Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year everyone!! Wow, it feels like forever since I've posted anything. I only have three real resolutions for this year and that one is definitely on there. I want to get back into my regular posting schedule and keep coming up with more and better ideas. I want to get and succeed at my dream job. And last but not least I want to keep eating healthy, continue my workout schedule, and keep losing weight. I lost over 30 pounds in about 1.5 years — most of that this year. Yay me!! I still have another 10-20 pounds to lose (continuing in a healthy, non-obsessive way) to reach my goal weight. Wish me luck. :)

Now, onto the post. One of my Christmas gifts this year was 'Get Bonded' a three piece nail polish gift set. It contained The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldeneye, and Skyfall — all three from the OPI Skyfall Collection, their James Bond holiday collection. I decided to use Goldeneye and The Spy Who Loved Me in a tape mani for New Year's. Wow, this mani was stunning!!! I left it on for four days. For a girl who changes her polish daily, sometimes multiple times a day, this shows just how much I loved this mani.

Honestly, I had every intention of passing on this collection. Looking at the swatches I didn't see anything truly stunning and worth searching for. Boy was I wrong!! I am so glad I got this as a gift. I couldn't manage to capture the true magnificence of Goldeneye. This picture gives an idea of the range of gold shades this glitter captures. The glitter was odd, kind of chunky and flaky, almost a metallic and went opaque for me in just two coats. It's not like any other glitter in my collection which is awesome!!

Here is another shot of Goldeneye before I started taping. This picture washes out the color but gives you a better look at the chunky quality of the glitter. I can't get over how close I came to missing this glitter, of choosing not to get it. How silly of me!!

I am equally as happy to own The Spy Who Loved Me. These polishes went on beautifully, look amazing together, and lasted the four days with not a hint of a chip. I did need to take a chisel to my nails to get Goldeneye off. It's misleading, looking so flaky and metallic. It makes you forget it's a glitter at heart. I think maybe it's harder to remove than regular glitters. I scrubbed and soaked and still had patches that just wouldn't come off. They're actually still there, like little golden bruises on my nails.

You've heard my resolutions; what things do you hope, wish and/or promise to do in 2013?

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate. To the rest ... Merry Whatever You (do or do not) Celebrate. :)

In this late night Christmas post I bring you ... me in a Santa hat and two nail arts!!!

I really didn't have time to be doing this mani on Christmas morning ... but I did it! It's messier than what I can usually do, but I call it a job well done when you take into consideration it was completed in about an hour and a half with next to no dry time (and no top coat) before I had to begin getting ready. I felt very accomplished when I walked out the door with only one smudge and one crinkle, both on my right hand.

Don't worry if you're a Christmas Grinch, I have a mani for you too!! This was inspired by the Grinch of course. The green 'furry' texture and the heart two sizes too small. :) This was actually my mani nearly all week before Christmas. I wore it Christmas shopping because I was certainly a Grinch.

So, did you get everything you wanted for Christmas this year?

Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012

After being iced in and not being able to get the mail for the past few days I was so excited to find the Influenster Holiday VoxBox (my very first VoxBox) in my mailbox this morning. I will be doing reviews for everything in this box sooner or later, but until then I want to share my excitement with you so I'm going to take you through opening the box. :) Forgive me for some of the lower quality pictures. My reviews should have better ones.

Upon opening the box there are two cards and a little something peeking out under them.

A closer look at the top card shows it to be an intro card showing this is the Holiday VoxBox 2012. Is it wrong that my favorite part of this card is the Christmas ornament dotting the 'i'?

At least until you flip it over. The flip side of this card shows everything contained in the box, a quick description, and the retail value. I like the surprise, so I tossed this card aside quickly. This picture was taken after I examined every inch of the box first.



The second card is from Sole Society giving me $25 off my first pair of shoes from them. I've been a member of this website for almost as long as they've been open! For those who haven't found this website yet, Sole Society is a website that sells on-trend designer shoes at affordable prices. I gaze longingly at the shoes every time I get an email from them, but no matter how affordable by designer standards these shoes are I simply don't have the money to buy any of them. I will enjoy using this $25!



Flipping this card over shows the promo code to get this discount and lets me know I can share it with you! Check out their shoes and use the promo code INFLUENSTER25 to get $25 off your purchase too. I think this is beyond cool. I think we should all give Sole Society a great big thank you!!



Removing both cards gives me my first look at the products. So much excitement I'm going to burst like an over-inflated balloon!!!

I can't resist the call of pink; it's my favorite color after all. This is from EBOOST and according to the info card it will boost your mood, focus, and immunity with natural ingredients and no crash. Great for the holiday season! The only downside to me is that it's pink lemonade flavor. I hate lemonade! I hate it so much I refuse to even buy a glass of lemonade from my niece's lemonade stand because then I'd be forced to drink it while making yummy sounds. For the review I think I'll see how well it dissolves and the scent. Maybe I'll even be brave enough to take a sip.



After the call of pink was assuaged, I went with the call of something big. From the shape I thought it might be a cup of soup, but it turned out to be my breakfast. Yes, I ate it right after these pictures! It's Quaker Real Medleys oatmeal in Apple Walnut. It has apples, cranberries and chopped walnuts with multigrain oats. Quick, easy, and with no bowl required there's no big cleanup. Perfect for those on the go with very little time for a healthy breakfast.

Next up is the Goody Quik Style paddle brush. I've been eyeing these brushes, and I'm so happy to have received one free in this box. I'm always looking for ways to get out the door quicker. I'm really excited to try this and may even give it to my niece to try. Her hair is much, much thicker than mine; it takes her forever to dry it, so if this can help her it will be a miracle product. Look for the review!

I've tried and reviewed Kiss Nail Dress before. Now that I'm more experienced in the ways of nails I certainly think these are worth another try. This is Princess, a really pretty, slightly blinged out leopard print.



Last but not least is NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine! I think this is one of the things I'm most excited about oddly enough. After getting a glimpse of lipgloss in this box I was terrified it was going to be a bright color that I wouldn't be able to use. You see, I have naturally deep red lips so most lip products turn hideous colors when layered over them. I can do some light pink glosses and nudes. Talk about perfect! This is Nude York City, a beautiful nude shimmer. It's such an odd name, but it's just cutesy enough that I like it! It has already found a place in my purse.

So, again, look for the in-depth reviews of these products. I'll be trying to slot them in around my posts. I'm actually really excited about that. I'm a nail blogger — I wouldn't have it any other way, but I would like to branch out a bit. To be able to do an off-topic post every now and then if I find a product worth sharing. How would you guys feel about that? It won't be every post; it won't even be one a week! But I would love to share worthy (or unworthy) products. Give me your thoughts; I definitely want to hear them. :)

*All products were sent to me for testing purposes, completely complimentary, from Influenster. All photos and opinions are my own.

Christmas Borders

The rush to Christmas is insane! I spent the day baking cookies and there's a full day of shopping to look forward to tomorrow ... and probably Monday too. Yes, I am a world class procrastinator. I've put this all off until the last minute ... again, because this is exactly what I did last year. I don't even have any decorations up yet. So, this is the reason for the cut back in posts if you were wondering, lol.

I had all these wonderful ideas I was going to do, and then I just never seemed to have the time to do them. So, I came up with a few very simple nail designs to share. This is one of them. Dotted border nails. It's something new to me. I've done true border nails before but never dotted borders.

I decided to keep it very Christmas-y with alternating red and green. This is carried over onto my other hand, starting with green on my thumb so it's all very different and interesting. This could totally be worn alone if you don't have much time for dots. Two coats of Sinful Colors Exotic Green and two of Wet n Wild I Red A Good Book, a layer of quick drying top coat and you're out the door looking perfectly festive.

For the dotted border I used my smallest dotting tool. I created the dots and then went over them again to make them brighter when I realized they weren't showing up well. I wish I had started with white dots first before using red and green. This would have made them much more noticeable, but you live and learn.

Overall though, a very simple and Christmas-y mani. Enjoy. :)

O is for ...

This one took a lot of thought and still feels a bit like a cop out. With Christmas on the brain and O being the letter of the week in the ABC Challenge I knew more than a few of my fellow challengers were likely to do ornaments. I strive to be different in this challenge—to think outside the box. However, what else was there for O that still fit into my holiday themed posts?

O is for Oh Christmas Tree.

Shade

I used OPI Tickle My France-y as the base. This was my first time using this color and I'm left wondering why I never used it before. It is so beautiful!! On top of this color I used my brand new bottle (bought on Amazon with a gift card from Swagbucks.com) of Essie Shine of the Times. Can I say wow? These two colors are amazing together! They create a very elegant and glamorous look. I will say Shine of the Times looks best (in my opinion) in the shade. It's the reason for such a dimly lit picture.

From there I used two pieces of tape to create a triangle on my ring nail, filled that in with China Glaze Winter Holly and topped it with a red star dug out of Wet n Wild Fergie Hollywood Walk of Fame.

China Glaze Holiday Joy — Glitter All The Way

This swatch was supposed to go up last Friday, but it just didn't feel right posting after the devastating tragedy that happened in Newtown, Connecticut. My heart goes out to the families of both the children and the brave teachers who worked to protect and calm their students during the attack. I don't have children myself, but I have nieces and nephews and to think that something could happen to someone so young and innocent is horrifying. I am at a complete loss of words except the always unanswerable question of WHY??

Two Coats with Top Coat

This is Glitter All The Way, the last of the polishes I own from the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection. I think the name of this polish is simply wonderful. One of the best holiday names for this brilliant holiday collection.

One Coat

I don't know if I'd consider this glitter truly holiday though. To be honest, I'm reminded more of Mardi Gras than Christmas, but I guess that's a holiday too ... just not a December holiday. The colors are beautiful no matter what holiday this is for. I couldn't seem to truly capture them sadly. The light reflected off this glitter all wrong for my camera but was stunning to behold to the eye. I like the way one coat of Glitter All The Way looks, so I think I'll be wearing this as a layering glitter.

Two Coats with Top Coat

For all that it's pretty, I will say I found this glitter hard to work with. It came out of the bottle pretty dry and clumpy and refused to spread out on my nail. I used two coats to get opaque, but I think that was simply because my coats had to be thick to get glitter to cover my nail. This thickness left my nails tacky for much longer than any of the other glitters of this collection and you can see in this picture the dent in the polish on my middle fingernail. I thought my nails were dry enough for pictures about an hour after doing them but a small bump and they dented easily.

Color: Small green hex glitters with purple, red, and bright yellow-gold micro-glitters in a clear base. The most noticeable colors are definitely green and purple.
Finish: Glitter
Application: Not great. There seems to be too much glitter and not enough clear base. This makes the polish dry and the glitter sticks together; you think this might be a good thing but it just makes it hard to spread. Hard to spread means fairly messy.
Coats to Opaque: 2-3 depending on how well your bottle of Glitter All The Way spreads and how thin you can keep your coats. Mine didn't spread well so my two coats were thick.
My Rating (1-5): 4

China Glaze Holiday Joy — Angel Wings

Today's late night post is Angel Wings, another from the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection.

Two Coats with Top Coat

Oh boy, what is there to say about Angel Wings? It's not me. It's a mildly pretty color, but not on me. This collection was picked up by someone else with my wish list. I should have waited until the swatches started coming out because this is something I would not have checked out with.

One Coat

Like all of the ultra-fine glitters of this collection, Angel Wings goes on thin and patchy with one coat but fills in nicely with two.

Two Coats; no top coat

I'm really coming to love the texture of this collection. I'm sure if left without top coat it would catch on everything, but it looks so gorgeous!

Two Coats with Top Coat

And again, as with all the glitters of this collection, it takes two coats of top coat for a smooth finish. I didn't get any really great pictures that showcased the amount of holographic glitter in Angel Wings, but this one gives you a small idea. Imagine this times three. Seriously, there is so much holo packed into this that I am stunned I couldn't get a picture of it. :)

Color: Green gold with lots of holographic
Finish: Ultra-fine glitter
Application: Patchy with one coat but builds up nicely with two. This one didn't need much dabbing and pushing to cover my nails.
Coats to Opaque: 2-3
My Rating (1-5): 3.5

I feel I kind of have to explain my rating on this one. This rating is my own personal rating. I gave it points for the formula and application but I really, really don't like this color. I think it's the worst possible shade of gold China Glaze could have created. Far too green tinted for my tastes.

Happy Hanukkah

Two posts in one day?? Yes!! There has been an influx of Hanukkah nail art, but I still come up with very little in search engines. I'm not Jewish, but I don't think there can ever be enough nail art for holidays, any holiday. So I felt it was my nail artist duty to contribute. :)

This is based around a really beautiful menorah I saw in one of my Hanukkah searches. There were, of course, four candle holders on each side and rising up from the middle was a Star of David candle holder. There were no candles in the holders in the picture but I could just imagine how stunning it would look all lit up.  I just had to use that Star of David and put a candle on top.

As for the other nails, I thought this all deserved a beautiful and simple background to draw attention to the accent nail. After two disasters with tape, I finally just free-handed the stripes using China Glaze Blue Bells Ring over Pure Ice Silver Mercedes.

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If there is ever a holiday coming up that you want to see nail art for let me know. I barely follow US holidays let alone those internationally, but I would love the chance to attempt nail art for your favorite holiday. Leave me a comment or Contact Me so I can mark them on my calendar. :)

N is for ...

Okay, so I usually have at least some build up before announcing the design, but I can't contain my excitement with this one. N is for ... North Pole.

Yes, it's snowing at the North Pole. :) I love this design and wore it all last weekend. Forgive the horrible writing on the sign. I couldn't find my thin detail brush. 

Can you tell how much I love this China Glaze color?? The bottle of the darker blue I use in these 'night time' designs is just as worn. For those wondering, this is Secret Peri-Wink-Le and the darker blue is First Mate. I mix them with a bit of black (sometimes I just use the black straight depending on the design and how much light blue I've used) and white to complete the gradient look.

China Glaze Holiday Joy — Champagne Kisses

Today's swatch is definitely one of my favorites from the China Glaze Holiday Joy collection. Right under Cranberry Splash and tied with Pure Joy.

Two Coats; Lightbox

I'd like to introduce you to Champagne Kisses. This is a rose gold glitter with a small amount of holographic glitter suspended in a clear base. It's the perfect rose champagne color that would be perfect for a New Year's party.

One Coat; Shade

Champagne Kisses is a very delicate color, but one that doesn't get lost. There's no mistaking this for unpainted nails. This is a common problem I've had with skin toned glitters, but Champagne Kisses has just the right amount of sparkle to never go unnoticed.

Two Coats; Sun

It's also a wonderful chameleon — subtly shifting colors in sun, shade, and artificial light.

Two Coats; Shade

Shade

If you want to create a truly stunning Christmas nail I recommend adding a coat of Pure Joy over two coats of Champagne Kisses. This will take a bit of dabbing and pushing, but it is so worth it in the end.

Color: Rose gold with a small amount of holographic.
Finish: Ultra-fine glitter
Application: Perfect application. It went on very smoothly and built up great.
Coats to Opaque: 3, but the small patches of two coats were only visible in macro.
My Rating (1-5): A very solid 4.5

China Glaze Holiday Joy — Pure Joy

Today's swatch from the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection is Pure Joy.

Two coats of Pure Joy with two coats of top coat

Pure Joy is another of the glitters from this collection. It has a clear base with small red hex glitters and larger gold hex glitters.

One coat of Pure Joy; no top coat

This has good coverage with one coat. Not enough to be a one coat wonder but really good for a glitter. The small red glitters fill in nicely around the larger gold glitters. The gold glitters did need a bit of dab and drag to get them around the nail but I didn't have to dig for them. They came out of the bottle good; they just didn't want to spread out.

Two coats of Pure Joy; no top coat

Two coats of Pure Joy; two coats of top coat

I found that all the glitters of this collection needed two coats of top coat to get a smooth to semi-smooth finish. That said, I think this one was the best at accepting top coat. The glitter lay pretty smoothly on its own and the glitters left very few cracks between them for the top coat to sink between.

One thin coat of Pure Joy; layered over two coats China Glaze Poinsettia

And just to show you how well this one layers, I put one very thin coat of Pure Joy over two coats of China Glaze Poinsettia. The only problem I had with this was that no matter how much I dabbed and pushed the glitters wouldn't stick to the polish around my cuticles. Not a big problem at all and the awesome shimmer effect of the red glitter more than made up for this!

Color: Small red hex glitters and larger gold hex glitters in a clear base.

Finish: Glitter

Application: Application was good. The glitter came out of the bottle nicely with no digging needed and only needed a bit of dabbing and pushing to get the gold glitter arranged around the nail. Builds up perfectly so it can be worn alone, but layers over other polish just as nicely.

Coats to Opaque: 2

My Rating (1-5): 4 — 4.5 if pushed. It's not a bad glitter, and it really is perfect for the holidays.

China Glaze Holiday Joy — Winter Holly

I'm really sorry about the lack of post yesterday. I was informed that someone on Facebook had stolen some of my nail photos, cut and smudged out my watermark, and was now claiming to have done them. Thank you again, Lacqueerisa, for letting me know! ♥ My photos have now been removed from her page, and I've informed as many other artists as I could of their stolen work. But enough about that!

Today's post is a swatch of Winter Holly from the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection. Winter Holly is a pretty deep green and gold glitter, very Christmas-y, with flares of holographic glitter mixed in. I also noticed a bit of purple glitter in the pictures but that may just be a trick of the light playing off the holo glitter.

Here is one coat of Winter Holly. Two coats fills in nicely and takes care of all the patchiness so don't worry about how thin this goes on. Winter Holly dries pretty matte and will need a good top coat if you want it to really shine. I found my top coat settled around the glitter in visible dimples and needed two coats.

I'm not sure how I feel about all the really fine glitters of this collection. Such fine glitter wasn't really made for layering so multiple coats are a must. Since I use two thick coats of glue base for glitters, along with my usual base coat, the added two or three coats of these glitters needed to get full coverage really makes my nails feel heavy and awkward. Along with the mentioned two layers of top coat needed to smooth everything ... personally, I think I'll be wearing these matte. All said though, they're so darn pretty that I can't help liking them!!

Color: Dark green and gold with flecks of holo and maybe purple.
Finish: Ultra-fine glitter; dries matte.
Application: Goes on smooth but patchy with one coat. Fills in nicely with two.
Coats to Opaque: 2-3
My Rating (1-5): 4

So, what do ya'all think of the new blog layout? I tried to keep it winter-y with only one or two Christmas touches.

M is for ...

We're up to M in the ABC Challenge. Getting ever closer to Z. :( I will be very sad to see the end of this challenge and may just start over on my own. There are so many amazing designs to do for each letter, and I don't think I'll be happy until I try them all. As for today's letter ...

M is for ... Mistletoe. I call this 'Kiss Me Under the Mistletoe'.

This isn't my all time favorite design. I like the idea, but I wish I had thought the design out before jumping in. This is what happens when I don't sketch up my designs first.

I do like the base polish. I went for a snowy effect using Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Pearl Harbor. Two coats of white with the iridescent glitter of Pearl Harbor creates a light dusting of snow over your nails. Perfect for winter. :)

China Glaze Holiday Joy — Cranberry Splash

Today's China Glaze Holiday Joy polish is by far my favorite of this collection. It was one I picked up completely on a whim, but I couldn't be happier.

Meet Cranberry Splash, an amazingly beautiful ruby red shimmer. This is two coats of Cranberry Splash, picture taken in the shade. In some lights this polish looks almost liquid on the nails. Its shine is so intense and gorgeous.

This picture was taken in my lightbox. Polishes like Cranberry Splash, Christmas red with shimmer, are fairly common additions to most holiday collections. However, I find China Glaze has captured the most perfect shade of shimmery red for the holiday season.

This picture, taken in full sunlight, shows the wonderful shimmery side of Cranberry Splash.

Application was nearly perfect. It went on very smoothly and was easy to control. I find most red polishes have a messy application but Cranberry Splash needed next to no cleanup. There were a few streaks when I wasn't careful enough with the brush, but nothing too noticeable. I simply had to slow down a bit and apply from one side of the nail to the other instead of starting in the middle. This put a stop to any streaking and left behind a perfect finish. A top coat sealed it and gave it a shiny gleam.

All in all, China Glaze Cranberry Splash is a striking polish and will make a lovely addition to your nail polish collection. And just think how beautiful this color will look against some snow or in the presence of a lit and decorated tree during any holiday celebrations.

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I'm attempting to start giving better, more thorough reviews instead of my usual 'it's pretty; go buy it'. I'm more than open to ideas on what a good review should include. If there's something you always look for in a review let me know and I'll try to include it in my upcoming reviews. Thank you!

China Glaze Holiday Joy — Blue Bells Ring

I am finally going to begin posting the swatches for the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection. I don't own the full collection, but you'll be seeing more than a few of the glitters.

First up is Blue Bells Ring, an icy metallic blue. This is two coats, but Blue Bells Ring is a very opaque polish. I definitely could have gotten away wearing just one coat. 

I was really pleased with how well this polish went on. It has a super smooth application. It didn't streak or turn gooey while I was applying. It also came off really easily. Be extra careful with any cleanup because the blue comes off first, leaving behind the silver metallic shimmer. That only took a few extra swipes to get up, but you can see near the cuticle of my pinky finger what happens when you get too close to the polish during cleanup.

The only problem I had, big or small, was staining! The blue, once it came in contact with my polish remover, went everywhere. It got all over my hands and fingers and it took an extra cotton ball per hand to get off. It's not a huge con when weighed against so many pros, but I will say don't remove this polish while wearing or even while you're near anything expensive or fancy.