Essie Rock Star Skinny

I'm back!!! Sorry for the long delay between posts -- I actually got back last week, but have been using the extra time to catch up on everything and adjust back to East Coast time :-)

Essie Rock Star Skinny




(outdoors)




I absolutely love this polish! I think it's awesome! After I put it on, I realized that it would have matched my bridesmaid dress really well -- it was a dark wine/burgundy color, and I like the hint of shimmer as well. The formula was consistent with most Essies -- very good, and applied evenly in 2-3 coats. I feel like I have a million other polishes that could very well be dupes for this shade, but for some reason, I still really like this one -- I think it stands out from other similar shades.

Orly Cherry Bomb

I decided to give Orly another try, even though they haven't thoroughly impressed me as of late...

Orly Cherry Bomb




While I can't say that they've thoroughly redeemed themselves, this is a step in the right direction. Cherry Bomb is a *bright* red with a slightly frost/metallic finish that glimmers silver. The formula on this one was actually very good and only required two coats. Wear was very good -- I wore it four full days before I saw any kind of tip wear. The pics above are just before I was about to remove the polish, so you can see how well it held up!

China Glaze Flyin' High

Here's another polish from the Up and Away Collection -- and a polish that ended up being one of my favorite blues ever!

China Glaze Flyin' High




Based on the formula issues I had with the two pinks I tried from Up and Away, I was a little hesitant to try this one, but I'm glad I did! It applied perfectly and was smooth during application (unlike its two pink siblings). I am wearing three coats here, and this blue is definitely gorgeous. It is darker than a Tiffany Blue, but still reminds me a little of it. I probably should have gone the extra mile and done a white Konad design on top of it, but I was a little pressed for time, so I didn't have the chance to. I know Up & Away can be hit-or-miss, but this one is definitely a HIT!

Orly Glam

This is what I wore as my Fourth of July mani. I know I'm a little late to post, but I wanted something that was a deep red, and I wanted some sparkle, so this seemed to fit the bill perfectly!

Orly Glam




(outdoors, direct sunlight)




Sadly, I didn't love this polish. I can't really put my finger on it -- maybe it was the formula. It wasn't quite jellyish, but it definitely wasn't opaque in less than three coats either. I just feel like the red shimmer/glitter polishes have been done to death, and nothing really stands out about this out. I probably should have just stuck to China Glaze's Ruby Pumps or something.... This looked a lot prettier in the bottle than it ended up looking on my nails :-(

China Glaze Strawberry Fields

Here's another beauty that's been sitting in my pile of "untrieds" for a while now. I figure the recent heat wave would be perfect to try it out!

China Glaze Strawberry Fields




(outdoors, direct sunlight)




I don't know if it's possible to fall in love with a polish and want to marry it, but if it were, this would be my mate of choice. It just screams "GORGEOUS!" in every possible way. The formula was great, and the color -- OMG the color! It is a medium-colored pink absolutely loaded with gold shimmer. It is a lot more visible outdoors than in, though the flash on my camera did manage to pick up the majority of it. This polish is from last year's Summer Days collection, and it is a must-have IMO.

I will be MIA for the next week and a half. However, in my absence, I've scheduled some posts to go up, so you won't be without me for that long :-) My family is going to Hawaii to watch my little brother get married. His lovely bride is from the Aloha state and that's where they are having their "official" wedding. We will have another little banquet/celebration for them here in a few weeks also. I am SO looking forward to this vacation. My family will probably drive me crazy (as is always the case when we are stuck traveling and living together), but I am so happy for and proud of my brother. He deserves all the happiness in the world, and I'm glad we're all going to be able to be there to witness this blessed event. Not only that, but I've never been to Hawaii before and I am STOKED! We will be in Honolulu, so if anyone has been before and has any ideas/tips of what things are a must-see, please let me know.

P.S. I can't swim, so I can't do any sort of under water activities :-( Also, I am under some physical restrictions, so nothing crazy like cliff diving, skydiving, strenuous hiking, or volcano jumping :-)

OPI Crepes Suzi-ette

Happy Friday!!! I hope everyone has a great weekend! :-) There's another heat wave expected here in the Northeast, so it's gonna be a HOT one out there!

OPI Crepes Suzi-ette




(outdoors, direct sunlight)




I don't know what took me so long to try this polish -- I've loved the majority of OPI's France Collection, and this one is no exception. The formula was excellent on this polish -- I am wearing three coats here, but the third was mainly just to even out the color. This polish makes me think "burnt sienna" when I look at it -- it is the perfect mix of orange and brown. I love it! I think this polish would be perfect for fall -- it reminds me a lot of the foliage here in New England :-)

China Glaze The Ten Man

This polish is from China Glaze's re-launched Wizard of Ooh Ahz Returns Collection. I apologize for the huge chip on my ring finger -- I took these pics wicked late. Oops!

China Glaze The Ten Man




I am wearing three coats here. The polish was a little sheer, so it took a little bit to build up. I really like the color because it is subtle, but packs a lot of glitter without being overbearing. I think this color would be perfect for a night out on the town, or maybe a special occasion, like wedding or prom :-) It's pretty, but not gaudy. WIN!

China Glaze Vampy

This polish is *old.* I'm not exactly sure how old, but you can tell by the label on the front that it is from at least a few years back! Maybe that explains the formula issues I had...

China Glaze Vampy




The color can probably best be described as a wine-colored burgundy shimmer. You'll have to excuse the flaw on my index finger -- I was in the middle of moving/packing stuff, and something scratched across my nail :-( As I mentioned above, I had some issues with the formula. I think this polish is supposed to be jelly-like in consistency, but due to the bottle's age (or maybe it really is the formula), it was incredibly thick and difficult to work with. When I first took the wand out of the bottle and saw that the polish didn't drip off, I knew it was thick, so I added some polish thinner, hoping it would help. It did help a little, but the formula was still a tad on the thick side. I think I'm only wearing two coats here, which isn't too bad, but goopy formula is never fun to work with :-( Maybe I should just stick with newer collections from now on. Le sigh.

MAC Seriously Hip

I have no idea why I waited so long to try this polish -- I absolutely love it!!!

MAC Seriously Hip




(outdoors, direct sunlight)




I don't think I can find the perfect words to describe this polish -- the base is a dark, mossy green that borders on almost-black. What makes this polish really pop is the remarkable gold shimmer. You can see microshimmer as well as flakey shimmer as well. Outdoors, it really stands out a lot more. The formula was also amazing -- perfect in two coats, excellent wear (pics were taken after two days of wear), and good dry time. Score another one for MAC!

My Favorite Things: GLEE

Any other Gleeks out there?? I have to admit that I caught onto this show late -- I didn't watch from the very beginning, though now I am hoping to be able to catch up before the new season starts. I probably started watching about halfway through the most recent season.

Glee is a show about a midwestern school's band of misfits who all sing in their high school's glee club. The club itself is comprised of a cross-section of all walks of high school life -- you have your super-popular cheerleaders, your jock, the wheelchair-bound nerd, the goth girl, the annoying-yet-talented girl, etc. The one thing that brings them all together is their love of glee club and their AMAZING talent.

I must say that the musical numbers are what really won me over. Finding actors/actresses who can both act and sing is rare, and Glee has managed to do that. I am completely riveted by all the performances! I am hoping to get a DVD of the first season soon so that I can catch up on all the episodes I've missed. I must say, when I was in high school (granted, it was half a lifetime ago, but whatever), I don't remember going through half the things that any of these kids went through, but this is a TV show and not reality, so that's OK ;-)

The reason I thought about this is because the nominations for the Primetime Emmys came out the other day, and Glee garnered 19 nominations! All of them are well-deserved, also! Another new show that I really enjoy that also got a lot of nods is Modern Family. Both are great shows, and if you haven't seen either, check your local listings for when they're on and catch an episode or two :-)

OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ

I've been lusting after this polish for a while, so I'm glad I was able finally to wear it!

OPI Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ




(outdoors, direct sunlight)




I apologize for the poor condition of my cuticles. For some reason, my index and middle fingers are ALWAYS ragged, no matter how much conditioning or treatments I do. It's the darnedest thing....

I really like this polish, though it doesn't quite remind me of BBQ. It is a deep dark red/purple/brown creme. The formula was great... only required 2-3 coats for opacity. As you can see, this looks much darker indoors than it does outdoors. I'm a little out of season here, because this is definitely a much better option for fall and winter than it is for summer. But, that just means I have another excuse to break it out again in a few months!

Essie Angora Cardi

Hi everyone! I apologize for the lack of posts (again...), but I am in the middle of selling my place and moving, so I haven't had too much time for anything else. That and I've packed away 80% of my polishes, so I don't have many left to try out and swatch :-( I normally wear a polish 1-2 days before switching it, but recently, I've been going 4-5 days because I simply haven't had the time to change it. Le sigh :-( But, I do have a backlog of pics to post, so here we go!

Essie Angora Cardi




(outdoors, natural light)




I have to say that I absolutely LOVE this polish! A good mauve is card to come by, and this one is absolutely perfect. It was opaque in two coats (but I'm wearing three here), and is a perfect pink/purple mauve creme. I absolutely love it!! The wear was also really good -- these pics were taken after two days of wear.

OPI Bling Dynasty

My first polish from OPI's Hong Kong Collection! Ooh, how exciting! :-)

OPI Bling Dynasty




I really liked this one! The formula was great, and the color is just outstanding. It's gold, but not a bling-y (despite its name), bright, annoying gold. It reminds me more of a mustard color, but with a kick of tiny multi-colored shimmer to it. It's gorgeous! My application wasn't wonderful, so please ignore the bald spot on my index finger. I was in a rush and really should have slapped another coat on that finger before I took the pics, but I ended up doing it AFTER I took the pics (of course, right??).

Milani 3D Digital

Hey everyone! I apologize for not having blogged for so long, but I desperately needed the short break :-) Now, it's back to business as usual!

Milani 3D Digital




Milani came out with a line of six holographic polishes a few months ago. I spotted them in my CVS and ended up picking up three of them. They remind me a lot of China Glaze's Kaleidescope Collection. The formula on this one was OK, and required three coats. It has lots of holo shimmer to it, and the wear was pretty decent as well. It is most definitely pink, but sometimes when I look at it, I feel like it leans a little toward light purple as well. Either way, super fabulous color!

China Glaze IDK

I loooove holographic polishes. They are simply amazing! Such as this beauty here...

China Glaze IDK




This polish is a part of the OMG Collection, from which I've mostly used just the blues and pinks. This color is a pretty light purple with a pink/blue holo effect. The formula was a little sheer, which I have found in other polishes from the same collection, so I'm wearing three coats. It also dries to a semi-matte finish for some reason, so you'll want to use a good top coat to get that "wet" look. Other than that, this is a great color and a wonderful collection!

Zoya Tori

Hmm... I don't think I've swatched a Zoya in a while, and since I have so many more now because of the polish exchange, I figured it'd be the perfect opportunity to try out a new one!

Zoya Tori




Tori is a wonderfully opaque jelly-red glitter polish. The glitter is not grainy, so the polish isn't a pain to remove. The formula was excellent -- it gave great coverage in just one coat, but I am wearing two here. I love the color as well -- it really POPS and has a hint of silver to it. Well done, Zoya!

China Glaze X

This polish was released as part of China Glaze's Anniversary Collection. It was a series of 10 polishes, all named a roman numeral from I to X. After looking through the pics of all the colors, this one is the only one that stuck out to me.

China Glaze X




Formula and application were good. I believe I'm wearing two coats here. X is a dark burgundy/brown with multi-color shimmer. The color isn't terribly unique, but it's nice, dark and vampy, which is nice. Another winner for China Glaze!

Flowers to brighten up my day :-)

Just wanted to share a picture of the flowers that my boyfriend had sent to my office yesterday. Aren't they beautiful? I love the variety and mix of flowers, and the smell is just incredible! He is such a sweetheart. What a lucky girl I am! :-) No special occasion... he did it just because. I think that's what makes it even more special! :-D He's definitely a keeper!

Sparitual Hope Springs Eternal

This is my first venture into the world of Sparitual polishes. Check it out!

Sparitual Hope Springs Eternal




I absolutely adore this color. I think it's gorgeous. It is a rose-colored polish with a silver sheen to it. The formula was on the thick side, which made application incredibly difficult. I am wearing two coats here, and I had to be careful with the brushstrokes, because as you can see, they are quite visible on the nail. I love the little hint of shimmer in the polish! It's perfect for spring and summer. Wear was also very good with this. I think I wore it for over four days, and there was no chipping, and minimal tipwear.

I got my Sparitual polishes from www.skinstore.com. They had a Mother's Day sale which was 20% off your whole purchase, and they ship free when your order is over $49, so I bought several polishes since it seemed like a good deal :-) I have a few more to try out, including Fall in Love, which looks GORGEOUS in the bottle, so stay tuned :-D

China Glaze Dusk + Konad m54

I decided to pretty up my last manicure by adding a Konad pattern to it. Using China Glaze Magical (from the Romantique Collection), I stamped a floral pattern from plate m54. Voila!

China Glaze Dusk + Konad m54 using China Glaze Magical