Candy Corn

For Halloween, I decided to do a candy corn mani - simple and easy to do, but cute. I used an unnamed Sally Girl white, Orly Old School Orange, and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lightening. Unlike other tutorials I've seen, I found it easier to do a white base, then the yellow, and then the orange.

 outdoors, sunlight

 indoors, artificial light

outdoors, shade

It's a little messy, but hey, not every piece of candy corn is perfect! I wore this to my choir's fall concert last night and got tons of compliments. Unfortunately, my right thumbnail chipped right after I took this picture (not the fault of the polish, though - it was my actual nail that chipped), so I've changed it out to Hard Candy Mischief, which I'll show tomorrow! I hope you're all having a great Halloween. Are you dressing up, and if so, as what?

Night Before + Golden Enchantment

Battering tends to increase and become more violent over time.

I apologize for what I feel have been really crappy posts lately...I am so busy and I really wish I could devote more time to blogging and to reading blogs, but it's just not happening right now. Today I only have one picture for you because I was busy (and away from home) absolutely all day, and it's now pitch black out. I wore two coats of Rimmel Night Before as my Domestic Violence Awareness purple for the day, and added one coat of China Glaze Golden Enchantment on top:

That's all for today. Again, sorry for the inadequate post - I'm off to do scholarship applications!

It's Finally Fall!

Studies are increasingly linking more illnesses to depression, including: osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, some forms of cancer, eye disease and back pain.

It's finally beginning to feel like fall here, so I decided to do a celebratory fall/NDAM manicure. I used Orly Enchanted Forest for my green, Hard Candy Mischief for the orange glitter (I'll show it on its own soon - it's a dupe for China Glaze Ick-a-Body), and an L.A. Colors gold striper for the gold stripes (duh).

outdoors, sunlight

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, shade

outdoors, sunlight

I'm very fond of this manicure - the glitter is much sparklier and brighter in real life, and it's very easy to do, especially with the striper brush on the gold. Also, I would like to bring something to your attention. See how opaque that orange glitter is? Yeah, that's one coat. If only every glitter was that dense!

That's all I have for today...I am absolutely exhausted, and it's not even 6:00. I hope your week is off to a good start!

Ulta In the Mood

I was out of town yesterday and had the chance to go to an Ulta, so of course I did...and I only bought one polish! I was pretty proud of myself - though I have to confess that my small purchase was partly due to the fact that I only had $10 and wanted to stop by Sally Beauty Supply to get a dotting tool. Which I did. But anyway, the polish I chose was Ulta In the Mood, which was on clearance for $3. Yay! Even better, I love the color - it's a gorgeous purple-tinted greige creme. I used three coats, then added some dots (using my new dotting tool, of course) using Orly Enchanted Forest and Rimmel Hypnotise.

indoors, artificial light

 outdoors, shade

outdoors, sunlight

The first picture makes the polish look darker than it really is, but the third picture is fairly accurate, and the second is dead-on. Sorry my pictures aren't the best - I didn't think the sun was going to come out today, but when it finally did, I ran outside and took pictures without using cuticle cream...so forgive the frazzle? :) Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Tag, You're It!

I'm also going to do a tag from Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes. I liked the questions, and she tagged everyone, so here it is:

1. Favorite type of music/band?
I don't really have one specific type of music that I listen to more than another, so I'm going to go with classical - I'm in my school's choir, and I love singing the classical music we do in there, as well as listening to classical music.

2. Heart's desire?
To figure out what I want to do with my life, and do it.

3. Most embarrassing TV show you watch regularly?
I don't watch any TV shows regularly...I watch Glee, Psych, and NCIS off and on, but I'm not a big TV person. I prefer reading.

4. Favorite color?
Either purple or green. I can't pick.

5. What clique you fell into in high school?
For me, it would be "fall," not "fell" - I'm a senior in high school this year. But I don't really fall into one traditional clique - the only clique-ish thing I would fall into is the speech and debate team, which is like my second family. I have friends from most cliques, though, so I don't really think I fit into any.

6. Trend follower or setter?
I definitely don't set trends, but I don't follow them either. If I see something I like, I'll use it for inspiration, but that's the extent of it.

7. Where do you love to vacation?
Pretty much anywhere,  but my favorite trip was to Poland and Germany for a choir tour.

8. Favorite Disney character and why?
They're a group of characters, but the Muses from Hercules.

9. What is your security blanket?
My falling-apart copy of Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone.

10. Favorite nail polish brand and why?
What? I have to pick one?! Well...it would probably be different if I owned more brands, but I'd have to say China Glaze.

As for my tags...I tag YOU, and YOU, and YOU...yes, all of you! Let me know in the comments if you decide to do it - I'd love to read what you all have to say.

Incoco Passion

Yay for my 100th post! I can't believe I've already posted 100 times...insane.

I normally wouldn't buy Incoco dry nail appliqués for myself, simply because it's one manicure for the price of an entire bottle of nail polish (or more, depending on the brand). However, I received two in the Also Known As... Special K Giveaway, and I decided to try one out last night because I wanted to change my mani without waiting for it to dry. I chose Passion, a cherry red creme, and I didn't use base or top coat. Unfortunately, I only got one picture - I put this on last night long after the sun went down, left the house before the sun rose this morning, and got home at 10:00 P.M. I would have kept the polish on longer, but there was a very small chip on my right thumb (from my jacket zipper), and it was driving my nail polish OCD crazy.

indoors, artificial light

I was very pleasantly surprised with Incoco's ease of application. I had read that Incoco appliqués had a certain learning curve, but I didn't have any trouble. I did have two very small wrinkles - one on each of my middle fingers - but they weren't noticeable unless I looked very closely.  The strips all fit my nails well, and though I thought I might have trouble filing the ends off, I didn't have any problems at all. While I don't think I would use Incoco on a regular basis because of their price, I may keep a pack or two around for emergencies. Now if only all nail polish was sheet-print-proof! 

Zoya Roxy...Take 2

About 70-80% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer.


Today's post is going to be fairly short - I went back to school Wednesday after being out sick for three weeks, and I've got a lot to catch up on. But, of course, I still have time to paint my nails, just not as much. :) Today's BCA pink is Zoya Roxy, which I've shown previously on this blog, but my pictures the first time around were pretty miserable. I certainly can't say that today's are absolutely fantastic, but I do think they're better than before. Roxy is a lovely magenta-pink with glitter (Zoya calls it purple, but I disagree. It's purple-toned, but it looks pink to me.), and this was three coats. Two would have been fine, but I wanted more depth.

 indoors, artificial light

 outdoors, shade

outdoors, sun

Happy Friday, and I hope you all have a great weekend!

Chanel Paradoxal!

So, I was planning on posting Color Club Yachty, Yachty, Yadda today. But this morning, after I'd already changed my polish, I realized that I hadn't had my memory card in my camera when I took the pictures...and I have no way to get pictures from my camera to my computer if they're not on my memory card. Boo. :( Instead, you get to see Chanel Paradoxal, which I received yesterday (really quickly! I was surprised!) from KarenD of Frazzle and Aniploish. I hope you don't mind!

When I realized what the package in my mailbox was, I immediately started leaping around in excitement - I'm pretty sure my mom thought I was at least slightly crazy, and possibly completely bonkers. Of course I had to apply Paradoxal right away (though now I wish I had waited until I noticed that I needed to retake my Yachty, Yachty, Yadda pictures), and I was not at all disappointed. Paradoxal went on in two perfect, non-streaky, buttery coats, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I say this way too often, but I'm in love - hence the major picspamming. I can't help myself! Unfortunately, the sun had no plans to come out and play, so I'll have to wait and see if it comes out tomorrow, because I'm sure I'll still be wearing this then.

 the famous logo!

 indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

 outdoors, natural (cloudy) light

 outdoors, natural (cloudy) light

 outdoors, flash

outdoors, flash

The indoor and outdoor pictures (without flash) are color-accurate, but I went ahead and took a couple pictures with flash to show off the shimmer. I adore this color. It's a purple grey color with a shy purple shimmer that only really comes out in certain lights. Paradoxal is completely unique to my collection, though Models Own Purple Grey is a good creme dupe for the base color. I feel so lucky to have won this, and I still have trouble believing that I actually own a bottle of Chanel! I'm starstruck. Thanks for reading, and I hope you're all a wonderful day!

National Domestic Violence Awareness Month

It recently came to my attention (via the local newspaper) that not only is October Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Depression Awareness Month, but also National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As it says on the Domestic Violence Awareness Project's website, "The Domestic Violence Awareness Project (DVAP) supports the rights of all individuals, especially women and girls, to live in peace and dignity."


Because the color for Domestic Violence Awareness Month is purple, I've decided to add purple into the mix for the rest of my October manis, and add a fact about domestic violence each time I post a purple polish. Today's fact: Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States, more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. Yet, even though domestic violence is so common, it gets far too little attention, and I plan to change that in whatever small way I can.


Today's purple is one I wore some time back and never posted, Pure Ice No Means No. It's a bright violet with blue/pink/purple shimmer, and while it's not quite a multichrome, I still love it. Pure Ice polishes have always had good application for me, as well as fairly good wear, and No Means No is no exception..This is two or three coats, I can't remember which:

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, shade

outdoors, sunlight

Did you know about National Domestic Violence Awareness Month? I sure didn't.

Halloween Mani #1

Yesterday I did some Halloween nail art on my left hand for an entry into Polish Freshie's Halloween contest/giveaway. I used the Halloween mix and match post on Nails by Asami as reference for the spiderweb. Here's the result:

The base color for all of these is two coats of China Glaze Midnight Mission.

Thumb: I used a toothpick and an unnamed Sally Girl white.

Index: I used a white L.A. Colors Art Deco striper.

Middle: I used Rimmel Black Satin for the headstone and Icing Spotlight for the "RIP."

Ring: I used an unnamed Charlotte Russe polish for the ghost, and toothpicked the eyes and mouth in Rimmel Black Satin.

Pinkie: I used one coat of Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure.

I'm fairly satisfied with this manicure, though I do wish I'd made the gravestone rounder, and dark grey instead of black. I have no idea what I'd do with my right hand if I wore it out, though, because I don't think I could do much with my left hand. I guess I could try...anyway, the letters are a bit shaky, but that doesn't bother me that much - I think it just makes it look a bit more Halloween-y. 

I will continue doing pink and green manicures for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Depression Awareness Month for the rest of October. However, they will be interspersed with more Halloween manicures, and I will probably be wearing some other colors as well. I recently won a massive giveaway prize on Also Known As... and then a bottle of Chanel Paradoxal from Frazzle and Aniploish, so while I will try not to wear them all at once out of sheer excitement, some of them will be making an appearance. Here's a picture of my prize from the Also Known As... giveaway. I tried to get them all on the white paper background, but you can still see a bit of my keyboard...oh well.

Top row, left to right: American Apparel Peacock, American Apparel Butter, American Apparel Dynasty, Ulta Devious, Ulta Material Girl, China Glaze Thataway, and Milani Rad Purple. Bottom row, left to right: Orly Beverly Hills Manicure set, Nina Ultra Pro Sweet Nothings, Color Club Overboard, Color Club Sexsea, Color Club Yachty, Yachty, Yadda, Color Club Regatta Red, and Color Club Charity Ball. The giveaway also included Incoco Dry Nail Appliques in Oscar Night and Passion, but I forgot to take a picture of those. Oops. I'm really excited to try all of these - I've never tried American Apparel, Ulta, Milani, Color Club, or Incoco before, so I'm especially happy to have those. Thanks, Kellie!

Angelic Camouflage

Depression can somatize, or become expressed in the body. 

I feel like this is one fact about depression that people find hard to believe - because it's classified as a "mental" disorder/illness/whatever, people don't think it can have physical effects. In my personal experience, though, the physical effects of depression can be as difficult to deal with as the mental effects. I have not suffered from severe depression, but I have suffered from mild depression, and it completely robs me of strength and has made me physically ill. So I guess my "message" for today is, don't underestimate what depression can do!

My depression awareness green today was Rimmel Camouflage, a green with gold shimmer. I don't have many Rimmel polishes, but I love the ones I do own, and Camouflage is no exception. It's absolutely perfect in two coats, and could probably be a one-coater for someone with better application skills than I. After two coats, I added two coats of Love My Nails Angel Baby. Unfortunately, I was away from the house this morning and napped the afternoon away, so by the time I got outside to take pictures, the sun wasn't shining directly on my yard anymore.

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, shade

The glitter looks kind of gross in the first picture...it does not look like that in real life, and I couldn't get a decent picture of it inside. Anyway, I really like this manicure - Angel Baby is a great addition to pretty much anything, in my opinion. I may not be posting as often in the coming week or so. Hopefully, I will be going back to school Monday, and I'll be really busy trying to catch up. My posting frequency on here will probably depend on how much I procrastinate. :) I hope you're all having a great weekend!

EDIT: Oh, I almost forgot! I'm integrating my "new polish blogs" post into my regular posts from now on. Here are some new and new-to-me polish blogs I've discovered recently and recommend:

Toes That Twinkle
Beautyburg
Polish and Powder
Similar Addiction
Tier's Thoughts
GildedNails
Persistently Polished
Chanson De Vernis

Essie Exotic Liras

A woman's risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 20-30% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of breast cancer. (breastcancer.org)

One thing I really love about Exotic Liras is its complete lack of streakiness. If slight VNL doesn't bother you, one coat would be completely fine - here's a picture of what it looks like in one coat (without cleanup or cuticle cream, so sorry about that, but I was in a hurry):

indoors, artificial light

Look at that! Gorgeous in one coat! I did, however, go ahead and add two more coats.

indoors, artificial light

 outdoors, shade

outdoors, sunlight

The last picture is definitely the most accurate - the others make Exotic Liras look a bit orangey, which it's not. It is, however, a great raspberry pink - this was my first Essie, and I think it was a great introduction to the brand. It's a great spring and summer color, of course, but I'd wear it during any time of the year. I've never been one to only wear seasonal colors.

Sorry for the short post today, but I have to go get a flu shot and do three weeks of homework before I (hopefully) go back to school Monday...this is not going to be fun weekend. I hope yours is much better!

OPI Jade is the New Black

80% of people who see physicians are depressed. (Archives of General Psychiatry)

My depression awareness green for today is OPI Jade is the New Black from the spring 2010 Hong Kong Collection, one of my favorite greens from one of my favorite collections. Jade is the New Black is a gorgeous, vibrant green with blue undertones. Application is wonderful, and it's opaque in two coats. Unfortunately, my fingers are still very unhappy...I hope that improves soon, but until it does, you get my peely fingers.

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, shade

outdoors, sunlight

*sigh* Isn't she gorgeous? I absolutely love this color. I keep staring at my nails; I can't help it! I hope you're all having a great Thursday...and if you're not, at least it's almost Friday. :)

Back to BCA!

In 2010, there are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors. (breastcancer.org)

It's nice to have an encouraging statistic once in a while. Now that the Burlesque glitter party is over, I'm back to my Breast Cancer Awareness pinks and Depression Awareness Month greens - at least until it's time for some Halloween manicures. Today, I wore three coats of OPI Catch the Garter with one coat of Sally Hansen Diamond Strength in Diamonds on top.

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, shade

The sun refused to come out for me again today, so no sunlight pictures. I fear this is becoming a theme...anyway, I really enjoyed this fairly plain manicure after several days of glitter. However, I do wish that Catch the Garter was more opaque. It makes sense that it's not, as it's from the bridal collection and is probably meant for French manicures, but I still wish it was opaque - I hate VNL. However, it is a very pretty pink, and I really like the addition of Diamonds, which is a clear-based glass fleck polish.

Mad as a Hatter vs. Sparkle-icious

I was asked to do a comparison between OPI Mad as a Hatter and Sparkle-icious, and I am more than happy to do so. Because I knew there was a difference in opacity between the two, I compared them at two and then three coats. L-R: Mad as a Hatter, Sparkle-icious, Mad as a Hatter, Sparkle-icious

indoors, artificial light, two coats

indoors, artificial light, three coats

Aside from the fact that they are clearly different colors - Sparkle-icious is mostly gold, and Mad as a Hatter is mostly silver - there are several differences between the two polishes. Sparkle-icious is more predominantly gold than Mad as a Hatter is predominantly silver. Mad as a Hatter also has more different colors in it than Sparkle-icious; while Mad as a Hatter contains practically every color of the rainbow (giving it a rather "mad" look), Sparkle-icious is solely gold, blue, and purple. The last difference I noticed is the opacity. Mad as a Hatter is completely opaque in three coats, while Sparkle-icious needs five for opacity. On the whole, I prefer Mad as a Hatter because it has more colors in it and is more opaque; however, they're both gorgeous polishes that are definitely worth owning.

Which do you prefer?

OPI Sparkle-icious

Today I'm wearing Sparkle-icious, the last of the Burlesque glitters that I own (I didn't get Bring on the Bling). Sparkle-icious is a gold, purple, and blue glitter - it's almost a gold version of Mad as a Hatter, and I absolutely love Mad as a Hatter, so you can imagine how I feel about Sparkle-icious. One thing I didn't love, however, was the fact that it took me five freaking coats to reach opacity with this one. Come on, OPI, all the other glitters in this collection are perfectly opaque at three or four coats - I know you can do it. So why is Sparkle-icious so sheer? Grr. Also, the sun is once again refusing to shine, so I don't have any pictures in the sun for you today.

indoors, artificial light

 outdoors, natural (cloudy) light

outdoors, natural (cloudy) light

I apologize for the more-horrendous-than-usual state my cuticles are in today - I don't know what's gotten into them. I think they object to all the polish remover exposure they've been getting lately via the foil method...I hate to imagine how bad they'd be if I used acetone remover. The first of my pictures isn't very color accurate, as it makes Sparkle-icious appear much cooler than it is. However, the outdoor pictures are perfectly color accurate, and I urge you to click and enlarge them so you can see all the gorgeous sparkliness.  If only Sparkle-icious had green glitter instead of blue, it would be the perfect polish for Mardi Gras...oh, and in case you were wondering, the purple glitter in this is the same as the dominant purple in Show It and Glow It!

So it's the end of the glitters...I am somewhat burned out on glitters, like I said yesterday, but at the same time, I'm kind of sad that they're over. Obviously, I'll be wearing them again in the future, though they won't be *new* anymore. I guess I'm just hopelessly nostalgic. :) I do have a great BCA manicure planned, though, and it's actually not a creme, which is surprising to me, because I didn't think I'd be wearing anything but cremes for a few days due to glitter overload...but I'm rambling, so it's time to stop. Have a great day, and thanks for reading!

OPI Show It and Glow It!

Okay, OPI...could you please stop making polish names with exclamation points at the end? It's really annoying. Thanks. Anyway, OPI Show It and Glow It!, part of the Burlesque collection, is a mostly purple, multicolored glitter. The sun refused to come out this morning, so I don't have any pictures of this one in the sun - if the sun does come out later, I'll update this post with a picture. Here are three coats with two coats of Rush top coat:

 outdoors, shade

indoors, artificial light

I really, really love this one, as I have all the other Burlesque glitters - it's glittery and gorgeous and wonderful and everything I'd hoped it would be. Unfortunately, I'm getting to the point where I won't want to wear glitters for a while after I finish up with Sparkle-icious. I love glitters, but after five glitters in a row, I get kind of burned out. 

Also, I want to thank you all so much for your well wishes. I'm not feeling better yet, but I continue to vegetate and hope that I do improve soon. I really do appreciate all your comments, though, and I want to make sure you know that - each one puts a smile on my face. Have a great Monday! <3

OPI Extra-va-vaganza

Today I wore OPI Extra-va-vaganza from the Burlesque collection. It's mostly orange and silver, but with bits of green, pink, yellow, and blue glitter, too. It's different from the two glitters I've already shown you, Simmer & Shimmer and Glow Up Already!, in that silver is not as prominent as it is in Simmer & Shimmer, or as gold is in Glow Up Already! - and I'm quite a big fan of that. I liked the gold and silver in the other two, but I'm glad that Extra-va-vaganza is mostly orange. It's also different from the other two I've shown already in that it's not quite as opaque in three coats, so I used four. However, I really don't mind using four coats, partly because it dries so quickly (I didn't have to pause at all between coats, because it was already dry) and partly because glitter is such a pain to remove anyway, another coat doesn't really make a difference. Unfortunately, Extra-va-vaganza doesn't suit my skin tone that well, but I'm still in love.

indoors, artificial light

 outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

I didn't manage to get to Walmart today to look for the new Sally Hansen collections because I woke up feeling quite ill this morning, and I don't really feel much better yet. I've been kind of up and down for the past couple weeks, so I'm hoping that ends soon. I hate being sick. I hope you're all having a much better day than I!

Spotted: New (and Not-So-New) Collections

I made a trip to my local Walgreens today in an attempt to track down the new Sally Hansen collections or perhaps the little pumpkin-shaped bottles of glitter that have been popping up at drugstores around the country. While I didn't find any of those, there were several new displays. Some of them were new, some were new-ish, and some of them...well, the displays were new, but the collections themselves? Not so much.

 L'Oreal's summer collection, Passport to Paradise

 Sinful Colors Holiday 2010 collection

 Revlon's fall collection

 Nicole by OPI Gossip Girl Collection

 Maybelline Fall Fashion Week collection

Borghese Delizioso Collection

I actually hadn't heard of the Maybelline collection - has anyone else seen it in a store or on a blog? I actually managed not to get any of these, as I'm holding out for the Sally Hansens...I'm lobbying my mom for a trip to Walmart tomorrow, so we'll see what I find there!