Starting Tomorrow...

...I will be participating in the 31 Day Challenge, but I'm gonna call it the 30 Day Challenge because there are only 30 days in September and when I'm finished I may not want to "re-create my favorite manicure".  I think I'll just wanna be done.  If you are also interested, here is what it's all about.

I'm about to get start prepping all my colors and planning out manis for days 11 thru 30.  What a toughie this will be.  However I am up for the challenge and am confident that I will succeed.  At least I hope I do as to not disappoint all of my lovely readers.

Wish me luck!

D

OPI DS Sapphire

Afternoon!!

So as long as I've had this polish, I've never swatched it for you all, but I've worn it a ton of times.  I think I keep wearing it hoping that I'll like it, but not so much.  It's pretty, but not really my thing so I think I'm gonna try to layer it over some darker polishes to see what happens.

So what do you all think?
D

Matte Gradient

Hola!!

I trust everyone had a great weekend.  I didn't do much.  Looked for a new apartment, cleaned, watched some movies, had a swatch party...ya know; the usual.  I have been wanting to use some of my new lovelies for some nail art so I thought a matte gradient would be fun.

So this is my AMAZING (if I must say) gradient mani.  This is only one of my new lovelies, but isn't she gorgeous?  I knew there was something missing after I did the gradient so I popped on some rhinestones in random spots and fell in love.  I didn't use the matte top coat when I was done because my cheapo gems look funny even after a shiny top coat.  They get that frosty look and it's ugly.  Since I didn't use a TC I know this mani won't last through the work day tomorrow or even through the shower I'm about to take.  I don't really mind though because I got my photos and I get to show all your beautiful people. (:

WHAT I USED:
WnW Black Creme - 2 coats
Hard Candy Mattely In Love - 1 coat over black
Sephora by OPI Mermaid to Order - gradient
1 turquoise gem
1 lime gem
1 small emerald gem

So that's what I came up with.  I can't wait to see what you all say about it.
D

Julep Lily

I'm BAAaaaack!  Lol.  I have so much to do right now like laundry and dishes and bathe so I'm gonna leave you with it.

This is Lily from my Julep Maven box.  I don't remember the month but it came with Courteney, the whole reason I didn't skip the month.  Honestly I didn't really need or want this one since I own literally 5 different tones of this same shade.  It's not even that great of a color to me so I don't know why I keep buying it.  lol. Anyway this is 2 coats I believe and the formula was sorta squishy, but not full on creme.  I feel like I don't really want anymore Julep Maven boxes, but I like the extra "something" that comes included more than the actual polish.   Is that even right?  I also really want some of those metallic shades they just launched, but I had to skip this month's box cuz I'm broke.  Oh well!

Have a great night.
D

OPI My Private Jet

Happy Thursday Everyone!

I know none of you know this, but Thursday is my favorite day of the week.  I'm not sure why, but it always has been.  Oh and it's one of my fave bands too.  Ok so I know this isn't the original version of MPJ, however I like it better.  I've seen photos of the other 2 versions, but I really dig this one.  Besides this one is way easier to find for anyone that likes it also.

I tried to get every possible angle just to show you how awesome it is.  lol I can't even stop staring at it.  My Private Jet is a lovely brown polish with scattered holo bits and a slight bronze-y brown flash in the right light.  I think I only needed 2 coats of this, but if I had been careful and more precise I could have gotten away with 1.  Sometimes that OPI wide brush is a toughie to work with.

So now I will leave you to enjoy the rest of your Thursday night and with a little bonus video in case you don't know the band Thursday.

[DISCLAIMER:  IF YOU DON'T LIKE "SCREAMO", YOU SHOULD TURN DOWN THE VOLUME.  THANKS FOR WATCHING!]

Happy Thursday!
D

Orly After Party w/ Stamp

So I was going to just do a stamping post today, but when I chose my base polish, I was not expecting such awesomeness.  I mean, I knew it was gorgeous when I bought it, but to my surprise, it's a 1 COATER!  I just love when that happens because I'm so tired at the end of the day that it's even difficult to muster up the energy to take off my polish.  Then I have to paint them...ugh!  That's why I try to do all that on the weekends.  But anyway, I didn't intend to swatch this for you all, but I just have to show you.  Also if I had known it was a 1 coater, I would have been more careful and precise with my application.  I just kinda slapped it on there for the sake of time.

After Party is a blackened blue base with bright blue and purple glass flecks.  They show up a lot more in the flash than in the bottle...NICE!  My only call out is the formula.  It was a little goopy, and this is my first time using it.  I hope it's just my bottle so that I can get a replacement if need be, but I'm just gonna add a little polish thinner and be done with it.  That should solve the issue.  Other than that, I'm in love with this polish.  With every new bottle of Orly I buy, my mind is blown.  I'm never disappointed and always happier than with the one before.  It's starting to become my favorite brand of polish I think.  ♥

Now for the stamp!  I kinda wish I didn't add a top coat before I took the photo because it kinda made the silver fade.  It was way more visible before TC.  I do love the way it looks so I wish you all could see it the way I see it.  Sorry! ):

WHAT I USED:

Orly After Party...duh!

Ruby Kisses Silver Bling

BM plate 208 - 2 different stamps

Well I know this was a late post, but enjoy it.  This polish is sure to give me sweet dreams!

D

My First Jelly Sammy!

So pay no mind to the nasty cuticles and yellow residue from the previous polish.  I was just frustrated with nail art and my nails in general.  I thought doing a jelly sammy would be quick and easy and it would come out just gorgeous like everyone elses.  NOPE!

I don't really like it all, and I don't really know why.  I guess I wish I had bigger chunks of glitter.  I also like to see the glitter sparkle, and with this it doesn't.  Next time I will use a different jelly polish, for sure.

WHAT I USED:

OPI My Pointe Exactly - 2 coats

Love&Beauty Euphoria - gradient

OPI MPE again - 1 thin coat

IDK.  What do you all think?

D

Julep Courteney

Hey Friends!

I hope your Monday has been better than mine.  It's not that it was bad.  It was just, well, Monday.  Ya know?  Just an UGH kind of day.  I hate that all I have for you all is a plain ol' swatch, but my attempts (yes plural) at nail art today failed miserably.  The first was a fish tail mani and the second, which should have been a breeze, was a jelly sammich.  So I dug around in my "Swatch Bag" and pulled this lovely from my May (I think) Julep Maven box.  But first I thought since my nubs have been looking pretty okay lately, I would show you what they look like NAKED!!

I don't this this is the best color for my skin tone, but I like it anyway.  I mean, green is my favorite color.  I'm not crazy about creme polish, but Courteney was easy to apply in 2 coats and self-leveling with the exception of my pointer finger.  idk.  This polish was the whole reason I wanted this particular box (Boho Glam maybe?) and it sort of lived up to my expectations.  I was hoping for more of the minty color to show through, but I'm not unhappy with it.  That just means I still get to buy a mint polish...(:

I will try for nail art again tomorrow, so stay tuned to see what happens.
D

Julep Hayden = YUCK!

Happy Friday!!

I want you all to enjoy your weekends so I want to just get this nasty polish out of the way so we can move on to bigger and better polish.  So this is a polish that caught my attention as soon as I saw it.  It was pretty much love at first sight.  I put it on my Wish List and low and behold, I ended up with not 1, but 2 bottles of this baby!  I received both of them in swaps and was ecstatic because I was going to wear it so much that I would have needed that back up bottle.  Boy was I wrong.  I swatched it on the my nail wheel and fell even deeper in love.  Then when I had my last Swatch Party, it was the first polish I put on and I was immediately disgusted after just 1 coat.

I wanted to just take it off and forget it ever happened, but I figured I owed it to you all to at least swatch it on the blog before giving it up completely.  I don't even know why I hate it so much, but I just do.  Even though the color is GORGEOUS, it for sure looks terrible on my skin tone.  I think this may be a better color for my toes rather than my hands.

If you like this color, I suggest you give it a go.  I can't complain about it at all other than the fact that it looks so yucky on ME; not anyone else I've seen.  The formula was fantastic and it applied so well in 2 coats.  I will try it on my toes and let you all know how it looks.  Now that the nasty is over, have a great night!

D

Orly Rococo A Go Go

Good Evening Everyone!

I hope you all had a good day.  Mine was alright.  Work was SUPER busy, and I'm just really tired.  Tomorrow is Friday though and then the weekend begins!  WOOT!  I've been trying to stay in a positive mood this week despite how I'm feeling, so to help out, I wanted to show a huge lemming of mine.  And how I came across it was pure luck.  I was at Ulta, hitting up the Clearance section, and there she was calling my name.  Keep in mind, I've never seen this polish IRL.  I added to my wish list after seeing it on another blog. I'm still so happy I have it.

I think what I love the most about it is the fact that at certain angles it looks like a gradient.  No sponge required!  lol.  I guess it's just the way it drags on my nails.  I don't know if this was tough to come by for anyone else, but Zoya Jem (which I did want before this) is an almost exact dupe of this.  The only difference is that Rococo A Go Go has a more dominate shimmer.

I didn't add a TC for this but this is two coats, however if I weren't taking photos, I could live with just one coat.  I kinda wish I had work a TC because it may have brought out that green flash I keep seeing in other bloggers swatches.  Ah well!  I tried and I still love it.  Have a great night, and I'll see you all tomorrow for a fabulous Friday afternoon post.
D

Black and Gold "Color Block"

Ok it's not really color block so much as just half-and-half, but whatever.  First I'll show you the BEST black polish I've ever owned, then I'll show you the mani.

OMG!!  I don't even think I need to include anymore photos of this one.  No matter how I turn it, it's packed so full of silver shimmer, there's no point.  This is my one and only BBCouture polish, and it was on my Wish List for the longest time until someone emailed me saying they had a ton of polish I wanted for swap.  She fulfilled about 4 of my wants and then added more.  Thanks Kim!!

I have to say on the nail, it's not even this amazing.  I mean there is shimmer, but you don't really know how much until you photograph it and BAM!  Oh and you want to know the best part about it...IT'S A ONE COATER!!  This is such a blessing for me because I LOVE black polish, but I always have to apply at least 2 coats and it still usually looks patchy or streaky.  Then when it comes time for removal, it seems I've got black everywhere.  So this is now one of my all time favorite polishes.

I couldn't just leave well-enough alone, could I?  I usually can't and then I end of ruining a perfectly gorgeous polish/manicure.  But this time, I LOVE IT!  I just used Love&Beauty Gold Plated (can you believe I spent an entire day looking up the real names of these F21 polishes?  I hated just saying "gold" or "blue glitter".) and painted half of my nail with one coat as well.  Then I added some dots and I'm good to go.

I'm anxious to know what you all think of my new favorite black!  Just leave your comments below and you know I'll reply!  I love reading what you all have to say.
D

China Glaze Ruby Pumps

I don't feel well so I'm just going to let you make up your own review about this one.  By the way, I'm have a single swatch party tomorrow after I clean my apartment, so expect to see lots of untrieds starting next week.  If you have any requests, feel free to ask.

It looks like Christmas...(:

D