Dupe Me: SC Mint Apple vs SC Open Seas

Now, I haven't heard anyone being concerned about the possibility of these two being similar but Sinful Colors has done some slightly shady dealing with repackaging colors that are almost certainly the same as cheaper versions of the same color.

Mint Apple is a dusty green/aqua polish with a microshimmer finish. The micro shimmer is green and faint pink. Seriously subtle and cannot be seen more than a few inches from the nail. Open Seas is a dusty green/aqua creme that dries surprisingly shiny.

They are the same color with a slightly different finish. Honestly you probably don't need both. Two of three roommates thought I was only wearing one color and the other one noticed only a faint difference in the finish.

Mint Apple was my preferred formula. It went on smoothly with no streaking. It was opaque with one coat. Open Seas was streaky during application and did not apply evenly. Two coats were applied. 

The first photo shows the biggest difference. In person there is not such a dramatic difference. I think the flash contributed to the contrast. In the second picture (without the flash) you can see a more natural look though my fingers do cast shadows on other nails.

For reference, the pinky and middle fingers are  Mint Apple. Open Seas is on my pointer and ring fingers. 

Sorry about my crappy cell phone pictures. Its all I have for the moment.

What's Been Going on in the Kitchen? Snack Edition

The usual disclaimers apply. I did not make the recipes or take the pictures.

I hope you don't have the munchies before reading this post because snackage is always tempting to me.

Snackage is a term coined by my beloved Jhoana so hands off.

These recipes are particularly satisfying.

The best way to start snack time is with a tall glass of lemonade. This is the best lemonade I've had. Maybe it's the added salt from the sweat from squeezing lemons but it's perfect.

Do yourself a favor and make this. I don't strain out the pulp and I use meyer lemons straight off my grandma's tree.

Here is the link:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/best-lemonade-ever/?scale=27&ismetric=0


You know what would be nice with a tall glass of lemonade?

A soft pretzel. I've tried a few recipes for this and had the best success with this one. I also let the dough rise in the sunshine.

Here is the link to the recipe:
http://www.smells-like-home.com/2012/01/soft-pretzel-bites-with-cheese-sauce/

I made the cheese sauce but did not like the flavor which is too bad because I really like cheese sauce.

Another variation I tried was rather than salt rolling them in cinnamon and sugar. This turned out to be a fantastic idea.


Now after that gluttony here is a recipe for granola bars. The only complaint I have about this is that they need more binder. I used a chocolate drizzle on the top which helped a lot (after frozen) but it was still missing that stick-together-bar type of form.

These were gobbled up in my house in two days.

Here is the recipe:
http://penniesandpancakes.blogspot.com/2012/09/no-bake-food-storage-granola-bars-005.html#.UgPN4JJOR8E



In other news I hope you are enjoying the new layout. It is better than the old even though my pictures aren't formated right on the page anymore. There are a couple things I wish I could change about the template like the column widths (picture formating driving me crazy) and the font colors but over all I am happy. I'd love any recommendations for a template site.

Faith Challenges

Honestly I do not have multiple personality disorder. My posts here would have you imagining otherwise because I jump from the totally superficial (read nail polish) to philosophical rants to experiments in  homemaking to professions of my love for Christ. 

A new challenge I am facing this year is my desire to be introverted to the extreme. I like going to church and serving and having fellowship but getting to that point requires a discipline that I am not familiar with using. I'd rather curl up on the couch and live stream service from my phone on Sunday morning, worship alone, and am not serving for a number of a reasons. It bothers me that I want to be like this. 

I know my relationship with the Lord is being strained because I am not giving of my time like I have been in the past. However I have a hesitation to compare myself to "how I was in the past". The ambiguous past had different circumstances. I had no responsibilities as a wife, no job, a flexible schedule. It would not physically be possible hold myself to such a schedule and commitment. That leaves me with a struggle to find the appropriate ruler to measure my progress. 

It's funny, comparing myself to my husband who is an extrovert when he goes into the social media world he cares how many people are paying him attention, what peoples opinions are, and the general reaction to his his information. I blog, facebook, and pinterest but comments and pageviews while nice are not motivating me. I am motivated by the desire to express myself and if no one paid one iota of attention that would be fine. For me it's the craft of writing, designing, thinking, and learning that entice me, the audience is just a side dish to the main course. (Not the dessert, the dessert is those completed projects with tangible results).

I would also like to note people are not the problem. I like to help people, I care deeply for my neighbors near and far, and praying for others is fulfilling and natural. However, I don't admire most people and because of that I also don't want to be around them 

So my prayer in this time is that God would allow vibrant, personal relationships to permeate my life. I am very thankful for my close friends that I go on wild and crazy adventures with but also let me be when I'm in such a closed off state. 

------Update: God answers prayer because last night He gave me an opportunity to be principled and connect with my friends. Score. Keep it up.

New Walmart Sinful Colors Display!

Walgreens and Rite Aid blew up in the last week or so with three new collections with a handfuls of new colors and re-releases. While walking around Walmart today I bumped into another new Sinful Colors display filled with LE colors not in the Country Chic, Glam Rock, and Heart and Soul collections..

The display was a mess in typical Walmart fashion but here are some pictures.

These are the long sides:

And the short sides were both the same:

Here are the LE shades I picked out that are not in the Walgreens/RiteAid stores:

And the names, which I realize now, are not properly oriented:

The shades pictured here are Genteel, Rain Storm, Lavender, Cool Gray, Dark Bronze, Open Seas, and Fig.

Also in the display was LE Just You Wait but not pictured. I already own Rain Storm and highly recommend it. I didn't own any of the others.

I purchased Open Seas, Fig, and Dark Bronze. I think I am most excited about the Dark Bronze and can't wait to swatch it with the August Collection.

I did a brief comparison of Open Seas and Mint Apple and while they are not dupes they are very similar the biggest difference is that Mint Apple has a barely there micro shimmer and Open Seas is a creme. The actual color looks the same. In a future post I will do a swatch comparison.

What is your experience with Sinful Colors?

Do you get just as excited as me to check out the LE and collections?

Happy Polish Hunting!

PS: Expect a lot more from me on Sinful Colors.