I'm In Love With Illusions

I've been looking like a bum at work for the a few months while. I needed new clothes and, with the coming of pay-day, I and the bf went out to shop. I came back with the requisite shirts, pants, a new credit card (don't ask), and, god help me, nail polish. But...it's Claire's Mood color changing nail polish! What do you mean that means nothing?! I know. But I had seen swatches of a few of the colors before and I am a sucker for novelty. Yes, even when that novelty forces me to step into a Claire's. But my poor impulse control is not the problem here.

I picked up three colors. They're basically named after the shifts in mood that they're supposed to reflect. I got an orangy coral called excited/bored. I also picked up a glittery purple called calm/wild. And I picked up a tealish color (it looks more green in the bottle but it photographs with more blue) called...wait for it...peaceful/confident. Yes, in the world of Claire's Cosmetics, the opposite of peaceful is confident. I didn't notice the name until I had gotten home. I don't think I would have bought it if I had.

Take a gander at the fail under the cut. And forgive the mess on my desk. This is actually the cleanest it's looking in months.

( visual confirmation )

I will admit it: I am mildly obsessed with my nails. While I put next to nothing on my face, I need my nails to be painted everyday. I will let a manicure go a little ragged during the weekend but I will constantly touch up my hands during the week. I can't explain it.

I was highly interested in the fall/winter matte craze. I love moody and interesting colors and the flat look really piqued my interest. The only problem was that these were purely department store/salon colors and I never really had the time nor the patience to get to one. Bummer for me.

But I will browse the cosmetic aisles at Target. While they are overstocked on the normal drugstore stuff, I have picked up a few OPIs that are absolute love. I'm usually disappointed in the Essie selection because nearly every color is some variation of pink or cream. Yuck. It's especially annoying because I browse nail blogs and I know that they make other colors than pink/creamy blah-ness. But today - today - they had Matte About You, Essie's matte top coat. I snagged it immediately. I finished up all my nightly chores, fished a color out of my box-o-polish (tonight's color: gunmetal), and went to work.

The results? I'M SO HAPPY! It's just as flat and moody as I had wanted it to be. I'll probably have to switch up colors by mid-week because mattes are notoriously quick to wear down. But I think it will be worth it.