Mojaves and friends

Everytime I realise I have friends, I feel surprised. I'm one of those who constantly believe people don't like me or find me interesting enough. Then, some token of appreciation, or even love, and I'm in awe. How could this happen? Well, more often than one could believe, I become aware that I do have friends. Like Saša, the most darling Slovenian I know - we all know her by the name nihrida. I came home yesterday to this:

A package full of goodies! I was so touched, I was literally ooh-ing and aah-ing, and then some awwws to complete the image of a smiling Feline, ripping off bubble wrap - after reading the letter, of course. This was on the back of the note:

I wish I was this pretty! No one have ever flattered my looks like that before.

As if this wasn't enough, the other day I collected a huge, huge package from the post office. This is what was in it:

A better overview:

Can you believe these massive amounts of polish?! Sent from overseas. All the OPIs you see in this photo are old black label ones. But one is missing... [suspense]

The weirdest (and sweetest) thing happened a while ago. I got an email from a very friendly person. "I have some old black label OPIs that I'm not going to use anymore, do you want them?" I was in awe. Sure, I was interested, and asked what she would like in return. "Nothing." I could not believe that. But I'm also ashamed to ever be greedy, so we arranged a swap - I would never feel comfortable accepting so many polishes as a gift from anyone who spent their own hard earned money on them! Anyway, since then I have had the pleasure to exchange many nice and fun emails with Carissa - that is the name of this darling person.

So, yesterday while I was out for a bunch of hours, I was still thinking of which one to try out first. You know, sometimes when you receive so many new lacquers at once, it's just impossible to pick. Though, there was this one that was going through my mind as I walked past the train station in the afternoon, and I decided, that's the one.

Of course, I came home to Saša's package and then got in some more quandaries, but ultimately decided that I'd do one new polish on my finger nails, and pick another one for a new pedi that I desperately needed.

First, this is the one that lingered in my memory while I was pondering my decisions.




OPI Mojave Mystic Mauve, from the 1998 Painted Desert collection. Are you now in shock, dear readers? I chose an almost nude! Though, you should know, that as usual my photos do not do this polish justice. The shimmer is pale purple, and my camera have a hard time picking those hues up, but you can hint it in the sunny photo. This is three coats, and it is till a little uneven, but since this is close to a nude color, it really doesn't show. Since this is a black label OPI, the application was otherwise flawless and drying time was good.

I know that the Mojave desert is the one mostly in Nevada (and surrounding states), but I was curious and had to learn a thing or two about the Mojave tribe that it is named after. From what I understand, there are much less than 1000 individuals of the Mojave tribe alive today. I found that a little, tiny bit disturbing. It's like a people, a culture, is about to be extinct. Yes, history moves forward and backwards in an endless flood, but still.

Mojave woman and child, 1908.

Anyway, I thought, since this is a long time gone polish that shows up only occationally on the bay of all evil, I'd give you a quick reference comparison. The base reminded me of one color, the overall idea of another. And here they are:

OPI Tickle My France-y, OPI Mojave Mystic Mauve, Essie Demure Vixen.

No dupes here, as you can tell, but this will give you some idea of what the color is like (magnify the photo to avoid jpg pixel ugliness). Unfortunately, my camera snatches a lot of the purple hues away, but imagine that particular color with a light purple flash. It also takes away some of the tan of the base color. In fact, at one coat only (when it's still sheer) Mojave Mystic Mauve is a great mannequin color for the summerish suntanned alizarine.

I also mentioned that I'd pick one new color for a pedi. Stop scrolling if you hate feet, but this photo is not scary, promise! I needed something fun, so I immediately picked out Chuck from Essence, that Saša sent me. Isn't it gorgeous? You just can't beat a good creme.

Swedish word of the day:
ursprungsbefolkning -noun indigenous people
So many make me curious.