Alter Ego, Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra; August 2017 Polish Pick Up

Afternoon all!  It's not as hot of a day today, thankfully.  Sitting in the sun during swim lessons has been wearing me out!  Today we are headed to the local farm team baseball game!  Woot, go San Jose Giants!  I also get today was a good day to start sharing the Polish Pick Up shades I have!  The August Polish Pick Up theme is Old Hollywood!  I've been perusing pics of the polishes and they are all amazing!  Alter Ego provided a polish this month and it's inspired by Elizabeth Taylor's portrayal of Cleopatra.  Super glamorous and opulent!  The starlets these days could take notes on class and glamour from these old school Hollywood sirens.  But I digress...Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra is gorgeous shade that'll be available from 8/4-8/7.  Check out my pictures below!

*press sample*

Polish Pick Up:  Shop, Facebook

Atter Ego: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

Serum No 5; Don't Peek, All of the Lights

Good evening lovely readers!  I have another post to share with you tonight and it's got some fun glow in the dark, flash in the lights excitement of you!  Tonight I have a couple fab polishes from Serum No 5.  These are both older colors - from last year I think?  But both are still available in the shop.  I found them both fun and pretty and original.  So let's jump on in and check out these awesome Serums!

*press sample*

Serum No 5: Shop, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

St. Patrick's Day Skittlette

Hey hey!  It's St. Patrick's Day!  I hope you wore green and didn't get any pinches, unless that's what you wanted (you naughty little...).  I made sure to wear my Shake Your Shamrocks Off tshirt, green underthings and of course painted my nails.  So this is just a short little post to share my mani!  Enjoy the rest of your day/night what ever it may hold - bar hopping, green beer, a relish Irish dinner, time with the family!  It's all good and fun!  *nothing to disclose* Crows Toes: Blog, Llarowe, Overall Beauty, Facebook, Instagram Smitten Polish: Shop, Edgy Polish, Femme Fatale Cosmetics, Hypnotic Polish, Rainbow Connection, Facebook, Instagram     OPI: Website, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter I wanted a skittlette.  Why?  Because I feel like I haven't done one in a long time.  I guess I usually do one for the holidays since it's easy and fun.  But yeah, here it is - my green skittlettle!  I started with Smitten Polish The Irish Rover, a gorgeous matte green.  It's not a straight up green though, it has a slight teal tone to it.  The matte finish is fantastic!  I am 100% on board with Noeile's mattes and really want her to make more.  Anywho, The Irish Rover had a great formula and applied perfectly opaque and smoothly in 2 coats.  The Irish Rover is on my index and middle fingers.  

I then put on 2 coats of Crows Toes Maxxed Out, one of my favorite blingy gold glitters ever.  It's actually a gold and silver mixture but you mostly see the gold.  I've had this for a good 2 years and it's got a hefty dent in it.  Perfect application, the glitters spread nicely and don't clump up.  I could have used a 3rd coat just to cover any little bare spots that show up under the harsh lens of the camera (man it really captures every little thing that my blind eyes don't see).  I finished with a layer of topcoat.  Maxxed Out is on my ring and thumb nails.   And finally I used OPI Love Angel Music Baby on my pinky and to draw ruffian style art on my index and middle fingers.  LAMB is a lovely soft matte gold and I reach for it frequently.  It's not over the top gold, and the finish makes it a lovely and understated compliment to plenty of other colors.  I used 2 coats of LAMB on my pinky and about 2 full strokes for the ruffian lines. No topcoat because I didn't want to take away from the matte finish.   Look how pretty the mattes and the holo glitters look together in regular indoors lighting!  I truly love how this turned out!   Of course Naomi wanted me to paint her nails too so I used a different shade of green, which was also a matte finish.  It was a drugstore polish - Ice Cream Cone Nail Color, it's actually shaped like an ice cream cone!  And it dried scented - smells like candy!  Both of our manis matched her shirt perfectly!  

Sweet Heart Polish Sham-Rockin Mouse

Good morning dears!  So tomorrow is Valentines Day and you know what that means.....TIME TO SHARE ST. PATTIES POLISH!  Ha, sorry for yelling I got a little excited.  Well today I have my first green mani and it's an adorable glitter topper form Sweet Heart Polish.  By now you know that Cassandra has a love for all things Disney (as do I) and she loves to create Disney themed polishes.  She created this great glitter topper to celebrate one of the drinking-est holidays around and it's perfect!  Green, gold, holo - wear it over a rainbow of shades for a perfect touch to your green party outfit.  Sham-Rockin Mouse will be available in the shop at noon PST today for $9.00.  Don't wait too long to get your bottle of lest you want to get pinched.  

*press sample*

Sweet Heart Polish: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

Sham-Rockin Mouse is a fabulous blend of green metallic glitter, gold holo mouse heads and gold holo microglitter.  This is in a clear base so you can easily wear it over different shades of green, yellow, white, blue, anything really!  Play around and find the combo that you love best!  Maybe a rainbow gradient with on top?  I found the formula and application both great.  The mouse heads came out easily enough after resting the bottle upside down for a few minutes.  The glitter spread well on my nails.  I used 2 coats of Sham-Rockin Mouse over OPI Feel The Mo Heat-oes, a soft green creme.  I finished with a layer of topcoat.  

Fall Beach Mani Using Sinful Shine Prosecco, Illamasqua Facet & Girly Bits Love Ya Beach

Howdy there!  I'm sitting here watching the Giant's/Cardinals game and I figured I'd toss up a post while I was on the computer.  I am usually pretty good at avoiding hoopla around polish crazes and lately it's been Sinful Shine Prosecco this, Prosecco that and everyone has to have it and it's selling on eBay for crazy raised prices of $12 (instead of the $1.99 it typically is).  Nuts right?  I had zero intention of driving around seeking this polish out.  Well I wandered into a local Rite Aid to get toothbrushes and body wash for my son and hullo, there's a full display of Sinful Shine holiday colors - including Prosecco.  So I got one (for $1.99).  Well after some discussion with my friend Michelle at Ehmkay Nails, we came up with a cool idea to use it in a mani so here it is!  It reminds me of a chilly Fall day at the beach with the blend of taupe, brown, gold and aqua colors.  

*nothing to disclose*

I started this mani with 2 coats of Sinful Shine Prosecco as a base.  Prosecco is a cool taupe with a heap of golden shimmer.  It's really pretty and I imagine it would be pretty flattering on just about any skin tone.  It also has a great formula and applied very nicely.  I then used Illamasqua Facet, placing a bit on a damp makeup sponge and lightly dabbed it on the tips of my nails blending it upwards.  Facet is a totally gorgeous "grey mauve with gold and copper particles."  I did 2-3 coats via sponging it on.  I loved the way it looked alone but I knew it needed something else.  Insert AH-HA moment!  Girly Bits Love Ya Beach!  I totally love this polish and am so glad I have a bottle of it (actually I wish I had 2 and hadn't given away my spare bottle).  This is the best beachy glitter polish in the world.  I used 2 coats of Love Ya Beach and finished with 1 layer of topcoat.  

*artificial light*

*direct sun*

Polish TBH #WorkBitch

Good morning, or afternoon depending on where you are.  With my boys back in school I've had some time to catch up on things around the house and really focus on planning Naomi's 3rd birthday party!  Frozen themed of course - so original.  But I've also had time to get some swatching done and catch up a little on my blogging!  Today I have a brand I haven't tried before, but I have met the maker Christian,a few times.  She's super sweet and super cute to boot!  So I'm happy that now I have tried Polish TBH because this glitter topper is really fabulous.  It also made me eager to see her Fall collection that I just saw a sneak peek of on Facebook!  So let's jump in and see this beauty and make sure you are following Polish TBH on Facebook and Instagram so you don't miss out on any updates about her newest collections!  I also received a sample of the Moisturizing Bath Truffle and Harvest Apple Cuticle Oil, keep an eye out for a review of those products soon.

*PRES SAMPLE*

Polish TBH: Shop, Facebook, Instagram

This is #WorkBitch.  Yes it's named after the Britney Spears song Work B**ch.  Great song...great polish!  #WorkBitch is a blend of "gold & black glitters sparkle in a sea of a turquoise holo glitter."  It's pretty but not in your face blingy.  I love how the gold circle glitters really stand out against the darker black and turquoise glitters.  #WorkBitch is a glitter packed polish and I had great payoff in 2 coats.  The glitters came out of the bottle easily and spread nicely on my nails.  I imagine you can wear this over a variety of base colors but I went with something a little matchy and used Colors by Llarowe Julia Roberts 1967.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat and all was smooth and shiny.

My Ten Friends Pew! Pew! Pew!

Good evening!  I really wanted to share this post because not only is it a fabulous polish, but it came from a super sweet gal who was my knight in shining armor.  I'd commented on one of her posts showing a gorgeous collection of My Ten Friends polish!  I was in drool city and mentioned that I'd never tried the brand.  Well she wouldn't have any of that and sent me a bottle to get on my nails.  I'm sharing this story with you because I feel like all the public ever sees is polish girls at each others throats, fighting and surrounded by drama.  It's important for you to know that there are sweet ladies in this community.  It's not all name calling and hair pulling.  It's fun and I've made so many friends along the way.  There are so many ladies that are kind and generous and would happily send out a RAOK just because they know it'll make someone else happy.  So that's my PSA for the night.  And a giant thank you to xoxo, Jen for sending this beauty my way, I love it!  (You can see the post of her amazing MTF swatches HERE.)

My Ten Friends: Shop, Overall Beauty, Facebook, Twitter   

This is Pew! Pew! Pew!  I honestly make that noise in my head when I read the name of this polish.  With my finger gun pointed at some invisible alien invader.  Pew! Pew! Pew! is described as a "jewel green with blue undertones mingled with laser red and gold glitters in various sizes."  The formula on Pew! Pew! Pew! was fantastic and buttery.  Application was so smooth and easy.  The glitters came out with ease on their own and spread well on my nails.  I used 3 coats and 1 layer of topcoat.  

Femme Fatale The Fallen Kingdon

Good afternoon lovelies!  I have a second post for you today!  And extra special polish created by Femme Fatale Cosmetics exclusively for Color4Nails.  I love exclusives and limited editions - the chase to acquire them is fun and sometimes challenging.  While this is only available at Color4Nails, luckily it is currently in stock!  It's the standard Femme Fatale 12 ml rectangle bottle and costs $12.50.  Aside from this Australian beauty, Color4Nails carries a vast array of international indie brands.  Make sure you are following Color4Nails on Facebook and Instagram (color4nails) for news, updates and stock details!  Plus Sisi runs promotions all the time and you don't want to miss out on those!

*PRESS SAMPLE*

The Fallen Kingdom is gorgeous.  The end.  Ok kidding.  I truly love the color combination of this polish.  It's pretty and feminine, but not saccharine sweet.  I think it's perfect for the Fall!   If you are a fan of Femme Fatale polish you will want this polish.  Over on the Color4Nails website it's described as "a shimmering brown base with subtle gold color shift" with a "complimentary array of rose, fuchsia and copper" glitter.  I used 3 coats alone to reach complete coverage.  I found the formula nice to work with and application was easy.  Plenty of glitter came out and it spread easily on my nails.  I finished with 1 layer of topcoat. 

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*polish was provided for my honest opinion and review

OPI Wonderous Star & Emotions from the Mariah Carey Holiday/Winter 2013 Collection

Good afternoon dears!  I hope the day is going well for you.  Yesterday I had the new liquid sand Make Him Mine to share and today I have more from the Mariah Carey Holiday/Winter 2013 collection!  So exciting!  This time I mixed a sand and a glitter and I love how it turned out.  I'm actually stunned with how much I liked one in particular...keep reading to find out which of these 2 polishes knocked my socks off!

Let's start with Wonderous Star!  OPI described it as "gold-flecked shimmer" but I'd say it is more of a heavy gold microglitter with black hexs sparsely mixed in.  It has a very pretty and classy look to it.  This polish makes you feel dressed up without being over the top.  The gold glitters also make it feel very "holiday-esque" and I personally think this would be an awesome polish for New Years Eve because is so sparkly and shiny!  I used Wonderous Star alone and the pictures below show 4 coats.  I didn't mind so many coats because the polish isn't heavy or thick and it applied very easily.  But if you have an aversion to more than a couple coats you should start with a base color.  I used 1 layer of topcoat on the nails with Wonderous Star.  

I then used the new black liquid sand from the collection called Emotions.  I wasn't so sure about this polish.  It looked pretty boring in the bottle and I didn't think it really fit in with a holiday collection.  Well I was wrong on 1 of those counts.  Dead wrong.  Emotions is stunning!  It's fabulously perfect, vampy and sexy.  It's a pure black matte texture polish with sparkly black glitters mixed it.  OPI says it's a "dramatic sparkling coal."  Perfect description.  The only problem I see is that I still don't know how it fits in with the holiday theme.  I purchased it because I think it will ROCK with Halloween polish next month.  The formula was wonderful, true to the liquid sand form that I love so much.  Easy application with no problems to report.  Be sure to let it dry completely though!  Dry time is a tad longer than regular polish.  I used 2 coats for full coverage and no topcoat.  

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