Wednesday, March 31, 2010

OPI Designer Series Signature

Okay, onward with the Designer Series polishes! Fear not, polish lovers, I have a LOT more to show you! :-D

OPI Designer Series Signature




This one was quite the pleasant surprise. When I saw the bottle, I thought it was just another DS pink, but it turned out to be this gorgeous pink/purple mauve color after I put on three coats. The holo effect on this one is quite gorgeous -- it is more purple than Divine, but a lighter color and more pink than Extravagance.

Don't you guys just love this color?? <3

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

L.A.M.B. Tammy Heels

I do apologize for the lack of posts - things have been really busy and I've been away from home for a while, so I haven't had a lot of time to swatch, take pics, post, etc. I don't have a Designer Series post today -- hopefully those will resume tomorrow or later on tonight! I will schedule a few posts to go up, so it won't be so long between posts for me!

I recently got these:



They are the Tammy heels from L.A.M.B. (Love, Angel, Music, Baby - it's Gwen Stefani's clothing line). I saw them at Nordstrom Rack a while ago (must be at least 4-5 months) and they had one pair, and it happened to be my size. But, at a price tag of $200, it was a little over my shoe budget (and that $200 was down from the original price of $369). So, you can imagine how giddy I was when I saw them marked down the last time I was there. They were sitting on the clearance shelf with all the other lonely shoes and I ended up paying... drumroll please... $65!!! For a pair of $369 shoes!!

I love anything that is strappy and I love heels, so these are perfect for me! The heel height is almost 5 inches, so it's a little higher than I'm normally used to (I can walk in up to 4 inch heels comfortably), but I am slowly getting used to it by walking around my house in them to break them in. I cannot wait for the weather to get warmer so that I can break these babies out!!! I'm so excited! I guess it goes to show you that patience is a virtue, but it really pays off!!! :-)

Thursday, March 25, 2010

OPI Designer Series Illuminate

So... the problem with posting all these Designer Series polishes is that I am going through my stash so quickly! I usually reserve DS polishes for more "special" occasions, or when I want my nails to feel pretty. But, that rarely happens, so it was bumming me out that I had dozens of them just sitting in my bathroom. So, that's when I decided that I would use only DS polishes until I go through all of them! This is going to last probably until at least the middle of April, since I am a little behind in posting. Here's another beauty for today:

OPI Designer Series Illuminate




I *love* this color! Like, seriously love. This is not a color I would have picked to become a DS polish. It is like a light mud-colored brown with hints of muted orange in it. The holographic effect on it is gorgeous! Forgive the dent on my index finger - I got a little too excited when the polish was drying and I messed up the polish on that finger and was too lazy to fix it. The formula was also perfect -- only required two coats, which is what I'm wearing here. This almost looks jewel-toned to me, and I love that quality. I have yet to rank which DS are my favorite, but this one is going to definitely be in the Top 5. What a beaut! :-)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

OPI Designer Series Divine

Oh yes, divine indeed!

OPI Designer Series Divine




What a gorgeous, bright (but not too bright) pink holographic polish! It shimmers like crazy! Application was very good -- it was opaque in two coats, but I put on three, just to be consistent with the other DS polishes I have posted. I actually think this is my second time wearing this color -- I wore it to my BFF's bridal shower/bachelorette weekend as well. I liked it so much that I decided it needed another go-round on my nails :-)

Monday, March 22, 2010

OPI Designer Series Diamond

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Happy Monday!

OPI Designer Series Diamond




I honestly wasn't sure what to expect with this polish -- at first, I saw the name "Diamond" and thought it would be a silver holo polish. And, three coats later, I *still* don't know what color it is. It has a hint of silver in it, but I think i also see some light purple/lavender in there. Does anyone else also see it?? This is a very pretty color and work-appropriate also IMO.

I took a look at my DS stash and realized that a lot of my remaining colors are pretty light-hued. I guess I was pretty drawn to the darker colors, because I used them all first! :-)

I'm pretty excited because tonight is the premier of Dancing With the Stars. Call me cheesy, but I loooooove that show! Monday is usually a gym night for me, because one of the classes I really like take place on Monday, but I am actually going to skip class tonight because I want to watch the premiere, and my DVR doesn't work (suck it, Comcast), so I have to be home in order to watch it. Can't wait!!!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

OPI Designer Series Extravagance

OK, sorry about the detour yesterday -- now back to our regularly scheduled Designer Series postings!

OPI Designer Series Extravagance




WOW! I have to say that this is by far one of my most favorite DS polishes ever. Look at that sparkle! Check out that shimmer and holographic awesomeness! I'm floored! Perfect formula on this one - no application issues whatsoever. The color hovers between purple and pink - maybe a tad more toward purple. My pics didn't come out all too clear, but that's probably for the better, because it makes the holo more noticeable. Pretty pretty pretty! :-)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Color Club Object of Envy

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! OK, I am cheating a little bit on the Designer Series theme, but since it's St. Patrick's Day, I had to share my St. Paddy's manicure with you guys! :-)

Color Club Object of Envy




This mani literally just dried, and I'm already typing away! It dried super fast! Object of Envy is a clear polish packed with green microglitter. Like with the other CC glitters I've tried, the polish is a little thick, but not impossible to work with. The glitter is not quite as dense as it appears in the bottle, so I am wearing three coats here, with a top coat for added shine and to smooth out the grittiness. I probably could have used a fourth or fifth coat if I wanted it to be completely opaque, but I was satisfied enough after three coats.

I love this color and how much it sparkles! I can't wait to show it off tomorrow! Hope everyone is having a safe and happy St. Paddy's Day! I will be returning to my regular Designer Series posting tomorrow :-D

Monday, March 15, 2010

OPI Designer Series Glamour

Now, this is what I'm talking about -- a Designer Series polish that applies beautifully and looks even more gorgeous on!

OPI Designer Series Glamour




This polish is just about perfect - I could get away with just two coats, and the formula was great. The color is a great deep blue/almost purple -- it is not quite navy. It reminds me a lot of OPI Ink, but a bluer, holographic version. It's like a rainbow on my fingernails. I couldn't stop staring at my nails the whole time I was wearing this. This polish is awesome! Totes loves <3

Friday, March 12, 2010

OPI Designer Series Shimmer

Today is the kick-off of all-OPI Designer Series polishes! YAY!!!

OPI Designer Series Shimmer




Well, I was hoping to start off the week with an awesome polish, but I am going to kick it off with this disappointment instead, since it happened to be the first one that I picked out of my stash. Looking at the bottle, I wasn't sure what to expect. At the very least, I thought I would have a very pretty light gray/silver holographic polish. The thing that disappointed me the most about this polish was the application. No matter how hard I tried, I could *not* get it to be opaque enough for my liking, and the formula was watery. I am wearing FOUR coats here, and it is still too sheer for me. Blah! I quit after four coats and decided to just leave it as is. I like how you can very clearly see all the different colors in the light, but I don't think I would ever wear this as a standalone polish, but it may work as a topcoat over a dark color to give it a little bit of shimmery goodness.

Oh well -- I have some better ones coming up - I promise! :-)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Essie Bordeaux

Oops, sorry about the lack of posting :-( I've been bombarded with work and other stuff lately. I've been trying to get back into a gym routine. I seem to either go all the time, or not at all. So, I'm trying to balance it out and go 3-4 times a week so that I can stay healthy and active. Of course, whenever I "return" to the gym, I end up overdoing it and when I get home, all I want to do is collapse and fall asleep :-)

Essie Bordeaux




So, before we move onto Designer Series polishes, I have an Essie here. Normally, I love pinks and reds from Essie, because that seems to be their niche. However, I really didn't take to this polish at all. As you can see, my application was incredibly crappy (and my nails are in horrible shape!). I'm wearing two coats here. I could have used another one to make the polish more opaque, but the formula was a tad watery as well as jelly-like, even though I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be a jelly polish. I was a little disappointed in this one :-( No me gusta.

Coming up next, I will have all Designer Series polishes for a while (at least a week or two). So, if you're a DS lover, you'll be in heaven like me :-D

Friday, March 05, 2010

China Glaze Awakening

This is an older polish from China Glaze, I believe. I got it online and it was love at first sight! Excuse my crappy pics!

China Glaze Awakening




I am kinda sad that my pictures aren't all that clear, but the blurriness helps you see the golden shimmer more. The polish was a tad sheer, so I am wearing three coats here. It is a lovely medium rose color with tons of golden shimmer. It is "cool" and "warm" at the same time, making it perfect for all seasons! I loooove this polish! Seriously, so pretty!!

I think I am going to have an all-OPI Designer Series string of posts soon. I have a LOT of them, and I know I've already featured a lot, but I think I'm just going to go through the rest of my DS collection and show all my polishes because they're my favorite. Soon! <3

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Movie Review: Valentine's Day

So, to continue the belated Valentine's Day theme from yesterday, I saw the movie Valentine's Day in the theaters this past weekend. When the commercials for this movie first came out, I was super excited. I love ensemble-cast movies. Some of my favorite movies ever are Love Actually and He's Just Not That Into You (both must-sees IMO). So, I figured this would be along the same lines. The movie also features one of my favorite actors - Bradley Cooper! ::swoon::

But, after the reviews came out, all I read were scathing and/or mediocre reviews and I got kinda bummed out. I decided to wait until after my vacation to see it, so that's why I didn't get around to it until this past weekend.

I must say that I really liked the movie. It definitely is not as good as Love Actually or HJNTIY, but it moved at a good pace and reminded me a lot of both movies. I was engaged the whole time -- trying to figure out who was going to have a happy ending, and who was going to have a sad ending. Like with any other movie, it is not all happy and full of heartwarming stories. It tries to be as "realistic" as possible with relationships. You see the couples who stay together through thick and thin and truly love each other. Then, you see those who just can't make it work no matter how hard they try (or don't try), and your heart kind of aches a little. I do have to say that the movie is highly predictable. There are several "twists," but I managed to figure out every one of them. The cast is amazing, but the one who really stood out to me and stole the show was Anne Hathaway. She plays a temporary secretary/struggling actress who moonlights as an "adult phone entertainer." She is absolutely HILARIOUS and I always looked forward to when she came on the screen.

One other thing I noticed in the movie that I thought was cute - in one scene, Jessica Biel's character is in her office having a mental breakdown. She ends up on the couch in her office, and in the background behind her head, I saw a stuffed elephant wearing a navy blue t-shirt that said "Tufts" on it. I instantly smiled :-) I'm not sure how many people know this, but Jessica Biel spent a few years at Tufts for college and that's where I went for undergrad. We actually overlapped one year and I used to see her around campus and in the gym a lot. During one gym session, we were actually doing crunches side-by-side on the stretching mats. I think that's the closest I've ever gotten to a celebrity in a random run-in situation. Anyway, I thought it was cute that she included a memento of her almost-alma mater in the movie.

If you have two hours to kill and want to see a cute, lighthearted movie, I highly suggest this one. Oh, and stay to watch the closing credits. They have some funny extra scenes at the end.

My rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Essie Love, Beverly Hills xx

This was the polish that I recently wore for Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year (they fell on the same day this year). Red is a lucky color in Asian cultures, and I've been waiting for a special occasion to whip out this polish!

Essie Love, Beverly Hills xx





I can't believe this polish retails for $18!! That's insane. It is supposed to be some sort of "special edition" nail polish that has gold in it or something -- I can't remember. Anyway, thankfully I didn't pay that much. I found it in the clearance bin at Ulta and paid about half that price (still kinda pricey for a bottle of nail polish though). Maybe I'm blind, or stupid, but I don't really see the gold. I can *barely* notice a slight golden shimmer, but that's about it. But, I will say that for such an expensive polish, it applied wonderfully. Don't let my crappy, rushed application job be any indication of how well this polish applied. It was practically opaque (but not too thick) in one coat. A second coat finished it off nicely. I like the red, and it was festive and fit the occasion, but I don't foresee myself spending so much for a nail polish ever again.