Alter Ego: January Polish of the Month, Life's A Beach

Good morning dears!  I'm just going to take Monday nice and easy, if that means taking a nap and lounging with the baby all morning, so be it!  Especially since it's forecasted to rain pretty much all day - and not a light mist, a good steady rain. But I can at least work on the last few swatches I need to do to be 100% caught up AND share a post with you. Cynthia comes up with great polishes for her fan group and January is no exception.  Today I have Alter Ego's January Polish of the Month, Life's A Beach.  This beautifully cheerful polish is available now and is $9.50.  The price goes up to $10 soon (tomorrow, I believe .  And don't forget you can save 20% using my code My Nail Polish Obsession.  Now let's check out Life's A Beach.  

*press sample*

Alter Ego: Shop, Facebook, Fan Group, Instagram 

Alter Ego Body Care Products: Kinkade's Golden Gate

Evening dolls!  I've got a post for you tonight that is a real beauty!  It's inspired by a painting of the Golden Gate Bridge by Thomas Kinkade.  I have really grown to appreciate San Francisco (I'm local to the area and only about a 45 minute drive away) so I find this polish to be quite special and unique.  The Golden Gate Bridge is a beautiful bridge and I enjoy driving across it and taking in the sights.  Cynthia created this polish for the Polish Pickup group on Facebook.  You can join the group HERE to purchase the polish.  I'm not really sure all the specifics about this group.  What I do understand is that this is NOT a box, so you only buy what you really love!  Great concept.  Anyways, you can pick this beautiful polish up towards the end of the month!  Let' check out pictures!

*press sample*

Polish Pickup: Shop, Facebook

Alter Ego Body Care Products: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

You can learn more about this painting by Thomas Kinkade HERE.  

Indie Spotlight: Paint Box Polish

Good morning and happy Saturday.  I'm licking my soccer wounds still (we lost playoffs last night) as well as an injured glute muscle.  Actually I'm not really sure what's hurt, but something is in pain and I can feel it deep in there even when I'm walking.  But that's neither here nor there because today is another Indie Spotlight, YAY!  This month a group of us wonderful bloggers will be featuring Paint Box Polish on our blogs.  Pam is a big fan of Harry Potter, Doctor Who and Game of Thrones so you'll see some fandom collections/names in her shop.  She's got a wide variety of finishes but I personally love her holo glitters (Westerosi Collection), flakies and multi chromes.  Aside from polish, Paint Box Polish also has an extensive collection of amazingly scented cuticle oils, mani fizzes and Intensive Butter Balm.  I can't speak highly enough of these hand care items.  Scents are seasonal and always rotating so snag up your favorites for healthy and pleasant smelling hands.  Ok, enough of the high praise, I think you get that I love this brand.  As always, you can use my code MNPO for 15% off your order.  Let's jump into the post.
*press sample* *purchased by me*
Paint Box Polish: Shop, Facebook, Instagram 

ellagee Haute Mama (custom)

Hi again!  I really wanted to share a couple posts today but since I was stuck in swatch land and never came up for air both posts are going up now.  Hope you don't mind!  I don't think you will because if you are like me you can look at polish 24/7.  This post features another custom from ellagee.  I actually won a giveaway hosted by Laura and the prize was a OOAK custom!  How awesome is that?!  We worked together and came up with this stunning red polish!  While you can't get this exact one there is a huge selection of other finishes and colors over in the ellagee shop.

*this polish was a won in a giveaway*

ellagee: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

I really wanted a darkened red holo full of dark micro flakies.  Laura tinkered with some shades she had on hand, tried a few different flakies and this was the stunning version I settled on!  I named it Haute Mama.  Haute Mama is a deep shade of red, with a very slight lean into the berry territory.  It has a lovely holo finish and these fabulous charcoal grey micro flakies!  The formula and application was perfect - just like any other ellagee I have tried.  I used 3 coats, not for full coverage but for maximum color deepness!   layer of topcoat to finish if off and make Haute Mama shine in all her glory!  

ellagee Ella-gance & Crown Jewels

Good morning all!  I'm trying to catch up on swatches and posts, and quite frankly failing.  I just can't seem to keep up anymore!  But I've rallied and have so many swatches ready to share with you all!    Today's post features a few gorgeous ellagee polishes!  I've known ellagee/Laura for over a year now and I've always loved her polishes.  ellagee has a wide variety of collections and finishes that will make any polish fan happy!  So let's get this show on the road and check out polish!

*nothing to disclose*

ellagee: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

Up first I have a custom, and unfortunately it means it's not available for public purchase.  But it does show off Laura's talent in making amazing polishes!  This is ella-gance, its a deep red jelly holo full of purple holo glitters.  It was sheer on the first coat but built up perfectly in 3 coats.  ella-gance is juicy and shiny on it's own, no need for topcoat.  Love this color!

*artificial light*

Crown Jewels IS a polish available to the public and be thankful it is!  I was absolutely blown away with this sparkly beauty.  Crown Jewels is a "mix of metallic and holo glitters in multiple pastel jewel tones with silver holo and pink microglitter."  So darn pretty.  It even flashes the bling in low lighting. Crown Jewels had a great formula and covered nicely on it's own in 3 coats.  You could also wear 1 layer of a base color for a different look.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat for a smooth to the touch finish.  

*artificial light*

*outside, overcast*

Red Dog Desings Limited Edition La Vie en rose for My Nail Polish Obsession

I've been slightly obsessed with all things rose lately.  I love the colors and the smell.  I'll buy anything rose: body products, perfume, makeup, jewlery, anything named after a rose...everything.  When Gina from Red Dog Designs and I worked on my 2-year blogiversary polish of course I knew I wanted holo, and I wanted a rosy color.  Well Gina nailed it!  This beautiful custom is a perfectly blend of pink and red, holo pigment and holo pink sparkles.  I named it La Vie en rose....after the Louis Armstrong song.  If you like this custom there is great news for you....La Vie en rose was created in limited supply and there are less than 30 bottles available for sale on Monday 4/21/14 at 5:00 pm EST.  I say less than 30 because as you will see, I have 1/30 to show you today!
Red Dog Designs: Shop, Facebook, Instagram
La Vie en rose is absolutely perfect.  I love it...so much.  The formula and application of La Vie en rose were both fabulous.  I used 2 coats for full coverage and 1 layer of topcoat.  

I also wanted to show you how well it paired with the Red Dog Designs custom celebrating my 1 year blogiversary last year!  Summershine is a gorgeous blend of pink, gold, iridescent and holo glitters.  It's mostly circles and butterflies....perfect to pair butterflies with roses, right?  

Girly Bits Custom Burning Love

Good morning!  Hope your Sunday is relaxing and full of coffee and yummy breakfast pastries!  I am super excited about this post and you should be too.  This is the custom from Girly Bits that Pam created for me.  I simply adore the color, it's perfect and exactly what I had imagined.  Because it's a custom it's not for sale, but you can win this (well a brand new bottle - this is MY bottle) if you enter my giveaway!  It ends at 11:59 pm PST tonight, 2/9/14.  You can get your last chance entry in HERE.  

Girly Bits: Shop, Llarowe, Harlow & Co, Overall Beauty, Mei Mei's Signatures, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

THIS is Burning Love. I love Burning Love.  It's a gorgeous deep pink creme with a red undertone.  It's the perfect shade for any time of year, but especially for right now with love in the air...birds chirping, flowers blooming, Cupid whispering sweet nothings into unsuspecting ears.  Pam added just the right amount of shimmer to the base to give it a flirty touch.  I see pink, fuchsia and silver shimmer when I move my fingers around. Burning Love had an amazing formula and applied like a dream!  I used 2 coats of Burning Love topped with 1 layer to topcoat.  So what do you think of my custom? 

*pictures show more pink than that pink-red color of the actual polish...hard color to capture!* 

My Nail Polish Obsession 1 Year Blogiversary AND Birthday Giveaway!

I'm so very excited to be able to celebrate these two occasions with my readers!  My 1 year blogiversary passed in March and my birthday is this coming Sunday!  I made no formal mention of my 1-year mark passing because I was busy working on a special custom polish with my friend Gina at Red Dog Designs!  After a couple samples Summershine is what we came up with!  I truly hope you love it as much as I do!  Summershine is a beautiful mix of copper, pink and holo gold hexs, circles and squares.  There are pink holo butterflies and color shifting iridescent glitters!  Of course there is good dose of holo micro glitter too!  It makes me think of that golden-rosy hue of a summer sunset at the beach with the the colors of the sun bouncing off the surface of the ocean.
As a thank you to my followers I will be giving away 2 bottles…one for my blogiversary and one for my birthday.  After the giveaway there will be an extremely small quantity available for sale at Red Dog Designs.  Bottles will be numbered to make them extra special!  Here is the link to the Etsy page for Rafflecopter purposes!  
Enjoy some swatches of Summershine!

1 coat over Essence Peach Beauty

1 coat over Kiko Silk Taupe

 1 coat over OPI Houston We Have A Purple

 1 coat over H&M Peppermint Fusion

1 coat over Sinful Colors Black on Black

Giveaway Details: You must be 18 to enter Open to US residents (if you are International and have a US friend that will forward to you that's fine) Giveaway will run from April 14, 2013 to April 23, 2013 11:59 PM PST.   Prize must be claimed within 48 hours Please follow all the rules...follow and/or like all the provided links Prizes will be coming directly from Red Dog Designs My Nail Polish Obsession and Red Dog Designs are not responsible for lost, damaged or stolen goods

a Rafflecopter giveaway