~Paper Chasing Mermaid In A Tiff~

Swatches of some recent purchases with names I could tie together in a funny way...

First up is China Glaze Paper Chasing

 

~ Love~

 

 

  

 This one is outdoors in natural light. I decided to add a coat of New York Summer Lime Glitter on the ring finger just to see how it would look. I flippin' love Paper Chasing and I can't believe I didn't buy it before now. It's a little bit brighter than primary green, super shiny and the formula on this one was perfect. Not too think or thick, two coats was adequate but I went with three cuz that's just what I do. 

Next up are Nina Ultra Pro in Mermaid and In A Tiff:

 

Mermaid is an odd color. It's extremely sheer and the color is a yellow green shimmer that flashes gold, green, yellow and pearl. I put 5 coats on my pinky.

  

 In A Tiff is Ultra Pro's take on the Tiffany blue polish trend.. It has a slight shimmer which makes it different from all of the other polishes I have in variations of the same color. This is 3 coats no top coat.

 

You can kinda see the shimmer and flashes of gold and pearl in this picture but it was very difficult to capture on the camera. 

 

 Ummm yeah, I screwed up the polish on my index finger trying to make my hand not look so damn awkward in this picture. I always feel like I don't know how to place my fingers on the bottle and  let's just say I'm not the most graceful of creatures so yeah, this is my awkward hand pose : )

There you have it, a paper chasing mermaid in a tiff!

PS. Don't forget to enter my giveaway open until Feb. 28th

Reader Request ~ $OPI Limited Edition 212 Nail Polish

Reader Request ~ SeeingSunshine requested swatches of $OPI 212 and I am happy to oblige : )

Here is what Sephora's web site said about OPI 212:

"What it is:A chic nail color inspired by New York City's after-dark dazzle.What it does:Sephora by OPI 212-Sephora Nail Colour is a limited-edition must-have shade created in celebration of the new Sephora 5 Times Square flagship store. This glamorous variation on black channels the essence of the exclusively fabulous 212 area code. It is only available online and at 5 Times Square! Put the final touch on fingertips and toes with this top-quality formula that continues the OPI legacy of excellence."

 

I purchased this from the Sephora web site in December. I don't see it there anymore, I wonder if it's sold out now? It literally looks like a night time cityscape, the charcoal base is accented with shimmering glitter that looks like the twinkling lights of skyscrapers and starry skies. It reminds me of what the city looks like from an airplane at night.

  

 

Again I apologize for the less than perfect application, but hey, you're here to see the color not to revel at my stellar polishing skills. If you can find this LE polish I highly recommend grabbing it while you can. 

$OPI Absinthe Makes The Heart

 There are only two polishes from the Sephora by OPI line that I liked enough to actually spend the $9 on. One was $OPI 212 and the other is this one:

 

$OPI Absinthe Makes The Heart

 

It is a beautiful olive green with gold and silver shimmer. Definitely more gold than silver. It's metallic but not as fickle with application and I had no problems with brush strokes like I do with other metallic polishes. The first coat was sheer, it took three pretty heavy coats to get the coverage I wanted. I topped it with 1 coat Poshe quick dry top coat. I love it, it is completely unique and I have nothing similar in my collection.

(please excuse messy application...this is pre clean-up)

Do you think there is another MUST HAVE from this line? One that you think is worth the $9 and a trip to Sephora?

OPI My Private Jet Original Holo Version (evilbay purchase)

So, I purchased the MPJ polish at a random beauty supply store in a mall and while I liked the color I was definitely not impressed with the holographic shimmer. I was still happy I purchased it and I wore it for 5 days ( umm that's a long time for me)

I read on several blogs about the differences between the new release and the original release and decided I would try to acquire an older version. I found a listing on ebay for what the seller said was an original version of this polish. The price was $19.95, free shipping (umm not really free because the polish is $20?) whatever, I ordered it. And I can definitely say that there IS a difference in the formula. I don't have a picture of the new MPJ on my nails but here are the pictures of the "old" MPJ that I got on evilbay...

                            Right away I could see the difference in the polish by looking at the bottle.....

 

Please pardon tip wear....

 

Blurred to show the holo shimmer awesomeness.

Final words on this polish: I'm glad I bought it, inflated price and all. It is beautiful, it goes with everything, it is my go to color. I don;t know if I'd pay more than $20 for it... 

Do any of you have both versions? Do you think there is a huge difference in the two? Would you pay $20 for the original version?

Stash Pics

I decided to rearrange my nail polish displays so i thought i'd post some stash pictures. (I love looking at people's stashes but if you don't feel free to skip this post.)

I have two clear acrylic 90 bottle wall displays mounted in my bedroom. I kind of stacked them on top of each other. They are not centered on the wall because my house is old (1953ish) so the studs in the wall are not evenly spaced? IDK anyway here are the pictures.

 

Yay i got new stickers for my room. 

 

China Glaze polishes are at the top 

 

OPI's Orly's and Color Clubs. there in the bottom right corner is my one Zoya polish (Posh Matte) and my one Lippmann polish (Superstar)

 

ooops i skipped this section, it's where China Glaze meets Essie and Essie meets OPI ; )

  

bottom of the second rack has Station, Icing, Hot Topic and various drug store nail polishes...

Overflow... random polishes and giveaways.

I am considering getting a Helmer now that I have no more room on the displays and my little clear rolling shelf thing is full. Why oh why does Ikea have to be so far away and such a PITA to get to? sigh...

So there you have it, my modest stash that continues to grow. 

P.S.  I heard it through the grapevine that there is a nail mecca (insert sounds of harps playing and angels singing) in San Jose (only 30ish) minutes away from me. If all goes according to plan, i will be making a trip very soon and i will share details, location, pics etc..

Ice, Ice Baby

I'm about to take this polish off to try my new OPI My Private Jet that is supposed to be the original version (found it on ebay, I'll let you guys know if it's legit..) but I wanted to take some pics of this Pure Ice polish I got from Wal-Mart. I read about this brand on various blogs and discussion boards but every time I go to the Wal-Mart close to my house they are sold out and the rack is completely empty. On my last trip they happened to have this one (Dreamy) sitting all by itself UNDERNEATH the rack, like it fell off and nobody saw it so I snatched it!

 

Sorry about the lighting, I was racing to catch the last of the sunlight in  my backyard...

  

  

This is three coats with SV on top. The color is a pinky coral with multi color micro-glitter. In the sun you can see the shimmer of the rainbow glitter but it is definitely not in your face, it's subtle but noticeable if that makes sense. It is not opaque, I can still see my nail line. I mean not a lot but it's visible. I liked it despite it's sheerness. It was not gritty or goopy. It was a little runny but very easy to apply. I'm looking forward to trying out more of these polishes when I can find them in  stock.

Is it just me or is this week a$$ dragging? I didn't have Monday off and it's only Wednesday? I'm ready to be done with work this week already!

OPI Let Them Eat Rice Cake & CC Rule Breaker

I ordered OPI Let Them Eat Rice Cake after seeing several posts on other blogs about the "Mannequin Hands" trend. I really didn't think I would like something so blah looking but I have since changed my mind. The formula for this polish was a little tricky to work with. The first two coats we very uneven, by the third coat it looked opaque but still a little streaky. The Seche Vite top coat evened it all out and I wound up being very happy with the end result.

 

Pardon my ragged cuticles!

 

  

Weird outdoor lighting...

Color Club Rule Breaker applied like buttah, very smooth and perfect in two coats. It dried quickly and was very forgiving of my less than steady hand while applying. The green is rich and vibrant, it's shimmery and metallic.  I'm thinking of layering Sinful Call You Later over this for St. Patty's Day.

 

  

  

I love green!

My First Giveaway WOOT!!

I'm so happy to be doing a giveaway! I was thinking about how great it is that so many nail bloggers do this as it gives us all a chance to try some polishes we may not have purchased for ourselves. Plus, who doesn't love getting FREE nail polish in the mail? 

I went out this morning to run a few errands and I found these at a Grocery Outlet around the corner from my house. You will win one of these pouches with 8-10 polishes in them! They are all Sally Hansen with the exception of one bottle of NYC Color. 

 

  

  

  

 

 I will make sure there are no dupes in the gift set. These were a steal at $4.99 per bag and I'm happy to share this find!

How to Enter:

1.) You MUST be a follower.

2.) You must leave a comment on this post with your name and email address.

3.) For an extra entry, mention my giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.

Contest ends February 28th 12:00 pm Pacific Standard Time.

YAY!!! Super excited to give these to one of you as a sign of my appreciation for taking a minute out of your day to read my ramblings. I really appreciate it!

Icing's "Johnny Awesome" and Konad FAIL

I really like the color selection of Icing nail polishes. I recently was at a mall that had an Icing store and I purchased several bottles (they are perpetually on sale). I loved this color but the formula is crap. I have yet to purchase one without a thick almost goopy consistency that needs to be thinned out after opening the bottle. What is that about? The colors are worth the process of having to thin it out with Seche Vite restore but it's kind of a buzz kill to have to alter a brand new polish because of the consistency. Has anyone else had the same issue?

 

This is a konad FAIL. I used Color Club Revvolution as the stamp color. I purchased the konad stuff in December, I have tried it I think 3 times and failed EVERY time. I think I am too slow or something because I have issues getting the image clearly onto the stamper and then half the polish is dry so the impression on my nail is like missing part of the design. Do I really need to cave in and just buy the special polishes??

 

See what I mean? The image is not clear at all.

On a completely unrelated topic,

 

How beautiful was the full moon last month? I'm still trying to figure out my camera but I am loving it so far.

This was the full Blue Moon on New Year's Eve from my bedroom window here in the Bay Area.

Coach Holiday Gift Box Poppy Nail Polishes

 

I found these on Ebay. I love Coach!

 

  

  

None of these have any names. I have not tried them yet, do any of you have these? What do you think of them? 

OPI Designer Series and China Glaze Peachy Keen!

 

OPI DS Reflection

So I fell in love with this color when I saw it on Scrangie's blog and I could not wait to get it. I am disappointed that this color does not look good on me at all. It makes my skin look sallow : ( I think I will try again when summer comes and I have a bit of a tan. The color itself is beautiful, the holographic shimmer is fabulous. I just wish it was more flattering on me.

 

China Glaze Peachy Keen

This is a bright pastel peach that borders on orange sherbet. Indoors it tends to look rather orange but in natural light is decidedly peach. Smooth application and no problems with streaking. 

 

This is just a quick picture of 2 coats Milani Garnet Gems over OPI Thrill of Brazil right before I took it off.  I hated, yes HATED, the Milani polish. It was a runny sheer mess. When I put it on my nail alone it was black with barely visible red glitter. It took a million coats and still looked  like $#!&. Layered over red it was better but  not by much. Not a fan. If you were looking for this polish my advise is to skip it!