Dirty Zombie

Hi there!

These are my Halloween nails...

My Halloween zombie manicure.

I painted 1 coat of OPI's Red Hot Ayers Rock (bright red) to start this manicure, then I randomly swiped China Glaze's Velvet Bow (dark red) over that. Once dry, I painted a thick coat of Color Club's Coastal Creme (pink nude). When that was dry, I used an acetone soaked q-tip to remove some of the nude polish. That allowed for some of the bright and dark red to show through.

My original intention was to leave it at that, but I felt like the manicure needed more... so I mixed Essie's Case Study (medium brown) and OPI's Suzi Loves Cowboys (dark brown) and sponged it onto each nail. Then I applied a coat of China Glaze's Matte Magic to achieve the final look. If I had it to do over again, I'd substitute the brown polishes for something more rusty- I think that'd better compliment the ouchies.

My hands are unbelievably dry. The climate change has made them really freak out- and I'd normally moisturize them, but somehow that didn't seem appropriate for this look :-) The ouchies are a mix of cosmetic stickers and makeup. Hunny poo was some sort of gross looking character last year for Halloween, and he didn't wear all of the stickers that came in his costume package... so I saved them! The boils were much more pronounced, but I was able to slice them to better blend into my skin.

What are you wearing on your nails for Halloween?

Until next time...

Halo Hues Giveaway

Hi there!

We moved again! I've been busy packing and unpacking, so I've been neglecting my nails and my blog. One thing I haven't been neglecting, though, is the release of Color Club's Halo Hues polishes... I've been waiting for them all summer ❤ Hunny poo paid attention to my drooling over them, and he and I ended up ordering them at the same time. As a thank you to all of you who have stuck with me through my sporadic abesences, I will be giving away the set that I purchased...

Color Club - Angel Kiss, Blue Heaven, Harp On It,
Cloud Nine, Halo-Graphic, and Cherubic.
Halo Hues Collection.

Pictured are both sets... they all look so pretty together!

There will be 2 winners. The first winner will get their choice of 3 bottles of polish. The second winner will receive the remaining 3 bottles of polish.

There is a chance for an extra entry... submit an ugly manicure that I can feature on Ugly Manicure Monday. I've really been slacking on those posts, but I need more guest submissions :-) Themes for any of the upcoming holidays would be awesome... or even just a day-to-day failed manicure. Submit as many as you'd like!

The giveaway is open for a month- so that should give plenty of time to play around and create (purposefully or not) an ugly manicure. If you do submit one, email it to me and include all of the same things as usual- your name (you can remain anonymous), blog address (if you want it advertised), what polish you used, what went wrong, etc.

Thanks again for sticking with me! I hope to have more nail designs to share shortly!

**Update: The winners are posted here.

Until next time...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Greta Gurl

Hi there!

I've really been enjoying this manicure...

My nails painted with OPI - Unfor-Greta-Bly Blue and Orly - Sea Gurl.

I painted 2 coats of each polish to achieve what's pictured. They both applied like a charm, and the shimmer in each polish is just right. I'm kind of surprised with myself for waiting so long to wear Sea Gurl... I've had it sitting untried for over a year!

Do you have either of these polishes in your collection? Would you wear Unfor-Greta-Bly Blue and Sea Gurl together, or would you prefer to wear them separately?

Until next time...

China Glaze - United in Purpose

Hi there!

I played with a few more polishes from the United in Purpose collection today...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Winter Berry, Heart of the Matter,
Live Love Laugh, and Beauty Within.
United in Purpose breast cancer awareness collection.

I painted 2 coats of each polish to achieve what's pictured. Pay little mind to my index finger- it isn't a part of the United in Purpose collection. It arrived in the same package and I had it on my nail before I realized it didn't belong :-) 

Painted in order from my index finger to my pinky...

Winter Berry - my favorite, even though it isn't part of the collection. It's somewhat jelly.
Heart of the Matter - nothing extremely special. Also somewhat jelly.
Live, Love, Laugh - sheer satin finish.
Beauty Within - opaque satin finish.

My nails painted with China Glaze - Winter Berry, Heart of the Matter,
Live Love Laugh, and Beauty Within.
United in Purpose breast cancer awareness collection.

Each polish applied easily, but Winter Berry had my favorite application out of the bunch. It applied so smoothly and effortlessly that I actually thought, "wow," when I applied it.

If you'd like to see some of the other polishes I've swatched from the United in Purpose collection, click here.

Do any of these stand out to you?

Until next time...

Essie - Braziliant

Hi there!

I'm not sure how I feel about this one...

My nails painted with Essie - Braziliant.

I painted 2 coats to achieve what's pictured. I didn't like it at first, but the more I look at it- the more I don't hate it. I like it much better in the sunlight- that's where the pink shimmer is most visible.

Do you own this polish? Do you have a love/hate relationship with it? If you've worn it, I'd love to know how it looks on you!

Until next time...

Pacific Blue Glowstick

Hi there!

I wanted to wear one last "summer" manicure before the weather gets cold and I fall, like so many others, into wearing polish shades that mesh better with the current season...

My nails painted with Sally Hansen - Pacific Blue and
Orly - Glowstick.

I painted a base of white and then painted 1 coat of each polish to achieve what's pictured. The picture looks like the manicure is bright, but in person it's much brighter. I love it :-)

Glowstick wasn't in my collection when I did my neon yellow comparison, but I think that if it was, it'd easily be my favorite. It applied perfectly and dried glossy- just the way I like my neons.

Do you live in a part of the world where you get to experience 4 seasons? Which is your favorite?

Until next time...

Spoiled Blues

Hi there!

I received a request to do a side-by-side of these 2 polishes...

My nails painted with Spoiled - Good Karma and Plenty of Fish in the Sea.

I painted 2 coats of each polish to achieve what's pictured. They both applied nicely and, unlike many other Spoiled polishes I've tried, the brushes were easy to work with.

Good Karma (index and ring finger) is a teal blue with flashes of teal, while Plenty of Fish in the Sea (middle and pinky finger) is bright blue with flashes of teal. They each have shimmer that make them look like metallic polishes.

Do you own either one of these?

Until next time...

China Glaze - United in Purpose Collection

Hi there!

Here are some of the light pink polishes from China Glaze's newer breast cancer awareness collection...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Faith, Dare to be Bare,
Angel's Breath, Pearls of Wisdom, and Hopeful.
United in Purpose breast cancer awareness collection.

I painted 3 coats of each polish to achieve what's pictured.

Painted in order from my thumb to my pinky...

Faith - a milky sheer pink. The most nude.
Dare to be Bare - nude with more white. The most difficult to work with (patchy).
Angel's Breath - the most white.
Pearls of Wisdom - a very light pink pearl.
Hopeful - the most pink and the most opaque.

I wore Always a Lady separately because it is the darkest of all of the light pinks...

My nails painted with China Glaze - Always a Lady.

I painted 2 coats to achieve what's pictured. The brush was much thicker than the other brushes from this collection, so it was more difficult to apply polish near my cuticles. Aside from that, it's just fine. This shade is slightly sheer... I can see the imperfections on my nails- especially on my ring finger.

Here are what all 6 polishes look like next to one another...

China Glaze - Faith, Dare to be Bare, Angel's Breath,
Pearls of Wisdom, Hopeful, and Always a Lady.

And the bottles...

China Glaze - Faith, Dare to be Bare, Angel's Breath,
Pearls of Wisdom, Hopeful, and Always a Lady.

If I had to recommend just 1 polish from this bunch, it'd be Faith (thumb) because it's most unlike other polish in my collection and I think it's one of the most wearable.

Until next time...