NYX Girls-Dark Gray

This color is soooooo pretty for fall.  A dark smokey gray with a creme finish.  I l.o.v.e. it.  Application is really nice, almost a one coater, but not quite.  These photos are sans topcoat:

Definitely has a blue undertone to it, which I like.  I think this is gonna be a really trendy fall/winter color...what do you think??

Thanks for reading!
<3

restoring my faith in humanity

Sorry today's post isn't nail related, but I thought I'd share a story with you all:

I work at a fast food chain restaurant, and sometimes people come in that don't have much.  They try to scrape enough together just to get a little one dollar item to keep themselves fed.  Today, a man like this came in.  He is homeless had been drinking, but you could tell he hadn't eaten in a while.  He had a beaten up can of cheap ravioli and asked if he could have it heated up and a large soda to go with it.  Of course, we couldn't heat up his ravioli, but I tried to sell him the soda.  He didn't have enough to get the large soda, so I gave him a smaller one with a discount to be able to fit his means.  He complained that it wasn't big enough.  Eventually, he sat down in the dining room quietly and began to eat his ravioli cold and right out of the can.

A few minutes before this all happened, a man came in just as anyone else would and ordered his meal.  I didn't think twice about this man until he came back up to the register and asked to buy another meal (the biggest one we have).  I asked him if it was to go (because he had already eaten), but he told me he was buying it for the man with the ravioli.  I couldn't believe it.  I simply told him that he was very kind and gave him the receipt for the food.  As I turned away, I couldn't help but tear up.  This man went out of his way to help out another man in need.  The homeless man didn't express any gratification.  Didn't even say thank you.  Even so, the other man left the building with a smile, knowing that he had done something that not many are willing to do.

If I could meet this man again, I would tell him that he is the most kind person I have met in a very long time.


Please, if any of you know people out there that are this kind, let them know.  They need to be appreciated.  And if you are one of these people, I appreciate you.

This was just what I needed at the end of a long work week (for me, anyway).

<3

Blingy Gradient!

This is my very first attempt at a gradient mani...I think it came out decent!!  Of course, there's room for improvement, but I think it's pretty ok for my first try :)  I used a base of OPI Passion then sponged WnW Silvivor, NYX Perfect Gray, and NYC Black Creme.  I added some silver glitter by SC afterward :)

I think I should have used a different sponge...I just used a cosmetic sponge that came in a compact.
Overall, I really love this mani!!  I think it looks mysterious and edgy, but has some class at the same time.  What do you guys think??  Are you fans of gradient manis?

<3!

15 weird facts tag :)

This tag was originally created by CarlyCristman over on Youtube.  I am a big fan of her channel and watched her original video on this.  It was hilarious!!  


1. What’s a nickname only your family calls you?
    My family calls me Coury or Lambie
2. What’s a weird habit of yours?
    I won't go to bed without doing my whole bedtime routine.  Even if I'm super tired, I'll power through it until I feel sufficiently ready for bed.
3. Do you have any weird phobias?
    I am absolutely terrified of flying bugs and waves in the ocean.
4. What’s a song you secretly love to blast and belt out when you’re alone?
    Anything Lady Gaga or E.T. by Katy Perry
5. What’s one of your biggest pet peeves?
    When you're trying to have a conversation with someone over the phone and they are constantly yelling   at/talking to someone else on their end!
6. What’s one of your nervous habits?
   It used to be biting my nails, but now it's bouncing my legs
7. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
    If you're looking at the bed, the left side
8. What was your first stuffed animal and its name?
    His name is Rus and he's a stuffed dog.  I still sleep with him :)
9. What’s the drink you always order at Starbucks?
    Iced, decaf cinnamon dolce latte with no whip.  Yummy!
10. What’s the beauty rule you preach, but never actually practice?
    Keeping my cuticles moisturized all the time.  Especially on workdays :( 
11. Which way do you face in the shower?
    Both ways, I rotate :)
12. Do you have any weird body skills?
    I can make a three leaf clover out of my tongue!
13. What’s your favorite comfort food that’s “bad”, but you love to eat it anyway?
    Mashed potatoes for sure!
14. What’s a phrase or exclamation you always say?
    I don't think I have a phrase I always say...
15. Time to sleep – what are you actually wearing
    A baggy, comfortable shirt and either boyshorts or cotton shorts.


I hope everyone does this tag!!  I love reading these :)


<3!

Essie-Your Hut or Mine?

I have had my eye on this one for sooooo long.  Couldn't find it anywhere!  But thanks to fellow blogger Connie of Mimi's Mani's, it is now mine!!  Thank you sooooo much for swapping with me!  Everyone should check out her blog if you haven't already because it's awesome!  Anyway, this polish is a warm medium pink with subtle gold shimmer.  Gorgeous.  Application was great, two coats to opacity.  All topped with Seche Vite:

The shimmer is kind of hard to capture in photographs since it is so subtle.  I included the half-shaded last picture to show the color of the shimmer better on the pinky finger.  So sorry about the state of my cuticles...ugh.  Today is an intensive repair day for them!!  Hope you don't mind too much...

Thanks for reading and thanks again to Connie for the great swap!
<3

100 follower celebration nails!!!

I'm so excited to share that I have reached 100 followers!!  To celebrate, I did some festive nail art :)  I used a base of ChG For Audrey and dotted with SC Verbena and Unicorn.  Topped it all off with a thick coat of Seche Vite.  I think it looks so festive!

I want to take the time to say THANK YOU to all of my subscribers!!  I wouldn't keep writing if it weren't for you.  I always appreciate all of the supportive comments you guys leave me and it lets me know that I'm making an impact on someone :)  100 followers is a huge milestone for me and I'm beyond grateful for every one of you.  I also want to say hello to my newer followers and that I hope you'll enjoy it here!  I always end every post with a <3 and I truly mean it every time.  I love you guys!

<3!!!!!!!!!

Revlon-Carbonite

Ahhhh, the highly coveted Carbonite, how I love thee.  Widely accepted as the dupe to Chanel's Graphite, it has been really elusive and extremely hard to find.  However, the other day while shopping in my local CVS, I spotted one left in a Revlon display.  I immediately snatched it up and I'm sooooo glad I did :)  Carbonite is beyond gorgeous.  I'm wearing two coats and no topcoat in these photos:

I wish I had Graphite so I could do a comparison post, but alas, I don't.  I don't think I need it either, because I've looked closely at pictures of these polishes side by side and they truly look identical.  I'm in love!

<3 you all!

Orly-Crawford's Wine

Here's another one of my oldie but goodie Orly's, Crawford's Wine.  Beautiful true red with gorgeous shimmer.  So dimensional.  It almost seems like a jelly after applied, but is completely opaque in JUST ONE COAT.  Love it.  I think the photos speak for themselves:

Love, love, love, love, love.  Oh, and love.  Amazing formula too, before the 3-free reformulation.  What do you think?

Thanks for reading <3

One Lovely Blog!

I got this award from Super Cute Super Easy :D  Her blog is beyond adorable!

 Rules:

1) Link back to the person you got it from

2) Tell seven things about yourself

3) Give the award to ten bloggers

Seven things about myself: 

1. I am about to turn 23 and it completely freaks me out.
2. My collection is still fairly small compared to most bloggers I follow.
3. I am terrified of houseflies.
4. I really like Spongebob Squarepants.
5. I'm Greek, but don't look like it.
6. My favorite flowers are white roses and star lilies.
7. My favorite foods are corn and chicken kiev.

I would like to give this award to:

BOOM NAILS

Chic & Shiny

Concrete and Nailpolish

Eat. Sleep. Polish.

Haute Lacquer

I'M FEELING NAIL-VENTUROUS

Imperfectly Painted

Mimi's Manis

Nail Designs XOX

Polish Vixen

Hope all of you are having a wonderful day!  Thanks for stopping by!

Orly-Moonlit Madness

Moonlit Madness is an amazingly gorgeous deep red shimmer.  While it is one of Orly's older polishes, it is beyond gorgeous.  I have a bottle that is really, really old (at least 8-10 years old) and the consistency is still amazing and application was about as good as it gets.  I realize that a polish this old has a non 3-free formula, and that is why the formula is superior.  I also really like Orly's older brushes, they fit my nails really well.  These photos were taken with two coats, but I could have easily gotten away with one:

Now, I love red polishes to begin with, but this one is extra dreamy.  it's so dimensional and I get lost staring into it.  Isn't it a stunner!?  If any of you have the newer formula of this one, let me know how it compares!  Is it just as amazing?  I hope it is!

Love you guys! <3

my first franken creation!

I decided to try my hand at frankening :)  As I said in my last post, I brought home a bunch of old polishes from my brief out of town visit to my parent's house.  I decided to use some of the small bottles that I knew would never make awesome manis on their own and mix them into my own creation!  I used a really old bottle of Crickets polish that was a pink jelly with glitter.  I mixed an opaque dark purple/burgundy shimmer by Sally Hansen (no name) in along with an old Wet'n'Wild blue glitter with a clear base.  This was the result! Three coats topped with INM holographic topcoat for a little more bling :)

Pretty color, right?!  and lots of bling.  Unfortunately, the brush in the bottle I mixed in is short, stubby and just awful, so application was extra terrible.  This was three coats and it was still streaky.  I also smeared my middle finger, which thoroughly irritated me.  If I could get this one a bit more opaque and into a different bottle, that would be great because the color is uh-mazing (imo!).

I think I've gotten myself addicted to frankening now...oops!  So stay tuned for more frankens to come!!

Thanks for reading! Love you all! <3

Wet'n'Wild-Blazed

This color is stunning.  A bright coral creme :)  I did have a couple of application issues with this one, though.  This was three coats with the last one being quite thick.  Definitely worth it for the color, though!  No topcoat in these pictures:

Sorry I haven't been around much the last couple of days.  I was out of town at the last minute for two days and didn't have much internet access.  Also, I'm working a TON the next few days so I may miss a day or two.  Trust me though, I'm planning a major swatchathon when I have days off!  Also, while I was out of town I hit the polish jackpot!  I came back with 30+ polishes and didn't have to pay a cent!!  Talk about lucky!  They were all polishes that I had at my parents' and forgot about, plus I got a free one from Ulta as well :D

Thanks for stopping by! <3

MANicure!!!

So I've been seeing these "MANicures" floating around the internet nail world for about a week now and I wanted to share my own :)  Mr. NailsbyCourteney was pretty excited to get to do my nails however he wanted.  This was the result!  He picked out everything himself with (almost) no guidance from me.
Base color: WnW Black Creme
Glitter: Ulta Afterparty (on pinky, middle, and thumb) and SC Queen of Beauty (ring and pointer)
Topcoat: Out the Door

I got a huge kick out of watching him try really hard to make it neat and look nice.  He was super into it :)
As you can see, I didn't clean up my nails at all, this is all Mr.NbC's work and he was pretty proud of it!

I think this "tag" should be done by everyone!  I want to see how your brothers, husbands, boyfriends, dads, uncles, etc. do your nails!!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out by blog <3

Sally Hansen-Mauve It

Mauve It is definitely one of my go-to pinks.  I don't see much mauve in it at all, so I'm not sure why mauve is in the name, but I love it anyway!  It's a tiny bit frosty, but I don't mind because it's subtle.  Good formula.  Thick at times, but that's to be expected with the Insta-dry line.  These photos are two coats, no topcoat:

It's such a perfect shade of pink.  I've always loved it :)

Just a quick post today, I've gotta finish packing up my giveaway prize to ship out in the AM.  I've been working 9+ hours a day for the last couple of days, so my apologies to I'm Feeling Nail-Venturous for not getting it out yesterday like I said I would!  Bad me!

Thanks for reading <3

China Glaze-Secret Peri-winkle

 Secret Peri-winkle is my current summer favorite polish!!  For some reason, I can't get enough of dusty periwinkle colors lately.  This and Smooth Sailing by Essie have been drawing my eye almost every time I change my polish.  I love the formula of this one, too.  Thin and smooth and only two coats to opacity.

I love konading over this one, too.  So pretty.

Thanks for stopping by! <3

Sally Hansen-Gray Area

Today it is gloomy and rainy where I live, so I thought I'd post this for you guys!  Gray Area is a GORGEOUS dark grayed out smokey purple creme.  The purple almost gets lost in the darkness, but it's still there, especially in sunlight.  I can't wait for fall to come so I can wear this one more regularly :)  Formula is great.  You could almost get away with one coat, but I needed the second just to even everything out.

Pretty, right?  I think so :)

Sorry about my cuticle injury :/ I've been washing my hands a lot more than usual in the last three weeks since I started working again.  Also, when I went to change my polish yesterday, I noticed that I had a big split right down the middle of my right middle finger!  I had to take my nails all the way down to the quick :(  You may think my nails look short in these photos, but you should see them now!  They literally look like nubs. Ugh.  The tips of my fingers are kind of sensitive as well because my nails aren't there to protect them.  They'll grow back, but I miss them :(

How's the weather where you are? Bright and sunny?

Thanks for reading <3

China Glaze-Flip Flop Fantasy

This is for real one of the most neon polishes I have ever seen.  The photos don't even do it justice.  Like any true neon, the formula was really iffy.  It was streaky and pulled a lot.  took two thin coats plus one thick coat to even everything out.  Of course, neons dry matte, so topcoat is a must, imo.  I used Out the Door:

Doesn't this color just scream summer at you?  Like, I want to lounge by the pool and maybe sip a cocktail  at the beach?  It does to me, anyway.  Of all neon polishes, I think I like pinks the best...not sure why.  This one has a slight coral touch to it as well.  I think it's beautifully unique :)

What do you guys think of this one/neons in general?

Thanks for reading <3

Paisley and Periwinkle!

This is my latest Konadicure.  I used two coats of my current fave: ChG Secret Peri-Winkle and stamped it with M60 and Wet'n'Wild Black Creme.  First of all, I just want to let all of you know how awesome Black Creme is for stamping.  Def the best black for stamping that I have (I don't have special black).  Topped it all off with a coat of SV.

I'm completely obsessed with this mani.  Can't stop staring at it!  I've gotten quite a few compliments on it today, as well :)

Thank you guys for looking! <3

Giveaway Winner!

Using random.org, a random number was selected and according to my spreadsheet that winner is:

I'm Feeling Nail-Venturous!

She will have 24 hours to respond to my giveaway or I will choose another winner at random. I just want to take the time to say a sincere thank you to everyone who reads my blog and entered my giveaway!  I truly appreciate every one of you.  I'm going to be having another giveaway pretty soon, so keep an eye out for that :)

Love each and every one of you <3

Revlon-Apple-tini Fizz

This is one of those colors that you see in the store and all the hype around it makes you want it.  The Revlon Fizz collection was so hyped up that I needed to get at least one.  I was really out to get Grapefruit Fizz, but they were all sold out at my Walgreen's.  Instead, I settled on Apple-tini Fizz.  In the bottle, it looks like a light lime-ish green jelly with lots of glitter and shimmers.  On the nail, it kind of looks gross.  Like the color of grody yellowed nails to the extreme.  I decided to put it over black to see what would happen and BAM!  I loved it.  I used two coats over a base of Wet'n'Wild Black Creme and three coats over my bare nails.  No topcoat.

 

I included the close up pic so you could all see how stunning this was over black.  To die for!  As you can see, though, it kind of looks gross over bare nail.  As for the scent, it is very strong at first.  Smells just like an apple Jolly Rancher!  Topcoat doesn't really affect the scent too much, which is a good thing I suppose.  I can't wait to get the other ones and try them out over black!!

Thanks for reading!  Love <3