NOTD: Hunger Games Catching Fire - Girl on Fire French Tips + Tutorial

I am a HUGE Hunger Games fan ... I didn't realize until after the fact how well the Harvest Waterfall would have worked out for the movie, so this is what I ended up wearing to go see the movie.  I started out with a base of OPI Alpine Snow, then a couple coats of Formula X for Sephora Spark, then topped that as a jelly sandwich with OPI Meet Me at the Bonfire.  Then I painted the flames with black acrylic paint:

Here's the tutorial:

Are you a Hunger Games fan?  Have you seen the movie and I'm guessing loved it?  Casting was so spot-on flawless, I think it was even better than the first one.  I can't wait for the next ones!  The last book is getting split into 2 movies if you didn't already know.

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Harvest Waterfall + Tutorial

This was my Thanksgiving design for this year - Thanksgiving is always a bit of a challenge for me ... it's not really a holiday that has a wide range of themes LOL, so since I didn't want to do a turkey again I just went with traditional colors.  This look was inspired by a couple of designs by the Nailasaurus: that are on my Pinterest inspiration board HERE and HERE

I started of with a plain black base of OPI Black Onyx, then did the waterfall with 4 OPI Liquid Sand colors: What Wizardry is This?, Jinx, Honey Ryder, and Magazine Cover Mouse:

Here's the tutorial:

While I did like the textural contrast, after a few days I did add topcoat so that the entire mani was glossy:

Have you tried a waterfall manicure?  Which version of this one was your favorite?

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: OPI Alcatraz ... Rocks

I really wasn't sure about the Liquid Sand polishes at first, but I've grown to like them - both on their own & glossy with a top coat.  This Liquid Sand color is from OPIs's San Francisco Collection, Alcatraz ... Rocks:

Here it is with top coat:

Which version is your favorite?  For me, glossy wins.

Thanks for reading =)

~Colette

NOTD: Skull & Crossbones + Tutorial

So, as far as old vs. new posts, I decided that I'm going to do both.  If I just try to do the old stuff, I'll feel like I'm just falling further behind & it would be true.  Plus, with Halloween today & the holidays right around the corner, no way I'd get caught up in time to share this year's themed manis with you.  So, I'll just try to state whether what you're looking at is old or new ... although in the end, it probably doesn't matter that much, right?  Nails are nails & a mani that was beautiful a few months ago is still beautiful today.

This post is a new mani, for this year's Halloween.  I wasn't sure at first if I was going to do any Halloween manis this year, I just didn't have much inspiration, and then I decided to do these ... they weren't my favorite ever, because as you know I'm a perfectionist, but it was fun to do & good practice at freehanding (which I need).  Base colors were OPI Black Onyx & OPI Alpine Snow, bones done with AS & the skull done with black acrylic:

Here's the tutorial:

And I actually ended up doing another, even free-handier, Halloween design - stay tuned for all of the little Goodwill Halloween faces from the commercial!

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: Purple with Pink Flowers Drag Marble + Tutorial

Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving =) I had 2, one Thursday at Grandma's house & another yesterday at my brother's.  And still a whole 2 days until I have to go back to work!

Drag marbling is to me a great example of low investment high payout, because it's so easy & can be so impressive.  This one I used OPI Vampsterdam as the base color, and the flowers are done with China Glaze Mistletoe Me!  With the rhinestone in the middle I didn't have to worry as much about bald patches caused by dragging from the center:

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

The Evolution of OPI DS Temptation

So, let's get some nail pics on this polish blog, eh?  I know it's been a while.

OPI DS Temptation is one of the most recent additions to the Designer Series.  & while they're not as holographically awesome as many of the original colors, it's still a blurple glittergasm & a totally gorgeous polish:

I could have & should have left well enough alone but after a day or 2 I thought I would add some stamping with Komad image plate m69 - I don't know WTF was going on with my white stamping polish, but this is how it turned out - just a patchy mess, worse than it shows up in pics, and not my best job at matching edges either:

Not cool.  Not cool at all - especially late at night without time for a complete change.  So I attempted to cover it all up, using Zoya Izzy, from their 2011 Gems & Jewels Holiday collection:

I didn't quite get the coverage I was looking for after a couple of coats, so I attempted further camouflage with OPI Servin' Up Sparkle, from one of the Serena Williams duos that I picked up a while ago:

& while I wasn't quite happy with it that way either, by that time it was too late & I just kind of gave up LOL.  Needless to say the next day I soaked the whole mess off & found something simple & awesome to replace it with ... which I'll share with you soon =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

Haul - Hunger Games, Color Club Magnetics & Layla

If it's not one thing it's another ... for those of you who don't follow the Fan Page, Frisky has been quite sick & so I've been spending some time with her.  She is curled comfortably, close on her blanket on the chair next to my computer right now.

Anyway, this haul post has been a ridiculously long time coming.  I originally shot the haul like a month ago, but I wanted to include the swatches with the blog post & didn't get around to editing those until a few days ago.  Here's the haul vid:

& for a closer look at the bottles - first China Glaze:

Top row are all from the Hunger Games collection - Harvest Moon, Fast Track, Hook and Line, Stone Cold, Smoke and Ashes & Luxe and Lush.  Bottom - First Mate & Long Kiss.

The Laylas, which at this point I have worn each of them & I am so in love:

Black Metal, Silver Galaxy & Metallic Sky.

The Color Club Magnetic Force colors - which, on a side note, are exactly the same down to the name as the Finger Paints magnetics.  FAIL Finger Paints, for shame:

Steel of the Night, Electro-Midnight, Hipnotic & Magnetic Force.

& the last of the magnetics (for this haul) from Claire's:

The Unnamed Silver & Unnamed Green.

My OPIs from the Holland collection:

Vampsterdam - which I recently used in a tutorial - Dutch 'Ya Love OPI?, Gouda Gouda Two Shoes & Wooden Shoe Like to Know?

My very first Illamasqua polishes, which I received for review:

Radium, Bacterium, and from the Theatre of the Namesless collection, Taint & Vice.

And lastly Milani (top) & Savvy & Finger Paints (bottom):

Hot Pink, Lavender, French Rose Opal Frost, Chrome & Comet's Collar.

Finally, here's the swatch vid!

I am not making anywhere near the progress I would like playing catch up.  But just know that I'm also nowhere near ever giving up blogging!  I will fit it in somehow, eventually.

Thanks for reading.  

~Colette

(These Illamasqua polishes were sent to me for review)