Monday, October 29, 2012

Nail Polish Challenge Week 4: Green

It's almost Halloween!
       Happy Monday everybody! Only two more days left until Halloween. I'm so excited. Anyways this weeks theme is green so I painted my nails with China Glaze's Paper Chasing and to give it a fun holiday twist I added little Frankenstein stitches with L.A. Colors Art Deco Striper in black. I just sealed it all in with NYC Long Wear Extra Shiny Top Coat. Since this will probably be my last post until November 1, Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you have a wonderfully spooky fun and safe night. Also I have a CBV post coming up the first week of November so please look forward to that as well.  
Loosely inspired by Frankenweenie.
And a closer look.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

50 Hallowen Songs Part 2

I see you came back for more.
        Welcome back everyone! Only six days until Halloween! I hope most of you are ready for it. So let's get down to business and finish up the last twenty five Halloween songs I have for you. Remember these aren't in any specific order. I am not a music critic nor do I pretend to be so hopefully there will be some in here that you know and some that you didn't. Now on to the music.  
 
Sheb Wooley- Purple People Eater
     This classic novelty song reached all the way to number one on the pop charts in 1958. The origins of this song came from a joke told by the child of a friend of Wooley's. After hearing it Wooley composed this song within an hour. This 50's jewel has endured the test of time with it's silly lyrics, toy saxophone melody, and it's chipmunk vocals. People from kids to adults still recognize this hit to this day. 
 
The Decemberists- Culling Of The Fold
     Most of you probably haven't heard this twisted little pop song, but for those who have you can easily see how it can be turned into a Halloween song. This catchy little ditty was originally written for the show The Crane Wife, but not it was later not included "because it offended Jenny." The narrartor of the song tells a girl to cut up a man she doesn't even know who lives by himself and also tells a boy to murder his lover. "Bash her on the paving stones, it may break your heart to break her bones, but somebody's gotta do the culling...the culling of the fold."
 
Blue Oyster Cult- Don't Fear The Reaper
      This 1976 rock hit made it all the way to the number 12 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 list. It has endured the test of time with it's amazing guitar riff and infamous cowbell background beat. The use of the cowbell actually became a popular Saturday Night Live parody starring Christopher Walken as a music producer who craves "more cowbell" from his band. The phrase went on to become a popular joke in SNL history. Lead singer Dharma wrote this song of eternal love and the inevitability of death while picturing an early demise for himself. This song was even featured in 1978's classic horror film Halloween.
 
Jace Everett- Bad Things
      True Blood fans around the world probably need no introduction to this sexy swamp rock country song. Most famous for being the hit HBO series True Blood theme this, song has been nominated by The Scream Awards for "The Best Scream Song of the Year". Though it did not win this song still strikes a naughty rockabilly chord for fans of the fangtastic show. "I wanna do bad things with you. I wanna do real bad things with you." 
 
The X-Files Theme Song
      The science fiction drama television series took the world by storm in the 90's and up until 2007 had held the title for the longest running science fiction series in U.S. history. The show earned three Golden Globe Awards for Best Drama Television Series. However the eerie theme song gained much notoriety the world over. Even people who have never seen the X-Files television show can recognize it's tune. The theme even made it all the way to the number two spot on the UK Singles Charts in 1996 and managed to hold its position for three whole weeks.
 
Oingo Boingo- Dead Man's Party
      Danny Elfman's new age band makes yet another appearance on our list for this horror themed pop number. The lyrics "I hear the chauffeur coming to my door; Says there's room for maybe just one more" is a reference to the "The Bus-Conductor," a short story involving a hearse driver by E. F. Benson. The story spawned an urban legend, with each version using the catchphrase, "Room for one more." Despite it's rather dark undertones the song itself has an upbeat party feel to it making it infectiously catchy.
 
Blind Guardian- Dream A Little Dream Of Me
     This heavy metal cover of one of the most covered love songs in history makes our list because despite the newfound hard edge given to the melody the lead singer sings the lyrics to make it sound much more menacing then most. In fact when he sings "Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you" it sounds more like "sweet dreams till ZOMBIES find you." The darker quality of this cover makes it sounds less like a dreamy love song and more like a horror stalker song.
 
Alvin & The Chipmunks- Everything's Gonna Be Alright
    A "spooky" duet between The Chipmunks and The Chipettes featured at the end in the animated 2000 movie Alvin & The Chipmunks Meet The Wolfman. This fun children's song captures childhood frights while at the same time soothing them with the words, "Everything's gonna be alright. Don't you be afraid when things go bump in the night." This is sure to be a favorite for the little ones this Halloween. 
 
The Doors- People Are Strange
     Released in 1967 this hypnotic classic by The Doors peaked at number 12 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart. The song is about alienation and being an outsider and the slow even lyrics give the listener an impression of being surrounded by strangers with the vulnerability of feeling depressed and alone. "People are strange when you're a stranger. Faces look ugly when you're alone. Women seem wicked when you're unwanted."
 
Voltaire- The Vampire Club
    This fun dark cabaret tune pokes fun at the underground cosplay clubs where young people who dress up and pretend to be famous vampires in history get into a "fight" when "Pirates" enter The Vampire Club. The "fight" is started when the leader of the pirates recognizes a vampire from his school and reveals his real name to everyone in the club. Voltaire even took it a step further and made a "Twilight" version of the song where the werewolves take the place of the pirates and get into a fight with the Cullen family while legendary vampires such as Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee wonder who let them in The Vampire Club. "Christopher Lee orders a blood and says "You better not sparkle in my vampire club!"
 
Rob Zombie- Living Dead Girl
   Another hit single from Rob Zombie this song features several horror referances. The opening line, "Who is this irresistible creature who has an insatiable love for the dead?" is from the trailer of the film, Lady Frankenstein. The music in the beginning of the song is taken from the trailer of the original Last House On The Left. The spoken words "What are you thinking about?/The same thing you are" at the beginning of the verses is taken from the 1971 film Daughters Of Darkness. There are a few other hidden references in the lyrics as well. Chucky fans probably recognize this as the title song that plays when Tiffany appears in Bride Of Chucky.   
 
Kid Cudi- No One Believes Me
     Much different from his usual song style this track was made and released for the 2011 remake of the 1985 vampire movie Fright Night. The song embodies the feeling of knowing when something wrong is going on and yet having no one believe you. The video for the song has Cudi himself walking the streets only to see various horror scenes casually unfolding before his eyes. It is finally revealed that he himself is a vampire and tired of the wrongness around him he walks out into the sunlight and burns up into a nasty crisp. The song's overall eerieness and horror relatability earn it's way on my Halloween list. 
 
AllSTARS- Things That Go Bump In The Night
      This 2001 British pop hit was released for the Scooby Doo 3D animated film starring Freddie Prince Jr, Sarah Michelle Geller, and Matthew Lillard. The song reached number 12 on the British Charts and was one of four of the band's hits to make it to the Top 20 Singles in only a year. Despite it's pop beats the lyrics of the song turn to the more spookier side of things. "You cannot run and you cannot hide. Yeah you gotta face it baby things go bump, bump, bump in the night." 
 
Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs
    Originally sung by Johnny Fuller, then became popular when covered by Jumpin Gene Simmons. While equally great this version happens to be my person favorite. This mock horror novelty song is about a man who moves into a new house only to find out it's haunted by a ghost. The narrarator refuses to be scared away from the ghost who only tries harder to drive him away. 
 
The Twilight Zone Theme
    Everybody has probably heard this opening theme once in their life even if you haven't seen the show I'm sure you've heard of it. This infamous science fiction anthology has managed to last throughout the ages and decades after it's original ending has been turned into movies, comics, spin-off series, and even revival series. It holds a special place in my heart as well.
 
David Seville- Witch Doctor
     Okay so technically not a Halloween song at all, but for those of you with children this can be considered as good as one considering it's title. Kids probably wont know the difference. This song was originally released in 1958 where it peaked at number one on The Billboard Hot 100. The single was considered a major surprise hit on the chart, where it stayed at number one for two weeks and became Seville's first number-one single. The single also peaked at number one on the R&B Singles Chart. The single sold over one million copies in the United States alone.
 
Stevie Wonder- Superstition
     The ever talented Stevie Wonder wrote, produced, and arranged this song in 1972 when he was only 22 years old. It reached number on in the U.S. and even went on to be number 74 on Rolling Stones's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time list. The song deals with superstitions and even mentions several popular superstitious fables in its lyrics. Most people can pick out this funky tune immediately because of its opening drum beat and iconic bass synthesizer.
 
Oingo Boingo- No One Lives Forever
    Yet again Oingo Boingo makes my list. Ths one makes it for its upbeat catchy rythmn and of course its lyrics about living life up while you can and of course temporarily cheating death. This song was also used in Texas Chainsaw Masacre 2 (the newer version). The lyrics alone should show you why this makes a fantastic Halloween party song. "Let's have a party there's a full moon in the sky. It's the hour of the wolf and I don't want to die. I'm so happy dancing while the grim reaper cuts, cuts, cuts, but he can't get me. I'm as clever as can be, and I'm very quick, but don't forget no one lives forever!"
 
White Zombie- I'm Your Boogie Man
   Originally performed by K.C. & The Sunshine Band bak in 1976. This song is about the boogieman that hides in your closet, but the original was just a bit too disco for me. Instead I prefer White Zombie's heavy metal infused disco cover. this song was recorded for the film The Crow: City Of Angels soundtrack. The audio samples in the song where children are heard saying, "He's gonna get you! The Boogieman is coming!" are taken from the 1978 calassic horror film Halloween.  Although the song failed to chart, it earned White Zombie their third and final Grammy nomination for Best Heavy Metal Performance in 1997.
 
Bernard Herrmann- The Psycho Theme
      Who could forget Alfred Hitchcock's iconic 1960 horror film Psycho. It is often ranked among the greatest films of all time and is famous for bringing in a new level of acceptable violence and sexuality in films. To get to the best part of the song skip ahead to 4:23 for the famous screeching violins that invoked terror in audiences all around the world for so long. The music for the shower scene is probably the most famous (and most imitated) cue in film music history.
 
Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs-Li'l Red Riding Hood
  This song was the group's second top-10 hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1966. Built around the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, this song is a play on words between the animal "wolf" and the euphemism of a man with concealed sexual intentions "wolf". The singer remarks on "what big eyes" and "what full lips" Red has and even states that he "will keep his sheep suit on" basically admitting that he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. What makes this song worthy of my list is the overall dark nature of the original Little Red Riding Hood and the almost hinted at dark nature of the song itself.
 
The Classic IV-Spooky
     While many confuse this song as being sung by the hit band The Zombies, it is in all actuality sung by The Classic IV. (Wikipedia is your friend). In 1968, it reached number three in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 46 in the UK. This groovy tune makes the list because of it's slow hip feel and the lyrics of course. "Just like a ghost, you've been a-hauntin' my dreams so I´ll propose... on Halloween. Baby, love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you."
 
Roison Murphy- Ramalama Bang Bang
  Although this is not a Halloween song in general and even though it does not have any horror related lyrics this song makes my list because of the So You Think You Can Dance group performance where it's freaky beat matched with dancing victorian aged zombies. Ramalama Bang Bang contains a chorus of onomatopoetic lyrics delivered over a tribal rhythm match that with the eerie seynthesizer beat and you've got one great performance.
 
Fever Ray- The Wolf
    Though the actual movie Red Riding Hood wasn't anything too scary or memorable there was a song featured during the dance celebration that did stick out to me. Fever Ray's tribal chanting mixed with rather dark lyrics make for a great old world werewolf feel. The lyrics and primitive sounding beat make me think of old Indiginous legends. And with lyrics like these who couldn't? "Eyes black, big big paws,And it's poison, and it's blood." and "We took you right from your mother's womb. Our temple, your tomb." 
 
The Halloween Theme
    And last, but certainly not least we have the chilling theme from John Carpenter's legendary film Halloween. I mean what kind of list of Halloween songs would this be if I didn't have THE Halloween theme on it somewhere? This 1978 horror film made babysitters everywhere quit there jobs in fear of Michael Meyers and his terrifying William Shatner mask.

      So that concludes all of my 50 Halloween songs. I hope there were at least a few of them on here that put you in the holiday spirit. If you have a certain song that you like to listen to on Halloween that I haven't mentioned on here then please tell me in the comments. I'm always on the look out for music.Thank you all for taking the time to read this and I hope you all have a happy (and safe) Halloween this year! Until next time guys!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

50 Halloween Songs Part 1

Let's boogie!
         Next Wednesday will officially be Hallloween. So since All Hallows is only a week away I thought I'd come up with a list of songs that I like to listen to during this wonderful time of the year. None of these are in order because I think it's kind of hard to judge on what song is better than another due to each person's personal preference so this will just be a random list. Also not all of these are strictly intended to be Halloween themed. There are some in this list that I just find creepy or dark so I put them in since they fit the mood. You will find some that you will know and hopefully a few you didn't. Let me know in the comments below if there are any I missed that you think deserve mentioning. So without any further ado here we go!
 
Michael Jackson's Thriller
      Now what kind of Halloween list would this be without this notorious treasure? No doubt you have probably already heard this being played either in stores or on costume commercials this month. I'm sure you already know all the words and some of you probably even know all the dance moves. And who could forget the creepy narraration from the legendary Vincent Price? So enjoy this little blast from the past from the king of pop himself. Fun fact: Did you know the guy who created An American Werewolf in London helped in creating this music video?  
 
Alice Cooper-Welcome To My Nightmare
     "Welcome to my nightmare. I think you're gonna like it." From pop to rock we have this little beauty from rock legend Alice Cooper. This song was first released in 1975. With it's funky disco rock beat it made it all the way to number 45 on The Billboard Hot 100 list and even made AOL Radio's Top 10 best Halloween songs list. 
 
Bobby "Boris" Pickett-The Monster Mash
      Arguably the most played Halloween song to date. This 1962 novelty from one hit wonder Bobby "Boris" Pickett has been popular from it's begining. To this day people of all ages can easily identify this party tune. This song has also been covered by various artists of all genres. From The Beach Boys to The Misfits. Boris Karloff (the actor who played Frankenstein) liked the song so much he actually performed it himself on a 1965 episode of Shindig.
 
Ray Parker Jr.- Ghostbusters Theme
       "I ain't afraid of no ghost." Whether you have seen the movies or not you've probably heard the theme song once or twice in your life. This song hit number one on the Billboard Charts on August 11, 1984 and kept it's slot for three weeks. This song was almost became a court case because the guitar and bass riffs sound a lot like Huey Lewis's "I Want A New Drug" which had come out earlier that same year. The two settled the suit out of court with Ray Parker paying Huey Lewis a settlement amount. Nevertheless it didn't dim down it's popularity. The video also had cameos from several popular celebrities at that time. Can you name them all?
 
Buddy Baker- Grim Grinning Ghosts
      This is the theme song for Disney's famous Haunted Mansion attraction. Different variations of the song are played throught different rooms. The title itself comes from William Shakespeare's poem Venus And Adonis.
 
Vic Mizzy- The Addams Family Theme 
    Whether you prefer the original or the 90's version you probably already know all the finger snaps to this great opening intro. Despite never making it very high up on the charts this jingle remains a cult classic among fans around the world.
 
Marilyn Manson- This Is Halloween
    Originally composed by the magnificent Danny Elfman for Tim Burton's 1993 film "The Nightmare Before Christmas" Marilyn Manson covered this track for the 13th anniversary re-release of the soundtrack. Although both versions are worthy of Halloween time I chose Manson's version because it has a much darker edge. 
 
Creature Feature- Such Horrible Things
    Though probably not as well known as some of the others on the list this song is the very epitome of evil. The song tells the tale of a man who does such horrible things while growing up. He purposefully gets his neighbor kid lost in the woods, burns down his house, stabs the mailman through the mail slot, and even attempts to bury his brother alive all while enjoying every minute of it. 
 
Warren Zevon- Werewolves Of London
     Released in 1978, this upbeat peppy song about werewolves traipsing around the London area made America's Top 40 Charts at number 21 and stayed there for a whole six weeks. BBC Radio listeners rated this song as having the best opening line in a song. "I saw a werewolf with a chineese menu in his hand, walking down the streets of Soho in the rain."
 
The Rocky Horror Picture Show- Time Warp
     Originally a British rock musical stageplay; the 1975 film starring Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon made it mainstream with it's B-movie science fiction horror film parody style and over the top scenes. The album peaked at number 49 on the Billboard 200 charts in 1978 and when pop culture phenomenon Glee did a cover of the album it peaked at number 6 on October 27, 2010. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is now one of the most well known and financially successful midnight movies of all time and is still played on cable tv stations to this day.   
 
London Oratory School Schola-Double Trouble
       Originally featured and composed for the third Harry Potter movie The Prisoner Of Azkaban, the song is sung by a children's choir and the lyrics are directly taken from Shakespeare's Mabeth to where the original saying "Something wicked this way comes" derives from. 
 
I Monster- Lust For A Vampyre
     Now here is one most of you probably aren't familiar with. Though not a Halloween themed song it still fits with its funky electrobeats and magical trance backdrop. The song tells the tale of a woman who is in a relationship with a vampire. I Monster is an English electronica band whose music has been featured in productions such as Shaun Of The Dead, Numb3rs, Eureka, & Underbelly.   
 
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds-Red Right Hand
    One of Nick Cave's signature tunes, Red Right Hand was first released in 1994 and has since been featured in films such as Scream, Cirque Du Freak, Dumb And Dumber, Hellboy, and The X-Files. The phrase "Red right hand" is a line in John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost that refers to the vengeful hand of God. Although the title of the song derives from a reference to God, the figure who is the subject of the song itself is heavily implied to be Satan.
 
Voltaire- When You're Evil
     Though truthfully ninety percent of Voltaire's songs could make this list I decided to go for his most well known. This dark cabaret song is about a man who is happy being evil and who does horrible things just for the kicks. This one is actually very similair in context to Creature Feature's Such Horrible Things, though both from different genres entirely. "And it's so easy when you're evil. This is the life you see, the devil tips his hat to me. I do it all because I'm evil and I do it all for free. Your tears are all the pay I'll ever need." 
 
Oingo Boingo- Weird Science
       Perhaps better known as the title theme to John Hughes 1985 movie of the same name. Danny Elfman's new wave band Oingo Boingo struggled to create the final track for the film and though widely popular it is said to be one of the band's least favorite songs because the final result was so rushed. Despite it's rocky standing with the band it's mad scientist feel still makes it a great Halloween song.
 
Panic! At The Disco- It's Almost Halloween
      "Everybody scream it's almost Halloween. Do the Trick Or Treat." This groovy Halloween anthem is infectiously catchy and it even comes with it's own dance; the Trick Or Treat. The members of the band even dress up for the make-shift video, but that shouldn't really be any suprise considering their previous video looks similair to A Clockwork Orange in their hit song "I Write Sins Not Tragedies". 
 
Bauhaus- Bela Lugosi's Dead
      Often considered to be the first gothic rock song released; Bela Lugosi's Dead was Bauhaus's first single released in 1979. It did not hit the UK charts, but was to be used in many films and television series later on through the years. The 1983's vampire film starring David Bowie and Susan Sarandon "The Hunger", actually featured Bauhaus playing the song as a band in a nightclub during the opening. Several tv series have used the song such as Supernatural, Fringe, Smallville, and East Bound & Down.
 
Screamin Jay Hawkins- I Put A Spell On You
    Although the covers of this song are probably more known than the original this was the one that started them all. Originally a blues singer Hawkins intended the song to be a love ballad, but ended up getting drunk and coming up with this weird version instead. Hawkins decided to make the best out of it and performed it with over the top theatricality. The song came out in 1956 and was selected as one of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock And Roll. Hawkins's demented song style and gimmicky stage presence was banned on some stations, but later shaped the performance style known as "shock rock". The song has been more famously covered by Nina Simone, Marilyn Manson, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Bette Midler in the movie Hocus Pocus.

 
Florence & The Machine- Howl
     The soulful voice of British indie rock singer Florence Welch sings this modern day song about the werewolf's curse. With many of her other songs being featured in other major medias such as The Twilight Saga, Gossip Girl, Jennifer's Body, and The Vampire Diaries it is easy to see how this track could be overlooked. But it deserves attention for mentioning the classic werewolf poem, "A man who's pure of heart and says his prayers by night, may still become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright." 
 
Will Smith- Nightmare On My Street
    This 1988 song by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince brought the world of hip-hop to the Halloween genre by rapping about the notrious 80's slasher film Nightmare On Elmstreet villain Freddy Kruegar. This song reached all the way to the 15th spot on Billboard's 100 list. "You turned off David Letterman, now you must die."
 
The Eagles- Witchy Woman

   The rock and roll Eagles song about a bewitching and mesmerizing woman hit number 9 on The Billboard charts in 1972. Though not particularly a Halloween associated tune if you take a closer look at the lyrics, it isn't to hard to see it as Halloweeny. "She's a restless spirit on an endless flight.Wooo hooo witchy woman, see how high she flies", "Crazy laughter in another room. She drove herself to madness with the silver spoon", and "let me tell your brother, she's been sleeping in the Devil's bed."
 
Gerard Mcmann- Cry Little Sister
      Anybody who considers themselves a Lost Boys fan would be able to recognize this haunting tune immediately. Debuting in 1987 as the soundtrack title to the film this eerie song never reached the Billboard 200, but the album itself made it all the way to number 15. The song has been covered and remixed by various other artists and has even been sampled by Eminem on his song "You're Never Over" from his 2012 album Recovery. But I will always remember it for it's creepy children's choir singing "Thou shalt not fall."
The Scooby Doo Theme Song
     How about we take a stoll down memory lane for a moment, back when Scooby Doo wasn't Pixar animated and was one of the most loved Saturday morning cartoons on television. As a kid Scooby Doo was probably one of the scariest shows you were aloud to watch back then, not that, that stopped you from watching the shows you weren't aloud to. ;) Still Scooby Doo holds a special place in my heart and so does it's theme song.
Rob Zombie- Dragula
    For those of you hard rock fans Rob Zombie's Dragula should be right up your alley. This song was actualy based off of The Munster's character drag racer: Drag-U-La. And the lyrics do not dissapoint hard core Zombie fans either with lyrics like, "Dig through the ditches and burn through the witches." it isn't hard to see how this became a Halloween favorite in the rock charts. 
 
Rockwell Ft. Michael Jackson- Somebody's Watching Me
     And concluding the first part of our Halloween list is this 1984 hit about the song's narrarator's paranoia of being watched or stalked. This song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number 1 on the R&B Singles charts. This song shows it's true staying power by being widely recognized by people of all ages and has recently been featured in a series of Geico commercials with a stack of money that has big googly eyes. So that's it for part one. Please come back tomorrow for part 2. I hope you all enjoy rocking out to some of these spooky tracks.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Disney Villains Varnish Set 2012 & Other Swag

Disney Designer Villains Collection!
        Good evening darlings. I'm really excited to show you all today's post. I was bored about a week and a half ago and decided to randomly check out the Disney Store Website. Despite my love of all things Disney I don't check the site much because I find that their prices are really ridiculous at times. Come on 200 bucks just for a 8 inch snowglobe? Anyways I was browsing the site when I stumbled upon the Disney Designer Villains Collection. My face was like this...
OMFG!!!
       Seriously how did I not know about this beforehand?! Needless to say I was in heaven. What do I love more than Disney princesses? Disney Villains! Now sadly I came into the game a little late and so there were only a few things left and they were all on clearance. So while I was not able to get everything that I wanted I did manage to get my hands on some wonderful Disney swag. Obviously I bought the 6 set nail polish collection, which I will get to in just a second, but I also purchased two of their villain cups. One in Mother Gothel and one in Cruella De Vil. I really would have preffered the Ursula, The Evil Queen, or Maleficent cups instead, but since I came late those were the only two ones left available. I bought the Mother Gothel cup for myself and I intend to give the Cruella De Vil cup to my mother for Christmas since she is also a fan of Disney Villains and she can drink an entire pot of coffee by herself.  Here are some pictures of the Mother Gothel cup, no Cruella cup since it is a present.
One side that shows her full profile from the back.
And the other side which is just a close up.
     I also purchased a Bambi Wonder Linen Spray. I was hesitant at first to buy it because I wasn't sure about the scent, but all the reviews on it said it smelt wonderful and since it was only like 8 bucks I decided to get it. The scent description on this one is a delicate scent of lemon sugar, apple blossoms, and marshmallow clouds. Oddly enough I smell all of those things. The lemon is a really sweet and light fragrance mixed with an airy floral apple and then there is an undercurrent of sugary sweetness. I love this! I love it so much I'm thinking of stocking up and buying two more before they are all gone. The fragrance is so light airy and fresh. I can certainly see why it was so loved on the site!
The box that it comes in.
And the bottle itself. So cute!
      And lastly I bought a Snow White inspired reed diffuser bottle. It didn't come with any scent, but that's okay because I plan on buying some reeds and oils from Candles By Victoria. Yes, the obsession runs deep. I just haven't decided on what scent I want to put into it yet. There are sooo many choices!! So far I think Twilight Woods is coming in first though. Other than it has a lovely smell I also like how it matches the Snow White theme. As you can see below the bottle is an almost transparent stormy purple and grey. I can't wait to see what it will look like with oil in it.
The fairest reed diffuser of them all.
      Anyways I bet you just want me to get to the good stuff right? Well here is the collection. There are six polishes in total and they are all named after the lovely villainess' of the collection. The wicked selection features Cruella De Vil, The Evil Queen, Maleficent, Mother Gothel, The Queen Of Hearts, and Ursula. As you can see from the packaging these evil vixens have gotten a make-over. The polishes are 5 ounces each and come with a long tapered black handle.

Front view.
The back view, don't mind the torn off sticker.
Close up on our made over villains.
    Since I just recieved this yesterday I do not have individual swatches of each of the colors, but I will get those up soon for you guys. You can see The Queen Of Hearts's color in action on my 31 Week Nail Polish Challenge: Yellow post. I just wanted to get this up for you guys ASAP so if you wanted something you could buy it before they are all gone. As for the polishes themselves the handles on these are really long which I personally like because I think it makes it easier to control the wand. The bottles are decently sized and very prettily packaged. I've only used The Queen Of Hearts so far, but it only took two coats to become completely opaque and it went on nicely without any streaks. The picture above captures all of the colors well except for Maleficent which in the picture looks teal, but in actuality it's an emerald greenish color. It looks different when in different light, but I'm not sure if it's a duochrome or not. Cruella and Mother Gothel are both mattes I believe and The Evil Queen and Ursula are glitters. Maleficent and The Queen Of Hearts are both shimmers so it is a pretty well rounded set. 
      
     Overall I am very happy with this collection so far, my only gripe being that the nail polish has a strong scent to it, but that's just when you are painting them. Once dried on your nails the smell goes away. I bought this on clearance on the Disney Store website for only $23.00. Not too bad when you do the math for 6 polishes roughly rounded up that's only about $4.00 a bottle. Well that's it for this Disney haul. I hope you guys found something that caught your eyes. Now I'm off to enjoy my swag.

And I'm out.


Nail Polish Challenge Week 3: Yellow

Wwwazzzuuuppp?!
      How's it goin guys? Hope you all are getting ready for Halloween. I myself have been decorating the house and watching all the scary movies I can. I've been addicted to The Walking Dead for quite some time now and I just can't wait to see how they all hold up in this prison and what's gonna happen to Laurie's baby. I have to admit I'm hoping it will turn out to be a demon spawn. LOL I mean it is a baby made between crazy ass Shane & Laurie how well adjusted could it turn out? Anyways I know I'm a day late in getting this up, but I wanted to wait until I got my Disney's Designer Villains Nail Varnish Collection. And it didn't ship until yesterday so that's why. This week's theme is yellow. I stuck with the yellow theme, but went more with gold instead.
Sadly I had to trim my nails. They were becoming bothersome.
This has more shimmer in person.
      So on my nails I have The Queen Of Hearts from Alice In Wonderland from the 2012 Disney Designer Villains Collection. It is this beautiful shimmery deep gold color which I'm guessing represents the gold in the Queen's crown and septer. I would have expected a redish blackish color given the villain, but Cruella's color in this set is a bold red and The Evil Queen's color is a black purple with magenta micro-glitter so I can see how they needed a bit more color diversity in the collection.  This has the tiniest flecks of white and gold shimmer in it. I have on only two coats. I also have on NYC Long Wearing Extra Shiny Top Coat. I have a full review post of the Villains Varnish Collection comming up shortly for those of you who are curious as to what all the shades there are. So please look forward to that. Now I'm off to go watch some more horror movies!
Me when I watch scary films.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Nail Polish Challenge Week 2: Orange

Happy Monday Everyone.
      So it's week two of the 31 Week Nail Polish challenge and the theme for this week is Orange. With it being October it was kind of the perfect week for this color. So I decided to try and get creative with my black striper and make little Jack-O-Lanterns. I've never tried this before which may be pretty obvious since they aren't the neatest. Still at least I tried. I actually painted these Friday night and I took this picture today so they have held up pretty well especially when you take into consideration that I am not gentle on my nails at all and I had a very busy weekend. The colors I used are Avon's Nailwear Pro in Orange Creamsicle and L.A. Colors Art Deco in Black and I just topped it off with NYC Long Wearing Extra Shiny Top Coat. 
Yes, those are my real nails btw.
     Only one picture this time because I had a busy day at work and only had time to take this picture. Next week's theme is yellow which is a tiny problem since I do not currently own a yellow nail polish, but I'm planning on picking one up this weekend. If not I'm sure I can scrouge up a gold polish somewhere. LOL. I'm currently still reeling from The Walking Dead's season premier and I also am waiting in anticipation for Wednesday night when American Horror Story starts back up again. I'm so happy Evan Peters is back for another season. I miss seeing him go crazy. And now it will be even more fitting since this year's theme is Asylum after all. Well that's it for this little post. Please check back in frequently for more. I have a few Halloween themed posts coming up soon too! Until next time guys!
American Horror Story Premier this Wednesday on FX!


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

FCS: The Halloween Soap Box

Another FCS Haul!
      Hello folks! I finally received my Halloween Soap Box from my favorite bath company Fortune Cookie Soaps. You can no longer order just the Hallowen Soap Box, but you can buy the individual and full-sized products for a limited amount of time. You can find them all here. There are 10 things for me to review for you all today. You can see them all together in the picture below. And yes that is a tart in that picture, but it isn't from my beloved Candles By Victoria, this one is from an independant company known as Sentsory Overload and the company had a one time partnership with FCS just for this box. Seeing as I am a scream queen how could I possibly pass these little beauties up? 


All the swag except for the supposed Vampire Blood which they forgot in my box.
Grave Digger: Fortune Cookie Soap
           The card that came with my box says that this is supposed to smell like freshly dug earth. Now I first just want to point out the oxymoron of a soap smelling like dirt. It's kind of funny. Needless to say that's exactly what this smells like. It smells like wet soil and fresh grass. Almost has a gardener like quality to it. The soap even has little black crumbs on it that look like dirt. While I personally do not want to smell like mud, I can appreciate the novelty of this product. It is kind of mind boggling to think of a soap that smells like dirt. It certainly is a unique take on the Halloween spirit. As for the soap itself it is shaped like a fortune cookie and does have an actual fortune inside like all of their fortune cookie soaps. The fortunes themselves are usually funny and individual to each soap. I cannot tell you what my fortune was inside this one because it is tucked all the way inside where I'd have to break the soap if I wanted to see it and I don't want to do that just in case I want to give this away as like a gag gift. This particular soap though is a bit bigger in size than their regular line of fortune cookie soaps. Needless to say I probably wont ever use this, but I still think it is a cute twist to their Halloween line.
The color of this is actually more true in the first picture.
Scary Spice: OCD Hand Sanitizer
          This is supposed to be scented as a blend of pumpkin, apple, and caramel. When you first pop the cap open it smells like caramel banana. Really strange. I do not know why it smells like that at first, but once you actually get the product onto your hands and rub it in it smells like warm spicy pumpkin with a tiny hint of caramel apples. The pumpkin is really the main note of the fragrance though. This is a full sized product and the bottle is made out of hard plastic which is kind of a double edged sword. On the upside it wont break very easily and you wont have to worry about it busting in your purse, on the other hand though you can't simply squeeze the bottle to make the product come out. You have to tilt it and tap it against your palm. Not such a huge deal though just a little different than most hand sanitizers. After the product is rubbed in it doesn't have an alcohol scent to it that a lot of hand sanitizers have.The product does not dry my hands out either which is nice. These little guys even have a cute suprise in them. Floating in the container is a little fake black spider. Gives it a nice festive touch. I don't know how long I have just sat here tilting the container back and forth to watch him swim about.  Plus when I first read the name of this my brain immediatly thought of the Spice Girl. LOL. There was a mix up in my order however, instead of a bottle of Vampire Blood Body Wash which I was supposed to get that comes in a bottle identical this one only darker, they accidentally gave me two of these instead. So I gave the extra one to my mother and then she proceeded to watch the spider glide about. Such a simple, but genius idea really.  
View from the front.

View from the back with the spider.

Zombie Treats: Bath Fizzy
         I have to admit that I am most excited about this product. I will probably buy the full pack of 3. This is a bath fizzy that smells like a watermelon Jolly Rancher. Big deal right? Well it also GLOWS IN THE DARK! How awesome is that? It comes wrapped up just like one of those chocolate candies you get on Halloween and after you unwrap it, it doesn't really look like much, but put it close to the light for a little while then turn the light off and it glows! I have not put this in the bath yet, seeing as I wanted to get this up for you guys asap so you could place your orders before these went out of stock so I do not know for sure if these will make the bath water glow as well, but I do know that they will fizz up in your bath water and that they have oils and vitamins in it that are supposed to make your skin soft. As I have said before, I am not a bath person so much as a shower person, but this product actually makes me excited to get in the tub.   
What it looks like wrapped.

And unwrapped.

Ghost Gum: Hydrate Me! Bar
           This is one of their hydrate me bars that is shaped like a skull and it supposed to smell like a 50/50 Orange Cream Bar. I do not know what an Orange Cream Bar is, but to me this smells like orange vanilla ice cream. It has that sweet Dreamsicle quality to it. I don't really know why it is called ghost gum though when it is shaped like a skull and smells nothing like gum. I don't know if there is a Halloween candy that this is modeled after, but I've certainly never seen or heard of it. Still this one smells delicious. If you are a fan of orange and vanilla sherbert like scents then you will love this. The Hydrate Me! bars are really nice in general. You use them at the end of your shower when you are still damp and you just rub it all over your body and it locks in moisture and hydrates your body with soft oils. It kind of feels a bit like wax at first when you are rubbing it in, but the waxy feeling does eventually go away. While I like the hydrate me bars and the smell of this I don't think I love it enough to stock up on it. 
Shaped like a cute skull!
Headless Horseman: Bath Melt
         This is in the shape of a pumpkin because the Headless Horseman's head is replaced by a pumpkin. I like that they went with the Headless Horseman myth instead of just saying this is a pumpkin. The card says the scent on this is a tropical pumpkin blend, but when I smell it i just get a strong pumpkin scent with an odd unidentifiable note. I don't really feel it's tropical at all, but I can't say what exactly is the accompanying note I get along with the bold pumpkin smell. Personally not really a big fan of this fragrance, the pumpkin is a bit too strong for my liking and the "tropical" notes just rub me the wrong way. There is nothing bad about this scent it just isn't for me. However I know you pumpkin lovers out there will probably adore this. You just have to take a chance and try it for yourselves. This is a bath melt so you just drop it into your bathwater and it will dissolve and fill your water with nourishing oils and vitamins that will make your skin super soft. 
The Headless Horseman Rides Again.
Witches Wart Be-Gone: Clearly Complexion Face Mask 
             This is actually just one of their regular products (Clearly Comlexion Face Mask) re-named and with the color darkened. Still I don't mind that so much because their face masks work great! The clearly complexion lines are formulated to help clear up acne prone skin and like all of their masks it hydrates and tightens the skin. I have the original Clearly Complexion and I love it! It makes my skin feel so soft and smooth even if the application is a little messy. To use this product all you have to do is pick which activator you want to use. It has a list on the back of what all different ingrediants you can use (most of which can be found in your kitchen already) Depending on what kind of skin you have (dry, oily, combination, or acne) you can go through the list and choose which ingrediant will mix the best. Of course just plain water goes with all the skin types so you can just use that if you don't want to mess around with the milk, honey, tea etc..activators. A caution to the wise though, this is really kind of messy to apply and it dries rather quickly so you will want to spread it on your face as quick and evenly as possible. This will look ridiculous on your face as most masks do and you should leave it on your face for 10-15 minutes. Despite the mess though it will leave your face feeling softer, tighter (not dry though), and will look smoother. 
The front of the package.
Gremlins, Goblins & Ghouls OH MY!: Whipped Cream
          This is a small sample of their whipped cream body butters. It is the exact same size as the samples you would get when you order the 4 sampler pack.  It is a beautiful light purple color and it smells like grape Laffy Taffy. It is definitely an artificial grape candy smell. I adore the formula of FCS's body butters. They are my favorite body lotion of all time. It feels light and creamy, but once you rub it in which doesn't take very long it actually sinks into the skin and doesn't leave it with any filmy greasy tacky residue on the surface. I love how it instantly moisturizes my skin and makes it silky smooth and that my skin is instantly dry once I've rubbed it in. There is no slickness left on the top that most lotions has. I like the smell of this one even though I'm not a huge grape fan. The name is also a fun homage to both Halloween and The Wizard of Oz. I think I like the color most of all though since most of FCS's body butters are pastel colored and this one is a vibrant purple.
Smashed Pumpkin: Wax Tart
          This is something new and different for Fortune Cookie Soaps to do. They have not started making wax tarts, but this is a product from Scentsory Overload a small independant guest company. This is said to be made out of soy which according to the Scentsory Overload facebook page is supposed to burn longer and be better for the enviroment than bee's based wax. I don't know about that because I have yet to burn this, but we will see how it matches up to my beloved CBV tarts. This is supposed to smell like pumpkin and rum and that is indeed what it smells like. The main notes are a thick spicy pumpkin with a hint of rum although it does not have an alcohol smell you get the warmth from the rum itself. Overall it smells great! I don't really have a whole lot of pumpkin scents from Candles By Victoria so I can't really compare it scent wise to any of hers because the ones I do have smell nothing like this. I know this is supposed to be a sample product, but I'm not sure if it is half full on purpose or not. I really hope that's just because it is a sample because I would not purchase it if it were only half full. You can see in the picture below the comparisons between this shot and one of CBV's. The containers are actually the same size, but you get waayyy more product with the CBV scent shots. Because this is made of soy you can also see the difference in texture between the two as well. Will have to burn this one later to see how it stands up in strength compared to CBV. Scentsory Overload currently does not have an official website up yet (though they are working on it). However you can check them out on facebook or contact them through email at scentsoryoverload@gmail.com
As you can see CBV is filled to the brim.
     So that is all for this haul. While I am a little dissapointed that I did not receive my intended Vampire Blood Body Wash I do understand how such a mix up could happen. The Vampire Blood comes in the same kind of container as the Scary Spice OCD Hand Sanitizer so I can see how during the packing process they probably saw a dark cap and figured it was the Vamp Blood and just added an extra OCD by mistake. The free pack of Sixlets chocolate candies made up for any lingering sadness though. I felt just like a little kid again. Free chocolate! Such a cute touch to finish of the Halloween box. Overall I'm happy that I ordered this even though some things weren't exactly things I'd consider purchasing again like the Grave Digger fortune cookie soap or the Headless Horseman bath melt. Still I can appreciate their novelties and I'm glad I at least got to try them. The stand outs of this order are the Zombie Treats Bath Fizzy and the Scary Spice OCD Hand Sanitizer. I will more than likely cave and buy the full 3 pack of Zombie Treats before they are all gone. Anyways I hope you guys enjoyed this haul and found it somewhat helpful. Please look forward to my next 31 week nail polish challenge and also another future CBV haul and review.
Goodnight guys!