Thursday, August 27, 2009

OPI Designer Series Couture

Another Designer Series beauty to show off today :-)

OPI Designer Series Couture
(indoors, with flash)




(outdoors, natural light)




For some reason, I thought Couture would be a pinkish color, but it is actually more of a coral with red undertones. I am wearing base + 2 coats + top. As usual, no application issues with this DS either. This one is SUPER sparkly and I absolutely love it. As you can see, the flash from my camera really made this color POP.

I heard the other day that OPI has a new Designer Series coming out, and I got so giddy, I nearly peed myself. I can't contain my excitement! haha But, first, I think I need to finish going through my current stash of DS before I move on to the new ones! So, I will be doing lots of DS polishes the next few weeks until I get through all mine :-D

Also, I had a major freakout yesterday when I fucked up something on my domain server and couldn't access my network files for several hours. Many many *many* thanks to my cousin for getting it all fixed for me and letting me bother him with my petty problems during his vacation. My family's da shit.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

China Glaze Far Out

Happy Birthday to uhhhh.... ME! Milestone birthday for me today, and while I'm not too happy about being older, I'm glad I was able to spend it with people I love, and am thankful for all the wonderful birthday wishes I've received! Here's my birthday mani:

China Glaze Far Out
(indoors, with flash)




I didn't go with a crazy color for my birthday. I actually love neutral colors, and brown is one of my favorite polish shades, so I tried out this beauty from the Retro Diva Collection (yay, almost halfway done with the collection!). Far Out is probably my favorite color from the collection, and it is totally different from all the other shades. It is a peachy brown shimmery color. It went on beautifully and was fully opaque in two coats. I love the subtle shimmer, and though the color isn't very vibrant, I think it's beautiful :-)

Thank you again to everyone for the phone calls, texts, gifts, facebook and twitter messages, cards, etc. etc. I feel truly blessed and incredibly loved. That's the best gift of all! :-D

Monday, August 24, 2009

Zoya Shivon

After like what seemed like an *eternity* I got my Zoya nail polishes from the Zoya 5000 promotion. Zoya ran a Twitter promotion where, if they reached 5000 followers by a certain date, they would give away free nail polish. It turned out their offer was more than generous, as they decided to give everyone THREE free nail polishes! I actually ended up picking up four (I paid for one of them), and the first one that I swatched was Shivon.

Zoya Shivon
(indoors, with flash)




(outdoors, natural light)




I seriously love love love this color. As soon as I took the bottles out of the box, I knew this one would be my favorite. It is a mauvey-pink color with gold shimmer. I am wearing two coats, and application was very good. This was my first experience with Zoya, and I have to say, the only complaint I have is wear. As you can kinda see in the pics, there is some "pullback" on the polish when I applied my topcoat. My topcoat isn't even dry yet on my pics, and you can see the polish on my tips already start to retract. I hope all Zoyas aren't like this! I have three more to try!

But, I do have to say that they have a gorgeous range of colors, and at $6/bottle, I don't feel terribly guilty about purchasing them (though their price will go up to $7/bottle starting in October). If you want to follow Zoya on Twitter, click here. To order from Zoya, check out their website.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

MAC Mercenary

I am very happy to report that my second experience with MAC nail polish went a helluva lot better than my first!!

MAC Mercenary
(indoors, with flash)




Mercenary is a difficult color to describe -- when I first put it on, I thought it was a shade of brown, then I thought maybe copper, but now I am definitely leaning toward a burnished gold with lots of multicolor sparkle to it. Application was great -- I'm wearing two coats in the picture. I only have indoor pics, but if you go in the sunlight, this baby really sparkles!! Lovesit!!!

MAC's new nail polish collection comes out this coming week on August 27th, and they've got some really gorgeous fall colors in there. Since this is also my birthday week, I think I'll be stopping by to pick some up as a gift to moi :-D

Friday, August 21, 2009

DO WANT: Coach Poppy Red Sequin Spotlight

I first saw the promotional pictures for the Coach Poppy line back in January or something like that. When I saw the bag that was featured, I nearly shit myself -- it was gorgeous!! Fast forward to today, and I find out that it is called the Red Sequin Spotlight (also comes in black sequins and silver sequins). Check this baby out:



Umm... can you say love at first sight?? I normally don't like hugely flashy bags -- I tend to be a little more conservative with my handbags. But, there is something about this bag that just screams "BUY ME!" First of all, it is red, one of my favorite colors! Also, it is blingy and just flashy enough without being overly gaudy. It is also the perfect size -- large enough to fit everything I need, but not so big that it overwhelms my small frame. It also has a ton of pockets and compartments, which is *perfect* for a packrat like myself. I WANT!!

When the Poppy line first came out a few months ago, I was heartbroken to find out this bag was not part of the initial collection. Well, technically it was, but only the silver, and I am dying for the red. I just found out recently that red is being released in late September!! This baby will be mine soon enough... oh yes, it will!! For anyone else drooling over this bag, the Sequin Spotlight retails for $398 and will be available in stores and online at www.coach.com.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

China Glaze Skate Night

Here's my fourth (I think?) color from China Glaze's Retro Diva Collection:

China Glaze Skate Night
(indoors, with flash)




(outdoors, natural light)




(China Glaze Short & Sassy - for comparison)


I also threw a picture of Short & Sassy (from the same collection) up there for comparison. When I first put on Skate Night, I thought it was a close dupe, but now that I see the two colors, it really isn't. Skate Night is a little more purple, and Short & Sassy is a tad more red. This color went on very nicely -- opaque in two coats, and application was fairly easy.

The heat has finally quelled here. I have been living in my living room since Monday, so I am glad I'll be able to return to my bedroom tonight. It is insufferably hot up there, even when the A/C is on, so I have been camping out downstairs, which has been nice and cool. After all, if you don't "live" in the "living" room, then what is the point of having one? :-) Also, the nicer TV is downstairs in the living room :-D

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

China Glaze Emerald Sparkle

Damn, I've been so busy lately that I haven't been able to update! Sorry 'bout that. I have an AMAZING polish to show off today. This is another one that is most certainly in my Top 10 (that I will probably have to expand to Top 20 soon).

China Glaze Emerald Sparkle
(indoors, with flash)




(outdoors, natural light)




This is one of the best China Glazes *ever*! Emerald Sparkle is a green litter polish with a blackish base. It applies like a dream -- I am wearing two coats here. I was also pleasantly surprised that it wasn't a bitch to take off. A little acetone and some cotton balls, and it swiped right off. Usually, with any sort of glitter polish, I have to get the sandblaster out, but not this one! :-D

This color has been discontinued and is pretty hard to find, but I recently saw that Victoria Nail Supply had some in stock, and for a discounted price, so I picked up two bottles, because I knew I'd be wearing it more than once!

It has been insufferably hot here the last few days. This summer has been craptastic at best. For the whole month of June and half of July, it was 60 every day and RAINY. Just as I was about to put the last nail in my ark and usher all the animals on, it started getting hot -- WICKED hot. Ever since then, our days are either rainy (surprise) or 90 and humid. It is absolutely disgusting. Yuck! And I used to love New England summers :-(

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Lippmann Collection Shut Up and Drive

This is the first polish from the Lippmann Collection that I've tried, and I am already in love! When I first saw the name of this polish, I couldn't get Rihanna's song out of my head. But, after I tried it on, the only thing I could think about was how this polish is absolutely gorgeous and has already made it onto my list of Top 10 favorites!

Lippmann Collection Shut Up and Drive
(indoors, with flash)




(outdoors, direct sunlight)




The formula was great -- just a tad sheer, so I am wearing three coats here. You can still see a little visible nail line, but I really didn't feel like applying any more coats. The polish is a princess-y pink jelly polish that is packed with glitter and has a "wet" look to it at all times. The whole time I wore it, I couldn't stop staring at my hands and saying, "Wow, that is so pretty!" I have a feeling this color will be making future appearances on my nails!

I got my Lippmann Collection polishes at Nordstrom, where they retail for $15. There are also special sets of three polishes that you can buy for $35, so that makes your per-bottle cost a little cheaper. You can also buy them off the Lippman Collection website at www.lippmanncollection.com. I've also heard from people that her stuff is available at select Bath & Body Works stores, but I checked a few near me, and no luck :-(

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Nubar Wildfire

This is my second polish from Nubar's "Going Green" collection. Along with this collection, I also got a bottle of Nubar's fast-drying topcoat, Diamont. A few weeks ago, I started using Diamont after I realized my Seche Vite was starting to get all goopy, and now I am in *love* with Diamont. I was a faithful Seche Vite user until I discovered Diamont. Now, I can't imagine using anything else other than Diamont! OK, enough gloating about Nubar Diamont -- onto the Wildfire swatches!

Nubar Wildfire
(indoors, with flash)






(outdoors, natural light)




I absolutely LOVE this color! It is a duochrome at its finest. It is a mossy green color, but depending on the lighting and which way you turn your hand, it also looks like a mauvey pink or gold. I tried to take some pics where it was showing up both colors. It is absolutely GORGEOUS! I'm wearing two coats in these swatches. I had no application trouble, as the formula was perfect.

Nubar is also animal-friendly. Their polishes are vegan, and they have been certified by PETA as being cruelty-free. You can pick up these guilt-free polishes at www.bynubar.com.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Urban Decay Friends & Family Sale!!!

Okay, shopaholics, are you as excited as I am?? It's one of my favorite times of the year! It's time for Urban Decay's Friends & Family Sale! Save 30% off your entire purchase! Click to enlarge below:



Urban Decay is one of my favorite cosmetics companies, and they are my go-to source for anything eye makeup-related. Their eyeshadow primer potion is a *must* and their eyeshadows are second to none!

Start shopping now at www.urbandecay.com. The F&F code is: FNFF1

Happy Shopping!!

Sunday, August 09, 2009

OPI Designer Series Ruby

Yet another Designer Series goodie today! My goal is to collect the whole DS line... I am well on my way! As of today, I own 20 of them! I am hunting down the remainder that I don't have on eBay and other websites :-D

OPI Designer Series Ruby
(indoors, with flash)




(outdoors, natural light)






When I think "Ruby," I think a medium or dark red. DS Ruby is actually a lighter, brighter red, and is bordering dangerously close to pink. I am wearing base + two coats + top coat in the pics. This one was really hard to get accurate pictures of. It is super sparkly in real life, and packed with multi-color glitter and sparkle. I kind of wish my camera was able to pick it up! As with all DS polishes I've tried so far, the formula on this one was great and glided on with ease. I <3 OPI DS!! :-)

Friday, August 07, 2009

Happy Birthday Skylar!!!

This week, I got to celebrate the 5th birthday of my beloved cat, Skylar. I have to admit that my cat is a terror -- she hates everyone except my mom and sometimes me. She has been known to bite and scratch whenever she feels like it. But, regardless of her temperment, I still love her to bits, and can't believe she is five years old!! She has definitely mellowed out recently and is not as aggressive as she used to be. She gets spoiled like crazy by me. Here's a little bit more about my cat and the things we've come to learn about her over the past five years:

Loves:
  • Pounce (in any flavor)
  • Going outside and beheading birds, mice, crickets, and anything else that passes by
  • Drinking water from the faucet
  • Having her face/ears rubbed or scratched
  • Baths (yes, believe it or not, my cat loves baths!)
  • Laying out on the sidewalk on a sunny day
  • Scratching my mom's furniture
  • Eating dinner with the family (favorite foods include fish, shrimp, and chicken)
Hates:
  • 99.99% of the human and animal population (especially hates the male cat next door)
  • Snow
  • Being bothered when sleeping
  • Being touched anywhere but her head
Here are some pics of my girl from past and present!

















Thursday, August 06, 2009

China Glaze Street Racing

This is my third color from China Glaze's Rodeo Diva Collection!

China Glaze Street Racing
(indoors, with flash)




(outdoors, direct sunlight)




I had no application problems with this one. I went on beautifully and was opaque in two coats. When I first saw this color, the words that immediately jumped into my head were "russet" and "sienna." This is kind of like a red/orange color with a beautiful golden shimmer. You can see the gold pretty well in the outdoor pictures.

I have nine more polishes in this collection that I'm slowly working my way through lol :-)