Happy Easter!

Let me introduce the latest member of our family, Voldemort!

Named by its creator Harriet who sometimes displays a quirky sense of humour :-)

Happy Easter everyone! I believe there will be a nail related post later today but I might be wrong about that.

Happy New Year!

Even if my blog is quiet at the moment my polish habit is still going strong. The last few days I have been able to set aside some time just for me. I used the time to finally start my swatching project.

What you see is 308 "swatch sticks". They are from 3 Swedish brands, H&M, Depend and Isadora. Like flowers, right? :-)

Actually, the painting gave me some really nice surprises. Very many of the polishes showed great quality, good pigmentation and easy handled brushes. Sometimes I forget that all good polish doesn't come from the major salon brands we polish junkies often concentrate our interest to. 

Sometimes, happiness is close to home!

Please let me wish You All a fabulous 2012, shock full of nail polish and other nice things!

OT: Our daily bread

Just to show you that I'm not dead yet. I'm on vacation finally, after a long summer filled with rewarding work. 

To relax, I bake bread. I also planned a lot of nail related posts but I'm struck with blogger's block. I'll better go knead another dough instead :-)

At least I have a back log of NOTD's to show you as soon as this block goes away. Until then, happy painting!

China Glace I'm Not Bitter

Today is the national day of Sweden, our Independence Day if you like.
I, however, have chosen to celebrate another independence altogether. Today it is exactly one year since my ex husband left home. It has been a year that started of with a feeling of relief. That sense has grown into a calm happiness I really didn't think I deserved to feel. Life is treating me and my children very well.

I'm Not Bitter is a glamorous deep red shimmer. It is from the Voodoo That U Do collection that was released in 2005. This is old school China Glace, thin and precise and very pigmented. Just lovely to work with!



One coat would have been enough but I was not prepared for that and used two coats to make up for my mistakes. The two coats deepened the shimmer even more and I am very pleased with this polish. This is one of those rare polishes that looks even better in shade or low light than it does in the sun. I love it, and I'm Not Bitter!

My Life According to Google

I usually do not participates in awards or other activities tagging other blogs. This however, involves only me. You can join yourself, in your blog ore just for a private laugh. I found it over on Bec's Beauty Buzz and it was really funny. To find out what your life is about, just substitute your name for the section that says [name]. Then you copy what the very first hit is - no cheating - it's not nearly as fun!

1: Type in "[name] needs" in the Google search:
Single in the City: How to tell it's time Karin needs a hug.
That was close. Single in the small village is maybe more accurate.

2: Type in "[name] looks like" in Google search:
Wes Portland Totally Looks Like Karin Dreijer Andersson

3: Type in "[name] hates" in Google search:
Karin hates lizards and wants to be a tiger. Seriously.
yes, seriously! lol

4: Type in "[name] goes" OR "[name] has gone" in Google search:
Karin goes to Hollywood
yes, please!

5: Type in "[name] loves" in Google search:
Karin loves her fugly pc... and BB
that must be BB Couture?? and I don't have a fuglly pc, I have a beautiful mac :-)

6: Type in "[name] eats" in Google search:
Karin eats a spoon of cinnamon
really?


7: Type in "[name] has" in Google search:
Karin has herpes
What?? Not nice Google :-p (and certainly not true!)

8: Type in "[name] works" in Google search:
praise for Karin's work - Vocal solutions
hmm, a little praise is always nice

9: Type in"[name] lives" in Google search:
Will Karin live? Will Sakura heal her?
dunno..

10: Type in "[name] died" in Google search:
Karin died - MangaFox's Online community

11.Type in "[name] does" in Google search:
In what episode of kamichama does Karin meet jin?
Hmm I got hijacked by a manga figure, go figure!

12: Type in "[name] will" in Google search:
Karin will save Akatsuki.

13.Type in "[name] is" in Google search:
The "Karin is a slut" FC
Really, no comments on this one! ;-)

Well, this is the wisdom of Google. I might be better of with a traditional shrink :-D

And, since I just can not do a post without a picture I will give you a taste of a great summer night in my garden. In real life, I am caught in a raging snow storm, praying for spring!

Happy Holidays and a Crackling Giveaway!

Very merry holidays!

I am so happy to reach 200 followers, thank you every one! This is a great community to take part in and I am thankful to experience that. There is always a kind word in the right time, an appreciative comment, a hello and a welcome back when you've been to busy to post for a while.

You are a great bunch of people! :-)

Because of that, I decided to set up my first giveaway. I will give away a complete set of the Isadora Graffiti Nails, awesome crackle polish in 6 colors. All purchased by me, open to followers everywhere.

The rules are simple:
This is for followers, old or new. Please tell me by which name you follow and state a valid email address to get in contact with you in a comment to this post.
If you want a second entry, blog about this giveaway in a post or in your sidebar. Please provide a link to your blog.
Feel free to use my picture, no extra points but many nail addicts may not know the Swedish brand Isadora.
Open until January 25, my time ;-)

200 followers, wow! :-D

Midvinterblot

Today is winter solstice. For us in the northern hemisphere it is the shortest day of the year. For me this means that there is only a few precious hours of daylight until the long, dark night begins again.

Way back, when we all lived in the forest and worshipped the old gods, we used to have a ghastly celebration on this day. There would be bonfires, music and prayers. There would be animal sacrifices, some historians even say that we made human sacrifices to the old gods to make them please, please, bring back the sun.

My picture is taken exactly at noon today. Look at the position of the sun. It just barely lights up my world. A little blood sacrifice doesn't seems so crazy after all. Maybe I should offer a red polish instead...

Lady Manhattan

This is a really wonderful polish I won in a giveaway from the sweet Mon Coin á Moi. This is the essence of my polish addiction. It's a beige! It's a holo! This is the perfect work safe alternative.

The brand is Lady Manhattan, color is 96D. It is a golden beige shimmer with holographic glitter. It does not go on streaky on the nail and it covers easily with one to two coats.
The notd is basecoat, one coat of polish + top coat. In the photo, you can see slight vnl, but after adding another coat, the polish is opaque.



Now, the winter is really, really here and the days are short, the nights are very long. Look at the hand of the ice queen!



I don't want to leave you in the cold and the dark, so here is my favorite Manhattan cocktail.

2 oz of rye whiskey (use a good brand)
1/2 oz sweet vermouth (Carpano Antiqua Formula is the best in the world)
4 dashes Angostura Bitters (sometimes more is needed - how bitter are you tonight?)
1 Maraschino Cherry for garnish and a small sweet tang at the bottom of the glass :-)

Stir, stir, stir with ice. Strain carefully in a cocktail glass.
Think of the Ice Queen. Enjoy!

All Safety Aboard! (to no avail)

This was originally just an answer to a comment of my last post, but I needed to make it a separate post..

Mighty Lambchop,
Thank you! About bridal nails, your comment brought a really bitter-sweet smile to my face..
I agree with you, this manicure will fit any bride. As for myself, I have married two times, to the same man (1990 and 1999). I know, I'm not Liz Taylor anyway, but still, maybe a bit unusual :-p

The sad part of it is that we are likely in the midst of divorcing again. Our current marriage brought us two lovely kids, daughters now almost 5 and 7 years old, and I have so very, very, very much tried to hold this marriage together because of them. Alas, I can not do so any longer and their daddy is moving out in the first part of June (as of his choice - not mine).
So, I will try to swap my precious bottle of Orly Opal Hope to any aspiring bride out there..
Bring me Something Tall and Strong instead, I will need it.
I would suggest Wife Goes On or A Woman On The Verge, but I already have those in my stash. Maybe I need to be Revved Up & Red-y?

OT - The Time Thief!

So, I feel an explanation is in order. Why doesn't PolishPig update her blog anymore?

Here is the answer to that, a nifty little gadget called iPhone.

Now why is this thing eating all of my time? It is very simple to use, right?

Right! As long as you don't start experiment with third part gadgets and combine this with trying to learn how to use your new iMac at the same time.

I'll admit it, I'm a total nerd. As a nerd, I like collecting things and I like to be on top of my collections. Enter the lovely little app from DDH Software, HanDBase. An easy to build and maintain database program, specially designed to use with hand held devices. HandBase has been on the market for a long time, I have used it for maybe 10 years with various Palm hand helds.

Probably, I have what a fellow blogger (the lovely PHD) calls a Hoarder Disorder. Being a hoarder and a nerd, I have large databases for my books, my computer games and recently, my nail polishes.

The upgrade from an ancient Palm Pilot and an old Mac G4 to iMac and iPhone was not without problems. I have been using just about all my spare time in the last few weeks reading old and new manuals, FAQ:s, public forums and being in contact with various support desks.

I'm happy to announce that in the end, I succeeded. I now have all my data secured in my new iMac and a brand new working HanDBase application in my iPhone. Never again will I leave home without a complete record of every nail polish I own.

That, my friends, is pure heaven for a nerd and a polish hoarder! ;-)

(I'm in no way affiliated with DDH or Apple, I just like the products. If you're interested in an easy to manage hand held database, I really recommend HanDBase. It is not expensive, and they give totally awesome customer support.)

MIA - Here is the reason (OT)

I'm so behind posting here, and if you miss me, I'm sorry for the lack of updates the last two weeks. You see the reason above!

Yes, that is right, a new computer came to live with us, and it's a mac. I adore it, but now I'm in the middle of making the transition from one platform to another, trying to move important documents (aka my swatches and wish list ;-D) and learning to deal with the MacOS.

Actually, I didn't even change my manicure, so I wore the lovely trench coat for two weeks straight. That is a record for me, but shows to prove what a fantastic polish Under My Trench Coat is. So far, I have yet to be disappointed by a $OPI. It is so worth the extra buck, if you ask my opinion.

Now, I have a new manicure, and as soon as get myself sorted out, I'll show it to you.

And, if this post looks strange in any way, blame my new computer.. ;-)