Essence Cherry Blossom Girl

Hey all! Sorry for the lack of posts this week, I have had things swatched and photographed, but never got around to actually editing the photos. Oops. Today I have polishes from the Essence Cherry Blossom Girl collection released in Europe last fall. I found a display randomly shoved in a corner of my HEB ( a texas grocery store chain) and immediately snatched up all the bottles. I hardly ever find special Essence collections, but when I do, I usually grab the polish if there is any left. 

 

 

 

Essence - Fortune Cookie

 

Fortune Cookie is a sunflower yellow with a yellow hidden shimmer. It's nearly impossible to see, except in sunlight where you will get a little twinkle. I happen to be one of the few people that can wear yellow with out it making me look horrid. This particular shade is a great one for my skin tone & I love it. Formula was pretty much standard for a yellow, streaky and hard to level. I used three coats, waiting (im)patiently between each one, and managed to get everything smooth. It also stained my fingers a bit, so it looked like I had dried mustard around my cuticles for a little while : \

 

 

Essence - My Little Kimono

 

My Little Kimono is a taupe/greige with a silvery shimmer. Usually, this type of color looks horrid on me, lobster hands and all, so I tend to stay away from them. But the hoarder in me couldn't pass it up and leave the collection incomplete! That would being breaking polish covenant! Luckily, it doesn't look too bad, and doesn't give me dreaded lobster hands. This was also the only one I didn't have formula issues with. 2 coats, no streaking, nice dry time.

 

 

Essence - Cherry Cherry Girl

 

Cherry Cherry Girl is a bright orangey red crelly (cream/jelly) finish. I wasn't expecting to like it, but it is so bright and the crelly is really nice and squishy looking! The formula was more like a jelly, thick with a longer dry time. Patient and careful application is required, otherwise expect a bubble fest!

 

Essence - It's Peach, Not Cherry

 

It's Peach, Not Cherry is a peach/coral crelly with the same formula as Cherry Cherry Girl. I LOVE this color! I have been obsessed with corals and peaches lately. I literally cannot get enough. This is the third one I have posted since January, and I actually just bought another one yesterday! Again, careful application is needed with it because of the formula.

 

 

 

And just because I had nothing better to do, I did a quick little dotted flower mani! Ignore the gloopy mistake on my index finger, k? ; )

DIfferent Dimension - Ditz & Whatever

Hello everyone! Hope you all are having a great start to the weekend! I will be elbow deep in dirt this weekend, working on my vegetable garden. But, before all that happens, I have two polishes from the totally rad 80's Baby collection by Different Dimension polish!

 

 

 

Different Dimension - Ditz

 

Ditz is a hot pink polish with a scattered holo effect. I am not usually a pink person, at least with nail polish, but there is just something bright and fun about this color! The holo reminds me very much of the Zoya Ornate, very smooth, but sadly not very holo. There is a slight rainbow in sunlight, but I wasn't able to get sunlight pics, it's been very cloudy all week : (  It does lend  little something extra to the overall look, instead of just a basic pink polish. Formula was good, a little on the sheer side, I used 2 coats and still had a teensy bit of VNL. If you apply thinner coats, you would probably need 3. Everything else was really great. 

 

 

 

Different Dimension - Whatever

 

Whatever is a purple polish with a scattered effect, just like Ditz. In fact,the whole collection has the scattered holo. The purple is a bit more red, but my camera couldn't adjust properly. Same formula as Ditz, as well. This one was actually gifted to me by the completely awesome Amanda from The Nail Polish Enthusiast. She organized a Secret Cupid gift exchange and I was her draw. It was so much fun and I am so glad she decided to get me this awesome gift!

 

 

 

Even though, the holo is kinda weak, I still love this collection and hope I can complete the set before they sell out!

 

Different Dimension is available on Etsy. Prices range from $8.50 - $10.00

Fashion Friday #3

Happy Friday! I am so ready for the weekend! Things are pretty crazy around my house lately and I am looking forward to having a couple of days to relax a little. Today is the third instalment of the Fashion/Nail Art collaboration I am doing with Camille from Pretty and Punk.

 

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

 

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - White On

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Black Out

Essie - Cocktail Bling

 

Reinforcement Stickers

 

Alright, I'm not gonna lie, this was one difficult look to re-create. I love the ethereal smokey look of this Prabal Gurung floral print, but I don't think I was able to do it justice. I tried three different times and this was the most successful of the three. While I like the look, the application is far from perfect. Nail art is definitely something that takes practice! So for this look, I started off with a base of white, let it completely dry and then used paper reinforcement stickers and black polish to create the half moons (if you are unfamiliar with this technique, you can find lots of tuts on youtube & such that go over it). I then top coated everything and let it all dry completely. Once that was done, I used Essie Cocktail Bling as the base color for the floral design, using the brush to paint on irregular shapes. After that, I applied some white to the center with a small nail art brush, lightly blending the two colors (not too much, still wanted some white to show). Then I dropped a tiny bit of acetone in the middle to give it a softer look (again, search youtube for watercolor floral nails & you can find some neat stuff!) and used a thin brush with a bit of black to add a bit of detail, keeping it all very free hand and loose. Whew! I told you it was a bit difficult!

 

I only managed one look this week (since it was rather time consuming!), but I am ready to see what next week brings! Camille has such a great sense of style and it really makes me flex my artistic muscles!

 

Elevation Polish - Daisen

Good morning all, happy Thursday! I can't believe February is almost over. I am, however, quite ready for spring, although this year, we haven't had too much of winter, here in Austin. This week is particularly dreary, which makes this polish, particularly nice!

 

 

 

Elevation Polish - Daisen over Essie - Navigate Her

 

Daisen is a mix of light and dark pink circle glitters with a touch of orange circle glitter and iridescent micro glitter. CIRCLE GLITTER!!!! OMG, I love it. Love, love, love. I cannot get enough of it. This is the first of many, many more circle glitters I will be acquiring. Elevation Polish is an Indie brand that has a diverse line of glitters, shimmers, duo chromes and creams. Most of the glitters are circle too! Sigh... Formula was really nice, not too thick, and had an even distribution of the glitter. I did have to fish a little bit for the larger pieces, but nothing too drastic. It dries quickly and fairly smooth as well. Just one coat of Wicked Fast to top it off.

 

 

I love the combo of Navigate Her and Daisen, a nice spring look to brighten my day! I did have a bit of a wait for the delivery, almost a week after I placed my order. Hopefully next time, I won't have to wait so long!

 

Elevation Polish is available on line, prices range from $7.50 - $10.00. Restock is the 7th & 22nd of each month.

Takko Lacquer Spring 2013 - Pucker Up & Maneki Neko

Hellooooo all! I am so excited for today's post, because I have new Takko Lacquer polishes! As you may know, I am a rabid fangirl of Takko Lacquer and the creator, Sheryl. With each collection, I am completely astounded at the interesting and creative looks she comes up with. There is no other brand, Indie or mainstream, with this level of creativity. Thankfully, this time I didn't miss out on the takkitos I wanted, but man, they all sold so fast!

 

Takko Lacquer - Pucker Up

Pucker Up is a bright orange/pink coral jelly with a chunky gold a fuchsia shimmer. Hello new favorite Takko! I am so in love with this polish, I may need a back up. It's the perfect color for spring  and summer. Formula is a bit sheer, and I needed 3 coats for full coverage, but the polish dries rather quickly, and wasn't problematic at all.

 

 

 

 

Takko Lacquer - Maneki Neko

Maneki Neko is a full coverage green glitter with gold, silver and holo glitters scattered throughout creating an incredible sparkly polish. Glitter is new territory for Takko, but Sheryl mixed one hell of a glitter bomb! It applies wonderfully, absolutely no dragging or clumping at all. Dries quickly, doesn't eat top coat and removes just as easily as the application. No foil or glue coat needed for this baby! 2 easy coats, followed by 1 coat of your favorite topper. (I used Cult Nails Wicked Fast, fyi.)

 

 

Old Vs. New Takko brush

On a side note, the brushes on the bottles are a tiny bit wider than the older polishes. I am usually not a fan of wider brushes, but the new one is just wide enough with out causing application issues. Nice quality too, stiff and smooth.

 

If you haven't snagged a Takko  yet, you really need to! They blow every other Indie out of the water (that I have tried, at least) and even some main stream brands. I promise, you won't be sorry!

 

Takko Lacquer is available on line vie Etsy. They retail between $9 - $15. Restock is every Friday, 1pm EST.

Fashion Friday #2

Hey guys! Sorry today's post is later than normal. I fell and bruised up my knee a couple of days ago, and have since been reduced to keeping it iced, and motionless. So I am running behind on quite a few things!

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

Maybelline Color Show - Green with Envy

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Sun Kissed

Zoya - Ziv

 

This mani is inspired by one of my fav local designers. Melissa from Katastrophic Designs has an aesthetic similar to my own. She uses non traditional color combinations in interesting ways. She is super talented and a really cool chic! She also makes the cutest Teddy Bear aviator hats ever! The mani is simple enough to create, using tape or nail stickers for the angled tip and a gold accent nail to complete the look!

 

 

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Black Out

DIFFERENTdimension - Ditz

 

A simple Valentine's look using a dotting tool to make little hearts. I kinda wish I had done this yesterday for my V-day mani!

 

More nail art & fashion inspiration next week!

I Love NP - Forever and a Day + my Valentine's Day mani!

Happy Valentine's Day lovelies! I hope you all are spending time with someone special. Today's post is a very beautiful glitter from one of my new favorite Indie brands, I Love NP. Barbra created a six piece Valentine's day collection with some traditional and some rather nontraditional color combinations. I am definitely one for breaking the rules and following your creative spirit, so I knew I would love this collection. As soon as I could, I ordered a bottle of Forever and a Day, and within a few days, I was happily ripping the package open to ogle my new beauty.

 

 

I Love NP - Forever and a Day over Urban Decay - Naked

 

Forever and a Day is a gold and sheer teal glitter mix in a clear base. It is so delicate and gorgeous all at once. The mixture of different gold glitters and the softness of the teal really play well together. The look is inspired by a luxurious gift box usually associated with Valentine's Day (or a lovely brunette with a complicated heart and a furry pal named "Cat"). Formula was really nice, very smooth with no dragging. I did have to dab a bit to get the glitter evenly distributed, but other than that, it was an easy application.

 

I really am falling in polish love for this great little brand. Everything is put together so well, and the glitter combinations are unique and interesting. And I definitely need a few more from the Valentine's Day collex!

I Love NP is available on line via Etsy. The bottles retail for $10 a piece.

Color Club Halo Hues - Eternal Beauty

Hello everyone! I have some nail polish related news to share - I got a Helmer this weekend! I am so excited to finally have my stash organized and stored in a much more user friendly container. I've been thinking of doing a stash video, but my collection is still relatively small. Maybe, if you all want to see one? Anyway, on to the polish!

 

 

Color Club Halo Hues - Eternal Beauty

 

Eternal Beauty is a blue/purple linear holographic nail polish. The holo effect is just as strong as Cosmic Fate, just a bit cooler toned. LOVE this color. Simply perfection. The formula was spot on as well. 2 coats, no need for aqua base, no dragging, streaking or any other typical issues that holo polishes seem to have. Color Club must have a magic holographic polish maker, because these are amazing!

Again, the official release is February 15th, but some e-tailers already have them in stock (& some are already sold out!) I ordered mine from 8ty8 Beauty for $8 a piece.

Color Club Halo Hues - Cosmic Fate (Pic Heavey)

Hey guys! Holographic polish is all the rage right now and it seems there are collections popping up all over the place. Color Club is releasing a second part of their gorgeous Halo Hues holo polish line and it is amazing!

 

Color Club Halo Hues - Cosmic Fate

 

Cosmic Fate is a peachy/orange/pink linear holographic polish. As a holo newb, I have little experience with different brands, but what I do have, this one blows them away. Everything about it is perfection. The color is beautiful, application was dreamy (no need for aqua base!) and the holo effect is stunning!!!

 

Natural daylight

 

Really, there isn't too much else I can say other than get these as soon as you can. They are way cheaper than the Layla holos, Fnug, or even the up coming China Glaze holos, and I think they are far superior.

 

Right now, they are available at a few places on line, but the official release is February 15th. I snagged mine from 8ty8 Beauty.



Fashion Friday #1

Hey everyone! I have some exciting news to share! I am teaming up with a friend & fellow Austinite to do a fashion/mani collaboration. Camille, my incredibly stylish pal, has a fashion blog where she puts together outfit posts and I thought it would be fun to do a mani inspired by the looks she creates. This is my first real shot at nail art and creative nail designs, so I hope you all like it! And be sure to check out Pretty and Punk, Camille's blog, so you can see the inspiration behind my creations!

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

Sephora by OPI, Betsey Johnson Mini set

- Too Too Turq (base color)

- Alley Cat (rose color)

- Son of a Gun (dot colot)

 

I started with a base coat of Too Too Turq, used Son of a Gun and a dotting tool to make some large dots on my thumb and ring finger nails, then used Alley Cat to make some irregular blobs on the rest of my nails, for the roses. I used a fine point black sharpie to add petal details and give the flowers better shape. This is my first actual "nail art" look and I love it! I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

 

Inspiration Look

 

Used:

Urban Decay Naked Nail set

- Naked

- Sidecar

Hard Candy - Matte-ly in Love

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Black Out

Wing Tip nail stickers

Mini rhinestones

 

For this look, I layered Sidecar over Naked (I really need to swatch this set) and matted it. Once it was dry I used a wing tip nail sticker (similar to french tip stickers) and added a black tip. After that dried, I added a dot of Gelous to each point and added a mini rhinestone to each nail. Despite how much, I like this mani, I don't think I would ever wear it outside of the house. Seems too high-maintenance for me!

 

That's all for this week, but check back next Friday for another post! I am super excited to do more!

New Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Shoot The Moon

Hello everyone! It feels so nice to be blogging on a regular basis again! I really do love my little space of the giant interwebs & all the pretty polish I can share.

Today I have a new color from the newly reformulated Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure nail polish line. If you aren't familiar (and you can read all about it here from Nouveau Cheap) with the re-release, it has a lot of the old favorites, along with new and previously limited edition colors added to the mix. I have yet to find a full display, but I came across a small sample display at my local Walgreens, and picked up this lovely polish.

 

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Shoot the Moon

 

Shoot the Moon is a pewter colored foil and it's super pretty. Even though it is primarily silver, it does have sparse flecks of green, gold a copper twinkling in the mix. In some lighting, it has a very distinct greyed out silver tone, others it almost looks gold. Formulas was very nice and smooth, no dragging, streaking or the like. I did use a top coat, because it dried too dull for my taste, foils need to be shiny! 2 coats will get a nice coverage. Good dry time as well.

 

 

I never really paid too much attention to the old line, nothing stood out or grabbed my attention (except the LE golden lily that I missed! ::sobs::), but I am glad I picked this one up and will be on the look out for some of the new shades!

Nail Pattern Boldness Boop-Oop a Dupe

Hey all! I am slowly making my way through the pile of polish I have collected over these last couple of months, and have an interesting Indie to share. I first saw it on Jessica's blog (anoNAILmous) and knew it would be a great polish to add to my stash. But then again, aren't they all?!?

 

Nail Pattern Boldness - Boop Oop a Dupe over Revlon - Royal

 

Boop Oop a Dupe is a shimmer topper which can create a similar look to the highly coveted Clarins 230 (a.k.a. Unicorn Pee) or Max Factor Fantasy Fire. I am totally okay with paying $9 for an indie dupe that I can use over any color to create this AMAZING effect. It even has the green color shift. Swoon. Formula was a bit thinner than I was expecting since it is an indie, but application was blissfully easy. This is 2 coats over Revlon Royal (if you don't have this cobalt blue jelly, go get it now. For real). Shiny top coat to finish it off.



DIES. Yep, totally worth it.

Nail Pattern Boldness is available via Etsy. Boop Oop a Dupe is sold exclusively through Llarowe.

Zoya "Color Your World" Promo Haul

Hey guys! Recently Zoya had a fabulous promotional sale, 3 polishes free with a $10 s&h charge. Heck yeah! If you are familiar with my blog, you know I am all sorts of fangirl crazy for Zoya, so I took this opportunity to snatch up a few polishes on my wish list.

 

 

Zoya - Willow

 

Willow is a muted coral with a hidden silver shimmer. I have found my perfect coral! Shoulda known it would be a Zoya! I love everything about this color. The shimmer is very hidden, all it really does is add depth. Formula was a little tricky, tho. First coat was streaky, and I needed a thicker second coat to even it out. If you apply thinner coats, you will probably need three. Dry time was average for Zoya. Nice glossy top coat to finish it off.

 

 

 

 

Zoya - Tracie

 

Tracie is a pea green with a silver frosted finish. I love green polish, especially a fresh bright green like this one. The frosted finish does have a tendency to leave brush strokes, so use a gentle hand. The formula was a little thin, but covered nicely with just 2 coats. Average dry time.

 

 

Zoya - Zuza

 

Zuza is a lovely aqua color with a chunky shimmer, almost foil, finish. I have been lemming this polish ever since it came out last summer. It's gorgeous, shimmery, and totally reminds me of the Caribbean ocean. Sadly, the formula was terrible. It was streaky, it dragged, bubbled, and refused to dry. I tried to get a successful application, but gave up after the third time. Boo. I think this may be the first Zoya I have with a disappointing result, so that is saying something!

 

 

Love me some Zoya! Love the promos, too!