Pink Wednesday: Ulta Encore Pink

EDIT: Ooh, I just realized this is my 400th post! Wheeeee!

Hello there! It's been a little longer than usual since I've posted, and even longer since I've done a Pink Wednesday, so I decided one was more than overdue. Today I have Ulta Encore Pink, which I wore back in early December for finals week. I got it because I wanted a light pink creme that was actually opaque in three or fewer coats, and Encore Pink fits the bill.

indoors, flash

I can't remember precisely, but I believe this was four coats. It's a great color, as far as I'm concerned, and perfect for those times that you think you might have to wear the same polish for a while and don't want anyone to notice much if it's chipping (i.e., finals week). I now seem to have left it at home or mislaid it somewhere, which is upsetting, but hopefully it will be found soon. Ciao!

OPI Steady as She Rose + Layering

Happy June, happy hump day, and happy Pink Wednesday! Today I have not only a  Pink Wednesday pink for you, but some layering, as well. This was my first time using Steady as She Rose, and I was very pleased with the formula, application, and opacity - I used two coats here and couldn't see any VNL, even under the extremely bright light of my desk lamp.

indoors, artificial light

Steady as She Rose is a dusty pink that pulls a bit grey and a bit purple on me, though not as much as it appears to in that picture. I would've taken one outside to see if it photographed better in sunlight or shade, but I honestly didn't think to (where was my brain?) until after I took it off. Oops. But before I took it off, I added glitter! I used one coat of China Glaze White Cap, two coats of Ulta After Party (a silver and rose glitter), one coat of Sephora by OPI Traffic Stopper Copper, and a coat of Essie Matte About You.

 indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

I like the combination a lot, though I think the warmth of the copper glitter sucked all the rosy tones out of Steady as She Rose, because by the time I finished the layering, it hardly looked pink at all. Do you think Regina would still approve, or would she ban me from their table? ;)

Pink Wednesday: Ulta Baby Doll

On Wednesdays we wear pink...join us! 

Ulta Baby Doll is one of two Ulta polishes I picked up a couple weeks ago in the BOGO free sale. I got it as part of my search for the perfect, opaque, pale pink. I think I may have found it - Baby Doll is sheer but even in one coat, and opaque in three. You can still see a little VNL at three coats in my picture, but it's not there in real life. The nice thing about wearing one coat is that it covers up my staining...not in the picture, but in real life. Sometimes I wish my camera could only see as well as I do.

indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

I don't wear this kind of color very often, but sometimes I just want a clean, fresh pink, and this is the pink for such an occasion. By the way, my hands are definitely not as tan as they look in these photos...not that the pictures make me look tan, they just make me look less pale than I am. I think pale polishes do that. Anyway, I hope you're all having a great hump day! I know I can't wait until Friday.

Ulta Material Girl

Before I talk about the polish, I wanted to let you all know what's going to be coming up on this blog in the next little while. First, I'll be posting the three Dr.'s Remedy polishes I received to review, and I am super excited to do that. I've tried two of the colors so far and they are lovely, and even better, the formula is amazing! Then, as I'm sure most (if not all) of you know that Rescue Beauty Lounge released their top eleven fan colors to be voted on yesterday, and a lot of people - including me - were disappointed in the colors chosen. That inspired me to go to frankentown yesterday and I created four frankens last night, and I am absolutely in love with all of them. Along with several other frankens that I haven't blogged about yet, that'll probably be what I post on for at least a week after the Dr.'s Remedy polishes.

However, none of this will start until Sunday or Monday of next week, for one simple reason. Tomorrow afternoon, I leave town to head to an interview weekend at the college I'll be attending in the fall. I've been selected to come interview for their full-tuition scholarship, so that's very exciting! Unfortunately, it also means that I'll be wearing a fairly boring polish most of the weekend, and if I have time to blog at all I'll be blogging about colors I've already swatched.

indoors, artificial light



I love it! The combination of the shimmer and holo glitter give the polish a great depth. I just hope Ulta puts out more stunners like this one, especially their polish is so affordable with the sales they have on all the time. I got this in a giveaway, and I ended up loving it even more than I thought I would. This was two coats with a coat of Rush, which it needs because it's a bit gritty and not completely glossy without top coat. But when you put top coat on, it's totally worth it!

Note: If you submitted a color to the RBL competition and didn't get selected, email Ange from Scandalously Polished - she's a frankening genius and has offered to try frankening people's ideas. She's already frankened a gorgeous one thought up by Stephanie at Imperfectly Painted - check it out!

Let's Stamp!

Guess what? I used image plates for the first time today, and it was a success! I thought there would be a little bit of a learning curve, but I only had to redo one nail, and that's because I bumped my elbow just as I was pressing the stamp on my nail. Oops. I used Nailtrixx plate B12, which I received in a giveaway, and Zoya Malia. One thing I was not happy with was that though I placed the design differently on each nail, I accidentally ended up with two next to each other that are very similar. It bugs me.

indoors, artificial light

indoors, artificial light

I added matte top coat before taking the second picture so you could actually see the design despite the reflections I couldn't get rid of. Due to slight chipping, I will be taking Devious off right after I post this.

Now, I need your help. I'm thinking about getting a new camera. On $40 a month of allowance as my only spending money when I don't have a dogsitting job (which is most of the time...people don't vacation that much), I'm wary of spending that much money without knowing exactly what I'm getting and being 100% confident that it's worth it. I have a Nikon Coolpix P1 that I got four years ago, and right now I'm considering a Nikon Coolpix S6000 and a Canon PowerShot SX130IS. Their lense sizes are basically the same, so the three specifications I'm really looking at are resolution, zoom, and macro focus ranges. 

Resolution: Nikon 14.2 megapixels, Canon 12.1 megapixels

Zoom: Nikon 7x, Canon 4x

Macro Minimum Distance: Nikon 3 cm, Canon 1 cm

The Canon is more expensive, but only by $20 if I buy on Amazon. Which do you think would be better for nail photos? Or do I need a new camera at all? 

Ulta Devious

While I'm a huge fan of purple, I'm one of those who loves every vampy just because it's vampy. There has to be something special. Ulta Devious has that something special. Though it looks blackish in the dim light of my room and truly black in dimmer light, it's a gorgeous purple that I haven't been able to stop staring at since I put it on last night. Even better? ONE coat. I was tempted to add a second just out of habit, but it doesn't really need it. See the one-coated wonder:

indoors, artificial light

outdoors, cloudy

ONE COAT. I repeat, ONE COAT. Okay, I think you get the point. In the outdoors picture it looks like the color is uneven, but those are just reflections, I promise. I really need to figure out how to take pictures of my nails without getting reflections...Devious is so shiny you can actually see my camera in detail if you look close.  The formula of Devious is not the best I've ever used, and it's not as good as the one other Ulta I've tried, In the Mood (though that's from Ulta's "Professional" line...I'm suspicious that there's not much difference, but maybe I've proved my suspicions wrong). However, I didn't have any major problems, and the minor cleanup I needed afterward was really easy for such a dark color. This isn't a color I would probably go for in the store just because I rarely buy vampies, but I got it in a giveaway (I can't remember from whom...sorry...and thank you!) a while back, and I'm thrilled. I would definitely recommend it.

I have a franken planned with this that I'll be posting soon, though maybe not until after Thanksgiving. You can look forward to seeing at least one franken this week, though, as I'll wear a pumpkin pie-colored franken I made some time back on Thanksgiving. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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!