100 Followers!!

Ahhhhh!!! I just reached 100 followers!! Never, ever, ever in a million years did I think this would happen! I would like to thank each and every one of you for following me and reading me ramblings about my nails!! :) A as many of you know, I am getting ready to go to Las Vegas next weekend, so I am on a husband-imposed no-buy till we're in Vegas (or till I return, but I mean, come on.) :) So as soon as I can find something gorgeous and worthy of giving away to you lovely ladies (and gents) there will be another giveaway to celebrate this wonderful milestone!! Thank you again to all of you for your support! XOXO Stacy

Tough As Nails, and Twice As Pretty - 100 Follower Giveaway!

Tara over at Tough As Nails, and Twice As Pretty is celebrating 100 followers with an awesome giveaway! Stop over and check it out!

20% off at CVS.com!

CVS is having a 20% off everything sale online! Here's your chance to order the Milani holos/glitters/gems, or save on Borghese, Orly, Essie, and more!
Through June 19, enter code GET20SITEWIDE to get 20% off your non-prescription order! 

Key Lime Shine

06/04/11 - Milani Key Lime Shine is a discontinued color I've been wanting to try for a while. I really like it! It's a muted grey green with a very pretty shimmer.

GoldFinger

06/04/11 - Today I am wearing Mattese Elite Cream Dream from the Orgasmic Collection. I kind of like it, but hubby says it's too dark and gaudy looking with my skin tone. I love the BLING in the sunshine! It's a very pretty polish; reminds me of Christmas. :) I think it's supposed to be a dupe for Orly It's Not Rocket Science, but it's not green enough. I believe I've mentioned this before, but Mattese Elite polishes are currently only available at Ricky's NYC (rickysnyc.com). They're manufactured by the Forsythe Group, the same folks who bring us Color Club, Art Club, and Cosmetic Arts polishes.

My First Franken!

06/01/11 - A lot of the ladies in the polish groups I belong to on Facebook are starting to make their own polishes. Sometimes they use a pigment called SpectraFlair that is light diffractive, causing an effect similar to that seen in the popular holographic nail polishes. It's a pigment that's normally used in paint for cars; thus it's not cosmetic grade - so if you decide to try this, you do so at your own risk to your health, and to your polish!! SpectraFlair and similar pigments are available on eBay and various other places on the web.

I'm not brave enough to try the SpectraFlair, but I have wanted to experiment with making my own polish, especially a holo! A lovely lady in the group pointed me in the direction of a product sold at Sally's (and I'm sure many other places as well) called SuperNail Glitter. It's an acrylic powder like the kind used in the glitter/color fill tips I've blogged about before. It IS cosmetic grade, and it's gorgeous! I bought the powder in the shade Silver Rush, which cost a whole $3.59 plus tax for 3.5 grams. There is PLENTY of powder to make several frankens! There are also several other colors/glitters that look like they'd be great for frankening (such as Blizzard). I bought a bottle of NYC Pier 17 to experiment, and added the powder using a fake press-on nail (ring-nail sized), adding 4 "scoops." Then I stirred and shook it - a LOT. It's a tad grainy, so I added a coat of Seche Vite and it cleared that right up! Here is the result! 

 It's definitely not a linear holo, but it is very sparkly! The powder didn't affect the color of the polish at all, other than to make it glitter-tastic :)

I dub thee ... BLUE STEEL! 

New full set!

05/31/11 - I decided I'd had enough of my stubby, brittle nails, so I caved and went to get a new full set today. They're a little more square than I would have liked, but I'm sure I'll get used to them :)

Ahoy, Sinful Colors POTC dupes!

A few days ago I heard about a possible dupe collection from Sinful Colors for the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean collection that was released last month. The Sinful Colors collection is called "Adventure Island," and some of the colors are definitely dupes for the POTCs! There was an article posted on LUUUX.com a few days back showing the new colors. I went into my local Rite Aid to look for Waves of Enchantment from the WnW Mermaid's Cove collection (no luck), but lo and behold, they DID have the Sinful Adventure Island colors, and pretty much all the colors were in stock!

Left to Right: Star Fish (dupe for Sparrow Me The Drama), Rise and Shine, Verbena (dupe for Planks A Lot), Open Seas (dupe for Mermaid's Tears), and Seaweed (dupe for Stranger Tides). On the display it looked like there were also dupes for Steady As She Rose and Skull and Glossbones, but I didn't grab these colors and don't know their names. $1.99 each, folks!! I don't care if they're a blatant ripoff ... These are a steal! I also had to grab the hot pink Sally Hansen Crackle polish. :)

Above: Super duper flashy picture, but ... ignoring the very top left one (which is Funky Fingers Baby Baby Baby), these are, left to right: Rise and Shine, Seaweed, Open Seas, Verbena, and Star Fish. 

Above: Here they are again, along with some other colors I'll blog about later :) 

What do you think? :) 

Toss Me A LIFESAVERS

05/27/11 - This pretty, fun, summery color is Wet N Wild Shine Toss Me A LIFESAVERS. It's, well, lime green. :) But it also has a faint bluish-green shimmer which is really quite pretty! 

You know I like to change it up, so I added Ulta Pinata-Yada-Yada over the top.

Party time! :)

Beautiful Barielles!

05/25/11 - I finally snagged a couple of Barielle polishes I've been wanting for a while - Elle's Spell (left) and Falling Star (right). 

Here is Falling Star, which is described as "marine blue with gold glitter." It's definitely marine blue, but I would describe the glitter as more of a coppery color. I LOVE this polish! Onto the favorites list it goes! <3

Next up is Elle's Spell, a "jelly red with multicolor foil flakes." Think Nubar 2010 but in a red jelly! It's absolutely stunning, another of my favorite polishes!

Just for fun, I tossed some Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love top coat onto Elle's Spell... I really like the result :)

Cosmic FX dupes?

05/22/11 - I apologize for the terrible pics ... but this is Mattese Elite Intense Pleasure from their Orgasmic Collection. I think it is a dupe for Orly Out Of This World from the Cosmic FX collection. Since I don't have the Orly, unfortunately I can't truly compare, and these pics don't do the polish justice. :(

Here are some of the shades from Mattese Elite's Orgasmic Collection. Top to bottom, Cream Dream (which I think was supposed to be a dupe for It's Not Rocket Science, but is not green enough), Cream Dream with OPI Black Shatter, Explosive Sensation (looks to be a dupe for Galaxy Girl), Intense Pleasure, and a separate Mattese Elite shade I previously blogged about, Nutty Hat Guy (a dupe for OPI Mad As A Hatter). 

 The Mattese Elite polishes are exclusive to Ricky's Beauty Supply (rickysnyc.com). I picked up these three from the Orgasmic Collection for $.99 each!

Mad As A Who?

05/21/11 - Through the Facebook group I belong to, Polish-A-Holics Anonymous, I was pointed in the direction of a possible dupe for OPI's Mad As A Hatter from their Alice in Wonderland Collection. Here is a pic from Lacquerized's blog of the real deal:

And here is the version I ordered from RickysNYC.com for $5.99 plus $10 (!) shipping, Mattese Elite Nutty Hat Guy:

What do you think? I couldn't recreate the lighting from the original photo, but I think this is a pretty close dupe. It's missing a few colors of glitter, but from afar, no one would notice, and it's absolutely beautiful on the nail. I personally think it was money well spent, since I will never own the real thing! :)

Revvving It Up!

 05/16/11 - Color Club Revvvolution! This black linear holo is so beautiful in person. Here it is on its own.

I decided to dress it up a bit with a tape mani using Color Club Worth the Risque, a silver holo. They make a dashing duo, no? 

OK Coral!

05/12/11 - Here's a lovely coral, orangey polish from Sinful Colors called Hazard. I'm not sure I like how the color looks on me, but it's a very nice shade! 

I decided to top it with NYC Starry Silver Glitter to make it more interesting. 

My first Zoya!

05/11/11 - Today I'm wearing Zoya Phoebe, one of the Summer 2011 Mod Mattes collection! Phoebe is Greek for "bright and shining," and although this shade, being matte, isn't shiny, it's definitely bright! It looks just like turquoise on the nail. It's beautiful! She is an amazing summery color. 

Nubar Reclaim and 2010!

 05/10/11 - A group I belong to on Facebook, Polish-A-Holics Anonymous, turned me on to a shade by Nubar called Reclaim. It is a gorgeous grass-green linear holo, super shiny and rainbowy! The application is fantastic, and it's a very unique shade. Definitely on my list of favorite polishes!

Nubar 2010 is a clear/opalescent jelly with iridescent coppery flakes. This color is a dupe for Sally Hansen Salon Hidden Treasure, a discontinued and very hard to find polish. I decided to layer 2010 over Reclaim, and it looks amazing! It reminds me a bit of money :)