1st Blog Anniversary Giveaway ***Closed***

This Give-A-Way is now Closed.

Yay!!! My blog has turned one. I know I've been promising to do this for awhile now but I had a hectic semester with 9 classes, so it's taken me a lot longer than I expected to get things together.

Blogging has been a fun way to share my passion for nail polish and nail art with you! So to celebrate, I will award prizes to two lucky winners!

On to the Give-A-Way!!!

Rules & Such

1. Required - Must be a public follower via Google Friend Connect (GFC) - 1 entry. This will allow me to verify your entry.

2. Required - Complete the Entry Form below.

Optional/Additional Entries:

3. Add me to your Blog Roll/Side Bar - 3 extra entries

4. Like Enamel Girl on Facebook. Click here to like my Facebook Page - 3 extra entries

5. Create a Blog Post including a photo about this giveaway - 3 extra entries

6. There will be two winners. You can enter for Prize 1 or Prize 2, not both please. The winners must contact me within 48 hours after they are announced.

This give-a-way is open to US and International Readers.

A special thanks to the Zoya, China Glaze & Broadway Nails for help with sponsoring this giveaway!

Ends Friday, June 10th at 6pm US Central Time. Good luck everyone.

Prize 1 - Zoya & Nail Art

Prize 1 Winner will receive the Zoya Collection plus extras:
- Zoya Intimate Collection
- Kiss Catwalk Nail Set
- Nailene French Manicure Set
- Michael Jackson Image Plate
- Lace Image Plate
- ULTA Nail Stampy Kit
- Water Decals

Prize 2 - China Glaze & Nail Decals

Prize 2 Winner - will receive the China Glaze Collection plus extras:
- China Glaze Anchor's Away Collection (yes, all 12!)
- Broadway Nail Stickers
- Kiss French Manicure Set
- Hello Kitty Water Decals
- Covergirl White Crackle & Anti Freeze Glitter
- Sally Hansen Purple Diamond Nail Prism

Please complete the form to enter. The Give-A-Way ends Friday, June 10th at 6pm US Central Time. Good luck everyone.

OPI Blue Shatter Collection

Hello everyone! I'm wrapping up the new OPI swatches with the Blue Shatter Collection.

Turquoise Shatter is a vibrant shimmer, almost frosty turquoise, that can be paired with different colors to create a fun summer look. I really like the contrast of turquoise with orange and green.

Turquoise Shatter over: Zoya Jolene (pink), Color Club Pucci-licious (purple), Zoya Jancyn (orange) and Massini Neon Green. Excuse my middle finger, I nicked it right before the photo.

Sunlight

Shade

Navy Shatter over Color Club Yum Gum (neon). A very deep navy blue that almost looks black in the bottle.

Indirect Sunlight

Blue Shatter over Zoya Maura. Blue Shatter blue me away. I really like the brightness and shimmer-ri-ness of the blue, especially over red. It's like a nautical shatter effect. I wanted to stamp a big anchor on top but I was afraid I would ruin it.

Sunlight

Shade

Like the other OPI shatters, the Blue Shatters dry matte and can be gloss-sified with a top coat. To create the large cracks I applied one thick coat over dry polish. Smaller cracks can be created by applying a thinner layer of shatter over dry polish.


Blue Shatter, Navy Shatter, and Turquoise Shatter will be available beginning May 2011 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Shatter coat.

* The above products were sent to me for review. *

OPI Serena Williams Glam Slam Duos

OPI captures Serena Williams’ winning spirit with four additions to the Glam Slam! collection, including two new shades of the fashionable, must-have Shatter – Red and White. Launching in conjunction with the French Open, Glam Slam! France celebrates with two duo-packs for four unbeatable looks.

Spark de Triomphe & White Shatter

Spark de Triomphe is more gorgeous than I expected. It's described as silver but I see gold in my bottle, which combined with the silver, creates a beautiful champagne color.


Here the close-up shows the color variation along with the small and medium sized glitters. I used 2 thick coats.


Here's Spark de Triomphe topped with White Shatter. I used a thinner coat on the index finger to create smaller cracks. Although it is pretty with the glitter peaking through, I must say that I prefer Spark alone. It's definitely a head turner and a strong enough look to stand solo.

Rally Pretty Pink & Red Shatter

Pink-mauve with golden glass flecks. The color varies according to how the light hits the polish. It looks more golden and more pink/mauve at certain angles. This is a dupe for Zoya Faye. They're very much alike, but Rally in Pink requires 2 coats, while Faye requires 3.

Red Shatter over Rally in Pink creates subtle cracks with flecks of gold peaking through. It's not as dramatic as the other crackle effects because the colors are so similar, but it's still pretty and maybe even work appropriate for some. The red is almost jelly-ish which lends to the softer appearance.

I really like the sets but overall Spark de Triomphe was the standout for me. I like that it's neutral yet still very glamorous. White shatter is also neutral and can be paired with many brights over the summer to make it pop. I probably won't wear it a lot with Spark de Triomphe because it's gorgeous alone. Red Shatter is not as opaque as White or Black Shatter, therefore; it's not as dramatic. I personally like the pairing with Rally in Pink because it creates a softer look and that's difficult to capture with a shatter polish. Overall I believe OPI did a great job with the two new sets. The downside is that Rally in Pink is similar to Zoya Faye, so you may end up with two beautiful pinks :)


Glam Slam! France will be available beginning May 2011 at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and ULTA, for $14.95 ($20.95 CAN) suggested retail for each duo-pack.

* The above polishes were provided to me for review.*

Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat & Essence Nail Stickers

On my way home from Ulta I spotted the new Sally Hansen crackles at Walgreens. I would have gotten a close up but the sales lady was starring at me, lol. They were $6.99.

Click to Enlarge

I also FINALLY found the Essence nail stickers at ULTA. I've been looking for these girls since last year when I read a post by an International Blogger. The designs appear to be different than the original ones released. I hope I can get some good wear out of them. The package states you can wear them up to five days. They were priced at $2.49 and there's a separate nail file you can purchase to shape them for $1.99.

I choose the stickers with that I couldn't duplicate with Konad/fauxnad and the purple crackle, Vintage Violet 02. I'll go back for more crackles when the BOGO sale hits.

I'm still wearing my blue mani but here are some quick swatches of Vintage Violet over Silver, Yellow, Orange-Yellow, Mint, Pink, Orange and Baby Blue.

Thanks for reading! More swatches to come :)

Blue Monday

I thought I'd make a blue mani to match my blue mood. I used Revlon Royal which is a gorgeous dark navy blue jelly. It's opaque in two coats, but I only used one. For stamping I used Bundle Monster plate BM-207 which is one of my favorite plates from the new collection. The stamping polish is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Silver Sweep.

Royal is gorgeous but its amazing with CoverGirl Goddess topcoat.

A blurred pic to show the twinkling holographic Goddess. The glitter is very tiny and a little too dense for my taste. It could stand to be Frankend with clear polish to thin things out a bit.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you're having a better day than I am =)

Happy Mother's Day!

Hello to all the mothers out there! I hope you enjoyed your special day!!! Just a quick post to share my Mother's Day mani.

Sinful Colors Pink Forever. BM225

I really like this this oval leaf(?) design. I want to try it in black & silver, or blue & green.

BM207

Here's Pink Forever alone, a bright pink creme. I used 2 thick coats.

That's all for now. Have a great evening!

OPI Pirates of the Caribbean Collection Swatches + Silver Shatter

Hey Guys! I know I'm supposed to be studying for finals but I just couldn't resist playing with the Pirates of the Caribbean Collection! I've been looking forward to them all winter long and after a crazy weekend and weird final; I came home to find them at my doorstep. Talk about a mood enhancer. Anyways here are some quick swatches. Enjoy :)

Skull & Glossbones. Light grey/taupe. This one was thicker than I expected with a very smooth application. Two thick coats are all that was needed.

Stranger Tides. Light, dusty army-green that was popular this past season. This one was thinner than the others but also had a smooth application. I used 3 coats. A surprise favorite.

Steady As She Rose. Light dusty purple. This one was a little goopy and needed 3 coats.

Sparrow Me The Drama. Dusty pink/rose cream. I used 3 thin coats. Another favorite.

Planks A Lot. Muted purple, almost a jelly. Two coats. I didn't notice it was see through until I went outdoors, sorry about that. I wonder how similar this is to Butter London's Scoundrel. I almost ordered it this weekend, but now I'm glad I didn't. My favorite from the collection!

Mermaid Tears. Beautiful dusty green, less lime than Damone Roberts. A unique shade to my stash. Three coats.

Silver Shatter. I heard this one applied differently from Black Shatter, but I applied it the same way - one thick coat. Just like Black Shatter, you get more defined cracks over a top coat. My polish of choice was Poshe. Silver Shatter is not as transparent as I thought it would be, but it's still beautiful. The color reminds me of LA Colors Live but it's slightly darker.

Although I haven't seen the movie, I can see where OPI got their inspiration. The first half of the collection reminds me of "Pirates" with the dusty greys & greens. But I'm glad they decided to mix things up a bit and throw in a few pastels. I guess that's where the "Caribbean" part of the collection comes from.

Overall the polishes applied quite well. They were thicker than I expected, although a couple of them still needed 3 coats. They collection is all creams, so there could be some possible dupes out there. My favorites are Sparrow Me the Drama, Mermaid Tears, Stranger Tides & Planks a Lot.

Silver Shatter is gorgeous in person and applied similarly to Black Shatter, although the formula is thinner. It's very stunning in person if you like foils.

Thanks for looking. I have to get back to studying for my final tomorrow. Wish me luck!!! Oh and I probably won't post anything until Thursday or Friday when my finals end, unless I get a surprise burst of energy. Have a great week!

* The above polishes were sent to me for review *