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Sunday, October 30, 2011

Nails Inc, Icing, Orly & Etc Haul & Swatches & Bottle Pics

Very behind this week.  Lots going on IRL that I don't really want to get into, but I'm going to try & just get some catching up done tonight & tomorrow.  I'm going to admit I may drop out of sight again for a while, I'm just not sure how this is going to go so I'm going to post while I can.

I split the haul & the swatches each into their own vids again this time.  Here is the haul:


& here are the swatches:


& for the bottle pics I kind of broke everything up by brand, regardless of where or when I purchased ... these are all from quite a while ago, I think I recorded the haul vid like 2 weeks ago & the swatches one week ago LOL.  So here we go.

First up, from Sephora at the MoA, Nails Inc:

Top row are my 2 magnetic effect polishes:  Houses of Parliament (which I've worn - check out the post HERE), and Trafalgar Square.  Bottom row:  Electric Lane Holographic Top CoatFarringdon Crackle Top Coat, Fitzroy Square, Sloan Square, & Chelsea Square.

Icing ... I went overboard at 2 different Icing stores.  I got 4 different 5-packs of mini bottles - although Icing's minis are pretty decent size compared to for example OPI, at .4 fl oz - but then again, normal Icing bottles are bigger than many brands at .65 fl oz:

First row - Cancun Spring Break set:  Hot Date, Flamingo Dancer, Suntan Lotion, Lime Martini, Blue Caribbean.  Second row - Glow in the Dark set:  Gleam and Go, Lamplight, Twinkle Stars, Glowworm, Moonbeam.  Third row - New York Graffiti set:  Silver Spray Paint, Tag Me Pink, Midnight at Times Square, Black Shatter,  Fourth row - Paris Romance set:  Un Cafe s'ilvous Plait, Paris Romance, Bonjour, Printemps, French Lavender.

And the other single bottles:


Top row:  Glimmer, Gold Dust, At Dusk, Pumpkin, Tiger's Blood.  Middle row:  Rock Star From Mars, Witch's Brew, Vampire's Blood, Cherry Blossom, Orchid.  Bottom row:  Thunderstorm, Twilight, The Golden Age of Glitter, Irish Gold, All That Glitters is Green, Electric Emerald.

Orlys, mainly from Ulta but a couple from Sallys:


Top row:  Crush on You, Nite Owl, Sea Gurl, Fowl Play.  Bottom row:  Space Cadet, Rock-It, Rock Solid.

From Warpaint Beauty:

Dirty Pink, Purple Haze, Galaxy, White Noise.

LA Girls:

Erupt & Rupture.

Hot Topic:

No names on them, so they just go by color on my spreadsheet - Neon Yellow, Neon Fuchsia, Pink w/ Glitter.

Justice - and yes it took some serious courage to go into the kid store for my own purposes LOL!  The sales girl thought maybe I was buying a gift but I fessed up it was for me:

Also no names I could find - Black Crackle, Purple Crackle & Pink to Purple sun changing polish (pics after sun exposure at the end of the swatch vid)

And finally, my unexpected find at DSW, Anise:

Night Adventure, Midnight Electric, Ring My Bell, Pearls for the Devil, Crocodile Tears, Agent Glam.

So yeah, a pretty big haul.  I thought my no-buy following this would last longer - but I forgot how early holiday collections come out.  I spied the China Glaze Let it Snow collection when I hit Sallys today for cuticle oil, and ... well ... I'm sure you can guess.  Another haul post in my future =)  But not before I edit & post NOTDs for the past week!

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Saturday, October 22, 2011

NOTD: Halloween Mummy Water Marble + Tutorial

I feel like Halloween is a holiday that I'm almost obligated to do extra-crazy nail art =)  & so what better excuse to bust out the googly-eyes?  My base for this marble was 2 coats of OPI Calling All Goddesses!, marbling done with CaG, OPI Ti-Tan Your Toga & China Glaze Ingrid:
 

The black I used for the "mask" section was just Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme.  I'm sure there are other places you can run across googly-eyes than where I got them too, you just have to keep an eye out =)  I did manage to smudge a few nails on my right hand but I corrected them as best I could.
 
Here's the tutorial:
 
 
Only about week until Halloween!  Except I don't know if that's enough time to fit in all my ideas ... probably not LOL, a few of the ones I've already done this year have been waiting since last year =)
 
Thanks for reading.
 
~Colette

NOTD: OPI Zom-Body To Love

I originally saw OPI's Halloween Spookette mini set at Ulta, convinced myself I didn't need it - and then changed my mind LOL.  Of course by that time I couldn't find any, so I ended up ordering it from Amazon, which was OK because it was a little cheaper than it would have been in-store, even after shipping charges.
 
This is the first of OPI's glow in the dark polishes I've tried - unsurprisingly it's pretty sheer, I started with a white base & then did 3 coats of Zom-Body to Love (which put a serious dent in the mini bottle LOL) to get this color green - stamping is done with Black special polish & Bundle Monster image plate bm224:
 

Although it's a pumpkin, from certain angles I keep swearing it's a skull head =)  Of course, if you're a photographer you know shooting in low light or the dark can be a challenge, but I managed to get a couple of pretty decent shots of it glowing for you - it doesn't stay this bright for long, but it sure is fun while it lasts:
 

I was going to do a video, but for whatever reason my camera refused to cooperate, it was no where near that bright in video mode so I ended up skipping it. 
 
I've read that all of OPI's glow in the dark polish, regardless of color, glows green - the set of Icing glows that I recently picked up & will show in my next haul, actually glow the color of the polish, so I'm looking forward to showing you guys those as well =)
 
Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Friday, October 21, 2011

NOTD: Green Water Marble for Depression Awareness + Tutorial

I try to do at least one manicure every year for Depression Awareness Month.  I think a lot of people still don't know about it, and just getting the word out there can do so much.  This year I did another water marble, like last year.  Base color is Ulta Limelight, marbling done with Limelight & Nubar Forest:


My favorite nails are - my left ring (flawless!  seriously) left thumb, right ring & thumb:


Here's the tutorial:

All my readers who are fellow bloggers, I encourage you to help spread the word also, if you haven't already =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Thursday, October 20, 2011

TOTD: Nubar Cherry Cordial

The other TOTD I have to show you is what's still on my toes - Nubar Cherry Cordial:
 
 
It's actually got a few chips, so I'd like to change it - but sandal season is officially gone LOL, so I'm not in a huge hurry any more either, since I'm the only one who'll see them for the next 6-8 months.
 
Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

TOTD: China Glaze Electra Magenta

A couple TOTDs to show you guys.  This one almost got lost, it's from the end of September - from the Tronica collection, China Glaze Electra Magenta:
 

I liked it, but it was such a rush job it ended up chipping pretty quick & I think I only had it on for like a week.
 
Thanks for reading =)
 
~Colette

Monday, October 17, 2011

Guest NOTD: Revlon Copper Penny + OPI Baby it's Coal Outside

Mom hiding her tip wear with sponging again =) I would totally sponge away tip wear if I ever had my polish on long enough to get tip wear in the first place LOL.
 
Her base color is Revlon Copper Penny, then the sponging is done with OPI Baby it's Coal Outside:
 

Got a haul to post, got some crackle swatches to do, and just finished a new water marble on my nails - now, to fit all that editing in & actually make posts =)  Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Sunday, October 16, 2011

NOTD: Nails Inc Houses of Parliament Magnetic Effect Polish

Love!  I mean, true polish love, this is the most awesome thing in the world to me right now LOL - Nails Inc Houses of Parliament Magnetic Effect Polish:
 

The final effect really is almost 3D & changes as you move your hand, I HAD to include a vid of this polish in motion:
 
 
I mention in the swatch vid that I think it would be easier on shorter nails, so I do have a few favorites that I feel the design showed up best on - right thumb & ring, left thumb & ring:
 

I will be getting some backup bottles of these lovelies - and/or possibly splurging on more colors from other brands ... once I'm off my no-buy again.  I hung in for like 3 weeks this time before I  fell off the wagon, and I'll try to get up tomorrow the mega-haul that made me cut myself off again LOL.
 
Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Nails Inc Magnetic Polish Swatches

I wanted to get a full post with pictures done today for Nails Inc Houses of Parliament, which is on my nails, but the sun had the nerve to go away mid-afternoon so I'm going to do that tomorrow.  This polish definitely deserves to be seen in the sun & the 3D effect deserves to be seen in motion =)
 
But until then, you can have a quick look at these swatches & check out the magnetic pattern in motion since I used the magnet from the back of the nail wheel - which, as a side note, I don't think gives as nice of a final effect as using the magnet over the top, but it's cool to be able to actually see the polish move around:
 
 
Have you indulged?  Or plan to?  I thought at first I could pass on the gold but with it on my nails I not only want the gold, as I mention in the vid I want backup bottles of the purple & silver.
 
Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Friday, October 14, 2011

NOTD: Halloween Candy Corn + Tutorial

It's almost the middle of the month & this is only my 2nd Halloween look!  I'm going to run out of time for everything rattling around in my head LOL.
 
Candy corn is such a traditional part of Halloween, but I did a candy corn inspired water marble last year & so I wanted to do something in a different direction.  I started with a base of Wet n Wild French White & Orly Twilight, then did the yellow & orange with L'Oreal Yellow Seahorse & Coral Starfish, and the outline with Wet n Wild Black Creme:
 

Overall I'm pretty happy, although I have a tendency to pick apart my freehand art.  This one, the biggest mystery is that my right hand seems to have turned out better than my left somehow!  Maybe because I am even more careful when I'm painting with my off-hand?
 
Tutorial:
 
 
I know I said last post I wasn't going to tease about what I had coming tomorrow but I can't help it ... I went & got the Nails Inc magnetic polish at Sephora!  & I am very excited to try it =)
 
Thanks for reading.
 
~Colette