Comparison Day! (black w/gold shimmer)

Today I have a comparison of China Glaze’s Cast a Spell (index), BB Couture’s Dark Knight (middle), Kleancolor’s Golden Nightmare (ring) and China Glaze’s Wagon Trail (pinky). This is 2 coats of each.

Cast a Spell and Dark Knight have the best formula, although the shimmer in Cast is larger and more sparkly. Golden Nightmare has small gold shimmer and larger gold glitter, which unfortunately gives it a lumpy finish. Be sure to use plenty of topcoat if you want a smooth nail. Wagon Trail has smaller shimmer, but there’s more than in Dark Knight. Sadly, Wagon had the thinnest formula and needed at least another coat to be fully opaque. I have another color that is similar to these (Maybelline’s Twilight Rays), but I only have so many fingers. I’ll show that one eventually, but for now, Cast a Spell is by far my favorite of this bunch.

Cast a Spell is from the China Glaze Wicked Collection (Halloween 2012)

Dark Knight is from the BB Couture Heroes and Villains Collection (Fall 2009)

I’m not sure when Golden Nightmare came out or what collection it is from…

Wagon Trail is from the China Glaze Rodeo Diva Collection (Fall 2008)

My Neighbor Totoro & Kleancolor Forest Fairy

I was a little nervous the first time I saw My Neighbor Totoro. It seems like you never know what you’re going to get with a Hiyao Miyazaki movie (I’m still not sure what the heck Spirited Away was about). And although there are still plenty of bizarre Miyazaki touches here (like the Cat Bus…yes, you read that right), this turned out to be a sweet fable about two sisters who move into a house next to a magical forest (and their new neighbor is a large, bunny creature that helps plants grow).

I see a lot of myself in this movie (I won’t tell you which of the sisters I relate to, although E would say I’m just like the crazy four-year old, Mei) and I know that Miyazaki put a lot of himself in there. (I once read that he based this movie on some of his own experiences as a child, but made the two main characters girls to keep it from becoming too personal.) But if you’ve ever had a sister (or any siblings at all), you might get a little misty-eyed during My Neighbor Totoro.

This was originally released in Japan in 1988, but we watched the 2005 English dub with Dakota and Elle Fanning as sisters Satsuki and Mei, respectively. I think this was an inspired bit of casting, because the real life relationship shines through and both of these girls are pretty talented. The animation is beautiful (as always with Miyazaki) and the detail is just mind-boggling for a traditionally drawn film.

To go along with the forest theme, I put on Kleancolor’s Forest Fairy–a pale, shimmery green that is beautiful to look at, but a real pain in the rear to apply. This picture is four coats (!) and it’s still pretty sheer. Also, drying time was a big issue, even with a quick drying topcoat. If you’re going to wear this one, put aside half of the day for drying (I kid you not).~K