A Tribute to a Wonderful Woman: Essie Clambake

I don't usually air my family/personal issues online, but today I just wanted to do a nail tribute to an extremely wonderful woman. My Grandmother was one of the most wonderful women that have ever entered into my life. She is currently suffering the effects of end-stage Alzheimer's disease. At 83 she's lived a long life. Her style, until she fell ill, had always hovered around 1960's chic. She is one of my style icons.

Grandma and Grandpa c.1958

I've hunted for a week trying to track down that polish. Dior Trafalgar looked similar but I'll be darned I couldn't find the stuff anywhere. So I returned to one of my staple brands for a color. I ended up with Essie Clambake which is very close to the color she wore.

Essie Clambake

I really do love this color. It takes 3 coats to be semi-opaque, however this can be expected since this polish is a sheer jelly (or Sorbet if OPI is paying your bills). The only problem I had with it was a few bubbles here and there. That seems to happen every now and then with Essie polishes.

Color: 5 out of 5
Application: 4.5 out of 5
Value for the Price ($8): 4 out of 5
Pros: Sheer chic orange/red
Cons: Higher priced, bubbles slightly

Twinkle Twinkle Little Nail: Essie Dive Bar and Nfu Oh #60

I don't know what possessed me to try these colors together but once I did, I fell in love!

The accent nail of Nfu Oh is just flashy enough to be noticed, but not flashy enough to be too much.

Essie Dive Bar is a deep blue with a shimmer/metallic finish that flashes purple in the right light. Sometimes I feel that Essie is much better at creating more sophisticated colors, but this is one of their better dark colors. It's opaque in two coats and applies well.

Color: 5 out of 5
Application: 4.5 out of 5
Value for the Price ($8): 4 out of 5
Pros: Gorgeous spacey blue color, good application (especially for Essie)
Cons:  I've always felt Essie was a little bit high priced to be a "drugstore" brand, but this is just my opinion.

Kamilah The Diva

So I had four public programs today. Kamilah was her usual diva through all of them, showing off and poking at the other bats. During my last program she tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and she licked me full on the face. She'd just eaten a rather large chunk of watermelon, so it was very slobbery. Of course the crowd laughed. I giggled because I knew exactly what she was thinking: "I'm queen of this cage".

Nfu Oh #59 (and Essie Limited Addiction)

Sorry this is so late guys! Work has been a real bummer.
Firecracker red?
Check.
Gorgeous Flakies?
Check.
Fiery Sparkle?
Check

This polish has it all! It flashes green at some angles and looks like flames on your nails at others. All in all Nfu Oh hit pay dirt with this one!

Nfu Oh #59 with Essie Limited Addiction

 Duo-Chrome Effect of the Nfu Oh

Nfu Oh #59


This polish is sophisticated with a little bit of bling. Gorgeous, just like every other Nfu Oh polish I own. I really can't criticize this polish other than to say it's sheer. That is intended though, so I guess that may not count as something negative.

Formula: 5 out of 5
Color: 5 out of 5
Application: 4.5 out of 5
Value for the Price ($12.50): 5 out of 5
Pros: Gorgeous Flakies, duo-chrome properties, looks like fire on your nails.
Cons: On it's own it is very sheer, takes three coats to become opaque without a color underneath.

Essie Limited Addiction

This is that perfect "I'm worth a million bucks" polish. A very sophisticated red.

Formula: 5 out of 5
Color: 5 out of 5
Application: 4.5 out of 5
Value for the Price ($8.00): 4 out of 5
Pros: Perfect sophisticated red, opaque color.
Cons: It's nothing unique.

Happy 4th!

Hey Everyone!

I'm sorry I haven't updated lately, between getting ready for the 4th and Bat Festival I've been so busy! But just for your enjoyment and to tide you over until I post my 4th of July mani tomorrow here's a bat for you!

Greenie enjoying some 4th of July Banana!