Girl with the N7 Nails

So, I'm essentially obsessed with the Mass Effect series. Even Diablo 3 couldn't dislodge the singular fixation I have with the game. I've had my eye on the Tony Moly Galaxy line for a while, and I wasn't sure why, but Mercury in particular called out to me.

 Tony Moly Mercury: Black jelly base and silver, blue and red glitter.

It just screamed Mass Effect to me. So I did the only thing a lacquerista with a nerdy obsession could do: I did a N7 themed manicure.

Non-dominant hand. I messed up the logo a bit on my right hand. Nail polish fumes and lack of sleep do not mix my friends.

Tony Moly Mercury (GT01) with a sheer black jelly topcoat to darken and create depth. Accent nail was done with homemade tape strips using Zoya Purity and Zoya Carmen. Underneath that is Zoya Raven stamped with Julep Kim.

Got my thumb in there!

This glitter is seriously stunning in daylight. 

Macro glitter shot! I finally figured out that the red and blue glitter reminds me of Paragon vs. Renegade

I want to do an entire series of themed manis centered around Mass Effect. Archangel or Shadowbroker nails next I think. 

Jane Austen and the Death of a Fingernail

Rest in peace, fingernails of my thumb and middle finger on my swatching hand. I will forever regret slamming you into my desk drawer on accident because I was distracted by Colin Firth.

On the upside: SALES!

I recently purchased Illamasqua's Raindrops. Swatched to perfection by Temptalia: here
This was the shade that made me fall in love with Illamasqua. I grabbed it for $15 during their most recent sale and paid $15 in shipping, making it the most expensive bottle in my collection. Well, turns out it has been DISCONTINUED. What?! How? I checked for it on Ebay and it is going from anywhere between $60 and $120 a bottle. Oh my goodness. I'm so glad I bought it when I did.

I also took advantage of a KGB deal on Bloom.com and got $50 worth of Zoya and Niki Minaj's OPI polishes for $25 (now expired :\ this blog post is sadly late)

Last but not least, Julep's penny deal! All of this for a cent (even shipping!). Awesome :D

This sale IS still going on. If you aren't familiar with Julep, this is for a monthly subscription that normally costs $20.

 Honestly, with the quality of the polishes I got, $5-$6 per is very reasonable, so I'm going to let my subscription continue and simply skip the months I don't like. I'll do a full review when my middle nail recovers a bit more. Interesting fact: the topcoat is lovely but smells like a foot. Less shrinkage issues than with Seche.

Link! and then add code: JULEP2012 at checkout.