J and I have been best friends for over twelve years.
One of the things I love the most about my newspaper job is how it led me to him. If we didn’t end up writing for the same section, I might never have met him. And that is a horrific thought because I seriously cannot imagine what my life would be like without him.
J and I have had many adventures together. We’ve seen each other through craziness. We’ve bonded over countless things – Friday’s chicken fingers, Chicago, Bridget Jones, Miss Universe, Antonio Sabato Jr., Alanis Morissette, Boracay, karaoke, handwritten notes, our distaste for schmoozing, our love for books.
But there was one thing we couldn’t bond over.
Nail polish.
“I don’t get it,” he used to tell me.
He knows it’s pretty. He appreciates how polished nails can complete an outfit – after all, he does love fashion. When he sees a color he likes on my nails, he’d say it. But he didn’t get why I was so crazy about polish. And why I had to have so many bottles.
So when he texted me a few days ago that he had a surprise for me, polish was the furthest thing from my mind.
There was no way J would give me polish.
You know I love surprises and I love trying to guess what the surprise is. But I kept striking out.
Is it this Korean fish ice cream I love so much? I asked J.
No, he said. But I got one word right.
He posted this clue on Twitter.
I love how poetic this riddle was. But I still couldn’t guess what the surprise was.
Luckily, I could stop guessing.
Because J went to my office last Thursday to bring this incredibly sweet gift.
Even the bag is pretty.
It came with a card.
Like I said, J knows how much I love handwritten notes.
His illustrated clues finally gave me the answer.
I knew what the surprise was!
Yes, Butter London!
I love love love the three colors he chose for me.
Disrespectful pig = Cheeky Chops.
Obviously sad fish = Trout Pout.
Suck up to Liz = All Hail The Queen.
Don’t you just love how clever the riddle was?
I found it so clever that I told J to keep writing riddles and he just gave me a funny look.
I posted a photo of the gift on Instagram.
And yesterday, I finally got the chance to swatch them.
J said he almost picked Hen Party instead of All Hail The Queen so his gift would be animal-themed. But I think what he chose was just perfect.
This is Cheeky Chops.
As you know, yellow polish can be incredibly hard to photograph so this photo is not color accurate at all.
Cheeky Chops isn’t as crazy bright in real life.
It’s bright but has a hint of softness that these photos don’t show.
Yellows can be a nightmare to apply but not Cheeky Chops.
I used three coats to achieve opacity and evenness.
This is Trout Pout.
Butter London describes this as “an opaque shade of cantaloupe.”
I think it’s beautiful.
It’s the killer combination of salmon, pink and coral.
It’s such a bright and happy color.
Although it’s British slang for women with oversized collagen-injected lips, I still find the name cute.
I used two coats.
This is All Hail The Queen.
This was originally released as All Hail McQueen, as a tribute to designer Alexander McQueen.
They may have changed the name but it remains the same beautiful polish.
Butter London describes this as “an opaque, holographic beige.”
To me (and on me), it looks more like taupe than beige and I’m glad.
I love this polish so much. I even texted J after applying it to tell him how much I loved it.
And I’m still wearing it now.
All Hail The Queen’s holo effect is subtle and because I’m not holo-crazy, I like it that way.
The formula was fantastic. It’s super smooth. It practically applied itself.
Two coats are enough but I also tried three.
Love times three.
This big dose of Butter London was an incredibly sweet surprise made even more special because it came from J. The thought that he looked at my Wanted list and then spent time choosing these shades tickles me. Now he can no longer say, “I don’t get it.” Because he totally does.
Thanks, J. You rock. And with or without polish, you rock my world. But you already know that.
