L'Oreal - Gorgeous Gold

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas - I can't believe it's over already, but I am looking forward to New Year's Eve and the New Year celebration! I'll be ringing in 2013 with my husband and my uncle and his fiance, as well as some of their friends - most likely playing Cards Against Humanity (one of my new favorite games that my husband and I got for Christmas)! I tried to choose a polish that is festive enough for the holiday, and so I'm sporting two coats of L'Oreal's Gorgeous Gold. 

I absolutely love this color in the bottle, but I don't like it so much on my nails. This is a greenish gold foil with  gold hex glitter, and it is unfortunately a bit too green for my taste. 

The application was okay; one coat was thin and runny, but by coat #2 it is pretty much opaque. It's hard to get it completely even with all the hex glitters scattered all over the place. Overall, it's not my favorite, but it's not the worst I've ever worn either. You win some, you lose some!

Savvy - Deja Blue

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I hope you're enjoying this special time of year with your loved ones! My family and I are getting ready for our annual Christmas Eve hors d'oeuvre dinner, and I'm in charge of the popcorn balls, queso dip and some cheesy grilled peppers so I'll keep this post brief! :)

This is two coats of Deja Blue by Savvy. I've never used this brand before, but got it cheap at Sally's last year some time. This definitely needed two coats, it was very uneven with just one coat, but the formula was smooth and easy to work with.

In the bottle Deja Blue looks much more shimmery, but it's pretty solid once painted on. In my experience, dark polishes like this one lose their color and appear black except in sunlight or bright light - but the thing I like about this one is that it definitely looks blue in any light. I'm not the biggest fan of blues, but I can say I really like this one!

Have any of you ever used any Savvy polishes?

Zoya Lovely – Spring 2013 Nail Polish Collection

I can't believe it's already that time to start thinking about Spring, but alas, Zoya has released information on their 2013 "Lovely" spring collection and it's looking to be an assortment of pretty pastels! If you read my blog even semi-regularly, you'll know my love for Zoya spans far and wide, so even though I'm not crazy about pastels, I will still be anxiously awaiting this collection!

Straight from Zoya, here is the scoop about the new collection:

"Lovely, just LOVELY!

Spring is awash in six soft and lovely new Zoya shades including three dewy metallics and three fresh blooms of cream. Poetic in nature, this collection is sure to capture the beauty of the season like no other....

•     Piaf (ZP652) - Fresh Forsythia Yellow Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Fashion Designer Zang Toi)
•     GeiGei (ZP651) - Blushing Cherry Blossom Pink Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Zang Toi/SS13).
•     Julie (ZP650) - Soft Wisteria Purple Metallic - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Zang Toi/SS13).
•     Blu (ZP653) - Lucky Hyacinth Blue Cream - Full Coverage
•     Neely (ZP655) - Earliest Spring Green Cream - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Peter Som/SS13).
•     Jacqueline (ZP654) - Perfect Magnolia Nude Cream - Full Coverage (Originally designed for Peter Som/SS13)

Shipping January 01, 2013

Ultra long-wearing, nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE - all formulas are completely free of harmful industrial chemicals such as toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Zoya Lovely $8 (US)"

Avon - Fuchsia Fun

I have only worn two holiday manicures yet this season (a minimal amount in the nail blog world). However, after two in a row I have already been craving a color completely different and this summery color hit the spot. This is two coats of Avon's Fuchsia Fun.

In the bottle it appears to have more pink shimmer than it shows once it is painted on, but this is still a really gorgeous polish. I'm definitely adding this to my (mental) list of favorite pinks so I can remember it again come spring and summer, when it will be more seasonally appropriate. 

Fuchsia Fun painted on smoothly, which was nice considering other Avon Nailwear Pro polishes I've used dried slower than this one and had a slightly more difficult formula to work with. After this nice bright mani, I think I just might be able to stomach one more holiday themed design before Christmas comes and goes. 

Zoya - Veruschka

My nails last week were more New Year's than Christmas, but this week I am going full force holiday! And it just so happens that I am sporting Pantone's Color of the Year (before it was even announced, might I add!) - so this week's mani is extra festive and fashionable. ;)

This holiday green is Zoya Veruschka, an older polish that I picked up during one of last year's flash promos. I've picked it up and put it back down a million times, but the time finally felt right to wear this gorgeous matte polish. I'm not the biggest fan of matte polishes, (I'm more of a glitter and shine kind of girl) but this is one I can get behind. Packed with shimmer, it would look great with a top coat, too. I totally forgot to use a base coat (what was I thinking?), so I've got my fingers crossed that it won't stain my nails completely.

I added a bit of white and glittery red flair to my ring finger and thumb with my L.A. Colors nail art polishes, and called this holiday manicure complete! Don't you love how the bottle is matte as well? Super cute. 

OPI - Crown Me Already

After a bit of computer troubles, then having to get an entirely new computer, as well as weak nails that could not seem to toughen up thanks to a couple rounds of acrylic nails - I am finally back! But enough about that, take a look at what my nails are sporting today!

This amazingly sparkly polish is OPI Crown Me Already, a bit of an older polish which debuted in 2011's Miss Universe collection (and I found it for $3.99 at TJ Maxx!!) I layered this diamond-like polish over two coats of China Glaze Pelican Gray. This picture does not do it justice - it is far more sparkly and bright than it appears! (See this picture from Scrangie for proof)

Filled with small silver glitter, and loaded with mid and larger sized hexagonal glitter there is plenty of shine and sparkle to be had! I was even okay with just one coat of Seche Vite top coat, so it's not too top-coat thirsty. 

A polish that looks like diamonds on every nail? I'm in love!

Finger Paints - Twisted

I was so excited about this line of flake polishes that came out around Christmas time last year and I was most excited about Twisted - so I went out and bought it right when it came out. Despite my excitement, it has sat in my untried polishes stash for nearly a year. Until now, that is. 

For the base I used two coats of Orly - Le Chateau which is a very deep green jelly polish from Orly's 2011 Holiday Soiree collection. It looks black, but in the sun it reveals a green undertone. 

Twisted is an awesome flake polish with green, orange, and blue flakes. It looks so cool over a dark colored base, and is perfect for a Halloween mani! I used just one coat and I got great coverage, and the formula was very easy to work with. I topped this look off with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat and called it a day!

What Halloween-y polish are you wearing?

Icing - Glimmer

I'm BACK!! I've missed blogging - but, life was rather hectic and amazing for the last couple weeks and I wasn't able to blog to my heart's desire. Almost two weeks ago, this girl got hitched! We had a perfect ceremony with our family and friends, followed by an evening of good food, good company, and lots of dancing! Here's a little taste for you...

After a fantastic honeymoon in Barbados, we are back to the real world, and I painted my nails right away! (I was wearing one of the OPI DS polishes on the wedding day/honeymoon for anyone who's curious)

But today, I painted over my acrylics with this beauty...

This is Icing - Glimmer. I bought this over a year ago, and have been waiting for the fall season to wear it. It features a beautiful light gold pearly base with gold glitter mixed in. It's a bit rough, but that may be from the acrylics and not the polish. 

Glimmer is perfect for the changing season, and a fun spin on a neutral polish. You could definitely wear this in a professional setting without feeling too "loud". Sparkly neutrals like these are my favorite, and I'm so happy the fall season is here so I can break them out once again!

What autumnal polish are you wearing today?

Sally Hansen - Coral Reef

It's hard to believe September is already here and summer is pretty much gone! Where did the time go? I've been counting down until September 2012 for over a year, impatiently awaiting my wedding, and now it is only just two weeks away! Despite the fall season being basically upon us, I wasn't quite ready to give up summer manicures just yet. 

And so, I put on two coats of Sally Hansen Coral Reef.

Coral Reef is a really pretty bright salmon pink that screams summer. Application was excellent -it went on smoothly, even with acrylic nubbins still hanging on, and was opaque in just one coat. That's the great thing about Sally Hansen polishes - they're cheap, but they work great! 

I've been getting sick of the acrylic nails still holding tight on to my own natural nails (I hesitate to rip them off because it makes your nails so weak), however, the nice thing about them is that nail polish sticks to acrylics so well. I've been wearing Coral Reef for six days now and there is not a chip to be found. As much fun as it has been to wear acrylic nails, I think I'm going to take them off this week, since I'll be getting them done again in just two weeks for the wedding!

Are you ready for fall colors yet? Or are you still wearing summer colors, too?

Color Club - Blue-Ming

I'm back, I'm back! I'm sorry I went on a mini hiatus with no notice. I went and got acrylic nails a couple weeks ago to celebrate my bachelorette party (as you can tell, my primary wedding color is orange), and had them painted with an unknown OPI color (anyone know what it is? I tried looking it up to no avail)  and some sparkly orange glitter. This week I finally got sick of them so I cut them down and repainted them. Here's what they looked like:

Once I got sick of the orange and repainted my nails, I went with a color I got in my Birchbox a month or two ago. This is two coats of Color Club's Blue-Ming, and this is the first Color Club polish I've ever used. I'd have to say I really liked the formula and application of this polish (although you can see some bubbles on my middle finger), and I will certainly buy this brand again if I come across it. However, I never see it anywhere here in Minnesota! Anyone know of a place that sells it?

This pretty Tiffany's-esque blue was pretty enough alone, but I wanted to jazz it up a bit with some glitter, so I added one coat of Sally Hansen's Teal-y Cool which is a really pretty teal glitter made up of small and larger circular glitters.  It's very subtle on top of Blue-Ming, and it probably would have been even better with one more coat, but my nails were feeling pretty thick already, so I topped it off with one coat of Sally Hansen Insta Dri top coat and called it quits.

Overall, I really like this combo. It's a good end of summer mani; it's really bright and bold, and it has the perfect sparkle to add a little something extra. I can't help thinking my nails look like a Tiffany's box.

What do you think? 

I am a bad lacquerista...

My poor nails are a reflection of a stressful couple of weeks. They are various lengths and some of them are so short they hurt. I am showing you proof of their ugliness so you will perhaps be more accepting when I say.... I'm going to get acrylic nails tomorrow. I can't bear to look at them any longer, and they are down to ugly nubbins that even polish can't fix! My bachelorette party is this weekend and I just want them to look pretty.. so I'm caving! 

Forgive me!! ;)

Liebster Blog Award

Last evening I received a lovely comment from Zahra of Mani Success telling me she had nominated me for a Liebster award. So you may be asking, what IS a Liebster Award? It's a way for smaller blogs to gain some attention, and it creates a chain that keeps on going. It's a fun way to network with other beginning bloggers, basically. Pretty cool if you ask me. So the rules are:

1. Each person tagged must post 11 things about themselves.
2. They must answer the 11 questions the 'tagger' has set for them.
3. They must create 11 more questions to ask bloggers they have decided to tag.

4. They must then choose 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and tag them in their post.
5. These lucky bloggers must then be told.
6. There are no tag backs.

The 11 things about myself:1. I have never been outside the United States, but I will finally be changing this in September.
2. I love animals (especially dogs) more than I love some people. ;)
3. I'm getting married in September, and I'm beyond excited!
4. Next to nail polish, I buy lip gloss and perfume more than any other beauty products.
5. I love cooking and baking. There is something so satisfying about creating a delicious meal for yourself and those you love.
6. My biggest excitement about having my own house one day is the fact I can have my own garden.
7. Hanson has been my favorite band since I was 7 years old.
8. Almost every night during and after dinner, my fiance and I watch cooking shows on PBS. We love them!
9. Reading is one of my favorite pastimes. I wish I had more time to indulge this hobby of mine!
10. While I enjoy going out, more often than not, I'd describe myself as a homebody.
11. Orange is my absolute favorite color.

Zahra's questions for me:
1. What is your favourite time of the year?

Fall. Nothing tops fall for me. I love everything about it! 

2. What are you good at cooking?

I'm pretty good at whipping up baked mac & cheese. I'm still learning what my best dishes are. :)

3. If you were to lucid dream, what would you do?

I'm not quite sure what is meant by this...

4. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

I would choose to time travel or stop time. It would be awesome to have even more time to do things I love or visit defining moments in history.

5. What kind of music are you listening to right now or last listened to?

The last thing I listened to was Metric. I hadn't heard their latest album yet, so I was playing catch up.

6. Say you are in a theatre, would you be a performer or the audience?

A performer! I was in plays in elementary, middle, and high school and it was always a fun hobby of mine. 

7. What would you do on a cross-country road trip and why?

I'd see all the sights I've wanted to see. I haven't seen many of the US national landmarks, and it'd be fun to finally see them. I'd also eat a lot of junk food....because that's what road trips are all about! :)

8. If you lived in a black and white world, what would be the one thing you'd like to be in colour?

People. How depressing it would be if none of us had colorful features!

9. If you had a movie about you, who would you be played by?

Probably Emma Stone. She's funny and quirky, and I think we'd get along... plus, we sort of look alike. 

10. If you were a type of food, what would you be?

A raspberry, I'd say. Kind of sweet, but sometimes tart. ;) And kind of lumpy. Ha! 

11. Do you get motivation from yourself or other people?

I think a good mix of both. I'm a self-starter, but I can't help but be motivated by people with drive and charisma, or those with a good outlook on life. 

The bloggers I tagged are (and I apologize if you've already been tagged!):

glitznglammer

Beckawoo

My Pretty Paints

Polish My Mind

Caitt's Nails

Lucky Love Nails

Apply Polish Here

Confessions of a Drug Store Junkie

Amarapose

The Nail Polish Challenge

The Cute-icle Chronicles

My questions are as follows:

1. What is your favorite day of the week and why?

2. If you could travel to any country, where would it be and why?

3. What is your favorite word?

4. If you were a flower, what kind would you be?

5. What has been the happiest moment of your life?

6. If you had to pick one perfume to wear the rest of your life, what would it be?

7. What is one hobby you never get sick of?

8. If you had to sum yourself up with three adjectives, what would they be?

9. What is your dream job?

10. Which Disney princess are you most like?
11. What do you consider to be your theme song?

Once again, thanks for tagging me Zahra! :) 

Essie - Splash of Grenadine

I am in love with this color. I don't even know what exactly you call this sort of almost neon pinkish purple, but Essie calls it Splash of Grenadine. This is a gorgeous summery pink/purple that is not something you see everday. 

I'm wearing two coats of Splash of Grenadine. Application was fabulous, and I easily could have used only one coat for an opaque coverage. I kept it nice and simple because I had a work event this weekend and didn't want to be too flashy. Even with no extra detail it's still a great stand alone mani. 

I think this would also look really pretty for a pedicure, especially with some fun designs or stamping.  What do you think? Are you in love with this color as much as I am?

Sally Hansen - Grape Escape

Today I decided to try something a bit vampy and out of season, just to break the cycle a bit. This is two coats of Sally Hansen Insta Dri - Grape Escape topped off with one coat of Sally Hansen Insta Dri top coat. It was really hard to capture the true color of this polish, although it does look quite blue in person, as the pictures show. In the bottle it is a gorgeous shimmering purple, but once on the nail, it comes off as a deep blue with purple tints.

In this picture it looks a bit more purple than the first. This picture is a pretty accurate depiction of the true color. I think this color would be good as a base for nail art, but on it's own it is rather boring.

I also put Grape Escape on my toes, and after one day of wearing it alone, I decided to top it off with China Glaze Platinum Pieces Silver Metal Crackle to make it a little more interesting.

Essie - Too Too Hot

I realized as I looked through the color listing on the left side of my blog that I have only worn one red polish, and that was way back in March (my very first post, actually)! That's unusual for me - I normally love wearing reds! I'm going to blame it on the fact that I don't like sporting red with nub nails, so now that my nails are at an agreeable length - I went red! This is two coats of Essie's Too Too Hot (which I found on sale for $3.99!!!!!!), from 2011's Braziliant collection. My ring finger is sporting Claire's Glitter top coat (one of my absolute favorite top coats - holo glitter, FTW!)

I still haven't played around too much with Essie polishes, but I think so far I really like them. The application was flawless, and I probably could have used only one coat, but I did two just for good measure. I have a TON more Essie polishes in my unused pile, so stay tuned.

Since I haven't used very many... I'm curious - what's your favorite Essie color?

No Name French Manicure

My nails have finally stopped being stubborn and broken and  have grown out a bit! This is the length I love having my nails at, and so I celebrated with a french manicure for this Monday! In an annoying twist, both of the polishes I used are unnamed. I did try out a new ridge filling base coat by Barielle that I got this week - so that's the only name I have to give you! Otherwise, the sheer purple shimmery base I used was an unnamed The Color Workshop polish, followed by an unnamed Love & Beauty polish for the glittery tips. 

It's not my favorite "french" tip that I've ever done... but it's good enough to kick this week off. What look are you sporting this Monday?

Love & Beauty - Yellow

 Many times I have walked in to Forever 21, considered buying one of their polishes, and then for some reason, decided against it. The other weekend I decided to finally go with my gut and pick some up. (Why not... they're only $2.80!) This very creatively named polish is called "Yellow", and I'm wearing three coats topped off with a coat of Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri top coat.

I picked this color up because it is very unique when you see it in the bottle; it appears to be shimmery, with very small blue/green and pink glitter. However, once on the nail, that shimmer and glitter is hardly noticeable. I have to say I'm pretty disappointed with this polish.

Application was very goopy and frustrating, and even with three coats you can still see some nail line on my pinky finger, and inconsistency in coverage. Overall - kind of a bummer.

Zoya - Gloria

Zoya can do no wrong. I have yet to try one of their polishes and dislike it - and that is pretty impressive considering I own lots of Zoyas. I'm still working through my haul from this December (my untried pile is ever-growing), and this was part of the bunch I purchased when they had so many great deals during the holidays. This is two coats of Zoya's Gloria topped off with one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat.

Gloria is an older polish; it was part of the 2010 Winter Flame collection. It is a gorgeous magenta-y pink with gold foil flecks. It looks outstanding in the sun, and works great for any occasion: work, weddings, girls night out - you name it!

I decided to try Gloria out on my toes as well, and as much as I love the color on my nails, it's a bit too boring for my pedicure taste. This isn't a very summery pink (duh - it came out a couple winters ago!) and I like to stick with the seasons colors for my manicures so I don't think I'll be sporting this look much longer. Come fall and winter I will have to pull this gorgeous color back out for another go. :)

Wet n Wild - Blue Wants to be a Millionaire

This is an oldie but a total goody! I picked this up at Walgreens a couple weeks back when they had a sale. I couldn't pass up a very reasonably priced holo (my polish weakness), and I have to admit I grabbed a couple others, too. This is three coats of Wet n Wild's Blue Wants to be a Millionaire topped off with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat. This is a very sheer polish if you only use one coat, and I don't much care for polishes that show nail line, so I carefully applied three coats and I think the coverage is pretty good! Application was reasonable - I had to re-do my thumb nail a couple times because of the slow dry time and my own impatience when I have to do more than two coats, but overall it wasn't too much of a pain. 

I've been wearing this for a couple days now, and it has barely chipped, which is impressive (especially with three thick-ish coats). Blue Wants to be a Millionaire is definitely worth the $2-3 it costs. 

Lacqueristas beware - you will not be able to stop staring at your nails in the sun when you don this polish. The sparkle factor is out of control! 

Check back soon to see the other Wet n Wild holos I've yet to try!

Finger Paints - Warhol Wannabe

I have been so busy lately that I have had boring, unpainted nails for nearly two weeks! But after a trip to the cabin (where there's no sense in wearing polish, as it will get stripped away by bug spray), and a bit of down time, I am back with an amazing neon pink that I've had my eyes on since it came out earlier this summer: Finger Paints' Warhol Wannabe. This is the most fabulous, mega bright pink I own, and quite possibly my new favorite pink polish! 

I used two coats for full coverage (since one was a bit spotty) and topped it off with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat.  Unfortunately, I've been wearing this only since Friday evening and I've already got some pretty big chips along the nail line. Chipping aside, this color is perfect for summertime. You can pick it up at Sally Beauty for around $5. Can't beat that!

What is your favorite pink? 

Zoya - Coraline (Blogger Series)

Oh my GOSH, I've been horrible about updating. Let my nails do the explaining, as they are proof of how stressful and crazy last week was! I work for an event management company, and we had a very busy week prepping for an event which was last Friday evening. It went smoothly, but after a week of loading and unloading, and a bit of nervous chewing... my nails were shot! Saturday I was up early to head home for my sister's graduation party, which was another long, but equally fun day. Monday and today I spent on tear down for Friday's event, and my nails were totally wrecked by this afternoon. So I hope that is enough excuse to make up for my blogging absence - and if that won't cut it, I'm sure today's polish will! 

And on another note - my camera batteries died, so I have crappy iPhone pics - SORRY!

This beauty is Zoya's Coraline, from Zoya's Blogger Collection. You might recall my post about Kate, another polish from this collection. I really love these gorgeous jellies. What I said about Kate holds true for Coraline as well - it looks like candy! It looks like I could lick my fingers and they'd taste like orange!

I used two coats to give an almost complete coverage, as I kind of like the nail line peeking through the jelly polish (well, the very minimal nail line I have after all my nails broke!). I topped this off with one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat and called it done. Here's to hoping my nails grow quickly, and my battery charger can be found soon! 

Zoya - Drew

If any of you followed my Tumblr account before I switched over to Blogger, you know my love for Zoya runs deep. Their polishes are amazing, they have excellent customer service, and the fun promotions they ran right around Christmas time had me hooked! I got this beauty in one of their awesome deals this December, and it's been sitting in my untried pile since. I love a nice pink polish, and Zoya's Drew does not disappoint!

I used two coats of this exceptional polish, although one would have cut it. You can see in the bottle that there is verrrrry subtle gold and pink metallic shimmer in it. It is even less obvious on the nail, but it gives it the mani just the right amount of kick. The thing that I love about Zoya is that the polishes stay on so well, the formulas are amazing, and the broad spectrum of colors to pick from is ridiculous. Dare I say, Zoya might be my favorite brand of polish? Hmmm... 

This look is very simple. All I used was one coat of Zoya's Anchor base coat, two coats of Zoya - Drew, and one coat of Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri Anti-Chip top coat, and wa-lah!

What do you think?

China Glaze - Prism

I was so excited when this Prismatic collection came out. I love lots of glitter, and most of my stash is made up of various glitter polishes. However, I only ended up buying two from this collection - Liquid Crystal, and the polish you see here - Prism, and I can't say I'm sorry I didn't buy more.  These two are very similar polishes. 

One of the things I don't like about this collection is how easy it chips. It makes sense, I suppose. Thick glitter is way more brittle than most formulas, so one wrong tap of your nail and there goes half of the polish. I painted my nails on Saturday evening, and already I have some sizable chunks missing. 

I decided to add a layer of China Glaze - Crushed Candy to my ring finger as an accent, but it didn't crack very well. That's something I don't like about crackle polishes as well - if you paint them on even a tad bit too thick, they hardly crack (which is frustrating after you've already put enough work in to the bottom layers below it!) 

I put Prism on my toes too and I think it looks much better than it does on my hands. It doesn't chip as fast, and it's always fun to have sparkly toes in the summer time for flip flop weather. I think I'll solely use Prism and Liquid Crystal for pedi polishes from here on out.

Was anyone else unimpressed with this collection, too?