on the nails: essie dressed to kilt

I mentioned this Essie polish just recently but I like it so well, here it is again. Dressed to Kilt, from Essie’s Fall 2014 collection. A rich, dark red that’s great for fall/winter.

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iittala sarjaton metsa/white mug

Two coats of Dressed to Kilt worn here with OPI nail envy base coat, which I like so much, and OPI rapid dry topcoat, which I don’t like so much but which I am not going to throw away because while completely extravagant at times I am just as often cheap and long-suffering.

That said, there sometimes comes a point, after some months or years of eking functionality out of a mediocre or even actually poor product, when, in a fit of de-cluttering, which is really a fit of rebellion against this conservative, salvaging self, I take great pleasure in throwing such things away.

Thanks to my friend Katy for recommending this shade!

 

the pearl solitaire

I often have detailed visions of what I would like to wear and do. This little manual vignette is one I have been wanting to complete for a number of years now, as it took some time before I could find suitable candidates, satisfactory actors for the roles I had in mind.

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That I like pearls has been established, and a pearl ring, an extremely simple one, has been on my mind for a long while.* I settled on this 10mm beauty from Pearl Paradise. A single ivory-toned freshwater pearl of excellent quality mounted simply on a plain gold band.

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*An ornate one has been on my mind, too, separately. Admittedly.

The other part of the vision was a micro-pave band (what is in the land of engagement rings known as an eternity band) to stack with the pearl solitaire. These are tiny, relatively inexpensive diamonds (eBay). I am not especially attracted to diamonds, what with their problematic history and origins (and I like a bit of color), but I wanted something set like this…and bands like this set with alternate stones (and set in gold, platinum, or some other hardy, long-wearing, tarnish-resistant metal) are quite rare. So, diamonds it was. It took a long time to find a design that wasn’t framed top and bottom, or otherwise too bulky, or otherwise too ugly.

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The gold plated wire band on my forefinger is incidental (not part of the original vignette/vision), from a set of stackable knuckle rings in all sizes. I often gravitate toward simple bands like this, so unobtrusive and easy to wear. Almost like wearing nothing but critically not quite like wearing nothing.

It must be due to marital connotations that the ring finger is known as the ring finger but I agree: I like to wear rings on this finger. I am going to look married… but this is a coincidence that cannot be helped. There is a wabi-sabi balanced asymmetry to a spot of adornment there (I wear a ring on the ring finger of my right hand as well). And this finger isn’t first into the fray (especially on the left hand for right-handed me), so a set stone, something with a profile, is less likely to be in the way there.

I have a hazy, alternative version of this vision wherein there is also a gold thumb ring, a plain band. I can’t see if it is on my right or left hand that it is meant to go. Will have to experiment there. The thumb ring, done well, has an elegant edge to it. There is a purposefulness and an approachability about it. I think it’s only a matter of time.