Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Do you see Magenta Motion or did I drink too much Summer Spritzer?


Sally Hansen Magenta Motion and Julie G Ornamental with Fergie Summer Spritzer on top
I.e, how do I combine these polish names for a post title? ;)

Here are a couple of polishes I picked up recently. I purchased Sally Hansen Magenta Motion during my huge Big Lots haul. It’s a shimmery raspberry pink that is just so pretty to me. Even though I usually don’t gravitate towards pinks, this one called out and demanded to come home with me.The formula was really good for Magenta Motion. Like most of the colors in the Sally Hansen Insta Dri line, it's practically a 1 coater and would probably work well for stamping.

Fergie Summer Spritzer is one of the new polishes released for the summer by the Fergie by Wet n Wild line. These are all seem to be new additions the Wet n Wild family, unlike the original batch of colors that got released. The majority of the polishes in this collection are glitters, so I had a hard time passing them by. I ended up picking up a few when they were on sale a couple of weeks ago, including Summer Spritzer. Summer Spritzer is a cheerful mix of gold, green and magenta hex glitters in a clear base. This polish really makes me think of Mardi Gras because of the color scheme.  

Sally Hansen Magenta Motion with Fergie Summer Spritzer, shade
Why do my hands each sport a different look? Find out and see more pictures, after the jump!

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

I'm Shocked that I successfully watermarbled


Er…somewhat successfully. It's still is far from perfect, but I was pretty pleased with my results when I tried watermarbling on my accent nails in this manicure. I loved the colors of the matte neon glitters in Salon Perfect Shocked, and so I decided to do a watermarble with the two colors in the glitter. I used Orly Faboulous Flamingo and Sinful Colors Amethyst in the watermarble, since I had used those on my other nails as well. I used Amethyst on my index finger and Fabulous Flamingo on my pinky, then topped both of them with 1 coat of Salon Perfect Shocked.  Find out what changes this mani went through and see more pictures, after the jump.


Thursday, July 25, 2013

Pistache lines up with Mrs and Mr Glitter


Sinful Colors Pistache with Essence Mrs and Mr Glitter
Sometimes I get totally inspired by Youtube or Pinterest to try out new nail art. Oftentimes, my efforts aren't all that successful.  I saw this video when I was surfing nail stuff on youtube, and wanted to try it. Unfortunately, I didn't have the dental floss things she uses in the video, so I thought I'd replicate the look with a striping brush. It's not quite the same-my lines are much thicker than those in the video.However, I still like the manicure. I think the colors in this look are really cool.

Find out what polishes I used in this look and see more pictures, after the jump.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

NYC Mother of Pearl St.


NYC Mother of Pearl St., sunlight
I just wanted to do a quick post about this polish. I got it at Dollar Tree as part of a 2 pack of polishes. I got the 2 pack for the NYC Turbo Speed topcoat, which I am liking so far. However, I wanted to wear this color and post about it so others will know what this polish looks like. There doesn't seem to be much about it on the blogosphere.

NYC Mother of Pearl St., shade
This is exactly the kind of polish that I would typically avoid.  It reminds me of the frosty colors that were popular in the past, though if you were feeling generous you can say it's similar to OPI Play the Peonies,. It's a streaky, frosty mess, and I did 3 coats! I'm not a fan of this color at all, but what can you expect for 50 cents!?


Friday, July 19, 2013

Mint Manis for Talia Joy featuring glitter tips

Sally Hansen Gentle Blossom with Urban Outfitters Seadust on tips, sunlight
Hi, guys! Here's a quick mani I did for today after hearing the sad news about Talia Joy's death. The beauty blogging community is uniting in commemorating this sweet, special girl by wearing mint colored nail polish in Talia's honor. Talia was a beautiful girl with an even more beautiful spirit, and I'm sure she will be missed by everyone who was lucky enough to have his/her life touched by her.
Sally Hansen Gentle Blossom mani in honor of Talia Joy, shade

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

My Big Lots polish haul

My Big Lots haul (most of it, anyway)
Guys, I can barely contain my excitement after my huge haul at Big Lots on Sunday. I scored big in terms of nail polish, and it was all for $1.00!  Big Lots is hit or miss for me. Oftentimes, I go to Big Lots and strike out completely, leaving with nothing. But sometimes, Big Lots has stock that sends a bargain shopper like me into a delighted tailspin. Sunday was that times100 for me!

I chose a Big Lots that I've had better luck with in the past. I actually first saw the makeup section and was like, "nothing good today." Boy, was I ever wrong! Once I came back and dug through the 3 boxes of makeup on the bottom shelf, I there were all kinds of great things. Join me after the jump for the complete list.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

My Vampire Kitten is Buff



Or at least, that's what the vet tells me. I was kind of at a loss when I filled out the form as to his color, so I wrote down "tan." I was surprised to find that Maxwell is described as "buff" in the paperwork they handed me after his visit. No matter what color he is, he's awfully cute. He's only 2 1/2 months old and a big bundle of energy, so it's fun to have him around. Maxwell is actually my roommate's kitten, but we have a shared custody agreement. ;)
Maxwell looking a bit creepy because of the flash on my camera. Note that he's about the size of my shoe.
Audrey and Maxwell at an uneasy peace on my bed. Audrey is still getting used to having the little guy around.

Friday, July 12, 2013

A Heavenly way to Ride the Waves


Revlon Heavenly over China Glaze Ride the Waves, sunlight
Here's a manicure that I intended to do a jelly sandwich with. However, I loved the look of the glitter so much that I couldn't bear to put another layer of polish on top of it. It's Revlon Heavenly over 2 coats of China Glaze Ride the Waves, a blue jelly polish. Most polish fanatics know that Revlon Heavenly is a glitter polish that's a dupe of Deborah Lippmann Stairway to Heaven. It features opalescent square glitter and orange flashing hex glitters. I don't know that it would work well with all colors, but Heavenly definitely looks good over dark colors, especially blues and teals.  Here it is in the shade:

Revlon Heavenly over China Glaze Ride the Waves, shade
Join me after the jump for a couple more pictures.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Baby, you're a firework?


4th of July "firework" manicure, sunlight
Just doing a quick post to share my 4th of July manicure. I started with 2 coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White. It's an old bottle, so my index finger came out especially lumpy. I repainted that nail with the red I used in this manicure, a Sally Girl snowman red from last year's holiday.  I've tested it on a nail wheel and it's super close to China Glaze Ruby Pumps.  Anyway, I intended the "splatters" on my nails to look like fireworks, but I don't think I was all that successful. I think part of the problem is that my nails are so short that I couldn't fit too many "fireworks" on there.  I'm still glad I did it, it was a new technique I learned from this youtube video from cutepolish. I think I may try it again later with a different color scheme.

4th of July "firework" manicure, shade
Check out more pictures and see the cute Sally Girl snowman polish, after the jump!

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Heat Index of Emerald City


Jelly sandwich with China Glaze Heat Index and OPI Lights of Emerald City
It's pretty sweltering here in California and in much of the west, so this is a good time to show you pictures of China Glaze Heat Index. Heat Index is one of the jelly neons from the 2013 China Glaze Sunsational collection.  It's a neon pink jelly finish polish.  Since I wanted to take advantage of the jelly nature of this polish, I decided to try a jelly sandwich with it. I did 2 coats of Heat Index, then added 1 coat of OPI Lights of Emerald City and then topped it all off with a last coat of Heat Index. I'm really happy with how my jelly sandwich turned out, and am looking forward to playing around with the neon jellies in this collection.

 I actually love the fact that the sandwich hides the iridescent glitter in OPI Lights of Emerald City. There's something about the combination of matte white with the iridescent glitter that I'm not huge on, so hiding that glitter and having the large square glitter peek through is a look I love. I thought the formula for Heat Index was pretty typical for a jelly. I used 3 thin coats in the overall look after testing things out on a nail wheel.

How will you be wearing your neon jellies?
Jelly sandwich with China Glaze Heat Index, OPI  LoEC, and bad cuticles
If you're feeling brave, join me after the jump. I'll have more pictures of this manicure, cuticles and all, as well as a foot picture where I compare Heat Index to China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy. Join me after the jump, if you dare!