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. :)

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!

Happy Easter Purple And Hello Kitty Brand Decals

Just thought I'd throw in a quick little mani I did this morning. I got these really cute hello kitty brand mani strips and gave them a shot. I love the look! I'm wearing Grape Pop by China Glaze, with Hard Candy on my ringfinger.

The strips are a little tough to stick on and don't stay down. Maybe I will try them with nail glue next time. I also think I attached them upside down! Still cute.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things ( Julie )

I was arranging my polishes out of boredom, and started to get creative and take photos of some really beautiful swatches. I grouped them according to type/color/glitter/flakes/etc and made it a bit artsy fartsy....check it out.

Which do you like best? Are there any here that you didn't know about? Any you might want to get your hands on?

(please click on the images to view them in all their glory!)

First grouping are my purples/indigos/eggplants/magentas/etc:

Zoya - Zara, Zoya - Deidra, OPI - Merry Midnight, Barry M - Dusky Mauve, Barry M - Indigo, Sinful Colors - Frenzy, Nubar - Violet Sparkles, Nicole for OPI - Step 2 The Beat of My Heart, Nfu Oh - 51

Next are my HEXAGON Glitters:

Deborah Lippmann - Today Was A Fairytale, Wet & Wild FastDry - Party of 5 Glitters, NYC - Starry Silver Glitter, China Glaze - Solar Flare, Hard Candy - Break Up, Hard Candy - Hot Pants, Deborah Lippmann - Ruby Red Slippers, Deborah Lippmann - Bad Romance, Nfu Oh - GS 05

And now for some Silver/Grey Swatches:

China Glaze: Fairy Dust, Zoya - Luna, China Glaze - Recycle, Deborah Lippmann - Today Was A Fairytale, Nubar - Antiquity Silver, China Glaze - Platinum Silver, Piggy Polish - Grey-T, Laura Mercier - Sterling, Nfu Oh - GS 05, Color Club - High Society

Care for some Powdery Pinks/Neutrals?

Barry M - Pink Iridescent, Zoya - Brenna, China Glaze - Innocence, Orly - Tie The Knot, OPI - Heart Throb, Essie- Pink Glove Service

And Last- this is for you, Erika- AVATAR swatches-

China Glaze - Dorothy, Who?, Piggy Polish - Navy I'm Right, China Glaze - Frost Bite, Chi - Midnight Rendezvous, Barry M - Indigo

Pink n Purple Polka Dots (Tammy)

My very first post... :)he-he

My nails are wrapped in acrylic in this picture, since I have been experimenting with all of that because my nails ALWAYS break if not wrapped. But since then I have changed to gel and I am in love. I think acrylic is harder to apply.
Anyway, that day I was in the mood for dots. I hadn't really tried to do it and didn't really know how to but the first thing that came to my head was tooth picks. I applied one coat of Nailtiques Nail Protein Formula 2, two coats of pink (I had just got it from Julie :)). I cut the tip off the tooth pick because I wanted a decent size dot, put some purple nail polish on a napkin and dipped the tooth pick in it. It took me a couple of dot mess ups to get it right but I liked the end result. After a day and a nail accident, I decided to reverse the colors on the index fingernail. I actually liked it better this way.

Colors:
Pink: China Glaze - Strawberry Fields
Purple: Eva - Purple (Didn't use a big name nail polish.)

Sorry for the crappy pic but don't have a really good camera yet ;)