Things That Happen When You Have Too Much Time On Your Hands
Sinful Colors' Courtney Orange
I’m thinking of making this an ongoing series. Still computerless, I find that my frustration with not being able to get anything done at home is reaching critical levels. The things I have ended up doing have on occasion left me with a splitting headache and covered with spider bites, but have also made my closet look a hell of a lot better organized. This is the drawback of the extended warranty: yes, your computer repairs are free, but you have to wait for Dell to get around to doing them. I suspect Dell’s service depot is on Easter Island and that is why this is all taking so long. Those big stone heads are not the world’s most efficient computer technicians.
Today’s fun with total boredom? Mixing my own nail polish! I am a girl for a good pedicure at all times of year, but during the summer when sandals are a must, my habit becomes a fetish. What better guilt-free fashion statement is there in a slow economy than giving yourself a sassy polish color? I’ve been alternating blues and oranges since mid-July, slowly ramping up the intensity. I started off with a shimmery baby blue from Essie and the easy-going light coral of OPI’s Royal Flush Blush, and have been getting more hard core ever since. I’m currently rocking a discontinued MAC polish in a steely urban blue with gold overtones, and I see OPI’s Yoga-Ta Get This Blue (a gorgeous midnight blue from their India collection) in my future.
As my current do started to chip, though, I found myself craving flame orange for the next round: the kind of dramatic, burning color that would do justice to the sweltering weather we’ve been having. Unfortunately, for a girl with limited internet access, this color does not exist. Trips to Macy’s, Sephora, and my local drug store were all unavailing. Shimmering dark orange is not a color there’s much call for, apparently.
OPI's Bogota Blackberry
And so began my experimentation. Quite frankly, I thought this was going to be way messier than it actually was. Pouring something into the tiny mouth of a nail polish bottle has got to be difficult, right? Actually, as long as you’re pouring it out of another nail polish bottle, it turns out to be pretty easy. After determining that just layering the polishes wasn’t going to give me the effect I wanted, I cleaned out an old bottle of ‘ballet pink’ with a little acetone, and started my career as a beauty mixologist. ’Courtney Orange’ from Sinful Colors at the drugstore had the finish I wanted but was WAY too bright an orange to come off as anything but neon. (Way brighter in person than it looks in that picture, trust me.) About two parts of that to OPI’s Bogota Blackberry (my favorite dark red), however, given a good shake? Perfection. Great pop from the orange with enough dignity from the blackberry to render it wearable by someone who’s not 14. Shockingly, it’s even flattering to my olive complexion. Love, love, love.
If you’re interested in trying it yourself, I recommend using a third, empty bottle instead of trying to mix it into one of your component bottles – it leaves a lot more room for correction if you decide you’ve gone too far with one of the colors. Similarly, start small: don’t try to mix up a full bottle if you’re still experimenting. The color will mix better when you shake if the bottle isn’t full, and leaving some room also leaves room for color adjustment. Cleaning out the bottle is easy – just pour in a little polish and shake – and don’t we all have a few rejects in the back of the bin that we can’t imagine why we bought? I’m thinking a few of mine are ripe for rehabilitation. I’ve got a great charcoal that could mix up to make my next pefect blue…
