Older Random Swatches!

Hi all!

I figured I'd show some of my older nail swatches. They aren't the best and my clean-up back then was lacking in some ways, but I figured why not. We all start from somewhere!

Butter London Fash Pack- 2 coats/OPI Rapidry Top Coat

Butter London Fash Pack- 2 coats/OPI Rapidry Top Coat

Finger Paints- Itsy Bitsy Spider- 3 coats/OPI Rapidry Top Coat

Finger Paints- Late Night Rendezvous- 2 coats/OPI Rapidry Top Coat

Finger Paints- Late Night Rendezvous- 2 coats/OPI Rapidry Top Coat With Flash

Pure Ice- Grunge- 2 coats/No Top Coat

Pure Ice- Grunge- 2 coats/No Top Coat

Notes:
- With Butter London Fash Pack, the bottle has noticeable golden shimmer. The shimmer doesn't translate well onto the nail and it's barely noticeable.
- Finger Paints Itsy Bitsy Spider has a blue/violet to pink shimmer, depending on the light. I had a hard time photographing the pink shimmer, but it is noticeable in person.
- Pure Ice Grunge was part of the Velour collection last winter. I believe this was limited edition. The polish is meant to have a velvet sort of finish, so I did not use top coat.
- I had no issues with formula with any of these polishes.

~Emily

Update on Life!

Hi Everyone!

I know I haven't posted since April, yuck. I hate that! I've actually had mani's I've done, taken the photos, take off the polish and the photos are horrible. Just my luck, huh? I don't want to post horrible photos, so I just wait off on it. I promise I will have some newer stuff soon. I enjoy blogging and miss it!

Since last time I made a post I told you all that I was pregnant. I was still in my first trimester and dealing with horrible morning sickness (I lost 30lbs, it was the worst!) but now I'm in my third trimester and our little girl will be here soon! Yep! That's right! We're having a girl! I'm thrilled beyond belief! We haven't finished up her nursery yet, but we're getting close. I've just been really busy preparing/cleaning/organizing/going to appointments/making sure everything is set for when she gets here.

So, not too much has been going on. I'm ready to get back into blogging when the time allows for now. I have a Facebook Page for both my blogs. I keep that updated somewhat regularly on new posts, deals, sales, new stuff, giveaways, etc. You're welcome to check it out and like the page.

I'm glad everyone is sticking around and "Hello!" to my new followers! I truly appreciate each and every one of you! I'll be back at it before you know it! :)

~Emily

An Update!

Hi Everyone!

I know I haven't been around much, sorry about that! I recently found out that I'm pregnant with my first child! It's so exciting! I have been dealing with the dreaded morning sickness so polishing my nails hasn't been at the top of my list lately. Last time I tried to paint my nails, my super-sniffing-nose smelled some weird things. One polish smelt like evergreens and my top coat somehow smelt like bananas to me. That COMPLETELY threw me off considering none of them were scented. It's really strange, but after that I quit painting my nails for a while lol.

The good news is the morning sickness has lessened up a bit and I'm feeling pretty good! So I will hopefully be back to blogging very soon. Although every time I say that I jinx myself and go back to feeling horrible. Blah!

Anyway, I thought I should let all of you know that I haven't fallen off of the planet! Thanks for being a follower/fan/friend! I truly appreciate it!

-Emily

Custom Franken Polish By Franken Femme!

Hi all!

So I have a bit of a different polish today! Becca over at FrankenFemme was offering to make a custom one-of-a-kind polish for people who were willing to tell others about her blog and what she does. I had seen some of her other frankens (they are GORGEOUS by the way) so I offered! It didn't take too long before I had my amazing mini bottle of polish in my hands. Becca also shows on her blog how she creates her polishes and gives each amount of colors/glitter to help you make your own!

Along with my polish, I got a nice note saying how my polish was made. It was nice knowing what went into my polish! I had a little ribbon along with a small note tied around my polish also. It was amazing what she came up with considering I had only said I liked glitter, purple, blue and green. The color combos in this go together extremely well. The only issue I had was my polish was a little lumpy and a tiny bit thick. I think a few drops of thinner would make this perfect (in my opinion).

My note said that my polish was made using suspension base, white cream base, purple shimmer base, satin mint green hexes, purple matte hexes, matte teal hexes and holo glitter. There was absolutely no bleeding or curling. All glitter/hexes laid flat on my nail.

This is 2 coats of polish with 2 coats of OPI Rapidry top coat.

I think this is one of my top favorite polishes. The combination of glitter along with the overall color works extremely well together! I suggest checking out her blog for her other creations. I have really been blown away by some of her colors!

~Emily

Hmm, This Is Strange...

 Edit: This color is LA Colors Sea Green. I forgot to add that! Sorry!

So while I was shopping today, I stumbled upon a big bin of LA Colors nail polish at a discount store. Awesome! I like some of LA Colors' stuff so I browsed through them. I found two colors I really liked and I bought them.

Well once I got home and started swatching, I noticed something. These colors both had the same name! They were two different colors! One looks like it is older and the other looks like it is newer. Here's the photos. Take a look for yourself!

Old on the left, new on the right

Old on the left, new on the right

New on left, old on right

New on left, old on right

As you can see, the new one is more blue while the older one is more green. I shook the bottles and everything thinking it may have been discoloration, but then I remembered I saw a few of the new and old ones there and they were the same. I also thought maybe the stickers had been switched possibly, but they don't show any signs of it and are stuck on pretty normal. It seems like the newer color has less golden shimmer than the older too.

I also noticed that the newer bottles have less than the older. Hmmm... I had never noticed that before either!

It's really weird. I'm guessing the newer batches are made more blue. I prefer the green (older) but I like them both so they're staying with me! :)

China Glaze- It's A Trap-eze!

Hi everyone!

I picked up It's A Trap-eze! a while back when the Cirque Du Soleil had just came out. I'm slow at getting around to polishes sometimes.

It's A Trap-eze! is a a pretty different type of polish. I can say I don't have anything like it in my collection! There are lots of different color hex glitter in a milky white base. I spotted yellow, blue, green, red, pink and white glitter within it. There may be more colors that I'm not seeing. There are some medium sized hex glitter along with smaller sizes.

My bottle was a tiny bit too thick for my liking, but it wasn't too big of an issue. To spread out the glitter, you have to dab it in the area you'd like (like some other glitter polishes). Two coats were needed to make this opaque which is nice! After I put on top coat though, I did notice that all the glitter tended to make the overall finish a little lumpy, so I added two coats of top coat and it smoothed things out.

I really like this polish. I get sort of a birthday party vibe from this, so I'll be wearing it to my nephew's birthday party in a few weeks. Anyone else get that feeling? I guess it's just all the bright colors.

~Emily

China Glaze- Kiwi Cool-Ada

I don't run into this problem much, but I have today.

I asked on my personal Facebook page what color I should paint my nails. One of my friends suggested neon green. Can do. I had Kiwi Cool-Ada I hadn't tried. Luckily nail polish comes off with a little work.

I really don't like this color! It's just not for me and it clashes with my skin tone. Not only that but my bottle is really thin and runny and the formula is streaky. After 4 coats you could still see my nail line. My camera couldn't take a decent picture either. I guess it had a "freak out"!

Not so great huh? I thought I'd really love this color, unfortunately I was wrong.

~Emily

Layla Ceramic Effect- CE 52

 This is one of my picks from my birthday haul (which I should post!). I found it on clearance at Ulta for $6.99.

I'm not 100% sure if this is also called the Butterfly Effect, but I believe it is. My bottle doesn't say it, so I won't say it with certainty.

CE 52 is a purple jelly polish that is full of flakies that change from red to gold to green. I had absolutely no issues with the formula and I had full coverage within 3 coats. I've seen that this is a dupe for Nfu Oh 51 and while I don't have it to compare, I believe it is from my online searches.

Has anyone tried the other Ceramic Effect polishes? They look really interesting! I may pick up a few if I see them on sale.

~Emily

Layla Hologram Effect- Ultra Violet

This is one of my first real holographic polishes! I know, I'm late to the game. The sad thing was, about a week ago I was just telling myself how tired I was of holographic nail polish. I picked Ultra Violet and Ocean Rush up since they were on clearance at Ulta for $6.99. Awesome deal!

I would just like to say, I now know what all the hype is about. I couldn't stop staring at my nails all day! It's so gorgeous!

I didn't really look up how to apply these and I just did my normal routine. China Glaze base coat, 3 coats of Ultra Violet and OPI Rapidry top coat. I did have a problem with dragging and bald spots with this polish. I would do a coat and let it dry in-between, but the next coat would drag and make a a few bald spots. I fixed them with a light dab of polish and it seemed to fix the problem. I've heard some people say don't use a top coat or it will ruin the holographic finish, but I didn't run into that problem at all. I need to do some more research!

I have a new love for holographic polishes. Have any tips you'd like to share when working with holographic polishes? I'd love to know!

~Emily

Zoya- Happi

Hi!

I bought this polish (along with Skylar and Zara) for the Zoya promo. I've really been feeling springy pinks lately, so I felt this was completely appropriate.

Zoya descripes Happi as a "Pink metallic duochrome. A frosty hint of gold creates a unique peachy-pink."  I had no issues with the formula, although it can be a little sheer.

This is 3 coats along with OPI Rapidry.

I'll have swatches of Skylar and Zara up soon.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Emily

OPI- Pros & Bronze

Pros & Bronze is part of the Serena Glam Slam collection (along with Love Is A Racket). I found my collection at Ulta a little over a year ago on clearance.

Pros & Bronze is described as "a glimmering golden-bronze" by OPI, but it's so much more than that. It's full of little flakes that make up the polish. Depending on the light, it flashes gold, bronze, pink, and copper. It's definitely one of my favorite polishes, I just hate how it tends to clash with my skin tone.

This is 3 coats with Rapidry top coat.

In shade

Pros & Bronze is a little sheer, so 2 coats would probably work although I used 3 for full coverage.

~Emily

Pure Ice- Glass of Bordeaux

This is one of the polishes I was given for Christmas (along with some of the other new colors). Glass of Bordeaux is part of Pure Ice's French Trend collection. Pure Ice's website describes Glass of Bordeaux as burgundy glitter. I believe their descriptions are a bit "off" considering the polish is red micro glitter in a thin black base.

I had no problems with application. The polish can be a little sheer, so 3 coats are needed. I really like this polish, I just wish the red glitter would shine through as much as the bottle shows it.

This is 3 coats with OPI Rapidry top coat.

Indirect sunlight

Indirect sunlight

I'm really excited for what Pure Ice has in store for us. I've been buying polishes from that brand since I was about 12 and it seemed to be a brand that was pretty "stale" for a while. I'm glad they have released collections now and are adding new colors to their permanent line.

Pure Ice polishes can be found for $2 at Walmart and Walgreens.

More information can be found HERE.

~Emily

SpaRitual- It's Raining Men

This will be a quick post. I got SO MANY POLISHES for Christmas I'm swimming in them. Yeah, it's totally not a bad thing, I'm not complaining!

SpaRitual's It's Raining Men is a periwinkle blue color that shifts pink/gold/light green. It's amazing. I've been lemming this for what seems like ages and I got it for Christmas. It is pretty sheer. This is 4 coats with Orly Won't Chip top coat.

Under bright lights

Under dim fluorescent lighting

I've seen that this is a dupe for Orly's Sky Blue Pink (which I was also lemming *crosses it off the list*). From what I can tell it is pretty dead on.

Sorry for the messy nails. My top coat is turning gross and thick and pretty much ruined my mani. I also forgot to do some clean up. Oops. After this post I'll be switching to OPI Rapidry top coat for my mani's.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Emily