Imperfectly Painted

China Glaze Electric Pineapple

2012-01-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

Have I lost my mind? Probably. Ever since China Glaze released this color in the Island Escape collection last summer I have not been able to stop thinking about it. I've seen swatches of this color, and I like it. I do not know why because yellow-greens are not really the best colors for me. There are many times I went into Ulta picked up this color, and tried to convince myself that we wouldn't mix. I always was able to put it down, and move on. Then I saw it in the clearance section a few weeks ago, and I figured why the hell not?

Electric Pineapple

Electric Pineapple is a bright yellow-green creme.

I love this! I don't think it's the best color on me, but it so funky and different I cannot keep my eyes off of it. It's funny how when it comes to nail polish I usually stick with colors I've always loved, but when I venture out to something different they end up being some of my favorite colors (i.e. BL Wallis). I'm so glad I ended up getting this. I think my gut instinct about it was correct. I knew I'd like it.

What are some colors out of your comfort zone that you ended up loving?

Sally Hansen Whisper

2012-01-26T12:00:00.001-05:00

* I have created a personal blog. This blog will be for me talk about anything and everything. I will not update frequently, just when the mood strikes. If you'd like to follow feel free.

Have you ever found polish that represents everything you hate about a nail polish color, but you end up loving it? This i show I feel about this next polish. I saw the Sally Hansen Smooth & Perfect line a few times and was intrigued by the soft colors. I ended up picking up Whisper because in the store it looked like a soft lilac creme. It was not until I got home that I realized it wasn't a creme, but a shimmer. I instantly thought I'm going to hate this, but I really don't.

Whisper

Whisper is a pale lilac frosty/pearlized shimmer.

Yeah, I'm not sure how to describe it. Based on Lacqurzied's guide, I'm going to go with a pearl, but since that is a lesser known finish I think frost would suffice as well. First of all I really hate frosts, and I do not have a lot of luck with paler shades. This has all the components to be a polish fail for me, but I really do like it. I like the softness of it. It is subdued, and I think it comes off more as one of those clean sheer pink and nude type colors than an obnoxious frost? At least it does in my book. I'm sure this color wouldn't be popular among many polish fans, but it scored a point in my book.

Happy Thursday!

LA Splash Ocean Fairy

2012-01-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

I first became familiar with LA Splash nail polish at Ulta. It took me awhile to figure out they were actually nail polish though. The bottles are shaped more like lip glosses! Once I figured it what they really were I became a fan. They have a great selection of unique glitters. The sad thing is they no longer are selling this polishes at Ulta, however, they are still sold on Cherry Culture. This one is one of my favorites.

Ocean Fairy

Ocean Fairy is a deep teal jelly with aqua and gold glitter.

This is a stunning polish. I think glitters in a jelly base are some of my favorite glitters. I prefer them over glitter bombs (the straight up glitter in clear base) by far. The formula on this is a bit thick and dries kind of gritty. That is to be expected though with some glitter polishes. It isn't anything a few extra coats of top coat can't fix!

Happy Wednesday!

China Glaze BFF

2012-01-24T11:04:00.000-05:00

The mistake I made 3 years ago when I got into nail polish was not to buy every single polish from the China Glaze OMG and Kaleidoscope collections. They were all at my finger tips on e-tailers then. I even remember thinking in my head if I should get them all, but no I didn't. I do have a few shades which is more than some. I shouldn't complain, but it's hard to let go that I had the opportunity to get them all and passed it by! Here is BFF from the OMG collection. I heard there are 2 versions of BFF. I'm not sure which one I have.

BFF

BFF is a medium pink purple linear holo.

-Sigh- They do not make them like this anymore. I do not know if we will ever see any holos like this in any non-US brand again? I had hope when China Glaze Tronica collection was released, but those ended up being the most sorry excuse for holographic polish ever. The existence of Tronica continues to grate my nerves. I do not want to be a Debbie Downer, but do not expect this China Glaze Prismatic collection consist of any linear holo. Do not get your hopes up. I think the best bet for holos of this caliber these days are going to be from Glitter Gal or HITS on Llarowe.

-Sheds a tear-

Happy Tuesday!

butter LONDON Nail Foundation Base Coat & Hardwear Top Coat Review

2012-01-23T11:00:00.000-05:00

This is the review I've dreaded writing. A few months ago I gave a poor review of butter LONDON Artful Dodger. I had chipping problems within a day with this polish. After I posted that review, someone from butter LONDON was kind enough to write me and offered to send me their Nail Foundation base coat and Hardwear top coat to try with Artful Dodger. They felt that with their brand specific top coat and base coat I would have better luck. The problem is I did not.

I have held on to this base coat and top coat for almost 3 months, and I've tried it 2 times with Artful Dodger. I've tried it wither various other nail polishes, and have not had favorable results. I've hesitated posting this, in hopes maybe with another test run I can get the results I want. This did not happen. I feel terrible about it too, since these products are not cheap and they sent them for me to review. I have to be honest with you all though. That is what is most important.

Here are the two treatments.

I will say that I do like the base coat in the sense that is not clear. It mattifies the nail and gives your nail a smooth even appearance. I noticed myself using less coats of polish when I used this base coat. The issue I have is I did not notice this either using it on its own with a different top coat or using it with the butter LONDON top coat to have any longer wear time usual. I tried this with the butter LONDON polish and with other polish brands and experienced similar chipping issues.

The top coat, is a quick dry, but is definitely less quick drying than other top coats I've used. I did not find it alone used with a different base coat or used with the butter LONDON base coat to have any longer wear time either. The same be said for when it was used with other polishes brands other than butter LONDON.

Here is a picture of me wearing Artful Dodger using the butter LONDON top coat and base coat immediately after a doing my nails

This is two days later

Tip wear and a huge chunk out of my pinky.

On my other hand I used my typical top coat Poshe and base coat of Gelous. This is right after doing my nails.

This is 2 days later

Similar results as with the butter LONDON top coat and base coat. Chips and tip wear.

What can I say? This was my second test run, and probably my 10th time using them individually or together on different brands of polish. This did not work for me. I'd expect for a brand polish that is $14 that I can get more than 2 days of wear on it. I'd especially assume that the base coat and top coat being $18 each I'd get superior wear than I would with any other top coat and base coat.

It can very well be that butter LONDON and me just do not mix well. It wasn't meant to be! I love their color selection. I think they are a creative and sophisticated brand, but this chipping issue is frustrating. I do appreciate them offering to let me try these products. If you have had chipping issues with butter LONDON I do not think their base coat or top coat will solve your problems. Save your money! I'm sorry this did not work out for me because I had high hopes. I'm sorry for the lengthy review too.

*These products were sent to me for review by butter LONDON

Happy Monday!

Share With You Sunday: 01/15/12-01/22/12

2012-01-22T12:39:00.003-05:00

Be sure to submit links for this post.

Quiz of the Day:

The Cookie Test

My result:

You have Depth.

You are the ultimate escapist. If you can't escape physically, you escape with your thoughts.
You love the idea of travel and faraway lands. If you could, you would travel constantly and see the world.

While you are a bit on the quiet side, you're a great partner. You are supportive, devoted, and loyal. More than any other type, you honestly still believe in true love. You hold on to your ideals.

Share your results in the comments!

Nails:
ommorphia beauty bar swatches a-england The Legend collection.
Body and Soul shows us bottle shots of China Glaze Colours from the Capitol collection.
Teen Vogue shares with us some swatches of the China Glaze Colours from the Capitol collection.
Let them have Polish! swatches Revlon Whimsical over Orly Frisky.
Nail Polish Wars shares with us her Truly Tiker manicure.
Neverland Nail Blog swatches the original OPI My Private Jet.
The Nailasaurus shares with us her Goosebumps nail art.
Adventures in Acetone shows us the Zoo on her nails.

Beauty:
GiMiKd Girl swatches some NYX Round Lipsticks.

Miscellaneous:
Can you stay for Dinner? shares with us her New England Butter Crumb Baked Alaskan Cod.
Cosmetics Aficionado shares with us photos from a Lush grand opening.

What You're Loving:
Make-up/Music/Money/Me shares with us her One Word Beauty Product Reviews.

Thank for entering my surprise giveaway yesterday for my franken The Final Frontier! We have a winner...

Congrats Madeline!

Happy Sunday!

Bottle Spam Saturday: Pink Shimmers & Glitters Edition

2012-01-21T11:12:00.003-05:00

Be sure to vote for next week's bottle spam!

a-england Iseult, Revlon Starry Pink, Nicole by OPI Kim-pletely in Love, Zoya Gigi, & Zoya Erika

Sinful Colors Glass Pink, Sally Hansen Pink Promise, Zoya Happi, Sally Hansen LCD, & Finger Paints Rose Patina

Color Club Electro Candy, WnW How I Met Your Magenta, OPI Pink Me I'm Good, Zoya Kiki, & Milani Pink Out Loud

Sinful Colors Cream Pink, Sally Hansen Twisted Pink, China Glaze Strawberry Fields, Pure Ice Jackpot, & NYX Maui Sunrise

Essie Your Hut or Mine, Zoya Gilda, BB Couture Hermosa Surfer Girl, OPI Sparkle Yule Love, & Sally Hansen Rockstar Pink

Yeah, I think it's obvious I like pinks with gold shimmer or glitter! :)

Happy Saturday!

China Glaze Make Some Noise

2012-01-20T12:04:00.000-05:00

I've added new items to my blog sale.

It's always in early winter when I start to crave spring and summer shades. This always happens. It's the same with the beginning of summer. I want fall and winter shades. I wear out the seasonal colors before the season is even a month over. Thankfully, the nail polish companies understand this, and release the next season's colors early on. I can get my bright and pastel fix in January! I really like this shade from China Glaze Electropop collection.

Make Some Noise

Make Some Noise orange-red coral creme.

I love corals! I love orange corals, red corals, and pink corals. This color was definitely one I had my eye on, and I'm not disappointed. This is bright shade that just screams summer. I think this one will flatter most skin tones. Ok, now where is my tropical drink with the little umbrella? :D

Happy Friday!

Revlon Posh

2012-01-19T12:00:00.000-05:00

You do not need to adjust your screens. I did buy this green polish! I am very impressed with the new Revlon shades. It was MUCH needed. Revlon's previous core line was some of the saddest bunch of granny colors I've ever seen. I'm glad they've revamped their image and now are offering some trendy and funky shades. I saw this green, and I couldn't pass it up.

Posh

Posh is a true green creme.

I say it's a true green because I do not feel this leans either warm or cool. It's just green. I'm sure there are better ways to do describe this, but that's not my forte! The formula on this was nice. Like, I said I'm so impressed with the Revlons lately. I think their formula has improved as well. Great polish all around!

What do you think of the new Revlon polishes?

Happy Thursday!

Talk it Out Tuesday: Do you buy into hype? Are you an impulsive shopper?

2012-01-17T12:00:00.001-05:00

Do you buy into hype about nail polish? Are you an impulsive polish shopper?

This is a a simple question for me to asnwer. The answer is yes.

I think I'm more of an impulsive shopper versus someone who buys into hype. Every year it seems there is a lot hype surrounding Chanel polishes. I NEVER seem to get why they get hype. I was completely lost on the appeal of Paradoxal. The hype on that polish got to the point I was irritated with the talk about it and why it was so great. Plus, $25 for a polish? No way. Rant- I sometimes think it's the brand name that attracts some people to it. Please, it's a nail polish not some expensive bag or dress. You don't come off as affluent by having a $25 nail polish. :P-Rant over

I see similar hype surrounding Lynderella polishes, but the hype I believe is warranted. I have not purchased them though, even though there are some I like very much. I cannot seem to be swayed by the uproar some polishes get. If it doesn't seem like something I really need, then what is the point? This is where I give myself a pat on the back. I do not necessarily buy into all hype, but I buy into it in a different way....

****************************

I'm impulsive. My worst problem is when it comes to new collections that are not widely available at first. I get some thrill hunting and searching for new collections that a majority of people have not found yet. If I see some photos of a new display of polishes, I get some hunting instinct in my brain to go out and find it!

This has happened with so many collections. The thought of being one of the first people to find something new and exciting is a thrill. This has happened with Milani One Coat Glitters, Wet n' Wild Ice Ice Baby, when Essie went retail, Orly Fowl Play, Essie Luxe Effects, and the list goes on. I feel some how validated when I find something before other people. The problem with this is that I buy it (not every polish in a collection maybe one or a few), not because I necessarily really like it. It's because I feel like I accomplished something by finding it first. How terrible is that?!?! It's awful. There is another not-so-selfish reason. I do like finding things, so I can tell other people in my area where they can find it too. I like sharing the wealth!

Isn't that weird though? What's worse is if I'm so interested in being one of the first people to find something then why do I not post it on my blog immediately? I do not know. The thrill is gone once it's been found. This makes me sound like some sort of addict, huh?

I try to be less impulsive, but I have failed. A few weeks ago I spotted China Glaze Electropop, and that instinct popped in. I had to get some, even though they were more expensive at that place than they would be at Sally's where I'm sure I could find them a few weeks later....but no had to get them then. Epic fail.

So......

What are your thoughts? Do you fall into any of these categories or both? What are some polishes you think were over-hyped?

Happy Tuesday!

Share With You Sunday: 01/08/12-01/15/12

2012-01-15T13:12:00.003-05:00

Be sure to submit links for this post. If you do not see me add your link to this post, it will be on next week's post. Sometimes it gets too late, and I don't have to time to add them!

Quiz of the Day:

What Color Blue Are You?

My result:

You are Ocean Blue

You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded.
You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.

Share your results in the comments!

Nails:
fyeahilovenails shows us her Rainbow Leopard nails.
squared nails gives us the rundown on Spring 2012 collections.
Nail Nerd shares with us her Alice in Wonderland nails.
I need nail polish rehab shows us her Zebra Print Gradient nails.
Love, Varnish, chocolate and more... shares with us her OPI Cuckcoo for this Color Gradient nails.
Polish Vixen swatches SpaRitual Water collection.
Pretty Digits spots Max Factor Fantasy Fire a possible new version of Clarins 230.
Through the Wormhole shows us her Bright Little Owls manicure.
Morie's Nail Art shares with us her Polka Dot nails using glitter for polka dots.

Beauty:
Makeup Zombie reviews Milani's Illuminating Face Powder.
Phyrra shares with us her Naked Nebula eye look.
The Smalls Things Blog teaches us how to do a Half French Braid Half Up hair style.

Miscellaneous:
The Pioneer Woman teaches us how to make Bruschetta.

What You're Loving:
The Epitome of Superficiality shares with us her Green Diamonds manicure.
The Lacquered Lady shows us Orly Night Owl.
Life in color! shares with us her stash pictures.
Gotham Polish swatches Butter London Knackered.
Pointless Cafe swatches Zoya True and Fleck Effects collections.
Polish Obsession swatches Revlon Whimsical.

Bottle Spam Saturday: Pastels Edition

2012-01-14T15:20:00.003-05:00

I got have to be honest, sometimes bottle spam is hard! I have a ton of lighter shades, and I had a hard time determining what would really constitute as a pastel versus just a light color. I just winged it. If it felt like Easter bunnies, and Easter eggs, and Easter M&M candy colors I threw it in there. I'm sure I have some colors that may not be considered pastels in here, and I'm sure I have colors I left out that would. Oh well...

Be sure to vote for next week's bottle spam!

a-england Iseult, China Glaze Go Go Pink, WnW Cherry Blossom, WnW Flirty Rose, & Milani Tip Toe Pink

WnW Collecting Pollen, Sinful Colors Unicorn, WnW Sunburst, WnW Garden Hose, & OPI Mermaids Tears

China Glaze For Audrey, Revlon Blue Lagoon, Sally Hansen Blue-Away, WnW Bird Bath, & Revlon Dreamer

Milani Antique, OPI Steady as she Rose, Revlon Lilac Pastelle, Sally Hansen Whisper, & OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender

WnW Laughing Lilac, Milani Fasionable, Sally Hansen Lively Lilac, Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac, Maybelline Goody Plum Drop, & OPI Do You Lilac It?

Happy Saturday!

Revlon Top Speed Electric

2012-01-13T12:00:00.002-05:00

Sometimes...you have to accept the fact that some colors will just never work on you......

Revlon Electric

Electric is warm yellow shimmer.

This looks HORRID on me. I love the idea of yellow polish, but majority of the time they look bad on me. Yellow is definitely the color I have the least of in my polish collection. I think I currently have 2, this one has already been swapped or sold. Yellow also tends to have so many formulation issues. The formula in this one was actually quite good. If you have a warmer or darker skin tone I bet his would look great on you. On me on the other hand....yuck!

Happy Friday!

OPI Miami Beet

2012-01-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

Can you believe there is actually a color family I am lacking in my polish stash? There is, and I didn't notice it until recently when I was craving one of these shades. The color my stash is lacking, is berry (purply pink colors) shades. I really have very few, and the few I had at one point were not great, so of course I changed that! This OPI satisfies my berry shade needs!

Miami Beet

Miami Beet is a medium beet/purply pink (I clearly cannot describe this color) creme.

This is a great color! It is very flattering. I just see this as a nice spin on the classic red. There is something about this color that just reads classy. This color will not go out of style.

Happy Thursday!

Icing Rock Star From Mars

2012-01-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

I have no idea when I got this polish that it was part of some random Charlie Sheen collection. Why Icing? Why? Of all people that is the person you choose to be inspired by for nail polish..you choose Charlie Sheen? Oh well. That aside I like this polish.

Rock Star From Mars over Sally Hansen Blew Me Away

Rock Star From Mars is a bright blue sheer jelly with gold iridescent glitter.

This is definitely a layering polish. There is not a reasonable amount of coats you can do on this where it would look good. I still really like this. I love the gold and blue combination. I just wish the gold iridescent glitter in this was a bit more pigmented so it showed up more. It's a pretty glitter. The last time I was at Icing, I was really impressed with the amount of glittery polishes they had. They all were pretty awesome!

Happy Wednesday!

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Golden Tourmaline

2012-01-10T12:00:00.001-05:00

One of the collections I miss most is Sally Hansen Nail Prisms. Thankfully, I have been able to find a few here and there at Dollar Tree and Ross. They haven't completely disappeared from the planet. You can also find them online, for very reasonable prices. This is one of my favorites.

Golden Tourmaline

Golden Tourmaline is bright red scattered holo.

This is gorgeous! There is a lack of good red holos out there, and this one is great. I know there are some great unique holos out there these day that come from foreign brands. I have many on my wishlist, but they're pricey. I think some of the Sally Hansen Nail Prisms especially the warmer tones will satisfy the holo needs you have if you're not willing to pay the higher price for the others.

Happy Tuesday!

Share With You Sunday: 01/01/12-01/08/12

2012-01-08T12:00:00.001-05:00

Be sure to submit links for this post.

Quiz of the Day:

What kind of salad are you?

My result:

You are Caesar Salad

You are very popular and easy to love. You strike a cord with people.
You are friendly and careful not to offend anyone. You try hard to get along.

And while you may avoid controversy, you are still very sincere. People love that about you.
You are dependable and steady. With you, what you see is what you get.

Tell me what type of salad you are in the comments! :P

Nails:
Refined and Polished shares with us Finger Paints Motley layered.
The PolishAholic swatches China Glaze Electropop collection.
Haute Lacquer shares with us her Creative Stripes manicure.
Frazzle and Aniploish shows us some new Milani glitters.
Colores de Carol shares with us an OPI Nicki Minaj water marble manicure.
Neverland Nail Blog shows us her Brush Strokes manicure.
ommorphia beauty bar shares with us a sneak peak of a-england's The Legend collection.
The Polish Diary swatches Wet n' Wild Hush Hush.

Beauty:
Bows and Curtseys shows us her Parisian New Year eye look.
Scrangie shares with us her New Year Sunset eye look.

Miscellaneous:
The Girl Who Ate Everything shares with us her Honey Garlic Chicken recipe.

What You're Loving:
Coming soon

Bottle Spam Saturday: Black/Gray/White

2012-01-07T12:11:00.000-05:00

Be sure to vote for next week's bottle spam!

Essence Prism@tic White, Sally Hansen South Sea Pearl, Orly Winter Wonderland, & China Glaze White Cap

China Glaze Cloud 9, Milani Timeless, China Glaze Sea Spray, & Zoya Carey

Milani Day Dreaming, Essence Pointbreak, Savina Morning Glory, & Love and Beauty Gray

Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud, Color Club Revvvolution, Franken Billions and Billions, & Sally Hansen Black Diamond

Claire's Galaxy, Butter London Black Knight, Franken The Final Frontier, & Wet n' Wild Black Magic

Icing Black Out, Funky Fingers Moonwalk, Orly Androgynie, & NYX Frizz Spots

Happy Saturday!

Franken The Final Frontier

2012-01-05T12:00:00.001-05:00

You want to know how nutty I am? I am nutty enough to have dreams about nail polish. I can only hope that others to do, so I don't feel so crazy! I had this dream the other night about this nail polish that looked like space. It literally looked like Hubble Telescope photos. It was a Deborah Lippmann polish (in my dream). It was in a store and there was only one bottle left. I ran to go get it, but some girl snatched it up before me. Curse her! Anyways, when I woke up I had recreate it. I went on a franken frenzy and this was my result.

The Final Frontier

Final Frontier is a black jelly with copper shimmer, iridescent glitter, and multi-colored flakies (mainly green ones though).

This was a combination of MULTIPLE polishes. I have no idea how to recreate this, but if you're interested I used the following....

Clear, WnW Black Creme, Pure Ice Don't You Wish, Confetti Ice Ice Baby, Sinful Colors Green Ocean, Cult Nails Unicorn Puke, Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure, Love & Beauty Blue Multi , Sinful Colors Agaci, and Sinful Colors Suede Shoes

I *think* that's it. I know that's a lot, but I was in mad scientist frankening mood! I'm impressed with my result. I'm not much of a frankener, but doing this makes me want to do more. I don't consider myself the most creative of people, but I have moments. I admire really creative people. I wish I was creative all the time. Where is the creative juice?

Happy Thursday!

Urban Outfitters Bandeau

2012-01-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

I have been so impressed lately when I've gone into Urban Outfitters to look at their polishes. They really have a great selection of unique pretties. In fact, last time I was there it took some restraint not to buy any. This was after my Christmas shopping, so I really did not have money to splurge on more polish. I got this one back in summer and it's a great purple!

*I had to adjust the color on this photo to accurately depict the purple. My camera turns red-toned purples into blue ones, so I adjusted it so it is color accurate.

Bandeau

Bandeau is a neon purple creme.

I'd consider this a neon, obviously it's not like a pink or yellow neon where it is blinding, but it is too bright for me to consider just a bright color. I love this purple. I've always wanted a neon purple, but they're harder to come by. I've seen a few from Color Club, but none in this shade. The formula with this was great. That is saying a lot for a neon polish. I love the bottle shape even though it's a bit different. Thumbs up from me!

Happy Tuesday!

Talk It Out Tuesday: U + Nail Polish 4EVER?

2012-01-03T12:00:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the first "Talk It Out Tuesday" of the year.

Today's topic is basically will you love nail polish forever? Will you love it the same way you love it now? If you're a blogger, how long do you see yourself blogging about nail polish?

It's difficult to predict. I'm typically someone who has fleeting interests. I like things intensely for a short amount of time then I'm done with them. It has been different about nail polish. There are a few things that I just cling to. I've been into nail polish for 3 years now, so I think that is sticking. It's hard for something that has had such prevalence in my life to completely disappear.

I'm sure there will be a time in my life when I'm no longer collecting. I may buy a bottle here and there, but I think I will always love nail polish. It's hard to imagine a time like that though. We know how collections are, some are limited edition with outstanding colors. It's hard to picture myself at a point where I'm not always interested in what's coming out and perusing the stores for pretties! That being said, I'm at a transitioning point in my life. I'm in college, and I do not have a full time career. I wonder once I do make those adjustments, if nail polish will become a lower priority simply because of time? Who knows?

As for blogging. I am simply shocked at this point I've been at this almost 2 years. I'm someone who never was able to keep a journal or anything of that sort. I absolutely love blogging. It is something I look forward to. I also love reading other peoples blogs. I love interacting with bloggers. It's so much more than just blogging. It is a part of my life. I'm sure at some point in my life, blogging will have to take a backseat. I do not want to be negative, but it's hard to imagine myself still blogging in 5 years. I wonder if any of us will be still blogging in 5 years? It's not so much as maybe a time constraint thing as it's a question if blogging will still relevant in 5 years? Will blogging become obsolete? These are questions I often think about?

The funny thing is thinking about this makes me sad! I'm definitely not at any point to let go of nail polish or blogging that's for sure. I mean, just thinking about there being a time when I don't care as much is depressing. I love nail polish. It's such a great way to explore color, feel put together, connect with others, and spend more money than you'd ever want to because you can't imagine life with out that amazing new color. Too much to love there!

I will say this. If there does come a time I'm not into nail polish as much, I am for sure not going to get rid of any LE or HTF pretties. I'm going to hang on to those for years until they're going for $$$$$$$ on eBay or whatever. I will shamelessly sell those babies and make bank! Maybe in 2050 my China Glaze OMG holos will give me a down payment on a house? :P Come on guys? I'm sure you all have thought about stuff like this too...right?

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Happy Tuesday!

Claire's Galaxy

2012-01-02T12:00:00.001-05:00

Do you ever swap,sell, or get rid of a polish you wish you hadn't? When I had my blog sale I really did not regret getting rid of my stuff. I think for the most part the colors I got rid of were colors I had dupes of or color that did not really work out for me. That being said, a few weeks after the fact I started to miss my Orly Goth. The funny thing is I never really liked Orly Goth. It was never glittery enough, but I did not know there were better black polishes with more glitter in them. Then I came across Claire's Galaxy, and it remedied my regret for Orly Goth ten fold. This was what I wanted Orly Goth to be!

Galaxy

Galaxy is a black polish mixed in with tons of tiny silver glitters.

That's more like it! This is so much better than Orly Goth (not saying Orly Goth is bad, but if you're a glitter junkie you may of been slightly disappointed). This is a great color. The only issue is the formula is thick. I've always had problems with Icing and Claire's polishes apply like jelly or something. These always benefit from...more than few drops of thinner. :P

Happy Monday!

Best of 2011 Results! (Very Pic Heavy)

2012-01-01T12:00:00.127-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! I'm just going cut to the chase because this post is long! I have done pie graphs to represent all the categories. I had around 170 votes. This was fun! You may to click on them to enlarge.

Spring 2011 Collections:

*My Pick: China Glaze Anchors Away

Summer 2011 Collections:

*My Pick: Zoya Sunshine & Summertime

Fall 2011 Collections:

*My Pick: Zoya Smoke & Mirrors

Others mentioned: Wet n' Wild On the Prowl, Finger Paints Fall Fashionista, & SpaRitual Wilde.

Winter/Holiday 2011 Collections:

*My Pick: China Glaze Let It Snow

Others mentioned: Color Club Under the Mistletoe

Best OPI 2011 Secondary Collection:

*My Pick: Miss Universe

Others mentioned: Ulta OPI Exclusives

Best China Glaze 2011 Secondary Collection:

*My Pick: Eye Candy

Best Zoya/Essie/Orly 2011 Secondary Collections:

*My Pick: Orly Happy Go Lucky

Best 2011 Brand Overall:

My Pick: Zoya

Others mentioned: Color Club & Wet n' Wild

Best 2011 New or Recently Recognized Brand:

*My Pick: Cult Nails

Others mentioned: KLEANCOLOR, Ozotic, & NERDLACQUER

Best 2011 High End Brand:

*My Pick: butter LONDON

Others mentioned: Rescue Beauty Lounge

Best 2011 Drugstore Brand:

*My Pick: Revlon

Others mentioned: Isadora, Rimmel London, Essence, & Nicole by OPI

Best Place to Shop for Polish in 2011:

*My Pick: Ulta

Others mentioned: Various independent beauty supply stores, grocery stores, & Etsy

Did you like the Crackle trend?

*My Pick: No

Finally, I calculated the votes for your 2011 favorites polishes! I compiled a list of polishes that received 5 or more votes. There were tons of polishes that received 2-4 votes, but if I were to post the list it would be like 60+ polishes long!

Your Polish Favorites:

1. Orly Fowl Play--13 votes

2. OPI Teenage Dream--7 votes

3. OPI Warm & Fozzie--7 votes

4. Essie Shine of the Times--7 votes

5. Cult Nails Unicorn Puke/Clairvoyant--6 votes

6. Zoya Caitlin--6 votes

7. Chanel Peridot--6 votes

8. China Glaze Glittering Garland--6 votes

9. China Glaze Trendsetter--6 votes

10. Zoya Yara--5 votes

How did your picks fare? Are you pleased with the results?

Thanks to everyone who voted. This was fun!

Happy New Year!

Bottle Spam Saturday: Top 20 Edition

2011-12-31T12:00:00.005-05:00

This week's bottle spam will feature my 2011 Top 20. I hope you're not tired of seeing these yet!

Enjoy! Tomorrow I will share the Best of 2011 results. :)

a england Tristam, a england Lady of the Lake, Butter London Wallis, China Glaze Life Preserver, & Papaya Punch

China Glaze Glittering Garland, CND Sheer 24K Sparkle, Cult Nails Captivated, Time Traveler, & Unicorn Puke/Clairvoyant

Essie Smooth Sailing, Your Hut or Mine, Finger Paints Heavenly Hydrangea, Maybelline Cool Couture, & OPI It's My Year

Orly Frisky, Frolic, Venique Twinkling Snow, Zoya Kristen, & Rica.

Happy New Year's Eve!

Top 20 of 2011: Part 4

2011-12-30T12:00:00.024-05:00

This is in the final installment of my Top 20! Be sure to check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Enjoy!

Orly Frisky---Happy Go Lucky Collection

I've often found bright blues a little tricky as far as working with my skin tone, but I loved this one. I wore it for a week. That is a good testament to how much I like a polish. The longer I wear it means something is right. This blue is bright, fun, and vibrant! Check out my full review.

Orly Frolic---Happy Go Lucky Collection

This is another great unique purple. I mentioned in the last part, my love for purples in spring and summer. This is a nice variation on the typical lilacs and lavenders. This is a bright red-toned purple creme. It's unlike any purples I own. Check out my full review.

Venique Twinkling Snow over WnW Black Creme and Zoya Kristen---Twinkling Nights Collection

I discovered this polish on accident at a small beauty supply store. This glitter instantly attracted me. I love the contrast in the size of the glitters and the combination of iridescent and holographic. It's beautiful, and unlike any glitter I've seen lately..and I've seen a lot of glitters! Check out my full review.

Zoya Kristen- Feel Winter 2011 Collection

The whole Feel collection took me by surprise. I was not expecting to be so interested in winter neutrals, but these are so soft and beautiful. Kristen is my favorite of the bunch. I love the gray with the hint of blue. It's a very flattering shade. Check out my full review.

Zoya Rica---Sunshine Summer 2011 Collection

This was the color I was most looking forward to in the summer Zoya collection. I love a great coral, but this with that insane gold glittery shimmer is awesome! It's funny...I have both Cult Nails Captivated and Zoya Rica on my Top 20 lists and they very similar color wise. I have a thing for corals with golden shimmers or glitters! Check out my full review.

Here are all my Top 20 together.

I see a few commonalities in my Top 20 list. It seems as though the colors fall into 3 categories.

1. Colors that I had been wanting or dreaming of that came into fruition.
2. Colors I typically would not like, but ending up falling head over heels for.
3. Colors that I'm typically attracted to, but had some extra quality that made them super special.

This list was hard to compile! I went back and forth on many polishes. That being said, I do have some honorable mentions! They are China Glaze Holly-Day, Zoya Dannii, Zoya Caitlin, OPI Mermaid's Tears, Revlon Starry Pink, Zoya Yara, & Girly Bits Razzle Dazzle!

Do we have any similar favorites this past year?

Happy Friday!

Top 20 of 2011: Part 3

2011-12-29T12:00:00.003-05:00

On to Part 3! Be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2!

Enjoy!

Essie Smooth Sailing---Braziliant Summer 2011 Collection

I think I wore this color at least 5 times this past summer. This periwinkle blue with the light blue glass fleck is beautiful. This was definitely my all time favorite color this past summer. I could gush on and on, but you get my point. I ♥ Smooth Sailing. Check out my full review.

Essie Your Hut or Mine---Resort Summer 2011 Collection

I love this pink! This is a warm bubblegum pink with a pink shimmer. This is another color that suprirsed me this year. I do like pinks, but it's rare to find a pink that really wows me. It really is a nice varation from the pale or neon pinks you typically see. Usually medium pinks can be a bit granny or dull, but this is not either. Check out my full review.

Finger Paints Heavenly Hydrangeas---Palette of Petals Spring 2011 Collection

I'm a big fan of soft purples in spring and summer. I have a huge stash of lavenders. What I love about this is that it's a soft purple, but it's not the typical lavender or lilac. This is a lovely muted orchid creme. Check out my full review.

Maybelline Cool Couture---Fashion Week Fall 2011 Collection

This polish shocked me. I think the last year has been pretty lack-luster as far as Maybelline polishes go. This was just the opposite. I'm used to seeing "been there done that" shades from this brand, but this color is completely unique. I do not own any other shade like it. The grayed out base with the bright teal shimmer is stunning. Check out my full review.

OPI It's My Year---Miss Universe 2011 Collection

There were many variations of this shade this year, but this one after much deliberation is my favorite. I love the rosy purple paired with the intense gold shimmer. I'm sure you're shocked that I love something with gold shimmer! Check out my full review.

Be sure to check out Part 4 tomorrow!

Top 20 of 2011: Part 2

2011-12-28T12:00:00.003-05:00

On to Part 2! Be sure to check out Part 1.

Enjoy!

China Glaze Glittering Garland---Let It Snow Holiday 2011 Collection

Yes, I have a green on my Top 20 list. I have to say the past few months I have been loving the greens being released. I'm not typical green fan. I love the color, it just tends to be finicky with my skin tone. Glittering Garland on the other hand is a dream. The richness of this forest green with the green and gold microglitter is polish heaven! Check out my full review.

CND Sheer 24k Sparkle Effect over Revlon Royal---The Look Fall/Winter 2011 (dupe to Essie As Gold As It Gets)

This gold flakie answered my biggest polish dreams. I love the look or lapis lazuli. It takes me back to one of the cool places I've visited over the years, Hearst's Castle Roman Pool. If you've followed my blog for awhile I've talk about that incessantly. This flakie helped me recreate the dream look I've always desired! Check out my full review.

Cult Nails Captivated---A Day at the Races Summer 2011

This was another polish dream fulfilled. You know those awesome glitter glues at the craft store? I always wanted a polish to look like one of those, and this was it. I love the coral base with the golden iridescent glitter. This color is spectacular! I just wish it came in other colors! Check out my full review.

Cult Nails Time Traveler---Super Powers Winter 2011 Collection

There were so many great blues this year. Dark blues are some of my favorites, and it was hard to pick one. I ended up choosing Time Traveler because of the pigmentation of the blue. I love the richness of this color and how it's dark, but it's still clear blue. Plus...it's freaking TARDIS blue! Check out my full review.

Cult Nails Unicorn Puke/Clairvoyant over Orly Wild Wisteria---Super Powers Winter 2011 Collection

Well, this was a given! I'm sure this one will be on a ton of Top 20 lists. The different color flakies in here are splendid. The fact that this awesome of color could of been created still surprises me. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. The end. Check out my full review.

Be sure to see Part 3 tomorrow.

Happy Wednesday!

Top 20 of 2011: Part 1

2011-12-27T12:00:00.021-05:00

It's that time of year! I've been compiling my Top 20 list since summer. I've added a bunch...scaled back...added a bunch...scaled back...contemplated my choices..etc..etc..multiple times. This is a difficult process!

Unlike last year, I will be featuring polishes that were released in 2011. If I were to do all my favorites from any year I'd be posting favorites for a month. The good thing though is that there are so many colors this year that were spectacular!

Without further ado, here is Part 1 of my Top 20 list. These are in no particular ranking order. They are in alphabetical order due to how my photo album is set up.

a-england Lady of the Lake---The Mythicals Collection

When a-england polishes first burst on to the scene. I knew somehow I had to get my hands on the two holo polishes. Lady of the Lake is stunning. I love the pigmentation of the purple with the scattered holo. Check out my full review.

a-england Tristam---The Mythicals Collection

Same story with Tristam as Lady of the Lake. If I had to choose I think Tristam inches just slightly ahead of Lady of the Lake. The base on this is beautiful deep shade of navy unlike any color I've seen before. This is scattered holo done right. There is a perfect balance of holoness and pigmentation of the base. Check out my full review.

Butter London Wallis---Autumn/Winter 2011 Collection

This is so not a typical color for me. I think that's why I ended up loving it so much. This shade is stunning the green-gold shimmer looks rich. This color truly took me by surprise. I ended up wearing it for a full week. I did not want to take it off! Check out my full review.

China Glaze Life Preserver---Anchors Away Spring 2011 Collection

I love this dusty take on a orange. It is a very flattering shade, and it's unique. You know those colors that you can wear with just about anything? I found this color to really suit any attire I wore. It's not too bright, it's not too pale...it's just right! Check out my full review.

China Glaze Papaya Punch---Island Escape Summer 2011 Collection

Never, ever, would I have imagined putting a bright orange on my Top 20 list. This color changed orange for me. I started purchasing more oranges after my experience with Papaya Punch. This color is just fun, it pops, and makes a statement. This was one of my favorite colors this past summer. I wore it on the cruise I went on to the Caribbean, and it suited the atmosphere perfectly! Check out my full review.

Be sure to check out the blog tomorrow for Part 2!

Happy Tuesday!

Cult Nails Time Traveler

2011-12-26T12:00:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Today, I have for your one of the polishes in Cult Nail's Super Powers collection. This was the only color I got from the collection (don't worry I got my Unicorn Puke earlier on). This was a standout winner polish for me, so I had to get it, especially after seeing swatches of it on other blogs.

Time Traveler

Time Traveler is a deep royal blue jelly.

I know all of us Doctor Who fans are gleefully cheering this is TARDIS blue! It truly is. I love that this reads blue. I think a lot of blues the darker they get, the more and more they can start to read as black. This is clearly blue. It is vibrant, rich, and I love a good dark blue. This is different than any other dark blues I have. If you're a die hard blue fan, I'd think you want to add this to your collection. Everything about this color is great, but it has one flaw. This stains. I guess it's to be expected, you have to pay some price for a pigmented blue. It's a price worth paying in my book.

Happy Monday!

Share With You Sunday: 12/18/11-12/25/11

2011-12-25T12:00:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with family and friends.

Be sure to submit links for this post.

Quiz of the Day:

The Christmas Snow Globe Test

My result:

You Are Brilliant

You are a complex thinker, and you're good at creating elaborate theories and projects.
You tend to have a lot of technical knowledge. You love to learn how to do things.

You are innovative and competent. You can often see where others have gone wrong.
You are also a bit of a skeptic. You aren't going to believe anything until you've investigated it yourself.

Let me know your result in the comments!

Nails:

steffels shares with us her snowflake manicure.

Refined and Polished shows us her China Glaze Holly-Day and Twinkle Lights manicure.

The PolishAholic shows us her "Flakie-gasm" using Finger Paints flakies.

Pretty Digits swatches Topshop Gypsy

Nails in Nippon shares with us her Coca-Cola nails.

MaD Manis shares with us her Matte Party Hearty manicure.
Body and Soul shows us Orly's Spring 2011 Cool Romance preview.

Beauty:

Valentine Kisses reviews POP Clip-In Color Strips.

What You're Loving:
Polish Me, Please! shares with us her understated snowflake manicure.
Gotham Polish shows us her manicure inspired by Bergdorf Goodman's holiday windows.
DeyiMizu shares with us her Frosty Pink FOTD.

Merry Christmas and Happy 6th Night of Hanukkah!

Bottle Spam Saturday: Random Grab 1 Edition

2011-12-24T16:36:00.000-05:00

You all voted for Random Grab this week. I think that's self explanatory. I think I'll keep this as an option permanently, since I'm starting to run out of bottle spam ideas. :/

Next Saturday, I'll be featuring my Top 20 polishes of 2011 as the bottle spam. I'll also be featuring the swatches of my Top 20 next Thursday and Friday. Also next Sunday, is when I'll reveal your votes for the Best of 2011. Whew! Needless to say there is a lot to look forward to on this blog this upcoming week!

The poll I have up will be for January 7th's bottle spam. :)

Savina Ocean Waves, Zoya Kieko, Orly Lemonade, & BB Couture Hermosa Surfer Girl

Savina Wisteria, Zoya Reece, OPI Catch Me In Your Net, & NYX Alps Bunny

China Glaze Mrs. Claus, Milani Antique, Sinful Colors Social Ladder, & Revlon Ocean

China Glaze Twinkle Lights, Milani In A Flash, Icing Jaded, & Revlon Belle

China Glaze Midnight Mission, Sally Hansen Byte, LA Splash Golden Seahorse, & Joe Twilight

Happy 5th Night of Hanukkah & Merry Christmas Eve!

Orly Frolic

2011-12-23T12:00:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it took me so long to post this because it has become one of my favorites. In fact, I've become really impressed with Orly this year. I do not have a ton of Orlys, but I have noticed with every collection they've released lately I have purchased at least 1 or 2 from the collection. I love that their bottles are so big too! I know an extra .1oz isn't much, but I like that they give you more. This color is from the Happy Go Lucky collection back in summer.

*I had to photograph this under a lamp to accurately depict the color, so sorry the lighting looks off, but this is color accurate!

Frolic

Frolic is a bright red-toned purple creme.

This is bright without being neon. I love the color of this. Some of my favorite colors for spring and summer are lavender/lilac cremes, but there are a ton of those. I like how this is red-toned. I do not see many purples like this with that level of brightness. If you're a purple fan, I'd say this is a must have for your collection.

Happy Friday!

Venique Twinkling Snow

2011-12-22T12:00:00.005-05:00

The other day I was out shopping (err more like impulsively buying any pretty glitter polish I got my hands on) with a new polish buddy Alyssa. We went into this small beauty supply store in a mall called Blooming Beauty, and came across a small display of Venique polishes. This was my first time seeing these, and they had some great colors. I especially couldn't keep my eyes off of this glitter polish they had. It didn't take much persuasion for both us to get this pretty, and I'm glad we did, because I'm finding out these are not going to be widely available to the mass market. :(

Venique Twinkling Snow over WnW Black Creme

Twinkling Snow over Zoya Kristen

Twinkling Snow is a glitter top coat consisting of teeny tiny iridescent microglitters mixed in with large holographic hexagonal glitters.

This is glitter is gorgeous, and completely unique. I do not own anything like this. This is an instant favorite for me! It really is a creative use of glitter with the vast difference in sizes, and the combination of holographic and iridescent.

I did some research on this brand, and found more information on Nails Beautiqued and Polarbelle's blog. From what I gather this is a new brand, and they will be releasing 78 colors in January. The problem is that these are going to be sold at Cosmoprof and select salons. This means that they will be hard to find. I found them at a rather unknown small beauty supply store, so you may get lucky and find them in a salon or a something similar. Sadly, I do not think we'll be seeing these at our typical go-to polish stores like Ulta or Sallys :(.

Happy Thursday!

Zoya Feel Collection

2011-12-21T12:30:00.002-05:00

I have the Zoya Feel collection for you today..sans Avery. I really fell in love with this collection more so than I thought. The colors are great and very flattering. I'm going to use Zoya descriptions for each color, because honestly I personally stink at describing various shades of gray. :P

Carey

Carey can be best described as a periwinkle gray.

Kendal

Kendal can be best described as a lavender, beige cream nail polish shade.

Kennedy

Kennedy can be best described as a full coverage, pale, french beige cream.

Kristen

Kristen can be best described as a gull gray nail polish with a mild bluish hue.

Megan

Megan can be best described as a full coverage, taupe gray cream.

These colors are beautiful. I really love them all. If I had to chose I'd say Kristen, Carey and Kennedy are my favorites. If cooler toned skin and have had difficulty finding a nice nude shade, Kennedy will be for you. I absolutely love this color for that reason. I feel like it filled a void in my collection! There are too many warm toned nudes out there :(.

My only issue is the formula. I find I have similar issues with any pale/pastel shades. These are a bit streaky and uneven. Personally, I think the formula is a tad bit thick and could benefit from some thinner. I think the trick to these is thin coats, and a very steady hand. I notice with colors this light it shows mistakes more, at least for me!

Happy Wednesday!

OPI Rainbow Connection

2011-12-19T12:04:00.000-05:00

Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side?

That song brings back sleep away camp memories. Anyone else go to sleep away camp growing up? It's funny I never wanted to leave home when I was younger, but I ended up loving going away to summer camp for a month. It was nice to hang out with down to earth kids having grown up around a lot of snooty to cool for school people. :P That was off topic. This OPI color from the The Muppets collection is awesome.

Rainbow Connection over China Glaze Holly-Day

Rainbow Connection is a mix of small and large hexagonal multicolored glitters in a clear base.

This is awesome. I have about every multicolored glitter under the sun, but this one is different. This has those massive hexagon glitters in there that the others don't have. If you're a glitter fan, this one will not disappoint.

Happy Monday!

Share With You Sunday: 12/11/11-12/18/11

2011-12-18T11:59:00.001-05:00

Be sure to submit your links for this post and vote for your 2011 favorites!

Quiz of the Day:

The Over the Rainbow Test

My results:

You are a Thinker

You have a primal energy that drives you to explore the mysteries of life. You have a deep connection to the world.
You are hopeful, honest, and inspiring. You bring out the best in humanity.

You try to live your life with a higher purpose. Life's too precious to not have meaning.
You are a fixer. It bothers you to let any problems go unsolved.

Share your results in the comments!

Nails:
LimitedAddictionNails shares with us her manicure using Color Club neons.
CANDY COATED TIPS shares with us some nail polish related tips.
Girly Bits shows us her newest polish creation Cosmic Ocean.
Pink Polish Addict shows us her silver nails manicure.
Neverland Nail Blog shares with us her Insane Layering manicure.
Nightly Nails shows us her Peppermint Bark manicure.

Beauty:
Aquaheart's Obsessions shows us her favorite red lipsticks for the holidays.
MandysSecrets teaches us how to create the perfect smokey eye.

What You're Loving:
The Queen of the Nail swatches Essie Pure Pearlfection over Estee Lauder Porcelain.

Happy Sunday!

Bottle Spam Saturday: Maybelline Edition

2011-12-17T11:59:00.000-05:00

Maybelline won this week's bottle spam. I must say, Maybelline has really fallen flat over the past few years. As you'll notice, majority of my Maybelline collection are their older polishes from the 90's and early 00's. I wish they still made polishes like this. They have few good polishes in their newer collections, but a lot more misses than hits. Step it up Maybelline!

Be sure to vote for next week's bottle spam. I have added a new category "Random Grab". This is where I'll randomly grab 20 polishes from my stash, and that will make up the week's bottle spam.

Peach Glimmer, Firefly, Into the Sunset, & Orange Blazes

Red Aluminum, Red Comet, Heirloom Red, & Plum Potion

Turquoise Seas, Cool Couture, Purple Aluminum, Zip Fly, & Goody Plum Drop

Colorama Rose n' Shine, Ruby Rays, Gives Me the Chills, & Frosty Pink

Happy Birthday to my Dad & Happy Saturday to you!

Orly Oui

2011-12-16T12:30:00.002-05:00

I got this Orly beauty from the lovely Lakeisha at Refined and Polished. This one had been on my wishlist since I first laid eyes on it. I was really worried this would be another one of those Zoya Faye dupes or be a dupe to OPI It's My Year, but it's not! I love both of those polishes, and I love this one too. I guess I have some sort of thing for pinks and purples with intense gold shimmer .

Oui

Orly Oui is a medium purple base with an intense gold shimmer throughout.

I just love these colors! I love the purple base on this. The pigmentation of the purple is great. It's a nice balance between the purple and the shimmer. This is definitely a true purple, in comparison to the other shades that are more rosy or mauve. I think this one is different enough that if you're fan of these types of shades you'll want this one too.

Here are pictures of my swatches Zoya Faye, OPI It's My Year, & Orly Oui side by side:

It's definitely different! Great color. Thanks Lakeisha!

Happy Friday!

Franken Dragon's Lair

2011-12-14T12:30:00.005-05:00

Today, I have for you franken. This lovely franken was created by Sarah from See Sarah Swatch. I named it though. I hope she doesn't mind the name! I thought it fit. This color is awesome. I think bloggers and nail polish addicts create the best polish colors for sure.

Dragon's Lair

Dragon's Lair is a teal shimmer with golden holographic glitter.

I need to get my hands on some golden holographic glitter! She combined two of my favorite things in this, a cool toned color and gold. I've talked about my love for this combination enough. I don't want to bore you to tears. It's a beautiful color, and I love the use of the shimmer and the glitter together. Thanks Sarah!

Happy Wednesday!

Talk It Out Tuesday: The Pros & Cons of Giveaways + Tips

2011-12-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

This like the previous this may be a controversial topic. Just keep it respectful. :)

Like the other topic, these are my own opinions. These are just my observations, experience, and thoughts on giveaways. I am not extending these as collective thoughts for all bloggers or as any rules.

Giveaways can be one the most fun aspects of blogging, for the blogger and for the readers. I really enjoy having giveaways, but with everything it has it's pros and cons. Here is my list below. I also will be adding in my tips on having giveaways too at the end.

PROS:

It's nice to give back to your readers. It truly makes me happy to have a giveaways for this reason. It's nice to know I can make someone's day, and show them appreciation for reading my blog.

They're fun to shop for. Personally, I like getting a bunch of smaller things so it truly seems like a little prize pack. For example: I'd rather get 4 or 5 China Glaze polishes for a giveaway than 1 Butter London. This is just me.

They bring traffic to your blog, however this should not be the reason you have them.

They're fun to create, especially if you add fun extra questions like "What is your favorite polish" etc, or ask for feedback on your blog. These are fun and helpful ways to learn about your readers and how to improve your blog.

Simply put, they're just fun to have!

CONS:

Be prepared to spend ~~a long time~~ forever verifying entries. It seriously takes me hours to verify entries for a giveaway. It is very time consuming!

Be prepared not to receive a "thank you" from your giveaway winners. This happens on the rare occasion, but it stinks. A "thank you" should be a given.

People who have giveaways for the sole reason of popularity or for some type of personal gain. I think giveaways should come secondary to blog content. A year ago I saw a blogger immediately start off their blog with a giveaway. Come on now...:-/

Be aware that sometimes things are too good to be true. I've entered a giveaway where I won, and was strung along for months about my giveaway prize which was never shipped. The blogger eventually closed their blog, and I never heard from them again. This is rare, but it happens. :-/

Greedy people. When you have a giveaway you should expect that people who just want something for free will enter. These people may not read your blog, care about your blog, or anything, but they care about getting something for free. It stinks, but that's how it works.

Unfollowing once your giveaway ends. This is similar to the previous point. You'll get people to start following your blog once you start one, and a few people may unfollow your blog once the giveaway is over.

I think overall, even though my cons section is more extensive than the pros, giveaways are great. I think a few of the cons I listed are rare occurrences, but they needed to be mention. Giveaways can be a great experience for the blogger and their readers.

Giveaway Tips:

I decided to add a list of tips for people who may interested in having a giveaway. I hope these are helpful.

Set a giveaway budget. It is very easy to go overboard on a giveaway. You want people to like the stuff. You want them to be happy. You want them to like you! You have to be realistic though. You should not feel pressured to spend beyond your means for a giveaway. Trust me, people will enter if you have one thing or ten things. Stick within your comfort zone.

Be aware of shipping charges. I only do giveaways within the USA, but if you do international be aware of how much you're going to spend on shipping. It can get expensive, so it's better to know prior to shipment the ballpark amount something will cost to ship. I know for me doing USA giveaways, I try to fit my giveaway prizes in small-flat rate boxes these are $5.20 to ship. I've gone overboard a few times and ended up spending way more than I would of liked to ship. Be sure to check to see if your prize fits in the packaging material you expect to provide for it.

Delivery Confirmation is your friend. I do this as a safety measure for me. The people who win my giveaways tend to not be my personal friends or people I know through blogging. They're strangers. I like to have delivery confirmation added to my packages, so I know they arrive to the location I sent it to.

The more giveaway entries you have the more work you're going to do. I know it seems cool to add in all these extra entries, but that is extra time you'll be spending validating entries. Trust me, validating entries takes a long time. If you do not have that time or do not want to spend time doing that keep the number of entries small.

Keep in mind the longer you run your giveaways the more entries you will receive, and the more time you'll spend verifying them. I run giveaways typically 2-3 weeks. I think this is doable, but it's still a lot of work.

Ship your giveaway prize in a timely manner. I usually ship mine within in 5 days of the giveaway ending, but I think within a week is reasonable. Keep in contact with your winner(s) and let them know when you mail out their prize.

Be mindful of the reasons you're having a giveaway. I do not see any harm in a having the occasional giveaway to gain a stronger following, especially if you're at a 75 mark or a 150 mark. Sometimes you just want that edge to get you to 100 or 200 followers. That being said, be aware that giveaways though they get you followers, don't always get you loyal readers and commenters. With giveaways you do get people who just want freebies, not people who are really interested in your blog.

You don't have to have a giveaway every milestone. It is only logical with every giveaway you host you'll naturally get more followers and reach milestones quicker. This is definitely more true now than a year or two ago. There are more nail bloggers and more people following nail blogs than before. Do not feel pressured to have milestone giveaways if you don't want to or do not have the budget for it. Your readers will love you anyway giveaways or not!

These are all the tips I can think of at the moment, but if you have any more questions or anyone has any additional tips you can add them in the comment section.

What are you thoughts on giveaways?

Happy Tuesday!

Girly Bits Sea's the Day Polishes

2011-12-12T11:42:00.001-05:00

One of the coolest trends I've been seeing lately in the nail polish blogging world is creative bloggers creating their own polishes. I really like this trend. I think bloggers/nail addicts know what the nail polish people love most. One of these creative people is a Canadian blogger, Pam. Pam, has started up her own line of polishes called "Girly Bits". She does all of the work herself in mixing the colors and filling the orders! Her first collection is called "Sea's the Day" and the colors I received are awesome from color to formulation.

Stormy Skies

Stormy Skies is a gray with slight-blue undertones jelly with gold/green microglitter.

This color is beautiful! I saw Pam's swatch of this before she started selling her polishes and I was instantly in love with it. Gray-jelly-glitter = happy camper. The formula on this was smooth and applied evently. The glitter in here is remisnicent of the glitter in BB Couture polishes like Hermosa Surfer Girl and Horned Devil.

Razzle Dazzle

Razzle Dazzle is a raspberry jelly with scarttered pink/purple holograhpic glitter.

When I first saw this polish in the bottle, I admit I was scared. Usually, glitters like this mean clunky and thick formula. I was pleasantly surprised this was not the case with Razzle Dazzle. It was not even the slightest issue at all. This applied like a creme or shimmer. The formula like Stormy Skies, was smooth, easy to work with, and applied evening. Did I mention this color rocks too?

Street Magic over WnW Black Creme

Street Magic is a duochrome color shifting top coat. This flashes green, gold, copper, amber and etc.

Color Shifting polishes these days are rarity, so this a joy to have. It is gorgeous, you get a different look depending on the angle and lighting you look at it under. The formula was equally as great with this polish as the others.

Overall, I love these polishes. The colors are original. The formula is spot on. In fact, I found the formula of these superior to many of the traditional brands. Plus, these are done by a blogger. That makes them extra special. Great collection by Girly Bits! I will be ordering some of the other colors when I'm not in the hole from holiday shopping!

To see the rest of the colors in the collection and how to order check out Girly Bits ordering page.

**These products were sent to me by Girly Bits for review**

Happy Monday!

Share With You Sunday: 12/4/11-12/11/11

2011-12-11T12:29:00.005-05:00

*If you commented on my last Talk it Out Tuesday post I have now replied to you and have caught up with comments this past week.

I said I'd be on hiatus until the 18th, but I'm not. I ended up finishing my school finals and papers early so I'm back today!

Be sure to submit links for this week and vote for the "Best of 2011"!

Quiz of the Day:

Are You Mind, Body, or Spirit?

My results:

property of Blogthings

You are mind.

If you dream it, then you can do it. You are very mentally sharp and strong.
You enjoy challenging yourself both at work and with studies. You love mastering difficult tasks.

You thrive in new environments, even stressful ones. You are able to study everything objectively.
You have a upbeat attitude, and won't be deterred easily. You are open minded and optimistic about the future.

Share your results in the comments!

Nails:
I'M FEELING NAIL-VENTUROUS shares with us Lacquistry Twinkling Tree.
Nails Made Simple swatches the Cult Nails Super Powers collection.
The Polished Medic shows us her stamped manicure.
The Scholarly Nail swatches Hits Atena.
Frazzle and Aniploish swatches teal and turquiose cremes.
Enamel Girl shares with us her butterly manicure.
The Nail Network swatches Zoya Feel collection.
Like a candy shop swatches Catrice Piggy Pink.
steffels shares with us some Lynnderella polishes.
Nail Stories shows us her Ice Blue Snow Lepard manicure.

Beauty:
Makeup Withdrawal swatches LORAC 3D Multiplex eyeshadow palette.
Clumps of Mascara swatches Pearl Lips by Maybelline ColorSensational
*Bows and Curtseys* shares with her Demure Drama look.
The Glam Goddness shares iwth us one of her 12 Days of Christmas FOTDs.

Miscellaneous:
From the Heartland is a tumlr account shares pictures of vintage Bath and Body Works products.
Glorious Treats shares with us her Pink and Purple Penguin cookies.

What You're Loving:
Make-up/Music/Money/Me shares with us a holiday giveaway that ends today!
The Nail Networks shows us her Peppermint Bark manicure.
The Lacquered Lady shares with us her Office Party FOTD.

Bottle Spam Saturday: Silver/Gold/Bronze Edition

2011-12-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

I had more of these than I thought!

Remember to vote for next week's bottle spam.

China Glaze OMG, Nova, Sexagon, Midnight Kiss, & Medallion

Zoya Trixie, Nfu-Oh 61, & a-england Merlin

Milani 3D, Silver Dazzle, Gold Glitz, & HD

Wet n' Wild 24 Carats, Nina Ultra Pro Glamrock, LA Girls Bronze Medal, & L'Oreal Amazon's Flash

Sally Hansen Diamond, Showtime, OPI Warm and Fozzie, & Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

Happy Saturday!

LA Girls Color Addict Delirious

2011-12-09T12:30:00.004-05:00

I feel like this week I've done so many dark colors. I don't want to wear out their welcome before winter has even started. Let's have a bright color today shall we? I am SO thrilled I found out about LA Girls Color Addict colors (thanks Girls Germs!), because a lot of them feature the elusive combination of cooler-toned colors with golden shimmer. This one is stunning!

Delirous

Delirious is a bright turquoise with a soft golden shimmer.

A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. This color combination is beautiful. Can you imagine some jewelry with turquoise or aquamarine with gold? I want some! Yeah, I'm super psyched about this color combination. Blues/aquas/greens with gold is stunning. It's so luxurious to me. I could go on and on. I know it's probably strange for someone to get so excited about two colors together. You just don't see it often in the nail polish world.

*P.S. Love & Beauty polishes from Forever 21 are really repackaged LA Girls polishes. You can probably find these in their store, but they do not have their real names. It make take some digging. You can purchase the LA Girls version on Cherry Culture.

Happy Friday!

Color Club Foiled Collection

2011-12-08T12:30:00.000-05:00

I do not have all of these, but these are the ones I have.

I tend to love foils, but I was sorely disappointed with the Color Club foils. There really isn't anything wrong with them. They just don't pop to me I suppose. They seem kind of flat. I really like those multidimensional foils like the ones in the Zoya Flame/Fire & Ice collection, where they have different colors of foil-like glitter mixed in, the colors are richer, and the texture is more glittery. These are just flat. Blah, I'm so disappointed!

Foil Me Once

Foil Me Once is a light pink foil.

Hot Like Lava

Hot Like Lava is a magenta foil.

Cold Metal

Cold Metal is a rich blue foil.

For the full collection, I suggest visiting Scrangie's page. Cold Metal is the winner of these three, but I still don't even like that one. I guess I just really like those really glittery foils. These are more metallic than glittery. These just seems so stark? I don't know. I know you all probably think I'm nuts. I just really dislike these a lot. I don't know how else to describe it. Icky poo.

Happy Thursday!

Misa Toxic Seduction

2011-12-07T12:30:00.001-05:00

Here we go with the greens again! What has gotten into me? I got this beautiful color in a swap from one of my readers named Amanda. Thank you so much! This one had been on my wishlist for awhile. This is one of my firsts Misa polishes, so I was excited.

Toxic Seduction

Toxic Seduction is a deep rich blue-toned green with intense lighter green shimmer.

Splendid! Toxic Seduction is just that...seductive. This is a "top polishes of all time" type of polish. It is a must have. In fact, go grab yourself a bottle. It's in the Poinsoned Passion collection. I'm definitely going to be shopping Misa polishes after seeing this beauty. Thank you again to Amanda!

Happy Wednesday!

China Glaze Velvet Bow

2011-12-06T12:30:00.003-05:00

Do you ever have cravings for random colors that you typically don't gravitate towards? I do love reds, but for some reason I was in that dire state of needing this China Glaze polish. I don't know why. The deep red was really appealing to me. It just seemed like the perfect winter polish.

Velvet Bow

Velvet Bow is a deep vampy red jelly.

I'm glad I got this. My dire need was warranted. I know it's not a standout color by any means, but I love it. It's so rich, strangely enough I do not think I have many shades like this. This is a dupe to Revlon Vixen, however, if you have Revlon Vixen you know that formula is the utterly atrocious. This formula is so much better. If you have Vixen, I think this would be a worthwhile purchase to save you from the frustration of the Revlon polish.

Happy Tuesday!

Urban Outfitters Barstool

2011-12-05T12:30:00.002-05:00

Have you voted for your 2011 favorites yet?

*My posts are going to be short this week. I have finals to study for and papers to complete, so I've made scheduled posts ahead of time.

Today I have for you a polish I found at Urban Outfitters. They had a handful of colors at their store, and I was really impressed. The shades they had were unique and funky. That's right up my alley.

Barstool

Barstool is a soft dusty gray-blue jelly.

Yes, this is a win. The color is a great, and the jelly finish is unexpected. I don't have any other colors like this. I am curious how this one might compare to some of the polishes in the Zoya Feel collection. I'm getting some of those soon, so we shall see!

Happy Monday!

Vote for the Best of 2011!

2011-12-04T19:59:00.001-05:00

I've added a page above on my blog. This year you all will be voting for your 2011 favorites!

You have now until 30th to vote. I'll be sharing the results on the 31st! I look forward to hearing what your favorites were this year.

VOTE HERE

Share With You Sunday: On Hiatus

2011-12-04T14:14:00.003-05:00

Share With You Sunday will be on hiatus until December 18th when I'm done with this semester of school.

You can still submit your links, but they will not be posted until the 18th.

Happy Sunday!

Bottle Spam Saturday: Blue Cremes Edition

2011-12-03T15:46:00.001-05:00

It's time for some blue cremes!

Please vote for next week's bottle spam.

Sally Hansen Blue-Away, Wet n' Wild Birdbath, Essie Lapis of Luxury, & Sinful Colors Paradise

Sally Hansen Blew Me Away, Sinful Colors Fly Away, Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, & OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui

American Apparel Mount Royal, Pure Ice French Kiss, OPI Dating a Royal, & China Glaze First Mate

Orly La Playa, China Glaze Bermuda Breakaway, & Essence Rock It

What are your favorite blue cremes?

Happy Saturday!

Happy Holidays Giveaway Winners!

2011-12-02T11:44:00.000-05:00

I've drawn the winners for the Happy Holidays Giveaway!

China Glaze Prize Winner is.....

Congrats Ashly!

Wet n' Wild Prize Winner is....

Congrats Claudia!

Thanks to all who entered!!!

Happy Friday!

Essie Shine of the Times

2011-12-01T13:54:00.000-05:00

*Today is the last day to enter my giveaway!

Ever since I heard whispers of an Essie flakie, I knew I had to have it. Come on now it's a flakie! I've been awaiting the arrival of Essie Luxe Effects since July. I was thrilled to finally find Essie Shine of the Times, but did this thrill last?

Shine of the Times over Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac

Shine of the Times over WnW Black Creme

Shine of the Times is opalescent flakie that flashes different colors of the rainbow depending on the light and the color underneath it.

This is undeniably beautiful. My disappointment with this, (which will probably be other peoples joy) is that this is a dupe to Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure. I guess I was expecting it to be a little different in as far as what colors it flashes. When put over a dark color the flakes are more warmer-toned while over a lighter color the cooler-tones pop out. I guess I was hoping for a flakie that would flash cooler tones over darker colors. Am I even making sense?

That all being said, it is beautiful. I will keep it because like rainbow glitters I need all flakies. I love this over lighter colors the best. If you missed out on Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure this will certainly fulfill that void! I feel selfish saying I was a bit disappointed, since so many people missed out on Hidden Treasure. I'm sorry. You know how us polish people get. We get pickier and pickier over time.

Happy Thursday!

Models Own Beetlejuice Collection

2011-11-30T12:30:00.003-05:00

*Tomorrow is the last day to enter my holiday giveaway!

When I first saw a press release for this collection I was like O.O. I had a fear though since these were coming from the UK they'd be too pricey for my wallet. I was pleasantly surprised that cost of these was not that bad. I got the whole set with top coat plus shipping for $50. It's not cheap, but it's not completely unreasonable either. My second fear with this collection was since it was not really swatched on blogs prior to its release I was going to be making a gamble. I was fearful these would not be what I expected. Thankfully, I was wrong. These are pretty polishes!

The one problem with these is that my camera in no way could do these justice. I've noticed that bloggers with better cameras than me have had the same issue. These are just too pretty for cameras!

Pinky Brown

Pinky Brown is warm foil pink with golden/orange duochrome.

Aqua Violet

Aqua Violet is a aqua shimmer with purple duochrome.

Purple Blue

Purple Blue is a deep purple foil with bright blue duochrome.

Emerald Black

Emerald Black is a deep green shimmer with black edges.

Golden Green

Golden Green is a yellow-green shimmer with a golden duochrome.

These colors are great. Some of these were sheer when applied, but built up nicely. The only issue I have with these is that some of these are shimmers while others are foils. I wish they all were foils since I prefer that finish. The great thing about these is they're NOT limited edition. You don't have rush out to get these, because they'll always be around.

You can find the Beetlejuice collection on Models Own website.

Happy Wednesday!

Talk It Out Tuesday: The Pros & Cons of PR

2011-11-29T11:00:00.001-05:00

*This could be a controversial topic. Differing opinions are fine, but keep it respectful.

I want preface this post by saying this is from MY perspective. I'm not extending this as collective viewpoint for all bloggers. These are my perceptions and I know they're opinionated.

I think one the most talked about things in the blogging world is PR samples. It can be one of the most competitive, confusing, and frustrating ventures out there. It really is a hot button topic. I do not have much PR experience personally, but in the course of my blogging experience I have witnessed it enough from other bloggers to have an opinion. I've chosen to not take part in a lot of PR or asking for PR samples. I have taken offers if I am personally approached, but even then I am selective.

I think there are definite pros and cons in regards to PR. I'm definitely divided on the whole thing, but essentially for me personally and my blog I'd find too much PR a negative. The list I've compiled below are what I think are/would be pros and cons for PR. Some of these are from my own observations, and some of these I relate to my own experience and blogging decisions. Be aware my negative list will be lengthy.

PROS:

I have go-to blogs I know to visit who receive PR samples ahead of time. I rely on these bloggers and their swatches to make shopping decisions. Bloggers who do PR stuff are needed!

PR samples would definitely lighten the load financially. As much as I'd love to dive into PR just for that reason, it does not feel right to me.

You can create great contacts with brands.

PR can turn you from just being a blogger to a more professional blogger.

PR can allow you to be a link between your readers and polish companies. You can have more knowledge into the brand versus just the regular person.

You get access to new products before anyone else.

You can provide more opportunities for your readers when companies sponsor giveaways.

CONS:

Who PR picks to get samples can be very inconsistent. There are bloggers who are ignored by PR companies with well established blogs, while the opposite bloggers are given samples (more in next point). The process does not make sense.

Bloggers who are brand new, have a small following, and low quality photos are sometimes given PR samples. This is the one time I'm critical about people swatches. If you are given a product to review you should show the product in the best possible light and in a professional manner. It is unrealistic to expect newer bloggers to show PR samples in a professional manner.

PR has become a source of competition for bloggers. There are many new bloggers who see receiving PR samples as some sort of badge of honor, Miss Universe tiara, or a trophy. PR I do not feel makes you popular blogger. There is a lot of work involved outside of just receiving things for free and being "first" to have something that makes you a popular blogger. Plus, you can be popular without getting freebies!

There are bloggers who just blog in hopes to receive PR stuff.Even worse there are people who feel entitled to receive stuff. Shady.

PR can be inconsistent about sending things. You may be promised some collection and you may never get it.

For me personally and my blog, if I were to receive a lot of PR stuff I feel it would detach me from my readers. I get emails that people like my blog because almost all of my stuff is self-bought and low cost. People can relate to it because they're on a budget. I feel if I received a lot of stuff from PR I would lose that connection with my readers. I like to be relatable. I go through the same shopping/financial struggles as everyone else!

PR allows you to become more of a professional blogger. I said this in the pros, but it is also a con. I feel with PR you become tied to that company. You have a responsibility to swatch the polishes and blog about them in a timely manner. It's not just fun and games. It's a commitment.

Press Release days. Hundreds of people posting the same press release over and over again.....

This is all I can think of at the moment. What I noticed as I was dissecting this was that most of my negatives towards PR are in relation to people in the blog-o-sphere versus the PR companies themselves. There are a few bloggers I rely on for PR stuff. Few is the keyword here. The reason is because I can rely on these bloggers to be professional, friendly, and have a dedication to their blog outside of just what they receive for free. These are the bloggers that exemplify what a good PR relationship/experience should be for themselves and their readers.

The perception from some people that PR stuff makes you special, better, popular, or etc is what really bitters the whole PR concept for me. There is some weird obsession with it in the blogging world from some people that is just annoying. If I could give you guys a dollar for every time I've heard someone mention how much they wanted PR samples or ask me how to get free stuff we all would be rich. The blogging experience should not be centered on the freebies you receive! It saddens me that this seems to be the main focus of so many people.

This is not the only reason I'm turned off to PR. I have other reasons I mentioned above. PR would seriously help me so much as far as saving money, but I'm not willing to compromise my time and my blogging persona for PR. I know a lot of that would have to change if I took that on.

This I know is a touchy subject. If I said anything offensive, I did not mean it to be, like I mentioned before these are my viewpoints based on my experience.

What are you thoughts on PR stuff?

Happy Tuesday!

China Glaze Holly-Day

2011-11-28T12:30:00.002-05:00

Something must of came over me. I think I've had more green polishes on this blog in this past month than I've had on this blog's existence. What can I say? I'm liking some greens lately! I think it's because it's the holidays and they're producing more of those deep greens that tend to look better on my skin tone.

China Glaze Holly-Day

Holly-Day is a medium forest green creme.

I really love this green! Usually with greens for me they have to be dark and have some type of glitter or shimmer for me to like it. This does not, and I love it. I got this in a set with 2 other China Glaze polishes, and without even giving it a second glance I was going to throw it in the swap pile. I'm so glad I didn't. I'll be keeping this green!

Happy Monday!

Share With You Sunday: 11/20/11-11/27/11

2011-11-27T17:24:00.001-05:00

*My Facebook giveaway ends at midnight be sure to enter.
*My blog giveaway ends Thursday midnight be sure to enter that one too!

Be sure to submit links for these weekly posts!

Quiz of the Day:

What Fall Spice Are You?

My results:

prop. of Blogthings

You are Ginger.

You are soothing and calming. You provide a lot of comfort to those around you.
You are nurturing, but you also have a little bit of spice to you. You are a little wild!
You appreciate nature, and some of your best times are spent outdoors. You don't like being cooped up in an office for too long.
You are optimistic and cheerful. You show kindness to people, animals, and the earth. You believe in treading lightly.

Please post your results in the comments!

Nails:
Frazzle and Aniploish shares with us the current nail polish displays she has seen.
MaD Manis shows us her Tacky Xmas Sweater manicure for the 31 Day Challenge.
Enamel Girl makes a franken of Deborah Lippmann Lady Gaga Edge of Glory.
~Polish Freshie~ shares with us her awesome haul.
Rachel Marie's Nails swatches some Diamond Cosmetics polishes.
Pinkginger's A Thing of Beauty swatches some BB Couture for Men polishes.
ommorphia beauty bar swatches OPI Nicki Minaj collection.

Beauty:
Blushing Noir swatches Chanel Dragon Rouge Allure lipstick.

What You're Loving:
Gotham Polish shares with us Essie Shine of the Times.
The Lacquered Lady swatches China Glaze Material Girl.
Pretty Digits shares with us her Fair Isle Nails.

Happy Sunday!

Bottle Spam Saturday: Red Shimmers and Glitters

2011-11-26T17:05:00.000-05:00

*Be sure to check out my Facebook page for a giveaway that ends tomorrow!

Red shimmers and glitters won this week's bottle spam. In hindsight I think this could of been two separate categories. I never realized how many of these I had. I'm definitely a red glitter fan. I think my collection of obvious red glitter dupes will attest to that.

Be sure to vote for next week's bottle spam!

Shimmers:

Zoya Elke, OPI You Rock-apulco Red!, Nina Ultra Pro Bloodi Mari, Milani Paint the Town Red, & Cutex Cherub Red

Wet n' Wild Candy Corn on the Cob, China Glaze Pin Prick, Revlon Get Reddy, Butter London Knees Up, & Finger Paints Candy Cane Shimmer

a-england Perceval, Milani Melt Down, & China Glaze Branding Iron

Glitters:

Zoya Nidhi, OPI Red Dazzle, Rimmel Hot Rock, Hard Candy Lava, & Wet n' Wild Prancer

Orly Glam, Nicole by OPI Sensational Scarlet, Wet n' Wild Rockin' Rubies, China Glaze Ring in the Red, & Milani Red Sparkle

Maybelline Red Comet, China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Milani Ruby Jewels, & Kleancolor Chunky Scarlet Holo

Milani Garnet Gems, LA Splash Crimson Tide, & NYX Dorothy

Happy Saturday!

Sinful Colors Suede Shoes

2011-11-25T11:04:00.001-05:00

* Be sure to like my Facebook page. I'll be posting a small giveaway on there later!

I hope everyone who celebrated had a nice Thanksgiving! We had a laid back one. We ate, napped, watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow 2, and then drove around Best Buy, Target, Toys r' Us to laugh at all the silly people waiting in line. Overall it was a good Thanksgiving! :P

I have a pretty Sinful Colors glitter to show you today. I'm not much for layering glitters anymore, but this one is unique and well worth it. I'm not sure why it's called "Suede Shoes". Then again, Sinful Color names have always stumped me (i.e. Forget Now, Serena & Chloe,and What's Your Name). Their names never make sense to me.

Suede Shoes over Sinful Colors Unicorn

Suede Shoes is a golden iridescent glitter in a clear base.

I love all the colors this glitter flashes. It flashes gold,pink,blue,and purple. I'm sure there is more. This is gorgeous. I do not have any other glitters quite like this one. I think this would look great over many colors.

This one you can only find on Cherry Culture. They are currently having a 20% off sale until November 27th.

Happy Friday!

Essence Underwater

2011-11-23T13:50:00.001-05:00

**Today I have a guest post on The Nail Polish Enthusiast. Be sure to check it out. Thank you Amanda for letting me participate!

Today I have for an Essence polish called Underwater. Before I started this post I Googled it to see what other people thought of it. I was confused because many peoples pictures of Essence Underwater were an entirely different color than mine. It wasn't even remotely close to what I have. Thankfully, I found this post that explains there are two versions. I have the second version, and frankly I prefer it over the first.

Underwater 2.0 (I added the 2.0 for identification purposes)

Underwater 2.0 is a slate blue with blue teeny tiny sparse micro glitters.

I love this color. I think the glitter is a bit too subtle to see, but the color is beautiful. I love a great blue you all know that.

You know what the name of this makes me think of? Are any of you America's Next Top Model fans? Those of you who have been watching the All-Star season will recognize this. Whenever I see this color now this song pops in my head!

Happy Wednesday! Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate tomorrow!

China Glaze Glittering Garland

2011-11-22T12:30:00.002-05:00

I pulled a 11 hour stretch yesterday to finish my school work so I could be free of homework until next Monday. I somehow survived! Now, I can play and swatch. I have a ton of swatching to do. I have Models Own Beetlejuice, Sally Hansen Nail Prisms, and more to swatch.

Anyways, I have a really pretty China Glaze holiday polish for you today. Guess what? It's green! You know what else? I love it!

Glittering Garland

Glittering Garland is a deep forest green with a lighter green and gold glass fleck glitter.

I don't just like this I l-o-v-e this. It is stunning. It is beautiful. It is definitely a must have. The formula was great. You need this polish. The end.

Happy Tuesday!

OPI Windy City Pretty

2011-11-21T12:30:00.003-05:00

*I've finished replying to comments on my Talk It Out Tuesday post. Thanks for all your great responses!

I've been wearing so much glitter, shimmer, and dark colors lately that I've been craving something more simple. I found this OPI in a discount bin at Albertsons.This one is from the Chicago collection. Sure, it may not be a standout color, but I really like it. :)

Windy City Pretty

Windy City Pretty is a dusty rose-mauve with a subtle pink shimmer.

I've heard this referred to as a "granny" shade. I know it kind of looks like that, but I really think this one is pretty. When I'm looking for something clean and simple I usually reach for the sheer pinks, but those can be a pain in the behind to work with. I think this has a similar effect. It's neutral and subtle with that hint of color. Plus, it's easy to work with! It's a great go-to color that fits any season and occasion.

Happy Monday!

Share With You Sunday: 11/13/11-11/20/11

2011-11-20T13:45:00.000-05:00

I only have short post today. I've been bogged down with a lot of work lately, so I haven't had the opportunity to look through blogs as much as I would of liked.

Be sure to submit your links for this post.

Quiz of the Day:

What European City Do You Belong In?

My result:

(property of Blogthings)

You belong in Dublin.

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions.
You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

Be sure to share your result in the comments!

Nails:
Let Them Have Polish shares with us her stamped manicure using Julep Selena.
Pixie Polish shows us her snowflake manicure.
Ali's Nail News shares with us her purple jelly and gold glitter manicure.
The Posh Polish shows us Milani Lavender Twinkle.
Yacking about Lacquer shares with us her franken creations.

Beauty:
Musings of a Muse reviews Lush's Lustre.
Makeup Zombie swatches Aromaleigh "Starry Night" collection.

Miscellaneous:
Nouveau Cheap gives us the inside scoop on Black Friday deals (this post will be updated as she gets more info)

What You're Loving:
The Queen of Nail swatches the Deborah Lippmann Fashionista Nail Trio.
The Lacquered Lady is giving away the Wet n' Wild I Heart Matte eyeshadow palette.

Happy Sunday!

Bottle Spam Saturday: Glass Fleck Edition

2011-11-19T18:53:00.000-05:00

I kind of figured this one would be a no brainer. Glass Fleck won this week!

Be sure to vote for next week's bottle spam.

Zoya Ivanka, Gilda, Mimi, & Nidhi

Danielle, Milla, Revlon Royal Cloak, & Blue Lagoon

China Glaze Glittering Garland, Strawberry Fields, No Way Jose, & Ahoy

Sinful Colors Forget Now, Serena and Chloe, Glass Pink, & NYX Maui Sunrise

Milani Orange Burst, Pink Out Loud, OPI Catch me in your Net, & Essie Vanity Fairest

Essie Smooth Sailing, Orly Winter Wonderland, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, & Maybelline Into the Sunset

Maybelline Firefly, Peach Glimmer, Sally Hansen Byte, LCD, & DVD

Happy Saturday!

China Glaze Ring in the Red

2011-11-17T13:20:00.000-05:00

I want thank everyone who commented on my Talk it Out Tuesday post. I've read all your comments, and I'll be replying to them soon. I just haven't had time to do that yet, but I will! Today, I have for you one of the China Glaze holiday polishes.

Ring in the Red over Revlon Raven Red

Ring in the Red is a mix of different sized red glitters in a red sheer base.

You could do this 3 coats on it's own, but it does not have vibrancy it would as it does when it is layered. It really is a bit sheer and the red base does not have great pigmentation. I took this advice from Jen at The PolishAholic. That all being said, I absolutely love this layered. I'm not much for layering anymore, but this is so worth it. If you're a red glitter fan you will not be disappointed. This is red blingy-tastic-ness. It glitters, it glows, it looks like Jessica Rabbit's dress. Can you tell I love red glitter?

Happy Thursday!

Talk It Out Tuesday: Blogger Confessions

2011-11-15T12:36:00.000-05:00

"These are my confessions..." lala I can't help but think of that Usher song.

I think the title here is self explainatory. These are the things I do as a blogger that may not be what you expect. Let's do this as a list shall we....

The way I swatch colors on my nails vs. how I actually do my nails is very different. I try to be very precise while swatching. When I just paint my nails I try to be careful, but not as careful. If I took a picture of my actual manicure vs. swatch it would probably disappoint you.

I don't do clean up. Honestly, I just don't care. This is when I'm not swatching. My manicures I wear out, I rely on the shower to clean up any mistakes. It works! :P

Swatching takes FOREVER. I spent 7 hours swatching one day.

My camera is not great even in macro setting. It will take me 15-30 pictures of one swatch just to get a good picture. This is very frustrating!

I use one of those acetone scrub tubs to remove polish. I'm sure this is blasphemy, but it's quick.

I have about every glitter version of DL "Happy Birthday" ever made. I can't get enough of confetti rainbow glitter. The problem is I haven't worn any of them.

Sometimes I feel insecure about my blog. I see people with amazing photos, who get lots of PR stuff, or who have massive expensive giveaways, and it makes me feel inadequate. It's not that I want to do and be all of those things, it just makes me worry that people expect certain things from me that I can't and do not want to offer.

There are also times I can put the blinders on. I do not even compare myself with other bloggers. I'm different. I offer something unique, and I'm proud of that. I wish I could be like this all the time!

I feel guilty if I do not blog for a day or two.

I'm too shy to mention my blog in the real world.

I have more people who are interested in me through the blog-o-sphere than in real life. Case in point, if I update my status on my personal facebook account I get ZERO response. If I update my status on my blog facebook I get a response. This makes me feel really bad sometimes.

I actually really do like the color green. It just doesn't look great on my nails.

I wish I was more patient to try nail art, but honestly I can't be bothered. :P

I feel like an idiot for spending $35 on HTF China No Way Jose. I love the color, but $35 is a ridiculous amount of money for nail polish!

I do all my swatching on my coffee table. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment. This is really the only place I can do my nails. I wish I had more space so I could have proper area to do my nails.

The polish I have on my blog one day is very rarely the polish I'm wearing that day. I swatch weeks ahead of time and have a folder full of hundreds of swatches to choose from.

I used to change my nails every 2-3 days, now I only have time to change them every 5-7 days. I miss being able to do my nails more often.

Nail thinner is my best friend. I use that stuff all the time!

I'm sure I can could come up with more, but these were things that popped in my head.

What are your blogger/nail polish confessions?

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Holidays Giveaway! CLOSED

2011-11-14T10:20:00.002-05:00

It's time for a holiday giveaway! I know it may seem early for a holiday giveaway, but since my prizes are holiday themed I figured you'd want to enjoy them before and during the holidays.

Here we go! I have 2 prizes. That means 2 winners! This is for US residents only.

China Glaze Prize Pack

China Glaze Poinsettia
China Glaze Snow Globe
China Glaze Blue Year's Eve
E.L.F. Golden Goddess
Orly Meet Me Under the Mistletoe (mini)
Jasmine La Belle Cosmetics Toasted Vanilla Bath Fizz
Ulta Berry Soap
Ulta Berry Lip Balm
Slatkin & Co. Cranberry Pear Bellini mini candle

Wet n' Wild Prize Pack

Wet n' Wild 24 Carats
Wet n' Wild Cost Is No Issue
Wet n' Wild Believe Me, It's Real
Wet n' Wild It's All In The Cut
Orly Winter Wonderland (mini)
Jasmine La Belle Cosmetics Toasted Vanilla Bath Fizz
Ulta Mint Soap
Ulta Mint Lip Balm
Slatkin & Co. Winter mini candle.

*All giveaway items were purchased by me

Guidelines:

1. You must a resident of the USA.

2. Giveaway will end Thursday, December 1st @ 11:59PM EST

3. Winners will be chosen using random.org

4.Winners will be announced Friday, December 2nd and have 72 hours to respond or else another winner(s) will be chosen.

5. Please fill out the entry form below to enter the giveaway. Comment entries will not count.

Entires:

Mandatory-

*You must be a GFC follower and provide me with your email address (+1 entry)

Optional-

*Blog about my giveaway (+1 entry)

*"Like" my Facebook page (+1 entry)

*Tweet about my giveaway (you can use the following "Check out @ImperfectPaint's Happy Holidays Giveaway! http://bit.ly/tTng3D (+1 entry)

You have 4 possible entries here. Please fill out the entry form below! If you have an questions feel free to email me.

Share With You Sunday: 11/6/11-11/13/11

2011-11-13T18:50:00.001-05:00

Sorry this post is late!

Be sure to submit links for this weekly post. I probably won't be able to add any links tonight, so if you add them today they will be put on next week's post.

Quiz of the Day:

What does your toast say about you?

My results:

property of Blogthings

You are Intuitive.

You're incredibly kind, caring, and generous. You naturally put others first.
You believe that you know what's right deep down in your heart. You listen to your feelings.

You are a very emotional person. It's less about what you think and more about what you feel.
Your inner voice always speaks the truth, and you take the time to listen to it.

Let me know your results in the comments!

Nails:
ommorphia beauty bar swatches Essie Luxe Effects.
Fashion Polish swatches the cremes and shimmers in the OPI Holland collection.
My Nail Polish Online shows us L.A. Girl Alkaline Blue.
necessary nails shares with us a beautiful franken in honor of her aunt.
Polish Vixen shows us her Orly Le Chateau with China Glaze Thataway manicure.
The Swatchaholic swatches Models Own Beetlejuice collection.

Beauty:
kittypolishnbags shows us a preview of the Bath & Body Works Live Love Celebrate collection.
Libby's Pink Vanity swatches Wet n' Wild baked eyeshadow collection.
Princess Paradise shares with us her Strawberry Lemonade with a Twist FOTD.

Video:
The Today Show shares with us a segment on the OPI polish naming process.

What You're Loving:
Red Lip Gloss swatches Quo by Orly's Celestial Star.
MandysSecrets shows us her Rainbow Nails for the 31 Day Challenge.
The Lacquered Lady shares with us Nicole by OPI Glitter in my Stocking.

Bottle Spam Saturday: Dark Blues Edition

2011-11-12T12:30:00.005-05:00

Dark blues won this week! I had no idea I had so many. Dark blue polishes are clearly one of my favorites. It's also obvious that when it comes to dark blue polish, I'm willing to splurge a little too.

Be sure to vote for next week's bottle spam.

RBL Under the Stars, RBL Piu Mosso, Butter London Big Smoke, & Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe

Finger Paints Easel-y Entertained, Ulta Blue For You, Confetti Smitten, & Orly La Play

Maybelline Zip Fly, Wet n' Wild Blue Moon, Heaven Black Pearl, & LA Girls Idol

China Glaze First Mate, Bermuda Breakaway, Little Drummer Boy, & Midnight Mission

Zoya Kotori, Color Club Naughty-cal Navy, Blue-topia, & Relvon Midnight Affair

a-england Tristam, CND Midnight Sapphire, Illamasqua Phallic, & OPI Glacier Bay Blues

Happy Saturday!

Nicole by OPI Kim-pletely in Love

2011-11-11T12:43:00.000-05:00

Well...isn't this awkward. -Rolls eyes- I don't think Kim is Kim-pletely in love anymore. I did not shed any tears. I'm sure many of us didn't. There are far more important and significant things in the world than that topic. Anyways, I actually was drawn to this Nicole by OPI polish when first I saw swatches. I've always liked the sheer-jelly pale pinks and nudes, so this one was on my list.

Kim-pletely in Love

Kim-pletely in love is light sheer pink with micro blue glass fleck. (At least this is what I think it is?)

I've seen other peoples swatches of this and they get a an even look with 3 coats. I still had streakiness with 3 coats? I always have this problem with shades like this, and it really ticks me off. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Maybe, I need polish underwear? Maybe I need to wait longer in between coats? Maybe I need to stand on my head, bark like a dog, and make a cucumber salad? Do I need to praise some polish unicorn mermaid fairy goddess? Whatever the magic secret is to this please let me know? This is a beautiful polish. I recommend it if you love polishes that give you a clean look that have a touch of pizazz. I'm just annoyed that colors like this are such a pain in the acetone!

Happy Friday!

China Glaze Snow Globe

2011-11-10T11:30:00.000-05:00

Snow Globe and I are not strangers. We have met before, just not under great circumstances. I purchased Snow Globe when it was first released in Fall 2009 with the other China Glaze specialty glitters. I instantly feel in love with Snow Globe. One day, after a few months of not using Snow Globe, I went to go use it to find it in a horrible state. Poor Snow Globe was completely hardened to the bottom of the bottle. It was not salvageable. No amount of thinner could restore this beauty. I got Snow Globe again with some of the other China Glaze holiday polishes, but I'm a bit hesitant that this one will meet the same fate.

Snow Globe over black

Snow Globe over white

Snow Globe is a mix of large and small white iridescent glitter.

I love the mix of colors you get in this glitter. It is very fairy, unicorn, Care Bear, My Little Pony, and Barbie-esque glitter. I'm sure do not not to further explain this. I hope you know what I mean. The formula in this is a goopysaurus. I instantly put a few drops of in thinner in this. One, to thin it out. Two, because I fear it will meet the same fate as my previous Snow Globe. Overall, this is definitely a pretty glitter. It just might need some extra care.

Happy Thursday!

LA Girl Idol

2011-11-09T12:30:00.008-05:00

One of things I'd love to see in nail polish more often are blue polishes or any cool-toned polish with golden shimmer. Many people mentioned to me that Love & Beauty from Forever 21 has one like this. What I did not know was that Love & Beauty polishes are really repackaged LA Girl polishes. Madeline from Girl Germs thankfully let me know this. It would seem obvious since the bottles are the same, but it never crossed my mind! Many thanks tp Madeline! I picked this beauty on Cherry Culture when they had a sale along with some other purples,greens, and blues with gold shimmer! This was part of the Color Addict line.

Idol

Idol is a dusty navy with golden shimmer.

Mainstream nail polish companies China Glaze, OPI, Orly, Zoya, (I know you've done this with purples, but please do it with blues), and etc please do blue with gold shimmer, glitter, or glass fleck combos. You will make me a very happy camper! This is such a gorgeous combination. This polish is beautiful and unique, and is right up my alley! Thank you LA Girl!

Happy Wednesday!

Around the World...Somewhat Part 2

2011-11-08T11:36:00.000-05:00

This is the second edition to the Around the World...Somewhat Part 1 post.

It took my boyfriend and I two more trips to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival to be satisfied that we tried everything we wanted. We revisited some of the stands we did before, but tried different things from them. This is an accumulation of both of the days we went.

Also, just reminding you I'm not a food blogger. It's hard for me to describe and pinpoint flavors in spices. So, just expect a lot of this was good or this wasn't so good. I also can't vouch for the authenticity of certain countries' food. Don't blame me if what I got isn't really what that country serves! :P

Australia
Shrimp on the Barbie with Pepper Berry Citrus Glaze

I think the description explains this best. The shrimp was good. The sauce was interesting. This did not taste like anything unique or anything. I've had grilled shrimp a lot.

Canada
Chicken Chipotle Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta

This sausage was spicy! It was almost too spice. It was really flavorful though, and the corn polenta on the bottom was sweet and delicious. The corn polenta was the perfect accompaniment to for the spicy sausage.

Maple and Moosehead Beer-glazed Salmon with Barley Salad

Joseph was really interested in this one. Honestly, cooked salmon is not my favorite fish. I really prefer salmon smoked. This was good though. It wasn't dry, the glaze on it was sweet and so was the barley salad. I'm sure if you're a salmon fan you would of enjoyed this.

China
Xinjiang Barbecue Chicken Stick

They really gave you a lot here! The meat of the chicken was tender and juicy. My problem with this is there was too much spice on this. It was not spicy or anything, but I felt the spices on this overpowered the chicken.

France

Coq au Vin sur Gratin de Macaroni (Red Wine Braised Chicken, Mushrooms, Pearl Onions, and Macaroni Gratin)

This was divine. I know it doesn't look appetizing on the plate, but it was amazing. The sauce was so rich and complex. The chicken was moist. The macaroni on the bottom was cheesy. Yum! I could of had another plate of this.

Hawaii

Tuna Poke with Seaweed Salad and Lotus Root Chips

I'm one of those few people on earth who does not care for raw fish or sushi type things. I know everyone is in love with sushi. I just don't get it. It doesn't have an appetizing flavor to me. This had similar sushi taste. I ate some of it. It was very fresh. The seaweed salad was really good. The texture of the seaweed salad was very bizarre. It was like chewing rubber bands. That was something I would have to get used to.

Ireland

Lobster & Scallop Fisherman's Pie

This was rich and creamy. There were full chunks of scallop and lobster in here. Delicious. There isn't much more to say!

Italy

Ravioli di formaggio all'Emiliana (Baked Cheese Ravioli with Creamy Beef Bolognese, Parmesan, and Mozzarella)

This was a massive portion for it being considered a small plate. It was very rich too. I did not want to eat all of this because I knew I'd be sick. It was just that rich and cheesy! The beef bolognese on the bottom was delicious. I'm so picky about my sauces. The tomato sauces you get here in the jar have ZERO flavor. It makes me want to cry. I love a very flavorful sauce, and this was just that.

Japan

Pork Kakuni

This was a type of braised pork. The flavors on this were great, but this meat was painfully dry. I needed to drink water along with it just to get it down. We couldn't stop eating it because the flavor was good, but it was just so dry. Sad sad. I hope it's not supposed to be like that?

Mexico

Crispy Shrimp Taco (Chipotle Lime Mayo and Cabbage on Flour Tortilla)

I loved this. I love all the components of this, the crispy shrimp, the crunchy cabbage, the spice of the sauces, and squeeze of lime. I love how acidity in a dish can really bring out all the other flavors. This was spot on. I could go for whole plate of these!

Poland

Kielbasa and Potato Pierogie with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream

Errrr, not my favorite. The kielbasa was pretty generic, though I don't think I should of expected any different. This was my first time trying pierogies, and these were chewy, soggy, and cold. It was really unappetizing. I'm not sure if that's how they're supposed to be? The caramelized onions were good though. :-/ Blech.

Scandinavia

Taste of Scandinavia (Shrimp Salad, Cured Salmon, and Herring)

I really loved this. I think it's probably because I grew up eating in a lot delis that had fish salads and smoked fish. I loved the cured salmon with the dill sauce. The shrimp salad was good too, though it probably could of used a little less sauce. The herring well, even though I grew up eating a lot of deli food, pickled herring was never one of my favorites. Joseph liked it though.

South Africa

Seared Filet of Beef with smashed Sweet Potatoes and Braii Sauce

Meat was good and tender. The potatoes were good. The sauce, for me personally was not good, and that's only because it reminded me of flavors in Indian food. Like sushi, I'm one of the few people on earth who does not really like Indian food. I'm sure most people would like it then, and I'm just weird.

South Korea

Lettuce Wrap with Roast Pork and Kimchi Slaw

I liked this probably for the same reasons I liked the taco. All of the components in here just worked perfectly together. I loved the sweet pork with the spice of the kimchi slaw, and the crisp lettuce. I'm not entirely sure what the sauce was on top, but I know it had sesame seeds in it. I really enjoy a mix of textures and flavors in food.

My overall favorites:

Australia Lamp Chop

France Coq au Vin

South Korea Boolgogi BBQ Beef

Mexico Crispy Shrimp Taco

Greece Chicken Souvlaki

These trips were filled with some hits and a few misses. Overall, I really enjoyed the Food & Wine festival. I understand a lot of these foods were probably tamed down for the American palette, which is understandable. I had not even heard of or tried a majority of these things before, and it was great to have an opportunity to try something different. Despite my lack of food knowledge, I think this helped me to understand what types of flavors and components I like in food. It was fun and delicious experience!

Happy Tuesday!

Essence @holographics.com Gagalectric

2011-11-07T11:51:00.000-05:00

I saw the Essence @holographics.com collection a few months ago at Ulta. This is a case where I get impulsive because Essence collections can be hard to find in the US, so I picked these up. These are not holographic polishes in the slightest. These are duochromes. They had 3 colors, but I'm just sharing one with you today. Sadly, 2 of 3 colors are quite sheer, and look pretty icky on their own. I don't regret getting these because over certain colors they looked great.

Gagalectric over Orly Cashmere Cardigan

Gagalectric is a sheer lavender shimmer infused with a bright blue duochrome flash.

This is really stunning layered! The blue flash is intense. I love how it completely changed the look of the Orly. I did not bother to show you it on its own. The duochrome and pigmentation of this color are lackluster by itself. I would never wear this alone. I think us nail addicts are on the same brain wave, so I don't think many of you would find it attractive on its own either.

Happy Monday!

Share With You Sunday: 10/30/11-11/06/11

2011-11-06T12:28:00.003-05:00

Be sure to submit links for this post. If you don't see me add your post today, it will be added next week.

I think I'm going to keep with the quizzes instead of pictures. I think they're fun and it's neat to find out what results other people get! :)

Quiz of the Day:

What Color Green Are You?

My Results:

You are Teal Green

You are a one of a kind, original person. There's no one even close to being like you.
Expressive and creative, you have a knack for making the impossible possible.
While you are a bit offbeat, you don't scare people away with your quirks.
Your warm personality nicely counteracts and strange habits you may have.

Post your results in the comments!

Nails:
Chalkboard Nails teaches us how to do sheep nail art.
Sonoma Nail Art creates a clever Unicorn Puke manicure.
Fashion Polish gives us a sneak peak of the OPI Holland collection.
MaD Manis shares with us her yellow rubber ducky nails part of the 31 day challenge.
MandysSecrets shows us her yellow Pikachu nails part of the 31 day challenge.
Nails Made Simple shares with us her Top 5 October polish favorites.
Never Unpolished shows us her orange crackle nails part of the 31 day challenge.
Polished Claws Up swatches Lynnderella Gotta Love Brains.
The Nailasaurus shares with us her fashion inspired manicure for the 31 day challenge.

Beauty:
For Me , It Works shares with us her October favorite products.
Makeup Withdrawal shares with us an eye look using WnW I <3 Matte palette.
Phyrra swatches NYX matte lipsticks and concealers.
Power Femme shares with us her October favorites.
The Nail Polish Enthusiast reviews OPI Avojuice lotion.

Miscellaneous:
i heart cvs gives us a sneak peek of CVS' Black Friday flier.
The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle shares with us her sunflower cookies.

What You're Loving:
The Lacquered Lady reviews OPI Warm and Fozzie and Essie School of Hard Rocks.
the epitome of superficiality shares with us her Deepavali inspired manicure.
Do It Yourself....Beauty Tips shows us her MAC Gorgeous Gold Smokey Eye EOTD.
I Drink Nail Polish shares with us Part 1 of the Color Club Scent-Suous collection.
The Queen of the Nails reviews MAC Coco Clay and Oyster Shell.
Craftsyles shares with us one of the upcoming "it" colors for spring fashion.
Pieces of Beauty swatches Maybelline Eyestudio palettes.

Happy Sunday!

Bottle Spam Saturday: Red Cremes Edition

2011-11-05T12:26:00.000-04:00

I appreciate you all giving my Revlon Raven Red post some love! I always notice red polish posts and red polish in general can get the short end of the stick. It's nice to know there are so many red polish fans out there.

Today, I have for you my red cremes. It's funny I talk about how much I love red, and I only have a few red cremes. I seriously thought I have more. I do have a lot more red shimmers and glitters to make up for the lack of cremes.

Be sure to vote for next week's bottle spam!

Milani Techno Red, Zoya LC, Sally Hansen High Voltage, & Misa Bikini with a Maritni

OPI Monsooner or Later, Zoya Maura, Pure Ice Siren, & Sinful Colors Gogo Girl

Zoya Sooki, Revlon Raven Red, Nina Ultra Pro Love Struck, Cult Nails Quench, & China Claze Velvet Bow

Happy Saturday!

butter LONDON Artful Dodger

2011-11-04T11:46:00.001-04:00

Butter London has definitely become my guilty pleasure polish. It is a brand that really is out of my price range, but I keep going back. I really love their color selection. Butter London has some type of hold over me. I do have a problem with Butter London though...for every few amazing near perfect polishes they put out there is one that comes out that just fails. I don't mean it fails color wise it fails formula wise. This is the story of Artful Dodger.

Artful Dodger

Artful Dodger is a dusty aqua-blue creme.

This is great shade that is super shiny and glossy looking. The problem with this is chipped within 24 hours for me. I don't mean small chips. These were massive chips. I put it on one night, and the next morning I got in the shower and I came out with huge ugly chips on my nails. I redid my nails again, and within hours chip central.

Sure, I could chalk it up to the shower. I could also say, maybe my base coat and top coat didn't work well with this polish. These are excuses I would be comfortable with if I paid $3-$8 for a polish. These are not acceptable acceptable excuses for a $14 polish. I should not have to adjust my life or my nail polish routine for a $14 polish to work. It's really annoying and it ticks me off. I've had problems with other Butter London polishes like No More Waity, Kaite and Big Smoke...

...Yet, I keep going back for more. I'm brainwashed by Butter London! Nah, it's just hard to completely write them off when some of their polishes have amazing formulation. Butter London Wallis I wore for a whole week and by day 8 I just had a tiny chip. It's frustrating, because I love the brand, but it irritates me as well. A polish that expensive should not have issues!

Butter London get it right!

Happy Friday!

Revlon Raven Red

2011-11-03T12:18:00.000-04:00

I already am skeptical about posting this. My red polish posts tend to get passed over :(. I know reds are not favorites among nail bloggers and nail polish addicts. I get they can be predictable and not really unique. The thing is I love reds. I think you really cannot go wrong with a great red. It's a classic, and I think everyone at least needs a few reds in their stash. This is one of my favorite red cremes.

Revlon Raven Red

Raven Red is a darker red creme.

This is not a blaring bright red. This is a great red creme for the fall/winter months. It would be a great red anytime of year really. It is slightly darker than other reds, but it's not vampy. This leans slightly to the blue-toned red side, but it's definitely reads more neutral on the nail. I think this would be a flattering red for many skin tones. Also this is a core line color, so it's not going anywhere.

Happy Thursday!

Orly Wild Wisteria

2011-11-02T12:30:00.000-04:00

*Que in Lord of the Rings music*

Hidden in many nail polish bloggers/addicts Helmers,Melmers, or other storage devices lies some incredible untried polish. It has not seen the light of day for many months or even years. This polish lies sad and depressed in the darkness of this cavernous container...hoping and wishing.... for the day its master will re-discover the beauty it once had. This is the story of Orly Wild Wisteria......

Orly Wild Wisteria

Wild Wisteria is a deep saturated blue-toned purple creme.

I bought this color back in 2009, and it's been sitting in the dark until I rediscovered it as a great base for Cult Nails Unicorn Puke. I forgot how much I absolutely adored this color. It is really the perfect dark purple creme. I don't think this is too dark either. I love how this color is so saturated. I get that fall colors lately are usually laced with some traces of gray to give them this "dusty" look, but I love straight up color. This is so rich and vibrant. I have this on my toes now, and I don't want to take it off! I even want to be all matchy-matchy and paint my nails with it too!

This color as many dupes or near dupes. As far as I know Zoya Pinta and OPI Sapphire in Snow are dupey to this, so if you have those you don't need this and vice versa. I'm so glad I rediscovered this! I feel bad for leaving it in my Helmer for 2 years :(.

What is a polish you neglected that you recently rediscovered?

Happy Wednesday!

Wet n' Wild Creepy Pumpkin & Black Magic

2011-10-31T12:13:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!

Today, I have for you 2 of the Wet n' Wild Fantasy Makers polishes I got this year. This will be a short post.

Creepy Pumpkin

Creepy Pumpkin is tangerine jelly with orange and gold glitter.

Black Magic (I got this one from Colour Coated, thanks! )

Black Magic is a black creme with silver and orange micro glitters.

These two fun polishes. I think Black Magic maybe dupey to WnW Blackmail. I love Creepy Pumpkin, there is nothing creepy about it though. I hope you all have a great Halloween!

Happy Monday!

Share With You Sunday: 10/9/11-10/30/11

2011-10-30T12:14:00.003-04:00

I'm back with Share With You Sunday! This is an accumlation of my favorites in the past 3 weeks. I tried to keep is small...

Be sure to submit links for this post.

Quiz of the Day:
I thought this would be a fun addition. My favorite boredom buster is Blogthings quizzes. Today's quiz is ...

"What's Your Personality Type"

My result:

(photo from Blogthings)

You Are An INFJ

The Protector

You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.
Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.
You are an excellent listener with almost infinite patience.
You have complex feelings, and you take great care to express them.

In love, you see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow.
You enjoy relationships when they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation.

At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support.You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful.

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable.

This sounds like me! Obviously this isn't scientific, just for fun.

I'd love for you to take the quiz too, and post your results in the comments. It will be fun to see our different personality types!

Nails:
LimitedAddictionNails shows us her jelly sandwich manicure.
Valentine Kisses swatches some Material Girl polishes.
Chalkboard Nails shares with us her Ice, Ice baby nails.
Makeup Withdrawal reveals to us Sinful Colors Nail Junkie's new formula.
Enamel Girls shows us OPI Pink Shatter.
Nail Nerd shows us her Peanuts inspired manicure.
Haute Lacquer shares with us her candy corn and spiders manicure.
Ali's Nail News shares with us some Halloween Manicures.
Nails in Nippon teaches us how to create Halloween Candy nails.
Nails Made Simple swatches NOPI Kim-Pletely In Love.
Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite! swatches Cult Nails In A Trance and Hypnotize Me.
Oooh, Shinies! shows us a-england Galahad with flakies.
Posh for Polish shares with us her Halloween Spooky Meadow nails.
Rainbows & Sparkles shows us her Neon Rainbow Gradient + Black Water marble manicure.

Beauty:
Musings of a Muse shows us a preview of Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes Mascara Gold Sparkles.
Aquaheart's Obsessions shares with us her favorite drugstore lipsticks.
makeup CRAZIE! shows us her fresh-faced FOTD.

Miscellaneous:
Glorious Treats teaches us how to make caramel apples.
Alizarine teaches us how to make spiced pumpkin cookies.
Clumps of Mascara shows us some of her LUSH Halloween goodies.
kittypolishnbags shares with us her lip look using Violent Lips.

What You're Loving:
Make-up/Music/Money/Me shares with us fall nail polish trends.
The Lacquered Lady swatches L'Oreal Watchful Owl's Gaze eyeshadow palette and Wet n' Wild's Correction Tape polish.
Lisa's Nailcare Blog shares with us her blog.

Remember to post your quiz results in the comment section!

Happy Sunday!

Bottle Spam Saturday: Purple Shimmers Edition

2011-10-29T13:11:00.000-04:00

You all voted. Purple Shimmers was the winner! I pretty much defined purple shimmers as any purple with shimmer in it, so it's not exclusive to purples with purple shimmer. These are purples with purple shimmer and other color shimmers.

I really would like to do red cremes next week, so I'm going to hold off on voting until next week. Sorry kids, I don't think red will ever get chosen, and I like reds! :P

Here are the purple shimmers!

Essence Gagalectric, Zoya Zara, Maybelline Goody Plum Drop, & Sally Hansen Lively Lilac

Zoya Dannii, NYX Girls Golden Lavender, Pure Ice Purple Reign, & Max Factor Vivid Violet

LA Girls Habit, Color Club Ultra Violet, Sinful Colors Sagitta, & Sally Hansen Adoring Amethyst

Revlon Perplex, OPI Catherine the Grape, Essie Viva la Vespa, & Milani Purple Rush

Cult Nails Enigmatic, Cover Girl Purplexed, Zoya Savita, & Milani Dot Com

Sally Hansen Grape Going, a-england Avalon, Wet n' Wild Sea Witch, Rimmel Night Before, & Revlon Grape

Happy Saturday!

CND The Look for Fall/Winter 2011

2011-10-28T12:07:00.000-04:00

**Please bear with me. I'm basically completely bogged down with stuff until December 13th. So, I'm probably going to be scheduling a lot of posts and I'll be slow to get back to you on comments. I appreciate you all understanding and reading my blog!**

I've been craving a gold flakie polish for the first time. I love iridescent flakies, but I really wanted a gold. I was over the moon when I found out CND was making one. I was even happier to find out they paired it with cool-toned colors. I love blues, purples, and greens mixed with gold. It is absolutely my favorite combo, and they do not do this in nail polish a lot.

CND The Look For Fall/Winter 2011

You get 24K Sparkle Effect, Midnight Sapphire, & Dark Amethyst

Midnight Sapphire

Midnight Sapphire is a deep blue creme.

Midnight Sapphire w/ 24K Sparkle Effect

Dark Amethyst

Dark Amethyst is a deep plum creme.

Dark Amethyst with 24k Sparkle Effect

24k Sparkle Effect are golden irregularly shaped flakies in a clear base.

What's awesome about these flakies is they're not all created equal. They come in different sizes and vary in opacity. I think there is also a hint of some type of micro shimmer in here. This is amazing! This is what I've been wanting. These flakies do not drown out the base color which I like. They're noticeable, but it looks like it's meant to be on the polish if that makes sense.

The individual colors Midnight Sapphire and Dark Amethyst have superb formula. I could almost get away with doing one coat of these. The formula is smooth and it dries very shiny. This was my first experience with CND polishes outside of the effects, and I'm very impressed.

I got this set on Nailsupplies.us for $14.50. I think this is fair price. Unfortunately, you cannot buy these separately, but if you've wanted a gold flakie, I don't think this will deter you much!

Happy Friday!

Cult Nails Unicorn Puke (Extremely Pic Heavy)

2011-10-26T12:45:00.003-04:00

I think with this post the less words the better.

Introducing everything you love adore to the infinite power in a little bottle.....

Cult Nails Unicorn Puke over Orly Wild Wisteria

over black

4 coats on its own

Unicorn Puke is a sheer purple jelly base loaded with red,blue,green, and perhaps other multi-colored flakies.

This polish looks great layered, it's great on its own if you don't mind putting on 4 coats.

Unicorn Puke was a limited edition polish, only 275 were released and it was sold out quickly. Fear not, it will be re-released under the name Clairvoyant in the Cult Nails Winter collection. I'm unsure of the release date of the winter collection, but follow Cult Nails and Maria's blog for updates.

My advice to you is you absolutely 100% need this polish. This is probably a bit pushy, but if you're debating this between some other polish, who cares about the other polish! Get this one!. This is undoubtedly the best polish I have ever seen in my life. I know with my excessive pictures here and my absolute dedication of love to this polish it may seem like I'm exaggerating or pushing it a bit. I'm not, it really is that amazing. I mentioned this on Twitter, what you see in pictures is amazing, but in person it is 10x that!

Happy Wednesday!

Talk It Out Tuesday:The Blogging Unwritten Code of Conduct.

2011-10-25T12:15:00.002-04:00

**This could be a controversial post. I'm going to test out the waters with this one. It's fine to have differing opinions here, but keep it respectful and constructive. I will not tolerate mean comments or personal attacks, and they will be deleted. If I find topics like this too be too controversial I will no longer have them.**

Talk it Out Tuesday is a monthly, sometimes twice monthly post where I present a topic on beauty, nail polish, or blogging to be discussed. I present my opinions on the topic and then I invite you to contribute. These posts are meant to bring about constructive discussion on topics we normally do not have an opportunity to discuss.

Today's topic is the Blogging Unwritten Code of Conduct a.k.a. Blogging Etiquette.

What I mean by this is that there are general rules that all bloggers seem know about or expect their followers and other bloggers to abide by. The problem is, these rules are not set in stone, and not everyone is aware of them so it can cause issues.

The 2 things I can think of that come up with this issue are "comment spammers" and "picture thieves".

**Please note I'm not trying to downplay these issues. I know myself included that despite good people or bad people these incidents can be frustrating and very annoying**

Comment Spammers

When I first got into blogging. I was unaware that sharing links in blogger's comment section was a complete no no. I had considered posting my link in a few blog comments. In fact, I may of actually done it a few times. Then for some reason, I got a inkling that maybe this was not right. I ended up asking some people who told me this was considered spam. Did I think I was spamming? No not really, I thought I was just sharing my link with others. I did not see it as a bad thing at first. I do understand now it is self promotion on someone else's blog.

Now, as a blogger I see it done on my blog, and I'm quick to judge people in a negative light who do that. I even go to Twitter or Facebook to rant about comment spammers. The truth is like me previously, I'm sure many of these people do not realize this is bad. They have absolutely no clue this is considered rude. How are they supposed to know if they are brand new to the blogging world? How can we expect people to know?

I think there is also a difference. I think there are people who are aware and do it frequently without any care in the world. There are people who do it despite being told in the comment section that it's not allowed. That is frustrating, but I think we all should be more patient when it could be someone's first mistake, my self included.

Picture Thieves

I'm sure I'll get flack for this one. I clearly know there are people out there who steal pictures and steal peoples posts and pictures purposefully . There are also people who try to pass on this work as their own (i.e. LUUUX) or eBayers who continuously use people's swatch photos. This is absolutely wrong and needs to be stopped, however, there are some people who use peoples images who simply do not realize it is wrong.

I've seen people use other people's images in a positive light to show something awesome someone did or they find a picture on Google and use it on their blog to show other people something they don't have etc. These people I truly believe are completely innocent, and just need a friendly note or reminder that they need to credit the photo or not use the photo.

I've seen bloggers handle this well, and I've seen bloggers handle this not so well. I've seen people completely attack, vilify, and completely humiliate what are otherwise kind people because they made an innocent mistake in their ignorance. I think the frustration is certainly warranted, but we need to take a breather first. I feel like as bloggers we need to be proactive, versus reactive. I think a lot can be solved in a private respectful email. This is not always the case, but I think it's necessary step before taking farther action if you are ignored.

I'm not saying this about people who repeatedly steal pictures and ignore peoples requests to stop. I'm talking about these one time incidents that get blown out of proportion and are handled badly. We all make honest mistakes. Let's not burn every person at the stake because they make a boo boo.

--------------------------------------------

One final issue that I think is a little differnent is "anonymous mean commenters". I feel like this is a rule that should be common sense. People should not have to be directed on this one, they should just know better!

Anonymous Mean Commenters

This is something I thankfully have yet to encounter on my own blog. I've seen this done on other blogger's blogs, and some of the stuff I've read it is just flat out disgusting and hurtful. I cannot tell people what to do. People can pretty much behave how they'd like on the internet, however, I wish it was different.

My problem isn't so much with people not revealing themselves when writing a nasty comment, but why even put it on the person's blog in the first place? Like I mention on the top of this post, it's totally cool if you have constructive feedback, but just mean-spirited nonsense is not ok. Again, like the other things I mentioned if you have an issue with someone email them personally. Why embarrass and harass them on their blog?

I think I idealize blogging and people too much, and it disappoints me that people behave so cruelly to people. Oh well.....

---------------------------------------------------

These are just a few of what I think are dozens of rules in regards to blogging etiquette that we expect everyone else to understand, but really don't (sans anonymous mean commenters). I said I'm guilty of this myself. I am quick to judge people who make these mistakes. I'm quick to go to Twitter to air my grievances, not realizing that I am very much alienating and making other people around me feel insecure and uncomfortable. It is wrong, and I apologize.

There are a few things I take issue to in the blog-o-sphere. Let's be honest here. Do we really like every blogger and every blog? Of course not. Are there situations and actions involving people we do not agree with? Of course. This is only natural. There is no law requiring everyone to like one another and be friends. There are no requirements you must subscribe and enjoy every blog out there. There are just better ways to deal with these things.

Vent to your friend about it. Bit*ch, moan, and complain all you want. Don't take it to the public forum though. I think bloggers have to mindful even though we are regular people that people look up to you in a way and do follow your every move. In the case of anonymous mean commenters..come on now...really? Just be respectful guys.

What are your thoughts on this issue?
What are some other unwritten rules in the blogging world you have an issue with?
Are there certain rules you think should be a given and universally understood without them being written in stone?

Happy Tuesday!

Barielle Buddha-Ful

2011-10-24T12:30:00.000-04:00

If there is any type of polishes I still cannot control my impulses on it is flakie polishes. I have that same urge I had to buy them all like I did with all types of nail polish when I first got into blogging. I cannot turn down a flakie, so when I found Barielle had one out I had to get it.

Buddha-ful

Buddha-ful is a milky nude sheer with iridescent green/pink flakies.

This polish is awesome. This to me has the similar effect as Revlon Starry Pink. It's a subtle shade with a punch, but not so much it takes away the softness of the color. I sure hope that makes sense. What is great about this it's opaque in 3 coats. You don't have to layer this on until the end of time to get opacity. It looks great on its own, but you can layer it too if you'd like.

Here is it layered over China Glaze Sea Spray

Very pretty! I'd really only recommend layering this over lighter shades. The reason I say this because the base of Buddha-ful is a nude not clear, so if you layer it will alter the shade of the polish underneath. It will do the same for lighter shades as well, but it's not as noticeable.

If you like flakies I think this one should be on your list!

Happy Monday!

Mini Share With You Sunday

2011-10-23T11:16:00.000-04:00

I've been a bad blogger. I did not post "Bottle Spam Saturday" yesterday, and I'm not positing a full "Share With You Sunday" today. I am so behind in blogging it is embarrassing to me. I am easily 2 months behind in swatching. I just have not had the spare time to really sit down and catch up. I will catch up though when I have a good lull in my school work. Next week I'll have Bottle Spam and Share With You back up.

In the meantime....yesterday I went to blogger meetup with many great bloggers and some other awesome ladies. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed it. There are a lot of great people out there in this blog-o-sphere!

Here are the bloggers I met up with yesterday. Feel free to check out their great blogs!

Cult Nails
Clumps of Mascara
The Polish Lab
Phyrra
Once Bitten
Libby's Pink Vanity

I also got my bottles of Cult Nails Unicorn Puke yesterday. Holy clamcakes people, this polish is a million billion times prettier in person than it is in pictures. That is saying a lot my friends, because in pictures it looks stunning too. If you got this one your jaw will literally drop!

Happy Sunday!

Imperfectly Painted

China Glaze Electric Pineapple

Sally Hansen Whisper

LA Splash Ocean Fairy

China Glaze BFF

butter LONDON Nail Foundation Base Coat & Hardwear Top Coat Review

Share With You Sunday: 01/15/12-01/22/12

Bottle Spam Saturday: Pink Shimmers & Glitters Edition

China Glaze Make Some Noise

Revlon Posh

Talk it Out Tuesday: Do you buy into hype? Are you an impulsive shopper?

Share With You Sunday: 01/08/12-01/15/12

Bottle Spam Saturday: Pastels Edition

Revlon Top Speed Electric

OPI Miami Beet

Icing Rock Star From Mars

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Golden Tourmaline

Share With You Sunday: 01/01/12-01/08/12

Bottle Spam Saturday: Black/Gray/White

Franken The Final Frontier

Urban Outfitters Bandeau

Talk It Out Tuesday: U + Nail Polish 4EVER?

Claire's Galaxy

Best of 2011 Results! (Very Pic Heavy)

Bottle Spam Saturday: Top 20 Edition

Top 20 of 2011: Part 4

Top 20 of 2011: Part 3

Top 20 of 2011: Part 2

Top 20 of 2011: Part 1

Cult Nails Time Traveler

Share With You Sunday: 12/18/11-12/25/11

Bottle Spam Saturday: Random Grab 1 Edition

Orly Frolic

Venique Twinkling Snow

Zoya Feel Collection

OPI Rainbow Connection

Share With You Sunday: 12/11/11-12/18/11

Bottle Spam Saturday: Maybelline Edition

Orly Oui

Franken Dragon's Lair

Talk It Out Tuesday: The Pros & Cons of Giveaways + Tips

Girly Bits Sea's the Day Polishes

Share With You Sunday: 12/4/11-12/11/11

Bottle Spam Saturday: Silver/Gold/Bronze Edition

LA Girls Color Addict Delirious

Color Club Foiled Collection

Misa Toxic Seduction

China Glaze Velvet Bow

Urban Outfitters Barstool

Vote for the Best of 2011!

Share With You Sunday: On Hiatus

Bottle Spam Saturday: Blue Cremes Edition

Happy Holidays Giveaway Winners!

Essie Shine of the Times

Models Own Beetlejuice Collection

Talk It Out Tuesday: The Pros & Cons of PR

China Glaze Holly-Day

Share With You Sunday: 11/20/11-11/27/11

Bottle Spam Saturday: Red Shimmers and Glitters

Sinful Colors Suede Shoes

Essence Underwater

China Glaze Glittering Garland

OPI Windy City Pretty

Share With You Sunday: 11/13/11-11/20/11

Bottle Spam Saturday: Glass Fleck Edition

China Glaze Ring in the Red

Talk It Out Tuesday: Blogger Confessions

Happy Holidays Giveaway! *CLOSED*

Share With You Sunday: 11/6/11-11/13/11

Bottle Spam Saturday: Dark Blues Edition

Nicole by OPI Kim-pletely in Love

China Glaze Snow Globe

LA Girl Idol

Around the World...Somewhat Part 2

Essence @holographics.com Gagalectric

Share With You Sunday: 10/30/11-11/06/11

Bottle Spam Saturday: Red Cremes Edition

butter LONDON Artful Dodger

Revlon Raven Red

Orly Wild Wisteria

Happy Holidays Giveaway! CLOSED