Monday, November 30, 2009

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!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

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 :-)

Friday, November 27, 2009

OPI Smitten With Mittens

This is my first polish that I'm trying out from OPI's Holiday 2009 Collection, called Holiday Wishes. I didn't buy all the polishes in the collection -- six of them are some form of red, and the other six are non-reds. Since I don't like a ton of redundancy, I got only a few of the reds, since they all pretty much looked the same to me :-)

OPI Smitten With Mittens






I really wish my camera could take better pics of this polish, because it is *much* prettier and more sparkly than what you can see in the pictures. It is a red glittery polish in a red jelly base. Application was very good. The formula was smooth and went on well. So, my apologies on how crappy this looks on me -- I swear, in real life, it is a lot nicer!

Today was Black Friday, and I didn't really go shopping, but I managed to pick up a few things for myself after I got off work. I stopped by the MAC counter at Saks and got some makeup, and a pair of work pants at Express, since the whole store was 20% off. I really really like their Editor pants, even though they are so damn expensive! I love the fit of them, and the fact that they come in different inseams, so that shorties like myself can wear them without hemming them. However, my FAVORITE thing about them is that they are washable. They have the appearance of lightweight wool, but they're not, so dry cleaning is not necessary. Awesome! I need more Editor pants in my life!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Color Club Too Violet + HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

First off, I want to wish a very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there who is celebrating on this glorious day. This is one of my favorite holidays of the year, because it is comprised of my two favorite things in the world -- 1) family and 2) food. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!

Today's polish is part of the Japanese Glitters collection for Color Club. This is probably the most opaque polish in the grouping, and it's a shimmery lavender/purple called Too Violet.

Color Club Too Violet




(outdoors, direct sunlight)




I am wearing two coats here, with one coat of topcoat. The consistency was still quite gritty after one coat of Seche Vite, so I probably could have used one or two more coats. This one is really quite glittery -- the second picture is blurred a bit, so you can see how it sparkles! The application wasn't too bad -- the polish is a jelly base, so it was a little thick, but it built up well and was pretty opaque by the second coat. The other three glitters in this collection are all sheer pinks, so I'm not as looking forward to trying them, but I have them, so I'm sure I'll get around to them eventually :-)

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

OPI Barefoot in Barcelona

I didn't think I would love this color when I saw it in the bottle, but as it turns out, I absolutely LOVE it and received a ton of compliments on it :-)

OPI Barefoot in Barcelona




(outdoors, direct sunlight)




This is from OPI's Spain Collection. It is a gorgeous nude shade, but went on pretty opaque, so it's not a sheer (I can't stand those French-mani sheers). The color is very work-friendly and I didn't think it would go well with my skin coloring, but it actually does! I think the color looks much prettier on the nail than the bottle, and I'm sure I'll be wearing it again in the near future :-)

Friday, November 20, 2009

China Glaze Sunrise

OK, I know I've been wearing a lot of reds lately, but it's one of my favorite colors, and one of my jobs changed their "nail polish" policy recently, and there is a very short list of "acceptable" nail polish colors. One of those colors is red, so I've decided to stick with mostly reds for when I have to work there. Trust me, it's not a policy I like, but I like my job, so I gotta adhere to the dumb policy for a while until I break 'em down ;-)

China Glaze Sunrise
(indoors, with flash)





(outdoors, direct sun)




Nothing really out of the ordinary on this one -- it is pretty much your run-of-the-mill red. What I really like about this one is the finish. It has an almost metallic sheen to it. It reminds me a lot of OPI's Never Lon-done Shopping. I am wearing two coats here, plus top coat.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Orly Chocolate Martini

Orly recently released 48 mini holiday polishes, and most of them are some sort of glitter or shimmer, so of course, I had to pick up a few! These polishes are small, which is why I am holding a bottle of Nubar Diamont in one of the pics -- they are bigger than the OPI mini polishes, but not as big as the China Glaze minis. Onto my first Orly!

Orly Chocolate Martini






This one is a shimmer -- the color is a bit hard to describe, but I would say it's like a burnt brown/orange color. I took a non-flash pic in natural light so that you can see that it has some golden shimmer to it as well. Even though the polish was small, it was fairly easy to work with and was opaque in two coats. The wear is OK - as you can see in the non-flash picture (which was taken the next day), there is already a tiny bit of tip wear. I have a few other minis from this collection coming up as well :-)

Also, I am super duper excited because I just ordered the new China Glaze Wizard of Ooh Ahz Returns Collection, and I cannot wait for it to arrive! *happy dance*

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

China Glaze Dynasty

I don't know what it is with me and glitters -- I just love them so much! So, you can imagine my giddiness when China Glaze released their Specialty Collection of 50 glitters, shimmers, and cremes. I already swatched most of the glitters on a nail wheel, but this is the first glitter from the collection that I am wearing as a full mani, and I must say, this is probably my favorite color from the collection.

China Glaze Dynasty






The polish appears more red in the pics than it is in real life. It is a *tad* more orange than it appears. I blurred the last picture a little bit so that you can see how much this SPARKLES! I am only wearing two coats here -- very good opacity on this polish (most of the other glitters required three coats). The texture is very gritty on this one. I am wearing one coat of Seche Vite, but probably could have used one or two more coats if I wanted to even out the polish. But, I am so in love with this one that I didn't even bother with additional top coats :-)

I may need a backup bottle for this one -- I want to wear it all the time!!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Zoya Rea

This is probably the first Zoya polish I've tried that wore really well! Yay for Zoya! (finally!)

Zoya Rea




Rea is a super pretty lavender polish with bits of silver and purple microglitter. It is almost like a mauve-lavender color. Unlike some of the other Zoyas I've tried so far, this one was easy to apply, only took two coats, and I didn't have any pull-back after I put on a topcoat. Also, wear was very good -- lasted two full days before I got any tipwear. This one makes me hopeful that the other Zoyas I have in my stash will be as good as Rea! Every time Zoya has some kind of promotion, I try to pick up some polishes. I also recently discovered that a local Cost Cutters has them in stock and sells them for $6 instead of $7. They also have a clearance table where the Zoyas are only $3! Boo-yah!! So, there will be lots more Zoyas coming up in the near future :-)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

OPI Designer Series Tapestry

This is probably the first orange-y Designer Series I've tried, and I love it!

OPI Designer Series Tapestry




I wouldn't say this is a true orange -- it's got a tinge of red to it. It kind of reminds me of the inside of a grapefruit. As with almost all DS's, this applied evenly and beautifully. I'm wearing two coats here, and you can definitely see the shimmer and sparkle in this one. It's totally gorge!! <3

Friday, November 13, 2009

China Glaze Crystal Ball

Um.... LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! That's all.

China Glaze Crystal Ball




This polish just cracked my Top 20 -- and maybe even my Top 10. This is what I was hoping Eyes Like Sapphires would be like, but that was total fail whale. This, on the other hand, is utterly gorgeousness. Beautiful maroon/wine colored polish with multi-color microglitter?? YESSSSS! It applied like a dream and only took two coats to be fully opaque. Truly gorgeous! I love it!! <3

Thursday, November 12, 2009

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Suede

I have the whole OPI Suede collection, and decided to try this one out first because it looked the prettiest in the bottle :-)

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Suede




My apologies in advance for my crappy application job. I took the pics before I cleaned up my nails. The bottle had a little disclaimer that you shouldn't use base coat or top coat on these. The application process is very similar to the Matte Collection that they released this year as well. As you can see from the pics, I did not use a top coat, but I did use a base coat, because I didn't want to stain my nails, and I find that application is generally easier when I have a base coat on. I used Seche Clear, since that usually gives me a flat finish and won't alter the "suede"ness of this polish.

Like the OPI Mattes, this one only required two coats, and each coat dried VERY quickly. You really don't have too much time to fix mistakes while the polish is still wet. You're better off waiting until the polish is dry and then doing cleanup after that. I really like this color -- though it looks nothing like the non-suede LPAD, which is super almost-black dark. I have seen pics of this polish with a top coat and well, and it is a stunning gorgeous sparkle. All of these Suedes remind me of how a glitter polish would look if you used a matte top coat on them -- I think that's the best way of describing them. The wear was decent -- I had some tipwear on Day #2 and a chip on one finger. I can't wait to try out the other Suedes in this collection :-)

20% Off @ Filene's Basement!

Okay, I realize that not everyone knows what Filene's Basement is or have one in their area, but we have a TON here, and I like shopping there :-) For those of you who shop there also, here is a coupon for 20% off your entire purchase. The coupon is good from now until Sunday.

Click on the coupon to enlarge and print out:



I get a TON of these coupons and online sales in my email, so as I get them, I will post them on here :-) I know there are other Shopaholics out there like me, so I am more than happy to share.

Happy Shopping!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

China Glaze Fashionably Late

At first, I thought this would be another run-of-the-mill red when I saw it in the bottle. But woah, was I wrong!!

China Glaze Fashionably Late




This is like a red with a kick. It is red, but not a bright one -- it is more muted, with an almost-mauve tone. It also has a frosty finish that makes it utterly unique and truly beautiful. It applied very nicely and despite my crappy application job, only took two coats. I also love the name. Though I try to always be punctual, I find myself occasionally fashionably late :-)c

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Urban Decay Friends & Family -- 30% Off!

More coupons and special deals for y'all :-)

(click on image to enlarge)


You can shop at www.urbandecay.com.

If you've never shopped UD before, it is one of my favorite makeup brands. Their eye makeup is the BEST! Their shadows are amazing, as are their eyeliners! They also have a sweet little 7-piece mini nail polish set that retails for only $25 (that's the price before discount!). One of my favorite things ever is their eyeshadow primer potion. It's the bomb diggity! Dab a little of this on your lids before applying shadow, and I guarantee your eyeshadow will stay put all day long!

Gap Inc's "Give and Get" Promotion -- 30% off!

Hi All! I am participating in Gap Inc's "Give and Get" promotion. From November 12th until November 15th, you can get 30% off your entire purchase at Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy (either online or in store -- works at Gap Outlet and BR Outlet as well). Additionally, 5% of your purchase amount is donated to a charity of my choice. This time around, I selected Feeding America as my charity. I have a limited number of invites to give out, but would be happy to share if anyone wants one. If you would like to save 30% off your Gap, Inc. purchase and help out Feeding America in the process, please leave me a comment with your email address, and I will be sure to send you an invite (I need your email address in order to forward the invite to you).

Thanks and Happy Shopping!!

Monday, November 09, 2009

Essie Steel-ing The Scene

This color is certainly different -- I don't think I have anything else in my collection that comes close to it. Sometimes, change is refreshing :-)

Essie Steel-ing The Scene




This polish was pretty sheer -- I had to put on three coats to get it to be opaque. It is a frosty/shimmery gold/silver metallic color. I like it, but not as much as I thought I would. I think I am just starting to get picky in my old age LOL.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Zoya Astra

I just put this polish on last night, and I love it SO much that I feel compelled to show it off today :-D

Zoya Astra




(no flash)


This is probably one of the most beautiful glitters I've ever seen! For Winter 2009, Zoya released three UltraGlitters. Astra is a gorgeous Barbie-pink color. At first glance, I thought it was a clear base with pink glitter, but it is actually a pink base with a crapload of pink glitter loaded in there. The pink base makes it build up rather quickly -- I am wearing three coats here with one coat of top coat that helped smooth it out rather nicely. I love how densely packed the glitter is, and it REALLY makes your nails POP! What a super gorgeous color! I can't wait to try out the other UltraGlitters :-)

These retail for $7 each and are available through Zoya's website.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

OPI Can You Tapas This?

My apologies in advance, because my pictures for this are absolute CRAP (so was my application, but that's a different story!). I had a really hard time trying to photograph these, and none of my indoor pictures came out correctly, so these are all outdoor pics.

OPI Can You Tapas This?






This shade is from OPI's current Spain Collection. This color drew me in right away and I bought it as soon as I could. I am wearing two coats, but could probably have used a third to cover up some of the bald spots on my nails. This is a dark red/brown shade. I think it actually looks different from the bottle color, so it is a tad misleading, but I like it anyway. It is a super pretty shade for Fall, and I love warm colors :-) I'm not sure if I can find a dupe for this color in my collection -- my first thought was maybe "I'm Fondue of You" from the France Collection, but I haven't tried them side-by-side yet.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

China Glaze Eyes Like Sapphires

I was so excited when I first got this polish! I thought it would be a gorgeous bright blue with glitter. Instead, I was disappointed when it turned out to be a gritty blue with no sparklies :-(

China Glaze Eyes Like Sapphires




I'm wearing two coats here, so coverage is pretty good. I am wearing only one coat of top coat, and the polish is still very gritty. It is not smooth at all, and it made my nails feel weird when I had it on. I would have put on more top coat, but I didn't think this polish was worth smoothing out, because I really didn't like it all too much. I expected glitter, since I can see glitter in the bottle, but as you can see, there is hardly any glitter in the polish. Big disappointment :-(

Oh well, at least I have my other pretty China Glaze Glitters to keep me glitter-happy for a while :-) Oh, I cut my nails last night, and I can type so much faster and more accurately now! I love shorter nails... it suits my lifestyle a lot better, and I don't have to be paranoid all the time about breaking one hehe.

Monday, November 02, 2009

OPI Thrills in Beverly Hills + China Glaze Polar Ice

Rather than post from my backlog of pics, I am fast-forwarding a bit and showing you guys my nails from this past weekend :-) I did my nails to match my Halloween costume. I was a goddess and my dress had gold trim and was super pretty, so I wanted divine-looking nails to match!

OPI Thrills in Beverly Hills + China Glaze Polar Ice




The tips are four coats of OPI's Thrills in Beverly Hills. This is a gold glitter top coat. I used FOUR coats of it to get it to be dense enough on my tips. Then, I put one coat of China Glaze's Polar Ice on top of it and a coat of Seche Vite to finish it off. Polar Ice is a cloudy-clear base with multi-color glitter in it. It is from ChG's new Specialty Collection. I probably wouldn't wear it by itself, but it is awesome for layering! I don't do Frenches very often, because I don't really like my nails to be super long (I type a lot, so I prefer them short), but I was growing them longer for Halloween so that I could do my tips :-) I am bummed because I've noticed my nails are starting to yellow :-( I may have to take a break from polish for a while to give my nails a break. If anyone knows how to get rid of the yellowing, please tell me :-( I will love you forever! :-D