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Hello, all!
I wanted first to apologize for my frequent silences, both on this blog and in comments on other blogs. I am trying to get all of my mom’s stuff taken care of, which is a huge emotional drain, as well as a little like digging those tunnels in a sand box or on the beach. Every time I take a scoop out, more sand falls in. It’s miserable. But it also takes up a lot of my time, and what time I spend doing it is also extended by my emotional healing time afterwards. Currently, that’s running along the lines of reading fiction – any life but my life, if you know what I mean.
Also, last Saturday, I was down with my father going through his mother’s old things that my uncle had taken, as my uncle died just a few weeks before my mother did. (Has anyone else noticed what a crummy year 2009 is? I can’t tell you the number of people that I know that have lost loved ones, and my father is scarcely the only one I know who has suffered multiple blows in a very short time span.)
Anyway, we found a huge number of photographs from early in the twentieth century, and it was awesome (meaning it caused awe) and a little sad to see all of these people that lived and worked and trudged on through life, and now we have absolutely no idea who any of them are.
It was also fascinating to see what people took pictures of in that age before the instant gratification of digital feedback, and even before Polaroid. Remember then? When you took photos and wouldn’t find out for, at best, days what the end result was? I’m sure personal cameras and film were also probably pretty pricey back then. The really early photos were, I think, professionally done, as they were all on thick cardstock, rather like cardboard. Fascinating.
The funniest point of the day, though, was when we got to the bottom of the box, underneath all of the photos and letters (remember when written correspondence was a regular occurrence?), there were three large porcelain pieces wrapped in paper. The first one I pulled out was a bottle of Jim Beam “100 Day Old” Bourbon memorializing 50 years of the naval reserve – 1924 to 1974. The next one, as I started to unwrap it, I knew contained more bourbon. I could smell is even before I got halfway there. It was a trout or bass, honoring the fisherman’s association, or something along those lines. It was cracked, and as such, my dad dumped the liquor down the sink. (I *know* there’s got to be at least one person out there reading this now with a sob catching in their throat!) The final bottle was a large model of Italy, whose cork had broken off, with half of the cork still inside the neck. Dad, being Dad, promptly had to test the cork out and, pop!, into the drink it sank. So then that 100-day-old (“Well, more than that now,” as my dad said) went down the drain.
Now someone’s really sobbing!
And if you’ve ever smelled bourbon, you know it does not “go gentle into that good night.” Having had several drops spilled on my fingers, and after having to sop a good deal of it up from his desk, I knew that I’d better be good driving home. If I’m pulled over for a busted taillight and my window gets rolled down. . . .
My dad, being the helpful, paternal sort he is, suggested I “demand a breathalyzer!” So that was my Saturday. How was yours?
Sorry for the long tale. I thought you’d find it partially enlightening, and partially humorous. I hope so, anyway!
So now that you know why I’ve been (and, unfortunately, am likely to continue to be) a little slow, let me share my little kindness.
You may recall that I mentioned how Wixbetty was one of the two people that sent random, caring happiness my way when I really, really needed it. (I now have a new person to add, too, Pushpa, but she will also get her own full story, so I’ll just mention her here for now.)
Back in late May, she wrote a post offering a “Good Neighbor Giveaway” (I love that name). She basically offered to give away several of Orly’s long-discontinued Satin Hues (one each) to people who were having a hard time. Boy, was I living in the middle of Downtown Having A Hard Time. So she let me pick which color I liked, and after drooling for a long time, I chose Satin Finesse.
The first thing that I want to relate is how insanely long the brush stem is! If you look at the top picture, you have an idea how tall the bottle is. If you look at the bottom picture, you get an idea why polish bottles aren’t usually designed that way anymore. To be fair, it didn’t make it especially hard to apply the color, it was just very different. and application didn’t feel as “second nature” as it usually does.
The formula itself went on very smoothly, but I did need to apply three coats. As I try to make my coats thin, I could see a little bit of streakiness in a few spots after two.
While the Satin Hues have very matte-like qualities, they are also distinctly different. For one thing, these did dry pretty quickly, but unlike the only mattes I’ve tried to date – Zoya’s – this doesn’t actually dry during application, which makes application much easier. I don’t know if the recommendation was not to use a base coat when these first came out, but I used one. However, it’s almost as hard to hide nail flaws with these as with the mattes. If you look closely, you can find a couple of bumps on my nails in the bottom photo. (IRL, it doesn’t look quite so black as that photo makes out.)
But there is one major, major difference between the Satin Hues and mattes. I wasn’t able to take outdoor shots until late the second day (in fact, they’re are near-sunset shots). Look how well this top coat-less polish held up:
And the best part? Because I hadn’t been warned of the millions of things that could ruin the polish, like using lotion, I wasn’t afraid to just use my hands without obsessing about what might happen.
By the beginning of the third day of wear, I was starting to notice a little bit of tipwear, so I decided it was time to slap on a coat of Sally Hansen’s Chrome top coat (that I got free attached to other polishes).
As Janice would say, “Oh. My. Gahd.”
Did you see the depth? Did you see the shimmer? Did you feel like you were looking out, dining at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe?
If not, then look again:
I can’t believe how gorgeous this color is! In both finishes, truly, but the one with the top coat, just – wow.
So I have to say thank you, thank you, thank you again to her, and to anyone that passes along kindness in this world. You never know how badly people need it, sometimes.
