150 Follower Contest Reminder!

Just wanted to remind everyone that I'm holding a contest that will run until I reach 150 followers or 10/8, whichever comes later!!

Please click HERE to go to the entry form :)

ELF-Party Purple

Continuing on with my ELFs, I have Party Purple.  This is BY FAR my favorite ELF polish of all time.  I was really impressed with how deep and rich the color is as well as how good application was.  The formula is great, and this is one of the old formula polishes.  Two coats to shimmery perfection:

You should definitely click on these photos to see the goodness up close :)  If you can only pick up one ELF polish, I highly recommend this one.  If you're a purple lover, you'll love this!

Thanks for reading!
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ELF-Nude

ELF Nude is one of those polishes that you think will look good on you in the bottle, but is dissapointing on the nail.  At least for me and my skin tone.  I got some major lobster hands!!  Formula was good, however, and I would recommend this for people with a warmer skin tone than I have.  Two coats and super shiny even without topcoat.  Pictures!

What do you guys think of this one?  I like it, just not on me :)

ELF-Blush

Hey everybody!!  I'm baaack! Lol.

Aaannnyway, this is Blush by ELF.  First off, I would definitely not call this anything implying that it is blush colored, because it's most definitely not.  Second, when I made this order from eyeslipsface.com, I noticed that they had raised the price of their polish to $2 (a whole dollar, gasp!!) because they had improved the formula.  When I recieved my shipment, only 4 of my 7 bottles had a "new formula!" sticker on them.  This one happened to be one of them.  The other three bottles did not have the stickers.  The formula in the bottles with the stickers was slightly thicker and a bit more opaque.  Also, the biggest thing I noticed was that in the bottles with the stickers, there were new brushes!!  They are bigger and a bit more flat (think OPI) so that you can apply the polish with less strokes.  The bottles without stickers had the old brushes.  All of this makes me think that I got the old $1 formula in three bottles, but still payed for the $2 formula...kind of irks me.  Anyway, application was good on this one.  Two coats.  Not sure what happened there near my cuticle, but it smudged somehow.

I'm not sure how to feel about the color...I don't find it very flattering on my skin tone.  The shade pictures looked nicer, however.  Be forwarned that this one is a tiny bit frosty.  I should have been a bit more careful in my application, but alas, such is life.

Have any of you ordered from ELF lately only to find that they jipped you with old formula polishes?  (Not that the old formula was bad, I'm just ticked that they're trying to sell that one at the new formula price)

Thanks for reading!
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Elegant and Feminine

I wanted to stop by today to post a quick mani I did a while back.  I haven't done any new ones since I got hurt, so this is all I got :)  I actually really like it, it reminds me of old wallpaper, but in a good way.  I started with a base of ELF Sunset and then stamped with one of my BM plates (don't remember which, sorry!).  This was the result:

I'm healing up nicely.  It's been three days and most of the bad punctures are starting to close up now, which is good news for polishing!!  Thank you guys for all of your support and lovely comments, you all made me feel so much better!  I'll be back in full force soon, so stay tuned!!!

Thanks loves!
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Update...

Sorry I've been absent the last couple of days.   I got attacked by a pit bull and my arm isn't in very good shape. Not good enough to want to try and polish, anyway.  I wanted to stop by and give you guys a quick update so that you know I'm not abandoning you!  I'll be getting back to regular posts as soon as I can have a swatch day (maybe tomorrow?).  I'm bandaged from my wrist to my elbow on my right arm, so it's kind of hard to navigate semi-simple things :(

In the mean time, keep on entering my contest!!  You can find a link to it on the left side under popular posts :)

I've missed interacting with you guys!

Thanks for sticking with me
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China Glaze-CG in the City

I have been looking for this one regularly at my Sally's since it got released with the Metro collection.  Yesterday I got my hands on the last one!!  Now, I've heard pretty meh reviews on this one, but I just couldn't help myself.  And I'm glad I didn't!  I love it!  It's a clear base with dusty purple and silver glitter in it.  Love.  It took three coats to get it opaque enough for me to wear it on it's own.  Keep in mind that I have super shorties right now, and not much VNL to show, so it might look more sheer on others with longer nails.  I topped the three coats with my new love: Gelous.  I love Gelous so, so much.  It smoothed everything out and made the difference for me in how much I love this mani.  Topped all that off with SV:

So much love.  I can't stop looking at my pretty nails :)  If you love dusty colors and glitter, then this one is definitely for you!!  I warn that you need patience, though, as you need three coats and preferably a coat of something like Gelous to smooth the glitter out.

Thanks for stopping by, loves!
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Splatter 1.0

Firstly, go on over and enter my contest...you know you want to!!!

My first splatter!  I used a white base and SC San Fransisco, SH Time to Shine and W'n'W Blue Moon.  I used a thin coffee stirrer straw to do the splattering.  I liked the thin straw because it prevented me from completely blobbing polish all over the place (which still happened a bit).  Then topped it off with SH Insta Dri Topcoat:

I really like how this one turned out.  Especially for my first time.  Definitely going to try this again with different colors/combinations.  What do you guys think?  And let me know what your favorite color combos are for splatters so I can try them out!

Thanks!
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Avon-Teal Wing N

Here's another Avon from forever ago...or just three or so years.  I don't really get the name, but the color is pretty!  It's a bit sheer, even at two coats, but it's even, so I didn't mind much.  No topcoat in these photos:

It almost has a foil finish, but its not quiiiite there.  Do any of you guys have this one??  Let me know what you think :)  Till next post, my lovelies!

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Reader's Choice!

I finally got around to doing my reader's choice mani!  The winner of the poll was dotting, but I felt like throwing some taping in there as well :)

I don't have a proper dotting tool, so I used the back of the brush I use for cleanup.  As you can tell, I need some major practice with dotting.  And maybe some dotting tools.  I used a base of SH Pacific Blue, taped it off and added a coat of SH Laser.  Dotted over the line with white polish.  What do you guys think??

Thanks for stopping by!
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Avon-Soft Mauve

Happy Pink Wednesday!!  This one is Soft Mauve by Avon.  It's pretty old, so I couldn't tell you when it was released, etc...I didn't think I was gonna like this one, but I love it.  It has some really pretty hidden shimmer that's really only visible in the shade.  Check her out!:

The shade picture is what sells me on this one...PRETTY!

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway/contest!!  I love looking at all the entry photos so far :)

Thanks lovelies!
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It's Raining, it's Pouring...

Don't forget to enter my CONTEST!!

Yesterday we had a crazy storm here in northern AZ...like 1.5 in. diameter size hail.  Nuts.  So here's my interpretation of a rainy day on my nails :)  I started with a base coat and two coats of NYX Girls Dark Gray followed by q-tip clouds using NYX Girls Perfect Gray.  I added cloud details with Dark Gray and a small brush, then raindrops with Essie Smooth Sailing.  The raindrops didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped, but it was still pretty cute:

Have any of you done a rainy day mani on a cold and dreary day?  I felt it was appropriate :)

Thanks loves!
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it's haul time!!!

I was so excited for today's nail mail!  I was expecting both my ELF order as well as my Bundle Monsters.  They both came!  Eeeee!

The ELF polishes are L-R:

Nude

Champagne

Blush

Coral

Sunset

Party Purple

Dark Navy

ELF has supposedly reformulated their polishes.  We shall see :)  Also, only four of my bottles have a label that says it has the new formula.  These bottles also have much nicer looking brushes!  I'm excited to try them all out.

I also recieved my BM 21 pack!!  You have no idea how pumped I am for this.  I've been wanting the 21 pack for ages, and it's finally mine!  The stamping possibilities are endless!

Thanks for reading, loves!

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Orly-Naughty

Naughty is just as the name would imply...naughty!!  It is a very dark burgundy with an ever so lovely creme-jelly finish.  Application was lovely, as with all of my oldie-but-goodie Orlys :) I included four pictures to show off the great depth to this polish.  Two coats:

This type of color is super on-trend for this fall, so I'm excited to have such a great one in my collection!

Thanks for stopping by!
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Orly-Savvy Mauve

Don't forget to enter my contest!!!

Savvy Mauve is another one of those polishes that I have from Orly that is really old, but really awesome.  In the bottle it looks a little boring.  But on the nails...wow!  It turns into this berry mauve color with so much intensity!  I was really impressed with this one.  Wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised.  I used two coats, no topcoat, and you can see how shiny this one is in the shade picture:

Pretty, right?  I love it.
Do you have any ancient polish gems??

Thanks for stopping by!
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(CLOSED)150 Follower Giveaway/Contest!!!!(CLOSED)

150 Follower Giveaway Contest Extravaganza!!

ends 10/8 (see rules please)

First of all, I want to say thanks for being here with me!  I'm excited to share this giveaway with you all :)

I'm doing this giveaway/contest a bit differently.  Starting today, 9/8, I will be accepting entries into my contest.  This contest will be open to US and Canada residents only.  I will close my contest when I reach 150 followers or 10/8, whichever comes later.

The reason why I am doing it this way instead of opening it when I reach 150 followers is because I want to try to give back to people who have been here for a while :)  Don't get me wrong, new followers are always welcome to enter!

How to Enter:

You must be a public follower.  

You must email me (courteney.anagnostaras@gmail.com) or tweet me (@Courteney811) a photo of an original nail design done by you that is inspired by one of the following:

Music
Psychology
Animals
Your favorite cause/charity

Your heritage/religion/orientation/anything you're proud of

(All I ask is no vulgarity/obscenity please, these will be seen publicly)

Fill out the form below.  I will verify your entries after I receive the photo of your design.

I ask that you please be at least 18 years old or have a parent's permission to give out a mailing address. Also, if I come to find that you have submitted a photo that was not yours/you did not have permission to submit, you will be disqualified.  I want to see your personal work! :)

How to Win!

There will be two winners!

After the contest closes, I will put up a post where anyone will be able to vote on your entries.  I will also give three extra vote points to people who share this giveaway.  The two entries with the highest number of votes at the end will win.  But what will I win, you ask?? Keep reading!

Prizes!!

1st place:  Three Zoya polishes of your choosing (I will order and send directly to you, if international I will order and personally ship to you)

2nd place: A mystery pack of polishes! (Various colors/brands/etc, all new)

Sally Hansen-Disco Ball

Disco Ball is a clear based polish with multi-colored small glitter in it.  Formula is a bit gloopy, but it is a glitter, so there's not too much you can do about that.  Overall, I really like this one.  I wanted to show it to you guys on bare nails to show the clear base color and the density of the glitter (this is two coats, no topcoat):

While I think this one is best as a layering polish, I still think it looks OK on it's own, which is a plus.  If I were going to wear this one as a full mani, I would definitely layer it over another color.  I think it would look especially good over darker colors because it would stand out a bit more and the glitter would really take center stage :)

Love you guys!
<3

Sally Hansen-Petal Pusher

Since it's nearing the end of summer, I thought I'd show you guys a light pastel before the cooler weather starts to set in :)  This is Petal Pusher from the SH Insta Dri line.  A light pastel pink bordering on a creamy white.  The first time I swatched this I hated it, but I also wasn't very good at getting an even application.  The second time around, I got it a bit more even and I liked it.  I used three coats, no topcoat:

This color looks so classy on any skin tone, in my opinion.  Just light enough to not make me look like I have mannequin hands (and I'm super pale), so that's a plus.  Let me know what you think about this one!!

Thanks for reading
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Hard Candy-Beetle

Beetle is one of those polishes that is a must have!!  I have been meaning to swatch/post this one for a while, but for some reason never got around to it.  This one is a beautiful purple/green duochrome with a glittery/almost foil finish.  Lovely.  The strange thing about this polish is that it is purple/green duochrome glitter suspended in a tealish/green sheer base.  Weird, but it works.  Pictures!:

Love this one.  Wear is good, I wore it for three days with some tipwear, but no chipping/peeling/flaking, etc. Definitely pick this one up next time you're at Walmart!

Thanks for peeping!
<3

Ulta- Femme Fatale

I got this one with my Ulta rewards certificate last month and I have to say, it's so nice!!  I don't really have anything bad to say about this one.  I love the color, the subtle shimmer, the depth, everything!  Formula was really good, too.  Almost a one-coater.  I'll let the photos do the talking:

If you're gonna stop by Ulta any time soon, definitely pick this one up.  It's simply lovely, especially with fall weather starting to set in.

Thanks for stopping by & don't forget to vote in my poll!!
<3

Pure ICE- Oh Baby!

Oh Baby! is a clear base with subtle iridescent shimmer.  Definitely not one of my favorites on its own (because it shows off my stained nails, eep!), but could be great for spicing up a mani that's seen it's glory days.  In these photos I used two coats of Oh Baby! and no topcoat:

Again, sorry about the grossness of my stained tips...ugh.  I wish they'd grow out already!!

I also wanted to ask you gals' opinions on something...do you prefer a white watermark or a black one?  These photos have white watermarks because I wanted to experiment and see what you prefer looking at better.  Let me know in the comments!! :)

Also, don't forget to vote in my little poll on the right hand side of the page for the next nail art I do!

Thanks for reading!
<3

Sally Hansen-Time to Shine

Time to Shine is said to be a dupe of Chanel Quartz.  Not sure how close it is, but it certainly looks similar!  It is a metallic beigey-gold with a super flashy finish.  I attempted to freehand a flower on the ring finger...total fail!  Haha :)

These photos make the color seem just a wee bit more yellow than it actually is.  I really like it...what do you gals think??

Thanks for stopping by! <3

another crackle, but a lovely one!

I came across this crackle in a local boutique.  It's by a brand called Nabi, which isn't very well known.  I have used one Nabi polish before and was unimpressed.  This one, though, was totally different!!  Usually crackles and I don't get along, but this one was pretty easy to work with.  I also love this one because it's a charcoal metallic crackle, which makes it kind of unusual.  Even though it's metallic, it still shows up really well against most colors.  These pictures are crackle layered over Sally Hansen Pacific Blue and topped with Out the Door:

As you can see, this one crackles pretty well.  I just had some trouble with my pinky finger.

What do you guys think?  Is the crackle fad on its way out??  Or here to stay for a while longer?

Thanks for stopping by! 

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