Friday, September 28, 2012

NOTD: nails inc. "Pinkie Pink"

I loved China Glaze Draped in Velvet so much that when I received the new nails inc. pinkie pink yeseterday I thought they would pair so well together!

China Glaze Draped in Velvet (2 coats) accented with nails inc. pinkie pink (1 coat) on my pinkie finger


I got great coverage of the pink glitter with just one coat! It's a bit of a topcoat eater, so I used a coat of Gelous before I did my fast-dry top coat. With the "accent nail" still be quite on-trend right now, I think it's neat that nails inc. used that trend to create a BCA shade and named it to match the trend. Of course, I usually see the accent nail done on the ring finger, but *love* the phrase "pinkie pink".

Nails Inc “Paint Your Pinkie Pink”

The Paint your Pinkie Pink campaign is designed to raise awareness of Breast Cancer Campaign and to encourage sales of the Pinkie Pink nail polish to raise money for Breast Cancer Campaign. Nails Inc has created a limited edition bespoke pink glitter nail polish which will retail at $10. $1 (10%) from every nail polish sale will be donated to Breast Cancer Campaign. Breast Cancer Campaign was established in 1988 with the aim of researching the cure for breast cancer.

Price: $10, Available exclusively at Sephora.com
(note that it doesn't appear to be available yet)

Disclosure: Both polishes swatched in this post were provided to me for review purposes.

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Giveaway- Three China Glaze Purples!

When Beauty Stop Online sent me some China Glaze purples to review, they offered to send me 3 bottles to giveaway as well!

Left to Right:
Royal Tease
Draped in Velvet
Let's Groove

The winner of this giveaway will win a brand new bottle of each of the shades pictured above. I'll use Rafflecopter to manage the giveaway and choose the winner. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclosure: Polish for giveaway was provided by Beauty Stop Online (thanks guys!)

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

NOTD: China Glaze Stella

China Glaze Stella

Today I'm wearing another gorgeous purple shade from China Glaze that Beauty Stop Online sent me to review. Beauty Stop Online offers China Glaze for just $2.99.

This is a red-based purple with red and violet microglitter and may just be my favorite of the four purples they sent me.

Details

Brand/Name: China Glaze Stella

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 2 coats topped with NYC Grand Central Station

Retail price: $2.99 from Beauty Stop Online

More info: Stella is part of the Retro Diva collection that was released in 2009.


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Wow- WSJ article has such incorrect info about a nail polish pic!

photo source: taken by Sasha with my smart phone
page D4 of the 09-27-12 Wall Street Journal

Today the WSJ is all kinds of wrong with a nail polish pic they posted. They posted a pic that nail blogger Steffels took of a Lynderella polish called The Glittering Crowd, but in the article they said it was a polish by Deborah Lippmann and that the photo was taken by an Alice + Olive employee on their iPhone.

Text from the article:

"Barneys New York posted a traditional product shot of an $18 "mirrored chrome" nail lacquer from the Deborah Lippmann Collection to its BarneysNY account on the Fancy, which has almost 30,000 followers on the site.

A confetti nail lacquer from the same brand was offered for sale from the clothing brand Alice + Olive. Stacey Bendet, designer and founder of the line, posted onto her Fancy page a close-up photo of a woman's fingernails wearing the shade, which an employee snapped using an iPhone.

The nail-polish photograph on BarneysNY was "fancied" about 1,400 times. Ms. Bendet's polish photo was fancied nearly 9,000 times -- even though she has about 9,000 fewer Fancy followers than Barneys."

Photo caption:
"This nail lacquer was fancied nearly 9,000 times on thefancy.com."

So basically, either the wrong pic was pulled for the article, or Ms. Bendet is wrong about where she got her photo she "fancied"- it's certainly not an iPhone photo snapped by an employee since you can find the original photo posted by the nail blogger Steffels here.

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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

NOTD: nails inc. Special Effects Sprinkles Nail Polish in Sugar House Lane


nails inc. Special Effects Sprinkles Nail Polish in Sugar House Lane
pastel grey with monochrome sprinkles


How fun is this polish? After I purchased Topping Lane and loved it, I had to go back and pick up the other three shades in this collection. The pic above is actually taken on Day 3- I painted Sunday night and took the pictures at noon on Tuesday. Not a chip in sight.

Note that these Sprinkles polishes do need a coat of Gelous to help smooth out the glitter.



Details
Brand/Name:  nails inc. Special Effects Sprinkles Nail Polish in Sugar House Lane

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 2 coats color topped with 1 coat of Gelous and 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Price: $9.50

Purchased from:  www.sephora.com

Collection: The Special Effects Sprinkles Nail Polish collection was released in Summer 2012 and includes:
  • Sugar House Lane (pastel grey with monocrome sprinkles)
  • Sweets Way (listed as Sweets "Away" on Sephora's site - white with pastel blue, pink, and silver sprinkles)
  • Puddling Lane (teal with navy and gold sprinkles)
  • Topping Lane (pink with cerise, silver and purple sprinkles)

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Ready for Fall: China Glaze Purples

I am SO ready for fall! We've had a few cooler days, but it got up in the nineties this weekend and it was HOT! Bring on the falling leaves.....

One of my very favorite nail polish colors to wear is purple, and I think purple is a perfect fall color. Beauty Stop Online offered to send me a few shades to review, so of course I picked some purples from China Glaze. Beauty Stop Online offers these shades for just $2.99.

Left to Right:
Royal Tease
Draped in Velvet
Let's Groove

Each swatch is two coats, and I cannot get over how much I love all three- even though they are pretty different!

Royal Treasure - A light purple frost. I got good application with two thinner coats.
Draped in Velvet - Magenta with small blue and pink shimmers. Fabulous application.
Let's Groove - Deep purple with violet and red shimmer. Easy application.

I'm planning a giveaway to post later this week, so I hope you can stop by and enter!




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Friday, September 21, 2012

NOTD: Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light


Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light


Look at that flakie goodness!

I'm over the moon for this one. I saw another blogger say their bottle was thick and hard to work with, but mine applied wonderfully in two coats. I went ahead and did a third coat on the pinkie to see if there was that much difference, and I decided I like 2 coats best so I stopped.

In some lights, the flakes are green, and in others, red/orange.

Details

Brand/Name: Deborah Lippmann Ray of Light

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 2 coats topped with NYC Grand Central Station (pinkie has three coats of color)

Retail price: I can't recall where I purchased this, but it retails for $18

More info: Ray of Light was released in Spring 2012 and billed as "3-D Holographic Nail Lacquer"


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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

NOTD: a england Tristam


a england Tristam

Back in July a england had a great sale and I picked up 2 I had been lusting over- Lady of the Lake and Tristam. I really can't say enough good things about these two shades- both applied so well, and are just gorgeous.

I had a nail break pretty far back, so I went ahead and did some trimming and re-shaping. I went for a more rounded shape, and I can't decide if I like it... Thoughts?

Details

Brand/Name: a england Tristam

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 2 coats topped with NYC Grand Central Station

Price: 9 British Pounds, approximately $14 USD

Purchased from: http://www.a-england.co.uk 

Collection: Lady of the Lake is part of the Mythicals collection, released in 2011, along with 14 other shades

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Monday, September 17, 2012

NOTD: Essie Lion Around

Essie Lion Around

If I wasn't trying to make it thru un-trieds.... I might not even show you this one. I do not like this color on me at all. It's so very TSFW (Totally Suitable For Work), which was nice since I had a business meeting to attend today, but it does something strange up next to my skin. Do not like.

Details

Brand/Name:  Essie Lion Around

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?:  3 coats color topped with 1 of NYC Grand Central Station

Purchased from:  I purchased the 2011 Resort Mini Collection at TJ Maxx for $9.99. The Mini Collection also includes Lion Around, Fair Game, and Da Bush.
 
Collection: Your Hut or Mine is from the 2011 Resort Collection called Fair Game which includes:
  • Da Bush
  • Fair Game
  • Lion Around
  • Your Hut or Mine

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Saturday, September 15, 2012

NOTD: Essie Your Hut or Mine

Essie Your Hut or Mine

Yesterday was Mr. Sasha's birthday, and we made plans to go to dinner at The Melting Pot. Oh how we love The Melting Pot! It's expensive, so we save it for special occasions. And since it was his birthday, I'd thought I would do a Mr. Sasha-approved color for my NOTD. He's not a fan of trendy colors and finishes, and prefers what he calls "normal" colors. Read: boring. But I went with it and pulled out a nice rosy pink that was in my un-trieds. Of course he liked it!

Side note to OPI: See how Essie manages to get a label on their mini bottles? PLEASE figure out how to do this on your minis!

Details
Brand/Name:  Essie Your Hut or Mine

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?:  3 coats color topped with 1 of NYC Grand Central Station

Purchased from:  I purchased the 2011 Resort Mini Collection at TJ Maxx for $9.99. The Mini Collection also includes Lion Around, Fair Game, and Da Bush.
 
Collection: Your Hut or Mine is from the 2011 Resort Collection called Fair Game which includes:
  • Da Bush
  • Fair Game
  • Lion Around
  • Your Hut or Mine

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Friday, September 14, 2012

My Favorite Nail Products




One of my favorite non-nail blogs to read is Kelly's Korner. Kelly does a series called "Show Us Your Life" and today's topic is "Show Us Your Favorite Beauty Products".

I thought I'd join in today and blog about my about my favorite nail products.

1. Sally Hanson Instant Cuticle Remover. To have a long-lasting mani, you've really got to prep your nails. Removing cuticle overgrowth is a key step. I apply this all around my cuticles, wait a bit (you can wait longer that it says), then use the thumbnail of my opposite hand to push back/scrape the cuticles. I typically do this twice.

2. Orly Bonder. This rubberized basecoat overrides any oily residue on your nails and gives your polish something to stick to, another secret of a long-lasting mani.

3. NYC Grand Central Station. This is my new HG topcoat... it works just as well as the pricy Seche Vite, but it's only $2! You know I love a bargain.

4. Poshe Cuticle Care.  Keeping your cuticles neat and free of hang-nails is another secret to making your manicure last longer. This product is fabulous and I massage this into my cuticles twice a day to prevent hangnails and prevent cuticle buildup.

5. Nail Polish Remover Dip-It. I change my polish pretty often, and this little treasure makes it quick and easy. Inside this tub are plastic bristles that really help scrub the polish off.

Photobucket

Now, if you are trying to remove a glitterbomb polish, that's another issue, and you'll need to visit this post to see the trick for that.

Thanks for visiting my nail blog!

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Thursday, September 13, 2012

NOTD: Finger Paints Take It or Leaf It

Finger Paints Take It or Leaf It

Bring on Fall! The color just screams fall to me and I am loving it.

I've seen other bloggers mention having trouble applying this, but I had no trouble at all using it over a coat of CND Stickey. In fact, it was almost a one-coater.

Details
Brand/Name:  Finger Paints Take It or Leaf It

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?:  2 coats color topped with 1 of NYC Grand Central Station

Price: $4.49 using the Sally's discount card

Purchased from:  Sally's
Collection: Take it or Leaf It is from the Fall of Surprises collection released in August 2012, which includes:

  • Be-leaf It Or Not! (sage)
  • Fall Of Surprises! (copper glitter)
  • Fall-ing For You (teal/blue)
  • Gourd Or Bad? (bar multi glitter)
  • Plum Startled (purple)
  • Take It Or Leaf It (taupe) 

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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Sephora by OPI Havana Nights collection wrap-up




Well, it took me over 2 years, but I finally got the entire Sephora by OPI Havana Nights collection swatched! :-)

So I thought I'd do a wrap-up post and post all the pics together.

Sephora by OPI Caliente Coral

Sephora by OPI Caribbean Cocktail

Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Sephora by OPI Midnight Mambo

Sephora by OPI Read My Palm


Sephora by OPI Rumba Romance

Sephora by OPI Teal We Meet Again

I need to work on my turn-around time, huh?


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NOTD: Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams


I am finally done swatching the Sephora by OPI Havana Nights collection (from 2010, of course!)!

My swatch above is 3 coats, and it probably could have used a 4th for perfect coverage. My ADD kicked in after 3 though and I just couldn't do a 4th! This one is still available at www.sephora.com.

A few weeks ago I tried this using Gelous as my basecoat, and I could not get even coverage, even at 4 coats. So this time I used CND Stickey and got much better coverage. This one definitely needs a rubberized basecoat.

Details
Brand/Name:  Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 3 coats color topped with 1 of NYC Grand Central Station

Price: currently $9.50, was $9 when released in 2010

Purchased from:  www.sephora.com

Collection: from the Sephora by OPI Havana Nights Collection from 2010, which includes:

  • Caliente Coral (no longer available)
  • Caribbean Cocktail (no longer available)
  • Havana Dreams (still available)
  • Read My Palm (still available)
  • Rumba Romance (no longer available)
  • Teal We Meet Again (still available)
Note: Midnight Mambo was not part of the original release but was later added to the collection and is no longer available.

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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

NOTD: Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps Sheer Pink Gloss

Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps Sheer Pink Gloss

Boy, the name of this is long.... and I left out "Hard as Nails"!

A few years ago, maybe even 5 years ago, I stumbled on to a sale at Walgreens and every shade in this line was only $1. I grabbed one bottle in each shade. I actually love this line- although I'm not sure it makes your nails "Hard As Wraps" it is definitely a great polish. I actually wore a red shade from this line as a pedi shade for about 2 years.

At any rate, there are a few of these sheer gloss shades, and I had not tried them, so I pulled out Sheer Pink Gloss to try first. This shade is very TSFW- Totally Suitable For Work. Too suitable for me! I just need a little more "pop" in my mani!

Details

Brand/Name: Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hard As Wraps "Sheer Pink Gloss"

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 3 coats of color topped with 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Purchased From: Walgreens sale at least 5 years ago for $1- this line has been discontinued

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Monday, September 10, 2012

NOTD: Essie Braziliant

Essie Braziliant

Somehow this was in my un-trieds! I got this one last summer along with Too Too Hot and Smooth Sailing and I guess I forgot about it. Side note: I am having a terrible time spelling Braziliant with one L! I guess I am trying to spell it like "brilliant".

I am on the fence about this shade. It required three coats, and you can see on my middle finger I've got a bit of a crease that happened during the night. I think it got pretty thick and didn't dry well. Still a pretty eye-catching shade.

Details

Brand/Name: Essie Braziliant

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 3 coats of color topped with 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Purchased From: www.transdesign.com for approximately $6

Collection: Braziliant is part of Essie's Braziliant collection released for Summer 2011 along with:
  • Absolutely Shore (soft sea foam green) 
  • Brazilliant (hot orange with a touch of shimmer)
  • Meet Me at Sunset (vibrant deep orange)
  • Smooth Sailing (breezy lavender blue with a reflection of pearl)
  • Super Bossa Nova (upbeat bright fuchsia)
  • Too Too Hot (sizzling rich red coral)

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Friday, September 7, 2012

Swatches: Reds from Orly Naughty or Nice Holiday 2012 collection

I recently purchased the Orly Naughty or Nice Holiday 2012 collection and decided to swatch the three red shades first.

Devil May Care
(I am embarrassed to say I forget whether I did 2 or 3 coats but I am leaning towards 2...... either way, coverage is pretty good and I don't think you need to layer this over a solid red.)

Torrid
2 coats
This is definitely more red than the promo pic makes it appear.

Unlawful
2 coats

Details

Brand/Name: Orly Devil May Care, Torrid, and Unlawful

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 2 coats of color topped with 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station (there is a slim chance that Devil May Care is 3 coats)

Purchased From: www.transdesign.com ($25.50 for the set of 6)

Collection: All three are from Orly's Naughty or Nice collection for Holiday 2012. The collection includes:
  • Angel Eyes
  • Devil May Care
  • Halo
  • Miss Conduct
  • Torrid
  • Unlawful

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Thursday, September 6, 2012

NOTD: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Pronto Purple

  Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Pronto Purple

In the sun you can see red and dark purple/blue shimmers. So pretty!

Although I loathe the brush on the Insta-Dris, this is a GORGEOUS color. The length of the brush (and the cap for that matter) is just awkward for some reason. As and for the "insta-dri", since I use a quick dry top coat, that's not really a selling point for me.

Details

Brand/NameSally Hansen Insta-Dri Pronto Purple

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 2 coats topped with 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Purchased From: CVS during a sale... combined with ECB, they most likely paid me to take this out of the store. :-)



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Wednesday, September 5, 2012

How I Feel Today

Feel free to steal! I just created this and am cracking myself up today!

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NOTD: Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Jewel Overcoat in White Veil

 Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Jewel Overcoat in White Veil
(2 coats over China Glaze Midnight Kiss)
shade

Sitting in my un-tried box were two of Sally Hansen's Jewel Overcoat polishes and I picked White Veil to try first. When these came out they were paired with a solid color in the displays, and although I'm not 100% sure, I think White Veil was paired with a golden shade. I thought China Glaze Midnight Kiss would be a perfect undercoat.

(Note: I just found a pic at Lace and Lacquers showing that White Veil was paired with Duchesse Lace, a peachy taupe shade. Pretty close to gold.)

My sun shots make the bigger gold hex glitter look black.... but hopefully you can see in the shade pic that it is in fact gold. There is also small white glitter in there.

A coat of NYC Grand Central Station smoothed this out just fine.

Details

Brand/NameSally Hansen Diamond Strength Jewel Overcoat in White Veil over China Glaze Midnight Kiss

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 2 coats of Midnight Kiss topped with 2 coats of White Veil topped with 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Purchased From: Walgreen's

Collection: White Veil was found in a Limited Edition Sally Hansen display in Spring 2012 along with:
  • Something Borrowed
  • Ring-a-Ding (jewel overcoat)
  • Infinity Band
  • Multi-Faceted (jewel overcoat)
  • Garter Toss
  • Let's Dance (jewel overcoat)
  • Duchesse Lace
  • White Veil (jewel overcoat)

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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

NOTD: China Glaze Midnight Kiss

China Glaze Midnight Kiss

I am working my way through my un-tried China Glaze drawer and getting close to being done, then onto another brand. I really like this light gold foil and was glad it wasn't brush-strokey at all.

Details

Brand/Name: China Glaze Midnight Kiss

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 2 coats color topped with 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Price: I purchased this for roughly $3 from www.transdesign.com

Collection: Midnight Kiss is part of China Glaze's Tis The Season To Be Naughty And Nice (Holiday 2010). Other shades included in the collection are:
  • Cheers To You
  • Frosty
  • Jingle Bells
  • Jolly Holly
  • Little Drummer Boy
  • Mistletoe Kisses
  • Mommy Kissing Santa
  • Midnight Kiss
  • Mrs. Claus
  • Naughty And Nice
  • Party Hearty
  • Peace On Earth
  • Phat Santa
  • Ruby Deer
  • Snow
  • Sugar Plums

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NOTD: China Glaze I'm Not Lion

China Glaze I'm Not Lion

I love glitters like this! I couldn't believe how well this covered in just two coats, but if you look closely, you can see that the coverage is not so great on the tips... in fact, this started to chip a bit on the second day, which is when I shot this photo. It wasn't that noticeable since it was a forgiving color.

Details

Brand/Name: China Glaze I'm Not Lion

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: 2 coats color topped with 1 coat of Gelous and 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Price: I purchased this for roughly $3 from www.transdesign.com

Collection: I'm Not Lion is part of China Glaze's On Safari collection from Summer 2012. Other shades included in the collection are:
  • Adventure Red-y
  • Call of the Wild
  • Desert Sun
  • Elephant Walk
  • Exotic Encounters
  • I Herd That
  • I'm Not Lion
  • Jungle Queen
  • Kalahari Kiss
  • Man Hunt
  • Prey Tell
  • Purr-fect Plum          

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Monday, September 3, 2012

My Faves from the OPI Germany Collection

I was so excited when I started seeing swatches of OPI's Germany Collection for Fall 2012. I think these are perfect fall colors and I am so over this 100 degree heat and ready for leaves to start falling! Here are the four shades from the collection I couldn't resist purchasing.

Danke-Shiny Red
 glowy metallic red

 Deutsch You Want Me Baby?
rust orange shimmer
(side note: Mr. Sasha said I should go ahead and ship this off to our friend Misty, who is a Texas Longhorn fan- he said he forbids me to wear it! Too funny!)

 Every Month is Oktoberfest
vampy dark purple shimmer

German-icure by OPI
vampy brownish-red

These all applied like a dream at just 2 coats. Clean up was even a breeze, which sometimes isn't the case with super-dark shades. I am in love with all four and yes, I'll be keeping DYWMB!

Our neighborhood is having an Oktoberfest Block Party in a  few weeks, so I need to decide which one to wear. Which of these four is your favorite?

Details

Number of coats in pic/topcoat?: All swatches are 2 coats color topped with 1 coat of NYC Grand Central Station

Collection: OPI Germany Collection for Fall 2012:
  • Berlin There, Done That
  • Danke-Shiny Red
  • Deutsche You Want Me Baby?
  • Don't Pretzel My Buttons
  • Don't Talk Bach To Me
  • Every Month Is Oktoberfest
  • German-icure by OPI
  • My Very First Knockwurst
  • Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine!
  • Schnapps Out Of It!
  • Suzi and the 7 Düsseldorfs
  • Unfor-Greta-bly Blue

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