Nov 22, 2010

KOTD: I'm late... But hooray for Spain!

Hey Ladies!

I'm back with another extremely delayed post. This manicure is from July! Coincidently, I wore this on the day Spain won the World Cup.

OPI - No Spain No Gain

I don't remember how many coats this was. Probably two. I remember this one being pretty opaque fast. This is an awesome berry-purple creme from the Spain Collection. One of my favorites. The pictures, in my opinion, don't do it justice. There is something about this color that just makes it stand out from all the others.

I then stamped the butterfly from CG-04 using China Glaze's "Millennium."

Hope you gals like!

Time to put my noes back in a book and keep studying for final exams! =(

Nov 18, 2010

China Glaze Holiday 2010 - Review

Hey Ladies!

Today I have for you the Holiday Collection from China Glaze! I was finally able to swatch these for you (while listening to audio recordings of my class and preparing outlines for my final exams)... LOL! I know there are already several posts out there with this collection. However, it is totally worth posting again!

All of the following are without a base coat and without topcoat. All of the following are just 2 coats of the color and then 2 coats with Party Hearty.

Jolly Holly - Little Drummer Boy - Midnight Kiss - Jingle Bells
Jolly Holly - An amazing bright dark forest green. Yes, it's bright and dark at the same time.
Little Drummer Boy - A midnight/navy blue shimmer.
Midnight Kiss - A gold shimmer/foil (I can't decide which).
Jingle Bells - A champagne/copper/bronze type of shimmer. Yes, take a pot and toss in equal parts of champagne, copper, & bronze and you'll come out with this color. No?

w/ Party Hearty

Party Hearty - A clear topcoat that is jam-packed with glitter! It has small silver glitter, medium green glitter, and huge red glitter. Perfect for the holiday season! Obviously, the more coats you put the more glitter you get.

Ruby Deer - Phat Santa - Mommy Kissing Santa - Sugar Plums
Ruby Deer - A super bright red. Kinda reminds me of a jelly but I'm not sure if you could call it a jelly.
Phat Santa - A gorgeous red. Not as bright as Ruby Deer. Can't decide if its a creme or jelly... or both...
Mommy Kissing Santa - A deep red shimmer.
Sugar Plums - A plumish red color with amazing multicolor shimmer.

w/ Party Hearty

Snow - Frosty - Cheers To You - Naughty And Nice
Snow - A pure white creme. Not chalky at all! In my opinion it almost could be opaque in 1 coat if you apply it properly. Of course I couldn't so I did 2 coats.
Frosty - Just like the name... A white/milky frosty color with shimmer. I'm sure you can get this fully opaque with more coats but I like the way it looks with just 2 coats.
Cheers To You - A silver foil. Reminds me of aluminum foil.
Naughty And Nice - It looks black but its now. It's a great vampy wine color. Reminds me of Essie's Wicked. It looks black but has that gorgeous vampy color when the light hits it.

w/ Party Hearty

Overall Conclusion: AMAZING! I think this collection has a great variety of colors that make it great for the holiday season. I encountered no application problems. Each polish applied like a dream. I didn't notice any staining while swatching. Party Hearty is also a great addition to the collection that helps spice up any manicure. I highly recommend this collection to everyone.

I love all the names and think they compliment the colors. I also find some of them to be humorous. And boy do I love humorous nail polish!

My favorite polishes from this collection (for those who care): Frosty, Party Hearty, Phat Santa, Little Drummer Boy, and Naughty And Nice.

Please read our Disclosure Policy! We received these polishes from China Glaze for review. The opinions expressed on this post are my own.

Nov 17, 2010

Redbull Flugtag Nails!

Hey Ladies!

I'm semi-back. Life has been hectic lately. I'm about to start final exams at school. But I'm going to try my best to schedule some of my backed up posts because as Mari said to me earlier this week: "I am becoming one of those bloggers we hate." And I certainly don't want to be one of those to you guys!

Here is a mani from back in June/July.


This is the mani I did for the RedBull Flugtag (using the colors of the Sugar Free RedBull can). If you don't know what the Flugtag is I suggest you YouTube it because it's hilarious. Basically people make aircrafts and try to see how far they can fly them over the bay before landing in the water. Most of them fail instantly but its the creative aircrafts that are fun to watch. The Flugtag was here in 2004 and finally came back to Miami this year! I was so excited! To bad it was too hot and we couldn't bare to stay there for longer than 30 minutes.

This is 2 coats of OPI's "No Room For The Blues" and 2 coats of China Glaze's "Millennium." I stamped the red wing using Konad's red special polish. The wing came from the Bundle Monster plate BM03. The image is actually a heart with wings so I just put a piece of tape over the heart and 2nd wing and only left exposed the 1 wing I wanted. It worked out quite well.

Please forgive my ugly looking nails. I had some bad broken nails back then and had to glue on fake ones to prevent the breaks from getting worse.

Hope you gals like it!

-Lissi

Nov 6, 2010

I'm out of commission AGAIN, but this time.....

Sorry I've been MIA gals.  Like my last hiatus, I've suffered some peeling nails and a few breaks, even a tear (I WILL NOT describe that one in detail.  Let's just say the pain was worse than the labor I went through with my children.)  I never feel up to posting when my nails are hideous, and trust me, they are.  I've done just about everything to remedy the peeling nails.  Nutritional supplements, change in diet, certain products that claim miracles, etc., and to no avail.  My nails grow and look pretty for a few months and then... here comes the peeling again.  I try my best not to pick but it's just too tempting.  I've tried Orly, OPI, Sally Hansen and nothing.  I've decided that now I'm going back to the original product I used once that actually seemed to work wonders.  Thing is, once my nails were strong and long, I stopped using the product.  This time I'm going to stick with it.  I gotta remember it's a preventive, not a cure. 

Anyway... I'm going to use Nailtiques Formula 2.  Around these parts (Miami, FL), you can pick this up at any CVS or Walgreens for around $18.  It's strong stuff.  Literally, you feel your nail kind of constrict and tingle when you apply it, but at this point, WHATEVER WORKS!  I want my nails never to peel again.  I want to be able to swatch and post at least twice a week.  And darnit, I'm not asking for the moon and stars here. 

Nailtiques explains it as follows:  

Formula 2 - Treatment for Soft, Peeling, Bitten, Weak or Thin Nails Nailtiques Nail Protein formulas were created to treat different nail conditions. The salon-tested formulations offer special combinations of ingredients, including hydrolyzed keratin and protein in combination with gelatin and calcium to build a healthy nail foundation. The protein formulas bond the nail layers together building a strong nail foundation resistant to peeling, chipping and splitting.

Benefits:  Nails that are soft, peeling, split or just will not grow will see marked improvement when treated with Formula 2. This formula consists of a unique blend of protein and conditioners. The protein immediately acts to help bond nails that are splitting or peeling. Formula 2 also helps to strengthen the nail resulting in long, strong and healthy nails.   Apply daily. As nails improve, decrease application. Formula 2 may be worn alone or with color polish.

They have other formulas for healthy nails, nails that are overly hard and excessively difficult to grow.  They also have a kit to use after artificial nails.  You can check them out here

Stay tuned.  I will keep you guys posted!!!   I'm going to turn this nightmare into a dream.... I have faith!