NOTD: LynBDesigns Sherlock Collection

                 

I attempted to do these polishes justice with my sub-par photography abilities, but I just don't think I quite did. Regardless, enjoy these pictures of two stunning polishes.

A good friend got me two polishes from LynBDesigns for Christmas (one of them being Purple Shirt of Sex!), and ever since then I've been hooked. Today, I decided to bring back PPoS and do a few accent nails with Old Fashioned Villian. Because who doesn't want a little Moriarty on top of Sherlock? (I'm sorry. I saw the opportunity and I took it. Judge me.)

Purple Shirt of Sex has a pretty good formula. I can't say it's flawless, though. Two really thin coats can look a little sheer, so when I use this polish I tend to lay down one fairly thick coat and go over it one more time to perfect the coverage. This doesn't bother me that much, though, because the polish itself dries pretty quickly- this actually seems to be the case for most of her polishes. And to be honest, I'll take a quick-drying polish over a beautiful one that takes an hour to set any day. In regards to the color itself... ohmygodbeautiful. The purple color is emphasized by the tiniest bit of a sheen. Not super noticeable, but when you're up close or outdoors, it gives this polish a lovely, full-bodied look. And as a giant Sherlock fangirl, may I add that she nailed the color of the purple shirt of sex?

You. Are. Welcome.

And now, without further ado, I will sing the praises of Old Fashioned Villain. This glitter has a wonderful formula, one of the best of its kind that I've seen. The glitters do take a tiny amount of manipulating (some of the larger pieces like to stick to each other), but overall it glides on wonderfully. On my nails there are two layers of this topcoat, but for a more spread out look you could definitely go with only one. 

This polish is the very definition of variety, too. Multicolored, different shaped glitters abound. I feel that what sets this apart from your average glitter-bomb, though, is the white pieces. The eye is automatically drawn to them, and I feel like it's so rare to see white glitter in topcoats.

Both of these polishes can be found here

                 

And there you have it! Hope you guys enjoyed a straight-up nail polish post.

I believe from now on I'm going to try to post three times a week- one fandom related post, one beauty related post, and one post to do whatever I want with. Friday Finds, book reviews, whatever.

And in regards to Friday Finds, I don't believe I'll be doing them every week. I just don't change up my routines enough! But do not fear, there shall be more!

I hope y'all are having an amazing day! We're seeing a bit of snow here, which hasn't happened yet. North Carolina has the worst of both worlds. For a state in the South, we rarely see super nice, warm weather. But we aren't far enough north to experience snow very often. These would be our first flurries of the season! (FINGERS CROSSED! I ADORE SNOW! Ahem, excuse my inner 5-year-old.)

Love y'all! I'll talk to you soon!

Notes to Self: Midnight Edition

The time has come for another notes to self post. The last one got pretty pessimistic, but tonight I'm hopped up on Japanese food, Johnlock posts on Tumblr, and lipstick swatches. So let's journey down this mind-road together. It promises to be mildly confusing and hopefully a bit of a spirit-raiser.

People bring out different sides of you- make sure they're showing the most flattering angles.

Let's bring this one back around to Johnlock, shall we? Sherlock's love for John isn't so much about what John does; it's about the side of Sherlock that John brings out. His mind is clearest when John's around, and he just brings out the best in Sherlock altogether.

I believe the same goes for my best friend of nine years as well. Naturally, I adore who she is, but the reason we complement each other so well is that we genuinely make each other better people.

I believe it's important to ensure that the people you surround yourself with (at least the ones that you have a choice in being around!) are making you the best version of yourself that you can be. Ditch the gossipers, the nay-sayers, and the pessimists. Do yourself a favor and allow yourself to be around people who make you happy. Odds are, they feel the same way, too.

Don't be ashamed of what you love!

This idea pertains to the last one, actually. Never deny who you really are or what you actually care about! You don't need to wear t-shirts proclaiming a list of your likes and dislikes, but don't deny parts of yourself just to please others. Love anime? You don't need to be a closet fan just because your group of friends thinks it's lame! Hate the boring fashion trends? Change it up! Wear that cute outfit you've been imagining for months! Say "screw it all" and wear blue lipstick!

I just feel like when you actually embrace who you are, it forces other people to either do the same or leave. And if they do choose to leave, why would you want them around anyway?

Alrighty. I think I've managed to stay fairly upbeat throughout this post. Hopefully it didn't border on cheesy inspirational speaker, though. 

Oh, side note. I haven't actually watched the most recent episode of SPN (I know, I understand your shock). So I'm planning on catching up tomorrow so I can enjoy tomorrow night's! And then it's back to school for me... But I may as well end this mini-break on a Supernatural induced high note, right?

Now I'll leave you with a couple of my favorite Tumblr valentines, because why not? Fandom bloggers have been bringing their A-game this year when it comes to these.

Love y'all!

Top Five: Supernatural Characters I Need Back in My Life

Supernatural. It may have been the show that started it all for me fandom-wise. And as much as I love this show (and have really dedicated far too much of my life to it), the writers have a terrible habit of killing off great characters. And since the show returns today, I felt a Supernatural related post coming on. For those two reasons, I have decided to bring you an ode to my favorite characters whose fictional lives ended far too soon. Let's do this.

1. Jo Harvelle

Oh, Jo. You went far too quickly. Personally, I fell in love with her as a character. I've read that they killed her off because she was turning into too much of a girl-next-door character, but I never felt that way! And if you're going to label her like that, you had better refer to her as an emotionally-connected, ass-kicking boss of a girl next door.

And let's just talk for a minute about how much I shipped Jo and Dean. As someone who never really jumped on the Destiel bandwagon or adored Lisa, I have to say that I thought Jo was his best shot at a relationship. Another hunter? Who understood his daddy problems? And wasn't going to take Dean's crap? Um, perfect.

2. Gabriel

I know there are serious rumors that Gabriel may return for season nine, but- and correct me if I'm wrong- I don't think anything is confirmed yet. Therefore, I'll still mourn him.

Gabriel seemed to spark something with the writers that was brilliant. His episodes are the ones where I will truly laugh out loud. No one can forget the episode where he transported Sam and Dean to TV land. Or the porno that allowed him to go out in full-on Gabriel fashion. Loved him then, and I still do. 

3. Bobby Singer

Bobby was wonderful just for the way he treated the boys, and on top of that he was an excellent hunter. In my book, Bobby can do no wrong. And all of the mini-resurrections he has gotten since his death have been nowhere near satisfying. Honestly, he was a character that I truly cried over. 

4. Ellen Harvelle

Ellen. Or Mama Bear, if you prefer. Her relationship with her daughter was a highlight of the show, and in my opinion, she didn't interact with the boys nearly enough.

And let's take a minute to talk about her death scene. It was one of the best things the writers have done to date. They pulled if of gracefully. Jo got to do down as a hero, a trait they questioned she had frequently, and her mother died protecting her, which was exactly how she lived. As much as I would love to see Ellen return, I must admit that the death scene was so well done that I can live with the end of her character.

5. Ash 

Here is a character that really got too little screen time. From what I've read, the writers cut his character because he was both too unrealistic and too powerful for the show. To that, I say they were incorrect. Sam and Dean have fought enemies so huge that even Ash wouldn't have been able to beat them easily.

Seeing Ash in heaven was immensely satisfying, though. Normally, when Supernatual characters come back for their post-death cameos, they are stupid an unnecessary. Ash's was well placed and quite satisfying, though, which was a nice change of pace.

And there you have it: my top five characters I wish would return to Supernatural! Do you agree? Disagree?

Love y'all! I'll talk to you soon!

Sherlock PTSD

I have far too many thoughts in regards to the season 3 finale, so this post may be a bit incoherent. Allow me to extend my apologies in advance.

Oh, fair warning. Spoilers are here. They are coming. Don't read on if you don't wish to see something that could potentially compromise your full enjoyment of the third episode!

Now, let's start by discussing some things I loved.

Moriarty. He's back. It's coming.

I'm over the moon. No one brings out Sherlock quite like Moriarty. Sure, John may be the love of Sherlock's life, but in order to fully absorb Sherlock's genius, Moriarty must be around to act as a sounding board.
I've already seen one theory that suggested Moriarty's little advert was created by Sherlock so that he wouldn't be shipped off. I won't completely rule this out, but I also won't put much stock in it. Personally, I hope it isn't true (and my hopes are hard to crush... but we'll get to that later), because in my humble opinion, the show was at its height when Moriarty was fully involved.
Oh, but if CAM gets resurrected, I'm boycotting. This isn't The Walking Dead, Moffat.

Now speaking of Moffat, I have to give him a bit of love (despite how he thoroughly gets on my nerves sometimes). The wittiness in parts of this episode.

A personal favorite of mine, that was. And this is what Moffat does well: the little one liners, clever lines. I have to give him credit for that.

On the other hand, though, I do have my complaints. My only problem with the fact that Moriarty is coming back is that it seems like a bit of a cop-out on the writers' part. Moffat, based on my experience with Doctor Who, at least, seems to have a bad habit of writing himself into a corner and developing a plot that seems contrived to fix everything. And I truly don't want that little fault of his to taint Sherlock. Here's to hoping they can pull of Moriarty's resurrection gracefully enough that I'm satisfied.

And a complaint. First, let me explain something. I ship Johnlock. I do. Sorry 'bout it. I realize that the writers deny it will ever happen (but, hell, Moffat denied that Moriarty would come back...), but I continue to hold out hope.

And there were so many missed Johnlock opportunities in this episode.

A) John could have left Mary. I mean, he had the option to, and it would have been a valid decision if he did. Don't get me wrong, I don't ardently dislike Mary. Admittedly, after this episode, I do have my misgivings about her. 

B) Sherlock was supposed to admit that he loved John outside of that plane. I did appreciate that one liner, but not enough to compromise my Johnlock.

C) Sherlock still has not explained to John who exactly he jumped off of that building and disappeared for. I know that John is probably aware he is Sherlock's weakness, but I can't bear that he has not explained it to him yet. This episode would have been the perfect time.

But, allow me to present to you a list of the things that my inner Johnlock shipper loved.

A) Sherlock essentially came back to life for John. 

B) Aaaaand he killed a man for him.

C) And he's really Sherlocks only weakness!

D) And we must take a moment to discuss John's face when Sherlock was kissing Jeanine.

My only real concern is where the baby will fit in, but I'm positive Sherlock could be a lovely stepfather if necessary.

Actually, I'm a bit confused about how the baby will fit in anyway. I don't see Mary as much of a stay at home mother, and the way I prefer my John and Sherlock is out solving cases and in action. I'm sure a little bundle of joy will bring some adorable moments to the show; I'm just a bit perplexed as to how they will work it in without it being a hindrance. 

I do believe these are the big points that I wanted to share. How did you feel about the Sherlock finale? And are you as heartbroken as I am that it will be at least another year before we see our favorite detective again?

Love y'all! Sending those of you mourning the lack of new Sherlock episodes many hugs.

Friday Finds: 1/10

Hey, y'all! I meant to have this post up last night, but sadly, the first Friday Finds is going up on a Saturday morning (Can you say slacker blogger?). Anyway, I hope you enjoy some of these recommendations! Let me know if you're a fan of any of these particular things, too!

TV:

I have recently become obsessed with "Criminal Minds". As a long time lover of crime shows ("Bones", every "CSI: Whatever" ever made...) this love has been a long time coming. Previously, I have watched this show here and there for the plots of individual episodes, but now I'm really starting to follow it. The writing is brilliant, the characters are lovable, and the show throws you in to the action. Love, love, love. I cannot say enough good things about it!

Oh, and then there's Spencer Reid. Need I say more? He's the epitome of adorable.

Movies:

Last night, I encouraged (forced) my little brothers to watch "My Week With Marilyn" with me, and it turned out to be a great pick! Honestly, I was drawn in by the fact that Eddie Redmayne (my lil' Marius baby) and Michelle Williams were in it. Fun fact: my Film teacher's daughter works with Michelle Williams, and the occasional story about times he's met her has made me want to see her acting.

And oh my goodness, am I glad I did! I cannot say enough good things about how she portrayed Marilyn. She was perfect, flawless, everything I could have wanted. Even I fell in love a bit with her portrayal of her. 

As for my boy Eddie: I can't say anything negative about him. He held his own against the lovely Williams, but didn't blow me away by any means. His character seemed to mostly exist so that the audience would sympathize with him, and he played it well.

All in all, this movie is completely worth a watch. Plus, it's on Netflix Instant, so whenever you're up for a night in (or you're in the mood to make your brothers watch something with you), snuggle up and give this a shot!

Books:

I recently borrowed these from my best friend's bookshelf, and I'm quite pleased! The Selection and The Elite can really only be described in one way: girly dystopian novels. If you aren't attracted to the idea of either of those adjectives, then I suggest you skip these, but if you are, then you'll be in love. As for me, they're solid, but nothing groundbreaking, just enjoyable reads that don't demand too much brainpower as I finish up my college apps (which I'm pretty sure are melting my mind).

The premise of these is that in the future North America, which has been ravaged by war and rebuilt from the ground up, there is a competition held for the prince's hand in marriage. America Singer enters it, and finds herself as one of the "Selected" (think the story of Esther meets "The Bachelor"). Love triangles, feminine cattiness, and a bit of action ensue, making it an entertaining and relatively quick read.

I'm currently maybe a third of the way through The Elite, so I haven't fully formed an opinion, but the best friend assures me that this series improves as it goes on. And there you have it!

Nail Polish:

What I'm currently sporting: So Changeable by LynBDesigns

                              

Another polish I adored from this week: VIP by Revlon

I'm absolutely enamored by LynBDesigns's polish. I just ordered three more things from her last night (TARDIS, Am I Ginger?, and Old Fashioned Villian). She's having a sale and I couldn't resist! After getting three of her polishes from the Sherlock collection for Christmas, I have fallen head over heels. So Changeable doesn't take the cake as the easiest polish to work with, though, so be forewarned. It takes some doing to get an even application, but the end result is worth it. Another downside is that this tends to chip pretty quickly, but I think that's the downside of all the micro-glitter. Regardless, I think the color is beautiful and absolutely worth the extra maintenance!

Another great drugstore polish that I got a lot of wear from this week is VIP by Revlon. The color in the picture I posted is pretty spot-on, but I never snapped a shot of it while it was on my nails. It's very true to the color in the bottle, though. It's a dusty, lilac-tinted gray creme polish. It truly does dry quickly, and I wore it for about five days, and just the tiniest bit of tip wear popped up on the thumb. It was a total win.

                    

I believe that is all I have for you guys! After the Sherlock season finale tomorrow, I plan to make a post (prepare for lots of gushing). I know there are spoilers out there for this episode, but I'm avoiding them! I want the full experience. 

I hope you have a great weekend! Love y'all!