NOTD

I have no idea what happened, I was admiring some new bright pastel shimmers and then this- along with matching cream thin tips- well, 10 untrieds down, I guess! (ps leave me a comment if you want to know what any of the colors are)

Ombre Mani- Yellow Greens

After much debate with my Birthday club, my SON finally was able to pick the range of yellow greens for an ombre mani I have been wanting to try- I had just received Cover Band's Sticks 'n Stones in the mail and figured it would tie them together- The greens from light to dark:
Sinful Colors Innocent, Sally Hansen Salon Grass Slipper, Orly Fresh, China Glaze Holly Day and Zoya Envy.
Lots of Out the Door and Seche Vite 

Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge for 3/23

 Because I am SO GOOD at reading instructions, I did this fabulous mani for the "Super subtle glitter/flakie bomb" theme day- Zoya Paz under Barry M Croc Effects (I really need to try this again with a regular polish- this Zoya has a rubbery finish) and because it was too plain, a thick coat of CND Gold Sparkling from Christmas 2010. Color Club topcoat over.

Lippmann Believe with Dots

 SO.....I was trying to replicate the beautiful dotted mani that had so much controversy swirling around it in pinterest. (someone had erased the watermark then pinned it- BAD MANNERS!) but I couldn't leave it at creams, no, I had to go and get shimmers- I pulled out all my swatchsicles (go see earlier posts) and decided on the gorgeous shimmery cream called Believe by Deborah Lippmann. This is an icy golden foily glass fleck with pink and teal specks - I promise, it's whiter than my camera shots can show- a soft ivory-
Macro shot (not mine- Ironspy credit)
I added various dots with Catrice Goldfinger, Revlon Aloof and Revlon Espresso- Revlon Quick Dry tc the Seche Vite over. Creamy and dreamy.

Top of the Day to Ya!

As green as green can be- that's this sparkling mess of glitter and shimmer- Sinful Colors Happy Ending covered with one coat of Lynnderella She Lived in a Swamp and 4, yes 4 topcoats- Gelous, Out the Door and 2 Seche Vite- and there still are  a few bar glitters stick out- I figured I would go big since I will be soaking this off with acetone for a long long time- pics taken in various lighting.

Riveting- take 2

After wearing this matte for a day I decided to spice it up a bit with Finger Paints Asylum- that lasted a day until I got Up Colors Flocado (flaky) Beija na Boca! and added a layer of that as well. Subtle, but so very pretty while driving....not that I was looking at my nails, no, no, I would NEVER do that while driving...

Still slogging away at the swatchsicles

Well, with about 100 polishes left to go, mostly drugstore stuff, I was forced to make a pretty box to hold all the stick- the cups were getting crowded and falling over- still going, but the fumes are starting to get to me.....

Riveting.....Mattified!

It's been done so much better than I can show, but I wanted this for posterity- the polish of the season, the break out star of the China Glaze Capitol Colors (Hunger Games) collection. Two coats over CND Stickey, then Revlon Quick Dry TC and Essie Matte About You. Lovely. Second pic I look very tan, but the color is closer to the actual.

Needle Drag time again!

Finally got Grace home from college and she admitted she had been really really wanting the Leighton Denny Persian my bff Debbie Crumpet had sent from across the ocean. We started with a base of the new China Glaze Dress Me Up, a grayed out rosy pinky color then laid a second heavy coat over it with dots of the Persian dragged around with a large pin. A few dots with a dotting tool, Out The Door and voila!

The Continuing Saaaaaaga (Muppets anyone?) of Swatching and Organizing my Stash

My polish is in a metal cabinet (Helmer) next to my computer. I rarely open it except to drag out the base, top and polish(es) I want for the current project. Lately I seem to be hearing sniffling, sighing and yes, an occasional sob coming from the drawers. It hit me that my polishes missed me! And I them! Since taking them off the shelves, I can't admire and comment on them all the time like I used to. And they get tossed around and forgotten in the crush so much I KNEW I had to do something more. And so we come to this- the Herculean task of swatching and cataloging. First step was deciding on a format....off to ebay to check out  various wheels, tips, sticks, boards and other ideas. Facebook groups each had their own favorites...what's a nailhead to do?! I choose the cheapest way- so wonderfully explained and shown by my top nail blogger, I Drink Nail Polish here. SO off to Hobby Lobby for sticks, ebay and Sally's for tip.

Here are some pics of the early stages- making the swatchsicles- I chose to go with hot glue- I don't like to wait while glue dries and I got a little help from my son because of the gluegun. Boys like tools. ...to be continued

Lacquistry and her Artistry!

So, I've been swatching my collection on sticks and grabbed the 5 new Catrice polishes I have acquired in the last month. One is a beautiful celery green cream with a fine jade shimmer in it, called Sold Out Forever. I bought Lacquistry's outrageous holo/sparkle/diamond/heaven  called Miles to Go Before I Sleep for two reasons: first, come on, look at it! second, Frost's poem was the second one I ever memorized (it was required in 5th grade) after Jabberwocky (I discovered that was my dad's favorite poem and promptly memorized it so I could recite it for him :) SOFE goes on like most pastels, a little patchy, but I knew I would be covering it up so I did two thin coats. A third or a heavier application would have sufficed.
Now, I'm not gonna lie. MTGBIS is a pain in the patoot to apply. Chunky, sticky, FOAMY?! (where did THAT come from?) and even after a full dropper of Seche Restore was thick and gloopy. There is no painting this stuff on. Dab and swipe, dab and swipe. BUT and that is a huge BUT...it's so worth it. Even knowing I would have to use Gelous, Out the Door AND Seche Vite. Even knowing I will have to soak in acetone mittens for awhile. This is a dream polish, kindof how I hope the streets of heaven will look. This is the air unicorns breathe out....  :)

Polish Ninja: Ninja Polish is launched!!!

Polish Ninja: Ninja Polish is launched!!!: I can't believe I almost went to bed without letting all of my followers in on the secret my polish sister Stephanie and I have been workin...

You've all seen this, but it's a Love Myself manicure.

Oh Princess Sabra, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: application, flawless. (2 coats over NfuOh Aqua Fix base) Color, impeccable. (the green/brown/olive/gold of Tristam's eyes [the maker's cat]and mine too- we peons call it "hazel") Shimmer, multi color. Holo, linear AND scattered. This polish has it all. Office friendly (looks golden from afar) but under halogen and sunlights all the complexities of holos breaks out. :::sigh::: Perfect.
Shown with one coat of Out The Door over, and in varied lights.

CHOCOLATE!! Not Nail Related, well, maybe a bit, OK totally.....

One of my birthday buddies, Kerrie, was chatting about a chocolate based product line she was itching to try, but there was no info on international ordering, so I volunteered to sacrifice myself to order some of the items and give her feedback to see if they were worth attempting to get shipped to the UK. I contacted Erin of indi chocolate http://indichocolate.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=1 and she was more than happy to put together a "sampler" of her products for me to try. She even shipped before she billed me! That's highly unusual, no, never heard of. I was stalking for more info and found this interview http://thechocolatecult.blogspot.com/2011/11/meet-woman-behind-indi-chocolate-llc.html
In our emails I expressed a desire for a chocolate cuticle cream and or scrub and she is working on designing something for us nailheads! OK enough background, here is my review of what she sent me.

so, can I say OMG to the lotion? It's a little runny, but it rubs in with no greasiness at all (good for the office- no marks on the keyboard) and let me tell you what, after an entire day, I can STILL feel it on my arms and hands (even though I washed them at least twice) The BEST part is, it smells like thin mints! Really!! You are going to be sniffing yourself all day long with this stuff!

The lipgloss is the kind I have been searching out, no petroleum products. It smells like chocolate but has no flavor at all, so I'm not licking it off my lips all day. It applies a bit gritty, that may be due to the ingredients, but melts instantly to a soft creamy (not oily) texture on my lips. Applied at night I still have a trace of it in the morning. Winner.

Not too sure of the foot scrubs, because I have been using them for my elbows and dry patches on my arms and legs. They are waxy and gritty, great for exfoliation, the only aside is a residue of light wax on my hands that easily comes off with soap, but I don't feel it anywhere else- just don't let these dissolve in your shower, they will coat the floor and need to be wiped off. Not like that happened to me. No, not me. I heard stuff.....

Bottom line: LOVE the lipgloss and lotion- and Erin has assembled a sampler pack for you lovely ladies and is working on a cuticle balm in a little pot for us!!! (I purchased these items for myself and did this review independently)

GO- BUY- tell her Elizabeth sent you!!