Essie "Wrapped in Rubies"

So for the final week of 2012 I spent a long looong time debating what nail polish to wear and I finally decided on Essie's "Wrapped in Rubies"!  I hadn't rocked an Essie nail polish in a while and I was a little sad about that!  Plus "Wrapped in Rubies" the perfect holiday color!  It is bright and shimmery and really pretty, so I couldn't resist!

Like always I started with my basecoat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in "Invisible", followed by two coats of "Wrapped in Rubies", and finished with my favorite top coat Orly's "Sec'N'Dry."  I almost could have gotten away with one coat of "Wrapped in Rubies" except for some minor streaking on about half my nails, which evened out fairly well with the second coat!  As far as color goes I adore this color!  It is a deep burgundy red color with a gold shimmer running throughout.  And when the light hits the polish it shines and shimmers in the prettiest way ever!  Essie's "Wrapped in Rubies" surprised me by easily cleaning up off my skin when I went to removed the excess polish!

Unfortunately "Wrapped in Rubies" started chipping for me on the same day I painted my nails!  Now granted I work in retail so I stock shelves a fair amount but the tips on eight of my nails was worn off less than 10 hours after I painted them!  (All five nails on my left hand and my pointer, middle and ring finger on my right hand.)  I am used to some minor chips from work on my nail polish but eight out of ten nails seemed a bit ridiculous to me!

Overall  I really do adore the color of Essie's "Wrapped in Rubies" but I seriously did not like all the chipping!  I ended up taking the polish off after only a couple of days because the chipping continued to get worse!  I will probably still wear "Wrapped in Rubies" because I love the color and its name (which reminds me of Katniss' dress in The Hunger Games) but if you are looking for a nail polish to wear for several days then Essie's "Wrapped in Rubies" probably isn't the nail polish for you!

Thanks for reading my blog!  And have a fabulous New Year's Eve!

Give this nail polish a go for yourself - it's available on Amazon (affiliate link)

Nails INC "Hampstead Gardens"

Hey everyone!  So sorry to have gone MIA for a couple of weeks but the flu took me down hard and fast!  But I am better now!  So this week I decided to try out another nail polish that I have had in my collection since this summer that I hadn't tried yet!  The color is "Hampstead Gardens" by Nails INC!  And this is my very first bottle of Nails INC that I have tried!  I love trying new nail polish brands it is so much fun!

"Hampstead Gardens" is an interesting color that I had a hard time trying to decide how to describe it!  In the end I think I would call it a burnt orange/golden yellow/brown.  I know that's a lot of descriptive colors but it looks different in different kinds of light!  I was kind of worried about wearing it because it looked like an ugly poo brown when I first put it n one night but after I saw my nails the next morning I was glad I picked this color!  It is super pretty and I have gotten tons of compliments about it!  Even the male librarian at the Library noticed my nail polish!  I love when that happens!

Unfortunately I am having a hard time judging how long the nail polish holds up because of work, but Nails INC "Hampstead Gardens" lasted me about 5 days before the chipping on the tips of my nails started.  But considering I worked and the nail polish still lasted that long I think it is safe to say that Nails INC makes some quality nail polish!  Also I was pleasantly surprised that I could have gotten away with one coat of "Hampstead Gardens" if I had wanted too!  I did use two coats just because I like too but the polish covered really well and evenly!

Overall I am very pleased with Nails INC and especially "Hampstead Gardens"!  I can hardly wait to buy more Nails INC polishes!  And just to let you know I purchased my bottle of Nails INC at Sephora and they cost about $9.50 a bottle, but "Hampstead Gardens" is currently on sale on Sephora's website for $5 a bottle!

Thanks for reading my blog!  And have a great Christmas/holiday season!

butter LONDON "Fiddlesticks"

So sorry for not posting as much as usual!  I got a part time job at the mall and it has been eating away my time that I usually spend on painting my nails!  Hopefully now that I have gotten used to how my time is being spent I'll be able to get back to posting more regularly!

So Black Friday yielded several new nail polishes, some that I had had my eye on and several that I found good sales on!  I believe I added seven new nail polishes and some nail jewels!  Though I must admit I was a little disappointed by Sephora's lack of sales!  (As in they only had one small sale table that at 9am had already been picked to death!)  However Nordstroms made me very happy with their buy two get one free on their butter LONDON and Deborah Lippmann nail polishes (and you were allowed to mix and match between the brands!).  The Nordstroms sale is actually where I got this week's polish!

So on to this week's nail polish: butter LONDON "Fiddlesticks."  I fell in love with "Fiddlesticks" as soon as I saw it on the shelf!  It is this gorgeous deep fuchsia polish with a ton of micro glitter in fuchsia and burgundy!  Together they form this wonderful nail polish!  I also love this nail polish for the Winter holidays because it is shimmer and fun but full of class and elegance!

As for application I am mixed.  The polish itself applied decently well for a glitter polish but refused to apply in one long stroke down the entire nail.  Therefore the tips of my nails look uneven and some are even missing polish!  However if you can get the polish to apply well then you could probably get away with one coat.  I used two coats in an effort to even the polish out, and from a distance my nails look fine.  In terms of chipping it began just hours after I finished painting my nails.  It started on the tips and worked its way up my nails.  (In fact in order to get pictures for this blog I had to repaint my middle, ring, and pinky fingers!)  As for removing "Fiddlesticks" it wasn't the worst glitter polish I have ever removed but it did take some time to do.  I spent about 15 or 20 minutes working it off my nails and even still it is stuck on some of the cuticles.

Oh and I went to ULTA today and they currently have a bunch of sales on nail polish!  China Glaze, Zoya, Orly, and Piggy Polish are all buy two get one free.  While OPI polishes are buy two get a free full sized holiday color (and the three choices are super pretty!)  And the ULTA brand nail polishes are buy one get one free.  And if I remember correctly this sale goes until Christmas Eve.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Revlon "Impulsive"

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away!  I am so excited for the turkey and for the Black Friday sales!  So this week I decided to try out a brand of nail polish I have never tried before and that is Revlon.  Revlon is a drug store nail polish and I had heard mixed reviews of their nail polish so I decided the best way to find out was to buy a bottle and try it for myself!  I purchased a really pretty deep purple color called "Impulsive."

I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised with Revlon nail polish!  The nail polish went on very easily and in nice even coats.  However it did require two coats of polish to completely cover the nail.  I also found that two coats allowed me to see the color better.  "Impulsive" is a pretty deep purple that almost appears black at first sight, but when the light hits your nails the gorgeous purple color comes out!  I also found that by using my standard basecoat and topcoat that I saw very little chipping on my nails!

Overall I am very impressed with Revlon nail polish and I really like gorgeous deep purple color of "Impulsive."  I cannot wait to buy some more Revlon nail polish!

Thanks for reading my blog!  And have a great Thanksgiving!

OPI "Wooden Shoe Like To Know?"

So now that November is here I have decided to start rocking some more fall colored nails!  This week I decided to beak out a brown color!  I love when the leaves change colors and fall, so a brown seems perfect for this week!  Also brown easily matches almost any outfit which is great!  The brown I decided to wear this week is OPI's "Wooden Shoe Like To Know?" which is part of OPI's Holland collection from earlier this year!

"Wooden Shoe Like To Know?" is this perfect brown color!  It reminds me of that typical cowboy boot color and I love it!  But it isn't just a brown it has ultra fine glitter in a copper color!  Like most OPI polishes "Wooden Shoe Like To Know?" applied really easily and only required two coats!  However while it is a darker color it did actually need two coats, with only one on you could see through the polish.  I wore "Wooden Shoe Like To Know?" for almost a week and didn't see any chips at all, except for the one nail I accidentally smudged.  I always appreciate a nail polish that lasts for several days without chips because it makes my life easier!

Overall I have become obsessed with this gorgeous brown!!!  I love how easily it applied, how long it lasted and most importantly I love the color!

Happy Fall and thanks for reading my blog!

Deborah Lippman "Candy Shop"

Happy Halloween!  I can't believe October is almost over!  I had hoped to get this post up early so I could post a Halloween nail tutorial, but sadly I've been busy and it just didn't happen!  Anyway to wrap up October's Breast Cancer Awareness month I decided to wear my very first Deborah Lippman nail polish!  I am so excited about this nail polish!  I just think it is so unique and gorgeous!

This Deborah Lippman nail polish is called "Candy Shop" and usually retails for around $16.  I purchased mine at Nordstroms but I am sure there are other places that sell this polish!

So "Candy Shop" is this gorgeous glitter polish with a light pink base color!  It looks really neat on and is packed with most every color of glitter under the sun!  The glitter is also in several sizes!  The glitter overlapped as I put the coats of polish on and look really fun!  "Candy Shop" took two and a half coats of polish, which meant I did two full coats and then had to add polish to the tips of my nails.  I found because if the glitter this polish took a fair amount of work to put on!  And I used two coats of my usual topcoat (Orly "Sec'N'Dry") so that my nails would feel smooth and not rough!  With so many layers I thought the polish would chip fairly quickly but I was wrong!  I went about five days before I saw any chips!

Overall I am very impressed with this polish!  It looks great once it is on and for me is worth the little extra bit of work to put it on!

EDIT: I just took "Candy Shop" off and it was very difficult!  The pink polish part comes off easily but the glitter sticks like glue!  It took me between 45 minutes to an hour to remove the polish!  I use a popular method of nail polish where you soak a cotton ball in nail polish remover and place it on your nail and hold it for several minutes.  Typically when you slide the cotton ball off nearly all of the polish comes off but in the case of Deborah Lippman's "Candy Shop" almost none of the polish came off.  I still love this polish but it is a pain to take off!

Thanks for reading my blog!

If you decide to give this polish a try it is available on Amazon (affiliate link)

OPI "My Address is Hollywood"

It is still October, which means I am still rocking only pink nail polish!  In case you aren't aware October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and I wear pink nails to support awareness!  This week's pink nail polish is this gorgeous OPI polish called "My Address Is Hollywood."

"My Address Is Hollywood" is this really unique pink that I would consider a hot pink with a hint of orange.  Also this fabulous color has lots of micro-glitter which makes my nails shine!  "My Address Is Hollywood" applies really well and you can almost get away with just one coat, though I used two just to be on the safe side!  And I am happy to say that "My Address Is Hollywood" did not leave any streaks on my nails at all!  However I was a little disappointed when the polish began to chip after only three days!  And instead of chipping on the tips of my nails it started to peel off, in small chunks, from my cuticles down.

Overall while "My Address Is Hollywood" did not last as long as I would have expected an OPI polish too, I am still very happy with the extremely easy application and the gorgeous color!

Thanks for reading my blog!

September Nail Design: Pinterest

Hey guys!  So sorry it has been a couple of weeks since my last post.  I ended up getting sick, and then I had to have my wisdom teeth out, and then I got sick again.  Anyway I am better now and so excited to continue painting my nails!

So last month I started trying out different nail designs that I had found, and I decided to try one a month.  So this month I decided to try an easy one!

Here is the original picture I found on Pinterest:

(no original source found)

The design didn't look too hard and the nice thing is I figured I could pick any light colored nail polish I want for the base color!  Plus I figured with a nail art pen writing "love" wouldn't be too difficult!

Here are the colors I picked:

From left to right: Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in "Black", Essie's "Raise Awareness", and OPI's "Gargantuan Green Grape."

Okay I decided that instead of just using one basecoat color I would use "Gargantuan Green Grape" as an accent nail color and "Raise Awareness" as the main color.  I know that this color combo is really more Spring-like than Fall-like but during the month of October I exclusively wear only pink nail polish.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, which is special to me because several members of my family are Breast Cancer survivors!  The Essie polish I used is named "Raise Awareness" because it is one of Essie's Breast Cancer Awareness polishes from 2011.  This year Essie has released four more pink polishes, which can be purchased at any ULTA store!

Alright here is how my nails came out:

This is my left hand.

 

 

 

This is my right hand.

 

 

So as you probably noticed I only wrote "love" on my left hand.  I did this because I am right handed and couldn't write well enough with my left hand.  I did however manage to put a heart on my right accent nail.  Both Essie's "Raise Awareness" and OPI's "Gargantuan Green Grape" required three coats of polish to cover completely.  Also I noticed that the black nail art pen has started to fade after only two days and come off (see the "v" on my left hand), which is a little disappointing because I used a topcoat to seal the design in.  But otherwise this Pinterest nail design was super easy to do and turned out great!  Also this design could easily be done using different words like: joy, hope, and peace!

 

Hope you liked my nail design and thanks for reading my blog!

China Glaze "Foie Gras"

This week I wanted to continue rocking my fall nail polish colors!  So I decided to pull out some more of my Hunger Games nail polish.  (I have realized that I own 9 of the 12 colors.)  So I pulled out China Glaze's "Foie Gras."  It is this this deep greyish brown color with a hint of purple.  When I first saw "Foie Gras" I wasn't sure I would like it on my nails, but I am happy to say that I love "Foie Gras" on me!

As with all dark colored nail polish I was worried that "Foie Gras" would stain my nails, so I used my standard clear base coat ("Invisible" by Sally Hansen) and I was pleased that "Foie Gras" left no stains!  I used two coats of "Foie Gras" because while the first coat covered relatively well it left some streaks.  But after applying the second coat my nails had no streaks and the coloring of "Foie Gras" looked fabulous!  As usual I applied a topcoat (Orly's "Sec'N'Dry") on my nails to help my nails dry faster.  The topcoat made "Foie Gras" a little bit shinier and made the color a little more vibrant.

As for chipping, there wasn't any.  I wore "Foie Gras" for about a week and I saw absolutely NO chips.  In my opinion China Glaze's formula is one of the best I have found!  When I wear China Glaze polish I find that the only reasons I have to repaint my nails after a week is that A. I feel like painting my nails again and B. my nails have grown so quickly that the top part of my nail isn't painted!

Overall I love the great fall coloring of "Foie Gras" and I love the great quality of China Glaze nail polish!

Thanks for reading my blog!

You can give "Foie Gras" a try for yourself by snagging it on Amazon (affiliate link)

Sally Hansen "Emerald City"

Hi everybody!  This week has been super fun because I am watching some friends' farm!  And since I was thinking about farms my mind instantly wandered to the movie, The Wizard of Oz, then I remembered that hiding somewhere in my nail polish collection was a bottle of nail polish called "Emerald City."  I dug through all my bottles until I found it, and it is of course a gorgeous emerald green color.  So this week I am rocking Sally Hansen's "Emerald City."  The added bonus of "Emerald City" is it is actually a popular fall trend this season!  And that trend is Jewel Tones!  So this week's nail polish is a double win!

"Emerald City" is a Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear nail polish, which sells in most drug stores, Wal-Mart, and Target for around $3.  I really like Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear polish because it isn't too expensive but it last for about five days before it starts to chip a lot.  "Emerald City" is no exception to my love of Sally Hansen, it is this really gorgeous sparkly emerald color, that goes on well.

"Emerald City" applies really easily for me, which is nice since sometimes darker colors are hard to do.  For me I only needed two coats of "Emerald City", along with my usual basecoat and topcoat.  The first coat covers and looks a tad streaky. but after applying the second coat the polish evened out and has absolutely no visible streaking!  I have also found that "Emerald City" doesn't stain my finger nails or the skin around it (I am a pretty messy applicator) and removes easily.

Overall I really love Sally Hansen's "Emerald City" and I get tons of compliments when I wear it!  I also love how versatile "Emerald City" is!  You can wear it as a nice fall color, it is great for Christmastime, and it is a nice relaxing color for summer!

Thanks for reading my blog!

China Glaze "Dress Me Up"

With schools starting back this week it is really starting to hit me that Summer is coming to an end!  Pretty soon the weather is going to turn cold and when it does it'll be time to tone down my nail polish.  I decided to ease myself into it by wearing a more muted color this week.  I picked out a very pretty dusty rose color called "Dress Me Up" by China Glaze.

"Dress Me Up" by China Glaze is in fact one of the colors from The Hunger Games collection that came out earlier this year.  It is this really pretty dusty rose color.  I really like the color on my own but you'll notice my accent nail.  Originally I hadn't planned on doing an accent nail but a few of the little girls at church liked the design on my nails from last week.  (See my August Nail Design post below.)  The girls begged me to do it again so I decided to do it as an accent nail.  The colors in the accent nail pattern are "Celeb City" by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear (silver) and OPI's "Your Palapa or Mine?" (green)

I've been wearing "Dress Me Up" for several days now and I haven't had any chipping at all!  I am in love with China Glaze nail polish because I find it to chip far less than many brands of polish I use.  It is nice to be able to wear nail polish for a week or more without chips.  Typically I end up repainting my nails at a week with China Glaze polish not because of chipping but because my nails grow quickly.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer and thanks for reading blog!

If you want to try "Dress Me Up" for yourself it is available to buy on Amazon (affiliate link)

August Nail Design: Pinterest

So this entry is a little different than the rest.  I have a Pinterest, and I often spend endless hours looking at nail polish designs.  I have found tons of gorgeous and fun nail designs and I have finally decided to try one!  My plan is to try a new nail design every month, along side of my usual polish posts.

Here is the image I found on Pinterest:

(originally from: http://gosteieagora.com/ )

I thought the design was super cute and the picture gives a pretty good description of how to do the design.  I went through my nail polish collection until I found colors similar to the ones in the Pinterest picture.

Here are the closest colors I had:

(Left to right: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in "Celeb City," China Glaze in "For Audrey," and Essie in "Tart Deco.")

The Pinterest design called for gold polish but I didn't have any so I substituted silver.  It took me a whole afternoon and several attempts before I managed to perfect the Pinterest design.

Here's how mine turned out:

I think my nails came out pretty good.  However there were a few things I discovered along the way.  First off I found it easier to sit and do each nail one at a time instead of just going down the line.  But that is just my personal preference.  It was easier for me to focus on doing a single nail completely before moving on.  And secondly I found that you should let your nails sit for several minutes before applying a topcoat.  It is hard to tell from the picture but if you apply the topcoat to quickly you'll smudge the design.  A few of my nails have smudges.  Other than that this Pinterest nail design was really easy to do.  I also found that the three polishes I have picked along with Orly's "Sec'N'Dry" topcoat have held up really well.  I've been wearing this polish for nearly a week and I haven't had any chips!

Thanks for reading my blog!

OPI "Suzi Says Feng Shui"

Hey everybody!  So now that I am back home after vacation I have my whole nail polish collection to choose from again!  I decided to pick out an OPI nail polish!  I own a fair amount of nail polish that I haven't had the chance to try out yet.  So this week I am breaking that habit and trying out one the polishes I have never tried.  I'm so excited about it too!  This week I am rocking OPI's "Suzi Says Feng Shui."  It is this really pretty blue.  I find it hard to describe, which is kind of funny since I minored in Studio Art in college!!  Basically I can tell you that this color is not royal blue, but it isn't a teal either.  It is similar to a cadet blue but with more blue in it.  Aside from that I can't seem to come up with a proper name for this color.

Moving on, the formula of "Suzi Says Feng Shui" is fantastic!  It goes on easily and leaves no streak marks.  You could probably get away with only using one coat but I used two coats to make the color prettier.  I was worried that "Suzi Says Feng Shui" would be stain my finger nails when I removed the nail polish (because a lot of dark colors do), but I was excited to discover that no staining occurred!

As for chipping I was a little disappointed when less than 4 hours after painting my nails the chipping started.  One nail got chipped and about a third of the polish came off.  I decided to repaint that one nail and after that the chipping was not as bad but still occurred.  After about two days I had chipping on the tips and sides on most of my nails.  As the days passed the chipping continued in the same spots.

Overall while the chipping was a little disappointing the formula more than makes up for it.  With a great formula it is very easy to repair or repaint when chips occur.  Also it is a winner in my books because when the polish is removed there is absolutely NO stains!

Also as a side note: "Suzi Says Feng Shui" was part of OPI's Hong Kong Collection.

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

China Glaze "Flip Flop Fantasy"

Okay so yet again this week I am wearing a China Glaze nail polish, but you see I just got nine new China Glaze polishes so I can't help but want to wear them!  This week I decided to rock my first ever NEON polish!  I'm not going to lie, I was pretty excited to try a bright color!  The neon I bought is called "Flip Flop Fantasy."

So I've read online that with neon nail polish colors you should put a coat of white polish on before the neon.  Supposedly it helps the color be brighter and cuts down on streaking.  I decided to test this theory.  For the first week I decided to go without the white coat simply using my regular basecoat, two coats of "Flip Flop Fantasy", and my usual topcoat.  Well it didn't even take 48 hours before HUGE chunks of nail polish fell off.  What is worse is all I did was spend 11 straight hours in the car driving home from vacation.  How could I possibly chip the polish so quickly??  And "Flip Flop Fantasy" did streak a fair amount.  It was very hard to get an even coat!

I decided to document the chipping for a few days before removing the polish.

Day 2

Day 4



As you can see "Flip Flop Fantasy" without the white nail polish did not last on my nails.

Now for week two I decided to use white nail polish.  The white nail polish I decided to use is Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear in "White On."  I used my clear basecoat, then one coat of "White On", followed by two coats of "Flip Flop Fantasy", and then a topcoat.  What I noticed while I was painting was that with the coat of white nail polish "Flip Flop Fantasy" went on in very even coats and has almost no streaking.  However I do not believe it makes the color any brighter.  As for chipping, there still is some but it is mostly limited to your average tip chips.


Overall I think it is clear that using the white nail polish underneath "Flip Flop Fantasy" is the better option.  Less streaking and less chipping, both of which are great!  Though I will say it does take longer to paint since it required more coats (the white nail polish) and you have to be very careful the make sure that you cover the white nail polish entirely otherwise you get an odd white line.  I did end up with a few white lines but I think with practice I could have better success covering up all the white nail polish.

Thanks for reading my blog!!

You can try "Flip Flop Fantasy" it is available on Amazon (affiliate link)

China Glaze "Re-Fresh Mint"

I hope everyone is enjoying watching the Olympics!  I have been continuously watching any event I can.  My favorite part of the Olympics is just watching every country because all the athletes have worked so hard!  Anyway this week I decided to tone my nails down and go for a pale mint polish.  I usually reserve mint nail polish for Spring but China Glaze's "Re-fresh Mint" is very pale and looks like a very light blue in most lights.  I find this "Re-fresh Mint" to be a fun beachy nail polish.

As with all pale colors "Re-fresh Mint" left a few minor streak marks, though it isn't too noticeable.  I was very impressed with the coverage and I only had to use two coats of color.  I've had the nail polish on for about five days now and have absolutely no chips.  I am starting to be very impressed with China Glaze's nail polish.  I also think that my Orly topcoat ("Sec'N'Dry") works really well with China Glaze nail polishes, and that could be why my China Glaze nail polish stays on for a long time.

Also I recently discovered Sally Beauty Supply (I know where have I been hiding?!?) and they offer a rewards card for their store.  It costs $5 (USA) to get one but then everything in the store is less expensive.  For example Sally Beauty supply charges $6.50 (USA) for a regular bottle of China Glaze nail polish, but with their rewards card I only paid $4.99 (USA).  That's a big price difference!  So far I have saved a fair amount of money with the Sally Beauty supply rewards card.

Thanks for reading my blog!  And enjoy the Olympics!!  :)

China Glaze "Custom Kicks"

So now that I am enjoying my vacation in Florida I decided to rock some bright teal nails!  A couple of weeks ago I came across a China Glaze color called "Custom Kicks" in an ULTA store and I just fell in love with it!  It is a bright summer teal and is unlike any other teal nail polishes I have come across.  I bought "Custom Kicks" and as I was painting my nails i picked up the bottle and took a closer look and I discovered there is a ton of yellow/green micro glitter!  The glitter is gorgeous and really pops in the sunshine!

The formula is great and the nail polish is so pigmented that you can probably get away with one coat, though I did two just to be sure.  There is no streaking at all and the polish has a nice even coat on my nails.  And as for chipping "Custom Kicks" has been fabulous!  I've been wearing the nail polish for a week and I've only had a few minor chips.  The chips have been on the tips of my nails and it is very minimal.  I'm really impressed with how few chips my nails have gotten with "Custom Kicks!!"

Also I wanted to let everyone know that Sally Beauty supply stores are doing a sale where is you buy two China Glaze nail polishes you get a "Diamond Dry" shiny topcoat.  The reviews for "Diamond Dry" haven't been that great, but I haven't tried it yet.  However it is usual $8 a bottle for the "Diamond Dry" and your free bottle is full size, which is nice.

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Give this beauty a try for yourself by grabbing it on Amazon (affiliate link)

Essie "Tart Deco"

This past week our church held a Spa Day for the youth girls.  The idea was to bring the Spa to the church so the girls could have a great time without spending any money.  There were foot scrubs, face masks, and I brought over some nail polish so everyone could paint there fingers and toes!  We had a blast even though only one youth showed up!  While I was there I decided to re-paint my finger nails too!  I decided to rock a fun coral color this week!  Also I'm going to Florida at the end of the week and I love wearing Essie's "Tart Deco" at the beach!

"Tart Deco" is this fabulous peachy coral by Essie and it gets pretty even coverage in two coats.  I find that after the first coat goes on it looks horribly streaky but after applying a second coat of polish it looks fine.  I only have one or two minor streak marks on my nails. The color is really vibrant, but it is definitely a little more orange than I expected.  However I really do like this color!

As for chipping, it holds up pretty well.  At about day three or four I began to get some minor chipping on the tips of my nails.  The chips are fairly tiny and aren't noticeable by anyone but me.  And after wearing "Tart Deco" for the rest of the week I can say that the chipping didn't get any worse.  However my only complaint is that a couple of my nails have spots where my top layer of nail has split from the rest causing a small dip.  Well most nail polishes even out and cover up the dips so they aren't noticeable, but with Essie's "Tart Deco" the dips were very obvious and noticeable, which kind of irked me a bit.  But assuming that your nails don't have dips like mine it shouldn't be a problem.

Overall I really really like "Tart Deco" and it is a great summer color!  I plan on wearing it again soon!

Thanks for reading my blog!

If you want to try "Tart Deco" for yourself it is available on Amazon (affiliate link)

Sally Hansen "Lacey Lilac"

This week I decided to wear a nice pastel color!  I usually wear bright and glittery polishes in the summer, but lately I have been so busy so I decided to calm things down by rocking a pastel nail polish.  Also I just really like the color purple!  This pastel purple is called "Lacey Lilac" and is part of Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear collection.

"Lacey Lilac" holds up fairly well considering it is a fairly inexpensive drugstore polish.  Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear nail polish usually runs around $3-$4 a bottle depending on where you buy it, for its price it is a pretty good nail polish.  "Lacey Lilac" lasted about 4 or 5 days on my nails before it got to the point where it had chipped about a third of the way off.  As you can see in the picture above, my ring finger already had a small chip on it in less than twenty-four hours.  I continue to purchase and wear Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear because they offer a wide variety of colors and it is inexpensive meaning that I don't mind repainting my nails a little more often because of that.  Speaking of color I really do love how creamy "Lacey Lilac" looks on my nails.  It is such a pretty color!

Overall I really do like "Lacey Lilac" and the Sally Hansen brand.

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Give this polish a try for yourself by snagging it on Amazon (affiliate link)

Nicole by OPI "It Starts With Me"

For one of my best friend's wedding this weekend I wore a beige, pink, and green floral Lilly Pulitzer dress, so I wanted a nail polish that looked good with the dress and wasn't too crazy.  I decided on Nicole by OPI's "It Start's With Me" because it fit the bill.  "It Start's With Me" is this really pretty champagne color with a pink shimmer.  I really like the coloring of "It Start's With Me."

As usual I started off with a clear Sally Hansen nail polish as a basecoat, applied two coats of "It Start's With Me," and then applied one coat of Orly's "Sec'N'Dry" as a quick drying topcoat.  My nails looked fabulous at the wedding and the nail polish held up for about two days before it started to chip.  At first the chips were only on the tips of my finger nails, which I'd say is pretty common for me, but after wearing the polish for nearly a week I haven't seen much more chipping.  I am pretty impressed with how well "It Start's with Me" has held up.

I'm planning on wearing this color more often because of its durability and how gorgeous the color is!  Overall "It Start's With Me" is a great polish and I cannot wait to wear it again!

Thanks for reading my blog!

Nicole by OPI "A Million Sparkles"

So this weekend I went up to Asheville, NC on a girl's road trip with two of my best friends from college.  Asheville and the surrounding area is where The Hunger Games movie was filmed.  The three of us had a blast touring District 12 and wandering through some nature trails on the Blue Ridge Parkway where the mountain scenery is gorgeous!  We also visited the Biltmore Estate which is the largest privately owned home in the United States.  The girls and I had a blast and I wanted to wear the perfect fun summer polish for the trip!!  I couldn't think of a better color to paint my nails than a fabulous glitter polish by Nicole by OPI called "A Million Sparkles."  In fact I bought "A Million Sparkles" a month or so ago and saved it for this road trip!

Anyway, I adore this full glitter polish!  It has small glitter pieces and long strands of glitter and just sparkles in blues, golds, and coral.  This color reminds me of the ocean and of mermaids.  It just screams summer to me!  Unfortunately this polish has a clear base color, which makes it very difficult to get full coverage without glopping on thick coats.  I managed to do two thick coats and get decent full coverage, but not as much coverage as I would have liked.  Like always I used a Sally Hansen clear color as a base coat and Orly's "Sec'N'Dry" as a quick drying top coat.  My nails looked fine from a normal distance and it wasn't too obvious that the nail polish wasn't fully covering my nails.  The other downside to using two thick coats what that the nail polish was it flaked off in huge chunks after only a couple days.  And what didn't flake off took me an hour with nail polish remover to take off.  Glitter nail polish has a habit of being hard to take off.


Overall I love this polish!  The color is fantastic but I might stick to using it as a top coat or as an accent nail so that it doesn't take so long to take off when I want to re-paint my nails.

Oh and for fun here are a couple pictures from my visit to District 12:

Me at Peeta's Bakery.

Katniss Everdeen's house.

The inside of Katniss Everdeen's house. (I got this picture through an open window and NOT by entering the building.  The property allows visitors to walk around outside but the buildings are private property.)

Thanks for reading my blog!

OPI "If You Moust You Moust"

It is now mid-June so the Vintage Minnie Mouse mini collection from OPI is out and I couldn't resist going to ULTA to check them out.  Overall I only really loved one color in the collection, "If You Moust You Moust."  I purchased "If You Moust You Moust" and I must say I love the color, which is this great bubble gum pink with just a hint of blue in it.  I love hot pinks and I realized that I don't have that many so I have been trying to add to my collection and "If You Moust You Moust" makes the perfect addition!

"If You Moust You Moust" is a wonderful color but it has kind of chipped really easy on my fingers.  I have only been wearing the polish for three and a half days and already I have chipping on six of my nails!  Over the course of about a week the chipping continued to get worse until I had no choice but to re-paint my nails because the chopping looked horrible!  Other blogs that I read said that "If You Moust You Moust" had a runny watery formula but I didn't find that to be true in my case.  The formula was fine and the polish gets good coverage.  I used my standard Sally Hansen clear basecoat, two coats of "If You Moust You Moust" and then Orly's "Sec'N'Dry" topcoat.  I did not have any problems with streaking or coverage but I am wondering if a third coat of "If You Moust You Moust" would help cut back on the chipping.

Aside from the chipping I found "If You Moust You Moust" to be a great polish and I adore the bright bubble gum pink color!  I would recommend this polish based on color but if you want a nail polish that will last you a long time without touch ups then I would suggest looking for a different hot pink nail polish.

Thanks for reading my blog!

OPI "My Chihuahua Bites"

Since summer is now in full swing, I decided to rock a really bright red this week.  I love red and it looks great on me when I have a tan!  (I am working on my tan though it isn't up to its usual color yet.)  Anyway the red I chose this week is "My Chihuahua Bites" by OPI.  "My Chihuahua Bites" is very bright red with just the hint of pink in it.  I first discovered this color last summer when I got a pedicure before a trip to Florida and I loved the color on my skin tone so much that I decided to buy it!  And I have been rocking it a lot ever since!

As with most OPI polishes "My Chihuahua Bites" is very durable and usually lasts about a week for me, with some minor chipping on the tips of my nails.  As always I used a clear Sally Hansen polish as a basecoat and Orly's "Sec'N'Dry" as my quick drying topcoat.  "My Chihuahua Bites" gets great coverage and you could probably get away with putting on just one coat, but I like to do two just to be on the safe side!  As far as formula goes "My Chihuahua Bites" is fabulous!  It doesn't go on too thick or too thin and has no streaking when the polish dries.

Overall "My Chihuahua Bites" is one of my favorite reds and is a good long lasting, durable nail polish!  And as a bonus it looks great on your fingers and your toes!

Thanks for reading my blog!!

butter LONDON "Rosie Lee"

A couple weeks ago on Mother's Day weekend butter LONDON did a sale on their website where you could purchase 3 polishes, which usually cost $14 a piece, for $30.  The deal was so good and since I had gotten some money for graduation I decided to order three polishes.  "Rosie Lee" is one the polishes I purchased in that sale.

First off I love a good glitter polish, especially when it is pink, and secondly I love the mix of dusty pink and silver glitter.  Unfortunately after two coats the polish was still very translucent and uneven.  On some nails I managed to get a thicker coat of polish and on those nails it was slightly less noticeable that it wasn't an even coat.  And as usual I used a Sally Hansen clear polish as a base coat and Orly's "Sec'N'Dry" as a quick drying topcoat.  Aside from the uneven polish "Rosie Lee" also chipped a lot for me.  And the chipping occurred on all nails and not just on the tips and the polish came off in huge chunks.

Overall I LOVE the color, but the fact that after less than a day the polish started falling off makes me upset since the polish is so pricey at $14 a bottle.  I will still wear the polish but I might use it is as a light layer over a solid color or as a single accent nail.  I am for sure disappointed about "Rosie Lee" but I have had better luck with other colors by butter LONDON and will continue to use their nail polish.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Sephora by OPI "Bright as a Feather"

Hey everyone!  This week I decided to wear a fun summer color called "Bright as a Feather."  It is this great aquamarine blue with a bunch of silver micro glitter!  The micro glitter doesn't really change the color but it does make your nails extra shiny and makes you nails look like the ocean when the sun shines on it!  I love OPI's collection at Sephora, the colors are great, the bottle shape is easy to hold while painting, and it has the same high quality that all OPI products have!

So I wore "Bright as a Feather" for about a week and I had only minimal chipping on my nails, and most of the chipping was on the tips of my nails.  I was impressed with how long it lasted considering I am a nanny to an infant and I am constantly making bottles, and carrying the baby around.  However after about a week huge chunks of the polish started to come off when I would take hot showers.  However that isn't too big of a deal because I like to repaint my nails every week, but if you only paint your nails every other week then just be warned that this polish doesn't last that long!  And as usually I did my nails using a clear Sally Hansen polish and I used Orly's "Sec'N'Dry" as a top coat.

Overall I was impressed with the color and how well the polish lasted all week as I wore it!  I found "Bright as a Feather" to be a gorgeous color and polish and it is absolutely one of my favorite colors for this summer!

Thanks for reading my blog!

 

 

EDIT: The original picture for this blog was super blurry so I decided to re-do the picture.  The new picture is now at the top and the original picture is here at the bottom.  Hope this provides you with a better idea of how Sephora by OPI's "Bright as a Feather" looks in real life!  :) 

China Glaze "Harvest Moon"

Hey everyone!  This week I decided to wear another Hunger Games nail polish from China Glaze!  Originally I ordered only two of The Hunger Games nail polishes but after I graduated last week I got an Amazon gift card and decided to order one more polish.  I ordered "Harvest Moon" and it arrived on time and carefully wrapped to protect the glass bottle.  I have really been impressed by the quickness of the sellers I have used on Amazon for nail polish.  So far everything I have ordered has been perfect!

Anyway moving on to China Glaze's "Harvest Moon."  First off I LOVE this color!  It is a rust color with a lot of orange in it.  But to top it off it has a really fine micro glitter in the same rust color as the polish which makes the nail polish shimmer!  The nail polish color changes depending on the mount of light hitting your nails , which is gorgeous and makes your nails look they are covered in copper foil.  As always I used Sally Hansen "Invisible" as my base coat and Orly "Sec'N'Dry" as my top coat.  "Harvest Moon" covered in two coats and didn't leave any streak marks at all, which was nice.  Once "Harvest Moon" is dry it looks like one really even coat.  I did find the formula a little thick and it took a few attempts before I figured out the right amount of polish to put on the brush.  If you put too little on then it took several swipes over the nail to get a coat and if you put too much on the brush the polish ran off your nails.  But overall once you get the hang of how much nail polish to put on the brush it works really well.

"Harvest Moon" lasted about four days before I noticed any real chipping.  And it was a whole week before the chipping got really horrible.

Overall I am beginning to adore China Glaze polish and "Harvest Moon" is no exception!  Also forgive the picture.  I wanted to show how much "Harvest Moon" changes in different lighting.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Dupe: ULTA "Bam-blue-zled" and China Glaze "Electric Beat"

At first glance both China Glaze "Electric Beat" and ULTA "Bam-blue-zled" look identical in the bottle.  Both are good quality polishes and neither are too expensive.  I wanted to know if these two colors were actually dupes, or duplicates, of each other or if they only appeared to be dupes in the bottle.  The answer is they are actually dupes!

Both polishes work very well but ULTA's "Bam-blue-zled" required three coats while China Glaze's "Electric Beat" only required two.  As you can see from the pictures the polishes look identical, which means that you don't need to own both.  I waffle on which one I would purchase because ULTA's "Bam-blue-zled" costs a little less but requires an extra coat, while China Glaze's "Electric Pop" only requires two coats.  I guess what it comes down to is: if you buy the China Glaze Electropop Mini set, which is where I got "Electric Beat," then do that instead of buying ULTA's "Bam-blue-zled," but if you don't want the mini set by China Glaze then buy the ULTA polish.  Also one other reason to buy China Glaze's mini set verses ULTA is the size of the bottle/ how much polish you are getting.  China Glaze's mini size has .325 fluid ounces while ULTA's full size bottle only has .33 fluid ounces, which is not a big size difference.  Also if you do choose China Glaze over ULTA and you do not want the Electropop mini set and opt to just buy a full size bottle of "Electric Beat" you'll be getting .5 fluid ounces in China Glaze's full size bottle. 

Just so we are clear: If I had to pick I would choose China Glaze's "Electric Beat" but both do the job and are pretty.

Thanks for reading my blog!

OPI "Come to Poppy"

Hey everyone!  So this weekend is my graduation from college so I went and got a real manicure from a salon!  I love going to the salon but I don't do it very much because I do enjoy painting my own nails.  I save trips to the salon for extra special occasions and then I pick a color that I don't own, just for fun!  Anyway my graduation dress is a solid green Lilly Pulitzer, so of course I got my nails done in a hot pink!  However I just realized yesterday that my nail polish is going to clash horribly with my burgundy cap and gown!  Oh well it will look good with the dress.  Also side note: Sorry for the blurry picture my camera is on his last leg.

So when I was looking at all the colors the salon had I literally went for the brightest pink that wasn't a neon because I want it to stand out but not be too overwhelming.  The color I chose is by OPI and it is called "Come to Poppy."  It is this fantastic hot pink but it appears to have a lot of silver micro glitter in it, which makes it so fabulous!  It is very hot pink and the glitter makes it shimmer when the light hits it!  This time since I was at the salon I don't know all of the products she used but they appeared to be mostly by OPI.  The manicurist used an OPI basecoat, topcoat and some OPI drying drops.  I always get so worried about my nails getting dry though because I am afraid I am going to ruin them before they are fully dry so when I got back home I applied a final top coat and I used Orly's "Sec'N'Dry."  I adore Orly's "Sec'N'Dry" because after fifteen minutes I don't have to worry because my nals are dry!  I was nervous about mixing topcoats but it worked out fine.

I have only had the polish on for about two days and so far I have not had any chipping at all, which is a miracle for me because no matter how dainty I try to be I always seem to damage my nails.  As always OPI makes great nail polish and "Come to Poppy" is no exception.  It only required two coats to be opaque and looks great!  Also I just have to say it "Come to Poppy" is just the cutest name!  The nail polish is about the color of a poppy flower but I also just love a good pun!

Thanks for reading my blog!  And happy summer!

EDIT: So I have had "Come to Poppy" on for about five days now and I am starting to see a little chipping on the very ends of my nails.  Nothing major but still chipping.  Also upon closer inspection the polish seems to have bubbled a little on a few of my nails and the bubbles are causing some mini chips as well.  Overall the polish lasted a decent amount of time before chipping and they lasted me through graduation without chipping, so I am a happy camper.  :)

China Glaze "Smoke and Ashes"

Hey everybody!  So last time I told you that I ordered some of the Hunger Games nail polishes from China Glaze online.  The polish I ordered arrived really quickly and were perfect!  With the new polishes in hand I obviously couldn't wait to wear them!  So I decided to wear "Smoke and Ashes" which is District 12's color.  If you haven't read to books, or seen the movie, District 12 is the area where the main character Katniss is from.  I decided to wear "Smoke and Ashes" this week because I had a wedding to go to and the dress I wore was a black floor length dress with a geometric pattern in yellow, purple, and white.  I thought "Smoke and Ashes" would look nice with it, and I was right.  The other reasons I decided to wear "Smoke and Ashes" this week was because the wedding was in Asheville, and a lot of The Hunger Games movie was filmed in and around Asheville and also because I went to see the movie this week for the first time!  (And I LOVED it!)  As a side note: I am originally from Asheville and I have taken to telling people I am from Panam.  :)

Anyway "Smoke and Ashes" is this black nail polish that has micro glitter bits in it.  The micro glitter colors are green, yellow, blues, violets and a hint of magenta/red.  I love the polish because it is not your basic black polish.  It is black polish with a kick!  In the bottle and on the nail "Smoke and Ashes" looks like the night sky, which I love!  As always I used a clear basecoat and the Orly "Sec'N'Dry" topcoat and it took two coats of "Smoke and Ashes" to get an opaque coat.  This is my first time trying China Glaze nail polish and I have to say I was not disappointed.  China Glaze holds up really well for me and it lasted about 4 or 5 days before starting to get minor chips.  I think that it would have lasted longer except that I am brutal on my nails!  Especially since I had to change the battery in my smoke detector and it ruined my nail polish!  Anyway that is besides the point.  I enjoyed "Smoke and Ashes" a ton because it feels super rebel but at the same time it also seems super glam.  I liked wearing it so much and got a ton of compliments that I decided to re-paint my nails in "Smoke and Ashes" this week.  It'll be perfect for conquering finals.

So overall China Glaze has great polish, The Hunger Games collection is AWESOME, and "Smoke and Ashes" lasts a good long time before getting chips and is just plain fabulous!

Thanks for reading my blog!

If you want to buy this polish I snagged mine on Amazon (affiliate link)

Piggy Polish "It's All About Blue"

Hey guys!  Okay so this week I am stepping it up and really going Spring!  I recently got some new polishes from ULTA because I had a coupon and some of ULTA's nail polish was buy two, get two free.  One of the colors I got is by a brand called Piggy Polish.  I had never heard of this brand before buying this polish and I am sad to say that as far as I can tell Piggy Polish is not a 3 free brand, which is a little disappointing.  I do really love the color I bought though!  So while I like this color I don't know if I will purchase from Piggy Polish again because there really is no reason to not be 3 free.

Anyway the Piggy Polish color I purchased is "It's All About Blue" and it is this fabulous sky blue color.  I have been wanting a sky blue for a while and I am thrilled to add one to my collection.  "It's All About Blue" is a good quality polish and I probably could have gotten away with just one coat, but I opted for two coats just to make the color more vibrant!  Since Piggy Polish is not 3 free they have the normal consistency you would expect of a typical nail polish, which I must say it was nice not to have a gloppy, thick polish.  Also because it is not 3 free it smells horrible and I would not recommend using Piggy Polish if you have asthma because it was hard to breathe while painting my nails!  (And I don't eve have asthma!)  Besides the smell the polish has it doesn't seem to hold up very well.  I have been wearing the polish for about three days and it already has a few tiny chips on the very tips of my nails.  I must say I am a little disappointed that the polish has started chipped so quickly.

So overall "It's All About Blue" is a really pretty color and, I will wear it again because of that, I am disappointed that the brand isn't 3 free and that the polish does not last.


Also I am so excited because I finally got around to ordering some of China Glaze's Hunger Games polish!  I know they have been out for a while but I wasn't into The Hunger Games until my bestie lent me the book and now I am obsessed!  Anyway the upside to waiting is that I found the polish on Amazon.com for half the price!  YAY!  I ordered "Smoke and Ashes" and "Dress Me Up."  I am waiting for the polish to arrive on my doorstep and hopefully all will be well.  Last time I ordered on Amazon I got exactly what I wanted and was thrilled.  I am hoping the same holds true this time.  The only difference is that I ordered from a different seller.

And a couple more exciting things:

First off OPI is releasing a Minnie Mouse inspired nail polish collection.  I am so excited about this collection!  All the previews I have found show lots of pinks and reds!  These limited edition polishes will be available starting in June!



Second OPI is also gearing up to release a Spiderman inspired nail polish collection.  I am not as excited about this one though because I am not really into Spiderman, but I still plan on checking the polish out.  These polishes are set to be released next month in May.  The new Spiderman movie however does not release until July of this year.

And last but certainly not least: butter LONDON is releasing a nail polish called "Lillibet's Jubilee" in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's jubilee celebration this summer!  I must have this sparkly silver color!  It appears you can already pre-order it on Butter London's website.



(All of the pictures about the new sets of nail polish are not mine and were taken from a Google search.)

Thanks for reading my blog!

Sally Hansen "Peachy Keen"

This past Sunday was Easter, so I broke out my first Lilly Pulitzer dress of the season, which means I needed to re-paint my nails!  I decided to try a nude nail polish to look all posh and sophisticated.  I discovered that A. I only own one nude nail polish and that B. It looks horrible on me!  I own Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure in “Peachy Keen” and the color is fabulous and the polish works nicely as well.  My problem with the color is that I am so pale that “Peachy Keen” makes me look like I have no finger nails.  Fortunately for me it did look nice with my dress for Easter.

So here is a summary of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure.  The color is quite pretty and I feel like on a darker skin tone it would look fabulous!  I definitely plan on trying it out again this summer when I have a tan.  The quality of the polish is nice.  The brush is nice and wide making it easy to cover the nail in fewer strokes.  The problem with “Peachy Keen” is it is such a light color it streaks easily.  I was able to get a fairly smooth polish in two coats, with a topcoat (Orly Sec’N’Dry) and a basecoat (Sally Hansen “Invisible.”)  I have been wearing the polish for about three days now and it hasn’t chipped at all which is practically a miracle since there was all the Easter festivities and a little DIY at my parent’s house.  I plan on repainting my nails soon, which means that I won’t be able to see how long this polish lasts.

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter and thanks for reading my blog! J

OPI "Mermaid's Tears"

So in the last couple of weeks it has really become Spring here in North Carolina and I have started to pick lots of fun Springtime nail polish to wear!  Spring and Summer are my favorite two seasons to wear nail polish because the colors are brighter and people can actually see you nail polish because it isn’t hidden underneath gloves and giant boots.

This week I decided to break out my favorite nail polish of all time OPI’s “Mermaid’s Tears.”  “Mermaid’s Tears” came out last Spring around the same time that Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides came out.  (OPI released a collection about the movie.)  I have to say I have loved the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so I was a little nervous about the fourth one since it didn’t have Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom in it, but it turned out to be a fantastic movie!  Anyway that is beside the point because we are talking about nail polish.  I won’t spoil the plot for you but mermaid’s tears are important to the movie and I LOVE this color!

OPI’s “Mermaid’s Tears” is this light aquamarine color that is really vibrant.  (The picture makes it look darker than it really is!  Sorry!)  It is my favorite color of all time!  The formula is a little thick and the first layer looks really streaky but after a second coat I can usually get it to look even.  As always I used Salon Hansen’s Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in “Invisible” as the base coat and I used Orly’s “Sec’N’Dry” as the quick dry top coat.  I find “Mermaid’s Tears” to last very well and it usually takes about a week or so before it starts to chip, which is really good for me.

Unfortunately I don’t think you can buy this polish in stores anymore.  You might be able to buy it on Amazon, just make sure you pick a reliable vender so you get what you paid for and it is a new bottle.  I recently bought a bottle from the vender: Nail Polish Supplies and my product came and was packaged really well so that the bottle didn’t break.  Also the reviews for the company from other people showed that lots of other customers also got what they ordered.

Thanks for reading my blog! J