Sunday, March 31, 2013

Easter Nail Art Challenge Day 3 - Eggs

Happy Easter!!!!!


Today is Easter Eggs. Last year I did the egg designs on my nails (Im not going to link, because Im not proud of them lol!), so this year I tried something different.

Easter Egg, Nail Art, Zoya, Barielle, Avon, Stripe Rite, Orly, Blu, Blue

Easter Egg, Nail Art, Zoya, Barielle, Avon, Stripe Rite, Orly, Blu, Blue

I used Zoya Blu as my base again. It's the perfect, subtle blue. The bright blue is Zoya Robin, and the purple egg is Barielle Lilac Jelly Bean. I put pink polka dots on the purple egg with Avon Nail Art Enamel in cupid and the yellow on the blue egg is Stripe Rite Yellow. The flower center is also the Stripe Rite Yellow, accented with my Orly Yellow Submarine. For the grass, I started with Avon Nail Art Enamel in Styled Green and then overlayed it with LA Nail Art Deco Mint Green.


Be sure to check out the rest of the participants creations!


 
I've got to go get ready and make green bean casserole for the family pot luck this afternoon. It's going to be 90 degrees out today, so I bought a maxi dress to wear... and am going to do a hairbow (thanks Pinterest! lol!)

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Easter Nail Art Challenge Day 2 - Bunnies

It's Saturday, but not a relaxing one! It never is when it's Easter weekend!!


I am soooooo happy with today's mani! In fact, I may re-do them after the Egg mani for tomorrow.


So cute!! I used Zoya Blu as the base. The detail work was done with Zoya Gie Gie, LA Art Deco Bright Orange, Avon Nail Art Enamel Styled Green and my Stripe Rite White and Black. Everything was done with striping brushes and dotting tools. I obviously wouldn't be able to do the detail work (specifically the fine black outlines) on my right hand, so I did the dotticure on the whole hand instead.

Be sure to check out the rest of the participants creations!


Friday, March 29, 2013

Easter Nail Art Challenge Day 1 - Grass/Flowers

Happy Friday!!!

The lovely Corrinne over at Galactic Lacquer is hosting a 5-day Easter challenge!!


Today is grass/flowers, and I wanted to keep it a little simple.

Grass, Flower, Spring, Easter, Nail Art, China Glaze, For Audrey, Barielle, Zoya, Rekha, Orange, Red, Sun, Yellow

Grass, Flower, Spring, Easter, Nail Art, China Glaze, For Audrey, Barielle, Zoya, Rekha, Orange, Red, Sun, Yellow

I used China Glaze For Audrey as the base (if you dont own it, go buy it. I need to get another one!) and Zoya Rehka and Barielle Gotta Have Fate as the flowers. I used a large dotting tool to make the flowers and a medium for the flower center. The rest was accomplished with the following striping polishes: Stripe Rite White and Yellow, LA Art Deco Mint Green, Orly Yellow Submarine.

Be sure to check out the rest of the participants creations!


Today is the last day to enter my Blogiversary giveaway! It ends at 9pm tonight (PST time). Click here.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Game of Thrones Nail Art

So, anyone that loves an HBO series understands the agony of the 10-12 episode season followed by 9-10 months of waiting after a cliff hanger. I love a few HBO series, and am losing what little patience I had while waiting for their return (True Blood and Newroom being my other all time favorites). My loooooooooooooooong wait for Game of Thrones season 3 is almost to a close, so to celebrate the season premier on Sunday, I decided to do some quick, simple nail art.

Game of Thrones, season 3, Nail Art, black, silver, wolf, stark

I painted my nails with my Nina Ultra Pro black and used by silver Stripe Rite to draw the designed. I did the GoT with the "o" impaled by swords. And I put the wolf symbol for the Stark's on my thumb.


My fellow GoT fans know what I'm talking about!! 3 more days! AHHHHH!!

(PS - if you havent read the books and you like the show, you should. I only read up until the point in the show, because I dont want to ruin any surprises lol!! That, and I knew I would burn through them like crazy and then be sad and impatiently awaiting the next book. Best to just wait haha)

If you participated in my flash giveaway yesterday, be sure to check you comment and see if you're the winner! Also, don't forget to enter my blogiversary giveaway! It ends on Friday! Click here.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Happy Birthday to Me! Nail Art & Flash Giveaway

Hello dolls!!

Today I turn 28... I was contemplating not saying how old I am... there's the irrational woman in me screaming "No!! You're getting old! AHHHH!" But, I decided instead to take a page out of my mother's book. Her theory is: there is no point in fretting about getting older, because the alternative it being dead. haha. Happy thoughts.

28th Birthday, Nail art, Zoya, Barielle, Stripe Rite, Orly, Avon, Pink, Purple, Lavendar, Lavender, Hot Pink, Cake, Number, Candle

28th Birthday, Nail art, Zoya, Barielle, Stripe Rite, Orly, Avon, Pink, Purple, Lavendar, Lavender, Hot Pink, Cake, Number, Candle

I made it look like number candles were sitting on a cake! Lol!! I used Barielle Life of the Party, Zoya Julie, and Zoya Gie Gie as the main colors. My Stripe Rite black and white striping polishes for accents... and the flame on the candles was made with my Stripe Rite Yellow and Orly Yellow Submarine.

Now, for the flash giveaway!! I have a mini bottle of Dollish Polish Expecto Patronum looking for a new home!! All you have to do is comment on this blog post with your must have beauty product (it does not have to be nail polish) and how you follow my blog. The options are: Bloglovin' (my favorite way to follow blogs), email, Networkedblogs and HelloCotton. I left out GFC because in July google will be eliminating GFC and you will lose all your blogs you follow. If you follow me by GFC, please think about picking a different option!

US only. At 9pm tonight (PST time) I will have a random number generator pick a winner... then I will comment on the winning comment and that person will have 24 hours to contact me (you must follow the rules above to qualify)... so be sure you check back tomorrow to see if you won!

Also, don't forget to enter my blogiversary giveaway! It ends on Friday! Click here.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

365 Days of Color Eggcentric Bunny & Jellybean There Done That

I guess I'm on a 365 Days of Color kick! But I got her Easter Mystery bag on Saturday, and wanted to share these pretty Easter polishes with you before Easter comes and they are no longer available... I have a solid week of nail art for you starting tomorrow; so today is my only chance!

365 Days of Color, 365doc, Eggcentric Bunny, white, jelly, pastel, glitter, pink, purple, shimmer

365 Days of Color, 365doc, Eggcentric Bunny, white, jelly, pastel, glitter, pink, purple, shimmer

This is two coats of Eggcentric Bunny over white. It is a creamy white jelly base packed with pastel glitters in all shapes and sizes and a pink and purple shimmer (that my camera failed to pick up). It is so, so pretty!!

365 Days of Color, 365doc, Jellybean There Done That, Glitter, Top Coat, purple, aqua, pink, matte, glitter, micro, white, purple, pink, shimmer

365 Days of Color, 365doc, Jellybean There Done That, Glitter, Top Coat, purple, aqua, pink, matte, glitter, micro, white, purple, pink, shimmer

Jellybean There Done That is a glitter top coat, so I layered it over Zoya Julie (you can see Julie by herself here). It has purple, aqua and pink matte glitters and micro white glitter along with purple to pink shimmer (which once again eludes my dumb camera). This is two coats over Julie, and the formula was once again an ease to work with.

Sunny does extensive testing of her nail polishes before she releases them, so you can be confident in the quality when you purchase them.

There are available for a very limited time. The mystery bags can be purchased here and cost $20 with free shipping. On top of these two full-sized limited edition polishes, you also get 2-3 oils, balms or mini polishes. I got an oil and a balm :)

Don't forget to enter my blogiversary giveaway! It ends on March 29th. Click here.

Monday, March 25, 2013

365 Days of Color - Frolicking

I hate Mondays... but I have something to make it a little better...

365 Days of Color, 365doc, Frolicking, teal, mint, green, square, round, holo, pink, tan, brown

365 Days of Color, 365doc, Frolicking, teal, mint, green, square, round, holo, pink, tan, brown

 Feel better?? It's so pretty!

Frolicking is a part of 365 Days of Color's La Boheme Spring collection. It is a minty-teal base with gorgeous copper and pink shimmer. And if that isn't enough, its also packed with pink holo, tan and brown squares and magenta round glitters. This is 3 coats of Frolicking, and its formula was lovely to work with.

I love this polish so much!! That's why I chose to give it away with other goodies in my blogiversary giveaway!! Make sure you go and enter the giveaway for your chance to win! It ends on Friday!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Dollish Polish Peter Cottontail

I am so mad at my camera right now. It doesn't like orange, I have accepted that fact. But now it's taking it's anger out on coral and that is not ok! Haha!!

Peter Cottontail is a limited edition Easter shade released by one of my favorite indies, Dollish Polish. Her website messed up and oversold the shade by 37 bottles.... and I got bottle 137! I had it in my cart the second it went onsale, but had some items saved for a few friends and was waiting to see if they wanted them before I bought them. I ended up hitting buy 4 minutes later and somehow landed myself in the lucky 37 batch! Yikes... that was close lol!

Dollish Polish, Peter Cottontail, limited edition, Coral, peach, holo, holographic, glitter

Dollish Polish, Peter Cottontail, limited edition, Coral, peach, holo, holographic, glitter

Ugh, so sad at these pics, they just don't do it justice. This is two coats of Cottontail over Barielle's Orange Parfait (which I showed you yesterday). It is a creamy, peach base packed with a bunch of shapes and sizes iridescent, holo glitters. It is pretty, pretty, pretty.... and definitely in the running for my Easter Sunday mani!

Don't forget to enter my blogiversary giveaway! It ends on March 29th. Click here.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Barielle Sweet Treats Collection + Matte-inee Top Coat Review

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

I am very excited to show this next collection to you! I am loving it and highly recommend it to all of you.

Barielle's Spring 2013 collection is called Sweet Treats, and there is good reason why. All of these colors look edible (note: please do not eat your fingers. k?). I am going to show them to you in the order presented in the packaging. 

Green Apple Chew: a super bright, lime green creme.

Barielle, Green Apple Chew, bright, lime, green, creme, neon

Barielle, Green Apple Chew, bright, lime, green, creme, neon

WOW! Right? You may recognize this as the base to day 4 of the Luck of the Irish Nail Art Challenge I completed last week. You all know my feelings towards green, and this may be a new favorite. It is bright and a must have for any collection. The formula was lovely, and it took two coats for full coverage.

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

Banana Drop: A creamy, pastel yellow that is unmistakable as banana.

Barielle, Banana Drop, creme, pastel, yellow

Barielle, Banana Drop, creme, pastel, yellow

I am not a big fan of pastels, as many of my lovely readers know. But, it's always good to have some good basics in your collection. I have a few pastel yellows, and I don't like them. Mostly because of coverage; too many coats do not make me happy. Banana Drop, on the other hand, had the same dreamy coverage as Green Apple Chew and it made me very happy to have it as a new addition to my collection.

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

Lilac Jelly Bean: a greyish, violet creme.

Barielle, Lilac Jelly Bean, grey, gray, greysih, grayish, violet, creme

Barielle, Lilac Jelly Bean, grey, gray, greysih, grayish, violet, creme

I was a bit underwhelmed by this one. I know the intention was to be grey, but it went a little to the dull side for me. Maybe its because of the brightness of the rest of the collection; it threw me off. This is the same creamy formula as the last two with full coverage in 2 coats. It's pretty, but not wow.

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

Orange Parfait: a soft coral creme.

Barielle, Orange Parfait, coral, creme

Barielle, Orange Parfait, coral, creme

I feel like this one is miss-named. The orange doesnt seem to fit since it is such a gorgeous coral. My collection was seriously lacking a good creme coral, and I was super excited to see this in the collection. Again, it is the same wonderful, creamy formula with two coats to full coverage. If you are a lover of coral (I know there are a lot of you out there), I definitely recommend adding this to your collection.

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

Blue Cotton Candy: a frosted, sea blue.

Barielle, Blue Cotton Candy, frosted, silver shimmer, sea blue

Barielle, Blue Cotton Candy, frosted, silver shimmer, sea blue

The online swatch of this on their website if very deceiving, so beware. While there is unmistakable shimmer, it isn't nearly to the extent the computer generated image would lead you to believe. I find the sea blue to be unique, which is saying something in the vastness of my blues. The shimmer is subtle, but very pretty and not over or under-whelming. This is also two coats and the formula was perfect.

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

Barielle was also kind enough to send me their matte/strengthening top coat to review. I decided to try Matte-inee over two in the collection:

Barielle, Orange Parfait, coral, creme, Matte-inee, Matte

Barielle, Blue Cotton Candy, frosted, silver shimmer, sea blue, Matte-inee, matte

It was very fast drying and did a great job matte-ifying the polishes. Although I do not have a lot of experience with matte top coats, because I generally like the shine so I don't have much to compare. Hopefully the pictures can speak for themselves!

Matte-inee also provides strength, conditioning and protection to the nail for greater flexibility and is intended for use every other day. I have not had it for long enough to speak to those qualities and will do a follow-up post in a couple of months.

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

Barielle nail polishes can be purchased here for $8. Or you can go here and purchase the whole collection for $25 (for those anti-math people out there, that basically means you get two of them for free). Matte-inee can be purchased here for $16.

Don't forget to enter my blogiversary giveaway! It ends on March 29th. Click here.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Zoya Spring PixieDust Collection Review

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

Happy Monday (if there is such a thing lol)!!! I have the Spring PixieDust collection to show you today!! I must say, I was not super excited about the texture trend... but Zoya proved my doubts wrong.

The sparkle in these Pixies made it incredibly difficult for my camera to capture a clear photo, so please excuse any blur lol. 


All descriptions were taken from the Zoya Website.

Dahlia: can be best described as a black beauty with a sugared sparkle, in the exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, black

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, black

This is two coats of Dahlia, as instructed be Zoya, without a base or a top coat. The feel of these polishes is sandpaper. You know I couldn't just leave it at that, so I tried all of these on with top coat as well.

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, black

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, black

With one coat of top coat. You still get the texture, but you get a nice shine to go along with it. And the top coat really made the sparkle pop. I prefer most of these with top coat. I will let you know when I don't!

Moving forward I will not "talk" as much :)


**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

Chyna: can be best described as a red dazzle with a sugared sparkle, in the exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, red

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, red



Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, red

This is two coats of Chyna. She doesn't feel as pretty without the top coat. It looks almost dirty to me. But with the top coat? Woah, so pretty! The pictures are pretty, but no where near as pretty as it is in person.

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

Godiva: can be best described as a soft nude with a sugared sparkle, in the exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, nude, tan

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, nude, tan

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, nude, tan

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, nude, tan

This is my least favorite of the collection, I think it's because Im not a big fan of nude polishes. This is two coats of Godiva, although you could go three to eliminate all traces of nail line. I like Godiva better without a top coat; it seemed to mute the sparkle instead of enhancing.

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

Vespa: can be best described as a Mint Kiss with a sugared sparkle, in the exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, green, mint

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, green, mint

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, green, mint

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, green, mint

Vespa took 3 coats for even coverage. You know how I feel about green, so it's a no-brainer that this is my favorite of the collection. The minty color just makes me happy, even if it took an extra coat!

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

NYX: can be best described as a perfect periwinkle with a sugared sparkle, in the exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, periwinkle, lavendar, lavender

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, periwinkle, lavendar, lavender

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, periwinkle, lavendar, lavender

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, periwinkle, lavendar, lavender

This is two coats of NYX. Like Godiva, it could have used a third to completely eliminate the nail line. This one is super pretty, and perfect for Spring!

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

London: can be best described as a fog gray with a sugared sparkle, in the exclusive Zoya PixieDust Matte Sparkle formula.

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, grey, gray

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, grey, gray

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, grey, gray

Zoya, PixieDust, Pixies, texture polish, sparkle, grey, gray

London is my second favorite of the collection, and this is another one I like better without the top coat. This is two coats, and this is the first one I grabbed to put on.

Overall, I am very impressed with the PixieDusts. The formula for all of them was easy to work with and the dry time for these was phenomenally fast.

**These items were sent to me for review. I was not paid for this review. All opinions are my own and are an accurate representation of my experience with the products.**

You can purchase these on the Zoya Website here, or at your local Ulta. They are $9 each.

I am waiting on pins and needles for the summer collection... because those bright beauties are calling my name!

 Don't forget to enter my blogiversary giveaway! It ends on March 29th. Click here.