Patriotic Week - Day 4

Hi there!

Today, I'm wearing a very easy-to-do manicure...

My nails painted with L.A. Colors - Hot Blooded and China
Glaze - First Mate. Stamped with Bundle Monster image plate BM21.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure. 

I painted 2 coats of Hot Blooded and 1 coat of First Mate. I stamped with Konad's special white polish and then added a coat of Seche Vite.

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 3

Hi there!

I'm really enjoying discovering new design options for next week! Here's what I've got for today...

My nails painted with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Whirlwind White.
Stamped with Konad image plate M45.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

I painted 2 coats of Whirlwind White for it to be opaque and streak-free. I then globbed Konad's special blue polish and Konad Princess' cool red polish onto plate M45. I topped it with a coat of Seche Vite.

I really like how this one turned out! What do you think?

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 2

Hi there!

I'm not too excited about how this one turned out...

My nails painted with China Glaze - First Mate and Hey Sailor.
Topped with China Glaze - Lightning Bolt Crackle.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

Before I get into the overall look, I must say that First Mate and Hey Sailor were both awesome to work with. I painted only 1 coat of each, and they were perfectly opaque.

I'm uncertain if it's just a bad picture or if this manicure really does look bad. A possible first mistake: I must not have let the red polish fully dry, because it seems to have mixed with the white and made a light pink crackle... though, that may be the result of this mistake: I took the picture outside under direct sunlight and my fingers look like they're glowing.

I suppose it isn't terrible. After all, I'm just playing around with ideas for what I want to wear next week :-)

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 1
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Until next time...

Patriotic Week - Day 1

Hi there!

Over the next week, I will be experimenting with manicure ideas for the 4th of July. Here's my first idea...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Midnight Mission.
Stamped with Konad image plate M3.
Patriotic 4th of July manicure.

It's simple, but I like it. I painted 2 coats of Midnight Mission for it to be opaque and I stamped over it with Nicole by OPI's Positive Energy. I really like how the silver shimmer in Midnight Mission is accented by the silver stamping.

I hope you'll stay tuned for my other ideas. I have some pretty good ones coming up :-)

Check out my other patriotic manicure ideas:
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Until next time...

Pink Papaya Punch

Hi there!

What an awesome weekend! I was able to enjoy beautiful weather and I got a lot accomplished. We've been landscaping our backyard and it's turning out quite nicely. I chopped my nails off a few days ago so they wouldn't slow me down and/or get broken...


My nails painted with China Glaze - Papaya Punch and
China Glaze - Broken Hearted Crackle.

The sun was shining so brightly that I wasn't able to capture a decent picture of my full manicure. I figure that a picture of one good finger is better than a picture of 5 so-so fingers, right?

Anyway, I painted 2 thick coats of Papaya Punch for it to be opaque and streak-free. It's gorgeous on its own, but with the Broken Hearted Crackle... well, I stared at my nails A LOT this weekend! It's most definitely an eye-popping manicure.

Here's Papaya Punch on its own...


My nails painted with China Glaze - Papaya Punch.


Papaya Punch is the only polish I have from the Island Escape collection. After this manicure, I'm tempted to obtain the rest of them! Do you own any polishes from this collection? What are your thoughts?

Until next time...

Frenzy Versus Cheatin

Hi there!

I recently purchased Pure Ice's Cheatin, only to bring it home and discover it's basically the same as a polish I already owned- Sinful Colors' Frenzy. Woopsies.


Sinful Colors - Frenzy and Pure Ice - Cheatin.

A close-up of the bottles...

Sinful Colors - Frenzy and Pure Ice - Cheatin.

Judging the bottles, I know why I bought it twice. It's mesmerizing! They are both clear based polishes with purple and blue suspended glitter. They were both very difficult polishes to capture on camera... but here's what I could get...


Sinful Colors - Frenzy and Pure Ice - Cheatin.



Sinful Colors - Frenzy and Pure Ice - Cheatin.



Sinful Colors - Frenzy and Pure Ice - Cheatin.



Sinful Colors - Frenzy and Pure Ice - Cheatin.

I painted 3 coats of each polish to achieve what is shown in the pictures. Cheatin is darker, more dense, and has a smidge smaller glitter than Frenzy. They were both easy polishes to work with and they're both beautiful, so I don't favor either one over the other. I don't think it's necessary to own both, but choosing between them is tough!

I can't wait to try these layered over a black polish!

Until next time...

OPI - The Show Must Go On

Hi there!

I don't know why I waited so long to try this polish...


My nails painted with OPI - The Show Must Go On!


It's so pretty! This is one of the polishes that my mother in-law got me for my birthday back in April. I painted 2 coats to make it opaque. It would have been fine with 1 thick coat.

This was a difficult duochrome to photograph. In some lighting, it looks like a bright, juicy red... while in other lighting, it looks like an orange-y gold red...

OPI - The Show Must Go On!

I really recommend this one if you don't already have it!

Until next time...

OPI - Conga-Line Coral

Hi there!

I've been waiting to wear this polish for a while, because I think of it as a "summertime-only" polish...

My nails painted with OPI - Conga-Line Coral.

The application was effortless. I painted 3 coats to make this polish opaque- however, I can see some of my nail line on my middle finger.

I'm not sure how I feel about this color. It's beautiful... but I'm not positive it looks good on me. Hrmmf.

Until next time...

What's In My Purse

Hi there!

A huge thanks to Sarah for tagging me on this one! How fun!

My purse.

How it works: empty your purse, answer the questions, and tag 5 bloggers to find out what's inside their purse!


What's in my purse?


1. Where did you get your purse, and how long have you had it? I got my purse at Target when one of my best friends was visiting back in March of this year.

2. What are 3 must-haves (not including keys and wallet) in your purse? I won't leave the house without my heartburn medicine or chapstick! And I always keep a hair clip and bobby pins.

3. What is something that you should have in your purse right now, but don't? I need to buy another package of mints. Though I don't necessarily need them, they're always nice to have... just in case!

4. What is the thing you have the most of in your purse right now? I can never have enough pens... or pills, so it seems!

5. Is there something in your purse you should explain? I feel like I should explain the socks and the slippers. I wear flats without socks almost everyday and I never know when I'll be going bowling, so that should explain the socks :-) When I go to my friend's houses, I take my shoes off as a courtesy. I don't like to walk around barefoot in case I step in something funky, so that should explain the slippers :-) I suppose having only the socks would remedy both scenarios. Oh well.

The pretty inside of my purse...

My purse.

I'd like to tag any and all of you! Post your link here... I'd love to see it!

Until next time...

Flowers for a Sunny Day

Hi there!

I've definitely been neglecting my Konad plates lately :-/ So what better time to use them than today? Well, that may be a bit of a lie... I painted this manicure 3 days ago and I just now got around to taking a picture of it...


My nails painted with Essie - Big Spender.
Stamped with Konad image plate M64.


I painted 2 coats of Big Spender for it to be perfectly opaque, stamped with Konad's special yellow polish, and then I topped it off with Konad's top coat.

Until next time...

Grapes and Celery

Hi there!

I just got back from a walk with my dog where I saw a little girl riding a bright purple and green sparkled bicycle. I tried to imitate the effect using the other day's manicure...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Grape Pop
and OPI - Call My Cell-Ery.

This actually looks much better in person. I painted 2 coats of Call My Cell-Ery for this look. It's a sheer lime green base with yellow/gold and green flakes suspended throughout it. In certain lighting, the green flakes show a flash of turquoise.

Until next time...

Norton Site Safety Question

Hi there!

I just decided to Google my blog name to see what came up. I've done it before with no problems... but this time, instead of showing a green "Site is Safe" icon, it shows a grey "Site Untested" icon :-/

Do you know how to prove my blog is safe? I registered it with Norton, but since I don't own the Blogger domain name, I'm unable to insert the necessary html/meta tags.

Hmmpf! I don't want people being scared to click on my blog... any help will be greatly appreciated!

Until next time...

China Glaze - Grape Pop - Up and Away

Hi there!

Today, I'm wearing another polish from China Glaze's Up & Away collection...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Grape Pop.

It's Grape Pop, a perfect purple creme. I painted 2 thin coats to achieve full opacity, though 1 thicker coat would have achieved the same look.

I hope you're enjoying your day. I've been taking full advantage of the sun since I know it's going to play peek-a-boo this weekend. In fact, it started raining here just as I took that picture... boo :-(

Until next time...

China Glaze - Flyin High - Up and Away

Hi there!

The sun poked through the clouds today, so I went outside and got a nice picture of the polish I'm wearing...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Flyin' High.

Flyin' High is from the Up & Away collection. It applied very easily and I only needed to paint 2 coats to make it opaque. It has a nice creme finish and I think it's a great choice for transition between spring and summer... or for those who like wearing blue... or just because :-)

Now, if only the weather would stay this nice. I'm craving a hot summer!

Until next time...

Bubblegum Pinks

Hi there!

I've got to first apologize for being MIA for so long. I think there was a car accident somewhere nearby, because our power went out for a while. When it came back on, the internet was kapooey. Only today has it worked for longer than 20 minutes without turning off (yes, the bills are paid ;-p).

Anyway, these polishes look a lot alike...

From left to right: OPI - Elephantastic Pink, China Glaze -
Mom's Chiffon, and China Glaze - Sugar High.


 ... right? I painted 3 coats of Elephantastic Pink and 2 coats of Mom's Chiffon and Sugar High to achieve what's pictured. Other than the extra coat on the first nail, the application of each polish was pretty much the same. So if you're itching for this color, you don't need all three.

Here's a picture of the bottles...


From left to right: OPI - Elephantastic Pink, China Glaze -
Mom's Chiffon, and China Glaze - Sugar High.


Do you have polishes in your collection that could pass for duplicates of one another? If so, how many? I think my most is 3.

Until next time...

Nubar - Treasure

Hi there!

I'm pretty excited about this polish...

My nails painted with Nubar - Treasure.

I painted 3 coats to achieve full opacity. The first coat was a bit sheer, the second coat was still on the light side, and a third coat looks perfect. The application was effortless.

This picture better captures the holographic effect of this polish...

My nails painted with Nubar - Treasure.

I'm impressed with how long this polish lasts without tip wear or chipping. I had been wearing it for 2 full days when I took the pictures. I'm in the middle of my third day now, and my nails still look freshly painted. I did not use a basecoat or a topcoat.

I'm really loving holographic polishes lately. Is there a type of polish you're drawn toward at the moment... matte, suede, crackle, metallic, holographic, etc.?

Until next time...