OPI "Every Month Is Oktoberfest"

Hi everyone!  I hope everyone is looking forward to October as much as I am!  I love Autumn and the lovely changing leaves and of course Halloween!  So this week to celebrate the end of September and the beginning or October I decided to try out OPI's "Every Month Is Oktoberfest."

"Every Month Is Oktoberfest" is a gorgeous burgundy/brown polish with a ton of gold shimmer in it.  (And I'm not even doing justice describing it because in person it is so pretty!)  The formula of this nail polish is very good and after two coats "Every Month Is Oktoberfest" was completely opaque and had no visible streak marks.  But I will say that OPI's wide brush does make it a hair difficult to apply on my not so wide nails!  As for chipping "Every Month Is Oktoberfest" lasted about three days and then it started to chip off in chunks.

Overall I am pretty pleased with OPI's "Every Month Is Oktoberfest."  The color is amazing, the formula is great and it was easy to apply.  My only dislike was how quickly this polish chipped because the color is so fantastic that I just wanted to keep on wearing it!

Thanks for reading my blog and Happy Autumn!  :)

A Behind The Scenes Look At How I Blog!

Hi everyone and happy Autumn!  Now today's post is a bit different than my usual posts.  It dawned on me a while ago that while I post blogs regularly I have never discussed how I blog.  So today's post is going to give you a better look at how I blog!

I guess first things first, I own a lot of nail polish.  My collection features everything from drugstore brands to high end brands, to specialty brands like Disney World's brand of nail polish.  I buy my nail polish from all over.  Over time I have purchased from most drugstores, Wal-Mart, Target, ULTA, Sephora, Sally Beauty supply stores, and even Amazon.  I am always on the look out for good sales.  I have found that signing up for store's reward systems is a great way to get coupons and to earn points that can be exchanged for money off a purchase or free items.  ULTA and Sephora offer free programs while Sally Beauty's costs $5 (USD) a year.  While Sally Beauty's does cost money it automatically saves you money off of every purchase by offering members a special price.  Amazon is another great way to buy nail polish and can save you money.  I often times check out various sellers to see their competitive prices and look to see which has a good price on shipping too.  My only suggestion for ordering nail polish on Amazon is to make sure that the seller lists the polish as new, which is how most Amazon stores sell nail polish.  Here is my collection of nail polish laid out by brand from A to Z:

Typically I store my nail polish in Rubbermaid bins by brand and I use blank white rectangular stickers to label each bin so I know where each brand of nail polish is.  Here are what my bins look like:

With all this nail polish I needed an efficient and quick way to be able to see what nail polish I own and what each nail polish looks like.  So I created my own nail polish binder.  The binder features swatches of each polish I own, as well as a written list of the nail polish's names, and a calendar which I use to remind myself to post.  The calendar also helps me pre-select which nail polishes I will blog about each month.  Here's my binder:

Here is my binder.  I use a red pen to denote which nail polishes have been blogged about and to mark the calendar so I know which blogs have been published each month.  It is simple but effective!

However the binder is not my only means of nail polish organization!  I also keep an Excel spreadsheet of my nail polish.  The spreadsheet is alphabetical order by nail polish brand and then within each brand the nail polish is alphabetical by the polish's name.  The spreadsheet also allows me to keep track of the collection the nail polish came from, the date I posted a blog about it, how long I was able to wear the nail polish before it chipped and best of also I keep links to each post so I can quickly access them!  I also use the Excel spreadsheet to keep track of blog views, how many posts I have planned for each month, total number of polishes and the number of polishes by each brand.  Here is a screen shot of my spreadsheet:

Now that you've seen how I store and keep track of my nail polish I'm going to show you how I pick out nail polish to blog about!  To pick out nail polish every month I try to include a variety of brand of nail polish and a variety of colors.  (The only exception to this is October where I only wear pink  nails polish to celebrate National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.)  I like to select a mixture of older nail polishes I have had in my collection for a while and some more recent purchases.  I pre-select what polishes will appear on my blog for a few months in advance that way I have time to wear them and really test each one out.  I use the top of one of my Rubbermaid bins to lay the upcoming nail polishes out on.  It looks like this:

Here are all the nail polishes that will appear on my blog from August of 2014 to January of 2015.  August is at the bottom and the top row (before the bottles of nail polish remover) is January.

After selecting the nail polishes and trying them out I write out each blog post soon after that way I can accurately remember how each polish was.  I take photos using Fugifilm FinePix S4300 camera, which is a nice camera that has a variety of settings and good zoom.  (It isn't a Cannon but it works wonderfully!)  The only work I do on the pictures is to crop them down to an appropriate size.

Once each post is ready to be published it typically sits as a draft for a few weeks until its post date.  (Like I said above I use a calendar to predetermine when each post goes live!)  After a post goes live in my blog I post a link to it on several sites.  Here's the list:

StumbleUpon: http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/LondonLover27
Twitter: @PerfPolished12 (Which is the Twitter for this blog)
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/londonlover27/ (I post the pictures in the "Nail Polish" board)

I hope everyone has enjoyed this little behind the scenes look at how I blog!  The next post will be all about the nail polish again!

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Sally Hansen Hard As Nails "Firm Fig"

Hi everyone and Happy Autumn!  Now that Summer is officially over, and the weather is cooling off, I decided to pull out a nice polish to celebrate the seasonal change!  This week I decided to test out Sally Hansen Hard As Nails in "Firm Fig."

"Firm Fig" is, just as its name suggests, is a berry colored polish.  Formula wise "Firm Fig" is pretty watery and it was difficult to get even coats on my nails.  After two coats of polish "Firm Fig" was mostly opaque but there were some visible streak marks.  As for chipping "Firm Fig" lasted about two days before it began to chip off in large chunks.  I believe this polish chipped so quickly because of the uneven coats of polish.  Had I been able to get more even coats of polish on my nails I think "Firm Fig" would have lasted longer before chipping.

Overall I really wanted to like Sally Hansen's "Firm Fig" because the color is very pretty, but I did not like the formula and how difficult it was to apply and then it chipped so quickly that it didn't feel worth the time and effort it took to apply!  I will probably give this polish a second try at some point and maybe next time it will work out better.

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Essie "Under The Twilight"

Hi guys!  I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!  Today I've decided to try out Essie's "Under The Twilight" which is part of Essie's Spring 2014 Resort Collection.  I purchased this collection in a mini set!  It is super cute and here's how it looks:

Essie's "Under The Twilight" is a very deep dark navy colored polish.  Formula wise "Under The Twilight" is amazing!  It is such a dark color and went on so well that it is a one-coater!  (I love nail polishes that look great after only one coat!)  As for chipping "Under The Twilight lasted about three days before the tip chips became noticeable.  Since "Under The Twilight" is such a dark color I was worried about staining my nails, but that wasn't the case!

Overall I am pleased with this nail polish and can't wait to wear it again soon!

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

You can snag a full sized bottle for yourself on Amazon (affiliate link)

Covergirl "Rogue Red"

Hi everyone!  Happy almost Autumn!  (It is nice to finally have some cooler weather.)  This week I decided to try out Covergirl's "Rogue Red" which is part of Covergirl's special collection for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire that came out last November.

"Rogue Red" is a gorgeous bright red nail polish full of red and gold micro-glitter.  This polish just shimmers and shines in the light!  Formula wise "Rogue Red" is fantastic!  I was worried that all the glitter would make it difficult to apply but I need not have worried because it went on nice and smooth!  After two coats of polish "Rogue Red" was completely opaque and there were no visible streak marks.  In fact "Rogue Red" can almost be a one-coater it was that opaque!  As for chipping "Rogue Red" last about three or four days before the chipping became super noticeable and even then it was mainly tip chips.  Since this is a glitter polish I was worried it might be difficult to remove but thankfully it wasn't and it came right off without too much work!

Overall I am very pleased with Covergirl's "Rogue Red."  The formula is fantastic, the color is super pretty, it was very easy to apply and lasted three or four days before chipping!  For me this nail polish actually doesn't have any bad points!  I love Covergirl's "Rogue Red" and I will definitely be wearing it again!

Also a fun little side note Covergirl lists their nail polishes name in English, Spanish and French on their bottles and the Spanish name for this polish is "Rojo Fuego" which means "Red Fire" and I actually like that name better than "Rogue Red."

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Glitter Nail Art!



Hi everyone!  So today I decided to try out a very simple nail art.  I love glitter and I decided to try it out as a French tip!  (Fun, sparkly and a little classier than extreme glitter nails!)  I went with real glitter because that seemed a little more fun.

Really all this very simple glitter nail art needs is a colored nail polish, some glitter, a clear nail polish and a bobby pin.  I picked Sephora by OPI's "Iris I Was Thinner" as the polish and I bought some gold glitter from the craft section of Wal-Mart.  Lastly I dampened the bobby pin to pick up glitter and apply it to my nails.  Here are my supplies:

Sephora by OPI's "Iris I Was Thinner" is a gorgeous orchid purple (yay color of the year!)  The formula is fair, but a bit watery.  However after two coats of polish "Iris I Was Thinner" was opaque.  Then I applied a thick coat of Sally Hansen's Xtreme Wear in "Invisible" to my fingers, one at a time, that way the glitter would have something to stick too.  Carefully using the damp bobby pin I slowly put the glitter in a neat line along the tip of my nail until I was satisfied with how each nail looked.  To finish off this super simple nail art I applied a fast drying topcoat.

I enjoyed using some real glitter and I think the colors looked nicely together.  And while it is super simple and easy it was fun to wear!  Also if you wanted a brighter look you could apply glitter further up your nails!

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Maybelline "Drops of Jade"

Hi everyone!  I can't believe that Autumn is almost here and that the weather is beginning to cool off!  Today I decided to try out Maybelline's "Drops of Jade" which is part of their Polka Dots Collection.

"Drops of Jade" has a jade colored jelly base with multiple sized pieces of glitter in black and white.  Formula wise the jelly goes on nice, but the glitter sticks to the brush and refuses to go on the nail in anything near an even coat.  I tried dabbing the glitter on and still could not get an even coating.  Also since the base is a jelly it will never be opaque on its own.  As for chipping I'm not sure how long
Drops of Jade" would last because I didn't care for how it looked on my nail and promptly took it off.

Overall I am a bit disappointed with Maybelline's "Drops of Jade."  In the bottle you cannot tell that it has a jelly base and I expected to be able to wear this nail polish on its own.  Also I wish that the glitter would have gone on a bit better.  I definitely won't be wearing this nail polish again on its own but I was willing to try "Drops of Jade" as a topcoat.

I dug through my collection and found OPI's "Jade Is The New Black" (a classic well known OPI polish) and decided it would provide a nice base for Maybelline's "Drops of Jade."  I applied two coats of OPI's "Jade Is The New Black" and then one coat of Maybelline's "Drops of Jade."  Here's how it turned out:

I think this combination turned out okay, but Maybelline's "Drops of Jade" did slightly alter the gorgeous color that is OPI's "Jade Is The New Black" making it look a bit milky.  In the end I believe you could achieve this same look but buying a black and white glittered nail polish with a clear base coat and putting that on top of OPI's "Jade Is The New Black" and get a prettier design, and frankly that is what I would be more likely to do.

After looking at Maybelline's "Drops of Jade" on its own and over another polish I will probably not be wearing it again.  It looks far prettier in the bottle that it does on my nails and after all nail polish is meant to go on your nails and not to be viewed from the bottle.

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

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

Sinful Colors "Daisy Daze"

Hi everyone!  After wearing a super dark color I wanted to mix it up and go for a lighter color!  So this week I decided to try out Sinful Colors "Daisy Daze."

"Daisy Daze" is an extremely pastel yellow colored polish, almost a butter cream color.  In the bottle it is a lovely color and I could hardly wait to try it out.  Formula wise "Daisy Daze" was a bit watery which made it difficult to put nice even coats of polish on my nails.  After two coats of polish "Daisy Daze" was not opaque and had horrible streak marks on each and every nail!  I applied a quick drying top coat but was unable to get the polish to dry which led to a lot of ugly looking nails.  It also meant that I wore this polish for less than two hours total, which is pretty sad.

Overall I am disappointed in Sinful Colors "Daisy Daze."  While the color is pretty and unique to my collection that fact that everything else about it was terrible was a real let down.  I will probably give this nail polish another try and maybe I'll have better luck with it.

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

China Glaze "Queen B"

Hi everyone!  Now that September is here I had hoped the boiling hot weather might begin to change into nice Autumn weather.  So even though that hasn't happened I have still decided to try out some more Autumn-ish nail polish!  This week I picked out China Glaze's "Queen B" which is a nice fall color.

"Queen B" is a gorgeous deep blue with just a hint of purple.  (I am seriously in love with this color!)  Formula wise "Queen B" is fantastic!  This polish went on very easily and can definitely be worn as a one-coater, however I applied two because that is just what I usually do.  After two coats "Queen B" had no visible streak marks but a couple of my nails did have tiny bubbles.  In terms of chipping "Queen B" lasted about three days before the tip chips became very visible.  The chips were very noticeable probably because the nail polish is a dark color.   Also since "Queen B" is a very dark color I was concerned that it might stain my nails and the most part I need not have worried.  There was some very minor staining on the tips of my nails but it wasn't too noticeable.

Overall I have mixed feelings about China Glaze's "Queen B."  The color is gorgeous, the formula is perfect, and it applied easily and can be worn as a one-coater.  However I wish I could have worn "Queen B" for longer than three days before the chipping got so terrible and I wasn't a fan of the minor amounts of staining that "Queen B" left on my nails.  It's pretty much an even split on how I feel about China Glaze's "Queen B" but I love the color so much I will probably be wearing it again soon!

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

You can give this polish a try for yourself by grabbing it off of Amazon (affiliate link)

Zoya "Odette"

Hi guys!  I can't believe it is September already!  Today I decided to try out Zoya's "Odette."  I originally purchased this nail polish because it reminds me of the ballet Swan Lake but the color is gorgeous also!

Zoya's "Odette" is a lovely dusty purple color that is perfect for the end of Summer/the beginning of Autumn.  Formula wise "Odette" is a bit on the watery side which meant that while I was painting my nails the brush either had barely any polish on it or it had far too much.  However after two coats of polish "Odette" was completely opaque and had no visible streak marks.  Unfortunately "Odette" refused to dry and got super smudged before I could even wear it for twelve hours.

Overall I am a bit disappointed with Zoya's "Odette" because aside for the gorgeous color the formula was watery and made application difficult and it refused to dry meaning that no one but me got to see this nice color on my nails.  I would be willing to give this polish another try but I am definitely disappointed by how short of a time I was able to wear "Odette."

Thanks for reading my blog!  :)

Try "Odette" for yourself by grabbing it on Amazon (affiliate link)