China Glaze Bahamian Escape and Liquid Crystal

It's the middle of the week and I'm back with a post! Life has been busy lately, but the weather was gorgeous today so I had to snap a few pics of my mani.

Below I'm wearing 2 coats of Bahamian Escape and 2 coats of Liquid Crystal on my ring finger.

China Glaze Bahamian Escape
China Glaze Liquid Crystal

China Glaze Bahamian Escape
China Glaze Liquid Crystal

Bahamian Escape is a bright sky-blue creme; it had a wonderful application which barely required 2 coats for full opacity. Liquid Crystal is a dense blue glitter that shifts purple in the light. It contains multi-colored larger glitters throughout and also required 2 coats for full opacity. Love the duo!

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire? and Orly Plum Pixel

Happy almost-weekend! I am so relieved to be off for the summer with lots of spare time on my hands. I've been reading a lot and even joined goodreads, a book lover's dream. Today I have for you a pretty pairing: Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire? from the Modern Family collection and Orly Plum Pixel from the most recent additions of the FX line.

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire?
Orly Plum Pixel

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire?
 Orly Plum Pixel

Nicole by OPI Am I Making Myself Claire?
 Orly Plum Pixel

Am I Making Myself Claire? is a purple-pink-nude creme. It leans in all three directions without definitively settling on one. I added Orly Plum Pixel, a grayed-out darker purple dense multi-sized glitter, as an accent nail to spice up the subtlety of the NOPI. Plum Pixel required 2 coats for opacity; Am I Making Myself Claire? required 2-3, depending on the nail.

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

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

Few of my most recent Manis!

Hello again, ladies! Yes, I am back with a post after who knows how long! Like I said before, life gets in the way. I am a first-year college student and timing is never perfect for photos, but now that spring and summer are approaching, I plan on doing a lot more nail posts, especially once I move home for the summer :) I still have a lot of untried polishes in my stash and I want to purchase a couple of polishes from the spring 2013 collections as well! Side note with that...I am in love with EVERY color from the new Butter London collection...my wallet is already crying.

So I thought to make up for my ultimate lameness, I could show you guys a few of the manicures I've done lately. I don't remember all of the polish names and the photo settings are not ideal, but I'm going to give it a whirl anyway!

China Glaze It's a Trap-eze

 This first mani is a combo of 3 different colors: a lavender (possibly Essie St. Lucia Lilac or China Glaze Light as Air), a Sally Hansen nail art pen in white and China Glaze It's a Trap-eze to top off the white. I loved the effect of this design, but I wish I had made the white area in the center thinner. That way the lavender would've shined through more!

SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Nails Inc. Warwick Way & The Thames

SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Nails Inc. Warwick Way & The Thames

I love dot manis! I wish I used lighter colors for the dots or a lighter base for the polish, but whatevs. I just used alternating dotting tool sizes to create a little pattern. Warwick Way is a little on the thin side. Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue is perfection! 

Revlon Coastal Surf

I love Revlon Coastal Surf! It is such a gorgeous shade of blue- this makeshift photo does not do the color justice! Also, the formulation was great! Barely needed two coats :)

Unfortunately, I can only remember 1 polish from this mani- Zoya Ziv. Ziv has been my recent go-to gold polish and it just looks great with every type of mani! I used a nude base and sponged on Ziv as well as an Indie glitter on the tips. I love the effect this created! I will definitely recreate this for an actual post!

Revlon Provence
Confetti Lonesome Dove

Yet another poor photo, but I love this design! It's the "puzzle piece" design. I painted half my nail Revlon Provence and the other half Confetti Lonesome Dove. Then I took large dotting tools and did purple on the gray half and gray on the purple half, spacing the dots out to create this look! I love Revlon Provence, its formulation is great. I also really like Lonesome Dove, it is a great neutral gray and wallet-friendly!

I hope you guys enjoyed this!

-Shelby

Ciate Talent Scout

Hello ladies! How was everyone's holiday? I hope it went well for those of you who celebrate Christmas!

Unfortunately, it's been rainy here and without my good lamp at my dorm, it is difficult for me to use artificial light at home for photos!

I was able to capture one indoor photo worth showing of a new polish I received for Xmas- Ciate Talent Scout!

Ciate Talent Scout

Talent Scout is a gorgeous eggplant creme! It's perfectly vibrant for this time of year. So far, the wear has been great, no chipping yet :). The application was pretty good, although I'm not sure how much I like the brush, it wasn't creating a nice look along the cuticles.

What do you think?

-Shelby

Revlon Bold Sangria, OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel and China Glaze Prism

Good evening! Tonight I have for you a kind of mish-mash mani. I couldn't really decide what to do, so I kept adding to it!

Revlon Bold Sangria
OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel
China Glaze Prism

Revlon Bold Sangria
OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel
China Glaze Prism

Revlon Bold Sangria
OPI Suzi Takes the Wheel
China Glaze Prism

Bold Sangria is the perfect bright plum shade. It's high-gloss and is very opaque. It's bright nature doesn't display well in my photos though! Suzi Takes the Wheel is a green-toned gray. I thought the two looked nice together for the Fall season. To add something extra, I made a reverse gradient with Prism, a lavender micro glitter with rainbow larger round glitters!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Hare Magic Mist and Sally Hansen Good to Grape

Good afternoon! A while back, I finally got my hands on one of my major lemmings: Hare Magic Mist. Somehow it got lost in my abyss of nail polish. The other day I came across it and was so excited that I found it, that I told myself I'd use it in a mani ASAP. Now here I am, using it in a manicure :)

What I used:
2 coats Sally Hansen Good to Grape
1 coat Hare Magic Mist

Hare Polish Magic Mist
Sally Hansen Good to Grape

Hare Polish Magic Mist
Sally Hansen Good to Grape

Magic Mist contains pink, orange, blue and purple various-sized glitters in a purple base. Oh. my god. I am head over heels for this polish! It's absolutely gorgeous and the glitter spreads easily and evenly. Good to Grape is a great base because it's a purple creme, very similar in shade to Magic Mist. I really liked wearing this mani!

What do you think of this mani? Have you used Hare Polish before?

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue and Orly Fowl Play

Good morning ladies! Today I have for you an exciting mani to show you- a matte glitter gradient! :D

What I used:
2 coats SOPI Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue
Orly Fowl Play (sponged)
Essie Matte About You

Sephora by OPI Seriously It's a Naan-Issue
Orly Fowl Play

Sephora by OPI Seriously It's a Naan-Issue
 Orly Fowl Play

Sephora by OPI Seriously It's a Naan-Issue
Orly Fowl Play

Seriously, It's a Naan-Issue is a gorgeous eggplant creme. The formula was amazing and it was perfectly opaque in 2 coats. Fowl Play was the perfect match for a glitter gradient. Once I added the matte topcoat, the different glitters were even more visible :)

What do you think of this?

-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 

Essie Who is the Boss & Candeo Colors Joker

Good morning! Today's post in an exciting one for me; I finally got my hands on a specific indie glitter I've been lemming over for months: Candeo Colors Joker! I've been waiting for the perfect time to wear it, but I just decided to pull it out yesterday!

I paired Joker with Essie Who is the Boss, from the Essie Wedding collection (from this year?).

Below I did 2 coats of Who is the Boss and 1 coat of Joker on my ring finger and thumb!

Essie Who is the Boss
Candeo Colors Joker

Essie Who is the Boss
Candeo Colors Joker

Who is the Boss is a light blue/green creme with a hint of grey to it. I adore this color! Sometimes it looks blue, sometimes it looks green. Usually pastel cremes don't have this effect, but I really like it! Joker is a glitter bomb: various shades of blue, purple and silver small, medium and large hex and circular glitters! Both polishes had perfect applications. Who is the Boss required 2 coats for full opacity and I believe Joker would become opaque in another generous coat. I'm diggin' this mani!

My boyfriend really likes it too :) He always enjoys seeing my various manis!

What do you think of this combo?

-Shelby

OPI Tomorrow Never Dies

Hello ladies! I know it's been a few days, but I've had quite the busy weekend! Tomorrow is my birthday and in celebration, I went out to dinner last night with my family. My parents so generously gave me the full set of the new OPI Skyfall collection! I was so psyched! The first polish from the collection I have to share with you is Tomorrow Never Dies!

Below I did 2 coats of Tomorrow Never Dies

OPI Tomorrow Never Dies

OPI Tomorrow Never Dies

Tomorrow Never Dies is a gorgeous "blurple" shimmer! It has both purple and blue shimmers, causing it to look both colors, depending on the light. The application was pretty good and the dry-time was quick! I think this could've used another coat; in the sun you can see some vnl. 

What do you think of this shade?

-Shelby

Butter London Scoundrel

Good morning! Today I have for you a polish I wore a few days ago: Butter London Scoundrel!

I have 3 Butter Londons in my collection so far and hope to someday be able to try out even more. I'm still unsure about the formulas, but you can read more about that below!

I used 2 coats of Scoundrel below

Butter London Scoundrel

Butter London Scoundrel

Scoundrel is a very pretty, pink-leaning purple! It's not as pink as Dream in Pretty, but not as blue as an average light purple. The formula was okay, a little on the streaky side. Also, the wear wasn't that awesome. Granted, I am constantly locking and unlocking my bike locks, but I thought for the price I would be getting a better pay-off. Overall, I really like the color!

On a side note: my google+ account was temporarily suspended. Anyone know why that would happen? I didn't violate any of their terms. Hmm, guess it'll remain a mystery for now.

What do you think of this color?

-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 14: Flowers

Good evening! I know I'm a little late with this challenge day post, but I've had a busy day! I've been running around getting things for my dorm that I realized I needed once I was there. I actually did this mani last night, but didn't photograph it until today. I was super excited for this challenge day, I love flowers! I decided to do an untraditional flower print, rather than do the norm :)

What I used:
Essie Mint Candy Apple (as base)
China Glaze Devotion (for stamping)
Cheeky plate Ch12

Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Essie Mint Candy Apple
China Glaze Devotion

Surprisingly, this was my first time using Mint Candy Apple. I have so many mint shades, which caused me to put off using this one, but I'm so glad I finally used it! Mint Candy Apple is more vibrant on the nails than it appears in the bottle, which I adore! I recently got my hands on some of the China Glaze Romantique collection polishes, Devotion being one of them. It is great for stamping! I thought it was a silver metallic, but in some lights it is also purple, way cool!

What do you think of this floral mani?

-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 

Wet n' Wild Bite the Bullet

Hello! I've had such a busy weekend, so I'm sorry if I've been MIA! I moved into my dorm yesterday and have been getting a feel for the campus. My internet was down for the majority of the first day, which prevented me from checking up on any blogs! I am all settled in now, so I decided to post a mani I did a week or so ago.

I really like the formulas of the Wet n' Wild megalast line, so I pulled out a nice fall color: Bite the Bullet!

I used a Cheeky jumbo plate for the stamping! (wet n' wild black polish for stamping)

Wet n' Wild Bite the Bullet

Although the stamping was a little smudged on my middle finger and crooked on my index, I still like how this mani came out! I definitely like the "peacock feather" look that this stamp creates. I saw a girl do polka dots on the centers to add some spice, so I might do that next time :). 

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

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

Sation Swatches Spam!

Oh no, I did what I told myself I wouldn't...buy more Sation polishes! I saw them on Transdesign at a reduced price and I couldn't resist. They even had colors from the new Nailstock collection, too!

Beware this post is very picture-heavy, so bear with me :P

Click "read more" to see the 8 polishes!

Comparison: China Glaze Grape Pop and Revlon Impulsive

Good afternoon ladies! I've been on a purple polish kick lately, especially somewhat dark and blue toned ones! I've managed to buy some that are quite similar so I thought I'd compare 2 that are the most similar!

Below I used 2 coats of China Glaze Grape Pop and Revlon Impulsive; Impulsive is on my pointer and ring fingers, while Grape Pop is on my middle and pinkie fingers!

China Glaze Grape Pop
Revlon Impulsive

China Glaze Grape Pop
Revlon Impulsive

China Glaze Grape Pop
Revlon Impulsive

How gorgeous are both of these!? I've been obsessed with purples like this lately. Both polishes dried super quickly without a topcoat and didn't give me a single problem with application. As you can see, Grape Pop is a tinge more vibrant than Impulsive, which is on the darker side! I really like both and glad I have them, but if you want a cheaper and more readily available color, I'd go with the Revlon!

Do you have either of these? What do you think of them?

-Shelby