Essie Mint Candy Apple

Hello loves! Here's a quick little post about an incredible polish I finally, FINALLY got my hands on. Essie Mint Candy Apple!

It isn't HTF that I'm aware of, I just never ended up with it. I've been in love with it for months and months! I wish I hadn't waited so long to put it in my stash. So, after much ado, here it is!

This is two easy coats and a top coat of Seche Vite. Application was dreamy, probably among the easiest I've ever experienced. This simple, clean mani lasted five full days with no chipping and minimal tipwear. I highly recommend it! Such a beautiful color.

Hope you love it! Have a wonderful week!

Love, 

Rachael

ALIENS!

Helllooooo! Last Sunday my family hosted an Alien movie marathon. Not those lame alien movies, either- the legit Sigourney Weaver Alien quadrilogy. (Don't I sound smart? The dudes at our local Nerds R Us store taught me that word)

SO, here's a picture of the alien who noms on pretty much everyone for four glorious movies.

pretty, ain't she?

and here's Ellen Ripley (Sig Weav. I love her.)

BADASS

So naturally I needed alien nails for the occasion. Of course my aliens turned out much scarier than the ones from the movies, so beware...

AHHHH. FRIGHTENING TINY GREEN TEDDY BEARS.

So, the alien attempt kinda failed. But I did like the shooting star and the tiny Mars. Pinky is supposed to be the deep, dark space Ripley floated through before crash landing... ah, you just need to watch the movies.

Base: Wet n Wild Black Creme

Index: Sally Hansen Golden-I and Celeb City, striper brush

Middle: Stars- China Glaze OMG. Dots- Sinful Colors Snow Me White. Mars- China Glaze Papaya Punch with Zoya Tanzy on top. Top coat- China Glaze Fairy Dust.

Ring: Alien- Base of Snow Me White for opacity andEssie Pretty Edgy on top. 

Pinky: ChG Fairy Dust

What do you think? Isn't he a cute teddy-alien? :)

Have a wonderful day!

Essie To Buy or Not To Buy

Hey everyone!! There's so many of you now.. Makes me a little nervous! And excited!!

Here's a quick post of a pretty polish that I'm not sure I love.

Essie To Buy or Not to Buy is relatively new, I believe, and it's a pretty boring, typical pastel lilac creme. In the bottle there's this gorgeous pink and blue shimmer that drew me in like a polish lover to a black label OPI, but it does not translate to the nail. At all. In any way. I waved my hands around like a fool in lamp light, artificial light, sunlight, black light, Coors light... okay, I'm kidding. 

See? Pretty, but so boring. Formula was alright, a little dragging even though I waited a few minutes in between coats. This is three, and the effort was not really worth it.

Can you kinda see it?  GORGEOUS. But on my nails.. nada.

Sooo Essie got stamped in the face with Kleancolor Metallic Black and a cute leopard/cheetah/whatever stamp, then a coat of SV. Better!! 

What do you think of To Buy or Not to Buy? I think the name is ironic. 

VERDICT: I should've have bought.

Stay tuned for my 100 Followers giveaway!! 

See you soon :)

-Rachael

Belated St Patty's Mani!

Hey hey! I'm a terrible blogger.. been a few days since I posted. I'm sawwy :( Work has been aw-ful this week, and when I get home I usually crash land somewhere comfy. 

This is my St Patty's Day mani!! It was so easy to do, and I promise it looked better in person. I got tons of compliments on it. I did two coats of Orly Bonder Base Coat, then two coats of Essie Pretty Edgy. Then I freehanded the tips in China Glaze Blonde Bombshell. Middle finger- Two coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White. Then I used a random stamping plate I won in a giveaway for the adorable clover. Pretty Edgy wasn't opaque, so I went over it with a dotting tool. Then I did random polka dots of Blonde Bombshell.

I really enjoyed this mani, and the beverages I had last night. Whew. I deserved it, though!! Maybe..

Hope you like it! Sinful Colors swatches to come tomorrow. What did you do for St. Patty's Day??

Don't forget the giveaway!! Ends in a week!

Zoya Caitlin & Essie Shine of the Times

Hi everyone! How are you? Tonight's post is short and sweet. I did this mani a few days ago and loved it, but for some reason I cannot explain, it smudged horribly minutes after I took these pictures. I just took it all off and moved on. Sad right? It's pretty!

This is two coats of Zoya Caitlin, a beautiful blue toned grey with incredible application. Zoya is my all time favorite brand. The more I use them, the more I fall in love! (I just ordered six more, coughcough...) Caitlin has great dry time, so I don't know what happened with the smudging. I used two coats of Essie Shine of the Times and one coat of Hard Candy Matte-ly in love. Pretty pretty. I'll attempt this again soon!

What do you think??

Hope you're having a great week!

Nail Mail!!!

Hey again! Here's my first swap pic like I promised. I swapped with Amanda from Fashion Footing. She's super nice, and her blog is great! She included a really sweet note and a little extra. So exciting to have done my first swap. Hope she likes what I got her! :)

L-R: Pixel Polish- Oh Wee! Color Club- Foil Me Once, Essie- Shine of the Times, and Sinful Colors- Winterberry

I have been lemming the Foiled Collection for a long time, and so I was so excited that she threw that in as a surprise! I looove Shine of the Times and just never picked it up. As soon as I put it on I wondered why I waited! It's gorgeous! The Pixel Polish is my first, and it's adorable. Super pretty sparkle, too. Ohh and the Sinful... I love purple, and Winterberry is the dustiest most lovely shade. So. Excited.

Thanks so much Amanda!! 

Have a wonderful day everyone :) 

Rachael

Meehhh

Hey lovelies. Today's post is going to be totally lame. Just warning you.

I'm sick =/ So.annoying. Stomach flu from my dad, who was kind enough to share. sdj;aJD;ska

I have a Valentine's Day mani on right now, but I haven't had the energy to bother with pics yet, so those will come tomorrow. I'm not sure I like it very much anyway. 

First I wanted to share this awful experience I had today while going on a quick dusty hunt. I took my little brother to work and on the way home I passed a nail salon that I see all the time. I got a manicure done there several years ago for prom, and I was unimpressed so I never went back. NOW I remember why! I must remind you that I am very new to the art of the dusty hunt, and perhaps I didn't follow proper etiquette but who the hell cares! I went in, and no one was in there but two women watching TV. They literally glared at me when I came in. I'm pretty bubbly and nice even when I don't feel good, but I was greeted coldly. I asked if they sold any polishes, and they both said "No" rudely and dismissively, so I scurried away. Usually I'll fight the good fight but today I wasn't up to it. 

A couple hours later, as I was thinking of the SIX holographic China Glazes they had on their polish rack, I realized I hadn't asked if they sold their used polishes. Dumb, I should have asked. Curiosity piqued, so I called and said "Hi, I came by earlier and I forgot to ask if you sell your used polishes. I saw a few I'd be very happy to purchase from you, if possible." Sweet as friggin honey. 

hold on to your bonnet. this is what she said to me. 

"I remember you. Let me make something clear.. this is a SALON, not a convenience store. I don't sell any polishes here. Didn't I already tell you that?" WHOA Tacky Tina, I was just asking! Sheesh! Stunned, I said, "Yes, but I was asking about used ones. I'm a collector and I was just looking for a particular color." Bitch McBitchenstein says "Listen. You can go to Sally's. I don't have anything for you." She was so snotty and hateful for absolutely no reason. Firstly, if 7-11 carried ChG OMG do you think I'd be traipsing into LE Nails to have a tussle with Tina? Probably friggin not. 

So I got attitude, a stomach bug, and no OMG. :( Sigh. 

To keep up with the general theme, here's my first ever stamping mani. I used Sinful Colors White on White and Kleancolor Metallic Black. It's so icky. And chipped. And I was so friggin proud. Wore it for about five days. /Lame

and here's my second stamping mani.  I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Essie Mesmerize. Again, I was so proud. It was like a newborn child. 

haha! pitiful. anyway, thanks for reading :) you all make me smile. hope everyone is having a wonderful day. :) 

Haul!

hi hi! This week I bought quite a few polishes. Most are not from new collections but I'm very excited to have them regardless. In comparison to some my 18 polish haul isn't a big one, but it seemed like a lot to me! A new polish is always so much fun. :)

L-R: Orly- Sweet Peacock, Orly- Lucky Duck, SH- Fairy Teal, Essie- Pretty Edgy, FingerPaints- Comet's Collar

This array of colors is probably my very favorite. I'm crazy about greens and blues, more so than I used to be. Every time I go to find the colors for the NOTD I look at shades like these. Anyway, Sweet Peacock is the new polish love of my life. Maybe I'm easily impressed, but the pigmentation in this color is astounding. It has so much depth and shine. *Sigh* I could ramble on, but I'll quit :) Next is Lucky Duck, also from the Birds of a Feather collection. It's a lovely jade green. I got these in a set with Fowl Play, but I think I'll be putting that one away for some other event. Maybe a giveaway :) Fairy Teal I found at CVS for $1.49. Pretty happy with that purchase! Essie: Pretty Edgy came from Ulta, and Comet's Collar for $1.99 at Sally's. It had been on my wish list for awhile so I was so happy to find it. Sorry about the rambling! I get so pleased with myself for buying great polishes for even better prices. 

L-R: Orly- Purple Crush, Orly- Lift the Veil, CG- Magical, CG- Passion, SH- Flirt

I found the China Glazes at Ulta. It's on the opposite side of town so I haven't been there yet, but holy goodness am I glad I went. They had several of the Romantique Collection (Harmony, Awaken, and Admire) that I had never seen before in person, only in swatches. I am such a sucker for frosty metallics, so these are right up my alley. I think I need to go back for a few others. I'm excited to utilize in some stamping adventures. Sally Hansen Xreme Wear- Flirt is such a pretty deep purply-red color. It was 75 cents at CVS, and it also stamps well. 

L-R: Milani- Blue Flash, Milani- Silver Dazzle, Hard Candy- Beetle

Oh Milani. How you have eluded me. I found them in a little town aout 45 minutes away at a tiiiiny K-Mart. Thank goodness for my fellow bloggers who pointed me in the right direction! These are the only two they had, but I snatched them up without a second thought. Swatches soon. HC-Beetle is an Orly- Space Cadet dupe. The $6 difference in prices made this an easy buy, too. 

L-R: Essence- Lime up!, Essence- Break Through, Essence- Walk of Fame, Orly- Oui, Orly- Ma Cherie.

These little Essences are so fun! At 99 cents I can get tons and be guilt free. The Orly minis came in a candy cane I got on sale at Sally's for $1.99. It also came with Androygnie, which I forgot to put in the pics! Whoops. 

YAY DEALS, and YAY POLISH HAUL!

I'd like to take a second to thank my sweet followers for giving me a little of their time each day. I really appreciate you and hope to keep things interesting around here.

Hope everyone is having a great day!!

(i)Rachael(/i)

Progress!!

Hey there! I got my camera all fixed up. Now I have to learn how to get it to take pictures like I want, because when I attempted to capture the purple color of my previous mani, it was a hot mess. I was horrified by the huge mistake I called a mani in my last post, but this should make up for it. I am so proud. It's like.. my first born child. I mean mani. Haha. Check it out!

Essie- Pretty Edgy

OH HOLY NIGHT it's gorgeous. I can't get enough of it. Not only is kelly green my favorite color, but Essie has managed to create a perfect creme version of it that I only recently discovered. Last on the shelf at Ulta. Gift card in hand. It was fate, seriously. Can't even handle this. I also can't handle my shockingly dry skin but ohh efff my nails are so pretttyyy.... I'll get over it. I put lotion on and two seconds later it's all soaked in. Siigh, the troubles of winter. Meh.

So obviously this is Essie- Pretty Edgy. I think it's Pretty Freaking Awesome. Application was a dream, perfectly controllable and opaque in two glorious coats. I topped it with a healthy layer of SV and then... stamped. And it's gorgeous.

I stamped with BM plate 05, in Kleancolor Metallic Sapphire. I love Kleancolor for stamping. There's a place in Texas that has them, near my grandmother's house, and last time I was there I bought out their metallics. Worth the $1.95, and much more. I used a dotting tool and put a tiny bit of Sinful Colors Queen of Beauty, a really pretty silver glitter. Then... I kept playing. 

I filled in my the design on my ring finger with Color Club Kiss Me Mistletoe, a lovely green foil I'll be swatching soon. Can you tell I love me some green? :) 

Sigh. Perfection. This mani has made my whole day. Er, night. I'm having dinner with the boyfriend's parents tomorrow and didn't want something too ostentatious. This mani is "me" enough without being in anyone's face. Not that I'd care much. Breaking them in slowly! :)

Anyway. I'm just so excited that I got my camera working and that I could finally bring a decent post. If I had a glass of sparkling grape juice I'd prolly be celebrating in style. Hope everyone is having a great day :)


By the way... I know this is very early on, and I only have a couple followers, but if we can spread the word my first giveaway will come that much faster. I already picked up a couple things. :) Can't... stop... shopping!!!


Did I mention I found a bottle of Seche Vite today for $2.15? On clearance? How does that even happen?

See you soon!!!

-Rachael