see-through, streaky coat if you don't have to?

One "special occasion" is that when I'm done with the bar altogether I get to buy a polish (but only if I feel good about the test. If I felt unprepared and like I'll have to take it again then I don't get to. But this is just more incentive to study!). I thought that I shouldn't need an incentive to study because the whole reason I'm doing it is to have a better life, and that's an incentive in itself. But then I thought of it as, I'm letting myself have fun, but only after I finish my hard work, just like you can only have dessert after you eat your vegetables. All work and no play is not good either!

Other special occasions include: getting a job (but I'll wait til the first paycheck), actually passing the bar, my birthday, possibly Persian New Year, and....that gets me through the first half of the year (that all ends by the end of May). And of course, if the money is needed elsewhere then polish comes last.

in honor of Beauty and the Beast...

When I was six years old, I saw Beauty and the Beast in theaters five times.  That record stood until I was 18 and saw Pirates of the Caribbean six and a half times.  The former has returned to theaters, in 3D no less, and you'd better believe you can find me there.

It was only fitting.

I will update again really soon, I promise!

This week has been packed.

cheetahs v. power rangers

This started out as simply black crackle over gold. Then I thought it should have SOME sort of theme, and I realized it was the closest I'd ever get to animal print, so I pretended it was a cheetah.  THEN it reminded me of those Power Rangers belt buckles, but hopefully I will do a REAL Power Rangers mani soon enough.  (Sadly, I looked up "cheetah power rangers" on Google and there is such a thing.  It's one of the Zords from the Jungle Fury chapter of the series.  This is a disgrace to 1995.)

I just noticed that the pinky nail looks like a darker shade of gold than the rest.  I was going to say that the pointer/middle are more true to color, but looking at it on my hands again, it seems it is all shifting darker.  Color-shifting gold ftw!

neons

I'm going to put some writing on these, but I liked the way it looked on its own too.  I've done the accent nail thing before, but I never would have chosen these two colors together if I hadn't planned this on purpose for the writing (the green are one word and the pink are another).  Too bad this isn't some well-known saying so that I could leave them blank and just call it art :P  Also, guess which of these polishes retails for $0.50 and which retails for $8.00?  The 50-cent one is better overall.  Sad.  At least I only paid $2 for the higher-end one (yeah clearance!).

who needs multiple flakies?

I was debating picking up the newest green flakie on the market, because wearing it on bare nails would make me feel like Rydia from FFIV.  Looking at these pictures, however, do I really need it?

She blinded me.....with SCIENCE!

This is the rough draft of my LISA nails.  Whenever I actually do galaxy nails, I will do a real LISA manicure.  OR PERHAPS... Instead of the 3 spacecraft, I can do the 3 Enterprises from the different time zones like in the last episode of Star Trek: TNG.

Talk nerdy to me.

Also, this:

Double-decker Nutella sandwich! Don't be jealous :)