Night Sky

This mani is so dark and pretty.  I love the shimmer... you can get lost in it!

This is 2 coats of Models Own In the Navy topped with 1 coat of CND Sapphire Sparkle on top.  I added some stars and moons to finish it off.  Both polishes applied like a dream.  The Models Own has great coverage and smooth application.  CND effects pack a good amount of "effect" in each stroke of the brush, hah.  When I first used one, I thought it was going to be very subtle, but it's really not.  In some cases, the effect can change the whole color of the polish, but not so much here.  It was a little bit lighter, but pretty much the same shade.  I love this combo!

So pretty!!  What happened to the moon on my ring finger?  Who knows, lol.  Whatever, the rest of it looks awesome!  hahaha.

Christmas Mani

Yay christmas!  I know pretty much everyone was doing candy cane style manis for christmas, but it's just so cute, I had to do it!

How cute!  This is 3 coats Sally Hansen White On topped with China Glaze Salsa.  I used a BM plate to do the stripes, but they didn't cover the whole nail, so I had to use a small brush to extend the lines.  When I added the first coat of top coat, the red smeared, so I went over the white again a bit.  I also added a coat of CND Crimson Sparkle on top.  I love that it's very subtle, but makes it look like a sugary candy cane.

On the thumb, I skipped the stripes and used a BM plate to add some holly leaves with China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald.  I used little red balls for the berries.  Unfortunately, they bled when I added the top coat also.  So I had to add some more white.  I used the CND effect on the thumb as well.

I love this one and of course, got lots of compliments.  Sorry to post this late, but I was having some computer troubles.  Merry Christmas all!!

Funky Frenchy

For this mani I wanted something simple, but still pretty.  For some reason I just love the french mani look.  But it's kinda boring unless it's a "funky french" which is just using a color instead of white.  Anyway, I liked how it turned out and I got lots of compliments!  This is actually a bit of an oldie... but I love it!

I started with 2 coats CND Putty which is pretty sheer beige.  It basically just evens out your nails so they look perfect.  Application on that was amazing, as usual.  I love CND polish.  Then I added 2 coats of OPI Yodel Me on My Cell for the tips.  I put a stripe with Stripe Rite White on the bottom edge of the teal to cover up my not-so-great edge, lol.  I also put some Stripe Rite Silver Glitter on that edge.  Then I added some stickers from Viva la Nails and topped it all with 1 coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust, a very small holo glitter.

Pretty!  Now to me, this looks like straight up teal.  However, I had a few people ask if I had on "Eagles green."  I guess they're close, but not really the same to me.  Not to mention I could really care less about sporting football colors on my nails.  I happened to wear this mani on the weekend, so I guess that's why people assumed.  Oh well, lol.

Models Own: Purple Grey

To Chanel or not to Chanel... lol.  This is the rip off of Chanel Paradoxal.  I lurve it.  This is 2 coats Models Own Purple Grey and one coat CND Amethyst Sparkle.  Models Own polish is gorgeous by itself, but add in the CND effect and WOW!  I love the application on both of these.  The Models Own Purple Grey is very pigmented and gave nice even coverage.  The effect is nice and saturated so you only need one coat for that shimmer to pop!  I love the fact that the shimmer barely changed the color of the Models Own as well.  It just made the whole thing come to life.

Here's a better shot of the shimmer.  Sooooo pretty!  Love, love, love.  I think I said this in a comment... but I kinda wish I had interchangeable hands and I could just change them as often as I like.  Haha.  It would be fun.  Anyway, I love this color.  I would definitely wear this again.  So simple, but so pleasing!

Haul and Nail Mail!

I got some nail mail yesterday and then today I went on a bit of a shopping spree in Ulta.  Couldn't help myself.  I got one of those certificates for spending a certain amount of money during the quarter, so I could get some free polish.  I knew the new OPI Swiss collection was there, so I had to go check it out!  I also got a couple mini-packs that I'm putting aside for giveaways.

First, my nail mail.  I ordered some stuff on Trans Design.  I needed more OPI Expert Touch Remover, it's my fave.  It does a pretty quick job taking off my polish and has a good smell afterwards.  Kinda citrusy, but not overly so.  Anyway, I ordered a jackpot of CND while I was at it.

Hmmm, maybe I over-did it.  I got 3 colors (left to right), Rasberry Parfait, Fireberry, and Dark Ruby.  And 6 effects (not necessarily in this order, I'm too lazy to match them up, haha) Lavender Pearl, Copper Shimmer, Crimson Sparkle, Rasberry Sparkle, Sapphire Sparkle, and Ice Blue Shimmer.  That's a lot!!  I love the effects, they're really pretty and can be dramatic or subtle depending on what you put it on.

Ok, so then I went to Ulta and I found the Orly Cosmic FX collection... SO amazing!  I only picked up 3...

Left to right is Out of This World, Space Cadet and Galaxy Girl (you can also buy these on Transdesign).  A lot of bloggers out there are saying there are dupes for almost all the colors in this collection.  For me, these are all unique.  I love the look of them in the swatches I've seen and I can't wait to try them out!

I also got some OPI... some new, some old.

Left to right is Significant Other Color, Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous, Color to Watch, Yodel Me on My Cell, and My Private Jet.  Yes, you read that right, MPJ.  BUT... it's the chocolate shimmer version, no holo to be seen.  I've never even seen this color in person but I know from all you lovely ladies that there are several versions out there.  This is one... and there were several bottles exactly like it... yes, I checked them all just to be sure.  I really liked a lot of the Swiss Collection, but so much red!  I'm not a huge red fan.  And some of them looked similar to the new China Glaze colors.

Who cares, I have a giant new stash of un-trieds.  I will have to swatch these soon for you guys.  :)

Midnight Shimmer

Ooooo... pretty!  My last mani started chipping like crazy, so I had to change it.  It was late at night and I didn't want to do anything too involved.  So I grabbed a couple new polishes that I bought from GoIndulge.  I did 2 coats of CND Asphalt and topped it off with one coat of CND Amethyst Sparkle.

I have to say, these are my first CND polishes.  I absolutely love Asphalt!  It applied like a dream and was nearly opaque with one coat.  If you do a thick coat, you can get away with just one.  It's a very nice grey creme.  I hate when dark grey looks too black, but this one is definitely grey.  And I love the Amethyst Sparkle as well.  It changed the whole look.  It looks almost like a blue mani in the above pic.  In real life, if you catch the shadow, it just looks grey, but when you catch the light it flashes with pink/purple.  It's not really a glitter and you can't feel it at all, but it's fairly dense shimmer-like.  I really like this mani.  And I got lots of compliments on it as well!