Zoya Tess

Happy Almost-New Year's! To close out this year, let's go with a gorgeous pink frosty shimmer!

Zoya Tess




I have one word for this polish: LOVE! It is just absolutely gorgeous! Everything about it was perfect - the formula, the application, the color, the glitter, the frost, the wear -- everything! I kinda have a love/hate relationship with Zoya, and this polish definitely falls on the "love" side.

I hope everyone has a fabulous New Year's! Have a wonderful and safe celebration! :-) See y'all in the new decade :-D

China Glaze Rose Tea

I can't believe how many of the China Glaze Specialty Collection I own and I think I've only shown one of them so far. Blah -- I am so behind!! Well, before I move on to more of the glitters and stuff, here is one of the shimmer polishes that was part of that collection.

China Glaze Rose Tea




(direct sunlight)




In addition to the glitters in the collection, there are also some shimmers and cremes mixed in. Rose Tea is a super pretty, light pink shimmer polishes. It reminds me more of seashells than roses. It is a very work-appropriate shade, and looks much prettier on the nail than in the bottle. In the bottle, I could barely tell that there was any shimmer on the polish, but as soon as you put it on, it is instantly noticeable. I love this shade -- gorgeous color, and I wish my camera did a better job of picking up the shimmer in the indoor pics!

Tomorrow is my least favorite day of the year -- New Year's Eve. I won't get into it now, because it will probably just get me riled up, but needless to say, it is the one day that I wish more than anything would go by as quickly as possible!

Zoya Colette

I was really impressed by this Zoya color - I don't have anything else in my collection like it, and it is not your typical, Zoya shade (I tend to think they are known more for their reds and pinks).

Zoya Colette




The application was rather good -- it only took two coats to be completely opaque. This is a shimmery ginger color that has a hint of brown in it as well. It is one of those polishes that are more beautiful on your finger than in the bottle. I also love the golden shimmer in this polish -- it is more noticeable in sunlight or bright light. A little hard to make out in my pictures, but trust me, it's there! :-)

OPI Visions of Sugarplum

As promised, here is a second polish from the Ulta-exclusive OPI Holiday polishes!

OPI Visions of Sugarplum




This one was hard to capture on camera, but it is a blackened purple glitter polish. It is a tad darker than another Ulta-exclusive polish, Amethyst Twist (it was part of a mini polish set). This one applied very easily and was easier to work with than Dazzled by Gold. Gorgeous polish, and a wonderful alternative to the run-of-the-mill holiday reds that are out there.

Okay, that was the last of my Holiday polishes. Back to regular old polishes now lol. I have a huge backlog of polishes to show, and I've been trying to schedule my posts, since I've been working so much and it's been difficult to update. Hopefully y'all are able to enjoy the rest of this year! I can't believe 2009 is almost over! Insane!!

OPI Dazzled By Gold

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know Christmas is over now, but I have two more holiday polishes to show off :-) Both are OPI polishes that are exclusive to Ulta. There are actually three polishes total in this small collection, but I already have a ton of reds in my stash, so I only got the two non-reds. This is the first one!

OPI Dazzled By Gold




This is a super pretty gold color. Great coverage in just three coats. It wasn't too hard to work with either. Required a little bit of cleanup, but it wasn't too bad. It is a shimmery, almost foil-like finish packed with TONS of gold and a dabble of silver microglitter. This one is definitely a winner. It wasn't too bad to remove either. It is not gritty like some other glitter polishes. Bling bling!

Merry Christmas!!! OPI Merry Midnight

Now, drumroll please for my favorite polish from OPI's Holiday Wishes collection....

OPI Merry Midnight




This polish was pure LOVE. Not only did it apply like a dream, it was opaque in two coats, and is *completely* unique. The base is a bright medium purple, and it is packed with not only microglitter, but also big FLAKES of glitter. It reminded me a lot of Shim-Merry Chic, but the flakes in this one are much more pronounced and noticeable. A+ for this polish!

Also, I want to wish everyone out there a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I hope that everyone is able to share this day with their loved ones and that y'all have a safe and happy holiday season! It's hard to believe that 2009 is almost over... scary!!

OPI Holiday Glow

Total disappointment with this polish :-( When I first saw the bottles and colors from OPI's Holiday Wishes collection, I automatically picked this one to be my favorite. As luck and irony would have it, it turned out to be my least favorite :-(

OPI Holiday Glow




The color itself is great -- it is a cool mocha brown with silver glitter. However, the application was horrible. The polish is SO sheer and difficult to work with. Even after three coats, it still wasn't opaque (as you can see from the balding on my index finger). Also, after I put on my topcoat, the polish started to pull back, which you can see on my ring finger. Overall, this was massive fail and a total disappointment :-( But, fear not, because tomorrow's Christmas polish will more than surely make up for it! :-)

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!!!

OPI Ginger Bells

This polish reminds me of one of my favorite desserts ever -- Pumpkin Cheesecake! (or, pumpkin pie!)

OPI Ginger Bells




When I first looked at the bottle, I didn't think I'd like it that much. But, after three solid coats and a topcoat, I realized the polish is darker on the nail than it is in the bottle, and I fell in LOVE with it. It is such a beautiful, warm, fall/winter color. The application was also very good, and the more coats I put on, the more I ended up liking it. Hmm.... now I'm hungry. Nom nom nom nom. I'm not a holiday person in general -- I don't do the church thing or the gift thing, but my favorite part of Christmas is getting together with my family and having a feast. So good to see everyone at once and the food is always yummy :-)

OPI Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas are more jelly-red glitter polishes that are to-die-for. Just like this one!!! xoxo

OPI Dear Santa




This one reminds me a lot of China Glaze's Ruby Slippers. The base is a little more jelly-ish than Ruby Slippers, but the glitter is very pronounced (doesn't come through very well on my pics), and the application is very good -- smooth and not too goopy or thick. This was the only other red I got from OPI's Holiday Wishes collection (the other is Smitten with Mittens, which I already wore). I think I did pretty well picking out the two prettiest reds out of six! :-)

Three more shopping days until Christmas -- are you done with your shopping yet???

OPI Shim-Merry Chic

Since it's almost Christmas, it's time for some Holiday polishes!

OPI Shim-Merry Chic




This polish is from this year's Holiday OPI collection, called Holiday Wishes. This polish is really unique -- the base of it is a combo is olive green/gold/brown. In addition to that, it is packed with not only multi-color fine glitter, but also big FLAKES of glitter. It is a super pretty polish and also applied really well -- a tad on the thick side, but that meant it only took two coats, which is nice.

I have some more from this collection -- I didn't bother getting too many of the reds, since I feel like I already have a ton of reds, but I liked most of the non-red Holiday Wishes polishes, so I picked up a few of those. I also need to decide what color I want to wear on Christmas. Ahhh!!!! Decisions, decisions!

Essie Midnight Cami

I wore this polish for a specific reason - my boyfriend and I were going to the Patriots vs. Jets game, and I wanted my polish to match my jersey, so I needed a nice shade of navy. I looked through my collection and settled on this beauty!

Essie Midnight Cami




(outdoors, direct sunlight)




I apologize for the sloppy application. Generally, I don't do well with mini bottles, and for some reason, this polish happened to be sheer and goopy at the same time, so that wasn't helpful either! But, I have no complaints about the shade. It is a gorgeous navy shimmer -- but, not so dark that it looks black. It is so discernably navy blue, and of course, it matched my Patriots jersey *perfectly* :-) Oh, and the Patriots went on to kick some major Jets ass! This game was a few weeks ago, and since then, they haven't looked so hot, so I am hoping they kick it up a notch for their last few games and sail into the playoffs. Well, a girl can hope, right? ;-)

Essie Showstopper

As always, Essie seems to be my go-to brand when it comes to pinks and reds. Here's another one that doesn't disappoint!

Essie Showstopper




This one actually reminds me a lot of OPI's Berried in Gifts, but it leans more toward pink than red. You can see how the gold shimmer comes through in the bottle. It's not as pronounced on the nail, but it is still noticeable enough to give your nails a nice frosty sheen when it's on. The application and formula on this polish was astoundingly smooth and easy.

My favorite show of all time is Friends. I must have seen each episode at least 10 times. It is on syndication here late at night, so I usually end up watching it before I go to bed. It's difficult for me to pick out a favorite episode, but if I had to, I think it would be the one with the prom video. It's the one where Ross and Rachel realize they are each other's "lobster" after watching a video of them from high school, and they see how Ross valiantly stepped in to be Rachel's prom date after she thought her original prom date stood her up. It is sickening how well I know all the episodes and can recite lines ver batim from them. Anyway, the reason I brought this up is because they tend to show the episodes in some sort of chronological order while in syndication, and tonight, they showed the series finale (the one where Rachel gets off the plane and reunites with Ross). So, that means that tomorrow night, they will show the series pilot and the cycle will start all over again :-)

Oh, and before I forget, another one of my favorite episodes is the Thanksgiving episode where Brad Pitt has a cameo as a former HS classmate of Rachel and Monica's. HIGH-larious! :-D

OPI Designer Series Glow

I think I'm having Designer Series withdrawal. Every time I go a while without wearing a DS polish, I start going a little nutty :-P

OPI Designer Series Glow




This is one of the newer DS polishes -- it was released recently along with a darker, almost-black DS polish called Mystery (coming up at a later date!). Glow is a gorgeous burnt gold/copper color. It is not as holographic as the other Designer Series polishes, and it was a tad thin and runny during application, but after the coats built up enough, the gorgeous and unique color started to come through, and I was won over. It is truly unique among all the DSes. I don't think there's another one that comes close to this color family.

OPI Amethyst Twist

Okay, here it is... the third and final polish in the Ulta Mini Set, and what a beauty it is!

OPI Amethyst Twist




This is a gorgeous dark purple polish with rainbow multi-glitter in it. My pictures really do not do this polish justice. It is a lot darker and shinier in real life. The biggest bummer of this collection is that they are exclusive to Ulta, and they only come in the mini bottles! I so wish that all three of them came in the full-size bottle, because each is worthy of having a back-up bottle :-D

I hope everyone had a great weeken! Really not looking forward to Monday... blah!

OPI Berried In Gifts

Here's polish #2 from the OPI Tiny Tinsels mini set! Are you ready for a gorgeous sparkly red??

OPI Berried In Gifts




This isn't your ordinary run-of-the-mill red. If you look closely enough, you see that it has a fuchsia sparkle/shimmer to it. The finish of it is almost metallic-like. I normally don't like the application from mini polishes because the damn bottles and brushes are so small, and the formula is usually on the too-thick or too-thin side, but this one was perfect -- it would please even Goldilocks ;-) I wish they made this one in a full-size version. I would definitely get a bottle as a back-up!

Oh, and yet again, I was just watching Jay Leno, and he just had Matt Damon on. I love Matt Damon for many many reasons. One of the main ones is because he and I are from the same hometown -- Boston, MA. On top of all that, he is incredibly hot, wicked smaht (he got into Harvard, yo!), a family man (no Tiger Woods-type "transgressions" here, folks), and just an all-around good guy. When I was a teenager, one of my best friends worked in a toy store at a local mall. One day, right around Christmas time, Matt Damon came in (this was like 14 years ago, so he was only semi-famous) and bought a TON of toys. When my friend asked him what he was going to do with all these toys, he said he was donating them to a local children's hospital for all the sick kids who had to spend Christmas there. Seriously, that story still melts my heart to this day. Anyway, back to watching the rest of Leno....

OPI Ulta Holiday Minis! OPI Silver Belles!

I have a little treat today! Rather than post from my backlog of pictures, I am going to jump ahead a little bit and over the next three days, feature the OPI Holiday Mini set that is exclusive to Ulta Stores. I saw this a few weeks ago and the colors blew me away, so I bought it ASAP. And, it definitely didn't disappoint! In addition to the three colors below, it also comes with a mini Rapid-Dry Top Coat. Here are the three polishes:


(l-r: Berried in Gifts, Amethyst Twist, Silver Belles)

Today, I am featuring Silver Belles!

OPI Silver Belles




I wasn't sure how much I would like this color, but as it turns out, I love it! It was not nearly as gritty as I thought it would be - quite smooth actually. It applied very well and I got good coverage with two medium/thick coats. It kind of reminds me of aluminum foil, but nicer! lol Every time I see a silver polish, I assume it is going to take a million coats and end up being light-colored. This one is almost a medium shade of gray, but with enough "sparklage" to make it a glitter polish. All in all, this one was a winner!

Tomorrow, I'll be featuring Berried in Gifts, and then Amethyst Twist, which is sure to knock your socks off!! I believe this mini set retails for $10 and it is available in Ulta Stores nationwide. I just got an Ulta catalog in the mail yesterday with a $5 off a $10 purchase coupon, so if you use that, the set only comes to $5!!! Pick up two! :-)

China Glaze Thunderbird

I think this is my next-to-last polish from the Retro Diva Collection. Woo hoo!! Finally, almost done :-)

China Glaze Thunderbird




I wish I could say something different and original about this polish, but really.... there isn't. There were so many other reds featured in this collection, and honestly, some of them are better than this one. But still, it is a great, everyday burgundy/red.

Okay, so, I was just watching Jay Leno, and he had on the actress who plays the lead role in Precious. I have to say, I haven't seen the movie, but she is absolutely adorable! From the clips I have seen, she does an amazing job in the movie, and I definitely want to see it. Mariah Carey is also in it, and I am a huuuuuuuge MC fan! And, the best part of the interview was the "Earn Your Plug" part, where she was quizzed on *N Sync trivia and Jay brought out Lance Bass to help him ask the questions!!! I was an insane *N Sync fan back in the day, and Lance was my favorite member (yes, I know he's gay. I still love him). And, I still love Lance. He's so yummy :-)

Sephora by OPI Worth My Weight

Ahhhh -- more glitter for the holidays!!

This is one of the newest Sephora by OPI shades... the other I got was Absinthe Makes the Heart, which I will be showing off soon :-)

Sephora by OPI Worth My Weight




Oh my goodness, check out that glittery goodness!! I love love love this polish! It is a little gritty on the nail, but not a huge deal. I managed to get it mostly opaque in two coats, and the multi-sized, multi-colored glitter REALLY stands out. This is a gorgeous polish not just for the holidays, but any special occasion IMO. I *love* how the glitter stands out, and it's even more beautiful in person! ** Drool **

OPI We'll Always Have Paris Suede

My second OPI Suede polish -- I really like this collection :-)

OPI We'll Always Have Paris Suede




Like with all other suedes and mattes, these are quite opaque. You have to apply it very quickly because it dries REALLY fast! If you don't use thin, quick coats, then your brush strokes will be visible. I am wearing two coats here, over a base coat.

Unfortunately, the wear on this polish wasn't great. By the second day, a few of my nails already had chips on them. So, rather than removing the polish, I decided to extend it by another day. I touched up the chips by adding some more polish to them, and then I slapped on some top coat. And, what was originally a pretty color transformed into something even more gorgeous!

With Topcoat

MAC Firehouse

I found this beauty at the MAC Outlet and just knew I had to buy it!

MAC Firehouse




The color is a red/orange that leans a tad more red. It is not quite the color of a firetruck (or a firehouse), but it's close. It kind of reminded me of a can of Coke, actually. The formula and application were both very good on this one. When I first started using MAC, I wasn't crazy about it, but it is quickly becoming one of my favorite polishes. I love their color selection and variety, and with a few exceptions, their formula is stellar!

My Favorite Things: LUSH Lemony Flutter

I know many people are probably already familiar with this product -- it is a staple in pretty much any nail fanatic's arsenal. It is Lemony Flutter from LUSH:

Lemony Flutter is marketed as a cuticle cream, but honestly, it can be used as a regular hand/elbow cream as well. It has a nice, thick consistency and a delicious lemon smell that I love. Some people aren't too crazy about it, but it smells delish to me, and I am kinda tempted to eat it sometimes ;-)

I love this stuff so much that I have two tubs of it - one at home and one in my office. When you initially apply it, you have to rub it in pretty well. It stays greasy for a few minutes, but then it absorbs nicely into your skin and leaves your cuticles soft and manageable. It is a tad pricey at almost $14 a tub, but given the size of the tub (1.5 ounces), and the small amount used each time, I am expecting each tub to last me one, if not several, years.

The other thing I love about LUSH is how socially responsible they are. All of their products are handmade, and there is a sticker on the bottom of each product to tell you who made it, and on what date. Also, they don't do animal testing! Score another one for LUSH and their great products!

China Glaze TMI

I love China Glaze's OMG Collection. It's a collection of 12 polishes filled with holographic yumminess. Check it out!

China Glaze TMI




Super duper pretty holographic pink. The only thing that surprised me was how flat it finished. The shininess in the pics is the result of the top coat I put on after my second coat. I don't know if my base coat maybe caused the polish to dry a little flat, but it wasn't as shiny as I was expecting. Nonetheless, it wasn't something a coat of Seche Vite couldn't fix :-)

I can't believe I have to go back to work tomorrow :-( Having all this time off to spend with my friends and family was nice :-) I'm looking forward to being able to do it again come Christmas :-)