July 4th NOTD with Incoco Nail Strips

Hi everyone! Happy July 4th to all my fellow Americans! After the last couples of weeks, I am feeling very proud of my country today. I truly hope the progress made recently continues to build momentum and we can look forward to more!

For my 4th of July NOTD, I did a simple accent with some Incoco nail strips I recently picked up at my local Walgreens. This is my first time using the Incoco strips, so I thought I would include a mini review along with my nails.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased for my own personal use.

Incoco Nail Strips in Brave Brilliance

Friday Favorites: Orange

Hi friends! I am back today with another Favorites post. The fav color for this one is orange. I love a good orange polish, it is probably one of my favorite colors to wear in the summer time - especially if the orange is bright or sparkly! And that is exactly what kind of polish I picked out for my top four favorites!

China Glaze Riveting, RBL Nails & Noms, Takko Lacquer Strangely Delicious, Zoya Beatrix

Friday Favorites: Red

Hi friends! As promised, today's post is the first part of a new weekly series sharing my favorites from my stash! I decided to go by color, finish and then by brand. So hopefully I will get to use some neglected polish over the next several weeks, and you guys might find a new color or three to try!

Since we're starting with color, the first Favorites post is my fav red polishes! If you have read my blog for a while, you probably know that red isn't a shade I naturally gravitate towards. Over the last few years of polish collecting, I have come across a few reds that I do actually like. Although only one of them is a cream finish, lol! I do like my polish to have a little something extra!

Essie Dress To Kilt, Lacquer Lust Ruby Holo, Nubar Red Ruby Glitz, Zoya India

Twinsie Tuesday: Inspired By Artwork

Hey y'all! Another Tuesday is upon us, and this week's Twinsie Tuesday them is a good one! We are doing nails inspired by artwork! Now if you have followed my blog for a while, you would know that I am an art dork. I studied Fine Arts in college and as well as Photography and Graphic Design. So this theme is right up my alley! 

I decided to go with a more graphic look, as opposed to a painterly style and chose Piet Mondrian for my inspiration. His later work is very simplistic and uses very little color, except for primary colors and bold line work to convey depth. (Told you I am an art dork!)

Zoya New Year New Hue Promo Haul

Hi friends. Oh man I am so behind in posting these, lol! At least twice a year, Zoya ( a.k.a. the best mainstream polish ever) has a three-free promo where you pick three polishes and just pay shipping. It is a super sweet deal and I almost always take advantage! For new year's Zoya offered the three-free promo again, which include a free mini trio as well (swatches of those to come). I took the opportunity to complete the Ignite collection and score the three I was missing - Autumn, India and Remy.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Zoya Autumn, India & Remy (Ignite Collection, Fall 2014)

Twinsie Tuesday: Endometriosis Awarness

Hey y'all, happy Tuesday afternoon! Apologies for the later-than-usual post today. This past weekend was definitely an exercise in patience as I helped my small person finish up a major project for school while being stuck inside due to bad weather, all with a big dose of hormones. Whee! Fun times...right?! Needless to say, I am feeling very stabbey today, lol!

March is Endometriosis Awarness month and the Twinsie Tuesday girls are wearing yellow to bring awareness to this debilitating disease. Endometriosis is a hormonal and immune system disease in which cell grows outside the uterine cavity, causing extreme pain and infertility. This female reproductive disease affects approximately 1 in 10 women worldwide. While I personally don't suffer from Endo (I have a whole other set of lady part problems) I know a good deal of fabulous ladies who do suffer. Knowing your body and your cycle is key to identifying any problems. So pay attention, ladies! You're bodies are amazing beautiful things, take good care of them! Now on to the nails...

Indigo Bananas Swatch Spam

Hi friends! How was your weekend? It was so frickin cold and wet the whole time! I don't mind cold weather, but when it is cold and rainy, I get whiny, lol!

Today I have some swatches from the indie brand, Indigo Bananas! This is a long post with a lot of pictures, so be prepared! I selected four different polishes to swatch from the current offerings that, I think, best represent the brand. And not to spoil the post or anything, they are all really great!

Please Note: Products shown were provided by the company/creator for review purposes.

 Indigo Bananas Enchanted Lake, Gods & Monsters, 2% Butterscotch Ripple & Chill Out

2014 Top Ten and Year In Review

 Happy frickin' New Year!!! I am tired, grumpy and a wee bit hung over, but I couldn't start 2015 properly without doing my annual recap post! This is my third year to do it, and it is still one of my favorite things to post. I have been  working on it off and on through out December in order to have it done on time. It was a lot of fun going back through all the polish from this past year, and seeing what posts were the most read!

Nail Of The Day: Thankful

Hey y'all! Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! We are off spending the day with my husband's family in San Antonio. I can pretty much guarantee there will be fantastic food and lots of alcohol, lol! Definitely a great way to spend Thanksgiving!

Today I wanted to share my holiday inspired nails and, more importantly, say thank you to all of you! I sincerely appreciate all of the comments and the interactions I get from you guys. 

My Thanksgiving nails are rather simple. I have been craving more basic designs lately - probably since I don't have a lot of time to devote to the more intricate looks. It seems my fall back method is some sort of gradient and that is what I wen with today!

Zoya Nyssa Fall/Winter 2014 Color Trend

Hi friends! Happy Friday to you all! I am really looking forward to the week end. Tomorrow night is the annual fundraiser party for my girlie's school. It's a home brew beer tasting cocktail party and one of the most fun events I get to go to every year! Needless to say, I have a spectacular nail polish picked out. Grammy will be keeping the little one all week end as well, so the hubby and I will have some much needed alone time too. Yay for fun week ends, right?!

Today's Color Trend post features another neutral shade - Cognac. Instead of being a softer more pastel neutral, Pantone's Cognac is a warm rich brown with red undertones. Zoya Nyssa, from the fall Entice collection is a very wearable, very flattering version of this earthy neutral.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Zoya Nyssa (Entice Fall 2014)

Zoya Madeline Fall/Winter 2014 Color Trend

Hey guys and gals, happy Friday! Who has exciting weekend plans? Mr. APN has a softball game tonight, and then it is a nice boring weekend for us. I love slow weekends, lol!

Today's color trend post is one that I wasn't planning to like. Mauve Mist isn't exactly a color that I am immediately drawn to on it's own. Pairing it with more interesting shades from the Fall/Winter color palette suits my taste more, so I wasn't expecting to really like the color in polish form. Zoya Madeline from the Natural Deux collection changed my mind.

Please Note: products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Zoya Natural Deux Fall to Winter 2014 Transition Collection 

Zoya Veronica Fall/Winter 2014 Color Trend

Hey everyone! Happy Halloween! No holiday themed nails from me today. If you missed it, I posted a super cool, edgy look on Tuesday.

Today's Color Trend post is probably my favorite one from the fall palette. Sangria is a rich and vampy cool-toned red. It is fun and modern, yet still maintaining an air of sophistication. Zoya Veronica from the Entice collection is a gorgeous representation of this fun fall hue.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Zoya Veronica (Entice Fall 2014)

Fall Hued Saran Wrap Mani Plus Tutorial

Hey guys and gals! Hope your week is going well, mine is great so far, but I am ready for the weekend! So at the beginning of September, I was asked by Nailpolis to create a tutorial for their new e-zine. They wanted me to re-create one of my more popular looks, the Saran Wrap mani I did over the summer. I have wanted to do more tutorials lately and this is by far one of my favorite/easy techniques, so naturally I said yes!

Twinsie Tuesday: Accent Nail

Hey all! So I wasn't sure if I was going to make this post today. I have been in a major slump, creatively, and have had nada for inspiration. I had such lofty goals for doing a gradient stamped mani for the Accent Nail theme this week, but when I sat down to do it, all motivation left me. i have been in a rare mood for fall colors (so rare that it has never happened before!) and I decided to do a little fall themed glitter gradient accent nail instead. Not very creative, but it still turned out super pretty!

Twinsie Tuesday: Summer To Fall Transition

Hi friends! Holy crap, it's September! My kiddo started back to school today, and I am pretty much a hot mess. Time is just flying by waaay too fast for my taste, and this year feels like warp speed. Since it is the first Tuesday of September and the first day of fall is just a few weeks away (the 23rd to be exact), we are going with transitional shades for this week's theme!

When talking about colors that walks the line between summer and fall, I immediately think of teal and peach tones. And since I have been gravitating more towards peach this year, that was the color I went with.

Zoya Tiffany (Fire and Ice collection Winter 2010)

Twinsie Tuesday: Sideways French

Hey all! Today's Twinsie Tuesday post theme is the sideways french. I had zero inspiration for this theme until late last night, lol! Some times the simplest things cause me the most grief! For those of you who aren't too sure what a sideways french mani is, it is done with a thin line of a different color along the sidewalls of your nail beds. I decided to do a little modification and continue that line up along the free edge of my nails and am really surprised at how much I like the result!

Zoya Muse

Hey everyone! I have a short and simple post today. I still have a ridiculous amount of polish to swatch from birthday swaps and purchases, so I am sharing one today. As part of the Twinsie Tuesday group birthday exchange, I received Zoya Muse from Chelsea from Nailed Blog. The entire Zoya Bubbly collection is on my wish list and I am super excited that I have one now. I just need the rest of them, lol!

Please Note: Products shown were gifted to me for my personal use.

Loaded Lacquer Dashboard Dancing

Hi friends! Have you ever had a lemming for a polish? I know many nail aficionados have at least had one lemming. I, personally, have quite a few. What can I say, I love me some polish! Other than a few sold out forever, never to be seen unless on evil-bay types, I usually have lemmings for Indie polish that is out of stock. It's silly, but I have issues with instant gratification. If I see a polish that I really like and I am unable to get it, I tend to pine over it with lustful longing. That is how it was with Dashboard Dancing. Every time I went to purchase it, it was sold out. But I finally got a chance to buy it during the last restock. I totally set my alarm too!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Loaded Lacquer Dashboard Dancing over Zoya Cole

Dashboard Dancing is a glitter topper with turquoise, magenta and purple glitters in a clear base. OMG, you can see why I have been lemming this baby for a looooong time! oh, but the wait was sooo worth it! DD is hands down one of the prettiest glitters I have seen or used. The formula was perfection. This is one coat kids. One amazing coat of glitter awesomeness. It spread beautifully, covered flawlessly and looks amazing!! Magic in a bottle. Seriously.

(Macro)

After just two bottles, Loaded Lacquer is quickly becoming an Indie favorite. The quality and creativity in each polish blows so many others away and you just can't really compare! Not surprisingly, the Loaded Lacquer shop is out of stock again (save for a few), but Heather is great about restocks and letting everyone know when the next one is and what will be available. Be sure to follow Loaded Lacquer on FB and IG for all the details! And don't forget to set your alarms!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Loaded Lacquer is available on line. Products retail between $8 to $10 a piece.

Zoya Threedom Promo Haul

Hey friends! Hope you all are having a great week! We have been stuck at home all week due to my husband's car malfunctioning and needing to use my car for his commute to work. It hasn't been too bad, but the limit of our outings has been a bit tiresome. It has given me more time to swatch my way through the ridiculous pile of polish I have acquired from birthday spending/gifts. 

Today I have my picks from the recent Zoya "Threedom" promo. Every so often, Zoya has a three free (just pay shipping) sale, and I usually use the opportunity to check a few Zoya's off my wish list. Cause the Zoya wish list is never ending!

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Zoya Wendy (Tickled Summer 2014 collection)

Wendy is a bright, almost neon, pink coral cream. Apparently I am still in love with coral polishes because I just can't help myself when I see one! This color is probably my favorite for summertime. It is bright and fun and perfect for manis or pedis. The formula was good, a little more thick than what I am used to from Zoya, but easy to work with. This is two coats for total coverage followed up with KB Shimmer COT top coat.

Zoya Cole (Awaken Spring 2014 collection)

Cole is a soft peach cream. It is such a fun and unexpected shade. I am all over these bright pastel shades, especially the peachy toned ones, and this one is just perfect! The formula was standard Zoya cream. It was a little patchy, but evened out after three coats. I used KB Shimmer COT top coat for the swatch photos.

Zoya Bevin (True Spring 2012 collection)

Bevin is a dusty sage green cream. I just love dusty shades lately! This one is a great color too. Edgy yet sophisticated. The formula was consistent with Zoya creams, creamy and smooth. This is two easy coats followed up with KB Shimmer COT top coat.

The Zoya promos like this are always such great deals and I try to take advantage of them whenever there is one. I am never disappointed with the polishes either. Zoya has proven to be a strong mainstream brand with excellent products and always fantastic color pallets! 

So did you guys grab any from the Threedom event? What were your picks?

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Zoya nail polish is available on line. Products retail from $9 to $10 a piece.

Zoya Dillon - Spring/Summer Color Trend

Hey everyone! Hope your week went well!  Any exciting plans for the weekend? Now that the weather is finally nice, we are having some friends over tomorrow for dinner. Grilling veggies, watching the kids run around and spending the evening outside is probably one of my favorite things to do.

One of my favorite colors for spring, is a fresh mint green. In the color palette for Spring and Summer, Pantone included Hemlock, a shade of green that is seasonal perfection. Zoya chose to represent Hemlock in the spring collection with Dillon.

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use.

Zoya Dillon (Awaken Collection Spring 2014)

Dillon is a mint green with a shimmery foil effect like Hudson (and Rebel coming next week). This color is everything. It is crisp and clean, and will pair well with any spring wardrobe. Formula was polish perfection, and what Zoya is known for. 2 easy coats (almost a one coater) for full coverage. And that shimmer is stand out gorgeous. Love.

Out of the three shimmers from the Awaken collection. Dillon is an easy favorite. As much as I like the other two, this shade will always be favorite. Even if I do have 10 plus mint green polishes in my stash already. If you are not a hoarder like me, then I highly recommend Dillon. Many other polishes in this color family do not boast such a good formula or have the amazing shimmer.

So what is your go-to shade for spring? Are you a mint green lover too?

Please Note: Products shown were purchased by me for my personal use. All opinions are my own. For more info, please read my disclaimer.

Zoya Dillon and the rest of the Awaken collection, is available on line. Products retail from $9-$10 a piece.