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Nothing to Disclose

Good evening! Today is Day 1 of the 31 Day Challenge! Day 1's prompt is red, which is good for me since I love red.  I'm getting in under the wire but it's still the 1st of September!

Post continued after the jump.

Comparison Post! Chanel Taboo vs. Illamasqua Baptiste vs. China Glaze Let's Groove ♥

Personal Collection

I had a couple of Chanel Taboo comparison requests today and thought I'd share the results with everyone! So here is Chanel Taboo, Illamasqua Baptiste and China Glaze Let's Groove.

L-R: Illamasqua Baptiste, Chanel Taboo, China Glaze Let's Groove

Stay tuned after the jump!

Illamasqua Pink Raindrops ♥

Happy Thursday! I don't know about you but this week is kicking my butt and I am so glad there is only one more day until the weekend!

Illamasqua Pink Raindrops. I'm sure this polish needs no introduction - the original Raindrops is a massively popular polish that was discontinued and has since been re-introduced into Illamasqua's current line. 

To start off I want to say that I really do like this polish - it's very pretty and very feminine. However, I do not think it is a pink version of the original Raindrops. The original Raindrops is a grey crelly base with flakies. Pink Raindrops is a shimmery polish packed with flakes and an iridescent shimmer. It is slightly frosty and the base is not a crelly as with the original Raindrops. So, while it is lovely if you are expecting a pink version of Raindrops, you will be disappointed.

Pink Raindrops is a very light pink that often read nude on me, depending on the light. I really do love this one and will wear it often. I only needed two coats for opacity and one coat of Poshe. My camera had a very hard time capturing this polish and my pics are not my best. I took photos in various lighting situations so you could see all of its personalities. 

Illamasqua Pink Raindrops (under artificial lighting)

Illamasqua Pink Raindrops (under artificial lighting)

Illamasqua Pink Raindrops (outside - in the shade)

Illamasqua Pink Raindrops (in the sunlight)

Illamasqua Pink Raindrops (in the sunlight)

Illamasqua Pink Raindrops (under artificial lighting)

What do you think of Pink Raindrops? Will you be getting it?

Pink Raindrops is currently available at Illamasqua.com. 



Thanks for reading and happy polishing! ♥


*Products purchased by me.

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Ninja Polish: He Went to Jarred over Gradient ♥

Good evening! I have a gorgeous mani for you tonight! 

I started off with a gradient of Illamasqua Jo'mina and Nails Inc. Piccadilly Circus (will have photos of both of these on their own soon) and I love they way they look together! Then I decided to make it EVEN BETTER by adding Ninja Polish He Went to Jarred which is a 12K white gold top coat! 

I love He Went to Jarred (how awesome is that name?!) - the formula was wonderful and I didn't have to place the flakes at all. I only used one coat and only needed one coat of top coat.

Ninja Polish - He Went to Jarred

Ninja Polish - He Went to Jarred

Ninja Polish - He Went to Jarred

Ninja Polish - He Went to Jarred

And here is a quick pic of the gradient before adding He Went to Jarred...

Illamasqua Jo'mina and Nails Inc. Piccadilly Circus Gradient

He Went to Jarred is part of the Gold Wasser Collection from Ninja Polish. The other half of the collection, The Midas Touch, is an 18K yellow gold flake top coat. (I really can't wait to get that one now!) He Went to Jarred is currently out of stock but you can sign up for email notifications for when it is available again at this link. Make sure to follow Ninja Polish on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date on re-stock info and sales! 

Thanks for reading and happy polishing! ♥

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31 Day Challenge Day Fourteen - Flowers!

Day 14 of the challenge is flowers! I took the easy way out on this one and stamped on flowers. LOL But my base was somewhat difficult and took quite some time to blend. I started off with a base of Illamasqua Smash and did a gradient with Sinful Colors Dream On. I absolutely love both of these colors and I think they look great together.

Gradient with Flowers

Gradient with Flowers

Gradient with Flowers

Gradient with Flowers

Gradient with Flowers

Gradient with Flowers

Gradient with Flowers

Gradient with Flowers

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below! 

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31 Day Challenge Day Four - GREEN with Illamasqua Smash!

Happy Labor Day to all of my US readers! I hope if you were lucky enough to have the day off of work that you did something fun and relaxing! 

I love this day of the challenge for two reasons - 1) green is one of my favorite colors and 2) I have a long-time lemming to show you that I received as a VERY early birthday pressie from my friend Kim at The Ides of Polish (aka my UK polish pimp LOL). She has a great blog - if you don't follow her you should check her out!

Illamasqua Smash is green perfection in the bottle. It applied so smoothly and was perfectly opaque in 2 coats. The photos are without top coat. I ended up wearing this for 2 days by itself (that's pretty unheard of for me) and after that I added to it - but you will see that later in the challenge. *wink*

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Illamasqua Smash

Isn't it just so lovely? I had a hard time narrowing down the photos. LOL

Illamasqua polishes are available, in certain shades (Smash included) at Sephora.com for $14. They are also available at illamasqua.com in the UK.

Don't forget to check out the other awesome bloggers participating in the challenge below! If you'd like to join the 30/31 Day Challenge, go here to grab the codes to embed in your posts for the next 30 days and add your post using the link below!

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Illamasqua Hectic - Swatches, Review and Comparison

Let me preface this post by saying that I realize that this color is not for everyone. I, however, am in the small percentage of people who happen to LOVE these dirty, murky, olive (some even say baby poop) greens. Illamasqua Hectic is a discontinued and VERY hard to find color. It is a very long (and quite funny) story as to how I finally obtained it but the important part is that I have it now (and a very good friend got one in the process).

Hectic is a gorgeous olive green that is quite more warm-toned than most (see the comparison at the bottom of the page). I loved this so much that I wore it for FOUR days (that is completely unheard of for me - I usually change my polish every day or every other day at the very least) and had very little tip wear. Great job Illamasqua!

Application was very good, the first coat was quite streaky but the second coat evened everything out. It is also quite shiny on its own. I really like the shape of the Illamasqua bottles and the fact that the square cap comes off to reveal a small round one underneath. This also allows for the cap to always be aligned correctly with the bottle. A little note about me - I prefer square bottles to round ones but if the caps are square and have no way to be re-aligned correctly it DRIVES.ME.NUTS.

All photos were taken outside (in about 113 degree Arizona heat, it is a labor of love LOL) and feature 2 coats. Perfect creamy green goodness....

Illamasqua Hectic

Illamasqua Hectic

Illamasqua Hectic

Illamasqua Hectic

Illamasqua Hectic

Illamasqua Hectic

Illamasqua Hectic

Illamasqua Hectic

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Since Hectic is so hard to find I thought I would do a comparison with some of my other greens that are in this family. 

Illamasqua Hectic, W.I.C. by Herome Aalborg, Zoya Dree, China Glaze Westside Warrior

Hectic, Aalborg, Dree, Westside Warrior

As you can see, none of these are even close to being dupes. Hectic is more yellow-toned than any of the others. My friend Sheila (from Pointless Cafe) also has a love for these dirty greens and has done a couple of comparison posts as well. Since she has more of them than me (for now hehe), I have included links to both of those here and here if you would like to see more baby poop green goodness.

What do you think of these greens? They seem to be one of those colors you either absolutely love or absolutely hate. Haha

British Day for the Queen's Jubilee!

My blogging friends and I had so much fun with Holo Day that we decided to start doing more themed group mani days! I hope you enjoy them! In honor of the The Queen of England's Diamond Jubilee (60-year anniversary) we decided to do British-themed manis and use polishes that are made in England. How amazing is it that Queen Elizabeth has been reigning for 60 years?! Pretty darn amazing.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a love for England. I think it is gorgeous and I love British accents. LOL I have never had the chance to travel there but  hope to someday. Needless to say I was very excited about today's theme!

For my polish I decided to use the British-based Illamasqua. I have had Baptiste for months now and it has just been sitting in my untrieds. SHAME ON ME. Since Queen Elizabeth's favorite color is purple (or so I've heard LOL) and it is a very rich, royal color I thought this was the perfect occasion to finally wear it! I am so glad I did, it is stunning! It's a rich dark purple but has a pink shimmer that really sets it apart from other purples. I had a hard time capturing that but you can see it in my sunlight photos. Just keep in mind that it is better in person!

I wanted to add some glitz to it and make it fancy and classy at the same time. I decided to sponge some glitter onto my tips and add a crown stamp on my ring finger as an accent nail. I am really happy with how it turned out! I used Orly Tiara (how fitting haha) on my tips and Pure Ice Silver Mercedes for the stamping.

All photos were taken outside. Some were taken in the sun and some in the shade.

What do you think of my Jubilee celebration mani?  Make sure to check out the links to all the other awesome bloggers below! They will be added throughout the day so make sure to check back later for new posts.There are some amazing posts coming your way!