Boo

Apparently I can only post one picture at a time. Poop




After observing my nails all day (which I posted this morning), I've decided to try out a rainbow stripe mani. It's been in my thoughts for a while but never really had enough space on my nails to comfortably try it out. This package definitely had rebooted my inspiration. Maybe I'll be able to use some of these beautiful SH HD's!! Hopefully they are pigmented enough.

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Yippee for surprise goodies!!!

I got these in the mail today!!! So excited. A huge THANK YOU to Christine over at Temptalia!!!



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Test post

Testing something


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Super crappy NOTD

Hello blog, it's been a while hasn't it? So this is the most extensive nail art I've tried in a while, might as well post it...

This stared out as one mani a few days ago I did to match my shirt..it's been chipping and I've been gradually adding onto it in boredom bit by bit. Today I went a little overboard..:/ and the result is kind of tacky but I still like it:) I would like it a lot better if it wasn't so chunky but oh well. That's what happens when you add on to a mani 3 different times right?

Ok here goes:


Products used:
China Glaze: entourage and custom kicks
Savina: you're my sunshine
Color Club: worth the risqué (the little dots)
Wet n Wild: black creme for the dots

(this started out with ONLY custom kicks on the tips and some little black dots along the nail line. I had a teal shirt with big black buttons down the front and it was all matchy and cute :D)

Also I wanted to post this while I still have nails (minus the index finger) on my left hand. I'm going to be starting teaching piano again and will sadly have to cut them off. My right hand is a mess, by now every single nail has broken.


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Giveaway Alert - Zeno Mini on Hot Deals by Bec

Becky from Hot Deals by Bec is giving away a Zeno Mini zit zapper on her blog! Click here for more info and details on how to enter!



from the contest page: "This giveaway ends September 19th, 2009 at 11.59pm EST. The winner will be chosen via random.org and notified by email. The winner has 3 days to reply or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to the US 18+only."

Giveaway Alert - Eden Fantasys Red Satin and Lace Gown

Alisha at Confessions of a Moody Mommy and Annete at Fairy Blog Mother are teaming up to give ONE lucky reader this sexy dress:



Head over here or here to get more info on how to enter!

Giveaway is open to US & Canada, ages 18+
Ends 12PM (NOON) CST - August 27, 2009

Giveaway Alert - The Cure 24/7 at Lipgloss Break!

Lipgloss Break is giving away White Sands The Cure 24/7 to 5 FIVE! different winners!

Click here for more info and to enter!

Contest closes on August 21st, open to US Residents.

Giveaway Alert - LashFood at Lipgloss Break

Another great giveaway going on at Ligloss Break. Click here for details on how to win a tube of LashFood!!

Open to US Residents only, contest closes August 11th.

Naturistics Super Shine - "Sea Ya!"

As promised, here are some more polish swatches. This one is Naturistics Super Shine in "Sea Ya!". The color is classified as a pearl finish, which I agree with :)

It's fairly well pigmented, at least compared to the other Naturistics polish I bought. That one was a bright, royal purple that looked beautiful in the bottle, but turned out to be a sheer, watery mess. I still used 2 coats here just to smooth things out. (Both of these, by the way, were part of the 10 bottles for $4.99 of assorted polishes at my local Grocery Outlet that I talked about earlier.)

The color is pretty, and part of my quest to find the perfect dark, teal color. (I am lamenting the fact that I do NOT own MAC Whirlwind..which looks pretty perfect..) The other teal I have is Zoya's Akyra, which I remember being a bit lighter and greener than this one. I have swatches of Akyra on my computer but they are pretty crappy quality, will re-do later when my nails don't look so terrible.

Giveaway Alert - CyberSwim Bathing Suit at the Last Blog on Earth!

There is a giveaway going on at The Last Blog on Earth that I forgot to mention before. Winner will get their choice of bathing suit from CyberSwim (all are worth over $100!). The contest ends tomorrow, but there is still time!

Click here for details on how to win.



(posting this from very shaky WiFi at the house I'm working on. Almost done painting! Only broke 1 nail so far but there is lots of paint under my nails...)

Giveaway Alert - Day 2 of the Great Makeup Bag Giveaway

In my last post I talked about the huge giveaway Moody Mommy Reviews is doing. The item for DAY 2 of the giveaway is CoverGirl Perfect Blend Eyeliner.


Click HERE for more info and details on how to win! Remember there is a mandatory entry that you have to do EVERY DAY in order to be qualified to win the whole package at the end of the week!

OHH and I haven't forgotten my promise to post some swatches...but right now I am in the middle of tenant turnover at the rental property and I have to go work on the house today and for the next few days! Cleaning...painting...:( My nails will be in terrible shape by the end of it all.

Lack of posts...AND Huge Giveaway Alert!

So I just noticed that I have 2 new followers that popped up! Exciting! Sorry to disappoint with the serious lack of "real posts" in the past few weeks. The presence of new followers (to a grand total of 4! :P ) is definitely a kick in the butt for me to get some more posts on here, though. I've got a TON of nail polish swatches on my computer, just waiting for me to go through and post. I've also gotten some new products lately that need reviewing....

My excuses: just graduated + looking for a job, had some lady health problems, got sick + terrible allergies on top of that, relatives visiting from out of town, more guests visiting from out of town that needed some local "experts" (haha me = expert? what a joke)...and a general laziness on my part.

Anyways, I've been the OPPOSITE of "on top of things" with all aspects of my life recently, but I started this blog and need to keep it up! :)


OH and ALSO I need to add that Moody Mommy Reviews is having a huge giveaway this ENTIRE week. It is the Great Makeup Bag Giveaway and you can see her button to the right of my blog.

The schedule of reviews/products to be given away are as follows:
Monday: CoverGirl
Tuesday: CoverGirl
Wednesday: CoverGirl
Thursday: Sally Hansen
Friday: Sally Hansen
Saturday: Sally Hansen
Sunday: Sally Hansen

Details of color and specific product will be posted each day. The first one up so far is CoverGirl's Simply Ageless Foundation.

ONE winner will be picked at the end of the week that will win all of the products! Part of the giveaway involves posting a link at this page.

Giveaway Alert - Natural Joy Cosmetics at the Last Blog on Earth

Another giveaway, ending June 30th. Winners will get a lip tint of their choice. Click HERE for more info and details and a review.

Giveaway Alert - Ferro Cosmetics at the Last Blog on Earth

Sasha222 is giving away some Ferro Cosmetics on her blog: The Last Blog on Earth. The contest ends today! (sorry for the late notice) Be sure to head over there and check it out. Click here for instructions on how to win (as well as a great review of Ferro Cosmetics)!

This is what you can win:
Full-sizes “Vegas Tan” eye candy (shadow) with an application brush
Full sized “Crystal Amber” Veil and application brush
Gift certificate for $24.95 to purchase an ultimate foundation in whichever shade you want!

Giveaway Alert! - Makeup Stockpile at Hot Deals

Bec at Hot Deals is sharing part of her makeup stockpile as a giveaway. The prize includes the following:

(1) Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow in Moonlit Jewels 06 #720
(1) CoverGirl wetslicks Amazemint lip gloss in freedom of peach #640
(1) Almay one coat nourishing mascara in black #402
(1) Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear Nail Polish in Almon Crunch #28

Click here for more details on how to win!

Open to US residents until June 13, 2009.

Giveaway Alert! - Borghese B Gloss Lip Gloss

Lipgloss Break is having another giveaway, this time a Borghese B Gloss Lip Gloss in Fuschia. Click here for more details and to enter.

This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents. This contest will end on Tuesday, June 29th.

Giveaway alert: NARS Summer Giveaway at Whimsical Rose!

Chrystina at Whimsical Rose is having a FABULOUS giveaway of NARS Summer Cosmetics!

The prize package is awesome:

-Summer Collection 2009 Bronzer : Irresistiblement ( desert Glow)

-Monoi Body Glow: deeply hydrating oil with a drop of vanilla essence and a chocolate shimmer, imparting a glistening, golden glow year-round, and intensifying a natural tan as it soothes and moisturizes skin.

-Monoi Body Glow II: multi-purpose, transparent beauty oil that is ideal for use as a daily moisturizer or massage oil, and absorbs quickly for a radiant glow.

-A secret little special surprise will be sent to winner along with this giveaway!!!

Click here for details on how to win. Giveaway ends 11:59pm on June 9th, and winner will be announced on June 10th!

Giveaway Alert - Win Revlon Lashes & Nails at Makeup Babble!

Makeup Mama at Makeup Babble is having a giveaway! Followers will have the chance to win one of THREE sets of Revlon Lashes and Nails. For her review of the products and details on how to WIN, click here.

Contest closes at Midnight PST on June 13th.

Giveaway Alert - KISS Everlasting French Nail Kits from Lipgloss Break

Another giveaway by Lipgloss Break! Click here to win one of FIVE sets of KISS Everlasting French Nail Kits for both hands AND toes.

Open to US and Canadian residents until Friday, June 19.

Giveaway Alert - David Babaii WildAid Shampoo & Conditioner on Lipgloss Break

Lipgloss break is having another great giveaway on her blog. Click here for more details and a chance to win one of TEN (10!) sets of David Babaii WildAid Hydrating Shampoo & Conditioner.

This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents. This contest will end on Tuesday, June 16th.

Giveaway Alert - Almond Pie Rich Souffle AND Bruno Jamais Gift Certificate at Lipgloss Break

Another giveaway from Lipgloss Break, click here for more details and to enter.

Open to US residents until June 8.

Giveaway Alert: Wrinkle Arrest Skincare & HealthDropz on Lipgloss Break

Lipgloss Break is having another giveaway!!  

Click HERE for more details and to enter for a chance to win a jar of Wrinkle Arrest Skincare by AminoGenesis AND HealthDropz!!!

Contest open to U.S. residents until May 31st.

          

Sally Hansen Nail Prisms - "Amber Coral"

This was one of the other nail polishes I got for UBER CHEAP ($4.99 for a bag with 10 nail polishes!!). I don't own any other holo's or prismatics or whatever, so this one fascinates me. Haha, I remember seeing these at Rite Aid a couple years ago but never got them.

I'm not super fond of the color itself, but the prism effect is still new to me and I like it.  I am confused as to why this is called "Amber Coral" because it is neither amber nor coral...oh well!  I would classify it as a pinkish red.

Anyways, this is 2 coats (1 does not cover too well). It actually lasts reasonably well, I've had it on again for about 5 days with minimal tip wear. Then again, maybe it has something to do with the 3 coats of Essie "Glamour Do" under it =P

O.P.I. - "Osaka-to-Me Orange"

Today was another beautiful sunny day so I'm honoring that with a nice, sunny (kind of) color. I looove orange (even though this is my only true orange polish ;P) so this works.

This is kind of a pain to apply properly and get the right color. At 2+ coats it becomes kind of a Halloween-y pumpkin orange, at 1 coat it's a nice, kind of sheer, orange that's not too bright. But VERY hard to control that 1 layer and get it smooth and the same color across all nails.

For swatching purposes this is just 2 thick coats, to make things easy.

(BTW, these pics were taken a few weeks ago, my nails are currently super short and stumpy due to the ultimate frisbee incident. They are growing back, slowly but surely...probably surely to be broken again anyways. Eh oh well, I must set a good example for my piano students =P)

Giveaway Alert- Kinesys SPF 30 Girl Sunscreen Spray from Ligloss Break

Lipgloss Break is having another great giveaway, just in time for summer. Click here for a chance to win one of THREE bottles of Kinesys' SPF 30 Girl Sunscreen Microspray.

Contest is open until May 28 to US residents only.

Giveaway Alert - UMI Hair Styling Products on Ligloss Break

Click here and enter for a chance to win UMI Sliquid and D Fuse on Ligloss Break

Contest is open until May 25 to US and Canadian residents only.

Zoya - Harley

Here is Zoya Harley I got from the polish exchange. As with the others, this was taken outside with no direct sunlight. I was really excited about this before getting it, but was kinda bummed because I don't think it goes with my skin tone too well. I'll have to try it again later I guess and see.

Two coats? Maybe 3. It is pretty opaque in one coat already so I'm pretty sure this was just 2 coats. I'm not used to swatching a lot so excuse any bumps or smudges :)

Giveaway Alert: Rhassoul Core 5-Piece All Natural Skin Care System at Ligloss Break

Click here to enter to win Rhassoul Core 5-Piece All-Natural Skin Care System by Daybreak Lavender Farms.

The giveaway is by Lipgloss Break, and is open to US and Canadian residents until Monday, May 18.

Zoya - Elodie

So we're currently having a wind/rain storm here...I dunno why I'm still up but I just don't feel like sleepin :)

Here are more of the Zoya pics I took a while ago. Again, I got this with their exchange program.

2 coats. Elodie is super pigmented, and the 2nd coat was more just to make sure things are even. This reeeaallly changes color depending on how/where you're looking at it. In these pics it looks super pink. Sometimes it looks almost like a red, other times more coral-y.

Giveaway Alert: Belli Skincare's Motherhood Line on Lipgloss Break!

Click here to enter (US/Canadian residents only) for a chance to win Belli's Motherhood Essentials Kit.

You can enter up to once a day until May 10th.

Post-Ultimate Frisbee...

Played some frisbee today....probably not a good idea. The previous post was the before shot, here is the after shot :(

Originally I was planning to do some swatching in a few days after they grew out more, and it's been so sunny. We'll see...

I guess it's time to trim them shoooorrt...it's been a long time since I've had them really short. My right hand is a mess too. The pinkie nail broke off completely at the nail line!! Some recuperation is probably a good idea now.

Sally Hansen - Sugar Bare

This was an impromptu nails shot, hence the chippage, taken in the car during a 4-hour drive over the weekend. I got bored...

Sally Hansen - Hard as Nails - Xtreme Wear in "Sugar Bare". It's actually almost frosty looking in the bottle, and fairly well pigmented. Opaque in 2-3 coats. No one probably cares about SH nail polish, but I might as well talk about it.

Actually, this nail polish only cost me $0.50!!

I went to my local outlet store and saw a bunch of little plastic makeup bags with bottles of nail polish in them. 10 bottles per bag, for $4.99!!! I was amazed, I don't really care what kind of nail polish comes in it..it's the best deal I've ever seen. Will post more later..at some point.

Noah's Naturals giveaway at Lipgloss Break!

Click here to enter!

(U.S. Addresses only)

Sunny Day! Pure Ice - Party Time

This was actually some swatching I did yesterday.  It was a beautiful sunny day so I thought a nice sunny yellow would be appropriate.  Pure Ice, I found this in a dollar store for $0.99.  I spied some beautiful, pale yellow bottles on top of a shelf and got super excited, because I'm constantly looking for the perfect yellow color that still suits my skin tone.  

Can't say I was satisfied, though, because this polish was EXTREMELY sheer.  The polish itself was thin and kinda watery.  The directions say "shake gently.  apply 2 coats."  If I did that my nails would basically look like they were stained yellow or something.  

Anyways, these pics may not be accurately representing what this would look like if you actually wanted to wear it, it may or may not dry.  

This was 2 thin coats + 2-3 *thick* coats.  I didnt really want to wait for it to dry, but this color is pretty close to what the bottle looked like.  If you just do 2-3 normal coats it would just be kind of a sheer, yellow frosty effect.

Last pic was taken outside but NOT in direct sunlight.

Earth Day - Part II (Zoya Irene)

So I ended up doing a blue + green mani of Zoya Irene layered over Zoya Akyra for Earth Day, but it was rainy and shady poopy weather all day so I didn't really get a chance to take a pic.  

Instead, in honor of this wonderful green holiday, I will post my pics I took of Zoya Irene a while back, which I got from their exchange deal.  There was also no sun at this time, but they were taken outdoors.  Three coats, pretty good application imo, on the sheer side though.

On a different note, I know that I have zero readers, maybe the random passerby every once in a while.  I feel a little bit strange and silly writing stuff...i tend to ramble a lot and be wordy.   Right now, however, I am basically talking to myself. hmm..

Happy Earth Day!!

Still trying to decide what to do for an Earth Day mani.  I buffed and filed my nails last night, thinking that it might be more appropriate to go all natural, but I'll probably end up doing something just to get people's attention more.  In that case I will post later.  Last night I also tried to do a green/blue swirly pattern but failed miserably.  Actually, it didn't look bad but I had huge globs of nail polish on my nails.  

I also just tried to log in to Butter London's website for their Turn in Your Toxins thing...but now their website is broken.  

Asian Polish - Yellow & Zoya - Erika

This first one is a random yellow creme I got in China. (I get a lot of polishes from China, usually pretty crappy quality and probably full of toxic goodness..but cheap and comes in lots of colors).  This is one coat, and I think there are two coats on the pointer and pinky.  The polish really becomes a nightmare to apply after 1 or 2 coats.  I did the yellow with the intention of layering Zoya Erika over it, however, so excuse the sheerness.  If I feel up to it I might post a separate swatch showing the true potential of this "Chinese Yellow".  

Like I said, the second pic is one coat of Zoya Erika layered over the yellow.  I discovered this combo by accident and really liked the effect...which may or may not be apparent in these photos.  It started out with me wanting some cute yellow nails..but after 2,3 coats they got all streaky and not smooth at all.  That's when I decided to experiment with the pink over it to try to smooth it out, and the result was this nice peachy color that seemed to glow (probably from the yellow peeking out of the edges).  It was still kinda chunky so I wanted to recapture the effect in the 2nd pic, but maybe I was being too careful because the glowi-ness isn't really showing up.  Instead, I just look like I have nasty yellow cuticles.  Still, I really like the color

Oh, and these were taken outside...in the "brightest" of shady days.  No sun at the time.  There is sun now, but I cut my nails again recently after these pics were taken.  That made me sad and I don't really want to take new pics.  Plus I have two exams tomorrow which I should be studying for right now...

Asian Polish - Nude Pink

This is a random mini polish I got in China. It's a nice, neutral beige-pink-nude kind of color. Will post pics of bottle if I get a chance. These were one of the first ever pics I took of my nails with the intention of showcasing nail polish. The color is pretty good, the quality is poop though. Consider this a test post.

It's also been a while since I've been able to grow out my nails at all. I teach piano, so technically I'm REALLY not supposed to have long nails...bad influence for the kids ^-^ oops. (I couldn't resist though, I've ALWAYS loved long nails since I was a kid, but my mom was always making me cut them. )

A while ago I was able to grow 'em for about 3-4 weeks after these pics were taken due to no lessons. I tried to squeeze in as many swatches as I could in that period. Ok that was a tangent. I'm done now.

This was indoors, taken under my desk-lamp (...) , I think it was 2 or 3 coats..not important.

Any tips on picture taking? I don't know how all those girls get such beautiful pics of their nails. I guess my camera skills are pretty shitty.

New "Beauty Blog"

Since my other blog is mostly a personal one, I figured I would make a separate public blog to satisfy my beauty/makeup/polish urges.  If I can keep it up, this will be dedicated to my new obsession with nail polish, and an ongoing makeup fetish.   An occasional random posting here or there on other subjects may emerge as well.  

Mostly, I just want a chance to post swatches and other stuff.  I'm kind of a newb to the nail polish blogging scene as well and found the Community Nail Polish Gallery, but couldn't figure out how to put pics up there or register.  Until I figure out how to do so (or are they closed to registration? what's the deal..I have no idea) I'll just do them here instead.

There is one thing that I should say upfront, and that is that most of my beauty products come from my local Rite Aid.  I operate on a tight budget so higher end products are probably not going to be seen here.  

I have a bunch of photos saved up that I will get to later.  These include mostly nail polish swatches, a few Zoyas from the exchange, drug store brands, and some random hauls.