NOTW: Sally Hansen Brisk Blue & Tuxedo

Hey all, sorry I've been MIA for a while, but I've been sick (again...ugh!) and haven't felt up to doing my nails. I was feeling adventurous, and decided to try and replicate Zooey Deschanel's tuxedo mani.

This mani started as just 2 coats of Salley Hansen Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue. So pretty, but, it started peeling the next day. Instead of starting over completely, I patched what I could, and cleaned up the worst nails (only one on each hand). On those nails, I used OPI Alpine Snow as a base, and Sinful Colors Black on Black to create the tuxedo.

I'm pleased with how this turned out, considering I'm crap at free-hand drawing, and had to do the entire thing with a toothpick. I'll definitely have to do this again.

NOTW: OPI I Don't Give A Rotterdam!

My salon finally got OPI's Holland collection, and I couldn't resist picking up at least 1 polish. I picked up I Don't Give A Rotterdam! because the name is probably my favorite (next to Kinky in helsinki), and the color was pretty.

This is 2 coats of IDGAR! over basecoat, no top coat. IDGAR! is a slate blue/grey with silver glitter. So pretty. But I couldn't leave it just like that, especially since I also bought a bottle of Essie Matte About You.

*Sigh* I LOVE mattifying glitter/shimmer polishes. Please forgive the dent, my cat decided to play manicurist ;)

NOTW: Sally Hansen DVD

You know that cold that's going around? Yeah, I got it...of course. Today, my nose finally stopped running long enough for me to do my nails. Being sick = sparkly mani!!

This is 2 coats of Sally Hansen DVD over 2 coats of OPI Russian Navy Matte, topped with Seche Vite. This has been in my un-tried box forever. It looked so pretty in the bottle, I was worried it wouldn't look as good on my nails. Boy, was I wrong. It's an absolutely gorgeous glass fleck that shifts between blue and purple. *sigh*

In other news, did anyone see Adele's Louboutin mani for the Grammy's? I'm in love. I can't wait until my nails are long enough to attempt.

NOTW: Zoya Isla

For a while now, I've been on the hunt for a good red polish. I will admit that I'm kindof picky about my reds (I prefer darker reds, and am not a huge fan of cremes), but I think I finally found my favorite red!

This is 2 coats of Zoya Isla topped with Seche Vite (please to be ignoring the chips). It is a gorgeous blackened red shimmer, a bit darker than it looks in the picture (closer to the bottle color). I'm in love!!!! I think I'm going to have to pick up a backup bottle next time I'm at the salon.

NOTW: Avon Creamy Apricot

Hey everyone! Sorry, again, for not posting, but I've been on a vacation in Florida and haven't been wearing any nail polish. However, apparently I've been inspired by the warm weather, and I'm breaking out my "summer" polishes now.



That poor bottle's been through a lot ;) Creamy Apricot is a very bright orangey-coral creme. This is 2 coats topped with Seche Vite. I don't know what took me so long to try this one out, it's so pretty!

NOTW: Sally Hansen Angel Wings

This week, for once, I actually wanted to wear something a bit more subtle. I decided to try out Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Angel Wings.

This is 3 thin coats over base, and topped with Seche Vite. This polish is a gorgeous pearl shimmer that flashes pink in the light (unfortunately I couldn't capture it on my camera). This was fairly sheer. After 3 coats the nail line was still very visible but, strangely, I was okay with that.

Well, that's it for now. Til next time!

NOTW: OPI Divine Swine

I am, quite possibly, the worst blogger. Sorry that I haven't posted in so long, but real life kindof took over. Hopefully I'll be back to my weekly posts now. Anyhoo, here's my mani this week.

Yesterday was the big cross-town rivalry basketball game between the college I went to, and the evil ones. I decided to make my nails as purple and bling-y as possible to distract during foul shooting (not sure of it helped, but oh well).

This is 3 very thick coats of OPI Divine Swine topped with Seche Vite. Divine Swine is fine purple glitter and larger silver hex glitter in a clear base. It is verrrrry sheer. I ended up having to glop it on so that I'd be ready for the game. I absolutely LOVE the way this looks, but I am soooo dreading taking it off :/

Until next time, loves!

NOTW: Candy Corn!!!

It is officially 9 days until Halloween!!!! I can't wait! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I'm a bit late getting into the spirit, but candy corn nails are one way to start everything off with a bang.

I attempted to do this last year, but it was a total fail. I did it all free hand, and I didn't have fast dry top coat at the time, so it took (no lie) at least 2 days for everything to dry.

This time I used french tip nail guide stickers, and a coat of Poshe after each layer to make everything go much faster, and come out much cleaner. As for the polishes, I used OPI Alpine Snow (white), Sinful Colors Great Wall (orange), and Color Club Almost Famous (yellow).

I can't stop looking at my nails. This really helped to get me in the Halloween spirit. Is there anyone else doing any Halloween themed nails?

NOTW: OPI Russian Navy Matte + NYC Starry Silver Glitter

I've been under the weather the past few days, and finally decided this afternoon that I had had enough of my chipping polish (a sure sign that I'm getting better), and redid my manicure.

I started with 1 coat of OPI Russian Navy Matte, a navy blue matte, and then put on 1 medium coat of NYC Starry Silver Glitter; small silver glitter, and larger pink and blue hex glitter. Then I topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite. I absolutely love this look and can't stop staring at my nails! At a distance they sortof look like mini-galaxies, which makes my inner astronomy geek very happy :)

NOTW: Wet N Wild Party of Five Glitters

Hey all! Sorry I've been MIA, but I've been kinda lazy lately, regarding my nails. I had an interview on Thursday and decided, once I got home, to go completely funky.

This is Wet N Wild Party of Five Glitters. I've had my eye on this for a while, but I almost never go to Rite Aid, and when I do, I forget to pick it up. I finally got it the other day, and I'm mad that I waited so long. Party of Five is a mix of blue green, silver, red, and pink/purple hex glitter. I did 1 fairly thick coat over 1 coat of Morbid Black, and it looks FANTASTIC! I can't stop staring at my nails!

NOTW: Essie Vintage Wine

The local salon/shop where I buy my nail polish finally put out a bargain bin last week. While they were mostly blah, I did find a bottle of the gorgeous Vintage Wine.

It was tough to get a decent picture of this since I didn't have any sun (thank you Irene!). Vintage Wine is a dark wine red color with subtle shimmer. I did 2 coats, and it's just too pretty!!

NOTW: Zoya Neeka

As promised, here's a pic of Neeka for you all!

This picture was taken after 2 days of wear. Neeka is a gorgeous dark grey/purple (much darker than it looks in the bottle) with subtle red and gold shimmer. I probably could have gotten away with 1 coat, but I did 2 just to make sure there were no bare spots, and topped with Poshe. I really like this color, and I'm glad I picked it up.

Well, that's all for now. Til next time!

NOTW: Zoya Apple

I'm going back up to Maine this weekend. So, what's the perfect polish to wear to a weekend on the beach? Something from Zoya's Sunshine collection, of course!

This is 2 coats of Zoya Apple, a gorgeous apple green with golden shimmer, topped with 1 coat of Poshe. I can't get enough of this color, it's so pretty!

And now I'm off to pack! Til next time!

NOTW: Nicole By OPI: Me + Blue

I never thought that I would one day own a Bieber polish, but this one called to me.

I lovelovelove this polish! It's a gorgeous blue with holo glitter. This is 2 coats of Me + Blue, topped with 1 coat of Poshe (I did end up putting another coat of Poshe on later since it is seriously gritty).

I was surprised that I really liked the brush for this polish. I wasn't sure about it since I have such small nails, but it was the perfect size for them. I only used 1 or 2 swipes per nail.

NOTW: Sephora By OPI Shopping Frenzy

I could not decide on what I wanted to do my nails this week. But, I finally settled on Sephora By OPI Shopping Frenzy. This is my first Sephora By OPI polish, and now I want to go get some more!

This is 2 coats of Shopping Frenzy over basecoat, and topped with Poshe. This was completely opaque at 1 coat (!!!), but I did a 2nd coat just to make sure everything was even. I love this color. Its a bright pink/fuschia that has a blue/purple flash. So pretty.

Til next time!

NOTW: OPI Who The Shrek Are You?

I decided to cross another of my polished of the 'untried' list. I've used this polish before, as part of my St. Patty's Day manicure, but never by itself. This is OPI Who the Shrek Are You? from their Shrek Forever After Spring 2010 collection.
This was 2 coats of Who the Shrek Are You? over basecoat, and topped with Seche Vite. On my ring finger, I decided to add a coat of NYC 110A (I believe its the same thing as Luxery Lime) on my ring finger. The NYC polish, by itself, is a very sheer yellow-green with medium green shimmer. Over Shrek, it gives the polish a pearly/frosty finish.

I love this OPI color. It's the exact same color as this slime (gak?) that I had as a kid. Good times.

Til next time!

NOTW: Zoya Phoebe

For this week, I decided to try out Zoya Phoebe, from their Mod Matte collection.

Phoebe is a gorgeously bright electric blue, that I can't stop staring at. I did 2 coats over a basecoat, and topped it with Seche Vite. The top coat really brings out the shimmer. Then, I added Sally Hansen's white crackle, Snow Blast, on my ring finger as an accent.

I really love how this turned out. I can't believe it took me so long to try out Phoebe, it's such a pretty color. And I got tons of compliments when I went to the store.

Unfortunately, I decided that the day after doing my nails is a good time to start scrubbing down the kitchen cabinets....without gloves. Needless to say, this manicure is wrecked. Bummer.

In other news, I recently started up a music blog, Records Spinning. Check it out if you're interested, and let me know what you think!

Til next time!

NOTW: Milani Hi-Tech

I haven't had the time to polish my nails lately, but I finally finished my last final and decided it was manicure time! I chose Milani Hi-Tech since the yellow-green color reminded me of Bugette in Starship (can anyone say Starkid obsessed?), and I wanted to try out my very first holographic polish.

No Top Coat

With Top Coat

This was 3 coats over base coat, topped with poshe. I probably could have gotten away with 2 coats, but it dried so fast, I decided to slap a 3rd on there just because.

Hi Tech is a gorgeous yellow-green holo. Its not an in-your-face holo, but its still very pretty. I can't stop staring at my nails..lol! I don't know what took me so long to try out holos. The formula of this was a dream; applied like butter, and dried super quickly.

NOTW: NYC Hint of Mint

First, a quick follow-up of the Scherer Chameleon polish I posted last week. I'm not happy. It looked soo pretty, but ended up peeling off completely the next day. Boo! The past few days, I've been rocking *gasp* naked nails! But, since I'm going to Holy Thursday mass tonight, I decided I should probably cover them, lest I scar people with my yellowed nails.

I wanted something nice and pastel since, hey, it's (supposed to be) spring. I ended up chosing one of the new polishes I got, NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in Hint of Mint. It's a gorgeous light mint green creme, close to a pastel, but not quite. I did 2 coats over base coat, and topped it with Poshe.

I'm hoping this does actually last 7 days, because I'm loving this polish! Usually I don't like creme polishes (too plain for me), but this is sooo pretty! The formula was awesome. It went on like butter, and dried quickly too.

I'm already planning what I can add to it for Sunday. Maybe some Easter eggs? Or maybe a funky french? Hmmm...

Til next time, loves!

NOTW: Scherer Chameleon Blue Sky

I found Blue Sky at Rite Aid the other day (along with Calypso) and it looked so pretty in the bottle that I just had to get it. Its a gorgeous duochrome that flashes between purple, green, and blue.

Indoors, artificial light

Natural sunlight

As you can see, it does not disappoint. Depending on the angle, it flashes between all three colors, reminding me of a peacock feather. This is 2 coats, over basecoat, and then one coat of Poshe. I ended up putting OPI Black Shatter on my ring nail because my cousin's daughter wanted to see how it worked. I really like how it came out.

Overall, application of this wasn't too bad. I had read some horror stories about this brand on different blogs, but it wasn't that bad for me. I did medium coats since it has a tendency to dry quickly, and then pull. I'm also loving Poshe right now. Its not as shiny as Seche Vite, but it dried just as quickly, and didn't shrink. Yay!!!