I have an older polish to show you that I have been really enjoying this season. Stranger Tides, a sage green from OPI, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spring 2011. I love how soft and calm this color is.
Above is two coats, with top coat. The formula is a bit thin, but workable. I just made sure the first coat was more on the dry side before applying the second coat.
I suffered a really bad nail break on my left hand, which is my more photogenic hand. So you'll be seeing my right hand for a few more posts while my nail grows back out. *sighs*
This is the last post of the ABC challenge!! I am so sad this challenge has come to an end. Thank you ladies for letting me be a part of this!
Well, for Z, I chose Zoya, and for another special occasion today is Independence Day, here in the U.S. America is Zoya's classic cherry red. It has been such a long time since I have worn simple, plain, red nails.
Two coats with top coat.
That is it for today. I hope we get together soon for another nail challenge.
For letter "Y", I chose a color I don't wear very often. I can't say I don't like yellow, I just find it a bit hard to wear. I used to say that about green, but now, I stick my foot in my mouth. I wear green polish quite often.
L'Oreal has released a few jelly polishes, or they call it "Gellies" for this summer. Here is one of them, Bananarama Love, from Miss Candy collection.
This is three coats, with INM out the door top coat. Formula was sheer, but really smooth and even. Easy to apply.
Caitlin over at The Perfectly Polish Life, nominated me for another Leibster. I'm always flatter to receive any kind of recognition. Since this is my fifth one, I'm just going to keep it simple and answer her questions.
1. Favorite nail polish?
Oh this is a hard question…. Revlon Royal #730 from their top speed line, or Orly’s green with envy. I included photos at the end. My Revlon Royal photo has been pinned some 48 times! 2. Favorite current fashion trend?
I like bib necklaces. I wish I could wear them more often. I work in a hospital and getting dressed up too much is really frowned upon. 3. Beauty product you can't live without?
I have to say a couple of things, moisturizer and SPF of some kind. I've always slathered on the sunscreen. I have some age spots, but I think I would have a lot more if I did not cover up. The second thing is hair dye. I’m graying and it’s not pretty. I went two months without dying my hair a few weeks ago, and my husband says that whenever I dye my hair it’s like someone removed all the dust off of me. 4. A destination you hope to travel to?
Right now, I am looking to retire in France. I don’t know if I can make this possible, but that’s my mind set right now. Better food, cheaper, better quality health care than here in the U.S. I want to retire by age 55, which is considered early, and a lofty goal at that. If not hopefully, by age 63, but if social security keeps moving the retirement age up…which is very likely…… I don’t know if I can wait that long. Healthcare is changing; we are undergoing major transformations right now. So who knows where we will be in 20 years. 5. Favorite store?
Right now it is amazon.com I haven’t had much time to shop in stores, or look at anything leisurely lately so amazon is great because it has almost everything! Plus the one-click buy is way too convenient. 6. Which color of nail polish do you have the most of?
Blues and teals.
7. Favorite nail polish brand?
China Glaze
8. Favorite quote?
“Small minds talk about people, mediocre minds talk about events, and great minds talk about ideas”. I don’t know who said that.
9. Favorite food?
I guess, overall, it is Italian food. Really easy to make and satisfying. I love caprese salad with a simple garlicky bread or pasta.
10. Favorite type of nail art?
Easy, free handed ones.
11. Most hated nail art trend?
Hate is a strong word, but I still cannot convince myself to buy any of those sand, textured polishes….
Want to read more? Just click the tag questionnaire under labels.
Don't forget to stop by and check out Caitlin's blog!
Well. I had some ambitious plans to do a water marble mani for W, but that failed at that. So here was my back up, a glitter, from the Cirque du Soleil collection.
Whirled Away, China Glaze.
Re-fresh Mint, China Glaze.
Below is my failed attempt at water marbling. I had tape all the way around my finger, but I had it on so long I got tired of it and took it off. Now I know why everyone tapes the sides of their fingers. Anyhow. I spent an hour trying to get a suitable marble pattern in the water.
My problem was the polish kept setting too quickly. I don't know if it was the polish or I was just not working fast enough..... I watched a bunch of videos, and tried a bunch of different polishes, no luck. I also used room temperature tap water, then tried room temperature filtered water. It did not seem to make a difference. I had to give up. I may try again later.
I have new found respect for ladies that can water marble!
The base color is Orly's After Party in case you are wondering. Sinful colors Savage is the marbling color I really wanted to work with.
Quick post... we are on V for the ABC challenge and I did a simple V tipped french, some call this a chevron french as well. This is OPI Skull and Glossbones as a main color with China Glaze Call of the Wild for the tips.
I love grey and brown together, it's what I wear when I get tired of black.
I did this free handed but you can easily use tape if you want. I did a tutorial on v-tipped french manicures a while back with tape. Click here to see the tutorial.
Don't forget to check out the other lovely ladies in the challenge!
Just in the nick of time... two hours before closing.
I apologize for the total lack of creativity for letter "U". I stopped by the drugstore on the way home from work looking for a U nail polish to buy especially for this week, or last week I should say. This was the only bottle I that started with U. Urban Utopia from this year's Maybelline spring collection. This is two coats and I did not have any issues with the formula. A beautiful medium teal....
So that is it for now, on to letter V in a few days....
See you!
Go see the other wonderful ladies in this challenge!
Hey there! For the letter "T", I did a tape mani inspired by mint chocolate candy canes. I used Re-fresh Mint and Call of the Wild, both by China Glaze.
Below is the striping tape I used. It's foil tape, I ordered this from eBay a while back, they're super cheap. I got 8 rolls for $2.
I still had paint seepage under the tape, but it is hard to find thin strips of tape to use for nail art so I don't know of any other kind of tape to buy. Cutting scotch tape into skinny little uniform strips is a pain in the butt!
In order to get thicker lines I just place two or three strips of tape side by side. The pattern of thickness the I used here, is one stripe, then three, then one, then two, then one. Much easier than cutting tape.
This mani requires a lot of time and patience... something I'm a bit short on these days, so it will be a while before I do another one of these. Or I'll just do one accent nail next time.
I also found it a bit annoying, after pulling the tape off, the tape kept sticking to my other hand, arm, sleeve... and they had brown nail polish on them so I got brown specks of polish everywhere.... what am I saying? Have a large area set aside (and time) to work in and designate a spot to place the used stripes.
Overall though, the effect is nice, my husband was excited to see the finished nails. He said they looked like candy.
Well, that is it for today. I hope everyone is having a nice weekend!
This is Razzle Me Dazzle Me, just on the tips and accent nail.
Below is a bottle shot. Various black and light gold glitters.
Below is my right hand, with glitter on all the tips, no accent nail.
AND..... a simple swatch of Fresh Paint's Coconut. Two easy coats, very nice formula, thick and pigmented. Coconut is an off white with peach undertones. This makes my skin look really tan and the polish looks really bright, stark almost.
Fresh Paint can be found at Five Below, a junk store where everything is $5 or below. Color Club, or Forsynthe Cosmetics is the maker of Fresh Paint. These are cheap around $2 a bottle, technically they are 3 for $5.
I am honored to be nominated for a Liester award by Becacine from http://becacine.blogspot.com/ Becacine started blogging last year and we welcome her! This is my third nomination and I was going to do something special but don't see my schedule easing up until fall, so this will be quick and simple.
11 Random facts about me:
1. Right now, I'm 37.
2. I have brown eyes and brown hair.
3. I have a younger brother.
4. I'm right handed.
5. I am very near sighted. I wear contacts during the day and glasses at night.
6. I watch TV via the internet on my laptop. I do not have a physical/actual TV in my house.
7. Most numerous possession in my house aside from nail polish, my husband and I have about 80 pairs of shoes and maybe 200 books.
8. English is the only language I speak fluently and I think that is sad.
9. One of my greatest fears is becoming a single mother.
10. My highest hope is to retire early with no debt.
11. I feel one the most challenging parts of life is "finding happiness" that... and growing old. There's a saying that growing old is not for the weak or weary? I think this is true.
Q&A, asked by becacine:
1. What is your favorite brand of nail polish?
China Glaze
2. What is the best nail related on line tutorial you have ever seen?
How to paint nails, by Michele at Laquerized.com After I started painting my nails like this, my cuticle clean up sessions are very short. Here's the link. http://www.lacquerized.com/2010/05/how-to-how-i-paint-my-nails.html
3. Do you like warm weather or cold?
I prefer warm weather over cold. I don't like hot weather. I especially hate hot and humid climates and I live in one (Mid-Atlantic, US). I do have to say I love fall and winter clothing. I get excited over new fall clothing collections. I own several winter coats and jackets (like 15, I need to clean out my closet!). I love spring trench coats and I own five of them. I don't spend much money on summer clothing. I tend to slob out in the summers like the rest of America i.e. flip flops and t shirts...
4. What is your favorite perfume or scent?
I don't have a favorite... but add sandalwood to a floral, and I tend to like it. I do like herbal-scents like clary sage and lavender around the house. I do like to clean dishes and the kitchen area with citrus scents, they smell "clean" to me. However, I don't like to wear perfume, though. I prefer unscented lotions to scented ones.
5. What would you do with $100 if you could spend it freely?
Go to Ulta and buy nail polish!
6. What is your favorite face cream?
Good question. I don't have a favorite and have been hopping from face cream to face cream for years. I need a recommendation! Right now I'm using "Simple" for sensitive skin, face cream. Green and white jar from Walgreens, cheap, about $10.... So far it's okay, I like that it is unscented and not greasy.
I will say this. I do have a favorite face cleanser and it is Cetaphil for normal skin. I've been using this for more than 15 years. I've strayed a few times by using other cleansers, but I always come back to this one. My husband uses Cetaphil too.
7. Do you have any pets?
Yes I have a dog, and 2 cats. One of the cats is mine, and the other is my brother's, which I am taking care of while he is away travelling. We refer to them as the gang of toddlers. They are needy. They play together. They fight among each other. They make messes and have accidents. They are helpless and depend on us for food. Their defiant...yep, just like toddlers, except they can be left home alone for a few hours.
8. What are your top three favorite movies?
Lincoln, (Steven Spielberg) the whole thing.
Joe vs the Volcano, my favorite parts are his shopping spree, scenes with Angelica and Mr. Whaooo Watori.
Marie Antionette (Sophia Coppola) the whole tragic thing!
This list will change, but I do want to mention I have really been enjoying Judd Apatow movies lately! See below.
9. What is your favorite magazine?
Just one??? Time magazine for events.Vogue for fashion. House Beautiful for home.
10. What is your go-to base coat?
Right now it is Gelous, from American Classics. I don't think there's anything special about it except you can actually wear it alone as a clear coat and it is fast drying.
11. Coffee or tea?
Both. I start every morning with a cup of coffee. Then move through the rest of the day with tea, any kind. My favorite is just plain black tea. I drink green tea sometimes. I love a good cup of coffee as an after dinner dessert. Oh wait, I love Earl Grey as ice tea, too.
So that is it! Feel free to share your answer to any of the questions above in the comments section. I'd love to hear from you!
This week's ABC challenge is "Q", a difficult letter, I would think. I only have one polish that starts with the letter Q, and it is Queen Cupcake, from Funky Fingers.
Queen Cupcake is a pastel pink with gold shimmer. I don't know if the formula is going bad, (one year old) but this was difficult and streaky on application. Below is three coats to even everything out.
I also did a funky french with a pastel coral color, so as not to bore you. I used one coat of Sunkissed by Mineral Fusion, on the tips. You can find Mineral Fusion nail polish and makeup at Whole Foods grocery stores.
I usually free hand my french manicures because I'm too lazy to use tape or guides and I don't want to wait for the main color to dry. I lay the brush flat, parallel to the edge of the nail, starting at very edge and swipe across. Go to the other side and swipe across again until the stripe meets in the middle. I use the entire length of the brush to make a straight and crisp line. It usually comes out straight.
So that is it for today. It is absolutely beautiful outside this time of the year. If you are experiencing nice weather, please go outside!
Hey there! Quick ABC challenge post today. Here is Peaceful Opposition, by Orly, from the 2013 Hope and Freedom collection. A sheer white polish with silver hex and square glitters. The formula doesn't level out very well so it looks a bit streaky but that's the norm for these milky sheers. I just did one coat under a top coat. Super fast mani with no cuticle clean up. Gotta love that.
So that is it for today. Check out the other ladies below!
Hey there! Did you know Crabtree and Evelyn makes nail polish? Neither did I, until a couple of weeks ago. I bumped in to their collection while surfing on their website. They have a basic collection of 21 colors. I bought just one, Tomato, because it was the only one that seemed to call out to me.
Tomato is a highly pigmented bright red with golden shimmer. Really nice formula, no issues and glides on very nicely. The brush is kind of small but it was really easy to control. I hardly had to clean up my cuticles. A very good thing!
Below is two coats with INM out the door top coat.
I haven't been by their store to see if they sell their polishes there, but online they are $6 for 15 mls. I picked up some hand cream and shampoo to justify the $10 shipping fee. If I didn't already have so many bottles of similar colors I would have bought more for sure.
I've spent the morning watching the manhunt going on in Watertown, Mass. I hope they catch the last bomber alive, because there are so many questions!
For the letter "O" I swatched OPI's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, from the 007 collection. This is the only polish I bought from the set. OHMSS is a nice blue, grey, metallic foil with multicolored shimmer/micro glitter. Formula's a bit thin, but not problematic at all. Below is three coats.
I include the picture below because in the top two finger you can really see the small glitters sparkle.
A couple of weeks after I bought OHMSS, I found Winter Wonder from Sinful Colors, they are dead on dupes.
Below is one coat of each polish.
AND a bottle shot, for those of you who like to look at bottles, such as me!
Neither of these polishes are in stores anymore, but they are online. Online the prices are all over the place, but when they are in stores, OPI is $8 and SC is $2 here in the states.
Meet my cat, Demi. I woke her from a nap with the camera. She's my buddy. In the last couple of years has become quite attached to me and likes to sit with me while I paint my nails.
Hey there! I'm a little late this week because I've been stuck at work, with no time to post. This week's N mani is featuring a work-safe color, Nirvana by Sinful Colors.
Here's a swatch. Two coats with IMN out the door top coat.
The label says this is a matte polish, but it dries shiny. I waited 10 minutes to see if it would turn matte, but it did not. Maybe it's a mislabel?
I added glitter to one accent nail, to keep it interesting yet understated. This is Rockets Red Glare from Orly. I love how this is a true red glitter.
Above is before top coat, and I broke my middle finger nail hauling my printer up and down the stairs trying to figure out the router situation last week. Then my index fingernail cracked yesterday. I don't know how, I just looked down and there was this huge crack. So I'll just have to deal with short nails for a little while.
Below is the glitter with top coat. I love red and brown together!
We finally got moving along in the bedroom again. I am sore from all the squatting and bending over. I think I'm out of shape!
Well below is the foyer looking into the bedroom. If you remember this floor had that awful blue slate that we chiseled up.
And here is the bedroom. The floor is completely covered, but we are still far from finished. I still have to install shoe molding and fix the baseboards and windowsills.
If you are just tuning in, click back to see the progress. The purple walls and dirty carpet seem like a distant memory now.
I have to work all weekend so I definitely will not be posting until next Wednesday, hopefully. I'm having a hard time keeping up this year... I do miss reading all the nail blogs out there. So that is it for now.
Sorry I've been missing for a bit, but life has just been a bit crazy. First for today's ABC challenge, "M" I chose Mystery by OPI, part of their designer series, number 037 if your a collector. I'm in the mood for pastels, but I don't have many M polishes so I apologize if this really isn't spring appropriate. Below is two coats.
Mystery is a dark purple jelly with gold flakies.... supposedly this has "diamond dust" in it.... whatever, I'm NOT impressed.
I missed the letter L, last week. I spent a few days in Montreal, Canada for my birthday.
View from our hotel room. We stayed at Auberge du Morency, St. Hippolyte, Quebec.
Hubby and I in front of Notre Dame, Montreal, Canada.
Me at the biodome.
I caught a nice picture of two beavers swimming in the water together. Also at the Biodome. Here they come.
There they go!
Yes it was cold but we had a nice time. I've been back for several days, and it still feels like winter down here too.
How's the bedroom coming along? We are stuck at a stand still, waiting for miter saw parts. When it rains it pours. Aside from going away, and working.... we have been distracted with a three broken toilets, (yes three), a leaking water heater and malfunctioning water pressure valve. The water heater and toilets are all 28 years old, so it was just a matter of time that they all stopped working, at the same time! Not to worry, we got a plumber in and he fixed everything, for $2400. So now I have three brand new toilets, and when ever I turn on a faucet, or flush a toilet, I don't hear a fog horn sound, and thankfully I have hot water too! Gotta be grateful right?
Plus my wireless router started to die and I did not have internet access for a few days. I bought a new router which took me 10 minutes to install and work, but the printers were not picking up the signal, so I spent four hours one evening to get every piece of technology in sync with the new router. Let's just say my patience has been tested the last couple of weeks.
I installed a Linksys N900 dual band router. If anyone has that router, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I went from a single band 802.11g to a dual band 802.11n, but I haven't noticed any improvement in speed or range. I'm thinking I should have gotten a cheaper one. ??
Today's ABC challenge features Kinetic Candy from last year's Spring, Electropop collection. I wore this last year but I didn't take pictures of it. I was surprised to see that KC has a trace amount of grey in it, just a trace. The formula is fantastic, creamy, not chalky. There was no wait time between coats therefore really easy to work with.
Here's a simple swatch of two coats.
Then I added glitter. Santee's M89, Gift Sparkle, such a generic name.
And... a quick comparison.
Well that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this post!
