An Explanation.

I've been trying to formulate this post for a while now. I felt I owed all of you an explanation as to why I basically just dropped off the face of the blogging world.

I'm going to be straight with you. Blogging became a chore. I wasn't having fun anymore, and I couldn't help but compare myself to the bloggers who post at least once every day. I saw how, in the great scheme of things, my blog was pretty insignificant. At first, I didn't really care. I had fun blogging! But then I was scrambling to make a post every day or at least three times a week, and it was wearing me out. I had school, I had a social life, I had other interests.

Now, that's not to say I will never return to blogging. I might, someday. But for now, I'm taking a step back. I've met some amazing people while blogging, and I hope I can still keep in contact with them, but I've even been absent on twitter for over a month now.

Nail polish was becoming repetitive and dull, too. I would walk into a store and see the new polish and think, "I have that at home." Nothing was grabbing me anymore. Nothing was interesting. I mean, sure, there were a few gems in the past few months (OPI Burlesque and China Glaze Awakening come to mind), but mostly I just wasn't interested.

I feel bad about doing this, because, in a way, it feels like I'm betraying the blogging world. But why should I do something like this when it isn't fun for me anymore? I started this blog as a fun little expedition to do to take my mind off of school for a while. But that's just not the case anymore.

I hope you're all doing well, and hopefully I'll be back to blogging someday, even if I'm not blogging about nail polish.

- Jean

I'm still alive, I swear!

Hey, all! I'm so, so sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been so busy with my classes this semester, that I haven't had proper time to just sit down and blog.

Also, school has gotten in the way of having good manis lately. I mean, sure, my nails are polished. But they look pretty horrible and I have been so exhausted by Thursday that I forget to take pictures, and then the polish starts chipping. These excuses are horrible, but they're the truth. Once I get a routine down for this semester, you'll be seeing more polish-related posts from me again!

In the meantime, I'll probably post a few BPAL reviews every now and then. Maybe some bath and body products, too.

I'm so sorry, guys! I'll get back into the swing of things soon, hopefully. :)

And remember: if you do miss hearing from me that much (ha!) you can read my ramblings and complaints over on twitter. There's a link in the sidebar to my twitter account.

P.S. The blog sale is still going on!

A plethora of BPAL reviews!

I think it's fairly safe to say I have wholeheartedly hopped onto the BPAL train, and won't be getting off for quite some time.

Now, if you don't know what BPAL is, I'll do my best to explain. Black Phoenix Alchemy lab is based out of California, and specializes in handmade perfume oil blends. They have hundreds upon hundreds of scents, ranging from floral to foodie to earthy, and everything in between! (I'm finding I'm mostly drawn to their scents that include berry, red musk, or dragon's blood.) They offer $4 samples (called imps) of most of their general catalogue scents, or you can buy a pack of six for $22. This is a great way to try out what they have to offer. Most general catalogue 5 ml bottles are $17.50, though some are a bit more expensive in the more specialized sections of the site. Limited edition scents are $20, but again, sometimes they are more expensive.

Anyway, onto my reviews! I've posted these over on the bpal.org forums, but I thought I'd post them here, too, so that those of you who are new to BPAL can see them.

Maiden
Lab description: A gentle vision of purity, goodness and virtue: white tea, carnation and Damask Rose.

In imp: Herbal, slightly rosy

On skin, wet: Hello, carnation!

On skin, drying: Soft, slightly powdery rose with carnation. Oh dear..it's turned to baby powder. Major baby powder.

On skin, completely dry: It's turned back to being a bit rosy, albeit a very powdery rose. I really am not getting any white tea, though. It does have a teensy bit of spiciness to it, which I assume is due to the carnation. The spiciness of the carnation does sort of stick in my nose and my throat and bothers my eyes a bit. So that's kind of unpleasant. I get the same effect whenever sniffing real carnations, so I think I just have issues with carnations, ha.

Overall thoughts: It really doesn't have any throw at all..which I don't really mind. Honestly, I just don't think Maiden is my style. It also doesn't last too terribly long on me, either. I'm sure I know someone who will absolutely love it, though!

The Unicorn
Lab description: A misty, almost luminous perfume: wispy linden blossoms, white flowers, and a touch of sweet herbs.

This is the first BPAL I ever tried, so it holds a special place in my heart. I've used up my imp, but I do have a bottle on its way to me. I'm going to attempt to do this review from memory! I'll update it if I have a different opinion once I get my bottle, but I doubt I will.

In the imp: very medicinal, with a hint of white blossoms of some sort. Not sure exactly which white blossoms, but I know they are white, ha. I assume they could be the linden blossoms.

On the skin, wet: It's a very sweet herbal scent, but the herbs meld perfectly with the white flowers.

On the skin, dry: Pretty much the same. Very herbal, slightly medicinal, but soft. I absolutely love it.

Conclusion: Well, obviously I've already stated how I feel about this scent: it's worthy of a full bottle. It's such a beautiful scent that I feel is feminine, but cold and mysterious. I have a copy of Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn sitting next to me, and this scent perfectly matches the Unicorn in this story. It's absolutely gorgeous.

Blood Lotus

Lab description: Lush, velvet-red blooms born from the blood shed in the eternal battle between Set and Horus the Avenger. Inspired by Tammy Roth.

I honestly did not expect to like this one. At all. I ordered it on a whim, before I even read reviews. Stupid, I know! And then I did start reading reviews, and I was terrified due to all the comments about it smelling like bubblegum! Anyway, when I got it, it was the first one I picked out of the box to try, due to its gorgeous red amber color. Upon first sniff, I was a bit scared. It smelled like spicy cherry cough drops! I proceeded with caution, though, and dabbed a bit on my wrists. And then proceeded to swoon due to the beauty of this scent. It does start off quite sweet, with almost a syrupy cherry note. This quickly mellows out, though, and turns into the perfect sweet, slightly fruity dragon's blood, with no bubblegum in sight! No cloying florals, either, which is excellent. My skin sure does love this scent, though, because it disappears on me after about an hour and a half.

Dragon's blood is such a comforting scent for me, and this particular version reminds me of backstage in high school. During one of our productions, we needed incense, so one of the cast members brought in some beautiful dragon's blood incense. After it started burning, there were usually at least five of us hovering around it, inhaling the warm scent. Ah, nostalgia!

Full bottle purchase for sure.

ETA: That day that it only lasted an hour and a half must have been a fluke, because I wore it today (during and after writing this review) and it lasted at least four hours. Hooray!

Eclipse

Lab description: All the glory, warmth and majesty of the sun -- darkened. A delicious blend of bitter almond, vanilla, frankincense and heliotrope, with a drop of cinnamon.

In the imp, this was like, "WHAM! ALMOND!" Seriously, it smelled identical to very strong almond extract. It scared me a little bit, haha.

I finally got up the courage to try it out, though, and it wasn't nearly as scary as I originally thought. It starts out as pure almond, like in the imp, but then starts settling down. What does it settle down into, you ask? Juicy Fruit. The gum. Yeah.. Also it burned a little. Not enough to cause any redness on my skin, but enough so that I noticed the sensation and thought I'd better go look in a mirror to make sure my skin wasn't burning.

But then! After about five or so more minutes it changes into a perfectly lovely soft, slightly floral cinnamon, and the burning is gone. It's very feminine, and very "not me."

It was nice, though, and I think it'll work well for a bedtime scent. It's not good enough to buy a whole bottle, though.

Incubus
Lab description: Spectral white musk and the heart-stopping chill of sheared mint, fanned by caramel-touched body heat, and the diabolical sensuality of black musk, nicotiana, and sage.

In the imp, it smells very strongly of caramel, but with a little edge to it. I assume this is probably due to the other components in this oil.

On my skin, it stays very true to the scent in the imp for most of the time. Sticky caramel smoothed out by nicotiana and the musks, but with a little bite from the mint. I think the sage is mingling with everything, as well.

This scent is..it's just wow. It's smooth and creamy and slightly foody, but dark and oh-so-sexy. It's like Beth (the genius behind BPAL) bottled up a really, really good-smelling man. One you don't probably shouldn't meet in a dark alley. But in the end, you do anyway, because he's just so smolderingly attractive.

Ironically, I find this works really well as a bedtime scent. And I think it will also be perfect for winter months, when it's cold out and I need something very warm to keep me sane.

One more thing to note: This scent lasts for HOURS. Seriously. I put it on around noon, and I was still catching whiffs of faint, smoky caramel at around 10 PM that night. I may need to get a bottle of this at some point.

Berry Moon
Lab description: A golden summer musk with warm fig, orange blossom honey, sweet blueberries, and bright velvety crimson raspberries.

In the imp, it's a slightly musky berry with a hint of honey and a bit of smokiness, I assume from the fig. I like!

Wet, the blueberry is coming to the forefront, and I can smell a bit more of the honey now.

Dry, it's just magical. It's as if I'm lying in the middle of a meadow, with the sun beating down. I'm surrounded by bushes upon bushes of berries, all warm and ripe from the sun. The berries are mingling perfectly with the fig and the honey, and it's just so beautiful.

I'm so happy I was able to locate a bottle of this to purchase. It's like summer in a bottle, and it will help to get me through those cabin fever stages of winter.

All of these scents except for Berry Moon are available as general catalogue scents. I know the BPAL website is a bit daunting, but I really do encourage you to just browse a little bit one day. There really is something for everyone there. You may purchase imps and 5 ml bottles of these scents, and hundreds more, at http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/. If you are planning on making an order, though, I'd wait a few days. Their new Lunacy scent (A new one is released every month for the full moon) should be up soon, and those always sound great! Also, the Halloween update went up a few days ago, and those all sound amazing, as well.

Let me know if you want to see more BPAL reviews. My collection is growing rapidly, and I've got quite a few more scents that I could review! I know for sure I'll be putting those reviews up at the BPAL forum, but, again, if you'd like to continue seeing them here, let me know.

All images via Google. All scent descriptions and names belong to Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

Tag: Happy 101 (Sweet Friends)

Thank you so much Zara for tagging me!

Here are the rules:

1. Post who gave you this award
2. State 10 things you like
3. Give this to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment

10 Things I Like:

1. Perfume, specifically BPAL (Yeah, I'm addicted. :P)
2. Obviously nail polish, haha.
3. My pets (2 dogs, 3 cats, 1 turtle, 1 hedgehog. It's sometimes a zoo, but I love it!)
4. Books. Any and all kinds! I read all the time.
5. Writing. I love writing. I guess I'm not an English major with a focus in Creative Writing for nothing, haha.
6. AUTUMN. Oh my goodness. I love autumn so much. Sweaters, boots, tights, Halloween!!, changing leaves, the smells, colder weather..Ahhhh. So amazing!
7. Traveling, specifically road trips. I hate flying, but I really love riding in a car, through places you'd normally never visit. 
8. Vintage shops and used bookstores. There's just something about them..
9. My friends and family. I honestly don't know where I'd be without them.
10. Movies, specifically ones by M. Night Shyamalan or Sofia Coppola. Really, though, I love most genres! Thrillers, cheesy horror movies, romantic comedies, drama, fantasy, sci-fi..

Who do I tag? Why, all of you of course! If you read this, consider yourself tagged. :D

OPI Pamplona Purple and Nfu-Oh #56

I didn't post my last mani with Nfu-Oh #56, mainly because I was house-sitting at the time and did not have access to my uploader cord until after I got back, and by then the mani was a chiptastic mess.

Anyway! So the other night I put on Pamplona Purple, which I lemmed for a while and then found in a tiny salon in town. Now..I hate to say it, but I just don't think Pamplona Purple loves me the way I love it. It's such a gorgeous purple, but it makes my skintone go all crazy.

I so did not want to completely redo my nails, though, so I slapped on a layer of Nfu-Oh #56, and oh my goodness. Match made in nail polish heaven, if I do say so myself! I totally feel ready for Halloween with this slightly witchy combination, but I don't care! Mainly because I love Halloween, but also because this combo is just so awesome. The Nfu-Oh turned Pamplona Purple into this crazy browish purple bruise color. Love!

I really wish I could have gotten some sunlight pictures of this mani, though! Those would have been pretty amazing.

Needless to say, I think I need to get more Nfu-Ohs.

ETA: I forgot to mention, Nfu-Oh has my favorite brush/handle combination ever. The handle is really long and curvy, because, you know, corset. This means I can hold it kind of like a pencil, which makes for really precise polishing.

OPI Cuckoo For This Color

This is one of the newest offerings from OPI, part of the Fall 2010 Swiss collection. I think it's gorgeous! It's a vampy green with definite teal undertones and packed full of blue-based teal shimmer.

This polish, despite a little tipwear, is really wearing great. No chips and I'm on the..third day already? Yes, I think that's right. I know a lot of people are saying this polish is pretty dupeable, but I know I don't have anything like it in my stash. Well, okay, that's not entirely true. I do have Zoya Suvi. HOWEVER. Suvi is much, much more green. If they were trees, Cuckoo For This Color would be a blue fir and Suvi would be an evergreen. Same family, but noticeably different.

In other news, my nails are growing quite well! I've been keeping them polished, and trying to take really good care of them. However, I think I need to find a new base coat. I just don't think my Zoya Anchor is doing much for me anymore. I know I've heard a lot of talk about Gelous lately, but I'm kind of confused about what it is, exactly. I know it's a base coat, but does it make your nails really thick, like you have gels on? If it does, I definitely do not want that. Do any of you have suggestions for a good (easily accessible) base coat?

Zoya Posh with Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure and China Glaze Matte Magic

Ohhh man. This was such a gorgeous manicure to wear. I know most of you are probably tired of seeing Hidden Treasure manis, but I haven't posted one yet! For this, I applied one coat of Posh and let it dry completely. Then I applied one slightly thick coat of Hidden Treasure, and also let that dry completely. Then I applied a thin coat of Matte Magic.

 I really love the end result. It reminded me of red jasper, which is one of my favorite semi-precious stones.

So pretty. I love all the different facets of color in Hidden Treasure. It goes from green to orange to gold, and is sometimes all three at once. I really need to get my hands on more flakies. Or I guess I should say I really need to get more flakies on my hands, haha.