A Different Kind of Galaxy

Hi there! I've done several galaxy manicures of this variety in the past, but after wearing Living Water by itself for a day or two, I thought I'd try a different kind of galaxy manicure. I sponged Sinful Colors Nail Junkie and Sally Hansen Laser, then topped it off with a coat of Claire's Starstruck. I did have to place the star glitter from Starstruck, but other than that it was quite an easy manicure, and I enjoyed wearing it for the day.

Sorry for the green glow on my nails in some of the pictures...the top coat was apparently so shiny that I reflected the trees and grass in almost every picture. Other than that, the pictures are pretty accurate.
In other news, I might not be posting a lot for a while...my fingers recently started peeling profusely for no particular reason I can discern. This occurs despite the heavy moisturizing I've been doing over the past couple of days, and it doesn't really make for nail pictures that are pleasant to look at. So, until whatever it is quits or is abated, I won't be taking any new pictures. I do have one manicure left in my archives, but that's it, so...yeah. Hopefully my fingers will be back to normal soon?

A Royal Nail Junkie

Oh, hey, look! It's me! And it hasn't be a week since my last post! Whaaat?! Sure, it's true that I should be doing Arabic homework, but...I'll do that later. Right? Sure. Anyway, today's post is actually a long time overdue. I think I did this manicure sometime in December, but I'm not sure, and it's been sitting in the "Nails" folder on my Mac for far too long, especially for how gorgeous it is (well, in my opinion). Ta-da!

natural light

As you can probably tell from my cheesy title, I used Revlon Royal topped with Sinful Colors Nail Junkie, and I absolutely love how it turned out. Nail Junkie is one of my favorite glitters just because it has such depth, and I think it would look great as part of a blue jelly sandwich. Unfortunately, I don't have any that would do, but I'll keep looking. And now I am really doing to go do Arabic. Probably. Maybe. Or maybe later. ;)

Have a great day - and remember, tomorrow's Friday!

SinfulColors Holiday 2011 - Swatches & Review

Good morning! I took my last final this morning for my political science class, and now I'm done! My mom's not going to be here until this afternoon because of work, though, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to post the SinfulColors holiday collection that I swatched Saturday. The collection is made up of five repromoted colors and two stripers. Although none of the polishes are new, they're all new to me, so I was pretty excited to try them out, especially with all the good things I've heard about Daddy's Girl. I do have to apologize, though - my nails were really short to begin with, and then my pinky nail broke halfway through swatching, so the last half only have three fingers. Sorry!

 sunlight

shade

Sugar Sugar, described by the SinfulColors press release as "a candy cane, red-hot tint," is just that - I love the color, and the glowy quality reminds me of my favorite red shimmer, Dr.'s Remedy Revive Ruby Red. The only thing I didn't like was the formula, which in combination with the brush was very hard to control, and as you can see, I ended up getting some bubbles. With a little more care, though I don't think this would happen. I used two coats.

 sunlight

shade

I decided to show Flower Girl next because I used it on top of Sugar Sugar. It's a bronze-gold color that I haven't seen in a striper before, which is really nice - I always like to find something unique. It was also really opaque, which is essential in a striper because it's more of a pain (for me, at least) to go over stripes twice. It's worth noting that the brushes on these stripers are thicker than Kiss or Nubar, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing; after all, it can be good to have some variety.

 sunlight

shade

Next, we have Midnight Blue, "a bold, bright twist on navy," or what I'd call a vivid, medium-blue shimmer. This polish kind of reminds me of Sally Hansen Blue It, but brighter and less metallic. I used two coats with this as well, but was more careful and only got a couple bubbles, though it was still a bit of a pain to apply. I like Midnight Blue, but I don't think it's a must-have.

 sunlight

shade

This is the second striper, Fashionista. It's a silver glitter, and to be honest, I was a bit disappointed with this one. The base was thicker than I like in stripers, and the glitter wasn't as dense as I had hoped it would be. However, if this is your thing, I would definitely recommend it - after all, it's cheap and easy to work with.

 sunlight

Sorry I don't have a shaded photo for this one - I didn't realize until I uploaded them that all the ones I took were a little blurry, so I decided not to include one. Anyway, Last Chance is a dark evergreen creme that seems to me like a non-jelly version of Nars Zulu. As I've never been a huge fan of Zulu (I don't tend to love vampy polishes), I'm perfectly happy with Last Chance. I used two coats.

 sunlight

shade

As you can see, Out of this World is a whitish silver, and I have to say, I'm not a fan of this one. It wasn't quite opaque with the three coats I used, and it's not really a color I would wear on its own. I think it might be good for layering, though...I'll have to try that sometime.

 sunlight

shade

Daddy's Girl, "a deep purple with a drizzle of shimmer and glitter," is by far my favorite of these. It's a gorgeous purple jelly with gold glitter, and I love it. It's not quite opaque with three coats, but it's more opaque than it looks in my first picture. I'm not sure why I didn't buy this one before...it's a vivid purple; what was I thinking?!

If you'd like to buy any of these for yourself, you can find them for $1.99 at mass retailers like Walgreens.

And with that, I need to go pack...I hope you're all having a great week, and don't forget to read my NO H8 post!

These products were provided to me by the manufacturer for honest review.

Sinful Colors Holiday 2011: Wish (PR)

Bells are jingling, snow is glistening and merry tunes abound: It's the season of shimmer (aka: the holidays) and glamour, of course. And your nails deserve a little gift and loving too. Welcome the SinfulColors holiday 2011 collection, Wish, which delights and excites. The collection takes classic colors - like red, green, silver and blue - and kicks them up a notch to be fashion-forward and festive to ring in 2012.

The complete SinfulColors Wish collection for holiday 2011 includes:

Five gem-inspired shades of polish:

SUGAR SUGAR: a candy cane, red-hot tint

MIDNIGHT BLUE: a bold, bright twist on navy

LAST CHANCE: an emerald with depth and allure

DADDY'S GIRL: a deep purple with a drizzle of shimmer and glitter

OUT OF THIS WORLD: a perfect silver with swirls of glimmer

Two metallic shades of nail art:

FLOWER GIRL: a bronzy gold with tons of sparkle

FASHIONISTA: a glitter-laden pewter

SinfulColors surpasses the masses with more than 150 amazing shades of nail polish, including the above-mentioned shades. All hues are available for $1.99 at major drug and mass-market stores nationwide, by calling 1-800-448-0763 or online at www.walgreens.com.  

Sinful Colors This Is It

I can't remember how I got Sinful Colors This Is It...it was an extra in a swap, or a giveaway, or something...honestly, I have no clue. It's sat in my untried box for quite a long time because I just didn't like it much in the bottle, but I was having one of those swatch-whatever-you-pull-out-without-looking sessions this past Saturday, and one of the colors I pulled out was This Is It. It's sort of a warm yellow-gold, which I think I would like a lot more if it were a creme or glass-flecked finish instead of a shimmer. This was three coats, and as you can see, it's still semi-sheer.

 outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

Looking back at the pictures, it's not so much that I don't like the color as that I don't like it on me. It does have little bits of purple, blue, and green microglitter, but they're only noticeable in real life if you're reeeeeally looking, and I don't think you can see them at all in the pictures. Not my cup of tea, so I'm putting it up for swap on MUA - if you're interested, my username is neverunpolished. What do you think - is this it for you? (Yeah, yeah . . . I go for the puns whenever I can.)

OPI Mermaid's Tears (and a Gradient)

I pulled out OPI Mermaid's Tears today for my grey-free Friday - I didn't initially intend to get it, but when I saw it at Ulta I knew it had to be mine. I have a few similar shades, including Essie Turquoise and Caicos, but the dustiness of Mermaid's Tears made me fall in love. It applied very well and took a perfectly satisfactory two coats for opacity.

indoors, artificial light

Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone - I had to add some glitter! I did a glitter gradient with Sinful Colors Nail Junkie, which in my opinion is the perfect gradient color for Mermaid's Tears. I didn't use a sponge, but once I put top coat on I could hardly see the lines anyway.

indoors, artificial light

I love it! I hope this doesn't chip quickly, because I'd love to wear it through tomorrow. I really can't resist a good gradient, and when it's a glitter gradient? Then I'm really in trouble. 

Tomorrow I'll have some more crackle for you...I hope you're not getting tired of it yet, because I'm still addicted!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

EDIT: The sun was out by the time I got done at school, so I took some pictures in the sunlight, and they show Green Ocean much better. I also deleted two of the Green Ocean pics I took indoors because they weren't necessary with the sunlight pictures.

Like it says in the title - happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope you're all wearing green...I wouldn't want anyone to get pinched! Today, as promised, I have a green franken that I made. I liked the color of Sinful Colors Irish Green, but I knew that it was so sheer that I would never be able to build it to opacity. So, I added some Wet n Wild White Creme, and here we are! Unfortunately, the sun had gone down when I got home last night, and it refuses to come out this morning, so I only have indoor picures that aren't as color-accurate as I would like. The color of the polish is very close, but my fingers are NOT that color in real life. Also, Seche Vite gave me shrinkage. :/

indoors, artificial light

To give you an idea of how sheer this was before I frankened it, I still needed four coats after adding a very opaque white to Irish Green. I decided to name my franken Irish Spring, because it's St. Patrick's Day and it's almost spring and I wasn't feeling very original. And yes, I know there's a soap called Irish Spring. Anyway, I wore Irish Spring on its own yesterday, but today I added four coats Sinful Colors Green Ocean - I didn't really *need* that much, but I wanted lots of flakies.

indoors, artificial light (bottle shot)

indoors, artificial light

 outdoors, sunlight

 outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, sunlight

As you can see, I had a really hard time getting even semi-accurate pictures of Green Ocean (EDIT: The sunlight pictures are accurate). It's a gorgeous flakie that flashes from blue to green to pink, but it's not easy to work with - the flakies are much thicker and sparser than those in Hidden Treasure, and after two coats of Seche Vite, I still have some bumpy spots where flakies would not lay down. It is very pretty, though, and I think it's worth a bit of hassle. I definitely want to re-swatch it, though, and see if it photographs any better with sunlight (DONE). So, expect to see this one again (this is probably still true...)! 

Another new nail blog for you today...I'm coming across new nail blogs all over the place the last few days!

Shades of Magick

Again...Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sinful Colors Secret Admirer

I seriously considered wearing this for Valentine's Day - it's black, sure, but the name is perfectly Valentine -appropriate, and it's a gorgeous color. I was really surprised with the formula of this one, too. I didn't expect much, but Secret Admirer went on very easily and barely needed two coats. I probably could've gotten away with one if I had better application skills. This is without top coat. Sorry for the blurriness - for some reason, I couldn't get my camera to focus on the shimmer.

indoors, artificial light

I can't wait to wear this as a base for layering, or with a matte top coat - I bet it'd be gorgeous! It's the only black shimmer I have, so I can't compare it to any polishes in my stash, but I can't think of any dupes that I've seen on other blogs, either. My opinion of Sinful Colors is growing with every polish of theirs I get!

Sinful Colors Pretty In Pink

Friday afternoon, I received three colors from the upcoming Valentine's Day collection from Sinful Colors, Pretty-in-Pink, but because I left town shortly thereafter, I didn't get to swatch them until yesterday, and then my USB drives decided to quit on me. I uploaded the pictures while at my grandparent's house today, and I'm writing the text now while watching the State of the Union address, so apologies if I don't make much sense. Anyway, I received Pink Forever, Glass Pink, and Beautiful Girl. I believe Pink Forever, Scandal, and Beautiful Girl are repromotes (correct me if I'm wrong), but I'm not sure about Glass Pink. Also, since I didn't upload the images on my computer, I was unable to crop the images like I normally do, so I'm sorry about that. I would just download the same editing software I use on my laptop, but it's not my computer.

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

According to the Sinful Colors press release, Glass Pink is "sheer, shiny, shimmer-happy bliss." YES. While Glass Pink is sheer enough that I wouldn't wear it on its own, it's a gorgeous glass-flecked golden pink polish that I'm absolutely in love with. It reminds me somewhat of China Glaze White Cap from the Anchors Away collection. I can't wait to try what I'm sure will be some fantastic layering combos with this one. This was three coats.

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outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

Pink Forever is described by Sinful Colors as "Bazooka meets Bam-Bam to equal beautiful." I'm not sure who or what Bazooka and Bam-Bam are, but Pink Forever is definitely a fun pink creme. It's not particularly unique, but it's pretty easy to apply and is opaque in two coats - it's almost opaque in one, but I had a couple bald spots.

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

Finally, Beautiful Girl is described by Sinful Colors as "classic ballerina with a flirty finish." When I think ballerina, I think of a paler pink, like Zoya Bela - however, this is a great pink with a salmony tint. While I have a couple of shimmers with similar base colors, I don't think I have anything quite like this, and it's a good addition to my collection. This one was also two coats.

And that's it for the Pretty In Pink Collection! There are three more colors, Boom Boom, Scandal, and Soul Mate, but I didn't receive those three. I did go to Walgreens the other night to see if I could find them, but unfortunately not. For a collection of pinks, I really, really liked the three I got to try, and I'll definitely continue to look for the others. You can find Sinful Colors polishes at Walgreens and other mass retail stores for $1.99, by calling 1-800-448-0763, or online at www.sinfulcolors.com. Happy polishing!

These products were provided to me by the company for an honest review.

Sinful Colors Valentine's Day Collection

I've never posted a PR release before, but that was because I'd never received one from a company personally, and by the time I saw the release on other blogs, it was everywhere and I didn't feel the need to post it again. However, I just received this from Sinful Colors, and I thought I'd share:

SINFUL COLORS INTRODUCES A PRETTY-IN-PINK COLLECTION

Perfect for Valentine’s Day

                           

Love is in the air, romance is in bloom and pink is paramount. Welcome February 14^th, a day marked by kisses, sweethearts and flirting, of course. This year, treat your tips to a Valentine’s makeover, coating them in a feminine, delicate, or dynamic shade of pink. From bubble gum to baby doll – and everything in between – Sinful Colors has the best array of pink polish to pretty-you-up for the big day.

The 8 loving shades in the collection include:

Pink Forever: Bazooka meets Bam-Bam to equal beautiful.

Beautiful Girl: Classic ballerina with a flirty finish.

Glass Pink: Sheer, shiny, shimmer-happy bliss.

Boom Boom: Magenta-infused pink, which pops on toes and tips alike.

Scandal: No-nonsense neon, slick and sensational.

Soul Mate: Muted peachy pink with a melon twist.

Sinful Colors surpasses the masses with more than 300 amazing polishes, including the above-mentioned shades. All hues are available at major drug and mass market stores nationwide for $1.99, by calling 1-800-448-0763 or online at www.sinfulcolors.com.

Spaced Out

Before I get into the polish, let me point out another spreadsheet I made listing the Essie polishes sold at Walmart, as well as treatments that will be coming in February 2011. As well as being linked in this post, the spreadsheet will be linked with the others in my sidebar.

This is officially my favorite layering manicure ever - at least out of those I've personally done. I wanted something similar to this, but I wanted something a lot more complex and "deep." Over two coats of Rimmel Night Before, I put one coat of Sally Hansen Laser, one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Junkie, one coat of NYC White Lights Glitter, one sparse coat of Sephora by OPI Only Gold for Me, and two coats of Rush to make it shine. I have to say, I'm absolutely thrilled with the results. One of the reasons I love nail polish is that you can do stuff like this with very little effort or skill:

indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

I can't entirely capture the gorgeousness of this combination on camera. There is still visible purple (though you can't see it in the picture), but with a blue flash thanks to Laser, and the green, blue, and gold glitter makes it look really stellar. I really hope this doesn't chip quickly, because I know that once it does, it'll have to come off - I can't stand chipped polish on myself.

I also have a tag to share with you today. I was tagged by Nail Polish Addiction Anonymous for the Stylish Blogger Award.

Here are the rules:

1. Thank and link the person who gave you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers to tell them about this award!

My seven things:

1. My mom's birthday is June 5 (6-5), and mine is May 6 (5-6). I think it's nifty. I also think that nifty is a weird word, and I'm not sure why I just used it.

2. I'm one degree of connection away from Bradley Whitford, who played Josh Lyman on The West Wing, my favorite TV show ever.

3. My first ever nail polish was a red The Little Mermaid nail polish that washed off with soap and water.

4. I am running out of interesting facts - that is, if I ever had any to begin with.

5. I have an entire (large) mug full of Sharpies. See #4.

6. I'm not anywhere near making up my mind, but I'm thinking about majoring in political science in college.

7. I love historical fiction and period movies.

And now, for my recently discovered bloggers. These were SO hard to pick...there are just so many great new blogs out there. ;) All of these blogs have existed for less than one year. In no particular order:

1. Colorful Bottle's Blog

2. The Brrrd's Nest

3. The Polished Perfectionist

4. Kiss My Acetone

5. polish polish polish 

6. Acetone and Old Lacquer

7. The Nail Experiment

8. The Nailtress

9. Katrina's Nail Blog

10. Enamel Girl

11. GildedNails

12. The Phalanges Files

13. Cel's Deconails

14. Confessions of a Polishaholic

15. For Your Nails Only

One of my friends was talking last week about how she wished she had some glittery nail polish, so I offered to bring some of mine to let her borrow. I'm taking my most glittery glitters and glitter top coats: OPI Mad as a Hatter, OPI Glow Up Already, Nicole by OPI One Less Lonely Glitter, Hard Candy Mischief, China Glaze Atlantis, OPI Extra-va-vaganza, OPI Simmer & Shimmer, $OPI Only Gold for Me, OPI Sparkle-icious, Simpli teal glitter, OPI Show It and Glow It, a Bon Bons blue bar glitter, Sinful Colors Nail Junkie, Finger Paints Holly Good Time, China Glaze Mummy May I, OPI Absolutely Alice, Icing Glamourama, Finger Paints Romanticism Ruby, Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope, NYC White Lights Glitter, $OPI Flurry Up, Sally Hansen In the Spotlight, and a mini of Orly In a Snap to smooth all that glitter out. Think she'll have enough to choose from? ;)

Layering with San Francisco

As I am wont to do, I added some glitter to my nails today. I'd been wearing Sinful Colors San Francisco, and I added one coat of a teal Simpli glitter, one coat of Sally Hansen In the Spotlight, and another coat of the Simpli. My pointer fingernail chipped at some point this evening, though, which you can kind of see in the picture.

indoors, artificial light

In other news, Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes tagged me in a meme, and since I haven't done one in a while, I thought I'd add it to this post.

Here are the rules: Mention 15 facts and tag 5 other bloggers. So on to the facts!

#1 My middle name is Michelle.

#2 I am the only person I know my age or older who has never had any dental problems. Lucky me!

#3 I really love cold weather. If it would never get about 65 in the summer, I would be thrilled.

#4 I don't watch a lot of TV, but I LOVE The West Wing - even though I never watched it when it was actually running.

#5 I've made my mom's Christmas present every year for about ten years (since I was seven or so).

#6 I used to do gymnastics, but I was never very good.

#7 I played the tuba in band for several years.

#8 Our television is over twenty years old, maybe thirty - my mom got it from Zenith when she worked for them. It's in one of those big wooden boxes and everything. Did I mention that we don't watch a lot of TV? :)

#9 We also still have a phone that is attached to the wall (and works when the power is out). Oddly enough, this is the same house where both residents have a smartphone. Go figure.

#10 I LOVE Nerds. Love them. Especially the red ones...they're my favorite kind of candy.

#11 Once, when my mom took me to be used as an example toddler for a babysitting class at our library (I was 2 or 3), the lady teaching the class asked me what my favorite food was. I answered, "Artichokes."

#12 I'm pretty crafty. I love to sew and design things...in fact, I'm saving up to buy a pair of shoes that I designed via Zazzle, which you can see here.

#13 I have always loved fantasy books. And books in general - I own far more books than I do nail polish.

#14 My first bottle of a salon brand nail polish was China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise. I still love it.

#15 I only have one college left to apply to! Yay!

I tag....

Oh, what the heck! I tag whoever wants to do it. Let me know in the comments if you do, because I'd honestly like to see this from anybody.

Sinful Colors San Francisco

I really thought I was not going to have time to post today, but voila! I'm literally doing this and going straight to bed - I want to be at least half awake for my first day back at school tomorrow. Blech. Today I wore Sinful Colors San Francisco, a green shimmer I got a mini bottle of in the Wild About Color pack. I couldn't really capture this green very well. This is the closest I got, and as you can see, the polish is the only remotely color-accurate thing in the picture...I do not have orange hands. This was two coats, and was surprisingly easy to apply for a mini.

indoors, artificial light

I really, really like this green, and I wish I could've gotten a picture where it actually looks like it does in real life. It's a gorgeous emerald green, and I have a feeling I'll be wearing it come March 17. Okay, I really have to go to bed now. Goodnight!

Starry Starry Night? Galaxy Girl? Meteor Shower? Across the Universe?

Hmm...it seems like all the good names I could use for this layering combo are already taken! I think this is probably something like a second cousin to China Glaze Meteor Shower, which you can see here on Polish or Perish. *drools* Oh, excuse me. I love Meteor Shower...anyone know where I could find it? Anyway, for this mani, I used one coat of Rimmel Black Satin (any black creme would do), one coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue It, and one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Junkie.

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, sunlight

outdoors, shade

I really, really, really love this. If it weren't for the one chip after five full days of wear, I would definitely keep it on longer, but I know there have got to be more chips coming...*sigh* I highly encourage all of you to click on the pictures to enlarge, especially the last one, which really shows this combo's beauty the best, as well as all the different colors of glitter - gold, green, blue, copper, purple, and probably some others that I missed. And now I go to take it off...another time, darling!

Have a great weekend!

Sinful Colors Happy Ending

Night before last, I painted my nails with Sinful Colors Happy Ending, a bright green with gold shimmer. I've had Happy Ending for some time, but I'd only worn it once before and couldn't really remember what it was like. After wearing it the second time, I have no clue how I could have forgotten this beauty! It's a gorgeous, apple-y green...perhaps the color of a poisoned apple from a fairy tale? I don't have any outdoor pictures for you today. I feel like I'm falling down on the job lately, but I'm sick today (I actually stayed home from school), and I didn't really feel like going outside in my giant t-shirt and sweatpants. 

indoors, artificial light

Yesterday evening, I added some...well...I'm not sure what to call them. Funky French tips? Anyway, I added a little OPI Mad as a Hatter - I thought it would be good especially because the gold glitter in it would go well with Happy Ending's gold shimmer. 

indoors, artificial light

I really love this! After I put it on, I realized that both polishes are fairy-tale themed. It must have been a match made in Neverland! :)