Weekend Link Love

Enter the Apothica giveaway over at Lacquer Ware for Tips and Toes to score a $25 Apothica give card and some awesome lacquer swag!

Let them have Polish is celebrating 500 followers (yup...I'm a little jealous lol) with a great giveaway including Zoyas and a whole lotta filmo canes...if you're not sure what filmo canes are you should go check out the post! :)

If you are lusting for luxe polishes then look no further than Beauty Crazed...enter to win Dior, Chanel, and Yves...yes it is true :)


Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I am hitting the books pretty hard but hopefully I will be able to get in a couple posts this week. Thanks for sticking with me :)

Wet n Wild's Gray's Anatomy and Sinful Color's Mint Apple

I need to be spending all my free time studying for my upcoming comps and my state licensing exam...so what do I do? I paint my nails, take pictures, blog, and repeat. I'm now less than 3 weeks away from the 2 biggest tests of my life and I know I really need to crack down on studying. So hopefully you will take it easy on me if all I show you today is Wet n Wild's Gray's Anatomy over Sinful Color's Mint Apple (from yesterday's post.)

I do have to let y'all know...all 21 readers of mine (WOW! 21! I'm so stoked!!!) that my posts may become a little sporadic until the middle of March (which is when I take my exams.) After that it's smooth sailing until graduation in May. So please bear with me...and if I can promise you anything it's that I'll have a TON of new polish to post because I am an emotional shopper and buying polish is the best remedy for stress :)

Also, check out this cool post over at Scrangie where she compares Wet n Wild's Gray's Anatomy to Deborah Lippmann's Wicked Game...you might be surprised at her verdict!

Sinful Colors Mint Apple

So remember way back when mint-green colors were all the rage. I'm not sure where it started...maybe Essie's Mint Candy Apple. Well, I sure as heck jumped right on that bandwagon and now I seem to have accumulated more than my fair share of light greens. It's strange because I don't consider myself a green kinda girl. So why I bought Sinful Colors Mint Apple I have no idea. Like most of us...I have a problem. It's cool...I'm not afraid to admit it. But put a pretty lacquer in front of me, tell me it's on sale and it's all downhill from there.

I used 3 coats...2 probably would have been fine but I was in a hurry and wanted no chance of a VNL. Application was good but dry time seemed longer than most even with SV...maybe my coats were too thick. I really really liked this one. It's a spring green that might lean a little more to the blue side in some lights. What I really love is the hidden shimmer. I really can't tell if it's gold or silver shimmer. Either way...it adds this nice dimension to a polish that could have otherwise been a little blah.

Here it is in the shade...it looks a little more blue but we're definitely not talking about For Audrey blue here. I like the kind of colors that keep you guessing...is it green? is it blue? is it green-blue or blue-green? Anyway, here it is. Mint Apple (come on...really we're copying Essie's names now!?)

And here it is in the sun! BAM!

I really can't wait to wear this one as a pedi as it starts to warm up. Maybe with some chunky gold glitter on top?

Oh yeah...and I DEFINITELY found this strange website when I googled how to spell "definitely"...I really wish I had that kind of time on my hands!

China Glaze White Cap

This was the only polish I bought from the Anchors Away collection although I did like Below Deck, Pelican Grey and Sea Spray. It's actually kind of a fluke that I bought this one because I don't usually buy sheers but there was something about White Cap! And I have to say I certainly wasn't disappointed!

White Cap is fairly sheer so it probably would be best to layer. I have seen several pictures out there in the blogosphere of it used alone and it seems to take about 3-4 coats to build to non-VNL opacity. I am showing it here layered over Sinful Color's Boom Boom.

I actually really like this layered over the bubble-gum pink of Boom Boom. It gives it this sophisticated (IMHO) gold flash/glass fleck finish. It sparkles in low light too! I have a feeling I'm going to get a lot of use out of White Cap this spring!

What other laying combos have you tried with White Cap?

Sinful Colors Let's Talk

Let's talk indeed! Let's talk about how amazing this color is. I also bought this one at Walgreens as part of the 2-for-$3 deal. The first coat got me worried because it was brush-stroke central and looked a lot like a frosty. However, the second coat eased my fears as all brush strokes disappeared. By the third coat I was at complete opacity and left with nothing but a stunning blue-purple.

Weekend Link Love

I know I am sooooo late getting my weekend link love post up but we have been out of town since Friday and just got home. While on the 6 hour drive I decided to catch up on my favorite blogs when I saw two posts I just had to share!

This one over at Scandalously Polished might just be the greatest idea since chocolate and peanut butter got together...and I seriously love me some Reese's! Anyway, Scandalous has this great idea for a "traveling box of international polishes" for those lacquer lovers that are stateside and haven't had the luxury of filling our polish stash to the brim with European beauties! If you're interested just shoot her an email. I most certainly did! :)

I also wanted to share with everyone the giveaway over at Hot Pink Aurora. I just discovered her blog after Google-ing Funky Finger's Sand and Stilettos after seeing it on Chloe's nails. I really like her blog and the fact that she is a new blogger like me (*edit* her blog is actually a little over a year old so I guess its newish...either way it ROCKS!) I wish her the best of luck and I have to tell her that I NEED that glitter...and everything else in the giveaway too lol :)

I hope everyone had a restful weekend. I have another week packed full of lovelies so thanks for reading and for your comments! :)

Claire's Mood Peaceful/Confident

I'm not sure if I like this one or not. Its a really nice teal color but it's just does nothing for my skin. What do you think?

Peaceful (cold) - natural matte finish (no topcoat)

Peaceful (cold) - with topcoat (SV)

 

Confident (warm)- with topcoat (SV)

I haven't used my new Mood Struck polish from Beauty by Brittany but it looks to be very similar (if not a dead-on-dupe). I'm so on the fence about these color changing polishes. Your thoughts?

Revlon Perplex

I found this one on sale at Big Lots for $1. There were at least 30 of them but I only bought 4 (lol..."only".) I have a dear friend that I know would loooove this color...plus I figured I could share them with some of my sweet readers.

I'm sure you all know about this shade by now but it appears to be a dead-on-dupe for Chanel Paradoxical. Here is the post over at the PolishAholic that got me drooling over both. Needless to say, when I saw this one I knew it was MINE! Behold!

Oh! Isn't it just lovely? This is 2 creamy coats. Application was such a dream!

Do you own this one? They are selling on Ebay and Amazon for at least $10 but I'd be willing to swap. Let me know if you're interested.

Rescue Beauty Lounge Under the Stars

This one is perhaps my biggest nail polish disappointment to date. I ordered this during the RBL 50% off sale after coveting it for months! I just love dark colors with unexpected shimmer. I mean...just look at the bottle!

Look at the blue glitter! Unfortunately, I found what many other have also found. The glitter sticks to the side of the bottle and give a really inaccurate representation of what the actually color is on the nail.

Pretty...but just not what I was expecting. BUT...having said all that I still can't say enough about the formula. It was opaque in one coat. Coverage was massively even and smooth. I just didn't dig the color. (I hope lightning doesn't strike me for bashing the holy grail of polish brands!)

BTW...sorry my pics are so washed out. I took them while snowed in...so the light was really bright!

Hard Candy Envy

I think the color on the nail is envious of the bottle color. Seriously...this one just did NOT do it for me. The fact that it looks practically black on the nail really didn't help. Oh well...I'm really not a green lover anyway.

And please excuse my naked nail in the above pic!

Sinful Colors Boom Boom

Happy Valentine's Day (aka Singles Awareness Day). My husband and I decided a long time ago not to buy into the V-Day craziness. I don't like V-day for the same reason I don't like chick-flicks. It just seems to set a girl up for disappointment. And...if you're lucky enough to have the right partner you don't need an invented holiday to know that you're loved.

Anyway, I'll get off my soap box and show you just about the only bright pink creme you'll ever see me wear. I'm not into nail art (although I have been seeing some awesome V-day nail art) so this is as far as I go to celebrating V-day. Snagged this one at Walgreens in a 2-for-$3 deal. SWEET! I am really diggin' the variety and formula of SinfulColors.

This is 3 coats of Boom Boom plus 1 coat of SV.

Current Giveaways!!!

I finally had time to create posts for next week so stayed tuned for a new post every day! And here's a little to keep you busy in the meantime...

Snag the new Zoya Intimate collection and some other goodies over at Scandalously Polished

Win a whole lotta pretties over at The PolishAholic

If you've been coveting the Katy Perry collection it could be yours at Beauty by Brittany 

Aaaaaand just for your entertainment...here is a pic of one of my dogs playing in the snow. He loves it...can you tell? :)

Just another random Monday...

MAN! This Monday was rough! Getting back into the swing of things after 4 days off last week was nothing short of painful! Luckily I came hope to a package from Beauty by Brittany with this lovely note and some fab polishes inside. I can't wait to show you all the pretties she sent me! :)

I also made an exciting/random find at Big Lots this afternoon while I was looking for inexpensive dog beds:

That's right...I bought 4 of them. And perplexed is what the lady at the check-out counter probably was when she rang these up. But at only $1 each I really couldn't pass them up. I bought one for me and 3 to share. Let me know if your interested :)

I also had to share this rant over at Let them have Polish about the new OPI Texas Collection. I saw these polishes in person at Ulta this weekend and I really couldn't have said it better myself! It's a travesty that OPI took their inspiration from something as colorful and diverse as Texas and gave us bland and boring!

And just to wrap up what has proven to be my most random post ever I want to give a shout-out and a big thank you to Beauty Shades for tagging me with the Beautiful Blogger award. 

 And here are the questions that come with this award:

 

1. When and how did you start your love of polish? My love of polish started back in high-school when I was on the swim team. When you're in a competitive sport where your only way to express yourself is a tiny swimsuit you have to get creative. My school colors were blue and gold and I loved to wear deep blue jellys with chunky gold glitters. 

2. If you could choose to do anything in the world what would it be? How can I possibly narrow this down? I would love to be on one of those quirky Travel Channel shows and travel the world, making real connections and friendships along the way.

3. What's your favorite love story? I hate to go all philosophical on you guys but the story about how this dude God "so loved the world that he gave his only son" is a pretty amazing love story.

As for tagging others I'm cheating and I'm gonna go ahead and say tag yourself! Thanks for bearing with me through my randomness. Back to polishes tomorrow I promise!

Nicole by OPI Miss Independent

This is the kind of polish I love to hate...it's so girly. But it's so pigmented, so reflective, so smooth. I just can't hate it! This is BC, 3 thin coats of Miss Independent, and SV to top it off:

Sunlight

Shade

This polish also has Nicole's new "Perfect Stroke" brush. I wasn't too excited about it because, as you can see, it's pretty wide.

But since the formula on this polish was so great application was really a cinch! I think if I had to use it with a polish that was a little more high-maintenance I might not have liked it so much.

Love and Beauty Neon Yellow

This polish was a major pain in the butt but so worth it! The first time I wore this it was a thick, gloopy, streaky mess! This time, I put in 10 or 20 drops of nail polish thinner which helped a bit.I could have done 2 coats but I saw a hint of VNL so I opted for 3.

The polish was so bright it made my camera go all wonky so I had a hard time capturing the neon-ness. It really is a highlighter yellow creme that leans a little toward blue.

On a personal note, thank you all for thinking about my pup. He's not doing much better this morning but I'm keeping my highlighter yellow fingers crossed!

Oh what a night!

Everything was closed again today because of the ice so I actually had the time to do a WHOLE bunch of swatching. I was really excited to post the pics but unfortunately life had other plans. I just got back from the ER vet with my dachshund (Blitz). Earlier this evening I went to pick him up to snuggle on the couch with me when something in his back or leg must have pulled or twisted. He started crying and shaking violently and I started freaking out. We braved the ice to take him to the ER vet (which luckily is only a few miles from our house). He is drugged up now but the doc is talking like back surgery is in his near future. My dogs are my babies so my heart is breaking right now. I don't feel silly asking you to say a little prayer for Blitz tonight (if you're into that sort of thing) that all that's wrong is a pulled muscle and he won't have to have back surgery.

Blitz (the short-haired red) and Bailey (the long-haired creme)

The only good thing about tonight is that I actually won a giveaway over at Beauty by Brittany. I recently discovered her blog but I have really enjoyed reading it and seeing her beautiful pictures! And I love it even more now that I know we're both Texans! I'm pretty stoked about everything in her giveaway but I can't wait to see the the 2 MoodStruck color changing polishes and the KleanColor in Starry Purple looks right up my alley. Thank you Brittany for your amazing giveaway and for lifting my spirits tonight!

Twilight/Honey Coated Combo

Everything in the DFW area was closed today due to ice and snow so I had a chance to snap a picture of my manicure. Its 3 days old now but the tip wear is fairly minimal.

I'm really thinking about using my Sally Hansen Salon Effects in Blue Ice. It's an appropriate color for today now that I think about it! My husband and I are both stuck at home and starting to get stir crazy. I can only watch so much TV and there is a good chance we might be stuck at home again tomorrow! AHHHHHH! Any suggestions on how to keep ourselves entertained?

Also, be sure to visit Beauty by Brittany...today is the last day to enter her fabulous giveaway! I would LOVE to try out the color changing polishes from Mood Struck!