Saturday, June 30, 2012

Canada Day Mani!!



Time for another group collaboration for a themed mani from several of my blogging friends!! This time it is for Canada Day!! This mani is pretty simple but I am happy with how it turned out.  I wanted to replicate a maple leaf (an idea I got from my friend Sheila) but I knew there was no way I could do one freehand. So I broke out my stamping plates and found one that I thought would be suitable.

I used Milani Rapid Cherry as my base and Milani White on the Spot with BM04 for the leaf.

Canada Day Manicure

Canada Day Manicure


Canada Day Manicure


Happy Canada Day to all of my Canadian readers!! I hope you enojoyed this! Make sure to check out all of the other amazing blogs below!!




Friday, June 29, 2012

Zoya Caitlin and Butter London No More Waity, Katie Layering Combo!

Happy Friday everyone! I have a super pretty layering combo for you tonight! I received Butter London No More Waity, Katie as part of a lovely Christmas gift from my friend Rhonni (The Polish Ninja). I love it and have worn it before but realized that I never posted it here. Shame on me. LOL

Zoya Caitlin makes the perfect base for NMWK. They are very similar in color and I only needed one coat of NMWK on top. I have heard horror stories about application issues with NMWK but I had no issues with mine. Perhaps they have improved the formula? Or maybe I was just lucky.

First up is Zoya Caitlin, this is 2 coats with no top coat. Perfect formula.


Zoya Caitlin

Zoya Caitlin

Now for the lovely combo. Unfortunately my camera, as always, hates glitter. These pics do not do this polish justice. This is one coat of NMWK over Caitlin, no top coat.


Butter London No More Waity, Katie over Zoya Caitlin

Butter London No More Waity, Katie over Zoya Caitlin

Butter London No More Waity, Katie over Zoya Caitlin

Butter London No More Waity, Katie over Zoya Caitlin


I wish I had done this combo justice, it is so much prettier in person. Have you layered NMWK over anything?

Zoya polishes retail for $8 and can be purchased at zoya.com and select Ulta stores.

Butter London polishes retail for $14 and can be purchased at butterlondon.com and other retail stores and online retailers. Butterlondon.com is currently having a 30% off sale that is running through 6/30, so you need to hurry!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Milani Spam Post - Part 3

I know I told you guys last week that I was done with my Milani spam posts. Well, apparently I wasn't. LOL I found 5 more that I had yet to swatch and had completely forgotten about. I think that is a definite sign that I have too much polish. Wait. Did I just say that? No, not possible. I will blame it on the fact that I have been super busy. Yes, super busy. NOT too much polish. LOL



First up is Rapid Cherry. This is one amazing red and it was nearly a one-coater. In fact I could not see VNL in person with one coat. It does, however peek through in the pics. I have one coat on all fingers EXCEPT for my pinky. My pinky has 2 coats. No top coat at all. I think this is my new, go-to red creme.


Milani Rapid Cherry (that is a reflection on my ring finger, not bubbles)

Milani Rapid Cherry


Next up is another creme, Fuchsia Fierce. This is a really pretty color but I would not call it fuchsia. It's more of a pinkish red (but not in the way that fuchsia is LOL). It is very bright and creamy and also another almost one-coater. One coat on all fingers except the pinky again, the pinky has 2. No top coat. My pics are a little off. It is deeper in person.


Milani Fuchsia Fierce

Milani Fuchsia Fierce

Next up is my favorite of the bunch, Teddy Brown. This is a yummy medium-toned brown that is so shiny on its own. This is two creamy, easy coats. I can see me wearing this over and over again.

Milani Teddy Brown

Milani Teddy Brown


Next we have Hot Pink Frenzy which is another almost one-coater. This one is not a straight creme, it does have a slight shimmer running through it. Very pretty and bright for Summer. Again, my camera would not cooperate so the color is off in these pics. It is not coral, as it appears in these pics. It is a cooler-toned pink. One coat on all fingers except the pinky, which has 2.


Milani Hot Pink Frenzy

Milani Hot Pink Frenzy


And lastly we have a lovely glitter! This one is from their Jewel FX line and is a really pretty lavender color. And the name? Lavender, of course. LOL This spread very nicely over the nail. This is one coat with very little "dabbing." This is shown without a top coat but one coat would make it perfectly smooth. (Shown here over Hot Pink Frenzy)


Milani Lavender Jewel FX

Milani Lavender Jewel FX


What do you think of these colors? Do you have a favorite?

Milani polishes retail for $4-$6 and can be purchased at drugstores, grocery stores and online at MilaniCosmetics.com.

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. All opinions are my own. See my disclosure tab for more information.



Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Enchanted Polish Hey Jude - Swatches and Review

Today I have a polish that I bought a month ago, was so excited to get and hadn't worn yet. #fail - I think that is a sign of too many untrieds! LOL So I decided to bust it out and try it today. I am so glad I did!

Hey Jude is a multi-chrome polish with linear holographic properties (I would call it scattered linear, in between scattered and linear). There are dust storms threatening to move in tonight so the sun keeps playing peek-a-boo. Not the best lighting conditions for photographing holos or multi-chromes. So I have several photos in various lighting. I could not capture the holo and the duochrome quality in any photo TOGETHER but I DID see it together in real life. Also, the sun photos all look VERY green but in real life I also saw a lot of grey and purple.

The formula on Hey Jude was very easy to work with. I did have some cuticle drag so I had to apply a second coat. If it hadn't been for the cuticle drag one coat would have been sufficient. I put two coats over Nails Inc. Chelsea (which is very dark and ALMOST black) and no top coat. The first 4 photos showcase the holo the best and in the last few photos I attempted to capture the multichrome.

Enchanted Polish Hey Jude


Enchanted Polish Hey Jude

Enchanted Polish Hey Jude

Enchanted Polish Hey Jude

Enchanted Polish Hey Jude

Enchanted Polish Hey Jude

Enchanted Polish Hey Jude

Enchanted Polish Hey Jude

Enchanted Polish Hey Jude

Enchanted Polish Hey Jude

What do you think of Hey Jude? I am sure it's a must if you are a Beatles fan (which I don't happen to be - I know that may result in stone throwing).  But whether you are or not, it's an amazing polish!

Enchanted Polish retails for $15 for a 0.5 oz. bottle and can be purchased at Llarowe. Make sure to follow Llarowe on Facebook and Twitter and Enchanted Polish on Facebook


Monday, June 25, 2012

Monkey See, Monkey Do Monday - Fishtail Mani from Chalkboard Nails

Hello lovely readers! I have my first Monkey See, Monkey Do (MSMD) mani for you tonight. I thought it would be fun to join in on this but I am not promising to do it every Monday (I am not good enough at nail art to copy an awesome mani every week LOL).

I saw this awesome fishtail mani from my friend Sarah at Chalkboard Nails and when she made a video tutorial (which you can find here) I decided to give it a shot. I will admit it was easier than I thought it would be. I am not 100% happy with this though, I wish my lines were smoother. But for a first attempt, I guess it's okay.

I used Milani A Rose Mylady as my base (top), Milani Just Grayt for the middle and Milani Hipster Plum for the tips.

Fishtail Mani

Fishtail Mani

Fishtail Mani - bottle is Just Grayt

Fishtail Mani - bottle is Just Grayt

Fishtail Mani - bottle is A Rose Mylady

Fishtail Mani - bottle is Hipster Plum


Make sure to check out the other ladies that participated in MSMD!



You can find all of the other lovelies below:


Sunday, June 24, 2012

Milani Spam Post - Part 2

Happy Sunday everyone! I have the last of my Milani spam for you tonight! I really do love Milani. They are an easy-to-find (for most US peeps anyway) and reasonably priced brand and have consistently good formulas and great colors.

I have 4 colors to show you tonight and they are all very different. Let's get to it, shall we? I know you didn't come here to hear me ramble. All photos are without top coat.

First up is A Rose Mylady which is light warm-toned pick with a slightly frosty shimmer. This does not have the normal streakiness of a frost (as you can see in the pics).  It applied very nicely and was opaque in two coats. This is not usually a color that I would go for but I actually love it and thinks it goes well with my skin tone.


Milani A Rose Mylady

Milani A Rose Mylady

Next is the very lovely Silver Stiletto. SS is very nice silver foil, not overly unique but a definite need in everyone's collection. This one has a very nice formula compared to many foils and I have a hunch it will make a good stamping polish. This is 2 easy coats.

Milani Silver Stilettos

Milani Silver Stilettos

Now for Juno who is MUCH prettier in person than in my photos. Juno is a very fun pink, it is bright (though not in a neon kind of way) but very subtle all at the same time. Think of a bright version of baby girl pink. I had to do some color editing on my photos because my camera would not get the color anywhere close to the true color. Application was excellent - very creamy and smooth. 2 coats.

Milani Juno

Milani Juno

And now for my favorite of the bunch, Key West. Key West is a green-leaning teal  foil-y shimmer. This makes an awesome pedi color. My mom (who NEVER wears these types of colors) has it on her toes now and really loves it. I think I am winning her over. Hehehe. (I have heard rumors of this being a dupe for Zoya Charla - it is not. I will do a comparison post at a later date but trust me, they aren't even close.) This one had amazing application as well. Another 2-coater.

Milani Key West in the sun

Milani Key West in the sun

Milani Key West in the shade

What do you think of these colors? Do you have a favorite?

Milani polishes retail for $4-$6 and can be purchased at drugstores, grocery stores and online at MilaniCosmetics.com.

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided to me by the manufacturer or their PR company for consideration. All opinions are my own. See my disclosure tab for more information.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Guest Post Saturday! Lauriestrodes Fun With Nails with a Lovely DuoChrome and Glitter Layering Combo!

I have a guest post for you tonight from my very sweet friend Marie-Luise! Her blog, Lauriestrodes Fun With Nails, is super fun and she is awesome at nail art! Plus her nails are gorgeous! I definitely recommend that you check her out and give her a follow. And did I mention she is a sweetheart? ;-) Thanks Marie for this amazing post!

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I am a sucker for British polish. One of my earliest purchases when I started out collecting back in 2009 were two Leighton Denny polishes, Sex Kitten and Diamond Diva. I remember being less than impressed due to heavy bubbling, but I loved the colours so I kept them. Then half a year later I saw The Heiress and simply had to have it. It was a lovely blue based lilac that was absolutely breathtaking - and after trying the other two colours again and having no problems at all, I haven’t looked back. If I come across a Lenny Deighton polish I fall in love with I will, at some point, buy it.






I am also a sucker for duo/multichromes, so when I saw the Space themed Atmospheric Collection I fell in instant lust with Your Planet or Mine, an oil slick like polish, flashing dark teal and purple in the bottle, that seemed like nothing else I have come across.


And since I am also a glitter ho’ I couldn’t help being attracted to Big Bang as well. The dark teal jelly base, black and silver glitter with microscopic teal shimmer particles makes this totally worth the price tag (11 £).






Your Planet or Mine was extremely hard to photograph but I was lucky enough to have both overcast weather and sunshine the day I took pictures which showcases all it’s awesomeness.

A little warning if you decide to buy Big Bang: it dries VERY gritty and it really is a top coat eater if ever I saw one, even some of my Lynnderella’s require less than this one. I poured two heavy layers on, and I could still feel slight grittiness. I recommend you use Gelous or something similar in order to save on your top coat.

But onto the pictures, I am sure you’d rather feast your eyes on some polish gorgeousness than reading my winded post :D






Sometimes the purple likes to come out and play:





But mostly it is just the awesome teal shimmer that shows up:











If you feel like trying this lovely British brand you can purchase polishes and other nail care products (the glass file is outstanding) at www.beautybay.com, www.lookfantastic.com and www.feelunique.com. All three etailers have free worldwide shipping.

A huge thank you to you Ashley, for letting me share some of my polishes.
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