So When Is Enough, Enuff

Got some nail mail today from Transdesign.  I ordered a few from China Glaze's Safari collex and a few other randoms.  I was so happy when I opened my box of new pretties. When I took out China Glaze Atlantis, I said to myself, HMMM...this looks familiar.  So I went on the hunt in my Stash box for Sinful Colors Nail Junkie.  And here's what I came up with...

We have Nail Junkie on the left, and Atlantis on the right. Dupes??? Close but no cigar. They both share the same teal jelly base and small holo glitter, but Nail Junkie also has larger hex glitter. Also, I think Atlantis is more blingy. But do I need both in my collection.  Not really.

Then I went on the hunt for more dupes in my stash and found OPI Just Spotted The Lizard and China Glaze Rare and Radiant. Then I abandoned that idea and decided to count my pretties. (Can you say nail polish ADD).

As of today I have 374 polishes.  And I am expecting a package form Zoya this week with my picks from their Fall 2012 Collections.  Is it time for a NO BUY?  I dunno, I'm not quite to that point yet, but I think that I need to research more swatches and only buy if it is absolutely a must have. But with so many new polishes coming out, I want them all!  What is a girl to do...

Would you guys like to see a feature of possible dupes?  I tink I'll call it Dupe Or No Dupe? Let me know.

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy Polishing!!

Zoya Zuza

Hello Lacquer Lovers!

Today's nails were done for Teal Tuesdays.  This week we took a polish poll to see what was the most common teal polishes among the group, and we had to do a mani featuring one of those polishes.  And the winners were Zoya Zuza, China Glaze Atlantis and A England Saint George.
I chose Zoya Zuza because it was the only one that I had at the time, but I have since added Atlantis to The Stash.

Now on to the pics.

To get this look, I started off with two coats of Pure Ice Oh Baby, a gorgeous multi-chromatic polish with teal, blue and purple shimmer.  You can see really see the shimmery-ness in the second photo. Next I did a Funky French with Zuza and topped that off with Sally Hansen Fractured Foil crackle polish.  For the accent finger, I did two coats of Zuza with a squiggle of Fractured Foil.

I'm really feelin' this mani. I like the simplicity with a bit of funkiness thrown in for good measure.

What do you think, Is this a good toned-down mani that is work appropriate?

Thanks for checkin' me out. Happy Polishing!

August Secret Santa Swap :)

Hey Ladies.

Just wanted to share with you really quick what I got in the August Secret Santa Swap for the FB group Midwest Nail Polish Enthusiasts.  This group is for nail polish enthusiasts who live in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Ohio and Nebraska.

My Secret Santa was the wonderful Jen @  Jen's Nail Files.  So lemme show ya what I got!

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy Polishing!

China Glaze Bohemian Luster Chrome Swatches

Hey Lacquer Lovers.

Today, I have swatches from the new Bohemian Luster Chrome collection by China Glaze. This collection features six high shine metallic shades with duochrome finish.

The formula on all six polishes has a very smooth application with quick dry times.  All swatches are three coats with top coat.  These polishes start off sheer with the first coat, with full opacity in three.

So let's get on with the swatches already!

Swanky Silk
Gorgeous soft, neutral champagne-gold with light pink flash.

Unpredictable
Medium green with golden shimmer and a turquoise flash.

No Plain Jane
Lovely Lavender with light pink flash where it catches the light.

Deviantly Daring
Saturated peacock teal with greenish-gold and dark turquoise flash

Rare & Radiant
Rich gold with olive green shift.

Want My Bawdy

Bold sapphire blue with purple undertones.

Wow! Aren't these colors just gorgous! This is the first of any collections where I felt compelled to buy all of the colors, and I'm sure glad that I did.  My faves are, Deviantly Daring, Want My Bawdy, No Plain Jane and Unpredictable. Of course I couldn't pick just one :)  The most duochrome-y of the bunch has to be Rare and Radiant. And Swanky Silk is perfect for when you want to go neutral with a lil extra.

Which shade is your favorite, or are you like me and have to have them all?

*All polishes were purchased by me with my own money.

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy Polishing!

MSMD: Sunset Palm Tree Nails

Hey Lacquer Lovers!

Sorry I've been MIA for the last week. During the week I was mad busy and could not find time to do my nails, and then I went out of town for the weekend.  But not to worry.  I'm back today with one of my most intricate mani's yet.

My inspiration came from the Tropical Nail Art at Girly Bits.

I started with a gradient of Sally Hansen Insta Dry's in Heat Flash, Lightening and Presto Pink.  Next, I stamped on the palm tree image from SH 19 with Kleancolor Black.

And because I wasn't satisfied I decided to add some more color. 

I used all nail polish to do the filling in.  First, I painted in the water with SHID Brisk Blue.  The palm trees were painted in with SHID Just In Lime and Avon Bronze.  I used the Kleancolor black to go over the outline and add more detail to the palm fronds.  Except on the pinky :(  I didn't notice it until I uploaded the picture.  Oh well.

The brush I used came in the nail art brush set from MASH.  I used the angled detail one. 

It's not the neatest, but I'm happy with how this came out for my first time using the nail art brushes for something other than stripes.  Gotta expand those horizons. I had been wanting to try adding more color to my stamped main's for a while.  Gonna have to play around and see what else I come up with. 

So what do you think?

Thanks for checkin me out.  Happy Polishing!

MSMD: Zoya Beach Water Marble

Hey Peeps.  It's Monkey See Monkey Do time again.  My Zoya Beach and Surf collex finally came in the mail, so I decided to try to recreate the water marble I saw over at The Nail Network.

This is my first successful water marble and I was so proud of it that I had to wear it for three days.

Right hand, sun

Left hand, shade

I really love how this turned out.  I had to redo a couple of the nails,and I still had a few water bubbles but it was worth it. 

For this design I used four colors from the Zoya beach collection:

Arizona

Tracie

Wednesday

Lara

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Have a great week!

Claire's Precious Metals

Hey Lacquer Lovers!

I have some glitter polishes to show you today.  I got this cute little boxed set of  5 mini glitter polishes at Claire's for ten bucks.  These are all chunky glitters with some serious bling.

So let's get to the swatches. I only swatched the last 3 because they seemed like the most interesting. But no worries.  I will be showing you the other two in the near future. 

First up is the polish in the middle, a chunky green-blue hex glitter with pink glitter scattered throughout.

Outside, sun

Outside, shade

Next up is the fourth polish from the left.  It is very similar to the one above, but has blue and pink glitter.

Outside, shade

Outside, sun

And last, but definitely not least is the beautiful black and holographic glitter.  This one is my favorite.  When I saw it, it just screamed NEON. So that's what I layered over.

Outside, sun

Outside, shade

 All swatches show one coat of glitter.  The formula on these polishes was pretty good, I didn't have any issues with glitter placement, and for each nail I only had to dip the brush once.  Also, removal was a breeze, no foil required here.

Let me just tell you, the pictures do not show how blingin' these glitters are.  I still had the green and pink glitter (the first one) on when I had to run to the market to get something for dinner.  I had my hand out the window the whole time and was staring at my nails at every red light. Love it!

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy polishing!

Zoya Nail Polish Unveils Fall 2012 Collections: Designer, Diva & Gloss

Zoya Nail Polish Unveils Fall 2012 Collections: Designer, Diva & Gloss

PRESS RELEASE:
Announcing three new couture color collections from Zoya Nail Polish for Fall 2012DESIGNER, DIVA and GLOSS - AVAILABLE MID JULY, 2012

Inspired by backstage beauties, talented designers, runways and VIP fashion events, the NYFW 2012 Color Collections by Zoya for Fall 2012 are simply stunning. Choose from full-coverage creams and metallics or incredibly shiny jellies.

If it’s in style this Fall - Zoya has it!

Each New Fall Collection (Designer, Diva and Gloss) features color that is beautiful, long-wearing and “haute” off the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) Fall 2012 runway!

Zoya NYFW 2012: Designer Collection

• Rekha (ZP626) - Blood red cream (Bibhu Mohapatra custom shade)

• Toni (ZP627) - Dark maroon red cream

• Monica (ZP628) - Dark mulberry purple cream

• Natty (ZP629) - Smoked navy blue cream

• Evvie (ZP630) - Evergreen green cream (Peter Som custom shade)

• Noot (ZP631) - Charcoal green gray cream

Zoya NYFW 2012: Diva Collection

• Elisa (ZP632) - Crimson red metallic

• Suri (ZP633) - Royal purple metallic

• Song (ZP634) - Egyptian blue metallic with a subtle sparkle

• Ray (ZP635) - Pine green metallic

• FeiFei (ZP636) - Magic blue foil sparkle metallic

• Daul (ZP637) - Magic violet foil sparkle metallic

Zoya NYFW 2012: Gloss Collection

• Katherine (ZP638) - Sheer eggplant jelly gloss, buildable formula (Peter Som custom shade)

• Paloma (ZP639) - Sheer berry red jelly gloss, buildable formula

• Frida (ZP640) - Sheer teal blue jelly gloss, buildable formula

ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!

Ultra long-wearing, glossy nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE- all formulas are completely free of harmful industrial chemicals such as toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Find over 300 other Zoya shades at www.zoya.com. Each and every name has a color as unique as the women who inspired it.

Zoya has done it again with another great collection.  These are some great fall colors, and I can't wait for them to be available.  My must haves from this collection are Evvie, FeiFei, Daul, and all three of the sheer jelly polishes.  Just imagine the yummy jellly sandwiches.  I wonder how they would look layered with other polishes.  

Also, Zoya has a great program called Share the Love.  If you click on the link below, It will take you to their website where you can place your order and you will get an instant coupon for a FREE bottle of polish! And if you add 2 more polishes, you get FREE shipping. BONUS!

https://www.artofbeauty.com/rd/012C64CC

So which colors will you be adding to your stash? 

Teal Tuesday: Half Moons

Hi Ladies.  Today's mani was done for the Teal Tuesday group on Facebook.  I was kinda on the fence about whether or not I liked the half moon technique, but after trying it, I decided that I like it.  It is quick and easy, and with the right color combo's, can make an awesome mani. 

This color combo was picked out by my fiance.  I never woulda thought to put orange and teal together but I think it works.

To get this look I painted the bottom half of my nail with 2 coats of Color Club Sparkle and Soar (the orange) and then painted on a smile line with Color Club Metamorphosis and filled in the rest of the nail.  Metamorphosis required 3 coats to make it opaque. Some people use reinforcement tabs to make the line for the half moon, but I didn't have any so I just freehanded it. 

I was surprised that I liked how this turned out.  Now I'm gonna have to do this again with some other colors.  I see neon in my future :)

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy polishing!

Check out the other ladies that do Teal on Tuesdays!
Gnarly Gnails

Nails Beautiqued
Geeky Owl
Mandys Polish
Fancy Phalanges 
ColorSplash Nails
Simple-and-Beautiful
Persistently Glittery
No Holos!
Cherries Sweets
The Frenzied Polisher
Caitlins Creative Corner

Monkey See Monkey Do: Splatter

Hey Peeps! Today is Monkey See Monkey Do Monday and I have a splatter mani to show you.  My inspiration for today comes from The PolishAcholic. She has some really great splatter mani's. 

I wanted to do black and white with a splash of color. And what better combo that black, white and HOT pink?

I am in luv with how this turned out. The technique is easy, but the cleanup is a PITA. Next time I think I will do the lighter color first so the the black does not bleed through and put tape around the nails to make cleanup easier. I did a s platter mani before, and the results were good (of course this was pre-blogging days), so you can expect to see more splatters from me. 

So what do you think? What color combo's do you think would make a good splatter mani?

Thanks for checkin' me out.  Happy Polishing!

Updated: The Stash

Just uploaded The Stash list.  Currently have about 250 polishes.  Not including striper polishes.  And there is more to come (awaiting the arrival of the Beach and Surf collex from Zoya).  Check out my stash HERE.

Sunday Stamping Challenge: Something I Love

This week's challenge was to do a mani based on something that you love.  Well I love my doggie and since I have a few stamps that are doggie related...Doggie it is. 

So I started this mani off with two coats of Finger Paints Art Lofty Toffee, and all of the stamping was done with Kleancolor Black.  I like the neutral tone to Art Lofty Toffee, and the formula on the Finger Paints polish is great. Goes on smooth and has a decent dry time.

For the images, I used SH08 for the dog and the small paw prints. The large paw print is from MASH 36, and the image with the fire hydrant is from the new Bundle Monster set, BM-306.

I only have a couple of pictures for you today, cuz even though I love my doggie, I am not loving this mani.  Only because of the thumb and index finger,  the rest look pretty good.  And I dunno what is going on with my cuticles.  They look good before I take the picture and then when I see the picture it's like "Dang girl, moisturize those cutes". LOL.  Guess it's time for a hot oil mani.

So let me show you my inspiration for this mani.

On the left is my Boxer, Caesar.  I've had him for about 7 years and he is such a clown. On the right is Lola, a Shepherd mix.

Thanks for checkin me out.  Happy polishing!

Summer Challenge: Summer Chevrons

I created this mani a couple of weeks ago, and I decided that it is perfect for the Summer Challenge over at the Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge.  This was done before my nails were reduced to nubbins courtesy of a family bowling outing.  I know, I know, bowling is the kiss of death for long nails, but I had fun.  I actually only broke one nail while bowling, but over the next few days the rest of my nails decided to have a pity party and break too, so I was forced to take them all down to nubbins.

Anyways...on to the mani!  Here is my version of Summer Chevrons.

outside, shade

outside, sunlight

outside, shade

This was my first attempt at a tape mani.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out , although some of my lines are not as crisp as I would like.  I used regular transparent Scotch brand tape to make the chevron. 

So let's meet the players.

Sally Hansen InstaDry Lively Lilac

2012 Prayer

Sally Hansen InstaDry Mint Sprint

Milani High Speed Jiffy Orange

Finger Paints Drawn To This Shade

I used Jiffy Orange for the base and Drawn To This Shade for the accent finger.  To make the chevrons,  I used Mint Sprint, and before I removed the tape, topped it with Prayer, which is a purple crackle polish.  After I removed the tape, I added the dots with Lively Lilac and Mint Sprint. 

I think this mani has a tribal look to it.  What do you think?

Thanks for checkin me out.  Happy polishing!

Check out the other chica's participating in the challenge.



4th of July Stars and Stripes

Happy Independence Day folks!

Of course I had to do the requisite 4th of July nail art.  There are so many wonderful versions out there across the web and here is my addition.

outside, sunlight, left hand

outside, shade, right hand

outside, shade, left hand

And lets meet the cast.

Sally Hansen Insta Dry Rapid Red

Sally Hansen Insta Dry Whirlwind White

Revlon Top Speed Royal

LA Girl Glitter Addict Celebrate

After the base coat,  I painted each nail alternating with Whirlwind White and Royal, topped off with Seche Vite.  I added one coat of Celebrate over the Royal before stamping.  The stripes were stamped with image plate QA 3.  The stars are from BM 03 (index finger) and MASH 43 (the rest).  Topped everything off with another coat of Seche Vite.  Oh how I missed my Seche.  Picked up a new bottle on my latest trip to Sally Beauty.

So on another note...what is everyone grillin up for the holiday.  I did my grilling yesterday, in the rain, since I have to work tonight. Grilled up some ribs, made mac and cheese, baked beans, potato salad, and corn on the cob.  MMM carb heaven.

Enjoy your day!

Thanks for checkin me out.  Happy polishing!