Red & Blue NOTD!

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Hope everyone is enjoying nice weather, spending time with your family and friends and doing something to remember what Memorial Day is all about. We're having some great weather and I spent the day at my cousins for a cookout to celebrate my Godson's birthday. Since I got out of work early yesterday I took the opportunity to paint my nails red and blue. I didn't do any crazy nail art or anything, I'll save that for the 4th of July maybe.

I used Zoya America on my toes, because well, it's called America and it's my favorite red. I used two coats. Then, I've been wanting to try out Nails Inc Baker Street ever since I bought it months ago but I just haven't put it on my nails for some reason. This polish has been hyped up for a while now, apparently Beyonce wore it? I really had no idea. I just kept seeing it on blogs and saw how amazing it was and I knew I needed it!

It's a flipping amazing blue! It's an electric blue but it's so wearable! Also, it's almost the exact color of the cool ranch Doritos bag :) lol. Anyway, it's creamy and dries shiny. For the pictures below I used two coats, my Orly bonder base coat and no top coat.

The only issue I found was that sometimes since it was so creamy, it was hard for me to get just the right amount of polish on the brush. Sometimes I'd have so much polish on the brush it would go all over my cuticles, this happened more when I was doing my right hand since I'm a righty. This could be because of the consistency of the polish or the fact that the brush is so long but the "handle" or top of the bottle that you use to paint your nails is just an odd shape for me that I'm not used to. So, this could just be user error, as in my bad, or just be something to be aware of with thicker creamier polishes. Make sure you have a steady hand and apply just the right amount, also shake well before applying. I also wrapped my tips on the first coat.

Click "Read More" to more nail swatches!

NOTD: Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Buttercup

I can say with certainty that I've never worn yellow nail polish before this. I mean, maybe when I was little, but there hasn't been a time that I can remember when I have worn it, let's put it that way. Even though I do remember buying my first yellow nail polish (weird I know), my gram bought it for me at her hair dressers years and years ago so I'm sure I wore that, but I can't remember what it looked like on me. So, although I do own a handful of pastel and bright yellows, I never wear them. It's not one of those, goes with everything, or go to colors. Then when I finally went to put this on my nails my reaction was similar to, "Oh my, maybe I should take this off?" I just wasn't used to seeing yellow on my nails, and not to mention my pale skin. It's also worth noting that as I write this, it's been on my nails for a few days now and it's growing on me. So, I am glad that I didn't write this immediately after I put it on because otherwise my reaction would have been totally different.

After trying a couple other yellows first, I decided on Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Buttercup, it's one of the newer shades. It went on a little streaky and needed 3 coats, but it's a nice yellow if you're into that! I'm still trying to get into the whole yellow thing but it is a nice change.

I also thought about putting some glitter over the top of it, but then didn't because I thought I didn't need to draw any more attention to my nails. But, if I did add glitter I was thinking it would be gold and possibly Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Big Money!

Like I said I used 3 coats to get this color and I actually didn't put a top coat on. I'm pleasantly surprised at how shiny it is and also really surprised at how it's holding up. Even though I did use a base coat, Orly bonder, I figured since I used 3 coats it wouldn't last very long and could start to peel off. But, so far, I'm on day 4 and I barely have any tip wear!

What are your thoughts on yellow? It's definitely worth trying out if you've never ventured to the yellow side of nail polish! 

NOTD: Pop of color with Nails Inc

A huge trend for summer is mixing neons and nudes. I'm not the biggest fan of nude colored clothing, but I love neons, so this is a trend I endorse 100%. I especially love mixing neons with basic nudes on my nails. I've seen so many nail art posts on Pinterest and tutorials on YouTube so I had to do something. This NOTD is super basic compared to what's out there, but I love it! 

I used a gorgeous pink mini polish from Nails Inc called Notting Hill Gate from their Neon's and Nudes set I bought at Sephora as my accent nail. Although I really love this color and how it came out, I needed to use 3-4 generous coats to get to this color and if I look close enough I can still kind of see my nail through the color. The color I used on the rest of my nails is one on my favorite nudes, Essie's Topless & Barefoot. I only needed two coats and I really like how easily it applies. Also, lately I've been using Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat. 

The next nail look I want to do is definitely nude colored nails with different colored neon tips! I think that would be so fun. I just need my nails to grow out... I may have bit them all off recently due to the stress of the semester ending...

NOTD: Green Ombre Nails for St. Patrick's Day!

This is my attempt at green ombre nails. I spent hours, well maybe just an hour, sorting through and arranging and rearranging all my green polishes to see which ones would work. Well let me tell you that just because you may have hundreds of nail polishes and a ton of one color, doesn't necessarily mean you can do the ombre look you want. You need to have the same base color in all of the colors, and they need to fade naturally. Now, clearly there are no rules, and mine don't look bad, but I wish I have a few more color options to make them fade better, so just have fun! Especially with green though, I was having these few issues. One, I don't have all that many, probably more than the average person, but it's not the color I grab for regularly. Two, I really wanted to use a mint color but that was standing out way too much and it was too blue based as were a lot of my greens, so you'll see what I needed to do.

So I did end up coming up with five different polishes, although another option would be to repeat one or two colors. My mom thoughtfully offered her nails as testers for a while until she got fed up with all my indecisiveness. But, we finally came to this combination.

I apologize that my nails are so unbelievably short, but I've been biting them lately! Which is why painting them should hopefully help me stop again and help them grow!

Left to right = pinky to thumb.

The Wet'n'Wild color I used is literally so old, you can tell by the packaging, it has no name.

So, as you can see, rather than a true ombre light to dark look, it's more of a bright to dark? I don't really know, I like it. Also, I know for a fact the color on my thumb, Essie Pretty Edgy, is going to stain, so I won't be keeping this on very long, not that I would have anyway, but just saying. It's also worth mentioning that the Avon polish on my pinkies, Olive Green, only needed one coat! It was an amazing consistency, super creamy and opaque, although I don't know of you can get it anymore, those polishes are worth checking out!

Did anyone do anything crazy or fun for St. Patty's Day? What green are you wearing? I'll also be sporting my Pandora charms that I've switched around just for today. I put all my green glass beads and my shamrock on the black rope bracelet! Have fun everyone!

NOTD: OPI Fly (Nicki Minaj Collection)

Let me start off by saying that this was my NOTD a while ago but I'm just getting around to blogging about it now. The up side to this is that I can talk about how long it lasted on my nails and that type of thing, where I usually wouldn't be able to because I'd be talking about a color that's still on my nails.

So, OPI Fly is a bright blue, teal. Sometimes it looks more blue, sometimes it's a brighter teal with more green, so naturally, it's hard to capture on camera, but it's a really pretty color. It's a creme finish and I used two coats and they went on great. I should have put more color on the tips of my nails, but I never remember to do that. I also used Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat.

Click "Read More" to see more pictures and to read my full review.

NOTD: Sinful Colors Cinderella & Mint Apple

Probably for about the last month or so I've see so many nail blogs, posts and pictures about Sinful Colors Cinderella. After seeing it for the millionth time I finally had to get to the drugstore and see if I could find it. Honestly, I thought it was a really pretty color, and it has a cute name, but I wasn't rushing out over it, but people were obsessing and at a around $1.00 to $1.99 price point, you can't really go wrong. I had heard some people say it was on a separate display and others say it was in the permanent display so I wasn't really sure where or if I'd be able to find it. I went to Walgreens and looked everywhere and wasn't seeing it. Then I looked really closely at the permeant display again and I found it tucked way behind some random color, like someone was hiding it (I used to do that). I was so happy because it was the only one there. Then I looked at the other colors and found another one that caught my eye, I've been into the mint green colors lately, but I don't know about if it;s new or old or what. Regardless, they're both really pretty!

Then, the other night I went to paint my nails and grabbed both of these colors and one other glitter polish and decided to start painting. When this happens, things can and usually do go terribly wrong, when I decide to layer and layer colors. However, this time, I'm thrilled to report, things went extremely right! I love this color combo and it reminds me of spring and reminded my mom of Easter.

I used two coats of Cinderella on each nail, which could have probably have used either another coat or a thicker second coat, but I didn't mind how it came out. Then, I put one coat of Mint Apple on top of two nails and one coat of OPI's Last Friday Night, which was apart of the Katy Perry collection over that. If I knew exatly what I was going to do with my nails before I started painting I probably would have just painted two coats of Mint Apple on my ring and middle fingers instead of already having two coats of Cinderella underneath, but it looked nice and worked out. But, beware that's how things can go wrong when you layer 4 and 5 coats of polish. I'm so surprised, yet pleased, it didn't easily chip.

Favorite Winter Nail Polishes & Revlon Perplex & Naughty comparison!

A couple of days ago I posted a video of my favorite winter nail polishes but I wanted to give you a better look at the colors I picked out. I also wanted to do a comparison of Revlon's Perplex and Naughty!

Here's the video if you haven't seen it! 

Here are some swatches!

Clockwise from the red (Zoya America, OPI You Don't Know Jacques!, Orly Rage, Revlon 826 Perplex, Revlon 330 Naughty, OPI Louvre Me Louvre Me Not, OPI INK, Borghese Stellare Notte, Zoya Jem, Rescue Beauty Lounge Piu Mosso, Maybelline Express Finish 115 Notorious Navy, Nicole By OPI Khloe Had A Little Lam-Lam, Loreal 290 Owl's Night, Orly Rock Solid)

NOTD: Zoya America

 Today I have a perfect nail of the day post for the holidays. This is a gorgeous, creamy red color from Zoya called America. Come on folks, how perfect right there with the name? I, like most of you I can assume, have always been looking for a great red but never really found one. Don't get me wrong, there are some great ones out there, and at some point they all start to look the same, but just keep trying and you'll find the one! It's hard because not all reds look good or the same on everyone, but you need to try a bunch before you figure out what kind of red is right for you!
 So, I was on Zoya's site and was between America and Sooki as my two red choices, even though there are a ton more to choose from, those were the two I had it down to. I decided on America because of the description which is, "Bright, bold, medium retro tomato-red creme. This unique red screams retro pin-up girl glamour." The "pin-up girl glamour got me. Now, if I watched True Blood, I probably would have gone with Sooki in a heartbeat, but I don't so, America it was. I'm so glad I bought America because I love it, wait until you see! 

Two coats is all you need to achieve this beautiful patriotic red. It's super creamy and opaque. Since it is so opaque, it can tend to be a tab thick so just make sure you shake it well & maybe even in-between hands.  I'm totally in love with this color though, especially for the holidays, it's perfect! 

Also, I had to include this picture because I just got my Silpada order in the mail, and they compliment each other so well! :)

 What's your perfect red?

Rainbow Glitter Polishes Galore!

 This post is in addition to my video on some of the OPI Muppets Collection nail polishes. If you haven't seen it yet you can check it out here.
  Glitter polish in general has been all the rage recently. Whether or not your completely head over heals about a total ten finger glitter manicure, I'm sure you've done the accent finger or added some sort of glitter to your nails. If not yet, then I'm sure you'll be doing it for the holidays! Glitter's great, I mean, who doesn't love some glitter, but this rainbow glitter polish craze is getting all sorts of crazy! It seems as though ever since Deborah Lippmann came out with 'Happy Birthday' all the other nail companies, high and low end, were quick to follow suit. There are so many options from brands such as Wet' N' Wild, Milani, NYX, Claires, Confetti, Sephora by OPI, Forever 21, and now I have a couple more for you. I don't have all the one's that I just mentioned because, well, there's no need for that many rainbow glitter polishes, even if there are a few subtle differences. Also, it's worth mentioning, since the holidays are right around the corner you might want to be on the look out for cheap polishes that might look like these that will only be out for the holidays. Nouveau Cheap did a post about the snowman polishes from Rite Aid, and guess what? There's a rainbow glitter polish! So, you have a lot of options and I hope this helps in your decision making!

I'm pretty sure Milani Jewel FX in Gems is permanent, but it seams like it's hard to find. I know the Muppets Collection for OPI is limited edition as well as the Back Stage Pass Holiday Collection from Color Club. The Color Club Holiday Collection is filled with crazy chunky glitter polishes among this rainbow glitter. This one is actually less chunky and more wearable than the rest of them, minus the rainbow color pallet. The Muppets Collection features pretty much all glitters as well, but they are not nearly as chunky, with a few foils in there too.

Onto the swatches and comparisons! 

Left to right: 

Color Club Wish Upon A Rock-Star, Milani Jewel FX Gems, OPI Rainbow Connection

NOTD: Zoya Caitlin & Nails Inc. Connaught Square

   I'm really excited about this particular 'nail of the day' because I absolutely love these two colors together and this Zoya color is super perfect for fall. A while ago I purchased the entire Intimate Collection, which is from Spring, from Zoya while they were having one of their amazing promos (you should definitely make an account on their website so you can be apart of the next one) and I'm so glad I did. One of the colors in that collection is Caitlin, a darker, dusty, slightly blue, purple with some gray too (I know you loved that description, don't lie). I love this color so much, it's the perfect color for fall. Especially if you're not into the super dark and vampy browns or black colors that are popular in the cooler months, this is a great alternative!

   Also, to give my mani a little something extra, I had to try out one of my newest polish additions! Over the weekend I went crazy and bought nine new polishes, two of which were my first from Nails Inc. I was so excited to see that my Sephora carried the line that I dropped everything else in my hand and traded for two polishes. The one you're about to see compliments Zoya's Caitlin so well. It's one of their Special Effects 3D glitters, Connaught Square. It's a crazy glitter polish with a ton of tiny blue glitters, making it more blue based in color, with larger circular purple glitter in it as well. It's really pretty and looks best on top of another polish.

Caitlin is super creamy and opaque it's crazy! Depending on the person, it could be a one-coater, but I used two just for good measure and to make the color a little darker. 

The 3D Glitter did dry with a texture but was smooth with an added topcoat!  

No need for a ring when you're rockin' this bling bling ;)

What's your current manicure, anything I should know about? 

NOTD: Orly Rock Solid

Not too long ago I made a trip to Sally Beauty Supply and went a little crazy buying nail polish. One of the nail polishes I bought was from the new Mineral FX Collection from Orly. The polishes from this collection are infused with minerals and other natural elements which makes them even more unique. The only color that really caught my eye though was Rock Solid; it's a disco ball of color in the bottle that was just so shiny, I needed it! It's a gunmetal grey that leans more silver on the nail with all the glitter and shimmer and there are gorgeous holographic glitters in it too! I say it looks like, "a galaxy exploded on my nails." Wait, if I'm quoting myself do I use quotes? Anyway, it's a great color for fall and I think you should all check it out!

NOTD: Jesse's Girl JulieG Collection Mermaid's Lagoon

I recently went to Rite Aid to check out the JulieG collection because I absolutely love her! I had seen her talk about them and swatch them so knew there were at least a couple I wanted, but even if I hadn't seen them ahead of time, I would have picked some up anyway just because, Julie got her own collection! It's such an amazing opportunity she got, and well deserved at that, and a total dream for all us nail-polish junkies! So, I ended up picking up three from the collection, but I very easily could have bought all of them, and may go back to get a couple more because they are all gorgeous, opaque and there's something for everyone!

I'm currently sporting Mermaid's Lagoon, which Julie named after one of her makeup tutorials! It's such a gorgeous and unique color but these pictures below don't do it justice, trust me. It's a green/teal color, depending on the lighting, which makes it hard to capture in a photo. But, then there's this slight but apparent, gold/yellow shimmer running through it when it hits the light. I love it! In the sun, as you'll see, it looks more on the teal, blue side, but when you're inside it looks more green/teal.

The swatches below are two coats, but it was super opaque and if you applied it carefully and thick, you may only need one! Crazy good coverage!

You all really need to check out the entire JulieG collection for Jesse's Girl at Rite Aid. They're only $3.99 each! You can see Julie talk about and show swatches of the entire collection here.

Possible Chanel Graphite dupe!

The latest Chanel polish that I keep hearing so much about is Graphite from their Fall 2011 collection. Let me start by saying though that I haven't seen it in person, only swatches on blogs, and have heard it raved about in videos, and I know that's not the same as seeing something in person. However, I will not be spending $25 on a color like this, it would have to be a color that I will get a lot of wear out of for me to dish out that type of money on a polish. So that brings me to this exciting post! From what I've seen in pictures, I think I may have found a rather similar polish color using two different colors. It's probably not the same texture and again, likely not the same when seen side by side, but I think it gives the same effect as the Graphite polish.

The two colors used are Essie's Over The Top and Nicole by OPI Sea How Far You Go. The Essie color makes the dark base color and the Nicole by OPI is used as the top coat to give more shimmer and a green/gold sheen that is unique to Graphite, but not anymore! Now, I found Sea How Far You Go on sale at Target for $5.03 recently so I don't know if it's limited edition but I would definitely go check it out for a fun top coat! Over The Top by Essie is a color I've had for a while so I'm pretty sure you should be able to get it without a problem!

NOTD: China Glaze Sea Spray

So, let me start by saying that I almost went an entire month without buying any nail polishes! This is HUGE for me, and I really wanted to make it the entire month, but I was out shopping a lot these past few days and got sucked in. I lasted 23 days without buying any, which still is a step in the right direction, considering my collection has grown to over 250. Anyway, the reason I wanted to start with this bit about how I'm kind of proud of myself if you will, was because I've taken this time of not buying polishes to "shop my stash." I've discoed many nail polishes that I just haven't gotten around to using or ones that I've completely forgotten about. Which brings me to this post.

I was so excited about the China Glaze Anchors Away collection when it came out way back in  January/February (so I apologize for raving about it if you can't get your hands on it anymore, but maybe check online) and I was extremely excited about one color in-particular, Sea Spray! I ran out to try and find it, and it was rather hard to track down because I'm pretty sure Sally's never got this collection, but needless to say I found it! Then, I guess I swatched it on my nail wheel and tucked it away. Shame on me! It's so gorgeous, I knew I bought it for a good reason!

It is the creamiest, most opaque nail polish I have ever used. The application is like no other. It applied like a dream and was completely opaque in one coat! I used two for good measure, but the picture below is only one coat! It's seriously an amazing polish and color like no other, that I have anyway.

NOTD: OPI Step Right Up

I love this color! It's from the Femme de Cirque collection so I don't know if you can still get it but it's a just a perfect milky opaque but very light almost but not quite whit pink. There was a more peach/white in this collection, which was mostly light french manicure colors, but I really love this color. It's formula is great, it lasted well, and it's a great color for ever day.

NOTD: OPI Sparrow Me The Drama & Sephora by OPI I Don't Bite

Here's another nail polish from the Pirates of The Caribbean collection form OPI that I LOVE! This one is a way more wearable color than the murky green that was in a previous post and it's so creamy and opaque! I want to call it a "barbie" pink, but it's not bright enough for that, so more like a bubble gum pink, that's the perfect explanation for this color. I love the formula, it's just amazing! It has absolutely no shimmer, its just a creamy bubble gum pink that I think you should all check out if you like these types of lighter opaque colors. I also bought a Sephora by OPI color from their new collection called Safari Lux, that I loved so I just popped it on my ring finger and had to show you! I may stop back and get another one, or two, because this one is gorgeous!

NOTD: OPI Stranger Tides & Silver Shatter

Ahoy, Matey! I had been searching high and low for the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection because it was on backorder where I usually buy it, until I found it fully stocked at JC Penny, (and it was buy one, get one 1/2 off!). So, I already knew I wanted the silver shatter and two other colors but then I needed another color so I got the one you see below, Stranger Tides. It's a gorgeous, murky, grey toned green that I LOVE!! It looks so good with my light skin tone and I'm go glad I bought this. I really love this collection and I may just buy every color :O ... maybe.  Anyway, onto the swatches!

Two coats is all you need! The 1st coat applied streaky so I got scared but #2 made it perfect! 

NOTD: Sally Hansen Frutti Petutie & Ombre nail trend ideas!

I recently picked up this Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure because I wanted to try out the concept of the "complete salon manicure" and there was a two for $5 sale at Wallgreen's so I figured why not! I was totally drawn in by this color because it's so bright. At first, it looks like a hot pink, but then it looks like it may have some coral in it and with my comparisons, I'm still not too sure. It even has a little red in it, but regardless, I love it!

I decided to try out this "complete salon manicure" by not using a base coat or a top coat which is what I normally do use, just to see if it really does what it claims; which is to be an all in one, base coat, polish and top coat. I painted my nails late on a Friday night and the next morning I could already notice some wearing away at the tips of most of my nails which was a bummer. It wasn't enough for me to take it off, but I noticed it. In the pictures, the manicure is four days old and as you can see it lasted rather well. Just a tad more wearing on the tips is all but no actual chipping which is surprising. It is also SUPER glossy! So, if it weren't for the wearing away at the tips I would say you wouldn't need a top coat, although maybe a base coat could fix that? Either way I really like this polish and am glad I bought it. Onto the pictures, and the ombre nail trend...

Nail Of The Day : No More Waity, Katie!

Better late than never, but I wore this on the day of the amazing royal wedding! Yes, I was one of those people that stayed up and watched the entire thing, but I was already up with good reason...I saw the midnight showing of Fast Five!!! It was beyond good and got my adrenaline pumping so when I did get home at 2:30am I couldn't get back to sleep so I just pulled and all-nighter and watched all the pre-coverage and then the wedding itself and I'm glad I did!

First up here's me and Paul! ;)

Then here's the nails!

Really pretty purple with silver glitter in it. Two thick coats was good for most nails but in some cases I needed to fill in a few spots with a third coat. It was also not the easiest thing to remove which I was surprised about because it's not a chunky glitter, but I suppose it's because it's because it was imbedded in the polish and the thick coats that may have been the issue. But, regardless I really enjoy this color! 

Easter Nail Of The Day!

Hope everyone had a great Easter, I sure did. I ate way too much food as I usually do on holidays but I also did a fun little manicure for the occasion. Nothing over the top, just fun colors and a little sparkle! Here are the pictures, I hope you enjoy!

I adore these colors together! Essie Lilacism, Essie Borrowed & Blue
The "bling" finger is Color Club Dripping In Diamonds