Devil's Lure

The one thing that an Elder Goth can do is change her mind, we always reserve that privilege.

In an earlier posting I said that it is not good for an Elder Goth to wear dark, dark nail polish, well yes and no.

The “no” part is that it is best for an Elder Goth to avoid those quirky nail polishes like straight black, blue, yellow, green or any every odd or garish colors.

But here is where an Elder Goth can have fun, first look at your hands; I mean seriously look at them. If they do not have brown age spots, if they do not look ropey, but instead look smooth and beautiful, and you take precautions to wear gloves while gardening in your “Poisonous Garden” or wear protective gloves while cleaning out the cauldron or washing dishes as well as using a good cream or hand lotion to prevent chapping, you can get away with certain dark, dark colors.

Recently I came across a color by Revlon titled “Devil’s Lure”. It’s part of the Revlon Masquerade collection. “Devil’s Lure” What a delightful name, this color was an incredibly deep dark purple with a reddish base, at a distance it almost looked black, but vampy warm; even close up it looks good, almost like (dare I say it?) dried blood. There is suppose to be a slight amount of glitter in it but if it’s there it’s very sparse; to get the blood look you have to put on at least 3 coats to get that deep intense blackish dried blood red and of course the usual base coat and fast drying top coat.

But try as I could, I could not find another bottle of that “vintage” and it was only recently out, perhaps as an experiment. Disappointed that I was, I didn’t give up hope, and found by accident among the “Wet and Wild Fantasy” colors a seasonal nail polish titled Vampire Blood or Vamp Blood, and it has that same quality in color. This polish is easy to spot as the bottle caps are made to look like tombstones. Just perfect for a Goth vanity table.

However, if your hands have seen a lot of wear, then I do suggest staying with a neutral color to just give your hands a sense of length instead of looking like Sylvia Browne’s talons. Nothing against Sylvia Browne but those nails are just too much.

Grandinroad (grandinroad.com) puts out a seasonal “Halloween Haven” catalog that is featured in Martha Stewarts Magazine, I know snarklings but one can find the nicest decorations for one’s home and even get idea’s on how to decorate your place not only for Halloween but all year round.

And I got lucky at Party City’s Halloween branch called Halloween City, and found spider web valances as well as a fireplace mantle drape that also has tiny orange lights.

Of late Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, Wal-Mart and I also saw it at IKEA all have been carrying black and red solid color dishware, if one hunts one can find the most lovely gothic type things.

And to continue the interior decorating theme, I’ve come across a web site called Gothic Rose Antiques; they are located in Placerville, CA. but they specialize in the strange and gothic, I’ve posted their link on my favorites. You have to go to their web site and peruse their collection of what they have for sale, but what I think would be even better is to travel to Placerville and see what they have in their shop. Since it’s on Highway 50 on the way to Lake Tahoe I would say that it would be best to avoid going when the snow is heavy on the roads, but still if you are into a serious traveling gothic shopping spree then it’s well worth checking out.

I know snarklings why would anyone do gothic shopping in the middle of the California Gold Rush Country? Why Not. Sometimes in one of those out of the way places one can find the most interesting things. So don’t turn your nose up at “junk shops” in the middle of no-where. You never know what you might find.