Well, Hello there!

I know you guys haven't seen a post on this blog in awhile. But as another long time friend of Erika's, and a reader/ supporter of this blog, I mentioned to her that I hadn't seen any posts in awhile. I do like to support anything my friends do, and have been reading since the beginning. So she asked if I'd like to take part, and here I am!

Now i'm nowhere near as good with a brush as Erika, Renee, and Julie are. More like Ernestina Does A Manicure, in my honest opinion. And I think I may be dating myself with that paraphrased reference. :-P But I do love polish, and have a willingness to get better so bear with me!

I've been buying polish since middle school when all I could afford is a 99 cent bottle of Wet 'N Wild, sadly those hideous colors of blue and metallic apple green are long dried out, but the memories remain (of hideous manicures). Painting something pretty on your nails makes you feel good, and why shouldn't we all treat ourselves to some good feels now and again?

For my first post I decided to post on a polish that was bought for me as a gift from Erika when I went up to NY to visit; Deborah Lippman's Lets Go Crazy. You should know, I'm a HUGE sucker for purple and glitter so this polish was a no brainer for my first Lippman. I've read around  about it, and the consensus is that it's chunky,  the purple is murky... Well you all can google that if you're interested. Also, until I get my camera charger in the mail, I'm stuck with my 2 year old ancient smartphone camera. So no judging on the picture quality until I say so! :)

Rejuvacote, Lets Go Crazy, Out The Door Topcoat. 

Plus showing off some possibilities for future posts :)

First things first, I LOVE this polish. I do think it needs some work to come out well, though. It could be me who knows. But sheer purple, with tons of colored glitter? I'm probably biased as a lover of purple shiny things. 

These pictures will get better I promise. I'll also invest in something to get those bits of polish off by my next post

So this was one coat of Rejuvacote, which is my standard base coat. Two thick coats of Lets Go Crazy, followed by one thick coat of Out the Door. I did have to fish every few nails because the glitter was getting sparse, as well as a quick cap and roll. But despite that, and some streakiness, I still have a big mushy soft spot for this polish. As I get more used to doing my nails more often i'll definitely revisit to see if I have the same issues. Anyone have this polish have the same issues? Let me know!

Bonus: Have any of you seen this link for cute Valentines mani ideas? Now I'd change the pink to purple, as i'm not a pink fan. But that's just me. A solid purple mani, with maybe a red heart on the thumb is as Valentine-y as I get. But, they're all super creative. :)

Mermaids tail dupe! From the past manicure files!

A few months ago I was in Urban Outfitters, perusing the new wares. I like Urban Outfitters. Now I'm not a cheer leader by any chance, But I do like a few things they sell. I bought two polishes from them, one called Sea Dust. and a tomato red color aptly titled "Cherry Tomato' GORGEOUS!

The original

The second I saw sea dust I knew it was a dupe for Mermaid's Tail! Now I don't own the actual polish because its a pretty color but I can't see myself spending 20$ on a glittery nail polish, but 2 for 8? I can do!

I call this my little mermaid inspired manicure because I had watched the little mermaid about 30 times that week, it was fitting, you think?

The red used for the hearts is "Cherry Tomato" so pretty!

The wear is about 4 days before its chipped off, which isn't that bad. Not amazing but good for someone like me who changes their polish often. Too often!

I can't find the polish on the web site so something is telling me this is a store only thing, or they don't sell it anymore. Shame.

Revlon, you sly dogs you..

So if you love nail polishes, then you probably know that Revlon has been sneakingly releasing dupes of certain high end brands like Chanel and Deborah Lippmann. The best in my opinion being the dupe for Bad Romance by DL, called Facets of Fuchsia. But.. they have done it again!

A "glitter in the air" dupe called "Whimsical"! Which is kind of a terrible name because it makes me think of this.

The second I saw it posted online, I had to have it. I was going to give in and buy it online (from ebay) but I said hold back..wait.. and I'm glad I did because I found it in Ulta)

Now I know some of you are thinking "gee, for someone who doesn't like Revlon, they sure buy a lot of it" and you're right! Okay, half right. I don't like their formula, its gooey, thick and takes forever and  a day to dry! Now the colors, I love!

But I have noticed that they are getting better. Can I just say that the formula in this one was amazing! Sure it needed to three coats, but if you use a base color, one or two would have been more than enough. I think I'm going to try a base color next time, but I really just wanted to see the true color of this one.

This is 3 coats, it's nice but not enough opaque for me.

Four coats! So much better.

But, I must go for now- tata!

The Moody Blues - Secret Per-i-wikle French Mani

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, my tips are growing out and it looks silly, so I really don't have many manis to show off. But I did attempt a blue french yesterday which I thought looked great. I also have a photo I took a few days ago, as I've been all about accent nails to accentuate my newest accessory :) I promise that as soon as I have my nails filled, I will get more creative.

I used Deborah Lippmann's Supermodel (an amazing glossy red) with glitter tips -

 

Cleo enjoyed attempting to munch on my mani.

And here is my very messy french mani.

Deborah Lippmann NEVER Lets Me Down! Yellow Brick Road Review

I remember just how psyched I was in April when my Nordstrom finally stocked Yellow Brick Road. I ran right over and picked up a bottle. When I got home, I eagerly swatched it...and not just disliked it...I hated it! I chucked it aside and forgot about it. Now, 2 months later, I have (slightly) tanner hands, and my acrylic tips, and decided to give it another go. 3 coats of Yellow Brick Road later, I am completely mesmerized. What was I thinking? At this point, I just need to keep my faith in Deborah Lippmann...because this chicka has a true vision for nail polishes. She is just incredible, and I couldn't be happier with her polishes. The application is a sheer faint yellow at first, and by layer 3 it's perfect, creamy, even, smooth, just perfect.

Then I thought, lets add a little sparkle to this! And I came up with a glitter french utilizing Funky Fingers Golden Coast, a gift from Erika. (thanks Erika!!!)

 

Yet Another Glitter In The Air Combo

"geez, can't this chick get new material??" you're probably thinking....

I am the kind of girl, where if something works well, I stick to it. I like a shirt... I buy it in every color. It's just me. So when I ended up falling madly in love with Glitter In The Air, I now probably wear it once a week or so. And stare...and stare...

It's 3 coats of GITA over the pink essie swatch that I cannot remember lol - it's a pale coral sheer pink...

My Restored Faith in Glitter In The Air

Just hanging out here on this icky rainy day, pressing the Inception button at an alarming rate.

Thought i'd show off my current mani. I swatched it once when I got it last month, and it ended up in my closet ignored. Something was just off about it, and I was starting to feel like I just don't like it. Yesterday I applied 2 coats of Seche Vite Ridge Filling Base Coat, and wanted to keep it plain at first. Have you ever tried their ridge filler? It's so pretty! Smooth, pearly, a hint of sparkle, works great on its own. But then I thought i'd give GITA another shot, and added 2 layers of it on top of the Seche. And I LOVE it!

What do you think? Do you own this color? How do you wear it?
 

My First FRANKEN! Glitter In MY Eyes

I'm so excited to say that I have finally tried out frankening, and I think I might be good at it! I started with a bottle of Rainbow by China Glaze, and dumped a small vile of teal sparkles, a small vile of pink sparkles, and a few dustings of green loose pigment, and voila. We have my first franken. That which I will name Glitter In MY Eyes (my take on Glitter in the air)

The pink from the sparkles kind of melted into the color which I ended up loving, and the green added a more shimmery base to it. All in all, I really love it!I love how the glitter kind of floats in the color instead of an all over glitter type of thing. And I love the iridescence of Rainbow.

What do you think? Do you franken? I can't wait to try more!!! Any suggestions?