Collection post!

I've been meaning to show my collection of my babies, errr I mean my polishes, but I didn't want to be a bragger and show off. I'm always jumping on a near by soap box talking about bragging and how much I loath it! I think it's a middle child thing, who knows. I just hate bragging, but I figured this is a nail blog, and showing your nail polish would be exciting, and hopefully not go over into bragging territory.

Do you think I like Zoya?

It makes me so sad that OPI for Sephora is done-zo. They had a great formula, and you can tell that I used them a lot! My fave being the Perdiot dupe Sage is just a number. And Mermaid to order. I love those colors! 

My small collection of Nubar, OPI and China Glaze. I do like those brands but Zoya is my love! I also have a few other brands in there, like a N Fu oh  (awesome holographic nail polish)

Tink hanging out, like you do. She loves her "Pixie Dust" Haha get it? :P

ESSIES! I am starting to get more into Essie, since they have become more adventurous with different colors and textures. They used to be so blah and blend, but the last few collections have been amazing! There is a single Martini nails polish that is very pretty but I wasn't crazy about the application. And my only Color Club, poor CC.. I need to get more of them in the future. And my Butter London polishes, which I love but wish they weren't so pricey. 

A barielle called Elle's Spell, gorgeous flakie gifted from Julie! My revlon scented polishes (the green one gifted from Tarah, and my Marc Jacobs Nail polish from Reneeeee. And MY CHANELS!

All gifts from my boss on her travels, I can't bring myself to buy one for myself... Vendetta is a purple that is really hard to photograph. Grrrr.

Confession time, this isn't my whole collection. I've got an Ikea helmer filled with three draws. But I thought I would do that for another post. Pace myself. Okay that's it for now!

Gel Nails.. #thisjusthappened.

Yes, you read it here. I finally gave in and got a gel manicure. I think after a week of non-stop craziness with the girls I nanny for, it was well deserved, and cheap to boot!

The process was very relaxing, I didn't feel rushed to pick a color, and they said I picked a color that was good for my skin tone.
When I sat down, the lady who did my nails was named Tina and she said I had very nice nails and they were smooth and had a nice shape (THANK YOU NAIL ENVY). At first I thought maybe she was being nice for a tip, but then she said to my boss, who goes there every 2 weeks, very bluntly that her nails looked very bad (she was right, they were a hot mess). After that I knew she was speaking her mind, and not buttering me up for a tip.

She shaped them in the "squval" shape, and neatened my cuticles. And applied the base gel coat, it went in the lamp for about a minute and then applied the color which is called A GRAPE FIT by OPI. I knew I wanted something purple when I walked in, and they had a ton of purples to choose from. I love this color so much I think I may get the nail polish version of it, its a bit darker then planks a lot from them, which I own. Basically it was a base protective coat, 2 coats of A GRAPE FIT, and then  top coat that was cured in an UV Lamp. I know there is a ton of OMG they are bad for you, so I didn't go in there, with no idea about the risks. But I plan on making this a special occasion thing. Yeah I know.. I know.. Overall the whole process took about 20 minutes. I also had a hand massage as well. It was heaven.  So overall, a wonderful experience :)

OPI Planks a lot and Funky Fingers Kenyan Sunset

I've been really getting into the gradient looks, using the make up sponge method. Who knew how easy it was! At first I was going to do a Red version, but at the last second I went with purple, my good ole stand by color;)

I used Planks a lot by OPI that came out in the Pirates of The Caribbean: Stranger Tides collection. Renee got me the mini set for Christmas last year and of course I was very happy! And may I add she bought in Japan, so I know that was not cheap. Any one who's been to Japan knows that OPI, ESSIE, and other American brands cost an arm, leg and first born child..(not in that order!) Then to finish the look, I sponged on Funky Fingers in Kenyan Sunset on the tips. You can't tell from the bottle but its a holo! A gorgeous shimmery HOLO! I love when that happens, you get a polish that looks pretty but then you paint it on, and kaboom..holo goodness;)

I want to try this gradient look in different colors, as it was super easy! But for now I must be going, work awaits!

Thanks to Scrangie and Painting rainbows for the images!

Guys just a reminder!
Giveaways are still underway-
All Glitzed up! and A Polished Life!

OPI DS Vintage

This was a very lucky Target find back in January, and is from the original DS line. Does Target normally carry this line? It was the only one there, and I grabbed it quick!

I just LOVE OPI's DS line, I can't get enough!  I'm a big holo fan, so it's not a huge surprise.  I have one more in this line that Julie gave me a while back, I need to get around to posting it sometime soon.

DS Vintage is a gorgeous coral-pink with holo glitter, though I've also seen it described as a salmon pink and peach.  This is two coats, and the formula was great.  Look how it sparkles in the light, rainbows on your nails!  ::love::

OPI DS Vintage, a photo by KitaRei on Flickr.

Weekend Manicure!

After receiving my package, I broke out the KleanColor Bluebell holo! It really is just a gorgeous and stunning color. I layered it over OPI Lincoln Park after Dark, which alone is a gorgeous dark purple red creme. It's a great substitute for Chanel Vamp (although I wouldn't refuse it).

Look at those colors! I had to take a few pictures to show the angles. And it was not hard! I think this is one of the only nail polishes besides Nfu Oh 51, where I literally didn't have to take 40 pictures to get all the colors in one shot. One thing that I did not like about this brand, the polishes REEK! I mean, wow.. they are 3 Free, but wow, whatever they put in there polishes, it stinks! Literally.

But as much as the smell is a downer, these really are amazing. And for the price, I can invest in a clothes pin for my nose, ha ha. I would also like to note that the dry time is very fast! I would clock it at about five minutes. Even faster with a coat of Seche Vite!

I can't wait to try another color, I have been testing different bases, and so far they look amazing.. except white.. which kind of sucks, because of the potential! But that is it for now, tomorrow I will post my hauls from Christmas Break, tata!

The West Memphis Three Are FREED!!! A New Car, And A New Swatch!

*If you have an opposition to the West Memphis 3, I ask only that you first educate yourself on this case before posting controversial comments. Visit http://www.wm3.org to learn about them.*

Hi everyone! I am sorry I've been mia - I have a heaping pile of issues going on in my life right now regarding fertility, my health, and my future. Needless to say, it hasn't been all shits n' giggles for me. I will fill you all in soon, and I promise some awesome swatches are to come.

But right now I want to focus my attention on the fact that the WEST MEMPHIS THREE are finally home! I am so happy, despite the lame Alford plea, that they will be able to continue their lives...18 years later...outside of jail. The case will continue investigating, and hopefully the DNA evidence can point investigators in the right direction. (ahem...TERRY HOBBS)

I have been a WM3 supporter for over 15 years. I have poured my heart and soul into spreading awareness of their case, and I am pretty sure I was able to get a lot of friends on board as well.

I threw together a few designs this morning, and posted them on Zazzle for sale. Please pass along the designs, as I will donate all money received from my sales to WM3.org so that they may continue the investigation. It is imperative that we find justice for the 3 boys who were murdered, and clear Damien, Jason, and Jessie's names for good.

I'm going to link the designs below here, but I am going to make them available in ALL shirt types, so please visit my Zazzle Shop for all designs, and designs to come.

 

so to report some more happy news, my 30th birthday just passed (that's not the happy news!) and I got an amazing new camera for better photos that I haven't been able to fully test out yet. It's the Canon EOS 69D, digital SLR. What a fantastic camera!!

And, I got a new JEEP! Not for my birthday though, but because my JEEP is ready to be laid to rest. 130k miles, yes, it's time!

My new Jeep, a Wrangler Unlimited Mojave Ed.

 

Oh, you were expecting some nail polish, right?? Here is my current swatch, a very coveted and beautiful swatch by OPI Sephora - Midnight Mambo. Excuse my peely fingers.

Hi everyone!

I got the Pirates of the Caribbean Silver Shatter about a month ago, and I've been dying to swatch it ever since. I was waiting to get another OPI color to swatch it over so I could add it to my Flickr OPI album.

Speaking of Flickr, has anyone noticed how weird it's been acting lately? Since the other day it is giving me hell when I try to post pics, one time it says it doesn't go through, and another it says it went through but I don't see anything.. (so if this gets double posted.. you'll know why.)

Anyway, so I found a drug store that has some OPI polishes CHEAP, (and they were running out) so I grabbed Chicago Champagne Toast while the getting was good so I could swatch it with the Silver Shatter.

First, a swatch of Chicago Champagne Toast:

It's a really pretty metallic mauvey-pink. It looks great on it's own, but I was dying to swatch the shatter polish. Now the mani:

As always, thanks for looking!!

Diagonal & reversed edge, holographic and "bullion" mani

For today's manicure I did get a little inspiration from one of my Japanese manicure magazines, the basic design, but to mix it up I changed the colors, reversed the patterns on two nails, and re-arranged the placements of the gold balls.

OPI Tickle My France-y swatch:

I called the gold balls bullion in the title, because well thats what they're called here, and well, I don't know what else to call them.. they aren't beads.

Diagonal & reversed edge, holographic and "bullion" mani, a photo by KitaRei on Flickr.
After my base coat I applied the base color, OPI Tickle My France-y. Its a great color, a mauve-y nude, which works so well with other pink and purple polishes. I then freehanded (let me tell you how hard that is.. and I did mess up and fix it a few times) the diagonal hot pink (no name) polish edges, purporsely reversing the sizes,(look at index and middle finger, for example, the bottom corner on the index finger is bigger, while the top corner on the middle finger is bigger) and I reversed the pattern on the thumb and pinkie fingers.

Next, I took a nail art brush and painted stripes, reversing the placement on the nails of course ;) of Sally Hansen Teflon Tuff Nail Color in Secrets Frost. I LOVE this holographic polish.. I need more!! After that, I placed the gold bullion in alternating places on the nail (seeing a pattern here? ^_~.) The spacing/placement on the nails is on purpose, no gold beads are missing/placed incorrectly. Finally I topped it off with Coffret D'or gel topcoat.

I actually found a much better gel topcoat, will blog about that one later!

An Eastery Sparkly Day- And My Easter Present!

Happy Easter! 

Is that just about the scariest easter bunny you've ever seen? I couldn't help myself.

You know by now that I cannot just keep one color on my nails for longer than 24 hours, right? So consider the last Easter post a "trial" of sorts! A preparation for the real deal ;)

I was also just thinking, as I know I've pretty much created over-kill on sparkly accent nails. What do you, as readers of our blog, want to see more of? Because we are ready and willing (perverted thoughts aside!) to deliver what you would like to see! At first, we started this blog more as an outlet to feed our obsessions, and share our nail polish looks as friends, but now since we have followers, we want to keep you entertained as well! So speak up. Let us know what we can do more of, less of, no more of....and hey, we'll give it a shot :)

I recently purchased an armload of nail art stamps (copies of the real Konad deal on Amazon for  a fraction of the price) so look forward to many Konad experiments ahead in near-future posts.

And moving on to my Eastery Sparkly Day look.....

My new Sephora OPI swatch "Havanah Dreams" accented with Deborah Lippmann's "Today Was A Fairytale". The blue jelly blended in really nicely with the blue cream swatch, and I really like this look! Maybe I will try it over purple next time. I *like* the Deborah Lippmann swatch, but I feel like it's been done before, by just about everyone. I think they could have really knocked this swatch out of the park if they added super-micro glitter, too. 3 levels of glitter would have been bliss!

this is just 1 layer of TWAF

Now on to the Easter present....please note, this was an Easter present to myself! I don't expect Mr.Scary Easter Bunny to leave anything at my doorstep, so I have to take initiative and buy a present for myself, right? I found this Juicy Couture Kindle case for $35 at TJ Maxx, and didn't even hesitate. I had to have it. I love it!

A Secret Bunny Exchange

I belong to a really freakin amazing community called Purseblog.com, and I obviously spend most of my time in the sub-forum for nail junkies such as myself.

I noticed there were occasionally these "exchange" posts, organized by a really awesome girl, where you sign up, and become a secret santa of sorts for another person on the board. You can participate to send internationally, that way you can get goodies from any part of the world. And you never know what you're going to get. You just brief the organizer on what nail polish finishes/brands you like/dis-like, etc, and the rest is up to whoever gets to buy for you.

And this is what my Secret Bunny (Easter!) put together for me! People can be SO awesome and thoughtful. I am so happy to have found that forum, and so grateful for this amazing gift!! Keep your eyes out for swatches of these!

 

Left to right:

Sephora for OPI - Havana Dreams
Sephora for OPI - Traffic - Stopper Copper
Milani - 530 Gems
Illamasqua - Ruthless
 

I see this Illamasqua perfecting a great outfit. Black tank, my 7 For All Mankind Roxanne skinnies in Beverly Glen, my red ruffly spike pumps....red on fingers and black on toes. Oooh! SO going to do that!