Giveaway Winner!!!

First of all, let me apologize profusely for being gone for so long.  I was out of town for the holidays and have been working crazy hours since then.  But I have pledged to never go this long without posting again!  I really missed interacting with you all while I was MIA :(

ANYWAY!   I have the winner of my giveaway to announce!  That lucky girl is Jenn from All That is Gorgeous!  She was actually the second winner I had to pick because the first one didn't respond to my email in time.  I felt really bad for having to do that, but I have to stick to the rules I laid down...

I'm super excited to finally have a winner :)

And I'd like to wish everyone a happy new year!  Best of luck in 2012, lovely ladies (and gents).
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(Closed) Happy Holidays Giveaway!!

Woop woop another giveaway!!  I love doing giveaways :)  This one is for the upcoming holidays.

Unfortunately, this giveaway is open only to US and Canada residents.
To enter, you must be a GFC follower.

On to the prize!

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure-Chic Collection
Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Nail Hardener (I seriously live off of this stuff, super awesome)

The colors in the Chic Collection are really festive looking.  There's a beautiful bronzy-gold that's a bit deeper than a traditional gold.  Also in the collection is a medium jelly looking red.  Not too bright, so it's good for the winter.  It also comes with a CSM clear coat, which is always handy for topcoat in a pinch or for frankening.
The Nail Hardener is my favorite base coat that I have found ever!  I seriously use this stuff under every mani.  I swear by it and am convinced that its the reason that my nails have stopped peeling so much.  I wanted to include it because I want to share the love!

Anyway, just fill out the form below and you're entered!

Contest closes 12/20/2011 at 8PM AZ time

FAIL art- Candy Cane accent nail

I was bored one night and decided to give candy canes a whirl.  I wanted to do an accent nail, but I think I majorly failed at the color combo.  On top of all that, my red lines smeared when I put topcoat on.  I guess I didn't wait long enough for them to dry before I sealed it all up.  I thought you guys might get a laugh out of my attempt :)

Baha.  Next time I try something like this, I'll think it through a little more!

Thanks for reading ladies!  And don't forget that today is the last day to enter my giveaway!
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OPI, Glam Slam England duo (way behind the times)

So I know I'm wayyyyy behind the times on this one, but this is the Glam Slam England duo from OPI and Serena Williams.  The duo comes with Grape, Set, Match and Servin' up Sparkle.  For this mani, I used two coats of  GSM and two coats of SuS.  I was holding off on posting this because it's months after the collection was released, but it's so beautiful that I couldn't resist:

blurry to show the holo sparkle

SuS is a gorgeous glitter with large and small scattered holographic pieces.  A must have in a collection, if you ask me.  I think these colors go amazingly well together :)  The purple is pretty on it's own, but it's not entirely unique.  Put it together with the glitter, though, and bam! Gorgeous.

Thanks for reading! (Even if you've already seen this a billion times)

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Christmas Tinsel!

I felt like doing another Christmas inspired mani, and I wanted it to be inspired by tinsel on a Christmas tree! I used two coats of Zoya Edyta and topped it with one coat of W'n'W 24 Carats.  I used a coat of Gelous to smooth everything out and then topped it all off with a coat of SV:

I actually really like how this came out.  And I got a TON of compliments on it when I wore it to work the next day.  I think the bar glitter in 24K really adds to the tinsel effect that I was going for.  What do you ladies think?  Is it a hit or a miss?

Thanks for reading!

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Giveaway Reminder!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that there are only a few days left to enter my Happy Holidays Giveaway!

It ends on 12/20, so be sure to enter before it's too late!

CLICK ME TO ENTER

Good luck to everyone!

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Sally Hansen-Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise, Sunset is a beautiful orange polish with an awesome subtle teal shimmer throughout it.  I found it on clearance at Walgreens, and it caught my eye right away.  It's so unusual and unlike anything else I have in my collection so I had to have it.  This is three coats, as it it kind of sheer:

You should probably click to enlarge to see the teal-y shimmer.  It's a little hard to capture in photos.  This one is kind of frosty, and I should have been more careful with my application, but it came out kind of brush-strokey.  I definitely love this color, and next time I wear it, I'll be more careful with my brush strokes.

What do you all think?
Thanks for reading!
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It was a dark and snowy evening...

I felt like doing some winter/Christmas inspired stamping and this is what I came up with!  I used a base of butterLONDON Royal Navy, then stamped with Konad special white and Sally Hansen Silvivor using BM14.  One coat of SV to seal everything off.

I really, really like it.  I got a ton of compliments on it at work today, too :)  I was going to leave it with just the white snowflakes, but it didn't look finished, which is why I added the silver ones.  It reminds me of a snowy winter night.

What do you guys think?

Thanks for reading!
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Wet n' Wild-24 Karats

This one is another from the Ice Baby collection from W'n'W.  This one is unusual becuase it contains mostly bar glitter.  In fact, this is the one and only bar glitter that I have in my collection.  It has yellow gold and orange glitter in it, which gives the polish a very warm feel, which is perfect for the fall and winter months.  I layered it over Orly Rage to get a more opaque look.

The shade pictures really do it more justice that the sun ones.  I'm definitely gonna experiment with this one for some christmas manis!

Have you entered my giveaway yet??  There's a link in the top right of my blog :)

Thanks for reading!
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butter LONDON- Pink Ribbon

This is Pink Ribbon by butter LONDON.  It's a lovely peachy pink sheer shade.  Application provided a few issues, as with most colors like this, but after working with it for a while, I got a pretty smooth application.  I used three coats to smooth out any streaks.  

I think this color is quite beautiful.  It's really nice against my skin tone, as well (not something I usually get in a nude).  If you have this color, but the streakiness deterred you, give it another try with three really thin coats.  I think it's worth it because the color is really lovely.  Really similar to OPI Bubble Bath, if you ask me.

Thanks for reading!
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Orly-Rock the World

Rock the World is a polish that was on my wishlist, so naturally I'm in love with it :)  I have a soft spot for colors like these (but who doesn't love the Mineral FX collection???).  Application and formula are awesome, but removal is a pain in my booty.  Two coats, topped with SV:

Looooove.  Definitely my favorite from the collection :)

Thanks for reading!
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Sinful Colors Holiday 2011 - Wish, Press Release

SINFUL COLORS HOLIDAY 2011 - WISH

Bells are jingling, snow is glistening and merry tunes abound: It's the season of shimmer (aka: the holidays) and glamour, of course. And your nails deserve a little gift and loving too. Welcome theSinfulColors holiday 2011 collection, Wish, which delights and excites. The collection takes classic colors - like red, green, silver and blue - and kicks them up a notch to be fashion-forward and festive to ring in 2012. The complete SinfulColors Wish collection for holiday 2011 includes: Five gem-inspired shades of polish: SUGAR SUGAR: a candy cane, red-hot tint MIDNIGHT BLUE: a bold, bright twist on navy LAST CHANCE: an emerald with depth and allure DADDY'S GIRL: a deep purple with a drizzle of shimmer and glitter OUT OF THIS WORLD: a perfect silver with swirls of glimmer Two metallic shades of nail art: FLOWER GIRL: a bronzy gold with tons of sparkle FASHIONISTA: a glitter-laden pewter

SinfulColors surpasses the masses with more than 150 amazing shades of nail polish, including the above-mentioned shades. All hues are available for $1.99 at major drug and mass-market stores nationwide, by calling 1-800-448-0763 or online at www.walgreens.com.

Sinful Colors-Vacation Time

Okay, first of all, this polish in no way reminds me of vacation.  It's a nice, neutral color that reminds me of something very office/work friendly.  It actually reminds me of my mom, who loves colors like this (she thinks it's illegal to wear shimmer/glitter/metallics/brights/etc. after a certain age [ridiculous, I know]).  Anyway, this is two coats, with no topcoat.  This polish is insanely shiny on it's own :)

Nice, but nothing special.  My mom's entire polish collection of about 5 are all colors like this, so maybe I'll give it to her.

Don't forget about my giveaway!

Thanks for reading!
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Sinful Colors-Love Nails

This is another beautiful blue from Sinful Colors.  Love Nails (horrible name, btw) is a really pretty teal blue shimmer that is pretty sheer.  Here, I layered it over Why Not, from my last post.  I think they go really well together and it really brings out the base color of LN.  This was one coat layered over two coats of WN with no topcoat:

I really like this combo and can see myself wearing it a lot in the future :)

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!  (Link in upper right)

Thanks for reading!

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Sinful Colors-Why Not

It's snowing like crazy here today!!  Well, it's been snowing for the past few days, but today I woke up to a winter wonderland!  Anyway, it's been quite dreary here for a few days, and I felt like posting a bright, summery mani :)  This is SC's Why Not, a bright aqua blue.  This polish was super hard to capture on camera.  Every picture I got made it look brighter than it actually is.  Almost neon, but the actual polish is nowhere near neon.  The color is pretty accurate, but picture it a bit less bright:

I love the color and can't wait to rock it as a full mani in the spring.  Today, it's lifting my spirits on a dreary day :)

Don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY if you haven't already :)

Thanks for stopping by!
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butter LONDON- All Hail the Queen

All Hail the Queen is a polish that I have wanted for a very long time.  I mean, who doesn't love a nude holo?  While this isn't the strongest holographic polish out there, it's still really, really pretty.  Application is really good.  It's a bit sheer, so I used three coats for these photos.  I wore it on another occasion, though, and only used two coats.  It worked just fine for me :)

Sorry about my ridiculous cuticles, I was trying to get this swatch in super quick before I lost the sun and forgot to moisturize.  Don't let it turn you off from the prettiness!!

Thanks for reading!
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butter LONDON- Royal Navy

I got this polish as part of a pack of three on black friday :)  The pack was supposed to sell for $42, but I got it for $30, so I thought it was a pretty good deal :)  Anyway, this is Royal Navy, a gorgeous dark navy creme.  Application was really nice.  It took me a second to get used to the BL brush, which is why I flooded my pointer finger.  After that, application way easy breezy.  Two coats:

I really like dark blues, and this one is definitely up there!  I really, really love it :)

Keep an eye out for an upcoming giveaway ;)

Thanks for reading!

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The Versatile Blogger!

Thanks to Greeneyespinknails, ThePolishedPanda, and Mimi's Mani's, I have been awarded the Versatile Blogger award!!  Thanks so much ladies!  They all have great blogs, so you should definitely check them out :)

There are only 2 rules to this award and the are:

- List 7 things about myself

- Nominate 15 other bloggers I believe deserve this award

Hmmmmm...seven things about myself.  I always have trouble with these kinds of things.  Anyway:

1.  I am a second year senior in college, about to graduate with my BS in Psychology

2.  I have no idea what I'm doing after I graduate, and that scares me

3.  I want to get my nail tech certification within the year

4.  I have a 1 1/2 year old res dog named Lily

5.  My favorite foods are corn and chicken kiev

6.  I recently turned 23 and I feel old now

7.  I play 5 instruments:  clarinet, bass clarinet, french horn, mellophone, and piano

And now for the nominations!  Can I just say that it is super hard to pick only 15 blogs to nominate?  There are so so so many awesome ladies out there whos blogs deserve all the credit they can get.  These are just 15 I've been particularly into lately:

Addicted to Polish

Aly Loves Polish

Chickisnails

Did someone say nail polish?

HaBisky! Nails

I'm Feeling Nail-Venturous

Imperfectly Painted

Lovely in Lacquer

More Nail Polish

Nail Juice

Nails Like Lace

Noelie's Nails

Polish Chest

Polish Vixen

Polishically Uncorrect

Again, I want to thank the lovely ladies that gave me this award.  Definitely check out their blogs, they put a lot of time and effort into them :)  

Happy Tuesday and thanks for reading!

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China Glaze-Life Preserver

This has been a polish that I have been wanting since February!!  For some reason, I could never find it...anywhere!!!  For my b-day, I got a gift card to Ulta from Mr. NbC's mommy, so I decided to use part of it to order LP!!  Now, I'm not big on orange polish, but this one has spoken to me since the first time I saw swatches of it :)  This is two coats, topped with China Glaze Fast Forward:

In dim lighting, this polish takes on a kind of rusty hue, but these photos show what it looks like most of the time.  The formula is awesome (as with all CG cremes) and the wear was also good.
This is by far my all time favorite orange!

Ugh, and I busted off my pinky nail, as you can see.  I've got a little nub!

Thanks for reading!
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Color Club-Antiquated

Oh, Antiquated, how I love you (and colors like you)!  If you can't tell, I love pale gold foils.  I feel like they're flattering on every skin tone and look chic for every occasion.  This one is one of my favorites because it's not an overly yellow gold.  Yellow gold has never looked good against my skin, so I prefer to stay away from those.  This one is universally flattering and the formula is really easy to work with.  For these photos, I used two coats topped with SV:

What are your favorite gold foils?  I'm always on the lookout for good ones :) (Like I don't have enough already...)
Antiquated is from the Foiled collection, in case you were wondering!

Thanks for reading!
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Comparison: Orly Rock Solid vs. W'n'W Diamond in the Rough

So...when I first saw these polishes in the bottle, I thought they would be dupes.  They are close, but not exact.  The W'n'W has much grittier glitter and a stronger rainbow sparkle effect.  The Orly is much smoother on the nail and has a tinted base while the W'n'W base is clear (you can't tell the base is clear after three coats).  Pictures!

Orly, WnW, Orly, WnW

WnW, Orly, WnW, Orly

WnW, Orly, WnW, Orly

As you can see, the rainbow/holo glitter is much stronger in the W'n'W and the base color is darker in the Orly.  Definitely not dupes, but similar that if you have one, I don't think you necessarily need the other.  I used three coats of the W'n'W and two coats of the Orly.

Wet'n'Wild-Silvivor

Silvivor is a pure chrome silver.  For some reason, I was craving a silver polish, so I put this one on!  Formula was pretty good and took two coats to make it opaque.  I'm not sure why I'm so into wearing silver right now, but I wore this one for 2 and a half days!!  That's an eternity for me!  Anyway, here she is topped with SV:

My camera kind of freaked out on this one and didn't quite know where to focus, so it's a bit blurry.  And sorry about the sloppy job on my middle finger, I didn't do any cleanup on this one cuz I was lazy :)

Thanks for reading!
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Corset Nails!!

This is my first attempt at doing corset nails, and I love them!  I started with a base of Color Club Antiquated and then freehanded the corset with black and white acrylic paints and a teeny paint brush.  For my first attempt, I think it came out pretty good.  Next time, I think I'll try to make the lines a bit more thin and crisp by using an even smaller brush.  After it was all done, I topped it with a coat of SV:

I love it!  I've grown really fond of using acrylic paints for nail art.  The only problem is that the art doesn't hold up quite as well as it would with polish.  I like it better than polish, though, because it's much easier to work with and doesn't gloop up as you try to work with it.

What do you all think of corset nails?  I think they're quite cute :)
Thanks for reading!
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Ulta-Purple Haze

Purple Haze...do I like you or not?  I can't decide.  I feel like I like it, but I'm on the fence because of the slightly frosty finish.  I guess the brush strokes aren't that bad for this polish.  The color is gorgeous, though.  Kind of a purpley/blue duochrome :)  I used two coats here to reach opacity:

What do you guys think?? Persuade me to love it!

Thanks for reading!
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Wet'n'Wild-Rockin Rubies

Rockin Rubies is another polish from the Ice Baby winter collection from W'n'W.  It looks like ruby red slippers!!    My camera had a really hard time focusing on this one for some reason...I think it's all the shineys :)  This was three coats with no topcoat.  You can really see how gritty it is, but it's still beautiful!!

This would look killer over a red base.  Maybe I'll do something like that around Christmas time?  It looks very festive to me :)

Thanks for reading, loves!

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Classy Lady Nails :)

Not sure why, but this stamping combo came out really classy lady-ish to me.  Does that make sense? Lol :)  Anyway, I used a base of Essie's Lady Like, then stamped it with W'n'W Black Creme and a BM plate (don't remember which :/)  I topped it all off with a coat of SV:

I like it!   What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Wet'n'Wild-Believe Me, it's Real

So this is one of the new Ice Baby collection polishes.  This collection consists entirely of beautiful glitters is all sorts of different colors.  This is the blue one!  It also has some really pretty purple medium sized glitters in it.  Application is pretty good for a glitter.  It goes on pretty evenly and took three coats to become completely opaque (I consider this decent for a glitter).  The finish is really gritty and a good coat of gelous and/or a couple layers of topcoat are a must for a glassy finish.  These photos are without topcoat:

I like it :)
Have any of you found this collection yet?  What do you think?

Thanks for reading!
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Birthday Haul :)

Today I'm sharing my new pretties that I got for my birthday :)  Most of these were gifted to me from friends or family, but I got the W'n'W polishes and the Sally Hansen polish myself.  I guess it still counts because I got it for myself as a b-day present :)

four of the new Ice Baby collection polishes: Rockin Rubies, Diamond in the Rough,
24 Karats, Believe Me, it's Real

Ulta: Purple Haze and Femme Fatale, Sally Hansen Strobe Light
Three sided buffer and a fine grit file

OPI: DS Extravagance!!!!!! Servin' Up Sparkle, Grape, Set, Match

Do you see that DS Extravagance!?  Eeeeeee!  I have wanted that polish for soooooo long and it's everything I always thought it would be.  I looove it so much.  Oh, and the other two aren't too shabby, either ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

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Essie-Lady Like

Happy Pink Wednesday!  I have a really soft pink for you guys today.  It's Essie's Lady Like from the Brand New Bag collection!  I adore this color :)  It's a super soft pink with some purple tones.  I would say it's borderline nude, as well.  Two coats was good for this polish, even though the first coat was kind of patchy.  Topped it off with a coat of SV.

I think it's so classy and feminine :)

Thanks for reading!
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Birthday Nails!

Hi everyone!  My birthday was on the 27th, and I wanted to do something festive and sparkly!  I did a base of W'n'W Black Creme and two coats of Party of Five Glitters and a topcoat of Hard Candy's Mattely in Love.  I really liked how it came out :)

What do you guys think?  Festive enough??

Thanks for reading!
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Orly-Paris Promedade

YOU GUYSSSS.  I am so sorry I've been completely MIA for the last week.  Ugh, I feel gross about myself.  But I was up to my eyeballs with stuff to do.  Thursday was my birthday/I had an exam/I had to work, and it just went from there.  I had family visiting and couldn't do my nails or blog :(  But I'm back!!  And today I have Orly's Paris Promenade on guest fingers!!  My mom, Betty, was kind enough to loan me her nails :)  She wanted a bloody color for her halloween costume, and this is what she picked off of my wheels:

Paris Promendade is a medium to dark red creme that is slightly on the sheer side.  Application was pretty good, as with all of my old Orly's, but you can see some slight pulling on her middle finger in the second photo.  Overall, I liked how it turned out on her against her skin tone (more olive than my own).

Thanks for sticking with me, ladies!

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Zoya-Meadow

Initially, I thought that Meadow was going to be a really close dupe to Essie's Your Hut or Mine?, but as it turns out, I like this one better.  I think that this is what I wished YHOM? was.  This is a more pale, true pink with gold shimmer while YHOM? is a tad more coral-y and a bit brighter.  I love you, Meadow, I really do!  Application was alright.  The formula is a tad thick and gloopy, so I had to thin it.  Very opaque, though, almost a one-coater :)

Prettyyyy.  I think I need to thin it more the next time I wear it, though.  I've only seen Meadow around the blogosphere a couple of times...I don't think she gets the credit she deserves!!

Thanks for reading!
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Zoya-Faye

Faye has been one of the polishes I have wanted for a really long time.  I finally got my hands on it :)  I love colors like these that have a ton of gold shimmer to them and this one really shines!  This was two coats and no topcoat:

Lovely, yes?  I want to do a comparison post soon with Faye vs. Orly's Rock the World.  They look super similar to me in the bottle :)  Let me know if you ladies want the comparison!

Thanks for reading!
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