Friday, November 8, 2013

Enchanted Polish Ciao Milano

Hey everyone!

I'm so happy it's Friday! In celebration of the weekend, I have an incredibly amazingly fabulously gorgeous polish to show you. It's called Ciao Milano, and it was actually the first Enchanted Polish that I ever owned! It's even in the old bottle, as you'll see in the pictures.

Ciao Milano is a multichrome glitter in a clear base that has a really strong color shift. In direct light, the glitter is completely green, in other light it's a mix of green, blue, purple, and pink/orange, and in completely indirect light, it's a gorgeous purple-orange-pink. I used two coats of OPI black onyx as a base so that the colors of the glitter would really stand out. All I needed was one coat of Ciao Milano for amazing glitter payoff. I added one coat of KBShimmer Clearly on Top to make it all glossy, even though Ciao Milano looked beautiful and smooth on its own.

And another amazing thing about this polish - removal was as easy as a shimmer polish! It was so surprisingly easy! I honestly couldn't believe it. Yee!

Without further adieu, here's the lovely Ciao Milano. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. =)





Unfortunately, Ciao Milano is discontinued. I'm glad I was able to get this and Hot Chocolate before trying to buy Enchanted Polishes became a nightmare. And these two are some of my favorite polishes, so I'm perfectly content with not having to fight for more haha. 

Anyways, I hope you enjoy Ciao Milano as much as I do! Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have an amazing weekend!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

KBShimmer Teal Another Tail

Hey guys!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and got to enjoy that extra hour! I know I did =) I'm so excited to show you today's polish because it's a surprise favorite for me. From the swatches I saw online, it seemed like it may read a little bit too princess-y for me. But *wow* am I so happy that I got it anyway!

Teal Another Tail was released as part of KBShimmer's fall collection a couple months back. I wouldn't really describe it as teal personally... to me it's more of a saturated turquoise that leans a little more green than blue. It has some strong almost-duochrome pink glitter that looks like a gold/silver/metallic in certain light. There's also slightly larger teal glitter that's really pretty and adds some nice extra dimension. 

Teal Another Tail dries down to a matte, slightly textured finish. I actually really love the finish... it was unexpected and makes for one very very unique polish. I also love how much of a chameleon this one is (you'll see in the pictures below)... in some light, the turquoise is so saturated and really stands out, in other light the pink is very dominant, and in dimmer lighting, the polish looks like a more muted metallic grey-ish tone. 

The formula was equally as amazing as the shade itself. It flowed so smoothly on the nail, I didn't have to do any cleanup whatsoever. I used 3 coats, but 2 probably would have been fine. I just wanted to get the color as saturated as possible. I didn't add any top coat because I like the texture, but it would have looked beautiful either way!

As difficult as this polish is to describe, it was even harder to capture all of it's amazingness! I tried my best, but take my word for it when I say that it's 10000% better in person.


Pink shimmer!!


Looks very turquoise here.

Indirect sunlight. See what I mean about the metallic grey undertones??

What do you guys think about Teal Another Tail?? Are you as excited about it as I am? Has anyone else tried it? This really is one that you need to see in person to truly appreciate.

I'm honestly blown away by KBShimmer. All their polishes that I've tried have been so beautiful and unique and they all have incredible formulas. I can't wait for my order of winter polishes to arrive. Yee!!

Anyways, thanks so much for stopping by and sticking with me through my inconsistent posting. I hope you have a beautiful day. =)

Monday, October 28, 2013

Pink Leopard Halloween Nails!

Hey guys!

On Friday I went to my first Halloween party of the year. I've been a bunny for the past 5 years in a row, so this Halloween I *had* to switch it up. But I've never put too much effort into my costumes, so I went on a search for some ears that I could wear with a simple dress that I already own. I wanted to be a kitty originally, but then I found some AWESOME pink leopard ears at Claire's that came with a cute tail. The best part? Only 5 bucks! And Claire's was the second store I stopped at, so finding my costume was super easy!

I paired the ears with a thin-strap black dress and black knee-high black boots with heels. I wish I had a picture of the whole outfit, because I thought it looked really cute even despite it being simple. The best accessory were my nails. I painted them to match the ears and they really stood out with my black dress. I got a lot of compliments all night!

I started with a base of two coats of Zoya Shelby, a cool baby pink. Then I used a brush to paint on blobs of KBShimmer Don't Pink Twice, an awesome neon hot pink that dries to a semi-matte finish. Lastly, I used a brush and OPI Black Onyx to finalize the leopard print. I added KBShimmer Clearly on Top to finish it all off, and voila! Cute pink leopard nails that matched perfectly with my outfit. I really love the final result! 



Does anyone have any fun costume ideas for this week? And will you be polishing your nails to match?

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you have a lovely day! =)

Friday, October 18, 2013

China Glaze Pink Voltage

Hey guys!

Are you as stoked for the weekend as I am?? This week kind of flew by and honestly felt like a really long weekend (minus the whole no alarm clock thing) - I played softball, went hiking, saw some of my favorite people... so yay, a great week! Of course there was school mixed in there too. And now I'm ready for a great weekend that will hopefully be filled with hiking, the farmer's market, the beach, bike rides, and my lovely friends.

Today I want to show you another polish that's definitely more summer than fall... but that's okay, because it's so fun and awesome! China Glaze Pink Voltage is a neon cool-toned pink with blue shimmer that creates a gorgeous blue flash in the sunlight and gives the polish a lot of depth. This shade is so bright and bold and makes me so happy!

The formula was okay, not the best but definitely not the worst either. The formula is on the thinner side and went on somewhat streaky at first, but by the second coat things started to even out. Three coats was the magic number with Pink Voltage, and by the end of the 3rd coat, everything looked nice and even. Dry time was also relatively fast... score!

This dries to a nearly-matte finish, which I actually really like! Here's Pink Voltage - 3 coats, no top coat. 

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I added KBShimmer Clearly on Top to show what Pink Voltage looks like all nice and glossy. And it's equally as stunning. The blue shimmer comes out a lot more with the top coat. 

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So there you have it! My favorite neon pink. Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have an amazing weekend!

 

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Hobby Polish Bloggers Halloween Giveaway!

Hey guys!

I'm so excited to share with you that I'm participating in my first giveaway! And what better way to have a first giveaway than to participate in one with a group of amazing nail-obsessed ladies? The winner will receive $320 to the online etailer of their choice: Llarowe, Ninja Polish, Harlow & Co., or PayPal. Pretty amazing, huh? You could buy a hell of a lot of polish with that!

To enter, please allow the Rafflecopter widget to load below. All Terms and Conditions may also be found in the widget. Please visit the following Hobby Polish Bloggers members who are bringing this to you! You may enter using Rafflecopter from any of the below blogs but your entry will only count one time. You may, however, tweet about the giveaway (the last option) once a day for the duration of the giveaway. 

Also, special shoutout to Ms. Krystal over at Polish Galore for putting this all together for us! Thanks, Krystal!

Hobby Polish Bloggers  
Carinae L'etoile  
Fairly Charming
From Polish, with Love  
Geniabeme 
I Feel Polished  
Imperfectly Painted
Kat Stays Polished 
Lit From Within  
Love. Varnish, chocolate and more... 
Lucy's Stash
Manicure Addict 
Manicurity  
Pamper with Polish 
Peer Pressure Polish  
Polarbelle polish insomniac  
Polished and Glittered 
Polished Prescription  
PolishGalore  
PolishNV  
pretty tough nails  
The Dalai Lama's Nails 
The Sparkling Hoard


a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
Best of luck, everyone! Thanks for stopping by =)
  

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Zoya Creamy

Hey guys!

Sorry I kind of fell off the face of the earth again. It's been drier outside, which means my nails started peeling again. :( So I've been trying to take care of them with OPI Nail Envy, lots of patience, and no polish. They're definitely getting better though! Yay!

Anyway, I know it's fall now and all and there are a lot of vampy polishes all over the place, but I still like rocking brighter fun colors year-round! Polish knows no seasons... haha. Zoya Creamy is actually one of my favorite polishes... it's pretty much *the* perfect yellow. It's a warm, bright, sunny creme that applies pretty well given the color. The formula is on the thicker side but applies smoothly. It's a little streaky and uneven at first, but by the 3rd coat, everything is pretty much smoothed out and good to go.

And now I present to you the lovely and wonderful Zoya Creamy - 3 coats, no top coat.


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What do you guys think about yellow polish? I was hesitant the first time I tried it because it's kind of unusual, but then I fell in love! Whenever I wear yellow I'm just so happy every time I look at my nails.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a fantastic day =)

Friday, September 20, 2013

OPI Mod About You

Hey guys!

Happy Friday! =D I hope everyone is as stoked for the weekend as I am! I'm seeing Thievery Corporation tonight, which I'm stoked about, and it's my dear friend's birthday, so we're going to go all out all weekend! Not necessarily relaxing, but definitely lots and lots of fun.

Anyways, today I have another one of my beloved OPIs to show you. As much as I love indies, I've recently been reminded why OPI used to be my favorite. They make such pretty and bold shades with great formulas, and I love the wider brush because I have big nails. 

Today I'm showing you Mod About You, a stark, cool-toned, baby pink that's really delicate and light (looks nearly white in the bottle) yet pretty vibrant once on the nail. This polish makes me feel girly without being all dainty. I think it's kind of a sexy color really... not sure why but at least that's how it makes me feel.. haha! Mod About You is much more opaque than you would expect it to be. I used 3 coats to smooth everything out, although two probably would have been just fine, especially if you have shorter nails. Even though it took 3 coats, they were 3 very very easy coats - this polish applies pretty opaquely and evenly from the get-go. I didn't use top coat for these photos to show you how glossy it is on its own! Yee!

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I know a lot of bloggers aren't too into pinks when it comes to polish, including me. But when I find a pink that makes me happy, I *love* it. And this is one of those polishes. I truly truly love wearing it and looking at it, and I can't believe I hadn't worn it in over a year! Blasphemy! I'm glad I rediscovered this and Red Lights Ahead... Where?, because these are two seriously amazing polishes. Way to go, OPI!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have an amazing weekend =D





Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Reppin' LA - Dodgers Nail Art

Hey guys!

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone's week is going well so far! Today I have another nail art look that I rocked over the weekend. I know, I know... two nail art posts two days in a row?! Madness! It can't be! Not sure what's come over me, but it's true! I have some more nail art for your viewing pleasure =)

I went to a baseball game this weekend, and of course I had to do my nails accordingly. I started with a base of two coats of Essie Aruba Blue on all of my nails except my ring fingers. Aruba Blue is a *gorgeous* jewel-toned shimmery blue that's seriously stunning. And the formula was amazing. And it didn't stain... say what?? For my ring fingers, I used two coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls.

Then, since I was in a rush to get to the game, I enlisted my very amazing artistically-talented roommate to do the designs on my nails for me. And she did such an awesome job! She free-handed the LA on my pointer finger and did the more abstract baseball on my ring finger using Sephora by OPI High Maintenance. Then I added Essie Matte About You to my middle finger just to mix it up a bit and get a subtle skittlette going. I loved the final look - I felt so proud to be an Angeleno! And while the Dodgers lost, I had a great time and had a nice excuse to rep some fun LA nails. 



Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great day. And remember, Think Blue! =D




Monday, September 16, 2013

Concert Nails - Green Gradient Splatter

Hey guys!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend! I know I did! Today I want to show you some nail art I did for a concert I went to on Saturday. I knew I wanted to do something that was bright and a little crazy. So what I came up with consisted of a simple green gradient with some glitter on top, and I loved the final result!

First I used two coats of piCture pOlish Revolution glitter base coat. It definitely made removal so much easier! Then I started with two easy coats of Zoya Neely, a gorgeous pale mint creme with an awesome formula. Then I used a sponge to create the gradient using China Glaze Exotic Encounters (darker teal creme), Zoya Wednesday (medium turquoise creme), and Neely. The gradient actually came out really well! I was definitely happy with the result, especially since gradients usually end up as hit-or-miss for me. 

Next I used KBShimmer Grayscale, an *AMAZING* matte glitter top coat that consists of different shapes and sizes of black, white, and gray glitters. You can check out my original review here. Finally, I topped it all off with two coats of KBShimmer Clearly on Top to smooth it all out.

This look was really easy to create and I think it turned out really fun! I like how it's kind of reminiscent of graffiti. The glitter looks like splatter to me, and I love how the black/white/gray looks with the teal/green gradient. It was perfect for the concert. Man, we danced so hard. 



I hope you enjoy this mani as much as I did when I wore it! I really like simple nail art techniques like gradients that yield a really awesome result. Thank so much for stopping by! I hope you're having a great start to your week =)


 

Friday, September 13, 2013

OPI Red Lights Ahead... Where?

Hey guys!

Happy Friday! So happy the weekend is here... the weather has been so beautiful I hope to get some hiking in tomorrow and Sunday! Any fun plans?

Today I have one of my favorite red polishes to show you. I'm not usually a fan of red polish (which is funny because before I became obsessed with polish, I would always paint my nails shimmery red... all. the. time.), but this one is different, and I freaking love it!!

OPI Red Lights Ahead... Where? was released in the spring of 2012 as part of OPI's Holland collection. I bought it last year and wore it so many times during the spring and summer... I even wore it for my college graduation! And somehow I kind of forgot about it until this week. But I promise to never forget about it again because I loved wearing it and I always get a ton of compliments on it!

Red Lights Ahead... Where? (weird name, eh?) is a really interesting shade. That's probably why I love it so much. There's a hint of orange that makes it just not quite truly red. It's also super vibrant, which I love! The formula... *ugh*... to die for. Probably the best formula of any polish I've ever used. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing the formula is. The polish flowed soooo smoothly on the nail and went exactly where I wanted it. And it was pretty opaque with just one coat, but I added a second since I have longer nails. If you have short nails, you could for sure get away with just one coat. Also, it dried really fast and was glossy all on its own!



Have any of you tried Red Lights Ahead... Where? I know a red creme doesn't sound too exciting, but I really love this one and hope you enjoyed reading about it as well!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

KBShimmer You Autumn Know

Hey guys!

I hope everyone's week is going well. I can't believe it's almost the weekend! Yay! Today I have a really awesome polish to show you from KBShimmer called You Autumn Know. It was just recently released as part of KBShimmer's fall collection for 2013. I was so excited about the three polishes I bought from this collection, I ordered them the first day they were available on September 1. And clearly I didn't waste any time trying this one.

You Autumn Know exceeded my already high expectations. It has a white crelly base that's filled with yellow, purple, and orange glitter. There are different sized hex glitters as well as some tiny bar glitters. I absolutely love the color scheme of this polish - it's festive and perfect for fall. Ugh I've been getting so excited for fall lately, this polish is right up my alley. Bring on the pumpkins and all the fall-scented candles! Hell yes!

The formula was great. I used 3 easy coats to get the white base completely opaque. The glitters came out easily and settled nicely on the nail without requiring any fishing or intentional placement. The dry time was also faster than I would expect from a thicker glitter-packed polish like this. I used two thick coats of KBShimmer Clearly On Top to smooth everything out. 




I love this polish so much!! It's so unique and just everything about it is awesome. This is one of those polishes that I didn't get tired of, even though I wore it for a few days. I didn't even have any chipping! Yay!

Have you tried any polishes from the new KBShimmer collection? What do you think about You Autumn Know? I have limited experience with this brand, but all of my experiences thus far have been nothing short of amazing! Definitely a fan.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you all have an amazing day =D

Monday, September 9, 2013

Zoya Yasmeen and OPI Minnie Style

Hey guys!

Gah! I have been quite the bad blogger these past few weeks. :/ Even though school started, I've been keeping summer alive with a lot of outdoor after-school activities, so I haven't had much time to sit at my laptop and blog. But I'm going to start picking back up again, especially since I now have a lot of pictures of NOTD's that I've been wearing. I haven't done much in the way of nail art lately, but hopefully swatches of some lovely polishes will suffice. =)

Anyways, today I have my new favorite purple to show you! Can't believe it's taken me so long to get this beauty, especially since I've seen so many beautiful swatches and since purple is one of my favorite polish colors. Yasmeen is a deep jewel-toned purple with gold shimmer that really warms up the polish and brings out some red. In some lights, the edges look blackened, which I loved. This polish is so beautiful, vibrant, and dynamic in every light. It's truly gorgeous. And the formula was amazing, which is what I've come to expect from Zoya. It was almost opaque at one coat, but I used two to get it completely opaque. And it dried fast and was really shiny all on its own.


The edges <3
Then I decided I wanted to try out a glitter from my untrieds, OPI Minnie Style. Minnie Style consists of red and white hex glitters in a clear base. I loved how these two polishes paired together! The red in the glitter really looks nice with the purple. I used one coat of Minnie Style to get the glitter payoff that you see below.  



Have you guys tried either of these polishes? Are you as in love with Yasmeen as I am?? Thanks so much for stopping by!


Thursday, August 15, 2013

Blue and Pink Dotticure

Hey guys!

Can you believe it's almost the weekend?? I'm so excited, even though this week hasn't been particularly tough for me... haha. But my brother is coming into town tonight, so it'll be really great to see him!

I have some more nail art to show you today. Is anyone surprised that I went with polka dots? No? Didn't think so. I just love polka dots way too much. They look really fun and they're so easy and quick to do. So no complaints there. =)

Cobalt and pink is one of my favorite color combinations, so of course I had to try it out. I started with three coats of Essie Butler Please, a vibrant cobalt blue. The formula is fine and not nearly as bad in my opinion as I've read on other blogs... it's pretty streaky and thin on the first coat, but once I applied the second coat it looked great. I added the third coat just to brighten it up a bit, although it wasn't really necessary. I really really love Butler Please and almost didn't want to put anything on top of it because I love it so much. But I had polka dots in mind, so I had to do them. Apparently Butler Please is a dupe of Nails Inc. Baker St, and apparently the formula on that is much better. Oh well. 

Next I used my dotting tools to create a gradient of polka dots from large to small going down my nail. The two pink polishes I used are Lime Crime Parfait Day (bright pastel pink) and China Glaze Pink Voltage (only my favorite neon pink EVER). Then I topped it all off with top coat to smooth it out, and there you go! I like how bright this manicure is. I could have been more careful with the placement of my dots to make the gradient more obvious, but I don't care too much. I'm happy with it. =)

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 That's it for today! I hope that you all have a great Thursday! Thanks for stopping by =)

 
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