China Glaze Skyscraper

I have been wearing a lot of glitters lately! This is China Glaze Skyscraper from the Fall 2011 Metro collection. It is a sheer navy jelly with very tiny pieces of silver glitter. This took three coats to be opaque. The first coat was very sheer. The glitter makes it look like it would be gritty, but the finish is very smooth. It looks like I won't need to use the foil method to remove this one. I had to use it for the past two manis I did using the Funky Fingers glitters, so that can't be good for my skin. This polish also has an interesting effect. The sheer blue jelly coats the silver glitter from previous coats making it appear to be blue. It looks like it has a combination of silver and blue glitter!

Here it is without the flash. It reminds me of a night sky with stars. I have come to terms that I probably won't ever possess Essie Starry Starry Night, so this polish fills that void.

I went to 5Below on Friday and purchased these: Sally Hansen Resolution, Blue-Away, Rockstar Pink, Funky Fingers- Guitar Solo, and Fresh Paint- Blue Steel.....

And yes, this is what I thought of when I saw the polish was named Blue Steel. I knew then that I had to buy it.

Funky Fingers Tinsel Town

I purchased Funky Fingers Tinsel Town at 5Below right before the holidays. It was pretty in the bottle, but I expected it to be more of a sheer and not be anywhere near as vibrant as it is. I am only wearing two coats here! It builds up very nicely and the formula is amazing. It is holographic glitter in a teal jelly. 

This is what it looks like most of the time. The flash made it look more blue than it actually is. The glitter is absolutely gorgeous! This is also after two days of wear. My fiance and I went to his parents' house over the weekend and I left my camera at home. It only chipped a little bit on my thumb. Also, my cuticles are a wreck at the moment. I guess PA winter will do that. If you live near a 5Below, I recommend buying one of these before they disappear. I was there on Friday and they still had a few left.

Also, I noticed that I've been getting more followers and I really appreciate it! It makes me so happy to see that others are reading my blog and enjoying it. I love sharing my hobby with all of you. In order to celebrate approaching 100 followers, I may post a giveaway soon *hint hint*. One of the prizes may be a bottle of Funky Fingers- Tinsel Town ;)

Funky Fingers Baby-Baby-Baby and Some New Additions

Here is Funky Fingers Baby-Baby-Baby. I hope it isn't named after the Justin Bieber song haha. It is a mix of light blue glitter and holographic silver glitter. This took three coats. The glitter was very gritty and even with three coats there were still some bare spots that I had to touch up. In the light, this polish is absolutely gorgeous. This photo shows it with the flash.

Without the flash and a little blurred, you can see all the dimensions of sparkle!

I ordered the Deborah Lippmann Edge of Glory set from Barney's because it was on sale. It was $29 with free shipping and they may have some left. I was not going to get this if it was full price.

It came with two shades. The first one is called Edge of Glory base color and it is just a plain black creme.

This is the flakie top coat (called Edge of Glory top color). When this is layered over the black creme, magical things are supposed to happen! I cannot wait to try this duo! Plus, I love Lady Gaga!

I made a trip to ULTA to utilize my 20% off coupon. I picked up Essie- As Gold as it Gets Luxe Effects topcoat, OPI- Fly, and China Glaze- Some Like it Haute. I wasn't able to find OPI Save Me so I may have to order it online in order to complete my Nicki Minaj collection.

The Essence display at ULTA was pretty pathetic when it came to nail polish. They had like three shades that I already owned. They did have a lot of eyeliners marked down to 50% off. I got each of the pencils for 60 cents each and the gel eyeliner was $1.50. I'm eager to try these out also! I needed new eyeliner and I hear good things about Essence- although the ULTA here needs to have a wider selection of their polishes!

Red Glitter and Nicki Minaj Mini Haul

Here I have three coats of Essie Bold and Beautiful topped with one coat of OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy with It. Bold and Beautiful is from Essie's Winter 2008 collection and Gettin' Miss Piggy with It was just released recently for the Holiday 2011 Muppets Collection. Essie Bold and Beautiful I guess would be considered a creme, but the consistency was kind of thin and it was streaky after three coats. Because of this, I didn't even bother taking a picture of it by itself. Since this picture has the flash, the red in Bold and Beautiful shows up so much brighter than it actually is. The glitter actually gets lost in it. In person, the glitter really stands out against the dark red. 

Without the flash, the glitter is more evident and you can see how much darker Bold and Beautiful is. For some reason, my camera has difficulty capturing red glitters. This combination turned out to be wonderful, but it's a shame the pictures dont' do it justice. The different sizes of glitter really pop in real life. I like how Gettin' Miss Piggy with it has small red glitter particles and larger glitter particles of silver and red. The other Muppets collection glitters only have larger silver glitter particles in addition to the mini ones

I ended up taking another picture. It's a bit blurry, but at least the glitter shows up a little bit more.

I went to the grocery store by my house to pick up a prescription, and they had the OPI Nicki Minaj collection on display! A lot of it was picked over, but I was able to purchase Pink Friday, Did it on Em, Metallic 4 Life, and Super Bass Shatter. I had to laugh that the OPI logos on Pink Friday and Super Bass Shatter are partially scratched off. This is most likely because the grocery store isn't a licensed OPI retailer, but why did the logos only get scratched off on some of them? But for $7.50 each, I saved $1 on each of them rather than purchasing them at ULTA. Originally I wasn't going to purchase Pink Friday or Did it on Em because they looked very similar to OPI colors I already own, but I just caved in and bought them when I saw them in the store. I will most likely make a trip to ULTA in the near future to utilize my 20% off coupon and purchase Fly and Save Me. Also, has anyone seen the Zoya Fleck Effect collection at ULTA? I'd rather buy it at ULTA, utilize my coupon, and avoid paying the shipping costs. Plus I wouldn't have to wait for them to arrive in the mail!

Sally Hansen Must-Have Iris, Nail Mail, and Collection Spreadsheet!

This is three coats of Sally Hansen Must-Have Iris from their Diamond Strength line. It really isn't my color. Sheer pinks are too girly for me. This shade would probably be more ideal for a french manicure. It has a bit of shimmer to it. I just bought it because it was on clearance. It's advertised to not chip, and it didn't chip at all in the two days I wore it. The application was good. It just wasn't me.

I then received some nail mail from Traci from The TraceFace Philes. She was selling some old OPI's in her blog sale. I got Back in the Saddle (look how old that bottle is!), Cuppa-Cawfee, Red Hot Ayers Rock, Cool in the Pool, and At Your Quebec & Call. I can't wait to try these!

This also arrived from eBay. It's Warm and Fozzie. This has been a lemming ever since I heard about it, but I never was able to find it in the stores.

I also created a spreadsheet of my collection. Currently my collection is in multiple shoeboxes and it's extremely disorganized. (I know, I need to invest in a Helmer!). Since I have a lot of time on my hands now and I was curious to see how many bottles I have, I created it. I'm up to a little over 500 bottles. 

Click here to check out my collection!

Let it Snow!!!

We had a snowstorm in PA! I figured this would be the perfect combination of polish. It is two coats of China Glaze Blue Year's Eve topped off with one coat of China Glaze Snow Globe. This mani definitely reminds me of winter! Both polishes were part of the China Glaze Let it Snow collection for the 2011 holiday. 

Blue Year's Eve is a magnificent blue shimmer- unique from the other blues in my collection. I know the name was supposed to be festive, but it almost sounds like the polish is meant to be worn on New Year's Eve. 

Snow Globe has multicolored iridescent glitter that is somewhat see-through. It has been a lemming of mine for a while and I was happy to see that it was re promoted in the holiday collection. It's just gorgeous over Blue Year's Eve. I have also seen it over black and white shades. 

OPI DS Coronation and Nail Mail!

Today I wore OPI DS Coronation. It is a silver holographic. It doesn't have a linear effect but it's still gorgeous nonetheless. It's kind of on the sheer side. This took three thin coats. I could have probably gone for a forth one, but I got impatient and just wanted it to dry. OPI has discontinued this shade, but I have seen a couple at ULTA in the recent months. It can easily be found on eBay for $8, so definitely pick up this shade before it becomes hard to find! OPI needs to release more holographics in their Designer Series line!

Here it is without the flash. I'm experimenting with new places to get accurate lighting. This is under the ceiling fan in my bedroom (while standing on my bed). It seemed to work pretty well.

Lindsey from Neverland Nail Blog was having a blog sale and I purchased 3 polishes. My package just came! I got Del Sol Knockout and Reckless and Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Black Magic (the colorful bar glitter version). When I saw pictures of the Black Magic with bar glitter, I had to have it and I'm happy I came across it! I can't wait to layer it over some shades. Del Sols are really interesting too. I already own Heartbreaker. I'm excited to see how these new ones work. I may have to wait though because there isn't much sun during this Pennsylvania winter :(

Russian Navy Suede and Mini Haul

Here I have two coats of OPI Russian Navy Suede. This picture is with the flash. This may be my favorite OPI Suede next to Here Today Aragon Tomorrow. It's that same great shade as the original Russian Navy only with additional shimmer to imitate the suede look. 

Here it is without the flash. I apologize that it's not focused to the extent. You can really see the finish. This color just reminds me of winter. In Pittsburgh, it is FREEZING at the moment. I can barely stay warm in my electric-heated apartment.

Upon discovering that the Wet n Wild Color Icon shades were on sale at Walgreens, I had to go back! I picked up the remaining ones they had: Cost is No Issue, Give Me a Price Quote, Back Alley Deals, and It's All in the Cut. Of course my OCD still wants to find the gold and red ones (the names are escaping me) just to make the collection complete. For $1.50 each, that's not bad. 

I then saw the Essie Luxe Effects collection display. Every time I've seen it, Shine of the Times has been sold out. I found one hiding behind the rest of the display and snatched it up! The flakies in this one look more concentrated than the Finger Paints ones. I can't wait to try it out! I want to pick up more Luxe Effects in the future but this one was my priority.

Essie Splash of Grenadine + Kleancolor Chunky Holo Bluebell

This is two coats of Essie Splash of Grenadine (pre clean-up). I was lucky to find this shade at Ross for $3. This is a bright pink creme. It reminds me of Barbie. It's appropriate for spring time, but I never wear polishes when they are supposed to be in season. I wear dark vampy colors in spring/summer also. This had excellent application and it dried to a smooth finish.

I then added two coats of Kleancolor Chunky Holo Bluebell. It is in a sheer blue jelly base with duochrome glitter that shifts colors from yellow to green to orange to red. It's very similar to most flakies. This looks so vibrant on top of Splash of Grenadine, but once I added the Seche Vite, I ran into some issues. In my experience with Kleancolor polishes, they take FOREVER to dry, even with Seche Vite. I dented my nails a couple times even an hour after application. I attempted to smooth out the dents but it never went back to being completely smooth. Eventually (after several hours) it finally dried. The Seche Vite also shrunk the polish at the tips making it look like I have worn the polish for several days. I have heard that Seche Vite does this, but I never experienced it before. It must be some kind of reaction with the Kleancolor formula. Kleancolor has some fantastic and unique shades, but I cannot stand the smell! This is coming from somebody who actually likes the smell of most nail lacquers.

Here is a picture without the flash.

This picture isn't very good, but I took it to show how the colors in the duochrome glitter change. You can also see the tipwear (after less than 24 hours) in this picture. It looks very jelly-like.

Next, I have some recent haul pictures!

I recently ordered some Zoya because they had a promotion to get two free polishes and just pay shipping! What a steal! I chose Noel from the holiday Gems and Jewels collection because it will probably discontinued and it is gorgeous. I also picked Kristen from the Feel collection. It is a pale sky blue creme and I own nothing like it.

I stopped by Walgreens and saw some Sally Hansen Diamond Strength polishes for sale. First in the top row, I have Glass Slipper. I paid full price for this because it has FLAKIES!!! Also, the bottle is shaped like a cut of a diamond and I was very intrigued by that. The three that I got on sale were Pink Proposal, Lavender Marquis, and Must-Have Iris.

I picked up two of the Wet n Wild Color Icon nail polishes. I got Believe Me, It's Real which looks to be a densely-packed blue micro glitter with larger chunks of purple glitter in it. The blue looks so vibrant; even more so than OPI's Absolutely Alice, so I may test it to find out! The second one I purchased was Diamond in the Rough. It has tiny pieces of charcoal-colored glitter with larger pieces of holographic glitter. The display said that these were $3.99, so I only bought two, but when I looked at the receipt later, I paid $1.50 for each of them! It looks like I'll be taking another trip to Walgreens to pick up the others! :)

Mani update

The past few days have been hectic. I just started my job as a substitute teacher, so I've been a bit busy. I have a couple manis to show you.

This is OPI Steady as She Rose (2 coats) under OPI Blue Shatter. The shatter looks so much brighter with the flash. Steady as She Rose is from OPI's Spring 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean collection. It is a beautiful pale pink creme.

Without the flash, the blue is more accurate.

Next I have ORLY- Oui (2 coats) from their 2011 Holiday Soiree collection. This finish is very similar to Zoya's Charla, Ivanka etc. I guess it would be considered a glass-fleck. For some reason, I hate the way these finishes show up with the flash. You can really see the purple in the base, but it looks sloppy and uneven. It applied nicely in two thick coats though. 

Without the flash, it looks so much better! This color is very similar to Zoya Faye, OPI Rally Pretty Pink, and OPI Congeniality is My Middle Name. In my collection, it isn't a very original color but I purchased it on clearance at Sally's for $2, so you can't beat that! I'm not sure if I would classify this as a purple or a pink because judging by both of the pictures with and without the flash, it can be both depending on the lighting.

Red Manis and a Haul!

This is OPI Speak for Your Elf. This was one of the three holiday ULTA exclusive shades for this year. This was VERY hard to photograph. It was very similar to China Glaze Ruby Pumps. I have also heard that it is similar to the discontinued OPI Smitten with Mittens. It is a red jelly with tiny particles of red glitter. This picture does not do it justice. The bottle is more accurate to how the color actually looks.

Essie Wicked is a great vampy shade. It's like a redder sister to OPI Lincoln Park after Dark. This had a jelly-like consistency and it applied very streaky and unevenly. Even with three coats you can still see some streaks. This is after two days of wear. In low-lighting, this shade looks almost black.

I was then lucky enough to stumble upon the Finger Paints Flakie Special Effects collection at Sallys. I purchased four out of the five shades. I figured since I already was wearing a darker color, I would add a flakie topcoat. (Plus I couldn't wait to try these out!) This is Finger Paints Flashy (2 coats) over Essie Wicked with the flash. I have a feeling that flakies will be the trend of 2011 just like crackle was last year. I'm eagerly awaiting Zoya's Fleck Effects collection also.

This is really cool! The reddish orange flakies shift to yellow green! I'm so glad I could capture this in a picture! You can tell that I wore this mani for 3+ days so it's wearing down. I don't want to remove the flakies though!

I thought I would upload a picture of my haul also. 

Top Row: Finger Paints: Flashy, Asylum, Motley, and Flecked. I just need Twisted! It was the only one Sally's didn't have! I'll keep looking though.

Bottom Row: ORLY- Le Chateau (I initially thought this was black and didn't buy it before, but after finding out that it's a really dark green, I can use it to layer flakies over!), China Glaze- Snowglobe and Twinkle Lights (I got these from eBay because I couldn't ever find them in the stores, and China Glaze Sun Worshiper and OPI Navy Shatter (both Christmas gifts from friends)

Essie Sew Psyched and China Glaze Latticed Lilac

I layered China Glaze Latticed Lilac from their Crackle Metals collection over Essie Sew Psyched. This was a good combination. With the flash, you can really see the lilac. Latticed Lilac looks silver in some light also.

Here it is without the flash.

This is Sew Psyched on it's own (pre clean-up). It has a shimmer effect to it. It's a grayed green color.