Total Eclipse of the Heart

The first question one encounters when mentioning the Twilight Saga (after the barrage of taunting and insults) is this: Team Edward or Team Jacob?! Personally, I have to say I'm both, I am totally Team Edward in the books, but very Team Jacob in the movies. Noooo, it's not because of Taylor Lautner's 8-pack (though it certainly doesn't hurt), it's because Edward is too brooding and angsty for me in the films, and Jacob has a charismatic quality, sense of humor, and playfulness about him that definitely doesn't show up in the books. While Lautner's acting skills are not, shall we say, 'Oscar-worthy', he does bring a great personality to the screen, and honestly, they shouldn't bother with shirts for him, they're totally unnecessary. (I can say this now that he is technically 'legal' :-P)

Today's nails were much requested, and obviously had to be done. I had a few people request the very same thing... a Jacob vs. Edward manicure, so Libby P. Maria Clara, and Nikki, I hope you approve! :) (but please ignore the cuticles on my right hand- bowling and sewing are tearing them up!!)

Team Edward:

Team Jacob:

I used American Apparel Hassid as a base on all nails but the ring finger on each hand, then applied Nubar Stronghold with Bundle Monster plate BM20. For the edward nails (left hand ring finger), I used topped Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud with one coat of Zoya Alluria. I shaded with a mix of Nubar Stronghold and Zoya Alluria, used a mix of American Apparel Hassid and A Beautiful Life Poison for the lips, a mixture of American Apparel Manila, Zoya Jancyn and MAC Showy for the eyes, and a mixture of MAC Showy and American Apparel Hassid for the brow. Topped off the entire face with CND Sugar Sparkle, because I live in Las Vegas, land of sun, so Edward would look like a damn disco ball. :-D For the Jacob nail, I used Zoya Flowie as a base, Zoya Dea to shade a little for the bicep, and American Apparel Hassid for the tattoo of the wolf pack members. (or at least the best I could do on such a small canvas!! :-P) Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat. :)

Go Team everyone!!! :) (except Victoria...and Riley... and well...you get the point.)

Nfu Oh 64

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today's B minus zero on the Celebratory Birthday Countdown, so Happy Birthday, RMT!

Today I used a holographic nail polish I haven't shown you before, one from the last Nfu Oh sale.  Nfu Oh 64 is another pink holo, more lilac than Nfu Oh 63 and with a much more pronounced rainbow effect.  For this manicure, I used one coat of Nu Nails, one of Nfu Oh Aqua Base, two coats of Nfu Oh 64, and I finished it with Tout de Suite top coat.  Another difference between Nfu Oh 63 and 64 is that I needed three coats of 63 and only two of 64.  If I had to choose between the two, I'd pick 64.

Earlier this week I mentioned the difficulties in taking a picture of a holo, so I have two for you of this one.  The first one is under bright artificial light that accurately shows the color, and the second I took on the way to the computer under light bulb room light because the rainbow effect showed so well in there.

Nfu Oh 64 Nail Polish, Two Coats, Under Bright Artificial Light to Show Shade

This picture isn't great but for the fact that it shows the holo really well, so keep that in mind:

Nfu Oh 64 Nail Polish, Two Coats, Under Room Artificial Light to Show Holo

So Nfu Oh 64 is the official Birthday Holo for my friend RMT.  Truthfully, I've been having so much fun wearing holographic nail polish this week, I think I'm going to keep it up for the rest of the week.  I kind of decided to do that in honor of my mom - today is also the second anniversary of her death, and she would approve of making a week long celebration out of anything.  Her birthday is July 31, and she treated the entire month of July as a celebration, so it would make her happy to know I celebrated a birthday for a whole week!

That's the update for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Everything Isn't Just Black & White

...but these are.:-D

Today's nails are a geometric black & white pattern. I actually painted this on part of my dorm fridge in college! :) (that fridge currently keeps my beverages chilly in the garage!) :)

I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the black. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

OK- I'm off to go wait in line to see Twilight: Eclipse. Yeah, that's right I'm a nerd. lol

Go Team Undecided!!!

Nfu Oh 63 & Konad M80

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today is B minus one in the celebratory holo countdown, and today's holographic nail polish is Nfu Oh 63, the pink one.  I used artificial light for today's picture, but have shown this one to you before in sunlight, where the holo effect is more pronounced.

For today's manicure, I used one coat of Nu Nails and one coat of Nfu Oh Aqua Base as a foundation.  I still needed three coats of Nfu Oh 63 for complete and even coverage, but since the dry time on the Nfu Oh holos is super fast that wasn't a big deal.  I finished it with Diamont, let it dry, then stamped it with a pattern from Konad plate M80 using Konad Black Pearl Special Polish, then sealed with another coat of Diamont.  Here it is dry.

Nfu Oh 63 Nail Polish, Three Coats, & Konad M80 in Konad Black Pearl

That's what I have for you today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

Remember to Eat Your 5 a Day!

Taco Bell has lettuce, so that counts...right?

I've had the idea for this manicure for a while now, I figured that since the recommended daily consumption of fruits & vegetables is 5, and I have 5 fingers on each hand, that it worked out perfectly. :) I, of course, don't eat vegetables... unless you're my mom that is reading this, which in that case, I eat 10 servings a day– probably more! :) (but only if Taco Bell lettuce counts...or ketchup on burgers?)

I used:

Thumb: Asparagus (this I actually DO eat, and really like)

ULTA Banana Rum in the Sun as a base, with a mixture of CND Green Scene and ULTA Limelight for the stalks, and added American Apparel Hassid to that for the spear end, with small touches of straight CND Green Scene on top.

Index: Carrots (again, I enjoy these, and used to gnaw on them all the time with my dad as a kid)

CND Electric Orange as a base, then mixed with China Glaze Salsa for the shading, and Zoya Jancyn for the highlight. For the blue background, I used Zoya Robyn and for the carrot top, I used CND Green Scene.

Middle: Green Apple (love these if they're Granny Smith)

American Apparel Butter as a base, with a mix of that and ULTA Limelight for the inner core line, ULTA Limelight for the peel, MAC Showy for the seeds and stem, and CND Green Scene for the background.

Ring: Red Pepper (key ingredient in Sunshine stirfry- which Jacquie will remember)

Zoya Robyn for the background, China Glaze Salsa for the base color of the pepper, then mixed with Zoya Jancyn to highlight and American Apparel Hassid to shade. For the stem, I used CND Green Scene.

Pinky: Corn (I miss fresh from the farm corn on the cob!!)

American Apparel Manila as a base, then with Zoya Jancyn for shading next to the husk and between kernels, then a mix of American Apparel Manila and American Apparel Butter for the highlight on the kernels. For the husk, I used CND Green Scene, then mixed with American Apparel Butter for the husk highlights.

Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Now that you've got your dose of fruits and vegetables for the day, you're free to eat something a bit tastier- like chocolate, or maybe steak.

Sally Hansen Magicals Ruby Slipper

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today the holo countdown continues with Sally Hansen Magicals Ruby Slipper.  It's a pink red holo, one of the long discontinued Magicals line.  This is another where I ask myself why Sally Hansen discontinues all the cool stuff!  I was lucky and got a big lot of these on ebay for a completely reasonable price a while back.

For the manicure, I used one coat of Nu Nails, one coat of Nfu Oh Aqua Base, two of Ruby Slipper, and SpaRitual Toute de Suite top coat.  One coat of Ruby Slipper was almost enough - that Aqua Base really makes a marked difference in how holos apply.  Here it is in the sun.

Sally Hansen Magicals Ruby Slipper Nail Polish, Two Coats

Today is B minus 2 for my friend's holo birthday countdown, so I'll have another holographic nail polish to show you tomorrow.  Until then, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

Twigs & Berries

:-D Sounds like a much more 'interesting' post than it probably will be. ;) Camping kicked my ass, I napped pretty much as soon as I stepped out of the shower after getting home today. I fulfilled my S'mores and toasted marshmallow craving (for now), with a 5 s'mores, and 7 toasted marshmallows (2 of which I ate with breakfast). :-D I also cooked 'tin foil' dinners, which I made by slicing potatoes, onions, chopping garlic, sliced smoked sausage, butter, salt, and pepper and putting it in a tin foil 'pouch' and placing them on the grate over the fire. I also cooked baked potatoes by wrapping them in tin foil an dputting them IN the fire for an hour- they were amazing.

Today's nails are a simple design that kind of remind me of nature- twigs & berries to be specific. :-D

I used MAC In the Buff as a base with Bundle Monster plate BM06 used to apply A Beautiful Life Poison. Topped it off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

The potatoes right after they were out of the coals/fire:

My potato! (butter, salt & pepper)

And my latest iPhone case creation, thinking of selling them on etsy, thoughts? (it even has a pocket for credit cards!)

Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I have a friend who's a big holo fan with a birthday this week, so I thought I'd do a holo countdown to celebrate (I love celebrating birthdays!).  I'm starting with Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm, a charcoal base with multicolored holographic bits.  Unfortunately, I forgot to use Nfu Oh Aqua Base with this one, so its true potential has yet to be seen.

Chainmail Charm applied well and is a two-coater for me. I took the picture in natural light, but one of the hard parts about holos and glitters is that when the camera gets clear focus, the real reflective properties of the polish fade.  In this picture, my index finger and thumb are not in focus and are a true reflection of what Chainmail Charm looks like.  The polish is unusually smooth and glossy.

Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm Nail Polish, Two Coats

Today is B minus three on the countdown.  I'll have more celebratory holos for you this week, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

I'll Have S'more!!

Ooey, Gooey, Melty, Chocolatey, Sugary, crunchy goodness. Yes, this is one of the only reasons I go camping...for the s'mores. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love hanging around the campfire, and fishing when there is water, and all that jazz, but I really truly love s'mores, hot dogs, and baked potatoes cooked in the fire. Since I'm going camping tonight up on Mt. Charleston, I decided to do S'mores nails!!! :) A few years ago, I was introduced to the double chocolate method, go ahead, try it, it'll rock your world. I'm seriously so excited for roasted marshmallows, and how I painted it is how they're perfectly cooked... though if my mom were camping with us, they'd be flaming balls of charred sugar, never could understand why she likes them burnt. *gag*

I used:

Thumb & pinky: Graham crackers

Some mix of MAC Showy, Zoya Dea, Nubar Milk Chocolate Creme, American Apparel Cotton and American Apparel Palm Springs.

Index & Ring: Chocolate *drool*

Nubar Milk Chocolate Creme as a base, with MAC Showy to shade, and Zoya Dea to highlight.

Middle: toasted Marshmallowy goodness

American Apparel Cotton as a base, with MAC Abalone Shell, American Apparel Palm Springs, Zoya Dea, MAC Showy, and OPI for Sephora What's a Tire Jack? Matte sponged on lightly in layers. I love how the tip edge looks like it was singed. :-P

Topped the chocolate nails off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat, no top coat for the marshmallow nail, and for the graham cracker nails, I sponged on Essie Matte About You so it wouldn't give a smooth matte finish, but a rough one. :-D

Ok, I'm off to head up the mountain!! :) Have a fun day/night!! :)

Diamond Cosmetics Metallic Blue & Bundle Monster BM10

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I woke up early this morning and felt like doing my nails while I had coffee, so I did - Black Ice didn't last long!  I used a Diamond Cosmetics polish, Metallic Blue, from a recent DC order.  I ordered quite a few, and I saw the package on the porch as I was on my way out a couple of weeks ago, so I got it and put it somewhere "safe" until I got home.  I finally found "safe" on about the third try since then this morning (it turns out the corner of my kitchen pantry is a safe place for nail polish!), and I went through the box to even remind myself what I'd ordered.

It turns out I did well - it's so hard to tell from Diamond Cosmetics' site, but I got some really gorgeous ones (at $2.25 a pop, I'm willing to roll the dice..).  I went with Metallic Blue first because I have not worn a blue in a while and I'm a little burnt out on Summer shades at the moment.  Metallic Blue is good in two coats, but had a little trick to application - it's a bit thick and tried to leave bubbles as I applied it (just one or two per nail).  The bubbles appeared immediately, so after covering a nail I just swiped any bubbles with the brush, and it dried with no issues.  That's just something to be on the lookout for if you try this one.  Here's Metallic Blue alone, a dry manicure.

Diamond Cosmetics Metallic Blue Nail Polish, Two Coats

That just cries out to me for some silver Konad, so that's exactly what I did.  I had another plan in mind when I sat down to stamp, but ran into plate BM10 and tried out a pattern I've been eying for a while.  It's a full nail pattern, clearly both shorter and narrower than my nails, so what I did was double stamp it sideways, and it worked out great.  For the stamping, I used Orly Shine.

Diamond Cosmetics Metallic Blue and Bundle Monster BM10 Stamped in Orly Shine

That's my Nails of the Day, and I like it.

I also had some news to share with you that I'm really excited about - I've been invited to design a nail stamping plate.  We don't expect to see them produced until early next year, and the other details of the project are private for now, but I was told that I could let you know that's something in the works.  As I get a green light to give you more information, I will, but I was too excited about it to keep the fact that's it's begun to myself for six months!

That's the update for now, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

It's Close to Midnight

and something evil's lurking in the dark...

Thriller is, and always will be, my favorite music video of all time. FAVORITE. When I was younger, we had the thing on BETA MAX tape. Yeah, that's how we roll. The damn video was pure genius, as was all of Michael Jackson's stuff. His life was marred with controversy, plastic surgery, criminal allegations, you name it, but dude defined the word 'entertainer'. One year ago today, the media was sent into a frenzy, and the world mourned one of its greatest known entertainers. You may not agree with him, like his music, or give a rat's ass about him, his life, or his death, but you have to admit, he changed the face of entertainment as we know it. Reader Geraldine E. requested today that I do Michael Jackson nails, and I thought and thought about what I could do- there are so many sides to him, but i decided to choose my all-time favorite to focus on– Thriller. I did the werewolf eyes from the end scene of the video, the zombie face/eye, the werewolf fur, the red leather jacket, and on the thumb, his iconic white sparkly glove (even though it wasn't part of Thriller, it is one of his signatures, so I had to include it). I love the zombie nail, it's my favorite! I wish I could keep it on for more than a day!! :/

RIP MJ.

I used:

Thumb: Iconic White Sparkly glove

Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base, with Zoya Luna over it, and American Apparel Hassid for the black.

Index: Michael's face/eye from the last scene of the video, where his face is normal except his eyes

Zoya Dea mixed with MAC In the Buff as a base, Zoya Dea to shade, then mixed with American Apparel Hassid to do the darkest shading and the eyebrow, and then Zoya Dea mixed with MAC Abalone Shell to highlight. American Apparel Cotton for the base for the eye color, then CND Bicycle Yellow over it for the eye, topped with American Apparel Hassid for the pupil.

Middle: Michael's Zombie face/eye

Sally Hansen Trendy Creme as the base, then mixed with American Apparel Hassid and American Apparel Mount Royal to shade, and mixed with American Apparel Cotton to highlight. For the eye, I used American Apparel Cotton with black for the outline and the pupil/iris, and a few dots of American Apparel Cotton for the reflection.

Ring: Werewolf fur

Zoya Dea as a base, then mixed with American Apparel Hassid for some of the fur, and MAC In the Buff for some, and mixed with American Apparel Cotton for a few highlights.

Pinky: Michael's Jacket in the beginning when he is on his date

China Glaze Salsa as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the black diagonals, then mixed with China Glaze Salsa for the jacket seams and details, then American Apparel Cotton to highlight in places because the leather was kind of shiny.

Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'alls neighborhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
and rot inside a corpse's shell

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the Thriller.....

....aaahhahahhaahahahahHAaHAHAHahahahahahahahahHAHAHAHhAHAHAHAHAHHahhhAHAHHhhaaa.

Which reminds me, I also love Vincent Price, that part makes the whole damn song.

Check out the iPhone case I sewed this morning for my new iPhone 4, its fleece-lined, canvas duck exterior with a elastic hairtie/button closure. Hell yes for good old-fashioned ingenuity! (and cheapness) :-P

Jessica Black Ice

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I finally got around to doing my nails, and though I'd show you my Nails of the Day, which is Jessica Black Ice.  Black Ice is a black jelly with fine silver glitter, and it took four coats to be totally opaque and even.  However, the dry time seems to be good, and the up side is that the glitter is very dense and shows well.  I thought this was just another black with silver glitter, which I'm always drawn to, but it's one of the nicer ones I have.

Jessica Black Ice Nail Polish, Four Coats

That's all for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

There's an App For That

For those of you not in the 'know', today was the release of the amazingtastical iPhone 4G from Apple. Thousands of crazy people around the country (like myself) waited in line for hours and hours and hours with the hopes of being one of the lucky ones to place our hands around the holy grail of smart phones. Personally, I showed up with my roommate, Maris, at approximately 1 a.m., to sit on a filthy Las Vegas sidewalk for 5 hours, only to be moved indoors into the Caesar's Forum Shops where we again, sat on the ground for 6 more hours by the time all was said and done. I have to say it though, it was so worth it. Scratch from our memories the argument coming near blows over line jumpers, people selling their spot in line for $400 and $500 dollars. I even facilitated such an exchange, picking a man who looked like he had money to burn out of the stragglers, yet no finders fee. *sigh* :-D Devin, the charming iPhone angel who bestowed upon us our shiny new iPhones, was a welcome change from the cranky restlessness of the crowd, with an easy smile and the ability to endure a certain amount of slap happiness on my part. Then there were the people we stood shoulder to shoulder with for hours on end, sharing sarcasm, irritation, and laughs. Finally, the line jumpers, if you're somehow reading this, learn to share, act civilized, and not be assholes, we managed to maintain our shit, I'm sure you can too. (though this redheaded blogger was shaking with fury, and the job of keeping her little mouth shut)

Today's nails are dedicated to us, the crazy ones. (and Lenny, of course)

I used:

Left hand:

Thumb: YouTube

Sally Hansen Trendy Creme as a base, with a mixture of American Apparel Manila, American Apparel Cotton, and Zoya Dea for the yellow part of the television, Zoya Dea for the outline, then Zoya Dea mixed with the outer outline. For the knobs, I used a mix of American Apparel Hassid and American Apparel Cotton, with American Apparel Hassid to shade, I also used American Apparel Hassid for the vertical speaker slots. For the shadow around the edge of the screen, I used a mix of American Apparel Hassid and Sally Hansen Trendy Creme, and for the highlght on the screen, I used Sally Hansen Trendy Creme mixed with American Apparel Cotton.

Index: Weather

Zoya Robyn as a base, with OPI What's With the Cattitude? brushed around the edges towards the middle. For the sun, I used American Apparel Manila with Zoya Jancyn to shade, as well as for the minute sunbursts. For the temperature, I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud.

Middle: Maps

Zoya Harley as a base, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the white road lines, as well as for a base on the interstate sign. For the orange highway line, I used Zoya Jancyn, and for the yellow, I used American Apparel Manila. For the interstate sign, I used China Glaze Salsa for the red and Pure Ice French Kiss for the blue.

Ring: Calendar

Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud as a base, with China Glaze Salsa for the red, American Apparel Hassid for the black, and Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the THU.

Pinky: iTunes Store

Color Club Pucci-licious as a base, with American Apparel Esprit lightly brushed outward on the bottom half of the nail, and China Glaze Grape Pop brushed out from the center on the top half for the burst. For the music note symbol, I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud.

Right Hand:

Thumb: Calculator

American Apparel Hassid as a base, with a mix of American Apparel Hassid and China Glaze Lemon Fizz for the grey buttons, and Zoya Jancyn for the orange button, with Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the +, -, X, and = symbols.

Index: Notes

China Glaze Lemon Fizz as a base, with a mixture of Zoya Dea and Sally Hansen Trendy Creme for the brown binding at the top, American Apparel Mount Royal for the blue lines, and China Glaze Salsa for the red lines.

Middle: Phone

Claire's MOOD Polish in happy/earthly as a base, with CND Green Scene sponged lightly on the top half. For the phone symbol, I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud.

Ring: Facebook

A mixture of American Apparel Mount Royal and American Apparel Esprit as a base, with American Apparel Esprit for the bottom line, and Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud for the f.

Pinky: iPod

CND Electric Orange as a base, with Zoya Jancyn sponged lightly over the tip edge. For the iPod symbol, I used Sally Hansen Professional Lavender Cloud.

Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat for the fresh from the Apple store shine. :-D

P.S. Forum Apple staff: Did you know that Blaine made cookies?! :-P haha!

OK, seriously, I'm on hour 36 with 1 hour of sleep somewhere around 1 pm this afternoon. I need shuteye in a bad way. I'll see you folks tomorrow. :-D

China Glaze Vintage Vixen Swatches, Part II

Good morning, Dear Reader!

As promised, I have swatches of the other half of China Glaze's Vintage Vixen Collection for you this morning (manufacturer samples).  These were again three coats in artificial light.  A few could have used a fourth coat, but I wanted to be consistent.

Swing Baby is a great champagne shimmer, but I can still see through it after three coats.  It would need a fourth.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Swing Baby Nail Polish, Three Coats

Hey, Doll is a light reddish brown shimmer, good in three coats.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Hey, Doll Nail Polish, Three Coats

Bogie is a really interesting eggplant purple shimmer, good in three coats.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Bogie Nail Polish, Three Coats

Midnight Mission is a great shade of blue with silver microglitter, and was good in three coats but for one bald patch I didn't notice until I was selecting pictures.  Had I seen it when taking pictures, I could have fixed just the one spot.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Midnight Mission Nail Polish, Three Coats

Emerald Fitzgerald is a very nice dark green shimmer.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Emerald Fitzgerald Nail Polish, Three Coats

First Class Ticket is a dark bluish purple, and the one I'm wearing.  The picture is before top coat.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: First Class Ticket Nail Polish, Three Coats

That's the end of China Glaze's Vintage Vixen Collection.  I told you there wasn't a bad one in the bunch!  I still think some are better than others, but they'll all get used by me.

That's all for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

A True M*A*S*H Up

Being around for daytime TV lately has brought a few shows from my past back for me. Did you know that they show reruns of Little House on the Prairie and M*A*S*H every afternoon? Both of those are shows that I loved when I was a kid, and the first notes of 'Suicide is Painless' bring back a tide of old memories every time I hear it. I loved the banter and insults between Hawkeye and Major Burns, not to mention 'Hot Lips' Houlihan, Radar, Klinger and all the other great characters on the show. I remember always wanting to try Grape Nehi because that's what Radar always drank at the bar. Today's nails were inspired by those funny surgeons and nurses from the 4077th, on a TV show long ago. :-)

I used Sally Hansen Trendy Creme as a base, with American Apparel Cotton for the white background of the medical cross. For the cross, I used A Beautiful Life Poison, and for the numbers, I used American Apparel Manila. Topped everything off with a coat of Essie Matte About You to give it that old worn drab look.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen Swatches, Part I

Good morning, Dear Reader!

The mystery package I mentioned yesterday turned out to be samples of China Glaze's Vintage Vixen Collection from the manufacturer, and I have swatches of half of them for you this morning.  The collection consists of 12 shimmers (or microglitters), and there's not a bad color in the bunch.  Some are better than others, but none elicits the ol' "What were they thinking?" question.

Today's swatches are under artificial light, and are just some six - I took two of the three pack boxes and swatched.  Each required three thin coats to be opaque and even, but the dry time on the one I'm wearing is above average.  There were no changes in the brush or bottle to mention - they're what you've come to expect.  Application was good and I found the polish easy to control.

Classic Camel is just that - a classic camel shade with a good shimmer.  Unfortunately, it's not a great color on me - it makes my hands look pink.  However, it's the same color as my favorite winter coat, so I'll still be wearing it.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Classic Camel Nail Polish, Three Coats

Ingrid is a kind of muted brown with gold shimmer.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Ingrid Nail Polish, Three Coats

Going My Way? is a shimmer the shade of a chocolate Labrador Retriever.  This one was a little brushstrokey on me.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Goin' My Way? Nail Polish, Three Coats

Jitterbug is a silver shimmer with microglitter.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Jitterbug Nail Polish, Three Coats

Foxy is a great rusty red shimmer.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Foxy Nail Polish, Three Coats

Riveter Rouge is the one I chose to wear, although the picture is before top coat.  It's a deep red with silver microglitter.

China Glaze Vintage Vixen: Riveter Rouge Nail Polish, Three Coats

That's the first half of the China Glaze Vintage Vixen swatches, and I'll have Part II for you tomorrow.  Until then, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

Hidden Hotness

Today's nails are pretty simple because it's been a busy day, I spent 5 hours returning emails from readers (yes, I've been way behind and I'm trying to catch up), I still haven't finished, so if you haven't received an answer from me yet, don't worry, it's coming, I swear. After that, I started working on a superawesome project for the giveaway that is coming up, and after I post this, I'm going to get back to work on that, I'm super excited, and I hope you all like them. :-D

Anyway. Today's nails are named as such because in direct sunlight, it's hard to see the design, you have to be in the shade or view sort of at an angle to see it over top of the super gorgeous Zoya Ivanka, which is seriously one of the prettiest glitters ever.

I used Zoya Ivanka as a base, with CND Green Scene applied with Bundle Monster plate BM20, I used the scrolled pattern. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat, because that's just how I roll, dig?

Back to the crafting! :)

Nubar Venetian Glass Collection

Good morning, Dear Reader!

The manicure I had planned for today was thwarted yesterday when samples of Nubar's Venetian Glass Collection for Fall 2010 came from the manufacturer yesterday.  I wanted to swatch them right away despite the fact that I didn't have enough natural light for pictures, so I used artificial light.

The collection is eight colors, all opaque glass flecked polishes, with five kind of leaves-changing-color shades and three that are just really cool.  I was excited about opaque glass flecked polished, since most glass flecked are pretty sheer on me.  I did two coats for all, I think one or two might have been better with a third.

Oro is a yellow gold, with an almost foily finish.

Nubar Oro Nail Polish, Two Coats

Caramello is a browner golden shade, also almost a foil.

Nubar Caramello Nail Polish, Two Coats

Bronzo is a coppery bronze.

Nubar Bronzo Nail Polish, Two Coats

Arencia is a Fall orange.

Nubar Arencia Nail Polish, Two Coats

Rosso is a pink red, and sorry about the sloppy swatch on this one.  I wear out doing eight!

Nubar Rosso Nail Polish, Two Coats

Those were the five I think of as fall leafy colors.  The other three are my favorites, I think.

Vino is a great burgundy.

Nubar Vino Nail Polish, Two Coats

Vaso is a great light purple glass fleck.

Nubar Vaso Nail Polish, Two Coats

This last one is a complete manicure with top coat.  Verde is a deep green with visible green, blue, and gold flecks.

Nubar Verde Nail Polish, Two Coats

That's Nubar's Venetian Glass Collection for Fall 2010, available June 30.

I should have more swatches for you this week, too - notice for another mystery package was left when no one was around to sign for it.

That's the scoop for today, Dear Reader.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!