Happy New Year!

Hi everybody! Happy New Year! It's my first post of 2012. It has been such a long time!!!! I kept meaning to update and then ended up doing something else instead (like going to sleep!) and time just flew by! But I am back and am dedicated to posting a lot more often! Things have been crazy here in CA. I love living here, but I still don't feel like I really do. If that makes any sense. Still adjusting I suppose!! Anyway, let's look at some nail pics! 

When Cult Nails had their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale (I forget when it exactly was) I immediately ordered a bottle of Clairvoyant. I know there has already been a ton of swatches of it, but it's so gorgeous! I heard that it may not be available anymore, so that's sad :( If that is the case, I'm glad I got it when I did! Since it is a sheer polish on its own, I layered it over Orly, "Le Chateau". It's a really deep dark green jelly. Here it is on its own!

And here is "Clairvoyant" layered over top!

Isn't it pretty?! It's like stained glass on your nails! I love putting Clairvoyant on top of other polishes!!

Thanks for reading and I will be talking to you all really soon! :)

Battle of the Purple Multi-Colored Flakies

Hi guys! So! As I'm sure many of you know, Orly recently came out with a new collection called 'Birds of a Feather'. I posted about a color called 'Sweet Peacock' a few weeks ago, and today I'm going to share with you the other color I purchased from this collection. It's called 'Fowl Play', and has been deemed a dupe of the hard to find OPI "Merry Midnight". I'd have to say I agree. I am fortunate enough to own both of these, so below are pictures of both the OPI and Orly version of this lovely color. It's a dark purple jelly polish full of multi-colored flakie pieces. In the pictures below I have two coats of each. 'Merry Midnight' is rare to come across, but you can always try ebay or swapping with someone. I picked up 'Fowl Play' at Ulta, so that is probably your best bet to find it. Otherwise, it is probably available online somewhere. I really like this polish  A LOT, so I don't mind owning both!!

Merry Midnight

Fowl Play

I think these are similar enough that you don't need to own both. This is especially helpful since the OPI version is nearly impossible to find. Can you guys tell a difference? 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!!

I'm back!!

Holy moly it's  been a bajillion years!!!!!! I hate having gone this long without posting, but my life has been crazy these past few weeks!! I packed up my whole apartment and drove halfway across the country, only to unload everything into a storage unit. All of my polishes (except for a few) are in storage (which was BY FAR, my heaviest box!!!!). I spent the weekend in California at a friend's place, and then flew back here, to IL to train my replacement. I've been living out of a hotel for the past week, and will be in one until Friday! Then I fly back to Cali and have to unload everything from the storage unit into a truck, and then FINALLY move into my new place on Saturday! WHEW! I can't wait for all this moving crap to be OVER! I purchased quite a few nail polish racks, so when I finally have my "Wall of Polish" set up, I'll be sure to share it with you guys! It's like artwork to me!

Yesterday, I spent the day in the city with Karin visiting some supply shops. I am so glad the polish community brought us together. I am really going to miss her!!! She gave me a special surprise polish that was a late birthday present / good luck living in your new place present. I can't wait to share it with you.... it's amazing!!!! :) But anyway, I picked up a few polishes yesterday so I will have lots of goodies to share with you this week!! 

Today I have two polishes I picked up from the Orly Mineral FX collection. Overall I liked the collection, but only two of the colors really spoke to me. I got these at Sally Beauty... it seems like they are in pretty limited quantities, so if you like any of them, I suggest going out and getting them ASAP!

First up is Rock Solid. It's a shimmery, steel gray color with scattered holographic glitter throughout. Two coats achieved full opaqueness, and the formula applied really well for me. I really enjoy this color!

Second, is a color called Rococo A-Go-Go. It's a gorgeous shimmery dark plum color, with a gold-ish duo chrome and pink sparkles. It applied like a dream, and could be a one coater. I did two for good measure. It's SO pretty. I will be wearing this color a TON, I can tell. 

Thanks for stopping by, and I won't be gone for that long again!! :)

Sweet Peacock Friday!

Howdy Folks! I can't believe it's Friday already, and the last Friday in August, to boot!! Where has Summer gone?! The upside is... well there are two upsides. One upside is that now that Fall is here we can start reaching for the new Fall colors. Not to say there has to be a certain time of year to wear a certain color, but there is just something about the smell of pumpkin and spices in the air, leaves changing colors on the trees, and darker, smokier colors on one's nails. The second upside, is that even though Fall is coming, I will not be stuck dealing with another winter of cold, snow, and ice!!! :) And for that, I am grateful!

 Today I have a color from Orly's Birds of a Feather collection. I only picked up two polishes from this collection, Fowl Play, and Sweet Peacock. I am excited to use Fowl Play, (and compare it to Merry Midnight), but last night I decided to wear Sweet Peacock. And I am so glad I did. It. Is. Gorgeous. It's one of the most amazing blue foils with micro glitter I have ever seen. I have most of my nail polish packed already, but I'm anxious to compare this to Swimsuit... Nailed It! from the OPI Miss Universe collection. Anyway, it was a little streaky upon first coat. Like if you put polish down, and then went back over that section, it would totally drag the first layer of nail polish off. If you can work fast and not repeat sections too much on the first coat, you'll be fine, and the second coat applies wonderfully and hides any mishaps from the first go-round. Topped with Seche Vite and it was dry in a few minutes! Off to bed I went, and no sheet marks in the morning! Now that is a good start to Friday!

Have a great weekend!!

More Frankens!?

Morning everybody! I wanted to do a quick post with some more polishes I "frankened". I really like creating polishes, whether it's just adding some glitter or SpectraFlair, or combining colors... it's a lot of fun and really neat to see how things turn out!

This is a combination of Orly's Black Out and some SpectraFlair. It's tough to make a good black holo because any time you add the holo powder, it automatically lightens whatever polish it's in, and turns it sort of dusty/murky. This isn't as dark as I'd like, but I love it none-the-less!

Thanks for reading!

Black Magic Friday

Happy Friday everybody! Have you ever walked into a store, saw a polish that looked absolutely GORGEOUS in the bottle, and bought it on the spot? Then, when you get home, so eager to paint the glorious beauty on your nails, experience utter disappointment? The polish is thin and almost invisible, and you feel as though you might as well have painted water on your nails? Well, this post is for you, my friend! All hope may not be lost! There is a well known trick/secret amongst the nail polish community, and that, is black nail polish. Yep, that's it! Just black lacquer! It doesn't have to be anything fancy, in fact, the cheaper [as long as it is opaque in two coats] the better, because the black is just the catalyst for your poor, sad nail polish to show it's true pop of color! Duo/Multi Chromes really benefit from the black polish trick. You can usually see every facet of color over black, and it really makes each shade stand out depending on the angle of your nails. 

Here are some examples of how black can transform different colors of polish. Unfortunately I don't have swatches of all of these colors on their own... I can make a swatch wheel for you, or you can google the colors and will mostly likely be able to see how they fare on their own two feet. I love looking at these pictures and seeing the magic transformation of colors that, on their own, are nothing special, but when layered over black, become a magic, enchanting display of razzle-dazzling beauty.

Flash

(1) Essence Holographic 03 Blueray (2) Pure Ice Busted (3) Pure Ice Spitfire (4) OPI Sugar Plum Yum (5) Golden Rose Scale Effects 14 (6) Kleancolor Starry Meteor (7) Kleancolor Silver Star (8) Kleancolor Chunky Holo Black (9) Kleancolor Chunky Holo Purple (10) Color Club Magic Attraction (11) Color Club Wild & Willing (12) Misa Mega Margarita (13) Misa Denim & Lace (14) Orly Rock Candy (15) Sally Hansen DVD

No Flash

This is very picture heavy, so if you want to see more, click below!

Pink Wednesday!

Hi everybody! Today is Pink Wednesday and I have a really pretty pink to share! It's 'Flirty' from the Orly 'Happy Go Lucky' Collection and I love it! It's a bright, hot pink with a shimmer. I am such a sucker for colors like these! Here is two coats!: 

Thanks for reading! :)