Monday, February 28, 2011

Revlon - Not So Blueberry (Scented!)

Hi everyone!

It is a VERY gloomy, overcast day here in Baltimore. I tried to take good pictures of this gorgeous polish, but I believe I failed. STILL, I wanted to share it with you. I edited the crap out of these pictures to disguise a cut on one of my fingers. Sorry, but you don't want to see that.

Not So Blueberry is a scented nail polish from Revlon! I have seen the display for a while, and a few months ago I bought "Beach." It's a cool lime green color, but the smell is nauseating. It smells like rotting roses or something. I couldn't stand it. BUT, I decided to give the line another try when I spotted this beauty.

This color is really hard to describe. It's a bluish purple. Or a purplish blue. Almost periwinkle, but then almost cornflower in different lighting. Very special! And the smell is AWESOME! Even with a coat of Seche Vite, I can faintly smell berries when my hands get close to my nose. I'm sure the novelty (or the smell!) will wear off, but for now it's nice.

I can't wait to slap China Glaze - Black Mesh over this for some crackle action! I'll probably do that tomorrow or something.

So yeah, sorry the photos are terrible, but I do think they accurately show the color of this beautiful polish. Run out and buy it now!

Thanks for reading! Enjoy your week!

Saturday, February 26, 2011

China Glaze Crackle Glaze - Broken Hearted

YESSSSSSS!!!
Okay, as I mentioned in my last entry, I finally caved and just ordered some China Glaze Crackle Glaze polishes in the mail. I ordered the pink (Broken Hearted), the gray (Cracked Concrete), and the black (can't remember the name). I got them from Amazon from two different sellers, and I received the pink and gray in the mail today! I was SO excited! I've been calling my local beauty supply stores everyday asking if they got them in yet, so finally I got tired of waiting when they said they'd have them "sometime in March." Boo for waiting!

So here is my first choice of manicure! This is Broken Hearted layered over OPI - Funky Dunkey from the Shrek collection. Pink and purple are one of my very favorite color combinations, so this was a no-brainer. I tried thicker layers (ring finger) and very thin (pinkie) for mixed results. And, in my humble opinion, they all look cool! I'm loving it.

All of these pictures show two coats of Funky Dunkey (dried COMPLETELY before applying crackle), one coat of Broken Hearted, and one coat of Seche Vite. Without the Vite, the crackle has a matte finish.

What do you think? Will you get any of the Crackle Glaze polishes? I can't wait to try the gray over yellow! That's my second favorite color combo.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for reading, and please click the "Follow" button if you like my blog!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

American Apparel - Trenchcoat

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a great week so far! Almost the weekend...

So remember Tuesday when I said that I down really own any polishes I don't like? Well... I might have to amend that statement.

First of all, the newest American Apparel polishes have this TERRIBLE tendency to separate into layers of pigment. I spent about ten minutes straight shaking the heck out of my bottle of Trenchcoat just to get it to look normal. I have six of the newer AA polishes, and the ALL have the same problem. It's really annoying and frustrating. You can see some of the problem in my pictures, even after vigorous shaking.

At first glance Trenchcoat looks really cool, and it's definitely unique. It's a camel/tan/yellowish color like nothing I own. The closest thing I have is China Glaze - Classic Camel, which looks MUCH better with my skintone than this one.

I just really hated how this polish looked on me. So blah. I usually love ugly/pretty colors that sort of make you want to puke, and sort of make you want to smile at the same time! This one had the puke factor, but I wasn't smiling. It's okay, but when there are so many options out there for nail color, I wouldn't choose this one again. I think this will be finding it's way into my bag of polishes for Zoya's Earth Day exchange.

In better polish news, I finally caved and ordered three of the new China Glaze Crackle polishes from Amazon the other day! I chose the black, gray, and pink. The white was too streaky, the purple was metallic, and the mint green just didn't inspire me. So look for swatches of those babies as soon as I have them! They're not being sold around here yet, but should hit stores in March.

Thanks for reading, and please follow!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

OPI - Jade is the New Black

Hi everyone! Happy Wednesday night! I figured I'd squeeze a new post in before Teen Mom 2. Yes, I watch that crap. Sad, but true!

So this is OPI - Jade is the New Black. It's from the Hong Kong collection, which is still displayed in my Ulta. I think the collection is from Spring 2010. I have two polishes from it- this one and Bling Dynasty, which I have shown here before.
I love this polish. To be honest though, I rarely buy a polish and then don't like it. I know what colors I like, and I know what colors I already have. I try to only buy unique polishes. This is definitely one! Jade is the New Black is a blue-leaning green creme. I have a few green cremes, and I have a few dusty blue cremes, but nothing is even close to this one. And although it's not a particularly bright polish, it didn't bring my spirits down the way other dark polishes have been lately! It's great, and I think both cool and warm skin tones can pull this off.

While I was taking pictures, I realized my cardigan is almost the same color as my polish! It's in the same color family, but the sweater is a bit brighter. So, of course, I had to include it in one picture.

Thank you SO MUCH to all of my new followers! I have been so happy today! Please, if you're reading regularly, just click the little "Follow" button. It just takes a second and it lets me know you're reading!



Hopefully you're having a good week! Halfway to the weekend...

Monday, February 21, 2011

Ulta - Pinata Yada Yada

Happy Monday! If you have off for Presidents Day, good for you! I had to work this morning. I'm not sure why the school doesn't close for this holiday, but whatever! I'm done, and I had a really long workout at the gym, so I'm feeling good.

Here's something to brighten your day! The weather is really gross here in Baltimore. Overcast and raw, but luckily not too cold. Anyway, I picked up this polish recently as I heard it's basically a dead-on dupe for Deborah Lippmann - Happy Birthday, which is an $18.00 polish. This one was around $5.00- I forget the exact amount.

Ulta - Pinata Yada Yada is awesome! Two coats are shown here, and I love the look. I see yellow, silver, red, green, blue, and purpley-pink glitter. The base is clear. Here, I used it to jazz up my Yellow Kitty manicure that I showed you last time. You can't wear this polish and be in a bad mood- it's impossible. It's like a party on my nails! Haha, corny but true. Seriously, click on the picture to make it bigger and check out the bling.

This is the closest dupe I've seen for Happy Birthday. I have Milani - Gems, but the old version from before they added purpley-pink, so I can't speak to that. Even just looking at the bottle for Pinata Yada Yada makes me happy! Plus the name reminds me of Seinfeld.

Thanks for reading, and please click the "Follow" button if you love me, or if you like me, or even if you don't like me at all! Haha, have a good week!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Yellow Kitty

Hello everyone! Hope you're having a great weekend!

Okay. So let's talk Sally Hansen - Yellow Kitty. Did I buy this polish based on the name? Maybe. Do I absolutely love it anyway? Yes! I love the whole Complete Salon Manicure collection of polishes. They're supposed to be base coat, color, and top coat all in one, but I always use my regular base and top coat out of habit. I don't need to, though. These polishes all dry to a great shine and wear very well. I have about six colors from the line, and they're all perfect.

So Yellow Kitty. It's a great baby yellow creme. It's pretty much good to go after three coats, which is good for a pale yellow! I don't know what it is with light polishes, but I sometimes have to do up to five layers to get it to look right. I did have a little bit of cuticle drag with this one, so you can see some spots near my cuticles are more sheer than the rest of the nail. But the color is so precious that I can excuse that. It reminds me of pudding or something. A lot of times I stick with dark colors in the winter, but I'm just sick of them at the moment! I needed something to brighten up my life.

Also, here is a picture of my rose ring, which I posted in a terrible camera phone picture earlier this month/late last month. I really like how the turquoise color looked with my polish. I love this ring! It's cool because it's not just a plastic rose mounted on a metal ring, it's acrylic all around. I got it at a surf shop near my house. It's so chunky and awesome! I have no idea what brand it is, though, which kills me! I'd love to have another in a different color. The shop had this one and a black one, but it was too big for any of my fingers. There is a silver logo on one side of a crown. Do you know any surf-ish brands with a crown logo? If so, please let me know! I included a picture that shows the logo. Look familiar to anyone?

Anyway, I wear this ring every single day and I love it to death. It's so big! I can't even get my fingers together when I'm wearing it! See how far apart my middle finger is from my ring and index fingers? I'm probably doing permanent damage to my hand, but whatever.

Thanks for reading! Have a good one!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Wet & Wild - Party of Five Glitters

Hi everyone!

Here's a quick entry to show you one coat of Wet & Wild - Party of Five Glitters over my manicure from last time, China Glaze - Pelican Gray.

I think it looks pretty cool! I like just one coat, too. I added a second coat and it looked nice, but I was going for a more sparse look. This polish has five different colors of glitter, as the name suggests! Silver, red, blue, green, purple. A really nice combination! Plus, at less than $2.00 a bottle, what more can you ask for?

Hope you like it, and thanks for reading!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

China Glaze - Pelican Gray

Hello there!

Here's the third and last polish I have to share from the China Glaze - Anchors Away collection! I already shared Hey Sailor and Lighthouse. This is Pelican Gray, a really perfect light gray. I have been looking for this exact color for so long, but everything I find is always too purple or too brown. So this is perfect.

However, I think I would rather wait until spring to wear this again. Everything's been so gray here weather-wise, that my nails are just bringing me down! They feel very blah, while I think they'd be awesome in the spring, when things are warming up and flowers are blooming. A nice contrast! I'm going to add a glittery top coat after I finish typing this, to jazz it up. Probably Wet & Wild - Party of Five Glitters. If it looks decent, I'll be sure to snap some pictures to share!

Somehow I got some little black speckles on my nails, which you can see if you enlarge the pictures. I guess they must be tiny air bubbles, as I didn't take a whole lot of time between the second and third coats. Sorry about that!


THANK YOU to all of my followers and commenters!!! For some reason, I still can't figure out how to reply to comments. I've been posting separate comments, and I guess I'll keep doing that for now. So don't feel offended if I don't reply to your comment! Comments make me very happy! :)

Have a great day!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Valentine's Day Nails!

Hello!!! Happy Valentine's Day, one day early!

Okay, here is my REAL Valentine's Day manicure! I wanted to spice up these pictures, so I posed with some of my girliest things! First, my cell phone case, which is covered in pink and white pearls, flowers, and bows. Second, my Nintendo DS case, which I blinged to hell and LOVE!!! Note the nail polish bottle cabochon on my DS! I'm really into pink and white, and jewels and pearls, so now maybe you can see why I love Valentine's Day so much!

After my manicure debacle yesterday, I decided to keep things more simple and chic. I started with three coats of Zoya - Bela. It started out sooooo sheer, but built up really nicely with each coat! It's a very sweet pastel pink, perfect for everyday wear. It's definitely still on the sheer side, but creamy.

As an added bit of trivia, I can tell you that Bela is "featured" in the movie "Black Swan." In one of the dressing room scenes, Nina has a bottle of Bela on her makeup counter. Just a little movie/nail polish trivia! Have you seen it yet? I loved the movie. There is one fingernail-related scene that almost made me throw up. If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about!

Anywho, I have to get back on track here. After Bela I added red hearts from Nicole by OPI - Have a Heart. I couldn't bring myself to open the $1 Target purple hearts polish again because the smell is so overwhelming. DEFINITELY not the most eco-friendly polish, I'm sure. And the pink hearts in the LA Splash polish had too much glitter, so I stuck with red for this look, and I really love it! I did three diagonal hearts on my ring and pointer fingers, then one heart facing out on my other fingers, including the thumb.

The only thing I don't like is that using a toothpick scraped off a little of the color on the hearts. You may be able to see in the pictures that they have little silver marks. I'm not sure how I could have avoided that, though.

In personal news, my boyfriend and I couldn't wait until the actual day to exchange gifts, so we did so last night. He got me a new LaLaLoopsy!!! Blossom Flowerpot! I'm so happy. I was freaking out. I love these dolls. I guess it's the part of me that isn't ready to let go of being a kid. I don't care; I just think they're so cute! I got BF a translucent green Swiss Army Knife, engraved with a special message. Then I was at Target and saw a really cute picture frame related to my nickname for him, so I picked that up and put in a picture of us from our trip to Key West. I like to do cheesy things like that for Valentine's Day.

What are you doing tomorrow? Any plans? Thanks for reading, and please follow!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Ummmmmmmmmm... no.

Okay, sometimes life doesn't turn out the way you envisioned it would. Sometimes, the same thing happens with manicures. This is one of those times.

First, let's look at the arsenal of nail polish used for my Valentine's Day manicure. Please see the picture for bottle shots of all EIGHT. Here's a list of how it went down:




1 coat Orly Bonder base coat
2 coats Sally Hansen - Lavender Cloud
2 coats China Glaze - Rainbow
1 coat Seche Vite to dry things faster

THEN I used a toothpick to pick out the following:
Red hearts - Nicole by OPI - Have a Heart
Purple hearts - Random Target nail polish
Pink hearts - LA Splash - Be Mine

THEN...
1 coat of Gelous to smooth things out
1 coat Seche Vite

Oh, and did I mention that I started this manicure at 10:30 last night? Bad idea. Let's go to the pictures.

Be Mine has white microglitter PACKED throughout, and that covered all of the red and purple hearts, which I hated. Also, everything I slopped on top totally covered the effect of Rainbow, so I really wish I had just left off those two coats! So even going to bed last night, I knew it was a disaster. I left it on just to take pictures. It was just TOO MUCH.

This morning, I woke up to BUBBLE CITY. All of the dark speckles in the pictures? Bubbles. No wonder, there were like 1000 coats of crap on my nails! Bubbles popped up EVERYWHERE, making the entire manicure totally laughable. Oh well, it just goes to show you that things don't always go as planned!

To add insult to injury, I woke up today with a pounding headache, almost certainly caused by shutting myself in a room with eight polishes for the evening. It's gone now, though, so yay! Both the manicure and the headache, that is. Sorry, but I didn't take time to clean up my cuticles or any sloppy workmanship for the pictures. I took this look off first thing, and came up with a much cleaner, more understated look that is equally Valentine-y.

I'll have the TRUE Valentine's Day manicure tomorrow! For now, enjoy this failure! I like the concept, just not the execution. Boo0000!

Friday, February 11, 2011

OPI - Let Me Entertain You

Hello again!

As promised, this is one of two Valentine's Day-themed manicures I'll share with you! This one is also a great everyday polish, and I think can safely be worn year-round! Let Me Entertain You is from OPI's Burlesque holiday collection. Everyone went all goo-goo eyed at the glitter half of the collection (myself included- I bought three), but the shimmer half is just as special!

LMEY is a fuchsia pink with beautiful tiny glitter throughout, giving a glass-flecked or shimmer effect. Sometimes the glimmer flashes light pink, and sometimes gold. There is a lot of depth to this color! I think it would be a perfect V-Day manicure if you're not looking to go over the top. I'm considering this my pre-Valentine's Day look. Tomorrow I'll do something more cutesy, and I'll probably post it on Sunday.

So how do you feel about Valentine's Day? Some people wish it didn't exist, but I do enjoy the sentiment of the day. Love and hearts and hugs and kisses and flowers and candy and all that crap. I guess I'm a girly girl at heart! It's fun. And there's nothing better than scooping up some V-Day goodies on clearance the day after.

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

China Glaze - Lighthouse

Hello!!!

Here is another polish from China Glaze's "Anchors Away" collection. Yes, that name still bothers me. Should be "Aweigh," but whatever! I showed you Hey Sailor a few entries ago, and I have one more polish from the collection to show soon.

This is sparkley yellow awesomeness. I see teeny tiny pieces of greenish and orangeish glitter when the light hits this one. I really love it! I did three coats, and it's still slightly sheer. Definite VNL. But I'm really feeling the sheers lately, as you might be able to tell.

I'm super tired, and I don't have much to say! I'll have two Valentine's Day manicures to share soon! One tomorrow, and one Saturday or Sunday. I think the holiday is pretty weird, but I love the colors and the hearts and the love!

Thanks for reading! Please follow/comment/whatever! Do you have plans for Valentine's Day? Share!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

OPI - Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?

Hello everyone!

Today I have one of the polishes from OPI's new Texas-inspired Spring line. The collection has six polishes with finishes like this one, which they're calling "sorbet" but I call "sheer jelly." There are other polishes from the collection with different finishes, but I haven't seen them. I'm only really interested in the jellies!

So Y'all Come Back Ya Hear? is an orange jelly! And I actually love it! I usually hate orange- it's my least favorite color, I think. But I walked into Ulta and the collection was staring me in the face, and I immediately gravitated toward this orange! It's just that special.

Jelly is my favorite nail polish finish, for sure. It looks sort of sheer and squishy. You'll definitely have VNL after three coats, which is shown here. I included the flash picture to show the truly sheer nature of the polish.

I can't wait to get some more from this collection. I definitely want Too Hot Pink to Hold 'Em. Looks like a bright pink jelly- perfect! I'm still waiting to see swatches of the rest of the collection online.

I have to go hurry and eat a very early dinner before work tonight. Thanks for reading, and please "follow" if you like what you see!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Recycle

Sorry for the delay between posts! As I mentioned, I started back to work last week after having January off, so things were really busy! The first week of the semester is always crazy.

Today I have Rescue Beauty Lounge (RBL) - Recycle to share with you! This polish is usually $18, but I purchased it during their 50% off sale a few months ago. Everyone always raves about Recycle and how it's the best dark green, so I figured I'd pick it up.

RBLs are known for being perfect in two coats. Things didn't quite go that way for me. What you see in the pictures is two coats. I was doing my nails in dim lighting so I just assumed they'd look good after two thick coats. However, I'd say they look streaky and uneven. Next time I'll be sure to try three coats and see if that works out better.

I do love the color, though! It's a really pretty forest green. Just the perfect balance of blues and reds to keep it pretty neutral. I think any skin tone could wear this color.

So how's everyone doing? I ran into one of my loyal readers at the gym yesterday! Hi, Aubrey! She was telling me about two new nail polish colors mark. is releasing soon- a bright pink and a soft shimmery peach (let me know if I messed that up). I order Avon pretty regularly but I haven't tried mark. yet. Maybe I'll give it a whirl! Aub, if you want, feel free to post your mark. store in the comments.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Orly - Halley's Comet

Hello there!

Today I have one of my FAVORITE polishes to share! This is Orly - Halley's Comet, from the Cosmic FX collection. This is one of the most loved nail polish collections released last year, with people going crazy over the colors. Rightfully so! Halley's Comet has been keeping me mesmerized for three days. Hey, that's a long time for me! I just took the pictures a few minutes ago, so you can see how well the polish is wearing, with almost no tip wear.

Halley flashes from blue to green to gold. This polish definitely reminds me of a mermaid. It has that feel.

While I do love this polish very much, a lot of people were disappointed in it and consider it the least original polish in the Cosmic FX collection. This is because both OPI and Zoya have dead-on dupes: Catch Me in Your Net and Charla, respectively. I prefer Orly because the bottles are slightly larger (.6 ounces as opposed to .5). This collection was priced higher than most Orlys though. They said it had something to do with the formula. Whatever, it's worth it.

In other news, I am obsessed with my LaLaLoopsy doll, Pillow Featherbed. That's her name. Really. BUT I did give her a new name, Esme. She's French. So is her little "mini-me" doll, GiGi. And she is too cute. I just love these dolls! I feel as though they were made for adults, even though they are targeted to children. They appeal to the same people who love Blythe dolls, I think. Anyway, this is how weird I am. I'm playing with dolls again. And I don't even care!


Thanks for reading! Please comment and Follow!