Flo-Jo Friday...

I am not easily impressed.

More often than not I feel "meh" about most things and most people (meh=relatively neutral). So if I take a strong interest in someone, they should consider themselves special.

Back in the day (mid-late 80s; early 90s) there was this charismatic track runner. You may have heard of her... Her name is Florence Griffith-Joyner.

Though she passed away in 1998, she is still the fastest woman of all time, as her record of 10.49s in the 100-meter dash has yet to be broken. She also still holds the world record for the 200 meters.

But that is not what drew me to her. I liked her because she was fresh.

I'd never seen anyone with her level of charisma grace the track. She had long, flowing hair and while other women would put their hair in buns or ponytails to run, she would run with hers out. She wore bright, flashy, elaborate, one-legged leotards (that she designed herself) and was even criticized for wearing what were dubbed "athletic negligees."

She had swag before the word was created.

More than anything , though... I loved her nails...


My mom wasn't big on make-up or girly stuff like going to get her hair and nails done on a regular basis. So, by circumstance, neither was I. I still don't wear make-up but it was something about Flo-Jo's nails that mesmerized me.

Long, polished and pristine; I never saw her with so much as a chip in her polish, in need of a fill or missing a nail. She kept her nails immaculate, as do I. And while I never got into acrylic tips, she definitely fostered my unwavering interest in nail art.

So I will be dedicating the last Friday of each month to my fellow California native, Florence Delorez Griffith-Joyner--my personal nail icon.

I will do a design on my nails (minus the acrylic tips that she wore) inspired by Flo-Jo's "solid gold" signature style. Here is the first one:

left hand<-------------->right hand

This is what I used:

Sinful-Savage
Nicole by OPI-Positive Energy
Sally Hansen-Racey Rouge

I hope that somewhere on the other side, she is pleased with it.

Stay classy.

Peace... And much lacquer to you.

-RHOyal

Flava in ya Ear=Flava on ya Nails: Love and War...

In the car on the way home from work, I was listening to the radio and Pat Benatar's Love is a Battlefield came on.

So true. It inspired me.

Left hand<-------------------->Right hand

I've done camouflage nails a couple of times before. I've never done the heart on top though. I should've made it broken...

This is what I used...

From right to left:
NYX-Not sure of the name
Nubar-Reclaim
Milani-One of a Kind
Sinful-Show me the Way
Pure Ice-Magic
Sally Hansen-Red Carpet
Seche Vite Top Coat

This design is extremely relevant to my life right now. Still, I cannot stand keeping a design on my nails for too long so it will be coming off tomorrow. On to the next one...

Lupe loves the camouflage...

Stay classy.

Peace... And much lacquer to you.

-RHOyal

Midnight Snack: Nail Mail!

Occasionally, I will blog mini posts where I talk very briefly about something. These posts will be like snacks, if you will. Hence, the title.

When I got home from work, this was waiting for me:

The colors included are:
Cross Iron
It's Alive
Goulish Glow
Black Mesh

I cannot wait to use these.

Stay classy.

Peace... And much lacquer too you.

-RHOyal

The Coolest: In Remembrance of Miles...

20 years ago today (September 28th), one of the greatest and coolest jazz musicians to ever live passed away.

As you know, I love music. So I had to rep for Miles today. I decided to represent for him on my nails.

Right Hand <----------------> Left Hand

It's not my best work. It wasn't very inspired. But I had to do something other than slap Summertime and So What on repeat.

Red=F Bomb (Urban Decay) White=White Widow (Urban Decay)

Silver=Positive Energy (Nicole by OPI) Black =Black on Black (Sinful)

And, of course, Seche Vite Top Coat

Rest in peace, Miles. The only musician cooler than Lu is you...

Stay Classy.

Peace... And much lacquer to you.

-RHOyal

Nail Mail: Holo be Thy Name...

I got a few new polishes in the mail the other day. I was really excited because two of them were holographic colors. I've never used holographic polish on my nails before (I know, I'm super late) so I decided to give them a go at work...

First I painted my coworkers nails. We're calling ourselves the Finger Food Club. This isn't the first time I've given her an impromptu manicure during lunch...

I painted her nails with a base coat of Sally Hansen Blackout followed by 2 coats of my newly acquired Nubar 2010. This was the ending result:

Looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. She loved it. The rest of the day, people kept coming to my desk asking me where I got that polish.

Then I painted my nails:

In natural light

Love (and Lacquer) Always Shines Everytime Remember 2 Smile (and use Seche Vite)

Inside Light

I love the holographic look. It's everything I expected it to be. Green is my favorite color so that made the experience all the more better. However, just plain polish with no "art" on my nails is terribly boring. I get tired of looking at the same design on my nails fairly quickly. And I rarely have just a plain color and that's it. Needless to say, I've taken this off and I'm already on to the next one.

Tomorrow's design is a Miles Davis inspired piece. I'll blog it when I get off work. In the meantime and in between time; here is an oldie but goodie design that I did on my sister's nails a few months back:

Our nails stay did around these parts

Alright, that's all for today...

Stay classy.

Peace... And much lacquer to you.

-RHOyal

Spray Paint & Ink Pens... & Nail Polish...

If you know me, then you know I love Lupe Fiasco. No, seriously. Love.



I own multiple copies of all of his albums, I have some album art of his tattooed on my arm and I've been to 23 of his shows with no sign of stopping in the future... So, as you can see, it goes without saying--I love Lupe Fiasco. I actually love music in general so he is just the cherry on top of the cupcake that is music as far as I'm concerned.

Cupcake Nails!

There are several things I take VERY seriously. This blog is dedicated to 3 of them:

A) Food
2) My nails
D) Lupe Fiasco

My original plan was to title this blog Food & Lacquer but some chick took it and, by the looks of it she a) has never been back to her blog since stealing my name; 2) has no clue that the name is a play off of Lupe's first album Food & Liquor; and d) has no plans on posting anything food or lacquer related anytime soon...

It's all good though...

Much like the belief that all of us die-hard Lupe fans have that Food & Liquor 2 will be bigger and better than Food & Liquor, I believe that Food & Lacquer Too will be bigger and better than its predecessor. Hell, it already is... We've actually posted something!

Happy 5th Anniversary, Food and Liquor!

Stay Classy.

Peace... And much lacquer to you.

-RHOyal