Essie Borrowed & Blue and Stroke of Brilliance

Happy Friday ladies! Have any fun plans for the weekend? The weather has been cold and rainy lately, so I'll probably just relax and enjoy the rain from behind the windows :P.

I really wanted to wear a spring-ish pastel shade, but add a winter twist so I used 2 very complementary Essie shades together :)

What I used:
1 coat Sally Hansen Hardener
2 coats Essie Borrowed & Blue
1 coat Essie Stroke of Brilliance
1 coat Sephora by OPI Matte Topcoat 

Essie Borrowed & Blue
 Essie Stroke of Brilliance

Essie Borrowed & Blue
Essie Stroke of Brilliance

Borrowed & Blue is possibly my favorite blue Essie polish- it's the perfect baby blue creme. It is fully opaque in 2 coats and smooths out substantially after the 2nd coat. It's from the 2011 wedding collection if I'm not mistaken. Stroke of Brilliance, a recent addition to the Luxe Effects line, is a gorgeous small and large periwinkle glitter in a clear base. I love the look of the baby blue and periwinkle together :). To make the glitter pop, I added $OPI Matte Topcoat. It's pretty good, though I may like my Essie matte topcoat better!

Thanks for stopping by :)

-Shelby

Butter London Bossy Boots

Good evening! Tonight I have for you a gorgeous Butter London polish: Bossy Boots. It isn't the most fitting for the fall-time, but I decided to wear it anyway :) Seasons don't always dictate my nail polish moods :P

Butter London Bossy Boots

Butter London Bossy Boots

Bossy Boots is a mossy/pistachio green creme. I've been searching for a good pistachio green, but I think this may be a tad lighter than that. This looks a little odd against my skin tone- I like it anyway! The formula was decent, but a little patchy here and there.

What do you think of Bossy Boots?

-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

China Glaze Champagne Kisses and Sephora by OPI Don't Be Eggnog-ious

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US! I did a very fall-esque mani yesterday and wanted to share it with you!

What I used:
2 coats China Glaze Champagne Kisses
1 coat Sephora by OPI Don't Be Eggnog-ious

China Glaze Champagne Kisses
Sephora by OPI Don't Be Eggnog-ious

China Glaze Champagne Kisses
Sephora by OPI Don't Be Eggnog-ious

China Glaze Champagne Kisses
Sephora by OPI Don't Be Eggnog-ious

Champagne Kisses is a stunning fine milled rose-gold-like and holo glitters in a clear base. In two coats, the nail is no longer visible. I love China Glaze fine glitters- they are gorgeous! I added Don't Be Eggnog-ious, a small and large copper glitter in a clear base, for that extra oomph! Love the combo!

What do you think of this?

-Shelby

Essie Go Overboard & Jordana Cosmic

Hello ladies! Yesterday I tried out a combo I've been curious about for a while: Essie Go Overboard and Jordana Cosmic!

I hope all of my American readers have a lovely holiday tomorrow; eat lots of turkey! :)

Essie Go Overboard
Jordana Cosmic

Essie Go Overboard
Jordana Cosmic

Essie Go Overboard
Jordana Cosmic

Go Overboard is an extremely opaque teal creme. This color only needed 1 coat to be super opaque! Cosmic contains teal, green, and silver hexes along with micro teal glitter in a clear base! I heard that if Cosmic is paired over a teal, it is a dupe for Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe. I would say it's a close enough dupe for the price difference! I like this a lot :)

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Nails Inc. Piccadilly Circus, Julep Oscar and Orly Too Fab

Hello ladies! It's been a few days, I know- I've been meaning to make a post, so now I am!

I honestly haven't had the time to complete the challenge. I joined before I moved to college and didn't know how hard it would be to do major designs at school. I figured I'd do them at home, but when I'm back on the weekends, I like to visit with my parents and my boyfriend. And then there's the never-ending pile of homework....

On another note, I've thoroughly been enjoying the Autumn season, especially the nail polishes that tag along with it. My favorite colors are definitely dark berry/wine/red colors. I feel like they are classic and go with every fall-inspired outfit! Today I am using a gorgeous polish in that color family- Nails Inc. Piccadilly Circus!

Below I used 2 coats of Piccadilly Circus

Nails Inc. Piccadilly Circus
Julep Oscar
Orly Too Fab

Nails Inc. Piccadilly Circus
Julep Oscar
Orly Too Fab

Nails Inc. Piccadilly Circus
Julep Oscar
Orly Too Fab

Piccadilly Circus is a dark berry red creme with a touch of purple. This may be my new favorite red polish! The application was literally perfect. I could've gotten away with 1 coat- I was surprised how opaque it was! On my ring finger, I added 1 coat of Julep Oscar, a finely milled gold glitter in a clear base, and 1 coat of Orly Too Fab, a larger gold glitter suspended in a clear base. These two glitters look great together! Too Fab just made Oscar pop a little more! I also must say that Piccadilly Circus is a different color in every light! I was going to photograph it under my daylight bulb, but it was a bright cherry red. Under normal lighting, it was a true berry red! Also, the name is cute- anything circus-related gets a smile out of me :)

What do you think of this manicure?

-Shelby

China Glaze Make a Spectacle and Sation Rock-a-Guy-Blue

Good morning! It's been rainy and gloomy the last couple days here, so I haven't been able to take any good photos; luckily, I have some photos saved up from last month. Before Halloween, I tried a polish from the China Glaze Wicked collection: Make a Spectacle

Below I used 2 coats of Sation Rock-a-Guy-Blue and 1 coat of China Glaze Make a Spectacle

China Glaze Make a Spectacle

China Glaze Make a Spectacle

China Glaze Make a Spectacle

Make a Spectacle is a gorgeous opalescent hex glitter in a shimmery base. The application was a little thick, but I adore the outcome! I like it over the navy creme base of Rock-a-Guy-Blue, too! I think it'd look great over many colors besides blue. I had a hard time getting great lighting that day; I think that's why it was left unposted!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Sephora by OPI Slushied

Good afternoon! Today I have for you a very out of place shade during this chilly weather: Sephora by OPI Slushied. I believe this came out with the Glee collection this year (or last?). I'm not a huge Glee fan, I actually don't really like it >.<, but the polish is pretty and the price was great on ebay.

Below I used 2 coats of Slushied

Sephora by OPI Slushied

Sephora by OPI Slushied

Slushied is a cross between a light blue and a classic blue creme. It lies somewhere in the middle. The formula on this was excellent and it went on great in 2 coats! This reminds me a lot of Sally Hansen Blue Me Away. I may have to do a comparison post later on!

What do you think of this polish?

-Shelby

Essie Leading Lady Collection Picks!

Good evening! A week or two ago, I saw the new Essie winter collection display: Leading Lady. I liked a lot of the shades, but felt I had colors similar to them. I decided to get Leading Lady and Where's My Chauffeur?, though I wish I had gotten Beyond Cozy too!

Essie Leading Lady

Essie Leading Lady

 Leading Lady contains red glitters in a red jelly-like base. I like the idea of this polish, but the formula ruined it for me. It was hard to work with and a little goopy. Luckily I like the color enough to pull it out again for the holidays!

Essie Where's My Chauffeur?

Essie Where's My Chauffeur?

Where's My Chauffeur? is a bright aqua/turquoise creme. I adore colors like this! Though it isn't the most original, I always cave into getting these colors. The formula was great and the purchase was well worth it!

What do you think of these 2 colors from Essie's winter collection?

-Shelby

China Glaze Purr-fect Plum and Elephant Walk

Good afternoon! A couple days ago I experimented with my dotting tools and liked what appeared on my nails; thought I'd share it with you!

I used 2 colors from the China Glaze On Safari collection; they looked great together :)

What I used:
China Glaze Purr-fect Plum
China Glaze Elephant Walk

China Glaze Purr-fect Plum
China Glaze Elephant Walk

China Glaze Purr-fect Plum
China Glaze Elephant Walk

I used a large dotting tool to make a row of dots and then used a smaller tool to put dots in alternating spaces compared to the larger dots. I like how it came out! I've never used Elephant Walk before; I love the subtle shimmer/sheen it has :)

What do you think of this dotticure?

-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

OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window & Glow Up Already!

Good morning ladies! I hope everyone's week has gone well so far. I'm super pumped because Thursday is my Friday and I am going home for the weekend, which happens to be a day longer than usual due to Veteran's Day :)

Yesterday I used a couple untried OPIs in my stash!

What I used:
2 coats OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window
2 coats OPI Glow Up Already! (ring accent)

OPI Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window
OPI Glow Up Already!

Uh-Oh Roll Down the Window is the perfect army green creme! It was perfectly opaque in 2 coats and I cannot get over the name- love it! It makes me giggle every time I pick up the bottle, which is a definitely plus. Glow Up Already! contains gold, green and orange same-sized glitters in a clear base. This glitter needed 2 coats to fully cover, but it also would've looked pretty on all nails with just 1 coat!

What do you think of this mani?

-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

American Apparel Cameo Blue

Good afternoon! As I said in my last post, my nails aren't in the best shape this week, but I decided to just make a post anyway. I recently received 3 American Apparel polishes that I purchased off of eBay and couldn't wait to show you them! The one featured today is Cameo Blue!

Below I used 2 coats of Cameo Blue

American Apparel Cameo Blue

Cameo Blue is a vibrant blue creme with a tinge of purple to it. This polish was very opaque and was almost perfect in one coat. I added a second to completely smooth everything out. The only thing I don't like about these is how awkward the bottles are to photograph with >.<

Again, sorry about my nails! They'll be back to their normal selves asap!

What do you think of Cameo Blue?

-Shelby

OPI Fly and China Glaze Atlantis

Good morning! Sorry for my lack of posts the last few days; I've been busy, but also some of my nails broke and they are definitely not picture-appropriate. Anyway, I thought I'd share a mani I did last week that I liked quite a bit!

Below I used 2 coats of OPI Fly and 1 coat of China Glaze Atlantis on my ring finger

OPI Fly
 China Glaze Atlantis

Fly is a gorgeous "San Jose Sharks" teal creme! The application is awesome and dry time is good :) I thought Atlantis was a great accent; the glitter distributed evenly and smoothly. I like China Glaze glitters! I don't know what's going on with my pinkie, my topcoat sometimes messes up my hard work!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby