Orly Rage and Essie A Cut Above

Hello, ladies! I hope all of you are having a good start to your week. I don't know about you guys, but it's been SO hot here! California needs to cool down, fast. I have for you today a combo a did over the weekend- rose gold inspired!

Below I used 2 coats of Orly Rage, topped with 1 coat of Essie A Cut Above

Orly Rage Essie A Cut Above

Orly Rage Essie A Cut Above

Rage is a rose gold foil; it's application is good and it only required 2 coats of complete opacity. I really like this polish on its own, but I wanted to add even more pink-y bling to it. I added A Cut Above, which is a two-sized rosy pink glitter in a clear base. With one coat, enough glitter was dispersed onto each nail, without having to do the "dabbing" method. The combination was sparkly in the sunlight, which was perfect during this weather!

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

Orly Lollipop

Hey there, I hope everyone is having a good start to their week! I am 3/4 done with my finals and have a bit of a break until Thursday, which is the day of my last final and my move-out of the dorms. I wanted to get a post up before it got a little hectic with studying for chem and moving out. I recently picked up Orly Lollipop on 50% off clearance at CVS. Since Orly changed their packaging, its old packaging was reduced in price. I personally don't have a preference with packaging so I took advantage of the deal since I've been eyeing Lollipop for quite a while.

Below is 2 coats of Lollipop without a topcoat.

Orly Lollipop

Orly Lollipop

Orly Lollipop

Lollipop is a purple-leaning pink creme. The application on this wasn't bad, but was a little on the thick side. Not all pink-purples suite my skin tone (like Lucky Lucky Lavender), but this one looked quite nice! I think that may be because of the amount of white undertones in the polish. Also, don't mind the mark on the bottle, I took off the clearance tag and it left some adhesive behind :)

What do you think of Lollipop?

-Shelby

Essie Summer 2013 Picks!

Hello again, surprised I'm back so soon? Well, I just couldn't stay away because I've been eager to try out a different camera for my nail photos and I am loving how great the photos are with the switch! Let me know what you guys think of the photo quality :)

Last time I was at CVS, I came across Essie's summer collection- full of shimmers and brights with nautical names. I couldn't resist and picked up 3. There's either 4 or 5 in the collection, but I passed on a couple of the shades.

Lots of photos in this post! All swatches are without topcoat.

Essie Rock the Boat 

Essie Rock the Boat

Essie Rock the Boat

First up is Rock the Boat, a light cornflower blue with silver shimmer. The shimmer is only noticeable in the sunlight, but I love the shade nonetheless! Its formula was decent; at first it was uneven and streaky, but 3 coats seemed to do the trick to create full, smooth opacity. 

Essie Sunday Funday

Essie Sunday Funday

Essie Sunday Funday

Sunday Funday is a bright coral/pink with the same silver shimmer that the whole collection has. The application was better on this one; it only required 2 coats for opacity. This color was really hard to capture on camera! In person, it's a little more pink-leaning. 

Essie Naughty Nautical 

Essie Naughty Nautical 

Essie Naughty Nautical 

Naughty Nautical is a sea green/muted teal with the same silver shimmer. This may be my favorite from the collection because it's so unique! The application was similar to Sunday Funday and only required 2 coats. I must say the name drew me to it as well; I can't resist polishes with cute names!

What do you think of Essie's new summer collection?

-Shelby

OPI My Very First Knockwurst and Essie Beyond Cozy

Happy weekend, ladies! :) I am so relieved to be home for the weekend! I'll have some down time to just relax, which also means time to catch up on blog posts! I think I may make a few scheduled posts for the next week or two since I am finishing up my current University year.

Today I have for you a simple mani I did a week or so ago: OPI My Very First Knockwurst with a slight glitter gradient of Essie Beyond Cozy.

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Essie Beyond Cozy

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Essie Beyond Cozy

My Very First Knockwurst is probably my favorite pink-nude creme in my collection! Its formula and application is a dream and I love how it looks against my skintone. I added a slight gradient effect to my ring finger with a recent purchase of mine, Beyond Cozy, which is a silver and gold fine glitter. I love this combo together!

What do you think of this pairing?

-Shelby

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook and Simmer & Shimmer

Hello ladies :) I hope you all are having a wonderful Wednesday! I am so glad the week is already halfway over, I can't wait to come home and see my boyfriend this weekend. It'll be nice to relax after a long week. Last night I tweaked my back a bit and can't ride my bike around campus. So I'm hoping by this weekend I'll be feeling much better!

A couple days ago I wore a couple new polishes I got recently: OPI Can't Find My Czechbook (Euro Centrale collection) and Simmer & Shimmer (Burlesque collection)

Below I wore 2 coats of each; CFMC on all fingers but my ring finger, S&S as an accent nail:

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook
OPI Simmer & Shimmer

OPI Can't Find My Czechbook
OPI Simmer & Shimmer

I love this combo! When I first saw promo pics for the Euro Centrale collection, Can't Find My Czechbook immediately stood out to me. It's the perfect bright blue for summer and man, did it not disappoint! It applied flawlessly and I have nothing negative to say about it (other than my photos which do not do the color justice)! I finally got my hands on a couple more of the Burlesque glitters- I am in love with the glitters from that collection and was more than stoked to get more! Simmer & Shimmer is a dense uniform-sized glitter in blue, pink, gold silver, etc. I love the small-sized glitter in the same color, especially because it fully covers the nail in 2 coats! I love glitters like this!

Do you have either of these polishes? What's your go-to glitter-cream pair?

-Shelby

China Glaze Tart-y for the Party and OPI Polka.com

Hello again! I am back with a post as promised. I actually have a few lined up; hopefully this weekend I can do some swatching and get some good photographs, now that the weather is getting gorgeous again. My boyfriend will be out of town so I will have plenty of time to play catch up! Today I have for you two polishes from recent collections: China Glaze Tart-y for the Party (from the Avant Garden collection) and OPI Polka.com (from the Euro Centrale collection)!

Below I used 2 coats of Tart-y for the Party and 1 coat of Polka.com

China Glaze Tart-y for the Party
OPI Polka.com

China Glaze Tart-y for the Party
OPI Polka.com

China Glaze Tart-y for the Party
OPI Polka.com

Tart-y for the Party is a gorgeous lilac shade. I love all light purples and this is no exception! The formula was a little thick, but nothing unmanageable! It didn't streak much and I love how smooth and creamy it is! I added Polka.com (cute name huh?) on top to spice it up; Polka.com has a great formulation and I had NO issues distributing glitter onto each nail evenly! Very impressed indeed :) Polka.com contains teal, magenta, and purple large hexes as well as pink and dark blue/purple micro-glitter. I love the end result of this mani!

Do you have polishes from either of these new collections? What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI Sparkling Personality and Models Own Pink Fizz

Hello ladies! I know this is an extremely late post, but I guess it's just that kind of night for me! Maybe you'll see this when you're sipping on your Sunday cup of coffee, rather than at nearly 1 am (Cali time, of course). 

Below I used $OPI Sparkling Personality, from the Betsey Johnson collection, and Models Own Pink Fizz

Sephora by OPI Sparkling Personality
Models Own Pink Fizz

Sephora by OPI Sparkling Personality
Models Own Pink Fizz

Sparkling Personality is a silver micro glitter with some pink micro glitters mixed in. The formula on this is great- 2 coats for full opacity. Pink Fizz is a pink micro glitter. Not much to say about this one, it isn't all that exciting, but it spiced up this look! This also took 2 coats for full opacity. I had to use the "dabbing" method a bit with Pink Fizz to cover bald spots.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Shelby

OPI Miami Beet and Icing Pop a Bottle

Good evening ladies! I hope everyone had a nice weekend; I had a lot of fun just spending some time with my family and my boyfriend :)

I've been meaning to try the Icing polishes, but never got around to it, until this weekend. I picked up 2 colors, one of which is featured in this post: Pop a Bottle

OPI Miami Beet
Icing Pop a Bottle

OPI Miami Beet
Icing Pop a Bottle

OPI Miami Beet
 Icing Pop a Bottle

Miami Beet is a gorgeous pinky red creme. I love this shade! It's a perfect winter red, in my opinion. I like it against my skin tone and it had a great application; opaque in 2 coats. Pop a Bottle is a fine glitter consisting of pink, blue, and gold fine glitters in a dark pink base. I added a Sally Girl large and small gold glitter on top to make the accent nail pop more.

What do you think?

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI All is Glam, All is Bright and Essie A Cut Above

Happy Saturday everyone :) It's been so relaxing having an extra long weekend so far; it feels like Sunday to me! I really enjoyed my glittery Thanksgiving mani, so I thought I'd share it with you guys!

I picked up a new Nicole by OPI holiday polish: All is Glam, All is Bright- I had to use it asap!

Nicole by OPI All is Glam, All is Bright
Essie A Cut Above

Nicole by OPI All is Glam, All is Bright
Essie A Cut Above

Nicole by OPI All is Glam, All is Bright
Essie A Cut Above

All is Glam, All is Bright is a finely milled pink, blue, silver glitter in a clear base with slightly larger bright red flecks. This polish is so festive! I The formula was pretty good and 2 semi-thick coats made it opaque. I added A Cut Above to make it stand out even more. Lately I've really been enjoying layering different sized glitters :)

What do you think of this holiday manicure?

-Shelby

Zoya Paloma & China Glaze I Herd That

Good afternoon! Today's mani is inspired by what my boyfriend had in mind! I asked him which colors he'd like to see on my nails next and he said berry and pumpkin orange. I decided to do a bit of both with a jelly sandwich!

What I used:
2 coats Zoya Paloma
1 coat China Glaze I Herd That
1 coat Zoya Paloma

Zoya Paloma
China Glaze I Herd That

Zoya Paloma
China Glaze I Herd That

Paloma is a raspberry jelly; I love it! The formula was great and worked perfectly for the jelly sandwich. I Herd That (such a cute name!) contains copper, gold and red micro glitter. I think this combination is gorgeous and I may use this combo again for the holidays!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 21: Inspired by a Color

Hello! I'm so excited that we are onto the final third of the challenge: the "inspired by" section!

Today's theme is "inspired by a color", which was very convenient for me since yesterday I did a gradient! Made things extra convenient :)

What I used:
OPI If You Moust You Moust
OPI Dim Sum Plum
OPI Casino Royale

OPI If You Moust You Moust
OPI Dim Sum Plum
OPI Casino Royale

OPI If You Moust You Moust
OPI Dim Sum Plum
OPI Casino Royale

As you can see, I chose pink/berry as my color! Casino Royale and Dim Sum Plum are more on the berry side, but when layered over If You Moust You Moust, they look more pink! I still really like gradients, they don't take a lot of time or effort, but look awesome! No complaints about any of these formulas either :)

My 12 year old cousin recently went to a Justin Bieber concert (she's a huge fan) and she requested that I feature her manicure on my blog. As promised, here are Phoebe's creative nails!

She told me she used a picture cut-out, placed it on her ring finger and topped it off with clear coat. 

I think the purple with the hearts is very cute :)

What do you think of these manis?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

Urban Outfitters Afterhours & Essie Penny Talk!

Good afternoon! I hope everyone's monday is going well. Today I had an early 7:30 class and then a socio quiz at 10, but I finished first out of ~350 students so that made me feel good! It was an early and busy start to my birthday; it'll most likely be much relaxing later!

I know I recently showed you Penny Talk, but I just couldn't resist to use it for another mani! Also, the photos in this post are much better than my indoor, poorly lit photos from last time haha

Below I did 2 coats of Essie Penny Talk and 1 coat of Urban Outfitters Afterhours!

Essie Penny Talk
Urban Outfitters Afterhours

Essie Penny Talk
Urban Outfitters Afterhours

Essie Penny Talk
Urban Outfitters Afterhours

Essie Penny Talk
Urban Outfitters Afterhours

Isn't this just beautiful!? This is one of my favorite fall combos at the moment!

Penny Talk is a gorgeous copper metallic; it's great as a base since on its own it shows a lot of nail imperfections. Afterhours is a pink, silver and gold glitters with lots of holo glitters running throughout! I'm surprised by Urban Outfitters' polishes; I like them a lot! This is by far my favorite polish that I own by them. 

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 15: Delicate Print

Good morning! As you can probably figure from the title, today's challenge is a delicate print. I'm not quite sure what that is (lace?), but my first instinct was to go for floral, which unfortunately was day 14's theme. So I went for bows...that's delicate enough right?

What I used: 
OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Revlon Impulsive (for stamping)
Cheeky ch24

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Revlon Impulsive

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Revlon Impulsive

OPI My Very First Knockwurst
Revlon Impulsive

This stamp was definitely not easy to use! So my stamping job here is far from perfect haha. I like the color combo, I think My Very First Knockwurst is a delicate pinky nude, even though the name is far from delicate! Impulsive has been my go-to shade for so many things lately; it's the perfect jewel-tone purple, but maybe not the greatest for stamping. I like the look of this. I hope this fits the bill of a delicate print!

Hope you enjoyed!

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

31 Day Challenge, Day 12: Stripes

Good evening! I had a tricky time with today's challenge; not only were my new Cheeky plates giving me trouble, but I've been scrambling to pack (I'm moving into my dorm tomorrow!). So sorry if the stripes aren't the best :P

I got my inspiration from Candy Stripers! I like the vertical pink and white stripes on their outfits. I took a spin on it and did pink and red stripes!

Below I used 3 coats of China Glaze Gelato and Sally Hansen Cinna-snap for stamping with Cheeky plate Ch6!

China Glaze Gelato
Sally Hansen Cinna-Snap

Several of the new Cheeky plates just didn't want to work for me :(. I hope I didn't just get a bad batch! I got these just in time for this challenge :). Hope you guys still like them! Sorry for my short post, I'll be back again soon!

My inspiration:

-Shelby

check out the other participants:

-Kimber at Kimber's Lacquer Korner
-Kat at Hooked On Polish
-Diana at Nails By Diana
-Aly at Wonderland Beauty
-Meredith at Perfectly Polished
-Nicole at The Color Republic
-Kate at The Painted Pony Nails
-Cee at Absolutely Cee
-Sam at Polished Art
-Nail Narcotics
-Nicole at Nicole Gets Nailed
-Shelby at Shelby's Swatches
-Stephanie Louise at All Things Beautiful 
-Mixed Mama
-Joanna @ Sweet Polish of Mine
-Patty Greenberg
-Liz and Lisa @ Lozlosa 
-Mari at Nailista 
-Greta at How Was Your Day?
-Miss L at Beauty by Miss L 
-Gini at Sassy Paints 
-Chameleon Stampede 
-Pam at Nail-E-Glance
-Me, Myself, and Polish 
- Robin Sparkles 

JulieG Dream in Pretty & Color Club Magic Attraction

Good afternoon! Today I have for you an end-of-summer mani; it's my last chance to pull out the summer shades!

Below I used 2 coats of JulieG Dream in Pretty and Color Club Magic Attraction for the accent nail & dotting!

JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

JulieG Dream in Pretty
Color Club Magic Attraction

Dream in Pretty is a gorgeous pink-leaning purple creme. The application of this wasn't the greatest, but I was able to deal with it! I added Color Club Magic Attraction as an accent nail and then used a medium-sized dotting tool and made dots along my cuticles with the same glitter! Magic Attraction is a pink and silver glitter with some holo running throughout it. This had an okay formula, too!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby 

First Attempt at Water Marbling!

Good evening ladies! Today I tested out water marbling because I know it's going to pop up in the 31 Day Challenge later on! It didn't turn out perfectly, but I like the outcome :)

What I used:
China Glaze Bahamian Escape (base)
Essie Neo Whimsical
Sally Hansen Blue Me Away
Essie Marathin

My ring finger is definitely my favorite! My middle finger didn't turn out as planned :P

What do you think of this? 

-Shelby