My Polish Collection

Thursday, November 28, 2013

She's a Peach

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Glad you stopped by today for some nail art love.  I have a peach and gold mani for you today that looks like ripples in a pool to me, or like raindrops on the water and the ripples thereafter.  I've done it in peach and gold because I really liked that combination for the holidays.  Take a look:  



There's probably a similar design to this on a stamping plate; I feel like I've seen it around.  However you can accomplish this design as I have with a thin brush and just painting circles and half circles and filling in some spaces with solid color for accent nails depending on your preference.  The base polish for this manicure is
e.l.f. Party Peach which does have a very subtle gold shimmer from which I drew the inspiration for this look, but it's very hard to see on the nail.  Here it is at two coats:

Hope you enjoyed this look today and I'll meet you back tomorrow.  Happy Turkey Day and try to make every day Thanksgiving!

Song of the Day: Empire of the Sun- Celebrate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVgd83MK2W0
*this link is provided for its audio content only*

Over and out.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Just a Sliver

Hi, how the heck are ya today?  I have a very chic look for you to try for your holiday events this season. This look takes the classic nude nail and turns up the heat just a little.  When you add the little cut out of red and gold it gives just a sliver of daring to your nail art and you will be able to liven up a very classic nail without being too loud.  Take a look- what do you think?



Do you think you'll give this look a try?  I hope you do, and I know you'll get many compliments on rockin' this look.  The base polish I used for this manicure is e.l.f. Desert Haze.  Here it is at two coats:
Thanks for stopping by today; I hope you enjoyed this look and my little world of nail art served to brighten up your day!  See you back tomorrow

Song of the Day: Miike Snow- Sans Soleil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaeYVsB6XTY
*this link is provided for its audio content only*

Over and out.

Monday, November 25, 2013

Not Your Everyday Snowflake

Well, hello.  It's Monday again; time to start off your week right- with nail art- OF COURSE.  :)  I have another pattern here that you accomplish by drawing small triangles over and over, and when you don't fill the whole nail you end up with a snowflake.  I thought it was really cute and the idea actually was inspired by, surprise surprise, Zentangle.  Take a look- you could do only snowflakes and leave off the whole grid and you have a great holiday nail art.



I thought the dark blurple silver fleck from Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Quick Jeanius created a nice backdrop- kind of like a starry night.  This color is a fabulous one-coater and I absolutely love the color!

Well I hope you give this look a try and let me know how it turns out for you!  Have a great day and I'll see you back tomorrow!

Song of the Day: Bombay Bicycle Club- How Do You Swallow So Much Sleep?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgvBmEmtF-I
*this link is provided for its audio content only*

Over and out.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Red Carpet Rose

How's your Sunday going so far today lovelies?  I had such a great time last night with my hubby; we went to Catching Fire and loved it!  Afterward we went to the mall to look for a few things and my sweetheart strode right into Sephora and picked up The Twenty-Two for me because he had heard me say I wanted it.  The thing that's great about this set is you get to try out the new formula that Sephora has put out called Formula X in all the ways it comes- cream, neon, effects, and special effects top coat. Here's what it looks like, front and back.  Sorry about the wicked glare from the packaging.

What a sweet husband, I tell you :)  Let me know if you want to see a review of these polishes- if there's any in particular you want to see, or I could just do one or two from each kind of polish included.  We had such a nice time just being the two of us.

Ok, on to the nail art.  I just did a classic black and red combination today.  I wanted to try out this beautiful rose silhouette and I added some less-than-classic french tips to go with it.  What do you think?



This would be a great look for a more dressy holiday party or a dinner date, or to wear around anywhere if you're like me :)
The base polish- this rockin true red is Ulta Red Carpet Red.  Isn't it gorgeous?  It's a little bit of a crelly- just a tad more thin than a cream polish, which I think gives it a more sophisticated feel.  You know, the Ulta polishes I think are on sale for like a buck right now at Ulta and they really all have a great formula and you can't beat the price.  I think they've changed their bottles now but it's all the same colors and I'm sure formula, so just a tip for the thrifty shopper :)  This is Red Carpet Red at two coats with no top coat.

And that's it from me today.  I hope you're enjoying your weekend and that you enjoyed this look today.  Hope to see you back tomorrow for more nail art love.  XOXO

Song of the Day: Young Giant- I Got
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rJTHtoEDMA
*this link is provided for its audio content only*

Over and out

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Saturday Random Swatching 11/23/2013

Oh hey there! You came to watch me play! :)  Today I'm pulling out 10 swatches from my "to post" file at random and we're going to look at the formula and color of each and I'll give you my rating on each.  Then you tell me which you liked the best.  Let's get started.

This standout red shine is Orly Torrid.  It actually has very intense micro shimmer but it's more visible in person.  This is two coats, and like most Orly polishes, the formula is easy, no fuss.  This one is just so sweet, it looks edible to me.  I give it an A.




For my pink shade today I pulled out China Glaze Pure Elegance which is this really gorgeous light pink sheer shimmer.  What you're looking at is three coats, so you have to really like sheer pinks to enjoy this shade.  Honestly it kinda threw me off when I started swatching just because you do have to use more product than a more opaque polish to get the coverage I like.  What do you think?  Is that an issue for you?  I mean it is very beautiful in its delicacy.  I suppose I rate it a B because it wasn't necessarily a bad formula, just not my cup of tea.




Ooook, this is pure love in a bottle- it's Zoya Dhara.  I know I may love textured polish more than the average nail polish enthusiast, but I mean how can you not love this sunburst in a bottle?  Zoya does the textured trend so perfectly.  It applies so nicely onto the nail, this is two coats, but you probably could do one.  The bright but deep orange paired with the flashy gold is just perfection!  A




Sally Hansen Lustre Shine Plume is another of Sally Hansen's duochrome offerings.  I have to say, they did a pretty good job with their color-shifting polishes.  I compare them to the China Glaze and Models Own ones because I haven't tried the Chanel, but this is shifting quite nicely on my nail in this picture, and I didn't even layer it over black, which is a good trick to get your duochromes to reflect more color.  This is your gold/green combination and the formula was smooth and easy in two coats, which I also really appreciate.  A




Color Club Wild Cactus is this really vibrant aqua green crelly.  This color is just so delicious, but I do wish the formula hadn't been so flat.  This is two coats and I have to admit I removed this one rather quickly for fear of staining which is a shame because it is so pretty.  A-




Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Breezy Blue is your super pale blue cream with subtle shimmer.  Honestly I wished the formula had been a bit nicer on this one- but really pale shades are sometimes hard to get even just in general, and for just a couple bucks that this brand charges, you can't really expect the moon :)  I do think the shade is really unique and so refreshing and lovely.  For that I give it an A-




This really lovely inviting polish is Kleancolor Plum.  You're looking at two coats and it's smooth and easy to apply.  This brand, as I've mentioned before, requires a considerable dry time between layers and after you've top coated as well.  They do call themselves clean-color so they must have removed a drying ingredient that wasn't health-conscious or something.  Anyhow, just keep that in mind.  I feel like this is a rather murky purple while still being really feminine.  A




Ulta High Roller is this crazy icy, gold foil that is good to go in one coat.  It's so vibrant, so eye-catching, and perfect for your holiday parties.  Just love it.  A




Butter London Shambolic was honestly a bit of a disappointment.  Let's just say I'm glad I didn't pay full price for this little guy.  I found him at a Nordstom Rack and just had to pick him up but I think I have nearly this same shade from Revlon, and the formula isn't sticky and frustrating.  I guess I don't really like these gold and pink glitters in the black polish base.  I don't know, what do you think?  I give it a B.




L'oreal Brit Invasion is my polish of the week because one of my favorite things in when a brand does really great things with a neutral.  Neutral polishes are so great because you can wear them with anything, anywhere.  Loreal took this yummy gray chocolate and inundated it with gold/green shimmer.  That bottle shot is something, but look how well it transferred to the nail!  I have to say, its even more impressive on the nail.  It's cozy, chic, and exciting all at the same time.  Love it.  A+

And there you have it.  Another week has flown by and there are ten more swatches for you to maybe help you decide what you want to wear on your nails this week.  Hope you're well and you're having a fabulous weekend!  I actually get to have a date with my hubby which happens once in a blue moon(what other parents feel me on that one?) and so I'm very excited!  Love to you, and see you back tomorrow for some more nail art.

Song of the Day: Daft Punk feat. Paul Williams- Touch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHK9ZzVMtfU
*this link is provided for its audio content only*

Over and out.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Paisley Does It

Hey darlins.  Happy Friday to you all.  What shenanigans are you going to get into this weekend?  As for me I'm going to get my Catching Fire on :)  Who's with me.  I shoulda made nails inspired by the film! Let's just pretend one of the citizens of the Capitol has some great paisley print in their attire.  The base of this design is a really delicious peacock green metallic shimmer.  Here's what I came up with:



Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Jet Set Jade is the base for this design.  Here it is on its own at one coat.  Isn't it so beautiful?  The Insta-Dri line is one of my favorite drug store polishes for formula, and they came out with a handful of these metallic jewel-tones one coaters.  I only picked up a few of them but I really wish I would have gotten them all when I had the chance at buy one get one at Rite Aid a while back!

That's it from me today :)  I'll be back tomorrow with random swatching.  Until then, take care!

Song of the Day: Of Monsters and Men- King and Lionheart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A76a_LNIYwE
*this link is provided for its audio content only*

Over and out.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Bare Essentials

Quick one for you- not much explanation needed here.  Sometimes its really nice to go back to basics, right?  Always throw in a little twist though ;)



Hope you enjoyed this look and thanks for stopping by!  See you back tomorrow darlings.

Song of the Day: Dan Black- Let Go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOHuhI6Rcvw
*this link is provided for its audio content only*

Over and out.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Weekly Wrap-Up Wednesday: 11/20/2013

I know you have been anxiously awaiting...you can't wait to see... the photo roll of what we were up to this week!!  You shall wait no longer- it is here!  And if you're here for nails since that's what this blog is mostly about, well they'll be back tomorrow- don't you worry!

For starters, I can just never get over how beautiful the Fall season is and I wait in anticipation for the trees changing, the crisp air and the smell of rain every year.
This picture I liked in particular for its rainbow of leaves.  I love when I walk outside and the beauty of God's creations take my breath away.

On to the kiddos:

 Missy Bee always has to make her fashion statement of the week- this week is the striped  beanie of choice.  As always, sorry for some of these being blurry photo cam pics.

And as long as we're talking about fashion, there's the newest trend in hairstyling:


 Actually- this WAS a big week for hair because Missy Bee got herself a haircut thanks to Grandma.  Mommy got so tired of this little lady having her hair in her eyes that we finally said- time for a change!


These dudes didn't get their bangs cut, but they were there and witnessed the event.  They decided to show you how they feel when they get their hair cut:
 "Haircut? What? I could swear you said we were going swimming!  Where's the pool, peeps?"

"Haircuts?? You say what??  I will sing dubstep loudly in your general direction!"



Well after we had a haircut, of course little lady had to find brother's markers and do her face up right nice:


So Mommy cleaned her up and set her up to the table for some supervised marker pen fun.

 "Cheese!"

Unrelatedly- this picture was taken after I asked Bug to get a shirt on, so he went and found Mommy's jean jacket and put shoes on too- which obviously means he get's to go in the car...


Oh, and then the other thing that happened this week was that we all got the sickies.  There was a lot of laying on the couch like this:


Til we went like this:


And some more of this:


Bear says, having the flu is best depicted by this face:

But then our meanie little flu visitor left our house and we carried on through the week in peace.  And yes, the packing began, and then stalled because of the flu, and then began again.  Soon it will be thrown into full force:

And that was our week.  What was your week like? Was it filled with work? play? sickies? cutie babies? packing? unpacking? Whatever you were up to I hope you were safe and sound.  We miss you and love you and hope to see you soon!  Hugs and kisses from us to you :)  See you again in a week!

Song of the Day: Sondre Lerche- (I Wanna) Call it Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZs-zcQXbAs
*this link is provided for its audio content only*

Over and out