Review: Zoya Valerie

Hey all~ I have received a few requests in my giveaway form to post more review-like posts, so here's my first attempt. Let me know what you think of it, anything to add/take away?

Today I have for you another polish from Zoya's Flame collection. Valerie is an extremely pretty purple with copper- gold flecks suspended in it which unfortunately does not show up on the nail. While I am an avid purple lover, I can't seem to love Valerie too much :(. It's such a shame since it receives so much love from bloggers (and hence me purchasing it) but idk, the lack of copper-gold flecks on the nail just makes me so, so sad.

Photo was taken indoors with flash which is the only way you can see the copper-gold flecks.

I wore this polish last week while I was away on a conference camp and could not believe the amount of chipping I was getting! I didn't expect it to stay perfect, but my nails looked absolutely atrocious by Friday and I didn't even do much with my hands except for showering...no activities, no extra stress on the nails, nada! Perhaps this may have something to do with the Zoya formula and it's ability to work well with other top/base coats? :S

Application: 8/10
Chipping: 4/10
Price: 7/10

My giveaway will be closing tonight at 23.59 GMT+10 so if you haven't entered already, click the link! :)

Thanks for dropping by~
Sharon

Orly Rage

Another that I swatched a while ago.  There are lots of swatches out there of this, but here are mine.

And indoors...

Love this polish.  I also have done a comparison with this against Ulta3 Envy.

Zoya Gemma is so perfectly Green! Zoya Intimate collection

I have my new most favorite green ever!Zoya Gemma...Gemma is a gorgeous army green with a blue/violet shiftThe shift cools it down just enough so that it is wearable for people like me who normally cannot wear warm greens or earthy shades.This is 2 coats with Seche Vite top coatI am loving this new collection!

**Product in this post was provided by the company/ PR for my honest review

OPI Black Shatter & China Glaze Shocking Pink

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Last night I was changing my polish for today, and I decided I'd fulfill my promise and wear Black Shatter one more time so I could forever be done with it.  I said I'd try it over a neon pink, but wearing the last Black Shatter manicure for a couple of days convinced me it wasn't for me.  I decided to do what I could to make this one more tolerable and got on with it.

I applied three coats of China Glaze Shocking Pink, which I've shown you before.  It's a retina-searing, distractingly neon pink creme, and is kind of a PITA to apply in the same way that the China Glaze OMG's and Nfu Oh holos are, but also like those, the color is completely worth the effort.  I topped that off with quick dry top coat and while it dried, considered what I didn't care for in Black Shatter and how to work around those things.

The first thing is that I don't like how the tinier cracks look, and the second is it bugs me when my nails aren't smooth.  When I applied Black Shatter to Shocking Pink, I used a thicker coat of it so it would make bigger cracks, and I finished it like it was a glitter and used three coats of top coat.  As for smoothness, there are still some small bumps from the crackle but they're tiny and now it's very glassy, so that worked out well, and here you can see that the thicker coat of Black Shatter worked too.

OPI Black Shatter over China Glaze Shocking Pink

What was truly shocking here is that I like it.  Previously, I think the fact that it's black was a big problem as well - I never would have combined black with a pale pink glitter, but I would (and have) with Shocking Pink, so this one just works for me.  I was surprised at how much I really like it.

In fact, as the top coat finished curing, I was admiring this mani when into my head popped the thought, "This looks like something C.C. DeVille would wear."  Consulting Google for a mere moment confirmed that this was indeed true.  Note the hot pink guitar strap and Black Shatter jacket.

Black Shatter & Shocking Pink?

At first this just struck me as really funny, and later I realized that there's some dark recess of my brain that's always at the ready and burning up precious mental energy, just to offer me disturbingly accurate and brisk recall of the stage attire of 80's hair bands.  But, you know what they say: every rose has its thorn.

That's my manicure for today, and the one that's swayed my opinion on crackle polishes.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

OPI Black Shatter & China Glaze Shocking Pink

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Last night I was changing my polish for today, and I decided I'd fulfill my promise and wear Black Shatter one more time so I could forever be done with it.  I said I'd try it over a neon pink, but wearing the last Black Shatter manicure for a couple of days convinced me it wasn't for me.  I decided to do what I could to make this one more tolerable and got on with it.

I applied three coats of China Glaze Shocking Pink, which I've shown you before.  It's a retina-searing, distractingly neon pink creme, and is kind of a PITA to apply in the same way that the China Glaze OMG's and Nfu Oh holos are, but also like those, the color is completely worth the effort.  I topped that off with quick dry top coat and while it dried, considered what I didn't care for in Black Shatter and how to work around those things.

The first thing is that I don't like how the tinier cracks look, and the second is it bugs me when my nails aren't smooth.  When I applied Black Shatter to Shocking Pink, I used a thicker coat of it so it would make bigger cracks, and I finished it like it was a glitter and used three coats of top coat.  As for smoothness, there are still some small bumps from the crackle but they're tiny and now it's very glassy, so that worked out well, and here you can see that the thicker coat of Black Shatter worked too.

OPI Black Shatter over China Glaze Shocking Pink

What was truly shocking here is that I like it.  Previously, I think the fact that it's black was a big problem as well - I never would have combined black with a pale pink glitter, but I would (and have) with Shocking Pink, so this one just works for me.  I was surprised at how much I really like it.

In fact, as the top coat finished curing, I was admiring this mani when into my head popped the thought, "This looks like something C.C. DeVille would wear."  Consulting Google for a mere moment confirmed that this was indeed true.  Note the hot pink guitar strap and Black Shatter jacket.

Black Shatter & Shocking Pink?

At first this just struck me as really funny, and later I realized that there's some dark recess of my brain that's always at the ready and burning up precious mental energy, just to offer me disturbingly accurate and brisk recall of the stage attire of 80's hair bands.  But, you know what they say: every rose has its thorn.

That's my manicure for today, and the one that's swayed my opinion on crackle polishes.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

I suck and I'm sorry!

I know that posts have been sporadic lately and I am very sorry!I could give a huge list of excuses but like my Mom always said.."Excuses are like A$$holes everyone has one and they all stink!"
So instead I will just be honest and say that my ADD has gotten seemingly worse and life has been out of control due to my lack of ability to focus from beginning to end on any one project. I am taking

Jenny AKA Polishology's giveaway

Jenny over at Polishology is having an amazing giveaway.



Giveaway ends February 18th

If you wish to enter this giveaway go (HERE)

Orly Spring 2011 Precious Collection....Want! Want! Want!

I don't always post Press Releases because I know that your readers are filled with repeats of the same Press release.....but I reallllllllly want this collection! Orly describes the collection as:For centuries, people around the globe have been enamored with lush fabrics, rare stones and extravagant finishes. ORLY celebrates the refined glamour of porcelain, the vibrant sheen of silk, and the

TBN Ultramarine blue

Today I have a frankenpolish that I made up ages ago and never got around to posting.

I made this up using a bottle of white polish from Totally Beautiful Nails (a cheap Aussie brand) and then added about a teaspoon of Ultramarine Blue pigment that I got from TBK Trading.  It made a a strong creamy bright blue polish.  A really simple frankenpolish that anyone could do.

Below shows the first time I swatched this.  This was two coats without a top coat.  As you can see, there were still tiny granules of pigment left on the nail which made it look slightly rough.  A nice layer of Seche Vite covered that right up, as you can see in the top picture.

Minnie Mouse in the House

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM19

Base Colour: NYC Glossies (I've lost the bottle so I can't tell you which one)

Stamp Colour: Stargazer - White

Top Coat of NYC

Free Hello Kitty Fauxnad Plate

There is some weirdness with this vendor's site you should be aware of before entering your info.

Here's a link to the details.

The status on whether this code is active this changes from day to day. The top comment for this post is the most recent, and that's the latest word I have on it. Please read the top comment to see where this currently stands.

Good morning, Dear Reader!

A few weeks ago, I received an email asking me about an overseas web site that was offering a completely free Hello Kitty nail art stamping plate (specifically, if it was legitimate). I'd never heard of it, so I figured there was only one way to find out and I placed the order, for which I did not have to enter any payment information. When someone tells me they'll give me something for nothing, I tend to hope for the best without any real expectations, and I promptly forgot all about it until I received a little envelope from Singapore yesterday that had the plate inside.

Since it is legitimate, I thought you'd want to know about it. The site is called Born Pretty, and the item is called Hello Kitty Nail Art Stamping Plate. Here's Born Pretty's picture of the plate, which is numbered M71.

Free Hello Kitty Nail Art Stamping Plate from Born Pretty

To get it, add the plate, which displays a price of $2.99, to your cart and go to check out. For shipping method, choose "Airmail (Unregistered)" for free shipping, and enter coupon code BP299 to deduct the $2.99 price of the Hello Kitty plate, and for your payment option choose "I have paid before/Free items," which doesn't prompt for additional billing info. Submit order, and that's it.

Mine took 3 weeks to arrive, which is about the time I'd expect. I checked the site now for my order history to get the details above, and found that my order status is Pending. That's not a huge problem, but it indicates to me that their system is not 100% automated since the order was shipped and delivered. That can cause some hassles when something isn't manually updated correctly on their side, so I wouldn't be astounded if an order required a few emails, but their CS was good - I recall getting an email clarifying some detail right after I placed the order. I mention that just because I'd want to know about it before spending money on a future order.

I thought this was a nice thing because I'm always a bit reluctant ordering from a smaller place overseas, and this lets potential customers place a test order for free and see how the company does. They had a few other offers for a free item going, but they all required additional action, such as tweeting links. I didn't want to announce this until I'd gotten a test order just in case it went south, so I only went for the one.

Born Pretty has a lot of fauxnad plates and cheap nail art supplies (and oddly, colored contacts, but I think I'd hold off on ordering from them and go to an optometrist), and I'd place an order for paid items from them now.

For the record, I placed my order strictly as a test to see how they did so I could tell you about it, and Born Pretty was given no indication that anything about my order would be published anywhere (or that a platform for me to do so exists) , so I believe the service I received is what can generally be expected of them. Fortunately, you can place your own test order and verify that for free. If you place an order and have a noteworthy experience either way, please leave a comment - additional accounts experience with the company would be useful to anybody interested in ordering.

One addition - I just noticed the banner at the top of their home page announcing time off for Chinese New Year, so they probably won't reply to emails for a bit, and that's something to be aware of.

That's all I had to pass on to you this morning, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Free Hello Kitty Fauxnad Plate

There is some weirdness with this vendor's site you should be aware of before entering your info.

Here's a link to the details.

The status on whether this code is active this changes from day to day. The top comment for this post is the most recent, and that's the latest word I have on it. Please read the top comment to see where this currently stands.

Good morning, Dear Reader!

A few weeks ago, I received an email asking me about an overseas web site that was offering a completely free Hello Kitty nail art stamping plate (specifically, if it was legitimate). I'd never heard of it, so I figured there was only one way to find out and I placed the order, for which I did not have to enter any payment information. When someone tells me they'll give me something for nothing, I tend to hope for the best without any real expectations, and I promptly forgot all about it until I received a little envelope from Singapore yesterday that had the plate inside.

Since it is legitimate, I thought you'd want to know about it. The site is called Born Pretty, and the item is called Hello Kitty Nail Art Stamping Plate. Here's Born Pretty's picture of the plate, which is numbered M71.

Free Hello Kitty Nail Art Stamping Plate from Born Pretty

To get it, add the plate, which displays a price of $2.99, to your cart and go to check out. For shipping method, choose "Airmail (Unregistered)" for free shipping, and enter coupon code BP299 to deduct the $2.99 price of the Hello Kitty plate, and for your payment option choose "I have paid before/Free items," which doesn't prompt for additional billing info. Submit order, and that's it.

Mine took 3 weeks to arrive, which is about the time I'd expect. I checked the site now for my order history to get the details above, and found that my order status is Pending. That's not a huge problem, but it indicates to me that their system is not 100% automated since the order was shipped and delivered. That can cause some hassles when something isn't manually updated correctly on their side, so I wouldn't be astounded if an order required a few emails, but their CS was good - I recall getting an email clarifying some detail right after I placed the order. I mention that just because I'd want to know about it before spending money on a future order.

I thought this was a nice thing because I'm always a bit reluctant ordering from a smaller place overseas, and this lets potential customers place a test order for free and see how the company does. They had a few other offers for a free item going, but they all required additional action, such as tweeting links. I didn't want to announce this until I'd gotten a test order just in case it went south, so I only went for the one.

Born Pretty has a lot of fauxnad plates and cheap nail art supplies (and oddly, colored contacts, but I think I'd hold off on ordering from them and go to an optometrist), and I'd place an order for paid items from them now.

For the record, I placed my order strictly as a test to see how they did so I could tell you about it, and Born Pretty was given no indication that anything about my order would be published anywhere (or that a platform for me to do so exists) , so I believe the service I received is what can generally be expected of them. Fortunately, you can place your own test order and verify that for free. If you place an order and have a noteworthy experience either way, please leave a comment - additional accounts experience with the company would be useful to anybody interested in ordering.

One addition - I just noticed the banner at the top of their home page announcing time off for Chinese New Year, so they probably won't reply to emails for a bit, and that's something to be aware of.

That's all I had to pass on to you this morning, Dear Reader. Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Miami Beet

Hello~ :) I hope you all enjoyed the little peek into my polishing world in the past few posts. Today I have for you one of the rarer colour shades in my collection - a red(ish) polish! This is two coats of OPI's Miami Beet. I was quite pleasantly surprised by it seeing as I wasn't expecting much, but yay, another red family polish which I like has been added to my collection! :)

I'm going to be busy this upcoming week too so posts may not be as frequent. I'm actually sporting naked nails at the moment, it's been a looooong time since I haven't had polish on my nails :P. I wonder how long it'll last?

Check out my giveaway here you haven't already!

Thanks for dropping by~
Sharon

Update!

Ello guys!
Its finally the end of another week I had a little accident with my phone last Saturday so its been a whole week without it & I'm coping better than thought I would but it makes work extra boring when its not busy! I've decided that I wanna get a blackberry & I've spent the whole week tryna get it from o2 but they're giving me so much trouble that I'm gonna have to buy it elsewhere & I'm thinking to get the sim contract instead of contract because its only 12months but I would have to get the phone on pay as you go which I can't afford right now, I guess it'll be another week til I actually get it :( I can't decide whether I should get the Blackberry Bold 9780 in white or black either, I'm not usually a fan of white phones but theres something about the white bold that I like but then I want the black one too.. decisions decisions!  

I'm still slacking with my uni work as always, I've got sooooooo much to catch up on & a hell of a lot to do for Monday. I still haven't found my motivation anywhere, I know I have to get it done but my body just doesn't wanna bother doing it!

I ordered quite a few things online in the past week, loads of nail stuff, some acrylic paint for nail art, some things from yesstyle, false lashes from ebay (wasn't planning to get them but I somehow accidentally clicked "buy it now" and confirmed it so I thought I might aswell just pay for it) & some elf brushes!
Anyway I bought a new sleek palette earlier in the week aswell so after work today I decided to try it out with my new lashes and the Revlon PhotoReady foundation because I haven't tried any of them yet. I like to experiment when I'm bored! So yeah, heres the look :p

 

 

 

I used Bobbi Brown's cream shadow in Galaxy for the base & 3 eyeshadows from Sleek's Storm palette. The sleek eyeshadows are amazing as always! The lashes are nice but they're so long and much more dramatic than the ones I usually wear, I still like them but probably won't wear them a lot. The foundation sure does make my skin look good in these photos, I like the coverage and consistency but it feels so weird because I haven't worn foundation for so long so for daily use I'm still sticking to my tinted moisteriser!

Later on my bro come up and gave me a package, it was from elf! I was so shocked because I only ordered it yesterday morning just before I left for college, they did send me an email a couple hours later to say it was dispatched but I didn't expect it to come today, the shipping was free too so yeah I was impressed.

It was the first time I ordered from them, I'm not really attracted to their makeup but I heard good things about the studio powder brush and I've been meaning to buy it for some time now. I ordered 4 because usually when I buy new products my aunt and sis in law want them too lol. I haven't used it yet but it feels soft and its dense too so hopefully its amazing like everyone says it is!

Anyway I think thats it for now, sorry for the long post I tend to babble on a lot but yeah I'd like to hear which Blackberry you think looks better & if there are any other elf products you would recommend, leave a comment below, Muah! xx

Urban Decay - Twisted

I have posted this polish in my gold comparison, and I did promise to swatch it separately.

I originally saw this polish on Scrangie's blog when searching for good gold polishes.  This one really is fantastic.  Indoors, it's a dark gold without too much sparkle, but in the sun it POPS.

Close up of the foil finish sparkle in the sun

This is an old polish, but a beauty.  I got mine off ebay, and there are still listings for it, all at reasonable prices.

Leopard Got The Blues

How do you like my new banner? I'm not too sure about it so I might make another one or go back to the old one soon.

Konad Plate: M57

Base Colour: No7 - Betty Blues

Konad Colour: China Glaze - Adore

Barry M Blue Glitter for the dots

Top Coat of NYC

OPI The One That Got Away

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I was happy to see that the sun had peeked out a bit (not blazing clear-sky sun, but much better than it's been), so I looked for a polish that I thought needed decent sunlight for a good picture, and OPI The One That Got Away was first on the list.

The One That Got Away seems to be the least-loved of OPI's Katy Perry Collection, but I think it's fantastic. It's a deep red-berry shade that's full of the sparkly pigment we saw so much of in the last half of 2010 (OPI Holiday, Nubar Venetian, Zoya Fire & Ice).  The polish is thin but still easy to control, and after two coats the coverage was adequate but didn't have as much sparkle as the polish in bottle, so I added a third and it now it does.  This is The One That Got Away completely dry in moderate sunlight.

OPI The One That Got Away Nail Polish, Three Coats

I know it's not as out of the ordinary as Black Shatter or Teenage Dream, but it's an infinitely more wearable shade with a great finish, and I think there's something to be said for that.  Since I didn't see as much hype around The One That Got Away, right after I placed the order including it I was kind of kicking myself, but I was quite pleasantly surprised at just how pretty it is when it arrived.  It's probably my favorite of the OPI Katy Perry Collection.

I'm off to start a busy day that will be lightened by peeking at a pretty sparkly nail polish in the sun, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you! 

OPI The One That Got Away

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I was happy to see that the sun had peeked out a bit (not blazing clear-sky sun, but much better than it's been), so I looked for a polish that I thought needed decent sunlight for a good picture, and OPI The One That Got Away was first on the list.

The One That Got Away seems to be the least-loved of OPI's Katy Perry Collection, but I think it's fantastic. It's a deep red-berry shade that's full of the sparkly pigment we saw so much of in the last half of 2010 (OPI Holiday, Nubar Venetian, Zoya Fire & Ice).  The polish is thin but still easy to control, and after two coats the coverage was adequate but didn't have as much sparkle as the polish in bottle, so I added a third and it now it does.  This is The One That Got Away completely dry in moderate sunlight.

OPI The One That Got Away Nail Polish, Three Coats

I know it's not as out of the ordinary as Black Shatter or Teenage Dream, but it's an infinitely more wearable shade with a great finish, and I think there's something to be said for that.  Since I didn't see as much hype around The One That Got Away, right after I placed the order including it I was kind of kicking myself, but I was quite pleasantly surprised at just how pretty it is when it arrived.  It's probably my favorite of the OPI Katy Perry Collection.

I'm off to start a busy day that will be lightened by peeking at a pretty sparkly nail polish in the sun, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you! 

First things first

I'm back for the new year, and am hoping to:

1. Do more nail polish swatches and
2. Post more regularly to my blog. 

This is because I have the next eight months off work!!!  Yay, you've got to love maternity leave, long service leave etc!!

Any how, first up, here is my little girl at two days old, who arrived on 14 Jan.

And here she is in the bath yesterday at two weeks old.

And here are her gorgeous little finger nails.  She has lovely long fingers with long nail beds.  Guess who can't wait to paint them one day!! 

Will be back tomorrow with some swatches.

Barry M Mint Green

I had my last exam today. I'm so so so happy to have them over, even though I think I failed 3 out of the 4.

After the exam some friends and I went out for a pub lunch and just chatted for nearly 2 hours which was so much fun as I've been stuck inside for nearly 3 weeks. I was planning on going out with my friends tonight but decided to stay in eating, sleeping and watching movies since I haven't really had a chance just to chill for the so long, but I'm looking forward to going out tomorrow - it should be a crazy night!

Konad Plate: M35

Base Colour: Barry M - Mint Green

Konad Colour: BYS - Fools Paradise

No7 Betty Blues for the dots done with a dotting tool

Top Coat of NYC

8 More Beiber Polishes

I'll admit it, I'm so NOT a Justin Beiber fan, and I was mightily embarrassed to purchase any of the collection, but they ARE pretty colors (if you can get past that HAIR...*cringe*)

Anyway, they've released 8 new colors in the Beiber line...

NICOLE BY OPI ONE LESS LONELY GIRL
8 New Lacquer Additions

WHAT: Nicole by OPI is unveiling eight more shades in the One Less Lonely Girl collection! With colors created by Nicole by OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, these eight new Nail Lacquers are inspired by Justin Bieber’s songs and his devoted fans.

The One Less Lonely Girl Collection was conceived to raise awareness for Pencils of Promise, an organization that builds sustainable schools for underserved children in the developing world. In addition to educating consumers about this non-profit, Nicole by OPI has committed to building two such schools.

LACQUERS:
• My Lifesaver
Go overboard in color with this soft mint green!

• “Baby” Blue
A sweet light blue that totally loves you.

• One Time Lime
A vibrant lime that’s worth your time.

• I’m A Belieber
This popular purple has quite the following.

• Red-y to Runaway Love?
Run away with this riveting red.

• Make U Smile
Mood-boosting bunches of silvery glitter!

• I’ve Got Bieber Fever
This gorgeous dark plum is super contagious!

• Not A Gold Bigger
A genuinely glamorous gold that you’ll never take for granted.

RETAIL PRICE: $7.99 each
AVAILABILITY: January at Walmart and February at select Target, Sears, ULTA, and other retail locations, for $7.99 each.

ABOUT PENCILS
OF PROMISE:

Pencils of Promise, a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, builds sustainable schools, partnerships and solutions to enable basic education for underserved children in the developing world. More information about Pencils of Promise is available at www.pencilsofpromise.org.

OPI Texas Collection (PREVIEW)

From the state where bigger is better, and cowboys are king... OPI brings a collection of colors for Spring/Summer 2011!

OPI comes “home” to the USA with timeless style in the Texas Collection for Spring/Summer 2011. These vivid shades are as iconic as images of an American summer – adding a fresh, effortlessly chic look for nails and toes.
“Texas provided the inspiration for this season, with bright colors and classic neutrals that draw from the American spirit,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “Taking cues from the state’s naturally beautiful backdrop, the Texas Collection features warm tones from honey and tangerine to dazzling hues of violet and sky blue.”
This season, American classics come to life with sunny peach (Big Hair…Big Nails) and vivid honeysuckle (Too Hot Pink to Hold ‘Em). Lush berry (Houston We Have a Purple) and grassy green (Don’t Mess with OPI) add a splash of the USA’s most vibrant colors to the season’s must-have neutrals (San Tan-tonio).
“The Texas Collection complements trends from the runway, where white made an appearance as the new black,” explains Suzi. “Wearing these colors on fingers and toes will accessorize the season’s must-have pieces – from brightly colored botanical prints and filmy scarves to relaxed trousers and jackets and fuller, longer skirts – all done in shades of white, ivory, cream and taupe.”

Texas Collection accompanies spring and summer fashion favorites with the following shades:

San Tan-tonio
A “honey” of a ten-gallon tan!

Suzi Loves Cowboys
But she loves this campfire chocolate shade s’more!

It's Totally Fort Worth It
A shimmery lavender grey that’s so worthy of you.

Don't Mess with OPI
A lean, mean, kick-grass forest green.

Austin-tatious Turquoise
Cowgirls love this bodacious blue-green.

I Vant to Be A-Lone Star
You won’t want to share this starry Texas-sky blue.

Y'all Come Back Ya Hear?
This Texas tangerine will be waitin’ for ya!

Big Hair...Big Nails
A rosy pageant peach.

Guy Meets Gal-veston
An “engaging” coastal coral.

Too Hot Pink to Hold 'Em
A red-hot pink-red that deals a winning hand.

Do You Think I'm Tex-y?
A “berry” sexy bloom of Dallas dahlia.

Houston We Have a Purple
A galactic red-violet that’s ready to “rocket roll”!

OPI’s Texas Collection Nail Lacquer shades contain no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde, and each includes OPI’s exclusive ProWide™ Brush for the ultimate in application.

There is also a new finish that OPI is introducing, called 'Sorbet':

From the company that brought revolutionary nail textures like matte, suede, and Black Shatter to women around the world, OPI announces a new special finish – semi-transparent sorbet shades. Featured first in the Texas Collection by OPI for Spring/Summer 2011, these lacquers give fingers and toes a lightly glossed appearance.

“These sorbet-style formulas for nails will be in full swing by 2012, but women can get a jump start on this trend with colors in the Texas Collection,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “Unlike thicker creams or light sheers, these twelve shades are slightly translucent – similar to the look of icy, water-based sorbet!”

From sea blue and berry pink to tangerine and bright peach, the Texas Collection features classic American colors. Designed to complement trends from the runway, these candy-coated lacquers accessorize the season’s must-have neutral pieces.

“To achieve the desired effect, an initial coat of Nail Lacquer should be applied to all ten fingers first – without doubling up coverage,” explains Suzi. “Be sure to start from the pinky finger on one hand and paint through to the pinky on the other hand; then, after the first coat has dried, apply a second coat.”

Texas Collection by OPI will be available February 2011, at Professional Salons, including Beauty Brands, Beauty First, Chatters, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Pure Beauty, Regis, Trade Secret, and Ulta, for $8.50 ($10.95 CAN) suggested retail for each Nail Lacquer.

For more information, please call 800-341-9999 or visit www.opi.com.

Zoya Gemma

Hello, Dear Reader!

This morning I put on Zoya Gemma, which was a nice change from the OPI Teenage Dream and Black shatter I'd had on for a couple of days.  I'd mentioned in the first post about Black Shatter that  the old crackle polishes were agonizing for me to remove, but that wasn't the case with Black Shatter - it came right off.  Teenage Dream, on the other hand, was a project to remove.  Anyhow, Gemma's a good one after that!

Zoya Gemma is one of the Intimates Collection for Spring 2011, and it's another that's a good rendition of a pretty standard color with an exceptional finish.  The base color is an olive drab, of which there have been many in the past couple of years, but Gemma's twist is that is has a strong blue flash that's distinctly visible even in indoor lighting.  Although thinner than Marley, it only took two coats to be even and opaque and had an average dry time.

I took about a million pictures of Gemma in different lighting conditions, but I had the poor judgment to start outside in natural light (of which there is terribly little today) so my hands got really cold and pretty red.  The drab greens tend to accentuate redness, so please forgive my poor cold lobster hand.  The pictures that ended up most accurately showing the polish were under artificial light (so freezing my hand until it was red was entirely unnecessary), and this is Zoya Gemma completely dry.

Zoya Gemma Nail Polish, Two Coats

That blue shimmer really does show this clearly in indoor lighting, it's super cool.  For me, Zoya's two for two on the Intimates - I really like the subtlety of both that I've used so far.  They're like new and improved versions of the base colors.

That's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

*This polish was sent to me by the manufacturer for review.

Zoya Gemma

Hello, Dear Reader!

This morning I put on Zoya Gemma, which was a nice change from the OPI Teenage Dream and Black shatter I'd had on for a couple of days.  I'd mentioned in the first post about Black Shatter that  the old crackle polishes were agonizing for me to remove, but that wasn't the case with Black Shatter - it came right off.  Teenage Dream, on the other hand, was a project to remove.  Anyhow, Gemma's a good one after that!

Zoya Gemma is one of the Intimates Collection for Spring 2011, and it's another that's a good rendition of a pretty standard color with an exceptional finish.  The base color is an olive drab, of which there have been many in the past couple of years, but Gemma's twist is that is has a strong blue flash that's distinctly visible even in indoor lighting.  Although thinner than Marley, it only took two coats to be even and opaque and had an average dry time.

I took about a million pictures of Gemma in different lighting conditions, but I had the poor judgment to start outside in natural light (of which there is terribly little today) so my hands got really cold and pretty red.  The drab greens tend to accentuate redness, so please forgive my poor cold lobster hand.  The pictures that ended up most accurately showing the polish were under artificial light (so freezing my hand until it was red was entirely unnecessary), and this is Zoya Gemma completely dry.

Zoya Gemma Nail Polish, Two Coats

That blue shimmer really does show this clearly in indoor lighting, it's super cool.  For me, Zoya's two for two on the Intimates - I really like the subtlety of both that I've used so far.  They're like new and improved versions of the base colors.

That's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

*This polish was sent to me by the manufacturer for review.

New Franken

Hallo ladies,

This week I've been busy trying out franking for the very first time, so far I've made 4 franken polishes :) woo-hoo go me I'll show them all to you soon but first I wanted to share this one with you as it means alot to me. I made this polish in the memory of my little girl, this color always makes me think of her and even through I have loads of purple polishes I don't have one like this. I named this polish Alizia after her who died in 2007. I'm loving the way it came out not to light and not to dark :) plus I added abit of glitter (cause I'm a glitter kind of gal) lol








So what do you think?

Lombardi Vitalizing tonic review

Hallo ladies,

For the last 2 weeks I've been using Lombagine Vitalizing Tonic morning and night. The last few years (after my pregnancy) I've been getting zits and blackheads, I never had zits not even as a teenager (So I guess I'm paying for that now) LOL

So 2 weeks ago I've come up with a daily routine thats been working for me. I wash my face with Neutrogena Visibly Clear (Blackhead Eliminating) Daily Cleansing Cushions. Use the beaded side first it helps to remove pore-clogging dirt, oil and make-up then after that flip the cushion over and use the soft wavey side which contains blackhead fighting ingredients.

Once I'm done with that I pat dry my face and pour Lombardi Vitalizing Tonic (Comes from France) on a cotton ball and rub it over my face. Vitalizing Tonic helps your face look healthy, fresh and full of energy it gives your face a healthier color.

Here is what the Lombardi Vitalizing Tonic looks like. Oh and it smells like oranges :)



Thanks Neutrogena Visibly Clear and Lombardi Vitalizing tonic for helping clear up my skin :)





So what do you think? Would you like to see more stuff like this?

Thanks
Kesha

Polish spreadsheet

Although I can hardly say I'm an organised person, when it comes to nail polish, I'm super organised :P. I have a spreadsheet typed up on my laptop of all the nail polish in my collection. I thought I'd share the spreadsheet since people have been commenting on my giveaway form for some stash posts :). Photos of my stash can be seen here. There is also a tab I've added at the top of my page so that it will be easy to find this spreadsheet.



Check out my giveaway here!

Thanks for dropping by~
Sharon

Finger Paints Palette of Petals Spring Collection

Finger Paints is coming out with a new collection called Palette of Petals. This collection just calls for spring :)




Dahlia My Number


Heavenly Hydrangeas


Carnation Creation


Aren't You Glad-iolous?


Chrysanthe-mum's the Word!


Did You Ast-her Out?

The purple,teal and green polishes look interested so I'm going to try and get those.

So what do you think about this collection? Are there any your doing to be getting.