NOTD - The Indie Avenger: LOKI

When it comes right down to it, a fangirl could say that's just what Loki is: he's not really a bad guy, he's just an indie! He's so much a part of the group, he-he's practically an Avenger. (Wouldn't that be something. ;-)  

This where Kawaii Nail Lacquer comes in.  For her first collection Jamie Constantino chose The Avengers as her inspiration, creating seven polishes: Black Widow, Captain America, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and Loki.  Much to my inner fangirl's joy, she did not leave out my favorite character of the series.

Kawaii Nail Lacquer - Loki

As a lacquer, Loki is an interesting blend of different glitters, suspended in a thick, clear base; large green squares, tiny green hexes, large holo-gold hexes and metalic gold bars.  This choice of colors is in keeping with the movie Loki's costume. To bring out these colors I layered one coat of Loki over two coats of Cult Nails Feelin' Froggy and 2 coats of Sally Hansen Bronze Ablaze.

[ Loki over Cult Nails Feelin' Froggy and Sally Bronze Ablaze ]

As a glitter Loki behaves like a nice, high quality polish.  Its mix of glitters is quite dense and its base is a little on the thick side.  I didn't paint it on my nails so much as I just lay the length of the brush on my nails and lifted, without brushing. That way the glitters were easily left behind.  Only a couple glitters had to be 'persuaded' to sink into the polish, by way of a pointy orange stick. Obviously, I tamed all this glitter with one coat of my trusty Seche Vite.  I suppose you could wear Loki all on its own, and get pretty decent coverage, but I haven't tried that.



[ Loki over Cult Nails Feelin' Froggy and Sally Bronze Ablaze ]



I really, really loved this mani!  (I've been wearing it for almost a week now, without a single chip and barely any tip-wear.)  It's gotten some attention and comments, which I always enjoy.  ;-)  In fact, I liked this combination so much that I even made myself a matching ring:

[ Loki over Cult Nails Feelin' Froggy and Sally Bronze Ablaze ]

My local Hobby Lobby store finally brought in some glass cabochons last week!  I just wish that they'd also stocked various sizes to match the nice selection of findings they already had. But noooo, just these large ovals and 'scrabble tile' squares.  They have cute 12mm round bezel cupss (like for earrings) and not a single glass cabochon to fit them!  Bad Hobby Lobby. You still fail. 

[ Loki over Cult Nails Feelin' Froggy and Sally Bronze Ablaze ]

Since I was in a crafty mood recently, I recovered my cellphone case with fabric and Mode Podge.  Then I decided to accent the designs in the fabric with marker... Then I decided that the one random fuschia flower would look great if I painted it with lacquer, which I did... and then I decided that it needed some glitter... so I used Loki, because no one else will know and it will make me smile every time I notice it. ♥ 

[ Mode Podge is my b!tch. It does whatever I want. ]

On a closing note, here's a picture of the base colors I used, sans Loki (for reference purposes):  

[ Base colors, no topcoat: Cult Nails Feelin' Froggy & Sally Hansen Bronze Ablaze ]

They're both great colors on their own, and I look forward to wearing them again. 

On a sidenote, I was fortunate enough to acquire some Cult Nails lacquers 'directly from the source' (I believe they only sell online- maybe?) while on my summer vacation, when I attended the Let's Talk Beauty event with the Beauty Bloggers of Central Florida.  (Which was lovely, by the way, just like Maria Morrison, Christina and Nidia.)  I said it on twitter, but I'll say it again: many thanks to Mr. Cult Nails for helping me thru my 'libra moment of indecision' and recommending some great colors. Feelin' Froggy was one of them. =) 
Meanwhile, this Sally Hansen was a lucky find at the dollar store. I figured it was worth it for such an interesting color, given how I abhore their brushes. Knowing what I was up against this time, I had an easier time using said 'paddle brush'.  Oh and when they say Fast Dry, they mean it! Not always a good thing in my book, but, whatever.

In closing:  I don't tipycally 'do' indie polishes and I was totally sukered into this one by virtue of its name and colors.  As it turns out, this is a great polish.  Check Jamie's Etsy shop and if you like her glitter combos, I say go for it (and then like her facebook page).  Jamie is quite a professional vendor, with great customer service.  She responded quickly to my (enthusiastic & fangirlie) messages.  Shipping was fast and Loki was securely packaged for travel. =)

Whew!  That's a wrap!

~*Ari



Non-Nail P.S. (if anyone should care to continue reading):  I love mythology, since I was a young child and I read my first guide to Greek Gods and Goddesses (many thanks Mr. Bernard Evslin).  So it's no surprise that of the recent Marvel movies, I enjoyed Thor best. 

Althought I am not so well versed in Norse myths, going in, I knew the basics.  But I have to hand it to Mr. Tom Hiddleston, for his rivetting performance.  Yes, he's handsome.  But I don't fall just for that (always have, it's either a blessing or a curse, haven't decided which ;-).  He infused the Loki character with such depth and comple_ity, his appeal was unavoidable.  Mr. Hiddleston should be proud to know that "anything with Loki sells out very quickly". This I was told by an employee at Universal Studios Orlando, where my souvenir/score of the day was Wee-Lego!Loki.

He was hiding in the stockroom, waiting... until I asked specifically for him and the awesome employee went and found him. =)

Isn't he cute? LOL!

I know it's just a marketing thing, but isn't it almost sad how he's packaged with Odin?  Which reminds me of this:

[ Source: http://super-hero-confessions.tumblr.com/post/25883885304 ]

We can't end on a sad, so... here's my favorite Loki funny:

[ Source: random google search of win ]

There!  All better now! =D