Orly Purple Crush Swatches and Review

On my trip several weeks ago, I was stranded in a hotel for an extra night with an itch for a polish change. Unfortunately, didn't pack any nail polish except for the one I was wearing (in case I needed a touch up). I drove around the tiny town I was stranded in and picked up Orly Purple Crush and some must have mani supplies: acetone, base coat and top coat.

I expected Purple Crush to be well.. purple, but instead ended up with a beautiful pink. As you see, this polish dries to a very different shade than it looks in the bottle. Purple Crush is a fuchsia-pink neon jelly polish (that's a lot of adjectives, but the only way to describe this one), and I was surprised by how much I loved wearing it!

The formula was very smooth like most jellies and easy to apply, being a neon it dried fairly quickly as well. It dried to a matte finish, but with top coat was incredibly shiny due to the jelly nature of the polish. Unfortunately, Purple Crush is a bit sheer and I ended up using 4 coats to cover my visible nail line as well as some white scratches that are on my nails. It wasn't so bad because I was stranded in a hotel room, but I normally wouldn't have the patience for that many coats.

Overall, I love the color and I think this polish is a win! Have you ever had a polish turn out to be a different color than it appeared? Were you pleasantly surprised or disappointed?

piCture pOlish Ocean Swatches and Review

How about another gorgeous piCture pOlish lacquer today? I'm in love with this polish, and with Blog Fest 2013 still going strong it seems appropriate!

Ocean has an ocean blue (do you see what I did there?) jelly base loaded with scattered holographic particles. Since the base is a jelly, it is a bit sheer, so this is three coats. When I first started this manicure, I had one coat on my nails and thought "this is going to be too sheer, I won't like it" but it built up very nicely and in three coats I had both opacity, and a gorgeous depth that wouldn't be possible with an opaque base. I have worn for 4-5 days without any sign of chips or wear, and I didn't haven't had any issues staining.

I can't even describe to you how much I love this nail polish. The color is absolutely perfect, it's the bright blue of clear ocean water. It reminds me of looking into the water around Hawaii. Also, piCture pOlish scattered holographic polishes always have the most beautiful sparkle! I may have gotten a bit carried away with the photographs (what can I say, I'm in love) but I also had fun with some seashells, a perfect match for Ocean!

I absolutely adore this polish. I've worn Ocean 3 times since I purchased it a little over a month ago, and that's saying something for me! It's such a bright beautiful summer blue, and so flattering!

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Lastly, a little plug for Blog Fest. If you liked my nail art yesterday, please consider voting for me! Everyone has a chance to win 6 bottles of polish of their choice! There will be four (4) lucky voters (2 x Aussie and 2 x International) out of the votes for the winning Blogger creation.

To vote: Click the image below (or this link). Fill out the form with your name and email address, put the name of the blogger you wish to vote for in the comments section (for example, Polish Etc), type in the security code and hit submit! Voting is only open for about another 12 hours!!

You can check out the other entries on the piCture pOlish Launch Board.

piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2013!

Press Sample

Hello everyone! This year I am very proud to announce that I am part of piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2013: The Year of the Blogger.

If you aren't familiar with Blog Fest, it's an annual celebration of piCture pOlish by bloggers worldwide. In the past it has corresponded with the release of several new colors, but this year there will be 130+ bloggers creating nail art looks using three existing shades of piCture pOlish lacquers!

Since I'm a huge piCture pOlish fan, I was so honored and excited to be asked to participate in this event!! From among the bloggers, three will be chosen to create a unique piCture pOlish collaboration shade (how awesome is that??). One winner will be chosen by Jules and Megs of piCture pOlish, one will be chosen by the bloggers, and the last will be chosen by everyone! So if you like my creation please consider voting for me. :D

The three shades that I was sent are Sky (a beautiful light blue creme), Camo (a green-toned grey creme), and Peaches n' Cream (a pretty peach-toned pink creme). Since I'm not a huge nail art person, I decided to do a geometric style of nail art rather than an abstract pattern. I created a shattered nail art look using just three piCture pOlish shades and striping tape!

If you like this shattered nail art, look no further! I've created a detailed tutorial below with complete instructions. Like I said, all you need for this look is some striping tape, and a small paintbrush, which are available at most nail polish supply stores (like Sally Beauty). If you don't have striping tape, you can carefully cut strips of cellophane tape using scissors. Just keep in mind that the width of the tape will determine your final look, so try to keep the strips thin and even.

For my particular nail art I started with two coats of camo on my index and pinky fingers, and two coats of Sky on my middle and ring fingers. This gave me a matching but mismatched final manicure, which I absolutely loved!

Another great way to wear this nail art is as an accent nail! An accent nail can tie together different polishes to create a cohesive manicure. It's also just a great way to rock nail art if you aren't ambitious enough for the entire project!

I couldn't be happier participating in Blog Fest 2013! I hope you liked my nail art creation and get a chance to try it out yourself! If you do like it, I'd appreciate your support in the contest ahead! All blogger nail art will be pinned to a Blog Fest 2013 board on Pinterest!

piCture pOlish ships internationally from their online website (check out their shipping page), and is also available worldwide through their polish network. You can also save by checking out their everyday deals!

Make sure you check out piCture pOlish on all of your favorite social networking websites: 

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube and Google+

The Polished Mafia Honor in Blood

Press Sample

Today I have another gorgeous polish from my friend Samantha of The Polished Mafia! The first polish I posted about was the beautiful Not Your Momma's Pink. As much as I liked that pink, I think Honor In Blood is my new favorite!

Honor In Blood is a pink-toned red holographic polish with red glitter. The holo is a combination of tight linear and loose linear, giving it a very sparkly holographic finish in any light. I'm a fan of holos like this, ones that aren't so extremely holographic that they just look faded and silvery. For me holos need bold color and the right base, and Honor in Blood was perfect, it reminded me quite a bit of the old OPI DS holos. The glitter adds a unique bit of character and adds a bit more sparkle to this gorgeous red holo.

The formula of this polish was an absolute dream. Although I used two coats for the photos below this one was pretty opaque after a single coat! I think I could have easily used just one coat if it wasn't for the intense lights I use to take my photographs (even then if I'd been more careful on my first coat I wouldn't have needed the second). It applies very smooth and doesn't require any special base coat to bring out the linear holo.

Sadly my camera couldn't capture the holo perfectly and we've been having so much rain lately in Charleston I couldn't catch any sunlight photos. Trust me when I tell you that this holo is perfectly balanced!

I may have gotten a bit carried away with the photographs, but wouldn't you with this color? It was very flattering on my skintone and I got quite a few compliments while I was out and about! I'd love to hear what you think! 

The Polished Mafia Honor In Blood retails for $11.00 with free US domestic shipping and is available from the online store. Also check out The Polished Mafia on Facebook!

Deborah Lippmann Brown Eyed Girl: my quest for the perfect red/brown polish

I'm always on the search for colors in the red/brown category. I absolutely love the color brown, but I have a hard time wearing a straight brown on my nails. Red, on the other hand, is my absolute favorite, so I'm always on the hunt for the perfect autumn red/brown. The first contender was Butter London Shag, which set the bar quite high!

Today I have Deborah Lippmann Brown Eyed Girl. Brown Eyed Girl is a bit darker and maybe a touch less brown than Shag, but they are definitely in the same color category. Brown Eyed Girl is blackened shimmer. The warm shimmer is bright and fine and it seems to glow out of the dark base color when the light hits my nails. It's definitely beautiful!

The formula on Brown Eyed Girl wasn't my favorite. It was a bit thick and difficult to deal with, and with two coats I ended up with a bumpy finish. I required a third coat to smooth out the finish for the photos below. The dry time was okay, but slower than most 3-free polishes.

Although Brown Eyed Girl is beautiful and I adore the name, I'm still not completely satisfied. I don't think my hunt for the perfect red/brown polish is over just yet. Which do you prefer, the darker Brown Eyed Girl, or my previous attempt to find the perfect red/brown, Butter London Shag?

Ninja Polish Shillelagh

Around Saint Patrick's Day, Ninja Polish released one of the most beautiful green polishes I've ever seen, this is Shillelagh. Shillelagh is part of the Enigma collection, which is known for being packed full of color shifting shimmer. Another polish from this collection that I fell in love with was Divinity, but I think Shillelagh is my new favorite!

Shillelagh is a grass green base loaded with warm golden shimmer than has a slight color shift to green when viewed at an angle. The resulting polish is a fiery green that's absolutely stunning, and very flattering on any skintone. The formula was good, I used two coats and top coat for the photos below and didn't have any noticeable staining when I removed the polish (which is wonderful since many greens stain).

Just look at that shimmer! Isn't it gorgeous?

When I wore Ninja Polish Shillelagh I truly couldn't stop staring at my nails, I can't believe I waited so long to wear it! This will have to be my Saint Patrick's Day polish next year! I'm loving the Enigma collection and want to own all of them, have you tried Ninja Polish lacquers before?

Ninja Polish retails for $11 and is available from the Ninja Polish online store which ships internationally!

Zoya Shelby: My Girly Monday.

First of all, what do you think of the new banner? I've been working on an updated banner for quite some time now. I'm not sure if I'm 100% happy with it yet but this will do for now!

Today I have another beautiful pink to share with you! I did say I've been a bit obsessed with pinks this summer didn't I? For some reason instead of red as my go to color I've been going pink.

This is Zoya Shelby, a beautiful bubblegum pink creme. Shelby is pale pink, but still bright enough to bring a pop of color to any outfit. It's both a fun color and a bit conservative for me. I think Shelby is the only pale pink I own, since I tend to like my pinks bright and fuchsia. Shelby is beautiful and makes me feel extremely girly and feminine.

The formula on Shelby was pretty good. Since the base color is pale, it applied a bit like a pastel, and I had to be careful to avoid streaking. It's best with colors like this to paint each nail with two or three long strokes and to avoid going back over the polish that you've already applied. The first coat will be streaky but it's easy to fix with a second or third coat. This is three coats and top coat.

Shelby is one of those colors that I rarely wear, but always get complimented on. Do you have colors that you rarely wear?

The Polished Mafia Not Your Momma's Pink Swatches and Review.

Today I have a gorgeous polish from The Polished Mafia to show you! I'm really excited for this polish because it was created by a friend of mine. She recently started her own indie polish label and there are so many colors I want to try! I started out with Not Your Momma's Pink, a gorgeous hot pink shimmer. I'm always on the lookout for the perfect bright pink for summer, and this polish is to die for!

Not Your Momma's Pink is a hot pink jelly polish loaded with silvery blue shimmer flakes. The flakes are tiny and incredibly sparkly. The shimmer is really obvious both in the bottle and on the nail because of the squishy jelly base. The color is a blue toned hot pink that is bright without being neon, overall it's a beautifully balanced pink.

The formula on this polish was great for a jelly. It applies smooth, dries quickly, and was opaque in three easy coats. I wore Not Your Momma's Pink for about three days (which seems to be about my norm lately) and it still looked gorgeous on day three without any chips. For some reason my camera couldn't capture the color perfectly, so imagine it a bit brighter when you check out the swatches below!

Don't you just love that squishy shimmery look? I've never seen a hot pink like this, and I love it! What do you think?

The Polished Mafia Not Your Momma's Pink retails for $9.50 with free US domestic shipping  and is available from the online store. Also check out The Polished Mafia on Facebook!

Pretty Serious Hell On Wheels: my new favorite polish!

I almost didn't buy Hell On Wheels.

As a red nail fanatic I have more red cremes than I know what to do with. Until now, there has always been one little thing that I don't like about every red creme I own. Some of them are too sheer, some are too blue, too brown, too orange, or too pink. Some are too bright or too dark. No red creme has been perfect on my nails until now.

Hell On Wheels is the perfect red creme. It's a true red, without a hint of other hues that might taint the color. It's the perfect shade, dark enough to be mature, but bright enough to be wearable in any season. It's as shiny as a jelly, but it's definitely a creme.

The formula was the best of all, Hell On Wheels was practically opaque in one coat. I used two coats to hide all of the imperfections in my nails (the second coat also darkens the color perfectly). The formula isn't runny or thick, it applied amazingly smooth and the small brush kept me from getting much on my cuticles. It dried quickly to a high gloss shine. Wowza, this is an amazing red!

Even if this just looks like another red creme to you, trust me, it's not. I'm absolutely obsessed with this polish (I've worn it 4 times in a month, each time for 3-4 days... that's like a record for me). This is the ultimate red creme. If you're a red lover, buy it, you'll never need another red again!

ManGlaze Butt Taco

Hi everyone! I'm back from my vacation and ready to blog like crazy! I have so many new polishes to show you, and I'm so very excited for the next month.

Since I haven't had much time for swatching lately, today I have the mani that I wore to my friend's wedding last weekend. This is ManGlaze Butt Taco. Butt Taco is a gorgeous coral-orange suede. The base color is much more coral than it looks because the silvery shimmer really brightens the color to an orange.

The formula was perfect for a suede, like other ManGlaze matte polishes. It dries quickly enough to be fast and convenient, but slowly enough that application is a breeze. This is three coats, although it was opaque in two. I added the third coat to add durability since I wore this mani for 4 or 5 days (which it lasted chip-free). Unfortunately I was in a hurry so the only picture I grabbed was one with top coat, I'll have to re-swatch this one later. :)

I love this color! It looked gorgeous with my mint lace dress, hot coral shoes and belt.

My First French

Just a quick post today since I'm leaving town tomorrow! I'll be getting together with old friends and watching one of my dear friends get married, so no posts from me for a few days! While figuring out what to wear to the wedding I actually tried something I've never done before..

Are you ready to see something weird? This is my first french manicure (ever). I don't really think this is a good look for me. I completely hated it while I had it on my nails. Perhaps it's because I have wide nails, or my color choices, but I just think it looks strange.

I used Urban Decay Naked as the base, Sinful Colors White Striper to freehand the tips, then added a layer of Julep Gracie to tie it all together.

Is there any nail polish look that you absolutely hate on yourself?