Easy Halloween Nail Stamping

I can't believe the year is almost over. Less than 100 days to Christmas and one of my favorite Holidays is right around the corner.  Yassssss!  It's time for spooky lights and tons of candy!

While I won't be having all of the candy I want this year, I will make time for lots of fun decorations and manicures of course. 

I'm starting the Holiday season off with this easy nail stamping design. As I sorted through my stack of Halloween plates, I grabbed randoms which I thought were too cute to pass up.  I ended up with D04, W116, Handy 2, Handy 11, BM 209 and BM 224. All of these stamped over China Glaze Halloween 2015 green, orange and purple. 

Stamping colors: KleanColor Black and Purple Sapphire, Pure Ice Silver Mercedes. 

I think it turned out pretty cute (if I do say so myself :)

I hope you like this design as well. Thanks for stopping by!

OPI Color Paints Swatches and Review

Today I have swatches of the OPI Color Paint collection! They are "blendable" polishes that are supposed to melt easily together, to allow you to use your nails as a canvas and create easy nail art.  They are designed to be applied over a silver base, (which makes the color brighter) but I prefer the jelly-effect and thought I would share what they look like without the silver basecoat.

The colors are really pretty and represent almost every color of the rainbow.  I used 3 coats for each polish except the silver and yellow.  The finish is jelly-ish but not as sheer as a jelly. I was hoping the darker colors would be more sheer but unfortunately they are not.  I may try to make my own sister jellies by mixing with sheer polish.

Indigo Motif

Landscape Artist

Chromatic Orange

Pen & Pink

Purple Perspective

 Magenta Muse

Turquoise Aesthetic

Primarily Yellow

Silver Canvas Base Coat

 I really love the look of Primarily Yellow and Pen & Pink and wish I could achieve the same effect with the darker colors, but they are trickier to work with and can come off patchy or streaky (when trying to achieve a sheer look).  They do look great if wearing as a regular polish though and are extremely shiny.

Overall these are a lot of fun to play with. The colors blend really well together.  It does take some practice to get the hang of using these, the formula is more gooey/sticky than regular polishes.  I was able to create a very easy look by applying a base coat and simply dropping dabs of a second color on top.  

The Color Paint Collection will be available very soon at retailers that carry OPI.

~ Provided by PR for an honest review~

New Wet N Wild Silver Lake Polishes - Spring 2015 Swatches & Review

Hi beauties! Today I have the Wet N Wild Silver Lake collection to share with you.  Read more after the break.

OPI Hawaii Spring 2015 Collection - Swatches and Review

OPI Hawaii Spring 2015 Collection!!!

Hiya beauties! Today I have the OPI Hawaii Collection to share with you.  More pictures after the break.

Barielle Fall 2014 Me Couture Collection - Swatches and Review

Today I have the Barielle Me Couture Collection for Fall 2014 to share with you. The set consists of 6 gorgeous creme shades. 

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Review - Purplexed 6 Day Results!

Hey beauties! I wanted to share the results of my Sally Hansen Miracle Gel nails with you. The color I choose is #570 Purplexed from the Fired Up Metallics line. It's a gorgeous deep purple with a hint of shimmer. I applied 2 coats, without a base coat, and 1 coat of Miracle Gel Topcoat.

The polish dried within 1 hour. I was concerned I would nick it on something, but it dried without dents.  The shine of the topcoat did dull somewhat once completely dry. I was tempted to reapply the topcoat throughout the week, to enhance shine, but I wanted to use it as recommended.

Here are the results after 6 days of wear.  My pointer finger nail was already broken, so the polish chipped off more dramatically on that nail.  The other nails of more reflective of how the polish wears over time.  

I must admit it was nice to have my nails done throughout the week without having to worry about polishing them. The results were good.  I had minimal tip wear and the manicure could have lasted longer if my pointer nail wasn't broken.  

The results are not as shiny as UV gel nails, but the system does create a long lasting manicure without the need to re-polish.  I think the results would be even better with a lighter color, so that tip wear is not as obvious.

The Sally Hansen Miracle Gel polishes are available at retailers that carry Sally Hansen. The price in my area is $9.99 per polish, but the set that contains color + top coat ranges from $14.99 to $16.99.

~ Press Release~

NYC Crystal Coutoure Fashion Queen Collection

Hey Beauties! Today I have a few of the NYC Crystal Couture Collection to share with You.  The collection consists of 6 shimmering shades that can be worn alone or as top coats.  I have 3 of the six shades. 

From left to right: Queen's Jewels, NY Princess and Rule the City.

Queen's Jewels - Green base with bright green microglitter. I used 2 coats over white.

Rule the City - Grey base with silver and red microglitter. I used 1 coat over grey.

NY Princess - Dark purple base with medium light purple hex glitter and blue microglitter. I used 1 coat over dark purple.

All of the polishes have a medium consistency but went on thick enough to stand as a polish alone instead of a top coat.  NY Princess (purple) was the thickest of the three and my favorite from the set. I think these will be great for the Fall and the green reminds me of the Christmas season.  One of the best things about these polishes is the price point, at $1.99 it's easier to afford more.

I don't have a release date for the collection but they will be available at drug store chains that carry NYC.  Hopefully they will appear in your area soon!

~ Press Sample~

Milani Color Statement Collection - Summer Fall 2014

 I found the new Milani's at my local CVS hidden on a bottom shelf. Well not exact "hidden" but I could have easily passed them up. The polishes sport the new bottle shape, similar to Nails Inc but slightly larger. There were 12 polishes in the display: a couple of glitters, shimmers, cremes and 1 quick dry top coat.  I selected 4 colors along with the quick dry top coat.

Pink Roses

Hello everyone! Just wanted to share my nail of the day with you. For the base coat I used OPI Push and Pur-Pull. Then stamped using DRK-A image plate using Sally Hansen Lively Lilac, Presto Pink and Berry Swift. To add a little bling I stamped the tips with Color Club's Foil Me Once.

I hope you enjoyed this mani. Thanks for stopping by!

OPI Sheer Tints 2014 - Swatches and Review

Hello everyone! Today I have the new OPI Sheer Tint's to share with you. The collection is composed of 4 sheer jelly polishes.  I would say they are even more sheer than jellies, hence the name.  They add just a touch of color to your nails. The shine is strong since the colors are so sheer. The formula is interesting and almost gooey. I had a couple of strings of polish linger after it was applied.  

I'm Never Amberrassed - sheer amber that came across more yellow next to my skin.  I think this is my least favorite from the bunch due to lack of contrast. I'm sure it will look better against other skin tones. I used 2 coats. 

Be Magentale With Me - very pretty pink/magenta sheer. My favorite from the collection. I did have to use 3 coats though.

Don't Violet Me Down - gorgeous violet sheer. My ring finger smeared, probably because I didn't let the polish dry between coats. I used 3 coats. here. This is my second favorite.

 I Can Teal You Like Me - came across more blue against my skin tone, but I can definitely see the green.  I used 3 coats again.  

The colors are perfect for Spring and Summer. You can create some pretty interesting effects by layering glitters and stamping designs. I may try a few layering designs I've seen done in the past. OPI suggests to use them alone or as a top coat to add color and dimension.

If you're wondering the sheers are not as intense as other jelly polishes I own. With previous polishes I was able to get them pretty opaque with 4 coats, but I believe the sheers will take at least 5. As mentioned above, the formula is gooey and should be allowed to dry between coats. I believe that's why my Violet nail smeared. Overall I really like this collection and can't wait to play with them more. My favorites are Dont' Violet Me Down and Be Magentale With Me. 

 I don't have a release date for the Sheer's but hopefully they will be available soon!

~Provided by PR for an honest review~

Nicole by OPI Roughles Polishes - New for Spring 2014 - Swatches and Review

Hello everyone! Happy Saturday! Today I have the new Nicole by OPI Roughles swatches to share with your. This is a new line for Spring 2014 which features textured polishes. 

Zoya Zenith Holiday Collection 2013 - Swatches and Review

Hello beauties! I'm super excited to present the Zoya Holiday Winter Collection to you today. The are some stunners in here for sure. Enough talk, on to the swatches.

L.A. Colors Bows & Bling Nail Art Kit

Hello everyone! I hope you're doing great. Yesterday I stumbled upon this cute and inexpensive nail art kit at Wal-Mart. I was quite surprised because I've never seen L.A. Colors there before. I snatched both sets up immediately, then convinced myself to put one back. I settled for the bright colors versus the black/white/pink with silver glitter kit which I also loved. 

New Sally Hansen Insta-Dri and Xtreme Wear Fall 2013 - Swatches and Review

Hello lovelies! Today I have swatches from Sally Hansen's Fall Collection to share with you. I'm not sure if they're exclusive to Walgreen's but that's where I found them. And the best thing about it, they were BOGO 50% off! The Insta-Dri's didn't ring up on sale, but it's noted on the display so the manager honored it (50% off the regular price of $4.99).  The Xtreme Wears were on sale for $1.99.

There was also a mention of the Rent The Runway Sweepstakes on the display, where you can enter to win a 1 year supply of Sally Hansen nail polish  Wouldn't that be great! You can enter by going to Sally Hansen's Facebook page.

Anyway's on to the swatches. For the Insta-Dri's there is a collection of 8 foil polishes, which I only purchased six. I left behind a red and green I believe I may have dupes of. For the swatches,  I tried something different this time and included a swatch of a similar polish on my pinky finger.

Style Steel - Frosted caramel foil with reflections of pink. It looks more textured in person as if there's gritty pink sprinkles throughout.  Gorgeous 1 coater. My pinky is sporting OPI Pros & Bronze. 

Chop Chop Copper - Very thin copper foil. I'm wearing 3 coats and it was still sheer. OPI Pros & Bronze on the pinky again.

Pink Fast - I just loved this color in the bottle but didn't realize I already had a dupe.  Pinky finger Color Club Hot Like Lava.

Currant Trend - Magenta shimmer, not quite a foil. Lovely 3 coater. Pinky finger Klean Colors Metallic Fuchsia. 

No S-pear Time.  My least favorite from the collection. It reminds me of Christmas wrapping paper. Pinky finger Klean Colors Metallic Green. 

Quick Jean-ius. Gorgeous cobalt blue foil. Pinky finger Color Club Cold Metal.

For the Xtreme Wear collection, I only purchased 2 from the set. Yes. I'm surprised as well. I was really excited to see all of the shimmering glitters but upon closer inspection many of them felt dupe-y to me.   I could be wrong, but it just felt like I've seen them all before (think Deborah Lippmann Today Was A Fairytale, Boom Boom Pow, Revlon Sequins, Connect the Dots, and so on...).

Confetti Punch - medium dark blue hex glitter, medium light blue/green glitter, small pink glitter and pink micro glitter. I wish it was more dense but who can complain for 2 bucks. I applied 2 coats over Pink Fast.

 Confetti Cake - I thought this was the prettiest and most interesting from the bunch. Large black glitter, medium blue, navy and pink glitter, small pink glitter, pink micro-glitter. I may be missing a glitter or 2, LOL. Whatever the case, I love the mix and its my favorite from the 2 new lines. I applied 2 coats over Currant Trend.

Overall I think the X-treme Wears are a great and inexpensive way to slay your glitter craving. I just wish there were more unique combinations.  So many of them looked familiar to me.  I may go back and get the red/white and green/white glitter combos, but the others are pretty dupe-y in my opinion.

The color pay off with the Insta-Dri's is great and most of them only needed 1 coat, so you know what that means....they'll be great for stamping! The only 2 that gave me a little trouble was Chop Chop Copper. I believe it could be a 4 coater? I stopped at 3 and my nails were still see through. The other multi-coater was Currant Trend 3 coater? I stopped at 2.

I was so excited to find the new collections but I must admit I was a little disappointed to discover I had so many dupes. Overall I think the Insta-Dri's would be a great addition for anyone who loves foils or nail stamping. The glitters are just fun to play with and will make many glitter lovers happy :)

NOTD: Apipila Pink Flowers

A quick post to share my NOTD.  For the base I used MISA Double Dutch and stamped with Zoya Carly using an image plate from Apipila, p2.  

Carly stamps very well. 

I really like the way it turned out. Fancy but not too over the top for the office. 

I hope you like it. 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Shimmer Polish Swatches and Review

 Happy Sunday! I hope you're having a great day today.  I'm just happy to have a day off work where I can relax at home and let my brain rest. Today I have a few Shimmer polishes to share with you. Shimmer polish creates glitters named after her friends and family and uses many types of pigments and glitters to create her own special polishes. I was contaced by the owner of Shimmer and I am very excited to share a few of her collection with you.

OPI James Bond "Bond Girls" Liquid Sand Collection - Swatches and Review

Happy Easter!  I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday. I didn't realize Easter was so early this year, so I didn't plan anything special. I'm also new in town, so I really don't feel at  home yet. It's weird, the only time I miss my old town is during the Holiday season which is normally spent with family.  I still had a great day with my girls and they are stuffed with Easter goodies :)

Today I tried something a little different. I made swatches using video instead of doing still photos. I'll probably go back and take still images later, but I've been wanting to do a video for a while, so I finally jumped out there.

This is my first video ever, so please be kind. I realize now that I was way too close to the camera, LOL. I have a lot to learn, but I still think the video is okay for a first try.

Hope you enjoy the swatches. I also added in a couple of polishing techniques. They're probably a little unorthodox, but its my way of doing things. Enjoy :)

Click here to watch the video.

The Bond Girls Collection will be in stores May 2013 at Ulta and other fine retailers that carry OPI.

*The above products were sent to me for an honest review. My opinions are my own*

OPI Euro Centrale Collection Spring Summer 2013 - Swatches and Review

Today I have the OPI Euro Centrale Collection to share with you! The collection is inspired by Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary and Poland. 

OPI Mariah Carey Spring 2013 Collection - Swatches and Review

Today I have the Mariah Carey Collection to share with you.  Being a long time fan, I was very excited to hear that OPI would launch this collection. I had read about her love neutral polishes so I never expected her line to include glitter or more unique polishes. The set includes 8 polishes, 4 of which are Liquid Sand or textured polishes as I like to call them.

First I'll show you the non-sand polishes. 

A Butterfly Moment

A Butterfly Moment is a mauve pink with a slight shimmer and the only neutral in the line. From the look of the bottle I thought the formula would be more sheer but it's actually more opaque. It went on smoothly in 2 coats. 

Sprung

A golden rose-bronzy shimmer with a very thin formula. I had to use 4 coats to achieve this look. It's very pretty and reminds me of Warm and Fozzie but with more red and less depth. 

Pink Yet Lavender

I topped off Sprung with the only glitter from the line, Pink Yet Lavender. I used one thick coat.  PYL is a gorgeous holographic glitter with small and medium hex glitter throughout. It almost reminds me of Teenage Dream but it's turned up about 4 octaves. Very glamorous!

Anti-Bleak

I haven't heard much buzz about Anti-Bleak but it's really beautiful. A vibrant plum that applied smoothly in 2 coats. A surprise favorite. 

Now let's take a look at the Liquid Sands. I love an interesting textured polish.

The Impossible

A bright cherry red that leans more pink. Is that even possible?  The base is more pink with red micro and medium hex glitters. It even has star glitter! I applied 2 thin coats which dried in about 5 minutes to a matte finish. 

The Impossible with Topcoat

Even more beautiful when wet. I applied 2 coats of Gelous Nail Gel Coat to achieve a smooth look. 

Stay the Night

This was love at first sight. In original pictures I thought the glitter was red, but it's actually more of a pink-fuchsia. I used 2 thin coats.

Stay the Night with Topcoat

I followed up with 2 coats of Gelous to achieve a jellied effect.  I love the glossy look!

Can't Let Go

Very stunning purple sand effect. It's much deeper and vibrant than my camera could capture. A surprise favorite. I used 2 thin coats.

Can't Let Go with Topcoat

I used 2 coats of Gelous to achieve the high gloss effect. This was the only sand that didn't look like a jelly with a topcoat but it's still gorgeous. 

Get Your Number

Another gorgeous sand, this time in a beautiful blue. I love how textured it is, like blue concrete. My camera made it about a shade lighter for some reason. I used 3 coats here because I tried to make it darker, but only 2 are necessary. It took about 15 minutes to dry because I used so many coats. 

Get Your Number with Topcoat

Looks amazing with a topcoat added. I used 2 coats of Gelous again to achieve this look. 

If you haven't noticed, all of the Liquid Sands get lighter when they dry and are closer to the color in the bottle when wet. Drying time varied from 5-15 minutes. The thicker the coat the longer it takes to dry. Most of them only require 2 very thin coats. When I noticed how dark the blue got with additional coats, I kept applying it, but it wasn't necessary. Instructions say no topcoat is required, but they are so pretty with a topcoat on, and most of them look like jellies layered over a glitter polish.

Overall I really love the collection, especially the Liquid Sands. Some people may not like this look, but I find them very interesting on the nail, and a good change from cremes. At least they came out with a mini collection so that you can sample each color before committing to large bottle. My favorites from the collection are Stay the Night, Can't Let Go, Anti-Bleak and Get Your Number.

The OPI Liquid Sands are now available at fine retailers that carry OPI.

*Sent for Review*