Addicted to OPI-yum

Rose Gold with Opal Nails and Sally Hansen "Faster than Instant" Dry Topcoat

2012-05-29T16:39:00.003-07:00

Hi there polished pretties! Here is a manicure I wore for THREE DAYS. It reminded me of jewelry, rose gold and opal. It all started with L'oreal Charmed I'm Sure. This polish is super pretty soft rose gold metallic. It does not have high shine, but it is pretty and flattering. But I couldn't stop there.

I used two of the Jordana Glitters, Pixie Pink and Lunar Lights in that order. I used two coats of each polish with no topcoat. This wore very well, and despite having six layers of nail polish, dried pretty quickly and with a good shine to the glitters. I did ding it up a little, but that is my fault.

These Jordana Glitters are perfect to spice up your manicure on day two, or just anytime at all. These glitters are MUST HAVES for a ~~budget~~ any polish collector.

I am finally tired of driving to Rite Aid. My husband and I have gone three days in a row, hauling polish for my birthday gift. I bought a bunch one day, returned one that was a dupe to one I already owned the next day, then had to go back again to pick up LA Girl Hustle because I put it down the second time and regretted it.

So, today I am ready to use my new Sally Hansen Instant Dry Topcoat. It comes in a blister pack, so I open it up and go to put it on my nails, and that shit is empty. I mean, that bottle didn't leak or dry up, it never ever had any polish in it to begin with. The brush is all dry, see? (I have on LA Girl Hustle in the pic.)

I am going to march right back over there and see if there are others on the shelf with the same problem. It really pisses me off that I have to burn four bucks in gas to replace my five dollar polish WHICH SHOULD BE FULL OF POLISH, SALLY HANSEN. And to boot, my manicure with LA Girl Hustle is all dinged up because I needed that top coat!!!!

Is this a joke?

This is the most extreme example of product downsizing ever. I just hope the store doesn't think that I used an old bottle up and am trying to run a scam. I will have a super hissy fit if they pull anything, I doubt that scenario will play out.

I am really bad with computers. I tried to upload more photos, and they just disappeared. Ten minutes wasted.

Maybe tomorrow I will have more time.

Have a wonderful day!

Nail Art with L'Oreal Silver Sparkle

2012-05-25T18:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Friday to you! I hope you are doing well today.

I want to show you an application of the gorgeous new polish I found at CVS yesterday, L'Oreal Silver Sparkle. I applied it to my flower nail art to accent the design, and WOWZA!! This nail polish looks like something an angel would wear, it is uniquely glowy and shimmery with subtle colored glitter in green/blue and pink. This is a must have for any collection, large or small! It is totally unique and breathtakingly gorgeous.

I also used Denim Dash from the new Maybelline color show line. My husband selected this pretty blue for me, and I love it for that reason alone, but it is a very good polish too. It dries matte, so I used topcoat, but the coverage and formula are awesome. I also want Narcissistic Navy, but my Walmart never got it in. UGH!

CVS has it buy one get one half off, plus I found a $2 coupon, so I got both this one and a second shade gorgeous gold for around eight bucks, pretty good I think!

I hope you have a happy holiday weekend (in the US it's Memorial Day on Monday).

Jordana Celestial and Mermaid's Dream Inspired Franken

2012-05-24T19:09:00.002-07:00

Hi there lovelies! I decided to post this review I wrote this a week or so ago, so my nails are shorter than my previous post.

I am so excited to share my first franken with you today. It is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!

But first, here I am wearing Jordana Celestial for the first time. It is a unique and very gorgeous shade of light turquoise glitter with medium hexagonal glitters, small (regular size) glitter and a finely milled glitter in the mix. The texture dries gritty, yet the glitter is shiny, unlike the Wet n Wild color Icon Ice Baby collection that came out for holiday 2011, which needs topcoat. I like this one better because I don't need to use tons of topcoat, in fact, I am not using it at all. The grit doesn't bug me at all. My main concern is the glitter shining like crazy.

This seems like a vintage green to me, it is very lovely indeed. These Jordana glitters are wonderful polishes for anyone! Jordana will definitely be super successful with this line. There are some unique combinations of glitter colors, the bottles are sleek, modern and pretty with the holographic labels, and I love the silver stripes on the caps. They make my heart go pitter pat, and they make me very happy.

I paid $1.50 for this polish, since they were on sale at Kmart BOGO 50% off, which I didn't realize until I was at home later putting it away. That felt great! Hey, every little 'elps!

Now I have a recipe for a Deborah Lippman Mermaid's Dream inspired franken to share. Obviously, the polish Mermaid's Dream by Deborah Lippmann is a unique, amazing and gorgeous shade. I had never seen a polish like MD before, and so I really wanted to experience it. I am so glad that the recipe I devised worked ! Until I get my hands on the original, which may never happen, I can enjoy a similar polish that really satisfies!

I took Pure Ice Splash, and mixed it with Color Icon Cost is no Issue about 50/50. I think there was a little Seche in the bottom of the bottle, which probably didn't hurt this formula. This polish is a real beauty, and unique on it's own. It lacks the green shimmer of Mermaid's Dream, but I don't mind at all. This finish of this polish is smoother than MD, just judging from the photos. I am going to call it Mermaid's Rapture.

I think the concept of this polish with the particular mix of shimmer and glitter is genius. Hats off to Ms. Lippmann again. I received a compliment on this one and kept it as a pedi for weeks because it was too beautiful to remove.

Jordana Specialty Glitter - Outer Space

2012-05-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hello my nail polish loving pretties! I hope you are having a lovely nails day!~

I am excited to share my NOTD with you, the brand spanking new Outer Space by Jordana. Jordana just released six new shades on their website in the Specialty Glitters range. I have been waiting for these last six, of these new shades I ordered Outer Space, Purple Party and Confetti. I had near dupes of the other three.

This one is a beauty. It is an unusual mix of medium blue small glitter and large hexes in fuschia, a warm gold and a copper/orange. The copper glitter really makes this one unusual to me, I would not have added that to the mix, but I love copper so- right on !

The picture shows two coats of Outer Space over Milani Melt in the Sun. This Milani was part of the Liquid Metal Intense Colors from Summer 2010. I wore it once and put it away back then, but it came out to play again here. It was hard to cover it up though, because this is one sizzling shade. It is very reflective and glittery, I want to wear it again on it's own soon!

I have sixteen of the Jordana Glitters and I have worn about half. I absolutely love these shades! Outer Space shows promise as a layering polish over many shades. I want to try it over light creamy pink, a dark blue/purple or metallic blue. I recommend this one highly if you enjoy complex and colorful glitters. This polish is available on the Jordana website.

Have a wonderful day you lovely darling! Thanks for visiting! I hope to see you again soon!

Hello again! I moved

2012-05-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

Come on over and sit a spell!

I hope you are doing well today, and thank you for visiting. I am back from my vacation from this blog. Life is settling down again for me so I have time for writing here. It feels pretty good! ! Now to some nail polish!

I am nearing 500 bottles of polish now. I am a little afraid to count. Last count was 400+, and now I bring them home in bunches, usually in threes or fours! Heeheee!

Hot tip! Kmart has the Jordana Glitters on sale right now BOGO 50% off!!!!!!!!! They weren't marked yesterday on the shelf at my store, but they rang up that way. I didn't notice til I got home. I am so glad I picked up four instead of three!!!! Happy Birthday to me!

I copied the most gorgeous manicure from keerthamina pretty ballerina yesterday!

I used Revlon Copper Penny, Sally Hansen Fractured Foil and Sephora by OPI to create nails of such breathtaking beauty! See? Revlon Copper Penny is the color of a new penny, it is a beautiful copper metallic. The formula is great, and dries pretty quickly. It is opaque in one coat, and that is all I used for this manicure. If I were going to wear it alone I would use two coats and a top coat for longer wear. I find that some metallics will cover in one coat but they wear off quickly if you don't apply more.

Sally Hansen Fractured Foil is one of the two foils I own. I love this gorgeous shade, it is reminiscent of a richly shimmery silver netting over the nail.


Rosie is interested in crackle! Rosie has a PINK STRIPED NOSE!!!!

But the real star of the show is the Traffic Stopper Copper. This shade is very aptly named, the large copper hexes shine like mirrors and are extremely eye catching. The smaller glitters add elegance and balance to this perfectly concocted topcoat. It is expensive at $9.50, but it wears like iron, so whether this polish is worth it is up to the buyer. I don't ever want to be without it. That would make me feel sad.

When I applied it to this manicure it was obvious that this polish is better than an average glitter. It is somewhat sparse, but that makes the large hexes scatter more on the nail, and because they can then fully be exposed, they can truly shine. The glitters in this polish and it's sisters, Only Gold for Me and Flurry Up seem shinier than average, and the clear base is super clear and dries hard and shiny.

Thanks keerthamina for your genius layering combo. I see myriad combinations arising from the metallic/metallic-shatter/glitter combo.

Here is a collection of nail polish stories in 25 words where each story title is a nail polish color name! Wow! http://nailpolishstories.wordpress.com/

New to me! You too? Do you have a random story that could have a nail polish name for a title? This is intriguing and seems like a good creative exercise.

I want to mention something about blogging and being good enough. Sometimes I feel I am not good enough to show my nails, when I look at some other amazing blogs out there. And some other bloggers feel the same way apparently. But, I now realize, every person may have something to say of value to someone else. So I will write.

Have a super day!

My nails are INSANE

2011-08-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

The Insane Clown Nail Posse is here. My nails look like a clown threw a glitter party, and this glitter party don't stop!

This is the effect of applying with near reckless abandon:
Three coats of Claire's Mood Polish in confident/peaceful
One coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Strobe Light
One Coat of Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me
One Coat of Sephora by OPI Flurry Up!
One coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Strobe Light

Claire's Mood polishes are a blast. I love the name, the color, the changing, the whole package is awesome. If you enjoy fascinating things like watching temperature changes that you can normally only feel, then you will certainly enjoy this nail polish. I posted on this type of polish previously so you can see how it changes http://addictedtoopi-yum.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html.

THis manicure is for a celebration dinner tonight. These polishes are all totally awesome. The SOPIs wear like iron as topcoats, and will dress up any color with a little glitter. They contain a mix of large hex and small glitter. These are MUST HAVE polishes.

Strobe Light is one of the most eye catching polishes anywhere, bar none. This polish is not for the faint of heart. You will get attention if you wear Strobe Light. It is really insane at night in bright lights. This polish is literally insane. I have a back up of this one.

This was a previous mani which my husband loved, and I really enjoyed too. First I wore three coats of Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud, then three coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Disco Ball and two coats of SH quick dry topcoat.

I am going to make a slight detour to music!

I bought the Beatles White Album at a local used cd store the day I wore this mani. I never owned it before, but my friends did back in the day, and it was well loved by all of us back in the late 70's, when I was in HS.

I put it on and got chills and such amazing feelings of awesomeness, rock music-love, peace and love, sweetness of my best HS memories - just wow! It was almost too heavy, too much to bear. I heard only the second cd, I still need to play the first, but the time has to be right. I really love Sexy Sadie, Honey Pie, Mother Nature's Son and so many others, too many to list, but it was my memory of Sexy Sadie that sent me to the record store. I had to hear it again.

And back to nails.

Disco ball is sheer, and is perfect over white. It seems to be in a cloudy whitish base, so it would mute another color you put it over I think. It is glitter packed, and lovely in this application over white. I recommend this polish and would repurchase for sure.

Free nail polish or why you should answer your phone

2011-08-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hi there lovely reader.

Today I want to share with you an interesting experience which started out bad and ended with free nail polish.

But first, here are my nails today, Kleancolor Metallic Green. This is uh MAY zinnggg! I am in LOVE and I don't even mind the smell. I used Sally Hansen Diamond Strength base coat, two coats of Metallic Green and a coat of Seche Vite. This is an astonishing color, which has real super zesty zing! It is a juicy rich green which is pure delight! I purchased this one for a buck at a local store!

So here is my tale. I had to get a prescription filled, so I took myself over to our new local drugstore which I won't name, it is a major chain. Since this was my first time at this particular store, I had to go through a bunch of rigamarole to start my pharmacy account. My husband is the primary on our insurance policy, so they asked a bunch of questions about him, ok fine, this is needed to file the claim.

But then she asks about my husband's allergies, she does not need this information to process my scrip. I got frustrated because I wasn't feeling well and she was taking soooo looong to enter my information. I refused to answer her question and said I was the patient and she needed to go ahead an worry about me not him. I became visibly upset.

A couple of days later, the manager called me up and said she knew I had been into the pharmacy, and how was my experience? I told her it was pretty miserable, and she apologized and offered me a $20 gift card if I would try them again. So I agreed and used it to get some free nail polish. I decided that I would pass along some of this free polish to someone else via this blog, which I have done now.

Normally, I may not have answered my phone because I get so many nuisance calls. But I did and it resulted in free polish, not just for me, but for a new internet polish friend too. The experience of frustration with the pharmacist turned into a beautiful story of free nail polish all around!

It can pay to speak up when service is bad, if you do it right, you reap the rewards.

Oh, here is another story to illustrate my point. I purchased a round thermal brush at a nearby salon. The bristles curled over due to the heat of my dryer. The brush was useless. I exchanged the brush for another kind which did the same thing.

I tried to exchange it again and was told it was impossible, that it was against policy, the law, whatever. The girl before had gotten in trouble for exchanging the brush before. I walked out in frustration, but returned a moment later. I argued that I should get something, how about a nail polish, in exchange for this $14 piece of trash brush. The manager finally relented, I grabbed OPI Yoga-ta get this blue, turned tail and have not since darkened their door. Though I was still $5 to the bad, I got an OPI when I had only a trashy brush before.

Here is a recent manicure, OPI Teal the Cows Come Home. This color is a gorgeous,vivid teal with a soft metallic-y shimmer. This shade stood out in contrast to my tan, it really flatters a tan, but I think the shade turquoise always does.

I added glitter to this mani after a day, and this combo was a huge hit, with men especially. I got two unsolicited compliments on this mani from men, and one from a woman and I had it on for less than two days. The shade on top is a Sally girl purple and teal glitter. This combo looked blue together for some reason, but the contrast between the bright teal and the deep reddish-purple glitter was very eye catching indeed. I love glitter tips, they make my nails feel stronger.

I hope you have a happy polish day!

And the winner is....

2011-08-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

OPI Addict

http://addictedtoopi.blogspot.com/

Congratulations on taking home the prize in my first ever international glitter giveaway! Thanks to all of you sweet gals for commenting and entering, I hope to see you here again soon!

There is still time to win these GLITTAZ !

2011-08-07T06:07:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely reader.
Welcome to the first ever international thank you celebration giveaway on addicted to OPI-yum. Later today, at 8pm pacific time, I will draw the winner of five exciting glitters!

You are invited to enter by commenting below.

I will announce the winner Monday August 8th.

I wish you all good luck and glitter today!

This manicure was inspired by Glamerous Gabby's tutorial. Her site is German, but lacquer needs no translation. This girl is a talented artist and an inspiration!
Here is a link to her tutorial.

http://www.youtube.com/user/GlamerousGabby#p/a/u/1/9tRAm5P-og0

I used
ORLY Winter Wonderland
LA GIRL no name on label pink
Claire's nail design pen in black
Art Deco Silver Glitter striper

I bought the nail pen so I could do this manicure. I love how it turned out, the pen is great! It is better than the Sally Hansen pen, because it doesn't rub off as easy. Once topcoat is on you are fine, but when you apply the pen over dry polish it is not permanent. I forgot topcoat on my toes but the pen stayed on pretty good through a shower.

Orly Winter Wonderland is Wonder-ful. I love this gorgeous off-white shimmer. It is a glass fleck finish, and it is sheer, here I wear one coat under the artwork. It does build up nicely after three coats. I have been wanting to wear this one again since I wore it for the holidays, I remember it was a real stand-out of all my holiday polishes. A top twenty polish for me for sure.

The pink LA Girl is a realy yummy shade of creamy medium pink. I love it. It satisfied my lemming for elephantastic pink, thought I am not sure they are near to dupes, but I don't much mind either way!

Currently ordered a lot of OPI polish on ebay, including htf OPI Down to my last penny. I am on a copper jones now, must have the perfect fall copper shade. !!! I tried the Loreal copper metallic but it isn't coppery enough, it is too light, though it looks pretty.

Here is a recent mani I did with an accent nail in OPI Mad as a Hatter, the culprit in my latest nail addiction relapse. The base color here is Kleancolor sheer lilac, which is decidedly NOT sheer. It is a gorgeous pale lavender metallic. I loved these two together.

Here, I have Fingerpaints Military Green. I adore this shade. The formula was good, though it did bubble a tiny bit. I do not care, this shade is delicious. I went back and got two more from this collection, which surprised the s#i& out of me because I am all about special fx. This polish has what it takes to turn my head from the glamorous glittaz.

I also picked up Cordur-Orange and Purple Pinstripe. The swatches of these are also scrumptious. I am waiting until more fall-like weather comes to wear these, but I can't wait! Just thinking of it gives me that warm and cozy fall feeling I love.

Here are my nails of the day today (NOTD). This is three coats of OPI DS Glow, a top ten polish of mine, with three coats of WetnWild Party of Five Glitters, plus an OPI DS topcoat. This is insanely shiny, I am looking forward to the sunshine after this marine layer burns off today.

Thank you for visiting my blog and reading this far!

Another use for nail polish! I painted my plain contact lens case covers in glitter to make the case prettier.

All that glitters is free!

2011-07-31T05:33:00.000-07:00

Hi pretties :)

Free nail polish is wonderful isn't it?

Today I am adding the rest of the polishes to the glitter giveaway. The winner is going to be chosen August 7th! (

Up for grabs:

Milani FX Gold and Silver

Plus
Sally Hansen Rock Star Pink

Sally Hansen Disco Ball

WetnWild Kaleidoscope

I wish each of you a glitter-tastic day!

I am sorry these are not great pictures. I don't know why but I have been really struggling with my camera lately. Must be time for a new one.

2011-07-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for commenting on my very first giveaway post. I send you all love and good luck, I want you to win!!!

I have another polish to add to my giveaway. I will be including a brand new bottle of Milani FX GOLD!!! THIS POLISH iS HOTTTTT! When I wore this, I imagined everything my fingertips touched turned to GOLD baby. People were open mouthed when they saw my nails, they were amazed at the chrome-like shinies! WOOOWWWWOOOOO!!! Want it???? Let me know belowif you want it, I will put you in the drawing to win both Milani FX Silver and Gold!!

I am going to add another polish to the giveaway soon.

Amy, I loved you, I still do and always will.

Win Milani Jewel FX Silver

2011-07-14T10:39:00.001-07:00

Hi there! To thank those of you who are kind enough to take time to comment below, I will hold a drawing for one brand spanking new bottle of Milani Jewel FX Silver polish. This is an awesome silver hex glitter which has been until now htf, for me anyway. Up for grabs is a brand new bottle, not the one in the photo. Please see my review for this polish below.

I plan to add at least two more polishes to the prize, so stay tuned for more details. I plan to draw for the giveaway on August 7th. I will open this drawing to international participants also because all girls need polish! Good luck!

This addiction is real

2011-07-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

I know that I am truly addicted to nail polish. I am addicted to the acquisition of nail polish. I can feel the cravings when my mind turns to the enjoyable thought of purchasing nail polish. Not just purchasing it but shopping for it. The act of leaving the house to go to the store. Or logging on to the web to shop the sites. I get a thrill when I see a new polish I desire. I get a great sense of anticipation when I am looking for the polish. My senses are heightened to that particular color. I get a tightening in my abdomen when I remember that I want the polish and I don't have it.

I get urges for great piles of polish too. I search on ebay for lots, large quantities, of OPI, just for a quick rush. I purchased a lot of 30 polishes once, and when I unwrapped the individual bottles and saw the pile of the glistening gemlike bottles with their gold tops it looked to me like the most valuable chest of treasure I had ever seen. This was a red letter polish day, accompanied by feelings I experienced as a child on Christmas morning.

I get a thrill from reading the names in the lists of polishes. Sometimes I have to purchase a polish because it has a particularly meaningful name. Or I need to wear a polish to do a particular thing, because that polish has the perfect name. For example, when I went to London, I wore Soho nice to meet you. Vintage polishes are exciting too. Limited editions are especially delightfuly tantalizing. Reformulations are quite maddening, as are those who sport multiple shades, I am looking at you Sally Hansen Nail Prism Number 14 Lapis Amethyst!

Disco Ball Nails!!

2011-07-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

Hi pretties. Well, I resisted the Milani Jewel FX for a while. After I searched high and low in every CVS but only finding Gold I ordered them online. I saw a new but already depleted display in CVS THIS WEEK for the first time. Milani is driving me crazy! Because these polishes are awesome!

I have tried Gold and Silver, and they are both packed with large hex glitter. They are a bit thick, so thinning these down helped the glitters to lay flat, otherwise they can tend to get lumpy. They are both super shiny and fun to wear. When people see them they say WHAT IS THAT??? WOW!!

Oh, by the way, if you hurry to CVS and you are awarded extra bucks you can pick one of these up for free!!! You have to have a CVS card. The extra bucks I got were for $5, the polishes were not marked in the new display but the core line was marked for $5.49 each. However when the polish rang up it was $4.99 so I got the polish FREE!!!!! I did the happy happy dance and I didn't care who saw me!

WHat is the best nail polish?? FREE NAIL POLISH!

Fishnets and the beach

2011-06-30T05:41:00.000-07:00

I guess these aren't too terrible. The idea is from GlamerousGabby, the tutorial is in German, but the language of varnish is universal.

I used Wet and Wild Barbados, Wet and Wild Black Creme and Nail Art Silver Glitter from Dollar Tree. Yaay Dollar Tree!

I like the Barbados shade. I got it for free in a blog giveaway contest. Here it is in sun and shade. The sun shot is pretty color accurate, it may be a tad darker in tone. I think it was a limited edition. It is a tad sheer. 3 coats. It is just a lovely shade.

Maria at CultNails THANK YOU -

Her website is amazing, you can buy her brand of polish !

Here is my manicure named Tropical Punch at Laguna Beach Aliso Park. This day I felt like hell but the beach made me feel better.

Iceberg Lotus is gorgeous!

2011-04-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

Hello my pretties!

Here is a pretty I found!

This is Iceberg Lotus by Nicole by OPI. I could not resist this shimmery glowing green. It has a slight duochrome shimmer of purplish blue.

I saw this shade and left it in the store. I rushed back the next morning because I found out it is a Target exclusive limited edition Spring shade! These words make my heart beat faster!

Iceberg Lotus is a bit sheer, but very very shiny. It has a gorgeous finish to it, it is a stunning shade of green, this is a refreshing shade. I love that it is such a bold shade of green, it is in your face, yeah I wear green polish, so freakin' what!

Though I had on a gorgeous manicure before (see below) this shade needed to be on my nails asap! I am thinking of wearing it out of town for FOUR days (unheard of around here).

Before: Sally Hansen Nail Prism in Lavender Gold 40 with Only Gold for Me topcoat by Sephora by OPI, a fantastic topper. This was very blingy, and drew an unsolicited compliment from a man!

I bought Lavender Gold on ebay and I am quite pleased with the polish! It is sheer lavender with a strong and gorgeous gold shimmer at most angles.

After:

I also have You're S-teal the One, another LE polish in the Target Spring 2011 collection. Are people going to be tempted to steal it based on the name?

I paid for mine, but I laughed a little to myself about the name.

2010-12-24T16:50:00.000-08:00

Santa is here! Happy Holidays to all!

Here is my current manicure. I copied the santa and the suits from two different blogs and put them together today. I used my peach franken for the first time for Santa's face.

I love this red polish. It was an untried until I realized that it is the perfect Christmas red. It is Revlon Red Hot Tamale. It is opaque in one thin coat. This color is beautiful, just absolutely a beautiful red creme polish. I NEVER would go for wearing a red creme, but this one has convinced me I need to put this polish my life. I want to take this mani off and put another one with the same red and decorate all my nails again.

The white, black and gold are LA Colors stripers. The white is too thick now, but other than that I love these.

I wish all of you a happy holiday!

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday

2010-12-16T13:57:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to you! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season this year.

I have some of my recent favorite Christmas-themed manicures for you.

My grandmother made the ornament which inspired this manicure.

Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday polish is a wonderful box of ornaments for a bare tree.

Emerald Sparkle by China Glaze is so absolutely stunning. I also used OPI Happy Anniversary and Bring on the Bling for background and garland, respectively.

Greetings from the Christmas Tree at the Beachcomber in Crystal Cove beach, CA. This past Sunday it was in the 80s and as you can see the weather was absolutely beautiful.

For Christmas this year I had a once in a lifetime "Hollywood" hair makeover. I told my husband all I wanted for Christmas this year is to get my hair cut by Peter Ishkhans a.k.a. "Peter Perfect". Since the appointment I have hardly stopped smiling because he gave me the best haircut EVER!!!! I don't know if I will ever let anyone else touch my hair again ever. He is such a wonderful talent! I look forward to seeing him again, in person and on tv! Thank you Peter!

Happy Holidays to you all!

Hi there!

2010-09-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I have resurfaced from the sea of boxes and cleaning products. I now have much abused nails, which are nubs at this point with splits, cracks and uneven tips, which at the moment need clipping down and filing.

I know, it is bad. I would never put up pictures of my nails as they are at the moment, out of consideration for you! I have a recovery plan, but in order for it to work I have to get busy on my next manicure, to fix the ugly.

I will return soon. It is easy to forget how hard it is to move!!!! Happy day!

2010-08-13T07:06:00.000-07:00

Hi there sweetie darlings! I hope your day is going well, and you are healthy and happy.

I am so tired because of moving, and not only that I have been averaging about three or four hours of sleep. It is a long story, but once I start a pattern of not sleeping it takes a while to alter it. One good thing is I got a free night at a Hilton ($119 + tax), plus the $40 breakfast buffet and $19 parking because there were parties in the suites above us for two nights running. I complained multiple times and the parties were evicted,on Saturday night around 1am or so. I was so upset and tired I was having heart palpitations.

I discussed this situation with the hotel management and received the free comps as a result of asking politely and appropriately dramatizing my distress and unhappiness. Because I saved so much dough, my husband agreed to allow me a shopping spree, so I didn't actually "save" any money, in fact it cost him some more ; ) So it could be worse!

I got a bunch of Bobbi Brown Makeup plus the free gift Nordstroms was giving away. Basically I spent $170 and got about "$340 worth" (debatable) of stuff. Oh and I found a dress on sale at Anthropologie half price in my fave color ORANGE! I bought it to go out with my husband's new boss and his boss' boss. But it fell through, so all that hard shopping was kind of a waste, except my husband liked the dress so much I got to keep it Yaay!

And best of all my dears, I bought MORE nail polish at Claire's!! I got two more MOOD polishes! I also bought a cool layered polish, but I am not so sure about using it. Yes, I have acquired what we can call a "shopping mania". It is beginning to abate now that I am home. On to pictures of my first MOOD polish. This stuff is SO FUN!

Today I have pictures of Bored/Excited Mood Polish by Claire's. Orange is my favorite color, and coral is close enough. Here is a shot of what this polish looks like most of the time. Bored, the warm color is a beautiful shade of pale peach. Excited, the cool color, is a scrumptiously tasty coral shade, which is the personality you see when you look at the bottle. I loved this glass work of art so I thought I would add my artistic touch to it.

Here is the warm personality, bored. It changes quickly from one color to the other. Now here is the cool personality, excited!!!!

Now here I played with polish and warmed my tips on my coffee cup and did a reverse from the normal appearance.

And for the piece de resistance,

I got bored with plain mood polish, and stroked on some string glitter from Sally Hansen and went to The Wedge, a world class surf spot. I had my toes in the sand and it felt sooooooooo good. You can see I was cold because of my polish color. The weather in California along the coast has been "terrible" because it hasn't warmed up much. Local beach goers were complaining. I tried not to crack a smile.

Yesterday, after our return home, our town had a record high of 102 degrees. It was so humid and hot I could not stay outside for more than three minutes at a stretch. After 11 days in paradise, I am sooo not liking this heat! I can't wait to pack up and get out of here.

My computer is getting packed up on Sunday. Then it will be about one week until we get to where we are going. Then the movers should show up shortly thereafter. I won't be blogging as much as I would like, but I will try to sneak in a post or two.

Next I will post pictures of Claire's Mood Polish shades confident/peaceful (teal) and wild/calm (purple). I am wearing the purple today and it is very lovely, maybe the best of all the three, though it is hard to pick a favorite among these, they are so gorgeous and fun.

Oh, and the product I tried at the bridal show is by BEAUTICONTROL. There is a spa quality hand scrub and a lotion. The scrub is called Show of Hands instant manicure. The brochure for the scrub says, "No time for professional manicures? Get an instant manicure and younger looking hands and cuticles with Show of Hands. Busy women love it." "See and feel an immediate difference". I can verify that this works as it states, my hands actually look and feel better and possibly even younger after one scrub treatment. It is Dead Sea salt (to remove dead skin) and moisturizing natural oils such as tea tree , avocado, macadamia, safflower and orange. The lotion is called REGENERATION Extreme Repair. A little dab after the Show of Hands and your hands really are smoother and softer. I was given samples by a representative named Kathy Misich, who is a delightful and generous person. Hi Kathy and thank you! The website listed on the sample is http://www.beautipage.com/

I can highly recommend these items and will be purchasing them in the future. I get no compensation for this review, these samples were provided to me for free.

Happy hands and polish to you today!

Update-on House Hunting Trip

2010-08-09T15:22:00.000-07:00

Whew, what a week. I am now in California, after a hectic ten days of travel planning, traveling and house hunting we have just signed on the dotted line and I have a new home for my nail polish. Now to just arrange for the inconsequential things to be moved, all the other household goods.

Upon my return home, I anticipate a wonderful gift to be waiting for me from the lovely lady author of R3daily, joria2006 on MUA. To my extreme delight, I won first prize in her amazing "cleaning out my polish" giveaway. Among others, I will be getting a Zoya polish, which I am particularly excited about, as it will be my very first. There are many others, which you can see on her blog at http://www.r3daily.com/2010/07/cleaning-out-my-polish.html. I am so excited about this development, I am a bit overwhelmed with desire to try them ALL as soon as possible!!! Thank you joria2006! You are too sweet and generous for words.

On a different and equally exciting note, I met a lovely lady here at my hotel during a bridal planning and show event. I don't have a wedding date, as I am married already, however I heard there were cake samples and giveaways. Since I am on a lucky streak lately, I tried my luck. For a $10 ticket price I was granted entree to the ballroom with displays of various wedding services. The only giveaways I saw at first were a pen, a lollipop and a $25 basket of Mary Kay, which I don't think I won or I would have heard. I went late at 2:45, they were already packing up because the attendance was bad and I was about to ask for a refund until I met Kathy. Kathy was a breath of fresh air, and she offered to demonstrate a product which is like an instant spa for your hands.

She had no trouble persuading me to scrub my hands with a fragrant salt scrub, and instructed me to especially rub it around my cuticles. My skin has been terrible lately, so dry it was cracking and painful. It was healing, but after she washed away the scrub with a pitcher of water my hands felt like silky buttery velvet. My mouth was gaping when I felt how soft and wonderful they felt. Then she gave me a little hand lotion to use as well. Just a small half inch out of a tube and it covered my hands and they felt so great it was amazing. The softness stayed all day through multiple hand washings. She provided me with samples of each product, and I will be posting more detail on this product with pictures.

I want to post her information , once I am back home I will get her name and website on here very soon.

I am wearing Claire's mood polish (bored/excited) on my trip. It chipped after two or so days even with topcoat, but it is so much fun to watch the colors change it doesn't bother me. I have had several people notice the unusual look to the peach/coral french type manicure. The Nordstroms' clerks freaked out and said they were going right over to Claire's on their breaks to buy the polishes which were bogo half off. So that is two for $7.50. Not too shabby for two bottles of fun multicolor ever-changing polish. I will post pictures once I get back to my home computer on Thursday or Friday, depending on my exhaustion quotient. Which I will say is quite high at this moment.

Tomorrow I "have" to go shopping for a new dress to wear to dinner with my hubby's new bosses, so I need to look just right. I am also getting my makeup done at the Bobbi Brown counter, and that is super fun. I had it done for the first time earlier this week and I looked good, or that is what a couple of guys said ; ) But one was trying to sell me something.

I can't wait to get home, I miss my furry children, my polishes and my computer. I have a couple of weeks of major upheaval, with movers coming, but once I get into the groove here I will be back into doing my nails and posting the pictures more frequently because I am really having fun doing this and expressing my love of art and nails together with you.

Nail polish tip for air travelers: Wrap your polish bottles in individual plastic wrap or a baggies inside your carry on quart bag you are allowed, or they may leak all over your other liquids. I learned this the hard way, fortunately my culprit was just an old clear double duty base and topcoat, but it was sure messy and smelly, and it ruined the appearance of some of my items, clouding clear plastic and removing chrome finish from a perfume roll on top. I guess you could also put the bottles in checked bags with your clothes, but make sure they are very well closed and tightly sealed so you can keep your clothing from ruin and your nails pretty at all times on travel. Who wants to be chipping when you are "tripping"?

Happy polishing!

Summer Peach and Star Opal

2010-07-30T10:19:00.001-07:00

Hi there lovelies : ) Happy Summer Friday to you! These farmer's market peaches were remarkably large, grapefruit sized! They made a lovely peach crisp.

I want to welcome my followers. I am flattered that you want to read my musings on lacquer. It makes me happy to know that you are interested in my opinions, and my photos! Your comments are very appreciated also. I want to make your time worthwhile, so I will provide useful tips I have discovered along the way. So, not only will I review polishes I have, I will occasionally provide general nail-related tips which I hope will be of use to you.

Today I want to share a tip which will help you to keep using that same bottle of polish over and over again. Have you ever tried to open a polish and found it was lacquered shut? A strong man can sometimes get these frozen bottles open, (eyes husband.) A rubber gripper and a strong man can help, but even so, it could just happen again once you close the bottle.

To avoid this, use polish remover to clean excess polish drips from the male portion of the screw top (that sounds slightly sexy ; ) ). Then, here is my idea, use a bar of soap, a sliver works good, to rub the grooves on the top of the screw part of the bottle. Even some new bottles are sticky when they are clean, this fixes the problem. Don't put too much, I guess it might affect the polish if it gets into the mix, but if you are neat, this won't happen. This may also work for crystal stoppers of perfume bottles.

So, I wasn't able to make myself remove the Star Opal polish for a couple of days. I may have judged it too quickly. I fell in love with it, though it was bubbly after two coats.

Seche did fix this for the most part. I had a lady notice my nails changing colors and commented on it. She said she saw purple in it too. I also noted green in some lights. Like me, she also loved the SH Nail Prisms and had a few from the good old days. The great thing about this color is that it goes very well with almost any outfit.

I had purchased three of them before they were discontinued. I always searched for them in later years, but they were not to be found in the stores. Once I started reading blogs I found out about the sad fact they were discontinued. I appreciate that I can find these still for sale on ebay, even cheaper sometimes than they were in the stores.

I do plan to review other polishes besides these older discontinued ones if you were wondering. I will mix it up.

I hope you lovelies are having a great day, and are able to enjoy some of the fruits and other joys of summer. I wish sunshine and pretty polish to you, with love always.

It's NAKED Day And Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Star Opal

2010-07-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

I thought that might get your attention!

I hope you are having a happy day. Let's talk nails!

I rarely go around without polish. If I don't wear it my nails chip, split and break. So, it is a necessity you see. I just wanted to document my nails before I cut them soon. I think, no, I am positive they are longer than they have ever been.

I broke one today trying to open Burt's Bees Lemon Cuticle Cream. I hate that little tin packaging. The index finger on my left hand split just at the tip. It formed two flat layers so I super glued it. Good as new!

I am going to cut them soon if I can bear it, or else I will break one really good and they will be short(er). It is certain to be happening with my planned move and travel in the next month. In a way it will be a relief to feel my fingertips touching things again and not have to worry about gripping things so carefully.

Here is my second Sally Hansen Nail Prism review, Star Opal. These polishes are discontinued, and like an older vintage wine, could be hit or miss. This bottle, purchased on ebay, was previously opened and some polish was missing. Whether it was used, evaporated or leaked I don't know. It seemed to be thicker than the others in this range. It was certainly more opaque, my pictures are one coat. These polishes are usually pretty sheer and usually require more than one coat.

This shade appears at first glance to be a dusty, tending toward neutral pink. Not a dazzler in the bottle. On the nail it ranges from pale golden peach tone to a medium pink. I can see blue and gold shimmer in the bottle but not so much on the nail. This is a lovely neutral polish which would be great for any occasion. Not a showstopper. I don't think I would repurchase this one.

Color=5 Not terrible, not fantastic

Drying time=4 it was slow even with Seche Vite

Hardness=5

Coverage=? Not sure this is a good bottle to judge this from because it was used

Safety factor=8 (Lower is more distracting) I know I would be a safe driver with this polish, barely looking at my nails

Finish=? it bubbled a little after one coat, maybe my fault, maybe this particular bottle. Seche seemed to fix the bubbling.

I can revisit this one later, I should be getting a free replacement bottle in the mail.

Here is a rose nail I did yesterday on top of Fire Opal. I loved the way this turned out, it reminded me of a ceramic "lusterware" piece. I used OPI Red or Alive, Jade is the New Black and LA Colors white striper. Not bad for a first try. I saw a tutorial here http://fuckyeahprettynails.tumblr.com/. Scroll down a bit to find it.

Have a great day because it is your day! Bye for now, wishing you love and pretty polish. Thanks for visiting me!

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms Fire Opal

2010-07-26T06:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Day my friend. I hope this day finds you well and happy. Did you enjoy your weekend? I did, though it was spent working. Now on to polish.

I enjoyed wearing the first of my new nail prisms, Fire Opal. When you first glance at this bottle of polish, this shade appears to be a soft frosty pink. It would seem that it may be boring, though a lovely shade of pink for sure. The bottle has some paint applied to the upper part of the outside of the bottle, which conceals the loveliness within. So what you see isn't what you get. Why would they do this? I could understand if they were hiding an ugly shade, but this surely is not.

If you just take some time to peer into the bottom of the bottle as you angle it toward the light, you begin to see the different subtle hues which emerge. I counted at least five distinct colors, plus varying shades of each one. This polish took my breath away when I applied it for the first time.

The pretty, feminine pink appealed to me right off the bat. After wearing some outrageous shades lately, a return to demure femininity appealed to me. I enjoy light pink quite a bit, but not cremes for the most part. I struggled for 30 minutes to remove Orly Royal Navy/silver French tips from my nails without a trace. I placed soaked cotton balls on each finger to let them do the work for me. After five minutes I firmly applied pressure and swiped each ball off toward my nail tip, but alas, polish remained on my tips and bits of blue stubbornly clung to my nails. I didn't get smurf fingers though.

Detour for a nail tip! For polishes that stain, the cottonball trick works great to avoid the staining. Also, to avoid staining, don't scrub back and forth into the cuticle area with polish laden cotton. (I don't think Royal Navy is a stainer though, for the record.) The nail tubs are a good solution also, however, once you removed a few manis, the tub is a soup of chemicals. If you have sensitive skin, contact dermatitis is sure to follow. This is what has happened to me. Small blisters followed by dry patches. Not a good back drop for a polished look really. Pour the dirty liquid into a jar, let it evaporate and refill your tub with fresh acetone. I didn't think of it, I read this idea on a blog recently. I forget where, so all apologies.

Anyway, not-so-demure Fire Opal shows us shimmers of sexy cerise pink, electric cerulean blue, shiny seafoam green, as well as shades of pretty peach and soft pink. This is now one of my top favorite shades of all time, and for now, my top pink.

Color=10

Drying time=5 it was okay

Hardness=5 soft still dimpled by sharp objects hours later with 3 coats, two coats had no issues

Coverage=8 maybe higher. Yes there is vnl after 3 coats, but who friggin cares(see note below)? With these flashes of color, no one but you will notice.

Distraction factor=7 (Lower is more distracting) I think I could be a pretty safe driver with this polish, quick glances at the nails in sunlight rather than hypnotized staring

Finish=8 very good luster/gloss

Overall, I would buy this again, if I can find it affordably. I will use it sparingly, because I love it and I always want to have it available.

Note on vnl. I was thinking about this hatred many polished ladies have for vnl. I wonder if it isn't a symptom of an overall issue some of us have with our bodies in general. God made our nails this way, with a little line showing where our nails become free from their "training wheels", their support as they grow. Maybe we should think about losing our fear of the vnl, why not celebrate it? You could perhaps consider for a moment the idea of changing your perspective and consider it to be a "natural French or American or (insert your country here)" manicure. Sheers can be demure,dainty, pretty, ladylike, even sexy and feminine. Sheers are almost like being naked, and that is sexy! Contemplate a beautiful place where you love your body, down to your fingertips and beyond. I want to start a new movement and give sheer polishes and our nail's natural smile some love. ; )

Oh, this story may be funnier later. We cleaned the garage out this weekend, and my dh was super careful for spiders. He hates them, mostly because he had a spider bite get infected previously. I tried to be patient, but by the end of the day I was bitching about never wanting to hear the word spider again, and implying he was a bit of a "spider sissy". Well, almost immediately after that I felt something funny on my thumb. It was a little weird, not exactly itchy, but a little irritation. An hour later, I looked down and there was a purplish area surrounding the weirdness. Mmm hmm, the exact symptoms for a brown recluse bite. I did a bit of panicked reading online, of course looking at the worst pictures (don't do this-yuk. Ok, so I warned you curious kitties!). This morning still purple, no pain, but this doesn't mean I am out of the clear. It can take a week for the real ugliness to begin. I won't go into that in case you are eating, but am keeping my fingers crossed that I won't DIE! Will keep you posted, as long as I can still type!!!! Ok self calm down ...breathe deeply, everything will be alright...

Nail Prism haul and OPI My Private Jet HOLO!!!!!

2010-07-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

Hello sweeties, I just can't stay away. I am seriously addicted to reading nail polish blogs, and sharing my goodies too.

So, after watching for the postman for over a week it is here! My Sally Hansen Nail Prisms treasure chest!!! They are so beautiful, they are named after gems, and I couldn't be happier if they were real stones. It took me 30 minutes to unwrap the bottles and photograph them. I felt like a child again on Christmas morning. I guess that is why nail polish is so addicting.

One of them has been used though. I am not happy about that but at least it isn't one of my favorites. I will swatch all of them eventually for posterity.

Oh, and below is the reason I was walking on air the other day. Or should I say flying? This is the charcoal HOLO version. I swatched a little over another polish and it seemed more holo-y in the bottle. But I will do a full mani before I judge. It is pretty amazing in the sun.

Here are my NOTD. This is LA colors over Orly Royal Navy.

I have been doing my nails with a solid color, then when I am bored, I do nail art or another top coat. I try to keep a coordinating or matching color on my toesies, but I don't do them as much as my tips.

I wish you Happy Day, love and pretty polish! : )