black Friday haul!

okay, okay. i know you're probably sick of seeing black friday hauls by now...but this is the haul that ended my No-Buy November, so i feel compelled to post.
i worked with my mom on Black Friday from 9PM on Thanksgiving to 5AM Black Friday! I had a blast. On my way home i thought i'd stop at Ulta and see what kind of deals they had. i was in a line of about 50 people total waiting for Ulta to open at 6! I got a new OPI DS polish, Mystery; and an Ulta Exclusive OPI Mini Set! Also in the haul...(from CVS) 2 New Sally Hansen Gem Crush polishes and (from Walgreens) 3 new Wet N Wild Color Icon polishes!!
Hope you had a great holiday, and stuffed your faces! XO

pre-thanksgiving!

good evening! i don't remember if i posted about my "No-Buy November" yet....so here we go! the first 24 days of November have been my no-buy days for Starbucks and for nail polish. i only have a few more days to go and i think i'm going to make it! success!
today was one of my first days off that i've had to myself in several months. i slept in until 11 (that's about 4-5 hours later than i usually sleep), then went to work (but just for an hour and a half!) and then met one of my best friend who i haven't seen in months! we decided we were both long overdue for professional pedicures....and i feel a bit guilty about getting one...but i do work 60-80 hours a week on my feet...(so maybe i deserve it?!) my feet feel amazing now! i am refreshed, renewed, and ready for a Thanksgiving feast on Thursday.
so i won't post a picture of my feet (ew)...but i will say that i got OPI's Merry Midnight painted on them! s
....and because i've been so inconsistent with posting, i promise to post tomorrow, and i'll even give you a hint! holo!

stash shots!

good morning! over the weekend i worked on organizing my growing nail polish collection. i had been harboring them in an oversized shoe box...but they were starting to pour out. my boyfriend helped me pick out a few rubbermaid drawer units, and now i've got an organized collection! i thought i'd take a few pictures to share!

this is the whole sha-bang! my nail tools and base and top coats are in the box next to the drawers.

top shelf- my OPI's, NOPI's and Color Club Sets!

lower shelf- Essie's, Sally Hansen, Zoya's, Cult Nails, Barielle's etc.


that's my stash- hope you like it! what do you keep your polishes in!?

long time no post!

hi everyone! it's been so long since my last post...poor neglected blog! well i'm back...hehehe. i've been working full time so i haven't had as much time to write..but that doesn't mean i haven't been swatching away!

today i have a very yellow mani. this is 2 coats OPI Lemonade Stand By Your Man and 2 coats Revlon Pineapple Fizz. the OPI i got in a duo pack from TJMaxx for $6.99...i just couldn't resist. the Revlon polish is stunning...yellow jelly with gold flecks and gold glitter. enjoy!

comparison: OPI Fiercely Fiona and ChinaGlaze Electric Pineapple

good morning! while i was looking through my vast collection of polishes today, i noticed i have two very similar colors. OPI (Shrek Collection) in Fiercely Fiona and China Glaze (Island Escape Collection) in Electric Pineapple. i decided to do a comparison swatching. i used 2 coats each Fiercely Fiona and Electric Pineapple on every other finger. the shades are very similar, however, Fiercely Fiona is much yellower upon closer examination. Electric Pineapple is very green. my camera had some difficulties...but i tried my best! take a look:

inside lighting

in the sunshine-you can definitely tell the color differences

i decided to add yellow polka dots to help my camera recognize the difference in the colors

the polka dots are OPI in Lemonade Stand By Your Man

bottle of Lemonade Stand By Your Man

special post: OPI's Day of Shatter

good afternoon, everybody!
today i have a very special post, for a manicure i did for OPI's Day of Shatter. i think that this is just OPI's way of seeing how many people actually use Shatter...but i'll celebrate anyways! it took me quite a while to think of something special for this mani. the only actual OPI Shatter i have is White Shatter. so i knew that i would need to create a unique look. first, i used 3 coats of OPI Designer Series in Royal. i am head over heels for this polish. absolutely without a doubt obsessed. i really didn't want to paint over it actually, i thought i was going to have to start over. then i used 1 coat OPI White Shatter, and when it dried i used one thin coat OPI Teenage Dream (from the Katy Perry Collection)...this was actually a great idea on my part. the Teenage Dream turned the white shatter into a pastel pink/purple instead. the look is very holographic ( a little less Shatter-y than what i was hoping for) but still drop dead gorgeous!
for more information on OPI's Day of Shatter.....Click Here!

for more pictures...check out my Facebook page by clicking the link on the right!

Katy Perry manic mani! Swoon!

does anyone know if there is a polish color called Swoon? i'd love to see it, if so. please comment if you have any info.
good morning and happy sunday everybody! today i have a manicure that i've been salivating over for quite some time now. ever since i saw OPI's Katy Perry collection i have been drooling. unfortunately, popular polishes fly off the shelves here in my small, limited southern city. the Katy Perry collection is currently sold out in virtually every salon and beauty supply store within 2 hours of my home. i went shopping earlier in the week and by chance stumbled upon Katy Perry by OPI in Teenage Dream...the exact color i was looking for!!
so, on to the mani:
i used 3 thin coats Teenage Dream Katy Perry OPI collection. then used one thick coat China Glaze Crackle Glaze in Black Mesh over the top. i was scared when i saw this coat dry, because it was very matte and not the finish i was looking for with my ridiculously glittery Teenage Dream coat . i topped it with 2 coats China Glaze Fast Forward top coat and it was instantly super shiny.
i love this look!

The finished look-

Two coats Teenage Dream (pre Crackle!)

AHHH-Mazing!

4th mani weekend!

first of all, this weekend has turned into the mini Black Friday of nail polish due to the inclement weather here. sunny FL is not being so sunny lately. tons of local stores here are having huge sales and discounts. so i did a little shopping! i started Saturday off right by ordering a Cult Nails polish for 20% off. (can i just say that i did a little dance after i completed my transaction..?) today Ulta's new ad came out and i went there to explore the new OPI exclusive summer collection that had a promo running. they have the worst customer service EVER! i ended up with an .89 cent Rimmel polish instead....which i think im going to use for water marbling. i happened to be out and about in a city a little bigger than mine, so i stopped at a different Sally Beauty store. they had an indoor sidewalk sale that had $1.99 China Glaze polishes <3 on it. by chance i stopped at TJ Maxx on the way home and there i found the best deal yet! a ColorClub gift set, NUBAR cuticle oils, and OPI LE gift duo colors. i have a bit of a haul from this crappy weather weekend, but i must say that the only place near me to buy ColorClub nail polishes is over an hour and a half drive.

Yodel Me on My Cell

good evening everyone! today i decided to use one of my new Ulta sale finds! i got the OPI Swiss collection IRRE-SWISS-ABLE mini set for $5.99 last week and today i broke into it and used Yodel Me On My Cell, an icy turquoise. even though the bottles are miniature, the application was surprisingly easy, the formula did not streak or clump. i used 2 coats for an opaque look, and then on my ring fingers i used a coat of Sally Hansen Crackle in #03 Fractured foil to spice things up a bit! (it is a holiday weekend, after all)

SWISS by OPI in Yodel Me on My Cell and Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Fractured Foil

shoot me into 3D Cyberspace!

today, i have a very exciting manicure. just watching my fingers type this article is dazzling. i have a 3D MANIC MANICURE! i started with one thick coat of OPI Shrek Collection in What's With The Cattitude? which is a light baby blue. this polish was hard for me to apply, the formula was thick and did not want to spread around evenly on my nails. i used What's With The Cattitude? as a base for Milani 3D Holographic nail laquer in shade #512, Cyberspace, because when i did a sample of it on my thumb, it was very sheer. Cyberspace is an ultra glittery holographic light blue polish. i applied two coats to my nails and was instantly impressed. this is my very first 3D manicure and certainly not the last. Cyberspace was very easy to apply, with a thinner brush and fast-drying formula. i topped my mani with China Glaze Fast Forward top coat, as always!

1 coat OPI in Where's The Cattitude?

OPI in Where's the Cattitude? and Milani in Cyberspace

the sunlight captures this mani the best

sand tropez crushed candy crackle...who the shrek are you?

last night after my fabulous cvs experience, i painted 1 coat Essie Sand Tropez on my nails, leaving my pinky fingers naked. i applied 2 coats of Who The Shrek Are You? by OPI on my pinkies, waited for them all to dry, and then did 1 coat of China Glaze Crackle Glaze in Crushed Candy over all my nails. i topped the manicure with China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat. i must admit, the Essie Sand Tropez was a little hard for me to work with. it was a little streaky and bald in some spots. i typically always have a little trouble with Essie polishes for some reason, but i can't resist the colors. next time, i'd like to go with a darker nude polish so that i can have a little more contrast between that and the Crushed Candy...any suggestions?



Essie in Sand Tropez, OPI in Who The Shrek Are You?, China Glaze Crackle Glaze in Crushed Candy

i'll take a crack at it

for my first polish-post i'll document the nail polish that caught my eye and started a bit of an obsession. Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat, specifically, shade #03, Fractured Foil. i acquired this shade after reading a magazine ad for it...(someone finally copied OPI Shatter)and seeing that the Sally Hansen variety came in a variety of colors. i finally hunted it down at my local CVS store for about $6.49. first i used 2 coats (opaque)OPI Feelin’ Hot-Hot-Hot! on my fingers. i love the effect, but the texture of the Crackle Overcoat was sandpaper-y. i also tried the Fractured Foil on my pedicure, with 3 coats (opaque) OPI’s D.C. Cherry Blossom. D.C. Cherry Blossom is much brighter underneath the Crackle, so i liked it on my toes much more than my fingers.

3 coats (opaque) OPI’s D.C. Cherry Blossom, with one coat Sally Hansen Fractured Foil Crackle Overcoat