Autumn Makes Me Homesick!

thanksgiving-wallpapers.com

Isn't it strange how what you think of as "home" can be a place you lived for less than half of your life? What is that? Nostalgia? We've all heard the saying "you can't go home again" but I don't really believe that's true in my case. No, it's not because I think I am somehow "special" or exempt - it's because I don't think I am homesick in the classic sense. I realize the people of my childhood are all gone. Mom and Dad aren't back there as suspended-in-time versions of themselves. I have no delusions that going "home" would somehow transport me back to an earlier time where my problems magically disappear into a childlike haze. And I'm not even sure I'd want it if there were an "app for that" or an Easy Button.

I miss the small things. The smell of real grass. I even miss the smell of real dirt! I miss the smell of the forest even though I'm pretty sure that's the smell of rotting leaves on the under-forest. In the spring, I miss the green on the trees and the dew on the grass. I miss the "crispness" of fall and the sight of all of the trees changing colors. I miss the seasonal changes. And all of that stuff is STILL THERE. While part of it may be nostalgia for an earlier, simpler-in-my-mind time, most of it is just a longing for nature that isn't devoid of those things I mentioned. I used to love being outside and being active. Walks in the woods, bike rides in the cool air, picnics on the grass, skipping rocks on a lake, long walks for no reason. Sometimes, I can close my eyes and just smell it. Feel it. But it's fleeting. Too fleeting. And often it's interrupted by a random snake in my house or 3 inch long flying palmetto bug, or any other combination of fire ants, mosquitoes on steroids, sand burrs or scorpions.

Zip-lining in Skagway, Alaska. July there was like
November on the East Coast

Pretending to be a leprechaun on the grounds of Blarney Castle, Ireland
September - you could actually smell the dirt, the trees and the
freshly mown grass!

Central Park, NYC. September - it smelled like Fall.

Yes, I was loving the grass! And yes, I got chiggers. Ugh.

So what I miss is not really "home" per se, since I never lived in Skagway, or NYC, or Ireland...I just miss a place where going outside is a pleasurable experience.

Preparations are underway, but painfully slow, to move closer to a place like "home." I'm just not a beach girl. I'd take dreary and rainy over hot and sunny any day. I'm a fish out of water. And it's getting harder and harder to breathe.

thanksgiving-wallpapers.com

So for now, I'll just enjoy these photos, courtesy of thanksgiving-wallpapers.com and dream.

If anyone has photos of autumn they'd like to share, feel free to post a link in the comments section.

Happy Autumn everyone!

Going Grey

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Eel Skin

With nail polish, that is. I just went through my stash and I only have four grey cremes. Obviously, I need to go nail polish shopping!

So I decided to compare them and then pick one to wear. I used Essence Colour to Go Movie Star, NYC In a Minute Sidewalkers, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Eel Skin and Pure Ice Kiss Me Here.

Grey Nail Polish

Essence was the thickest and hardest to apply and dried darker on the nail than it appears in the bottle. Also, I did two coats of each and the Essence could have used another for complete coverage. I have other NYC polishes and the brush is okay - not great, but okay.  This bottle, however, has a deformed brush. Mangled, actually. But the formula was smooth enough. After the first coat, I was sure it would take 3 coats, but the second one took care of it. The Sally Hansen has the wider brush and the formula was the best of the four and fully opaque in 2 coats. Pure Ice was smooth and easy as well.

Grey Nail Polish

I wanted to see how they looked matte, so I applied a coat of Essie's Matte About You to see.

Greys with Essie Matte About You

I was feeling the color of the Sally Hansen more, so I went with Eel Skin.  I will probably see how I like it tomorrow and then cover it with the matte topcoat.  I really do love matted out greys. And it could also be just that I am wishing so hard for a cloudy day. And rain. It's been so long, I don't think I remember what it looks like. I suppose a thunder storm would just be TOO MUCH to ask for. *sigh*

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Eel Skin

Matching Polish and Purses!

Someone smarter than I am had this idea.  But it was a good one, so I'm stealing it!

I don't intentionally match my polish to my bags, but when it happens, it happens, so I've snapped some shots of a few...

Not a great photo, but this was my Raisin Lindy and OPI Can You Dig It - it actually matched my Violet Carmen keyring perfectly (top of pic.)

Raisin Lindy, Violet Carmen with OPI Can You Dig It

Tod's Ivy with Sally Hansen Commander in Chic

Black Chevre Birkin with Pure Ice Silver Mercedes and OPI Black Shatter on top

Crappy cell phone pics - my apologies. ^^

Goyard St. Louis GM with Pure Ice Iced Merlot layered over  NYC Black Lace Creme

Gucci (guccisima leather in unknown color) with Pure Ice Jamaica Me Crazy over LA Colors #563 (Nuclear Energy)

Chartreuse Evelyne with Wet n Wild Ocean Grotto over Revlon Moss

Vert Anis Karo with Wet n Wild Ocean Grotto over Revlon Moss

Orange Tods with Perfect 10 Crush

That's all I have for now. If I stumble across any more, I'll post 'em.

What are some of your favorite purse/polish matches?

Ultimate Mushroom/Taupe Nail Polish Comparison Guide...8 Different Polishes!

Since any kind of mushroomy taupe color is my go-to color when traveling because it doesn't clash with anything, naturally I'm drawn to them and have more than I should. I started wondering how many are dupes. So I pulled most of them out (most that were similar in the bottle anyway. I have more that are clearly lighter and clearly darker I didn't use here) to do a comparison.

Here's what I used:

1. Chanel Particuliere
2. Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Steel Grey
3. NYC In a Minute Park Avenue
4. Orchid Ain't No Sunshine
5. Hard Candy Mushroom
6. OPI You Don't Know Jacques
7. China Glaze Below Deck
8. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Commander in Chic


These are all cremes - no shimmers or sparkles in any of them.

Mushroom/Taupe Comparison

Mushroom/Taupe Comparison

As you will see in the photos, there are two of these that really aren't dupes for any of the rest.  Chanel Particuliere doesn't have the grey/purple undertones the rest of them have and China Glaze Below Deck has much more of a purple undertone than any of the others.

The definite true dupe for me out of all of these is Hard Candy Mushroom for OPI You Don't Know Jacques. You really can't tell the difference in appearance!  The difference I did note in the application was that the Hard Candy one is a little more pigmented, allowing you to get away with 2 light coats as opposed to the OPI, which needs three light coats or two heavier coats.  Since I was doing a quick comparison before I did my actual manicure, I haven't done clean up for the photos.

Hard Candy Mushroom and OPI You Don't Know Jacques

That leaves four.  These four are, for all intents and purposes, dupes.  Maybe not as perfect as the Hard Candy/OPI comparison, but for anyone without OCD, dupes, nevertheless.

These are Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro Steel Grey, NYC In a Minute Park Avenue, Orchid Ain't No Sunshine and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Commander in Chic. Of all of these, I'd say the Orchid was ever so slightly darker and needed one less coat than the others, AND was actually the easiest to apply. The problem with this, however, may be availability. While they are available for between $4.99 and $6.99 at my local H.E.B. Plus grocery store, I'm not sure they're available elsewhere. And I don't know how far outside Texas H.E.B. goes, if at all.  I hope that changes soon because they have a WIDE range of colors and finishes and very nice application.  Their brush is a mid-sized, semi-flat brush.  It's not the skinny, round brush of the NYC brand, but it's not as wide as the Sally Hansen or the Rimmel. It fits my nails perfectly. I think it might have just usurped my number one go-to polish, which was Rimmel Steel Grey. And it's 3-Free!

Mushroom/Taupe Comparison

And just for kicks, here are China Glaze Below Deck and Chanel Particuliere comparisons, too.

China Glaze Below Deck

Not sure how well you can tell in the photos, but the China Glaze Below Deck has more purple undertones than the others and the Chanel Particuliere has less of a purple or grey undertone than the others and is just a soft, less grey, less purple, very rich brown.

Chanel Particuliere

I've decided to wear Orchid's Ain't No Sunshine this week to test the wearability, chipping, tip wear, etc. I'll let you know how it fares!

Final color choice:  Orchid Ain't No Sunshine

Update: The Orchid polish wore pretty well. I had the normal tip wear because I type all day, but this mani lasted 6 days and was still going strong when I took it off. No chipping. My nails grow really fast and I get tired of the same color day after day, though, so 6 days for me with the same polish has to be some kind of record!