Sinful Colors-Nirvana

Nirvana is a really nice taupey-brown creme.  It has really nice application, but for some reason doesn't agree with ridge filling base coats.  It kept pulling like crazy until I used it over a regular base coat.  This is two to three coats with no topcoat:

Quite an interesting color.  Not quite brown, but not quite taupe either.  And it's not really a "greige" either.  I like this better than a regular brown on my skin tone, however.

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!
<3

Sinful Colors-Dancing Nails

Dancing Nails is a really neat pinky red metallic color.  It makes me feel so fierce!!  Haha :)  Application, as always with SC, was pretty good.  Care is needed with brushstrokes because of the nature of the foil finish.

Isn't she pretty!?  This color always makes me think of Christmas when I see it :)

Don't forget to keep voting on my contest entries.  You'll be able to find a link in the top right of my sidebar :)

Thanks for reading :)
<3

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!
<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!

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!!!!!!!!!

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

My go-to mani!

This is what I have been wearing A LOT lately, especially when I don't know what else to wear.  I think it looks so classy and elegant, but with a little glittery fun thrown it!  I use Sally Hansen's Tyin' the Knot as my base color and Sinful Colors' Queen of Beauty for the accent nail.  All topped with SV:

Just thought I'd share what I've been doing lately when I'm not sure to wear :)
Hope you are all having a fantastic Wednesday!

Thanks for looking <3

Water Marble Attempt #2

So I was bored last night and decided to try my hand again at water marbling.  I tried once before HERE, but it was my first time and my pictures were awful, but hey, I tried :)  Anyway, I thought this time was a bit more successful.  I still need practice getting my nails to be more uniform.  As you can see from the pictures, they all look really different.  This time I taped off the skin around my nails to avoid horrendous cleanup (a step I forgot last time).

left hand

left hand

right hand

right hand

For this mani I used:
Nail Magic Base Coat Therapy
China Glaze For Audrey (base color)
Nabi Rose
Sinful Colors Verbena
NYX Perfect Gray (got really sheered out, can't really see it)
Out the Door Topcoat

Let me know what you guys think!  What are your favorite color combos for water marbles?
Also, don't forget to check out my giveaway!  Link at the top right of my blog :)

Thanks for reading! <3

Sinful Colors-Verbena

First off, don't forget to click HERE to enter my giveaway!!  Now onto the review :)

Verbena is a gorgeously pigmented, slightly dusty, red-toned purple creme.  I can't get over how lovely the color is.  Great for all year round, in my opinion :)  It's fun enough to wear in the spring/summer, but dusty and toned down just enough to make it appropriate for fall and winter as well.  Application was stunning.  Opaque and even slightly jellyish in two smooth coats.  These photos are two coats topped with Seche Vite:

My camera wouldn't pick up the warmth of this purple and it looks a bit more blue here than it really is.
I think I'm in love :)
I wore this for three days through 2 long work shifts and it never chipped.  I got some tip wear, but that's to be expected.

Love you, readers!
:)

Sinful Colors-Secret Admirer

Secret Admirer is a rich black with TONS of silver shimmer/microglitter.  I have always had a soft spot for this color because of how much microglitter is in it.  It's some serious bling on the nail! The color is rich and only requires two easy coats to achieve rich, glittery perfection.  These photos are two coats, no topcoat.

What I like the most about this color is that even though there is a ton of silver reflect to it, it still maintains that rich black base.  Sorry about the smudge on my ring finger :/

What do you guys think of shimmery/glittery blacks??

P.S. I have reached 35 followers!  Thanks to everyone who reads my blog, I write for you!  And a reminder that I'll be having a giveaway when I reach 50 followers to celebrate :)

Sinful Colors-Courtney Orange

The reason why I got this color is obvious...the name!  How could I pass up a color named Courtney Orange?? Yeah, it's spelled differently than my name, but it's basically still the same, right??  Anyway, CO is a bright orange shimmer.  Application was pretty good.  A little sheer, so three coats were needed to achieve full opacity.  These photos are without topcoat.

I'm typically not a huge fan of orange polish, but I can tolerate this one because of how bright and fun it is.  It also has shimmer, so that's a plus.  I would definitely recommend this polish if you are an orange lover!

Let me know what you think!
:D

Sinful Colors-Gogo Girl

Gogo Girl is a delicious red jelly...mmm.  Application on this one is good IF you apply it patiently...story time!  I had applied this as a full mani while distracted and watching TV, so I left much more time between coats than I usually do.  Anyway, I messed up a couple of nails during cleanup and had to re-do them.  On those nails, I polished like I usually do, not waiting very long between coats/topcoat.  Those nails ended up drying really wrinkly!  I have never experienced anything like it with any other polish.  It looked like it had pulled up on itself really badly.  I remedied it by waiting for it to dry completely, then adding another thick layer of topcoat to smooth everything out.  So...moral of the story = wait for each coat to dry completely before painting the next one.  Pictures!

Mmmm.  Just take a look at how shiny and squishy that color is!  These pictures are two coats, topped with SV.  Two coats allows this polish to be almost opaque.  In extremely bright light, I have a bit of VNL, but I kind of like it, especially with this color.
Overall verdict:  Definitely a must have!  What's hotter than a red jelly? Nothing!  This is my first full-on jelly, and I am really happy with it :)

Sinful Colors-Unicorn

Unicorn is a cheery yellow cream.  It looks pastel in the bottle, but dries a bit more bright on the nail.  Overall, I really like this color.  The downside is that the formula is pure crap.  Even after 3 thick coats, still streaky.  These photos were 4 thick coats, no topcoat.

It's such a shame that the formula is a pain because look how rad that color is!  I love bright yellows for summer, but yellows have a bad rap because of their formula.  This one, sadly, is no exception.  I suppose if I had the patience to really work with this polish, I would wear it...

Feel free to let me know if you have come across any yellows that have a formula that's nice to work with!  I am always on the lookout for an easy yellow :)

Sinful Colors-Mint Apple (and special announcement!)

Mint Apple is a minty green polish packed with silver shimmer.  I got this one after seeing a bunch of posts about it around 6 months ago, but was never very enthralled.  I tried it out again, though, and loved it!  I think the difference was using 3 coats.  The first time I tried it, I only used two coats which resulted in a pretty drab finish. Three coats, though, and bam!  Rich, saturated, minty, shimmery goodness!  These photos are three coats, no topcoat.

Shiny!  The color is gorgeous with three coats.  You can get by with two, but in my opinion...don't.  Definitely go with three!  For comparison's sake, this color is quite similar to For Audrey by China Glaze.  This one is a bit more green and has shimmer.
Also, sorry about my cuticles :/ I was in the middle of a swatch-a-thon and my poor fingers got all crazy dry.

And!  I'm excited to announce that I'll be having a giveaway when I reach 50 followers!  I am very grateful to everyone who reads/follows my blog and I want to give back to you!

Sparkly Argyle :)

I decided to konad my last manicure!  I really love the way it turned out:

I used a black shimmer polish by sinful colors for the stamp.  I stamped with m60 (which I'm obsessed with).  I really like that the pattern has some shimmer in it while the base color is a cream.  I'm really diggin this mani!

Let me know what you think :D

my first attempt at water marbling!

So...I decided that I would bite the bullet and try my hand at some water marbling.  I practiced first on some color wheel nails and decided that I had gotten to the point where I figured I wouldn't mess up too badly on myself.  The colors I used were: Sinful Colors- Mint Candy Apple, China Glaze- Shower Together, Sally Hansen- Lacey Lilac.

The first picture is of my left hand, the second is of my right (not quite as cool), and the third is of the ring, middle and pointer finger of my left hand.

I really like the overall effect of water marbling, but I think I need more practice...I made a huge mess of my fingers in the process.  It took me forever to get all the polish off of my skin afterward.  I also need some practice in getting the nails to look more similar to each other.  As you can tell from the last picture, my pointer finger turned out a lot differently than the rest of my fingers.  Also, my right hand was a lot more muddy than my left.

I'm going to try my hand at more water marbling with different color combinations.  I figure I'll use some of my cheaper polishes that don't apply so well for marbling, and that way they won't go to waste :)