Broadway Nails Nail Dress

Howdy!

I have something extra special for you today! After trolling every Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, Target, and Walgreens in town, I finally found the new Broadway Nails Nail Dress Stick-On Wraps! Phew, that was a mouthful.

Katy Perry had a minx manicure a few months ago (maybe even a year ago?) that made me nuts. Here's that one: squeeeee! These new Broadway stickers are about as close as you can get in the comfort of your own home, PLUS they were on sale for $2.50!!!

So far, I have had them on for three days, and it's doing okay. I did a bad job applying them and had some ridges and folds. The pattern mostly hides them, but they're showing more wear than I would like at the tips. I took the pictures on the second day of wear, so they are pretty fresh. You can see some tip wear on my index finger, though. I did add a layer of Seche Vite, which you can see on my middle finger's cuticle. Sorry, I was sloppy.

All-in-all, the look you get for $2.50 is worth it. I have never had this many comments about my nails EVER. As for the Sally Hansen VitaSurge Cuticle Gel pictured, I've been using it to try to get my hands to look less disgusting. I actually think it's working! We'll see over the coming days/weeks.

I started back to work today after the winter break, and so far so good. I'm TA'ing for two classes, one in the morning and one at night. Same teachers as last semester, so I know what to expect. In other news, I am now obsessed with LaLaLoopsy dolls. So much cuter than Blythes! Did I just say that? I think I'm just trying to make myself believe it since LaLaLoopsy dolls are like $20 and Blythes are like $98731482730481623087.

Thanks for reading! I hope you're having a great day!

Zoya - Gilda and OPI - Black Shatter

Wow, two posts in one day?

As I mentioned in my last post, I met up with some old friends last night for a 15-year reunion of our 8th grade graduation. We did the same last year for the first time since we graduated. We always have so much to talk about, and it's the best time! No one knows the weird, crazy, close-knit nature of Catholic school kids except former ones. We have a really tight bond, and I love seeing them.

So what does this have to do with nail polish?

Well, my friend Julie was there, and we share the same passion for all things polish-related! She heard about the 3 Free Zoyas giveaway here on my blog, and finally got her order the other day. So for our reunion, she wore Gilda with a layer of OPI - Black Shatter on top!!! I need to get my hands on BOTH of them after seeing her nails. Amazing! So, like the two little nerds we are, we rushed off to the bathroom so I could try to get shots of her nails in the light. These are the best I could get!

So what do you think??? SO COOL! The color is really not too accurate on Gilda, but at least you can clearly see the Shatter effect on top. Love it!

And here's a shot of me and Julie. She's on the left, I'm on the right!

Thanks for reading!

China Glaze - Hey Sailor

So yes, I bought this polish based on the name. Come on! It sounds so pin-up-y and fun! And it is. It's a pretty classic red creme. Red. That's the best way to describe it. Standard, gold ol' red. And I love it! It works with my skin tone. It doesn't lean too orange or too blue. It's perfect.

China Glaze just released their "Anchors Away" collection, which has a lot of fun colors in a wide range. To be honest, the name pisses me off because shouldn't it be "Anchors Aweigh?" Whatever.

I bought two other colors from the collection, Pelican Gray and Lighthouse, so look for swatches of those soon!

In other news, last night was my 15-year 8th grade reunion. I went to a very small Catholic school, so all 20 of us were pretty close. Last night there were just six of us, but it was so fun! I took some shots of my friend Julie's nail polish, so I'll share that with you in my next post. They were awesome!!

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to click the little Follow button in the info area, because it makes me get all excited and dance around!

2-in-1 Gold Blinginess

Hello, friends!

Here is a case of a manicure I'm pretty unsure about. It was inspired by my friend Kate, who sent me a message asking for a good sparkly gold polish! I gave her some recommendations, and added that my favorite shimmery gold is OPI - Bling Dynasty. Just talking about it made me want to wear it, so I slapped some on and was happy.

Then, for some reason, I decided that wasn't enough. So I added a coat of Sally Girl - Chunky Gold Glitter (at least I think that's what it's called- it's one of the minis from Sally Beauty). And I don't know how I feel! I have the dark, old gold of BD and then the shiny, yellowish gold of CGG. Doesn't quite go together! I kind of like the weird juxtaposition, though. It works in a weird way, but I probably wouldn't wear it again!

I felt the need to get both bottles in the picture. Here's one in natural light and one in artificial.

In face explosion news, I am back to normal!!! Well, almost. My face is still really dry, but the puffiness and redness and flakiness are finally gone. Phew.

Thanks for reading and following!

Loreal - Shopping Spree

Still swollen and itchy, so another short post. This is Loreal - Shopping Spree. I picked it up at Ulta on clearance for about $2.50. It's my only Loreal polish, and I really like it! It's a sheer baby pink with darker pink shimmer throughout.

This is four coats, and I don't know how many it would have taken to make it totally opaque. I don't mind visible nail line (VNL) though. I like sheers! So I think this is a pretty, office-appropriate color.

There's no sun today! So these pictures are the best I can do, especially feeling like a big bloated tomato-person.

Essence - Sundancer

Right now, I look like a huge tomato. My face is swollen, red, bumpy, and itchy. I'll go to the doctor tomorrow, but for now I'm coated in calamine lotion even though it's not really helping.

So, without MUCH comment, here is Essence - Sundancer. It was $.99 at Ulta and it's a pretty good dark yellow/light orange shade. Not what I wanted though. I was looking for a dark yellow, but this isn't it. To orangey. Still, for a dollar, it's good! It is a smaller bottle though- a mini. This is four coats, though. Yellows always take more coats. I don't really know why! One picture is direct sunlight, one is indirect.

Thanks for reading! Hopefully I don't have to wrap my face up like this to get to the doctor tomorrow. This is what I do for my readers:



That's me all bundled up with my face tied up in a scarf so I could venture onto my porch without scaring the neighborhood children.

American Apparel - Office

Hello!

Today I have American Apparel - Office for you. It's a lovely mint green color that I used to hate! I don't know why, but the first time I wore this I thought it was terrible on me. This time, I don't want to take it off! It definitely took three good coats- it was still streaky and thin at two. I'm on day 3 of wear today and I have no chips. It still looks really fresh.

The second picture is up against my parents' house, which is the same general tone as Office, but darker. I just thought it was cool!

Today's been funny- everyone's coming out of the woodwork to ask me about nail polish! I love it so much! I love being my friends' go-to person for polish questions/advice. Makes me feel special.

Anyway, thanks for visiting! If you like the blog, please click the "Follow" button in the right panel! It just takes a second, and it makes me feel cool!

Also, for some reason I can't figure out how to "reply" to comments. So, please don't think I'm ignoring you! I'm just dumb! :)

Zoya - Mimi

Hi, friends!

Sorry it's been a few days. I had a lot of trouble taking good, accurate pictures of today's polish, Zoya - Mimi. This is one of the three polishes I picked up for free from their recent "sale." It's a beautiful purple shimmer!

It's not as blue as it looks here. It's more shimmery than it looks here. Now you see why I was so scared to take pictures of non-creme polishes. I also don't really get why my pinky always looks like the polish is see-through. It doesn't look like that in real life, promise. Um, in full disclosure, I tried to "airbrush" my cuticles a bit, but they still look gross.

Anyway, I kinda realized that dark colors aren't my thing at the moment. My nails are longer than they've been since high school, and I prefer lighter tones to match the length. Darker colors look a little too vampy right now. Oh, well. I popped a coat of Orly - Shine On Crazy Diamond over Mimi yesterday, but I didn't really take a picture. It's a clear polish chock full of holographic glitter. This is the only picture I took all day (with my Blackberry), but I'm mostly sharing it to show off my cool new ring! You can see a little holo goodness shining in the light.













Thanks for reading!

OPI - What's With the Cattitude?

Helloooooo!

Today, I'm sharing OPI - What's With the Cattitude? It's from the Shrek collection, which just doesn't seem to go away! I guess it's part of their core line at this point. I only have two polishes from the collection- this one and Funky Dunkey, a perfect purple creme.

WWTC is a pale blue cream. Pastel, but not a super light blue. One of my friends said my nails are "Tarheel blue," as in the University of North Carolina. That was a good comparison- it's definitely close to "Carolina blue!" I took one picture in the sun and one in the shade. Sorry my cuticles look so terrible! I haven't had time to care for them this week.

So I have a secret to share. I'm scared to post a glittery manicure! I've been doing creme after creme because I'm pretty sure any pictures I take of glitters or shimmers will look terrible. But, I think I might suck it up and try it for my next manicure. You never know until you try, right?

The baby shower yesterday was so cute! I can't wait until he's born. I chose this pastel blue polish just for the party. It was a hit! Anyway, we all decorated onesies with fabric markers for the baby! I thought that was a fun idea. There was a slideshow of baby pictures of all the party attendees, and you had to guess who was who. Mine was too easy! I had these HUGE brown eyes as a baby, and I still sort of do, so that made it simple. Some people looked so different from their baby pictures! It's crazy.

Welp, that's all I have for you today! Have a good one!

Zoya - Perrie

Hello friends!

I have had the same color on my nails for three days, but didn't get around to photographing it until today. I was sick yesterday- randomly dizzy and sore. All better today, though!

I'm wearing one of my old (meaning not from the recent free promotion) Zoyas. Perrie is what I think is best described as an "orchid" color. It's very unique. Not really pastel, but not bold either. More red than blue.
Here are two pictures that show how crazy hard it is to photograph nail polish. The first one is indoors, under bright overhead lighting. The second is outdoors. Totally different polishes, right? Nope! So now you see why I have to wait for sunlight. That color is MUCH more accurate.


Anyway, my right hand is totally chippy. I love this polish, but I can't wait to take it off today after I get back from the gym. I'm meeting up with some of my best friends tonight- Shane, Kyle, and Jess! We met in a biology class in 2009 and we try to get together every few months to catch up. Yay! So I have to pick a nail color for tonight, but it also has to work for my best friend Justine's baby shower tomorrow! She's having a little boy, so I'll probably go with something blue or green. We'll see!

Thanks for reading! Please click the Follow button over in the right column!

China Glaze - Blue Island Iced Tea

Hey everyone!

Here are some pictures of my current NOTD, China Glaze - Blue Island Iced Tea. This is one of the polishes from the 2008 collection "Bahama Blues." It was a set of six blue polishes, with a good variety of shades and finishes. I saw some swatches of this color online, and I had to have it! I just purchased it off of eBay a few weeks ago for cheap- less than $5. I'm pretty sure it's not part of China Glaze's core collection, so you'd probably have to find it on an auction site, not a retail site.

Unfortunately, it's been pretty overcast here in Baltimore! I took these pictures yesterday when the sun peeped out for a minute. By the time I uploaded them and looked at the full-size pictures, the sun was gone! I wanted to retake these because they aren't too crisp. Oh, well! One pictures shows direct sunlight, one is indirect sun.

Blue Island Iced Tea is a very light blue metallic shade. It looks silverish in some lights, but it's definitely blue. I am in love with it! I have no other shades anything close to this one. It's very unique, and I also think it transcends seasons. It's a nice icy shade for winter, but definitely fun enough for summer. This is definitely a three-coater. In the pictures, I have only two coats on my pinkie, and you can see that it looks sheer, like a watercolor. Actually, it sort of looks sheer on all my nails in the pictures, but it's opaque in person.

In non-nail polish-related news, I've been spending a lot of time "blinging out" cell phone cases and mirrors to sell on my Etsy site, robotjellyfish. I go through phases of making stuff and phases of forgetting all about it, but lately I'm on a rhinestone high. Since I have off work all month, it's a little something to keep me busy!

Zoya - Lo

Here's my first polish from my 3 Free Zoyas haul! I had to start with Lo, because it looks so bright and cheery- perfect to fight the freezing weather we've been having in Baltimore.

This is three coats. Application was flawless, as usual with Zoyas. I might have been able to get away with two coats, but I almost always do three anyway. Force of habit, I guess.

I'm on day three of wear, and just took the pictures this morning. My nails really do look as good as they did on day 1! No chips, very little tip wear. It's really hard to capture such a bright color. I took about ten pictures in different lighting, but this one had the best results. I would just say that the picture isn't 100% color accurate, but as close as I could get! In real life, it's more bright pink.

So what Zoyas did you all end up picking?

Target Dollar Bin Polish

Hey!

I found this nail polish yesterday in the dollar bin area at Target. They have a whole bunch of Paris-themed stuff right now, including lotions, sleeping masks, pencils, etc. I found this polish mixed in!

It has no brand name, color label, or anything of the sort. Basically, it's lavender hearts floating in clear polish. Nicole by OPI has a light pink version and a red version of this. I own the red one, and it's great to jazz up a manicure.

My friend Janine just gave me a tip about these polishes. It's a lot easier to use a toothpick to pick out the hearts! Rather than globbing this polish on, trying to get the right amount of hearts, this method gives you a lot more control.

The only other polishes I saw were boring reds and pinks, and most of my experience with super cheap no-brand polish hasn't been good. I just couldn't resist this one though- it's hard to mess up purple glitter hearts!

I hope you're having a great weekend!

My Winnings!

Hello again!

Just a little note of appreciation. I won a giveaway from Stephanie at Short 'n Chic, and my nail polishes arrived today! She was giving away ANY three American Apparel polishes- winner's choice. I have about eight of their colors already, and LOVE them! I couldn't believe when I won! I chose Raccoon, Trenchcoat, and Make up, and they are beautiful! I took them outside for a quick picture when the sun peeped out. Trenchcoat looks more mustardy than it does in the picture I took, but the other two look pretty close!



Thanks, Stephanie! Please check out Stephanie's blog, Short 'n Chic. She does great swatches and seems like such a nice girl!

I'm so happy to have these polishes. I'll post swatches of these when I get a chance!

Chanel - Black Velvet

Today I'm sharing a recent NOTD (nail of the day). This is one of two Chanel polishes I own. Black Velvet is from a few seasons ago (the Noir Et Or Paris-Shanghai Collection), but is still available at Chanel.

I lusted over this one for a while. With a $25 price tag, it's not exactly practical, but it is unique. It's not a matte, not quite, but it has a finish almost like black vinyl, or rubber or something. Very sexy, ladies! And yes, this is the most expensive polish I own. My other Chanel was $23.

However, I VERY rarely wear this polish, and not just because I have too many colors to re-wear colors regularly. Black Velvet takes FOREVER to dry. And because you don't want to wear top coat over it and ruin the unique finish, you get tip wear on the second day- at least I do. So while this polish is really cool and special, it's not one of my favorites.

I tried to get pictures that show the finish, but I'm not so good with the whole camera thing, so please be nice. In the second picture, you can tell I dinged up my middle finger. I tried to wait for the polish to dry, but I got tricked! And ugh, my skin looks so dry in these! I've been moisturizing like crazy, but the cold weather is tough.


It also annoys me that the Chanel label on the bottle has bubbles. If I'm paying $25 for a polish, can you at least affix the label properly? Come on now!

On a personal note, I'm back at the gym nonstop, and feeling a lot less jiggly. The farther I get into my bio classes, the more I realize I should take better care of my body. So here I am! So far, I love it. I have off of work alllll month, so the gym is a nice place to kill time. Having a month off sounds pretty sweet, but it's actually terribly boring. I can't wait to get back to teaching! I'm finished with all of my pre-nursing credits, so I'm not taking any classes myself this spring. Yay! Hopefully I can pick up a few extra classes to TA so I can stay busy...

Free Zoya!

Howdy!

I already received my three FREE Zoya nail polishes in the mail!!! If you are a Facebook fan of Zoya, you already know about this. Once they reached 20,000 followers, they released a code for everyone to get three free polishes. There's still time to get yours! Visit http://www.facebook.com/zoyanailpolish for the code! Pay only shipping.

After agonizing for days, I chose Mimi (purple sparkle), Ivanka (green sparkle) and Lo (pink). Lo is the closest color Zoya offers to Pantone's "Color of the Year" for 2011, Honeysuckle! That's why I chose it. And yes, it is named after Lo from The Hills. Here's the press release from Pantone about Honeysuckle.

I haven't tried these three colors yet, but I'll post pictures when I do! I own four other Zoya colors, and they are GREAT quality, and beautiful colors. I definitely recommend the brand!

American Apparel - Factory Grey

Hello, gorgeous! Yes, I'm talking to you! You.

Today I am wearing American Apparel - Factory Grey. I think this is one of their original colors. They have added a few collections since then. This is a purple-based medium grey. In some lights, it actually looks purple. If you're looking for a true grey, this probably isn't it. And by the way, this is the third day of wear. Thus, the cuticule area looks a little ragged, but there's hardly any tip wear! This is two coats of polish, and one coat of Seche Vite on top. I always use Orly Bonder as a base coat.

I received this polish as a gift from my boyfriend's sister. She knows me too well!

I know my pictures are kinda sucky, but I think I'll get better with practice. At least, I mean, I sure hope I do!

On a personal note, I joined a gym for the first time in my life (I'm 28) in mid-December. I've been going six days a week, and finally yesterday my body was screaming at me to SLOW DOWN. So I'm taking today off. I keep getting scared that if I don't go every single day, I'll fall off the wagon and it'll be hard to pick up the momentum again. I'm not really trying to lose weight, but I want to improve my cardiovascular health. I had a wake-up call when I climbed two flights of stairs and could hardly breathe! Sad but true. :)

Christmas Manicure

I want to share my Christmas manicure with you all!

I had this planned for months- since the first time I saw swatches of China Glaze's holiday 2010 collection, "Naughty or Nice."

I started with two coats of OPI - Bling Dynasty, an "old gold," and added two coats of China Glaze - Party Hearty.

Someone said this manicure reminded them of fruitcake!

Hello!

Hi!

My name is Jessica, and I'm a pre-nursing student who loves to do my nails.

I give myself at least two manicures a week, sometimes more. I wanted a blog to keep track of my nails and share pictures.

I love nail polish blogs!