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).
<3

(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!
<3

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!

<3

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!

<3

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!
<3

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!
<3

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!
<3

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!
<3

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!
<3

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!

<3

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!
<3