NOTD: Purple Swirl + Tutorial

I am SO stubborn. I'm aware of this. Usually it pays off in the end ... we'll hope one day that will be the case around here LOL.

I wasn't really very happy with this ... this.  Base color is Orly Charged Up, Swirled with Sally Hanson Be-Jeweled, swirled & then topped with Essie Shine of the Times ... and eventually Warpaint Mattify:

Here's the tutorial:



Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

The Haul Post

Usually for hauls I'll do a vid, and then I'll do some close-up pics with whatever info I forgot to mention in the vid - because no matter how thorough I think I'm being I always forget something. But most of these I never got around to bottle pics, or if I did I never go around to editing them, and at this point I don't think I'm going to ... so if you're interested to see any of these polishes before they get full manicure posts, the vids are it ... pick & choose as you will because there are kind of a lot LOL.  I've also included the related swatch videos and/or polish in motion vids that I've finished, although there are others I still would like to do.

This vid is mainly on the China Glaze Prismatic Chroma Glitter collection - I still haven't gotten around to swatching the Nabis that I mention at the end:



Big Lots is of course one of my favorite places for discounted polish, and I really enjoyed getting these glitters from Michael's - even though so far all I've done is gaze adoringly at them:



The gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS Layla Hologram effect polishes:



If you do want to see more of that awesomeness I've got 4 polish in motions so far, for Flash Black, Ocean Rush, and Jade Groove & Mercury Twilight which are quite similar -  full posts for these still upcoming:






I always look forward to Zoya's Earth Day sale - I'm already looking forward to the next one LOL although I'm sure there will be other good sales before then =)



A few colors from the OPI Spiderman collection:



Many  of you probably already know that Just Spotted the Lizard is a dupe for Chanel Peridot:



A gigantic Big Lots haul of Revlon polishes, along with a decent serving of DSW's Anise brand:



My first haul of the initial 5 Orly Flash Glam FX glitters:



Another bucketful of glitter, this batch from the Dollar Tree:



My unexpected birthday haul including the Essie Mirror Metallic collection:



Revlon's Moon Candy flakies from Walgreens:



And swatches - so hard to capture flakies on camera but I tried:




And to end on a bang, the crown jewel of all these hauls as well as my most recent (well, except for the ones I just bought & haven't recorded yet!), my prize for winning Orly's Flash Glam FX contest - the entire 22 glitters, plus the Fired Up collection - awesomeness, awesomeness & more awesomeness:



I've done polish in motion vids for Sunglasses at Night & Be Brave, as well as 2 swatch videos on these so far - and I would like to do another set of swatches, with no base and/or complimentary base colors.  Not sure when that will happen but coming eventually =)






So, that's it ... for now ;)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

China Glaze Magnetix Collection & Swatches (& the Rest of my Huge Nailogy Haul)

I need to put myself on a no-buy ... soon LOL.  But probably not until after I snag some colors from the Hunger Games collection =)  I placed a rather large order from Nailogy after I saw the China Glaze Magnetix collection swatched on The Nailphile.

So hard to resist filling up the cart to get free shipping =)  The original reason for the order was obviously the China Glaze Magnetix collection:

Attraction, Drawn to You, Instant Chemistry, Pull Me Close, Cling On, You Move Me.

Here are the Essie colors that I picked up:

Navigate Her (from the Navigate Her collection), and Armed & Ready (from the Go Overboard collection).

& finally the Color Club colors:

Top:  Glitter Envy & Wink, Wink, Twinkle (from the Starry Temptress collection).  Middle:  Alter Ego (from the Alter Ego collection), Nouveau Vintage (from the Back to Boho collection) & Cold Metal (from the Foiled collection).  Bottom:  Sugar Plum Fairy, Beyond the Mistletoe & Holiday Splendor (from the Beyond the Mistletoe collection).

Here are all of the colors from the Magnetix collection swatched with all 3 of the magnets:

And here are some close up shots:

I don't feel like I'm getting quite as much done this weekend as last, but still - some progress is better than none =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: The Evolution of Revlon Dreamer

I was on such a roll yesterday with getting things done, and videos edited, and just as I turned my attention towards this post - the power went out =(  The electrician was working the bathroom, lord knows why my room had to be turned off for the process.  But I am trying to keep momentum & so I'm finishing this today =)  It is my last manicure from 2011

Revlon Dreamer is a perfectly nice blue all on its own:

But I wanted to add some shimmer & I'd just picked up the Special Effects collection, so I added a coat of Finger Paints Motley.  It added a tiny bit of shimmer.  The shade pic shows it best, a lot of the day it was, like in the other pics, nearly invisible:

Without time to fully changed it, I tried one more time for bling, bringing out the big guns - Essie Shine of the Times (aka the easiest to find dupe for Hidden Treasure).  And I finally got my sparkles, lots of them - you can also still see the blue glimmers of Motley underneath in a few shots:

Here's a look in motion:

Yay!  OK, so I know it's February, but I've just been busy.  I am so freaking glad to be ... well, obviously not caught up, but at least operating in the right year LOL.  

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Zoya True & Fleck Effect Haul

I was sooo happy when these arrived on Saturday - the package tracking estimate had been Monday the last I looked so it was kind of a surprise.  I had to play with them of course, and the swatch vid will be coming soon - I actually thought of several more colors I wanted to try as soon as I finished recording, so I will probably do a few more swatches when I get home later & tack them onto the end of the vid.  But for now here's a look at the haul:

As a side note, if you're wondering why this post is so early in the morning - uploading takes freaking forever  & a half now that I'm doing HD.  I have to really plan ... or at least try to plan ... or at minimum roll with the punches LOL. In this case, I started the upload before I went to bed, got the blog post ready, then verified everything was ready to publish & made it live before I head off to work.

Most of the True collection - I wasn't too taken by the 2 neutrals so I skipped them:

Left to right:  Bevin, Skylar, Lotus, Tru.

Fleck Effect "Mylar Glazes" as the website refers to them:

Maisie, Opal, Chloe.

As a side note, I found out the Grapefruit Surprise Sugar Scrub free 7 oz "sample" that I got sells for $18 direct from  Art of Beauty & isn't much cheaper on amazon.  Nicest freebie I've receive lately =)

And my couple of oddballs:

Essie Dive Bar & Revlon Rain Forest.

I can't wait to use the rhinestones I show in the vid too, although I don't think they need their own pics - I literally got an idea when I saw them & it wouldn't leave my head so I had to go back & purchase them.

UPDATE:
I had a few people wanting to see the bottles for the acrylic paint:

This is Silver Bling & Gold Glitz.  They had lots more glittery & holographic colors, but I decided I should start slow ... no need to buy one of each yet.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Pre-Christmas Haul

I have my Christmas Eve Haul still to post too (which includes my Finger Paints Special Effects!).  But I got some good stuff in this haul too:

Ulta Salon Formula:

Taupe on a Rope, Into Astrono-Me?, Smoke Screen, Envy, Chocolate Kiss.

Orly:

Stone Cold, Emberstone, Rock the World.

China Glaze:

Haunting, Near Dark, Trendsetter.

Revlon:

Mistletoe, Smoldering, Catty, Naughty, Dreamer.

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength:

3k or More, Glass Slipper (which you can see on my mom's nails over Big Smoke HERE).

And of course, finally:

Essie Shine of the Times.  Never expected to find it at Walgreens LOL.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Guest NOTD: Essie It's Genius

I'm finishing the haul post, and when I went looking for the bottle pics I took I found these LOL.  I thought I'd post them quick before they get forgotten again - Mom's nails, Essie It's Genius:

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Essie It's Genius

Not a whole lot to say about this one ... Essie It's Genius is a nice enough polish, but I  was disappointed that the gold flash that showed in the bottle was just flat out GONE on the nail:

Good things coming - my first Butter London polish, plain & stamped, and on my nails right now a water marble =)  Thanks for reading.

~Colette