Ulta3 Mulberry and Ulta Boogie Nights

Hey there! I have quite a few posts I need to make, I've been stocking up whenever I can on photos of my manis, just in case! I'm hoping my back up photos will help me not take such a long break again :)

Below I used Ulta3 Mulberry and Ulta Boogie Nights!

Ulta3 Mulberry Ulta Boogie Nights

Ulta3 Mulberry
 Ulta Boogie Nights

Ulta3 Mulberry
Ulta Boogie Nights

I never can get enough of glitter gradients! This one is no exception. Mulberry is a wine leaning berry creme. In some lights it takes a purple tint. Unfortunately, the formulation of this polish was pretty bad, but I added some polish thinner to remedy it. It's gotten a bit better, but still not ideal. Although, I really do love the outcome and the polish was nice and smooth :). Boogie Nights is a gold glitter with lots of rainbow medium-sized glitters throughout. This glitter will go with almost any color since it contains all the colors of the rainbow. Also, the formula was easy for a reverse glitter gradient. 

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Color Club A Warm Place

Good evening ladies! I can't believe 2012 is almost over- I am ready to say goodbye to this year and hello to '13!

I was wearing a gorgeous winter floral scarf yesterday and it had the most gorgeous pinky-reds in it so I had to do my nails in a similar shade!

Below I used 2 coats of Color Club A Warm Place!

Color Club A Warm Place

Color Club A Warm Place

A Warm Place is such a gorgeous red creme with a hint of pink to it! The formulation and application was great and it didn't chip on my nails much :) Perfect for the holidays!

What do you think of this polish?

Happy New Year!

-Shelby

OPI The Spy Who Loved Me

Hello ladies! I hope you all are having a great week- excited for the holidays? I know I am!

I am finally getting around to trying all of the OPI James Bond polishes that I received for my birthday in October.

Yesterday I tried out The Spy Who Loved Me, which I used 2 coats of below

OPI The Spy Who Loved Me

OPI The Spy Who Loved Me

OPI The Spy Who Loved Me

The Spy Who Loved Me is a fiery bright red with a ton of gold and red shimmer. This polish has a great formulation and went on it 2 easy coats. It is very "glowy" and I like the look a lot!

Do you like The Spy Who Loved Me? Do you have any of the polishes or want any of the polishes from this collection?

-Shelby

Essie Recessionista and OPI Glow Up Already!

Good evening ladies! Today I have for you a reverse glitter gradient I did yesterday :) This was my first time trying the non-sponge method- not sure how I like it yet!

Below I used 2 coats of Essie Recessionista & OPI Glow Up Already! for the gradient

Essie Recessionista
OPI Glow Up Already!

Essie Recessionista
OPI Glow Up Already!

Essie Recessionista
OPI Glow Up Already!

Recessionista, from Essie's fall Stylenomics collection, is a deep berry creme. This is a gorgeous shade and went on in 2 easy coats. I added a reverse gradient with OPI Glow Up Already!, a finely milled gold, orange, green, pink, and silver glitter in a clear base. I believe it's from the OPI Burlesque collection. This wasn't too hard to work with- I really like it!

I hope you guys enjoyed!

-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

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

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

31 Day Challenge, Day 22: Inspired by a Song

Good afternoon ladies! I put a lot of thought into today's challenge- I had plenty of ideas, but not the correct stamping plates to do most of them. I decided on the song I'm Like a Bird by Nelly Furtado; this song is special to me because I sang it for karaoke one of the first few times I went over to my boyfriend's house :)

What I used:
2 coats Revlon Vixen
Essie Penny Talk (stamping)
OPI Live and Let Die (dotting)
Cheeky jumbo plate B

Revlon Vixen
Essie Penny Talk
OPI Live and Let Die

Revlon Vixen
 Essie Penny Talk
OPI Live and Let Die

Revlon Vixen
 Essie Penny Talk
OPI Live and Let Die

I am head over heels for this manicure! This was my first time using Revlon Vixen- a gorgeous, easy to work with wine creme. I was very impressed and plan on using it a lot this season! I thought that Live and Let Die was the perfect accent dot color- a shimmery forrest green. I also had never stamped with Penny Talk before- it worked great! No complaints about this mani :D

What do you think?

-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 

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 20: Water Marble

Hello! Today's challenge is the notorious water marble. I've only tried water marbling once before today, so I was a little hesitant, but determined not to miss another challenge day!

What I used:
Sation Ring Around the Horsie (base & marble)
China Glaze Exotic Encounters (marble)

Sation Ring Around the Horsie
China Glaze Exotic Encounters

Sation Ring Around the Horsie
China Glaze Exotic Encounters

Both colors were pretty easy to marble with. Exotic Encounters spread super easily, so I was happy about that! I like this color combo, kinda unexpected, but not too risky. I'm still wondering how not to get the water/air bubbles on the surface of my nail when I marble. It's quite frustrating!

What do you think?

-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 13: Animal Print

Good morning! Today's challenge is animal print, which I'm usually not a fan of, but I decided to to a fall-inspired take on it!

Earlier yesterday evening I painted my roommate's nails along with my own (she is wearing Orly Rage :) ), but decided to add the stamping last minute to fit the challenge!

What I used:
2 coats OPI Rising Star
Sally Hansen Unbreakable Heart (for stamping)
Bundle Monster BM-223

OPI Rising Star
Sally Hansen Unbreakable Heart

OPI Rising
 Sally Hansen Unbreakable Heart

I like how this is a subtle animal print! Not too in-your-face :)

The subtle shimmer in Unbreakable Heart really complemented Rising Star!

I adore Rising Star on its own, so here it is before the Zebra!

OPI Rising Star

OPI Rising Star

 Rising Star is the perfect Autumn color! It's a gorgeous copper/orange color. Reminds me of Thanksgiving :)

What do you think of this zebra 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 

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 

31 Day Challenge, Day 10: Gradient Nails

Good morning ladies! I was very excited to do my nails for today's challenge. Lately I've been obsessed with gradients of all sorts! I figured I could link it up with my boyfriend's request: he wanted me to do extra special nails for our 9 months, which is today. This is a scheduled post because we are going to a local reservoir and spending the day together. Today I could not be more proud and thankful for him and for us :) <3

Enough with my sappiness, straight to polish!

What I used:
China Glaze Something Sweet
OPI Sparrow Me the Drama
China Glaze Sugar High
China Glaze Heli-Yum
OPI Kangarooby

 I know what you're thinking: this screams Valentine's Day, but what the heck, I don't mind adding to the romantic mood today and I happen to like pink! Sparrow Me the Drama kinda got overtaken by Sugar High, so that would be my only complaint! Other than that, I really like this mani! I used BM 317 to do the heart; it was a full-nail stamp, but I only used one heart from it.

I originally only had the gradient; it looks so bare without the heart!

What do you think of this mani?

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies participating!

-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  

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!

31 Day Challenge, Day 9: Rainbow

Good morning! I am excited to show you my post for day 9 of the 31 day challenge, which incorporates a rainbow design! I decided to use my dotters for this mani to create a gradient dot effect; you guys know how much I've been into gradients lately! :P

Polishes I used:
Sally Hansen White On
China Glaze Hey Sailor
Sally Hansen Sun Kissed
China Glaze Lemon Fizz
Essie Mojito Madness
Essie Mesmerize
China Glaze Spontaneous

Rainbow Dotticure

Rainbow Dotticure

I think this turned out pretty awesome! I think my dots for the darker colors could have been slightly bigger, but I don't need to nit pick the fine details :P. These remind me of Skittles; not the skittle mani, but actual Skittles! haha.

What do you think of this mani?

-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  

Essie Stylenomics Collection Swatches

Good evening! Essie recently came out with their fall line: Stylenomics. I thought some of the colors were nice, but they looked like colors I owned or have seen before, so instead of buying full-sized bottles, I bought a cube of 4 minis. The set included Don't Sweater It, Stylenomics, Head Mistress and Skirting the Issue!


Below I did 2 coats of each color. I apologize for the last 2 photos; my light box wasn't cooperating!

Essie Don't Sweater It

 Don't Sweater It is a light brown creme with a tinge of gray in it. I didn't really like the formula of this, unfortunately. I figured it'd be the best, considering the other 3 are darker shades, but I was wrong! I like this color, but I feel like its been done a million times and the formula turned me off a bit. I probably will use it, though.

Essie Stylenomics

Stylenomics, the namesake of the collection, is a dark green/teal, almost black creme. The formula on this was pretty good! A little thick, but manageable :). I don't really wear black polish, so I'm not sure how often I'll wear this, but I like it nonetheless!

Essie Head Mistress

Head Mistress is a sheer, red creme. I was least excited about this shade, but it is my favorite out of the 4! The formula was thin, but still great for a red! I will definitely be wearing this during the fall :) This reminds me of last year's Size Matters, also by Essie!

Essie Skirting the Issue

 Skirting the Issue is a sheer, wine creme. This was my second favorite of the bunch! The formula was also thin like the last polish, but very workable!

What do you think of this collection?

-Shelby

Nina Ultra Pro Ink-Ling Dotticure!

Good evening ladies! I've been drooling over all the dotticures on the blogosphere lately and had a craving to do one myself! I decided to use another one of my new Nina Ultra Pro polishes, this time in Ink-Ling!

What I used:
2 coats Nina Ultra Pro Ink-Ling
Confetti Lonesome Dove (for dotting)
Zoya Toni (for dotting)

Nina Ultra Pro Ink-ling
Confetti Lonesome Dove
Zoya Toni

Nina Ultra Pro Ink-ling
Confetti Lonesome Dove
Zoya Toni

Ink-Ling is a dark, blue-toned gray creme! It was a dream to work with! No cleanup was required and the consistency is great! No complaints here :). I am really impressed with the Nina Ultra Pro polishes so far. I then took a large dotting tool and used Lonesome Dove and Toni to make large dots, then used a small dotter to do the same colors elsewhere, and finally used a medium sized dotter to dot the opposite color inside the large original dots! Confetti is a not very well-known brand, but I really like them! They also are $1.99, which is appealing! Lonesome Dove is a light gray creme. Toni, a berry red creme, is from Zoya's recent fall line and I thought this was a great polish, too! On the thick side, but I don't think that'll be a problem when doing a full mani!

What do you think of these polishes and this dotticure?

-Shelby

31 Day Challenge, Day 8: Metallic

Good morning! Today's theme for the 31 day challenge is metallic and to be honest, I don't own a lot of straight up metallic polishes! I own far more foils in my collection, so I figured it'd be okay to cheat a little and use a foil today!

I decided to do a tape mani with China Glaze Loft-y Ambitions and China Glaze Icicle!

China Glaze Icicle and Loft-y Ambitions

China Glaze Icicle and Loft-y Ambitions

I started off with 1 coat of Loft-y Ambitions, a wine color with subtle silver shimmer veining, and used striping tape with Icicle, a classic silver foil. I like the concept, but I wish all my stripes were as close together as my pinky! I like how that finger turned out the best :) The formula on both polishes was good, no issues!

I hope you guys enjoyed!

-Shelby

Check out the other lovely ladies participating in this challenge!

-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