Twinsie Tuesday: A Polish Picked By Someone Else

So this week's challenge was a lot of fun. A polish picked by someone else. My son just totally rammed through entire collection and ended up with these 2. As you have seen him polish my nails before here, he had a lot of fun clinging them around.

Now onto the mani:

So the two here are: China Glaze Sunday Funday, from the new Spring Avant Garden Collection and Jordana LA City Nights. This glitter was really hard to work with because it was so sparse and it was very difficult to get the gradient effect to come through. However, I think it turned out not too shabby.

Oh and excuse that knick on the pinky, just pretend it's not there.

And not to mention, I absolutely love this shade of blue. Sunday Funday is an amazing and beautiful perfect blue with yellow undertones. And it covered perfectly in 2 coats. Plus, the formula was great.

Now, go check out my Twinsies' posts!

Amanda at Amandalandish

Anne at Grape Fizz Nails

Ashley at Art Evolve
Brandi at The Beaulieu Review

Chelsea at Nailed Blog
ChiChi at I''m just me...ChiChi
Cordia at Seriously Swatched

Elizabeth at Did My Nails

Jamie at Polish, Please! 

Katherine at Haul of Fame

Maribeth at Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Meredith at Polish and Charms

Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails

Rachel at Top Coat It

Sarah at See Sarah Swatch
Tara at Polishy of Truth

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A Break From Swatching

Since lately all I've been posting are reviews and I was out and sick for so long, I thought a break from that would be nice. I love doing reviews but nail art is just as fun!

It feels good doing some nail art again. I'm certainly not the best at it but I do enjoy it and I have fun.

For the base I used China Glaze For Audrey, for the gold glitter, I used Ulta High Roller, and that was a hot mess to clean up. For the rest of the colors, I used acrylic paints to avoid smearing and/or smudging. Anywho, I love the results and the color combo. Theres something about turquose and brown that I absolutely adore. It's like the perfect pair!



Anna

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China Glaze Tranzitions

So this new China Glaze collection is supposed to be releasing in January 2013, and I would like to hear your thoughts?

Source

So 2 polishes in 1, eh? Pretty cool.

I'm not so sure if I really like this idea since it's the topcoat that changes the color but I'll give China Glaze the benefit of the doubt. I like my manis smooth and shiny, so hopefully they'll do that without the topcoat.

Here's a video explaining how it works:

What do you think?
Anna

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Vintage Looking Much

I did a purple version of this one a long while ago before I seriously started blogging and I wanted to redo this with a different color.

I used China Glaze For Audrey and Revlon Sheer Seafoam. I wish I would have used a darker color so that once Sheer Foam was added on top, you can actually see the gradient effect. Hopefully I will be able to execute this mani perfectly next time. And sorry for the half nekkid nails!

Now I'm not sure what to call this type of mani so, any ideas?
Anna

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Jelly Jelly

You know I love me some good jelly sandwiches.

Since I couldn't find Essence Blue Addicted and Across The Universe is a bit out of my budget, this is what I have substituted it for.

I used one coat of China Glaze Ride The Waves from the neon collection, then one coat of Jordana Cosmic and repeated the same step for this beautiful result. Lovely much?

Both polishes were very easy to apply and the pigmentation was great.

Have you used Ride The Waves for a jelly sandwich yet?
Anna

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Ikat

It is finally the weekend! And it is my first actual summer break weekend! Incase you're wondering, I passed my summer course with a B+. I hate those "+" and "-". It makes me feel like, if only I did a little bit more, I would've done better. But what can I say? B+ is passing.

So, I have finally had time to start doing more stuff on my nails. And it feels good!

I am sure you have seen this design around but this is my interpretation. I have been wanting to do this for a while but didn't think it would turn out as decent as it did. So I am glad to say that I am pretty proud of myself. Fortunately, it was much easier than I thought it would. You should give it a try as well!

For the base I used China Glaze For Audrey then I used a non-toxic acrylic paint for the red, black and white. It was very simple and I really enjoyed looking at my nails. Luckily, this particular design doesn't acquire much skill so that's a plus!

Digging the ikat designs lately?
Anna

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Haul-age

I am suppose to be on a "no-buy" but I admit that I have failed terribly. Fortunately though, I purchased all of these on a great deal!

Deborah Lippmann

L-R:  Dancing In The Sheets, Footloose, Almost Paradise, Let's Hear It For The Boy

OPI

I'm All Ears, Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It, Not Fun In The Summer-Lime

 L-R: Orly Butterflies, Maybelline Cool Coutue, Sally Hanse HD Spectrum

 L-R: Layla Flash Black, NOPI Kim Konfidential, Sally Hansen Teal-y Fast

China Glaze

Ride The Waves, Riveting, Splish Splash, Flirty Tankini, Beach Cruis-er

I had to make a new rack for this new lovelies since I don't have much space in my shoebox apartment. Anywho, I wanted the neon in Hang Ten Toes but the Sally's that I went to didn't have any. Sad day. Hopefully I'll be able to pick it up soon. Til then!

Have you hauled any polishes lately?

Anna

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Emerald Fitzgerald

I work tomorrow morning at 5 am. I hate and love it. It's too early, but it gets my work hours out of the way. Well, I hope that all of you are having a great week so far. School has been tough, but we only have 4 weeks left of Summer semester, so it's finally almost over! I have been swamped though lately, so I apologize for a delay in my posts.

But, this is what I have for you today!

This is 2 coats of China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald. This is a deep dark green'ish blue with what almost looks like super fine glitter particles. In some angles, it also looks foily but for the part, you can't even tell. I have used this polish once before a long time ago, the formula was perfectly fine, and when I used it again thsi time, formula was a bit thick and seemed to pull at the edges of my nails. I am assuming, the consistency changed over time. I think this is a very pretty color but I am not in love with it, although I have been complimented while wearing it. What do you think of it?

Has the ChG polishes consistency changed over time for you?
Anna

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China Glaze For Audrey Comparison/Dupe

Hola! It's Wednesday and I am super excited for this weekend. Tomorrow is my little family photo shoot, YAY! I can't wait! I have got to find something for my little guy to wear. And this Saturday, I'll be attending a wedding and have nothing to wear, so that'll be an adventure. I definitely need to find a day specifically only for homework. Maybe tomorrow morning/evening or Friday. Only 4 weeks of summer semester! Yay! I might be swamped with essays since I have 3 5 page essays plus a midterm and final all in 1 month. YAY (sarcasm) don't you just love school?

Oh, sorry for the last Twinsie post. As I reread it, I realized that it didn't make any kind of sense. I was sort of in a rush. Uberly sorry!

But today, I have this awesome ChG For Audrey comparison for you!

Left to right:
Barry M Blue Moon, China Glaze For Audrey, WnW I Need A Re-fresh Mint, Ulta Mint Condition

Ok, yeah. I know Barry M Blue Moon is way out of the picture. In my head, I was like "YEAH! Totally it could definitely go with For Audrey!" After I compared it, well... You can evidently see above the result.

So let's get on with it now since we've got that settled with. If you don't know, China Glaze For Audrey was created in tribute to Audrey Hepburn and Tiffany & Co. For Audrey was inspired and famous for that beautiful Tiffany Blue. I can't compare the 2 actual blues but from other photos that I have seen, they look pretty close. Although close, the famous Tiffany Blue has a color trademark so I'm sure it won't be dead on accurate.

I would say that Wet n Wild I Need A Refresh-mint is closest to China Glaze For Audrey. I Need A Refresh-mint is a tiny bit darker, but from a far, you could not be able to tell the difference. Mint Condition is slightly cooler and darker but pretty comparable still. However, the final verdict is WnW I Need A Refresh-mint. With that said, Walgreens is currently having a sale on $1.99 products for $.99! So I picked up this WnW baby for only $.99!

What do you think? Do you own any of these?
Anna

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Funky French Tip

Back to reality Monday. I think I'm coming down with something. My son had a very high fever last night and now, I think I caught it. Better me sick than my son - gladly, he's back to normal. All the glory to Abba.

Something weird and something different. I didn't really like it and took it off right away. But this is 2 coats of  China Glaze Shower Together. This was a bad boy. It was super duper runny. It flooded my cuticles all over. The brush applicator was super nasty - sorry I didn't but should've pictured it. However, I think it's a really pretty color. For the black tip I used Sally Hansen Black Out.

I hope you all are having a wonderful Monday!

What do you think of the tips?
Anna

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Polish Haul

This was purchased over the course of the week, not all in a day!

Enjoy!

Wet n Wild

Candy-licious, On A Trip, I Need A Refresh-mint, Through The Grapevine

Ulta Salon Formula

OH!, Grin & Berry It

Nail Life Nail Revitalizer
OPI Pirouette My Whistle

Hard Candy
Beetle

Orly

La Vida Loca, Buried Alive, Mysterious Curse, Royal Navy, Plum Noir

China Glaze

Jamaican Out, White Cap

I'm suppose to be on a "no-buy" but seriously, how do you say no to good deals? I need more self-control! If you have any "no-buy" tips. Please feel free to share!

Have you hauled any new polishes lately?
Anna

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Chomped Go Go Pink

Hopefully everyone is having an awesome weekend so far!

Sorry about being MIA. This week and next week are finals week and I am just feeling swamped! Anywho, but I do have a post for you today!

Here is China Glaze Go Go Pink. This is 3 coats. The first coat was super streaky, the 2nd coat was mildly streaky and the last coat made it perfect! Needless to say it was well worth the 3 coats! (I'm not a 3 coater person) I am so glad that I picked this up. It was on sale at Sally's as a combo with Seche Vite. It was only like $6.99 so I picked it up on a whim figuring I could giveaway the bottle of Seche Vite. Well, I'm usually not into milky pastel colors but for some reason, I am really enjoying this one on my nails. I love it! It's simply just a soft, milky, pastel almost jelly looking pink. Gah. I just love this one so much.

So this is the reason I chomped down all my nails. Since after having my baby, my nails aren't as strong as they used to be. And so at the very edge of my thumb nail, it ripped like this. Which really sucked. It caught onto everything and I mean everything. My hair, his diaper, my clothes. And it wasn're pretty to look at. So I just decided to chomp it down and regrow my nails. I haven't had my nails this short in YEARS and its awfully strange. However, I am debating whether to pick up the guitar again or not (that means I'll need to have short trimmed nails in order to play). But anyways, yes, this was the reason why I cut my nails super short. I'm not the kind of person to let myself have nails that have different lengths on each finger (which by the way is fine by me with other people). So, I hope my short nails don't look to bad.

Has this ever happened to you?
Anna

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Mini Haulage

Made a short and sweet stop at Sally's Beauty:

Total: $11.21

Then I dropped by Ulta and purchased these goodies!

I got the LAST bottle of Whimsical! How lucky!

 Total: $9.41

So for 6 polishes, 1 EOS lip balm and a hand lotion my total came up to be $20.62. Oh, and sorry for the bad lighting in the photos.

Good deal you would say?

Anna

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Twinsie Tuesday: Green Polish

Yay!It's that time again! Twinsie Tuesday! This weeks edition: green polish (week of St. Patrick's Day).

I honestly had no idea that St. Patrick's Day was this Saturday. I've never been the person to celebrate it - I actually never have my entire life. What do you usually do to celebrate this day? Anywho, green polish on our nails in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

Sorry for the late post, the funeral has got me messed up.

So, it looks really blue but the flakes really aren't. Anywho, I used Orly Lucky Duck in 2 coats. I think one would have done the job just I wanted 2 anyways. Then I used Sinful Colors Green Ocea and China Glaze Snow Globe at the tips. So what do you think? I think it's pretty ok. I couldn't catch the green side of the flakes, which really annoyed me - so sorry.

Orly Lucky Duck applied so perfectly, like butter! I love those kinds of polishes. Green Ocean was super chunky and dented up my nails, although it's such a pretty flake polish for only $1.99! I don't know if you can tell, but it was hard to apply. Snow Globe was fairly easy. Much easier than Green Ocean. And viola!

So what do you think?

Anna

Don't forget to check out the rest of the awesome ladies who are involved in Twinsie Tuesday! 

Amanda at Amandalandish

Anne at Grape Fizz Nails

Ashley at Art Evolve
Brandi at The Collegiate Nail

Chelsea at Nailed Blog
ChiChi at I''m just me...ChiChi

Jenn at All That is Gorgeous...

Jenna at I'm Still Thinking...

Katherine at Haul of Fame

Marisa at Polish Obsession

Meredith at Polish and Charms

Nory at Fierce Makeup and Nails

Rachel at Top Coat It

Sarah at See Sarah Swatch

Hey ChiChi, if you're reading this, where is your comment section? For some reason, I can't find it.

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DEAL Alert : Too Faced and CG

I ran to Ulta quickly because of the 21 Days of Spring Sale. I have super busy due to the funeral, but this was a must have!

 $20 orginally $36

 $13.95

There is always a $3.50 coupon on their website or when they send their magazines. So I pretty much got the 4 pack mini for only $10! I am super excited! The polishes in the mini were actually the only ones that I wanted in the collection. In the 4 pack the colors are: Fast Track, Agro, Smoke and Ashes, and Luxe and Lush. I have never even finished an entire bottle of nail polish, so for 4 bottles that contains .325 fluid ounce for about $10. Who can go wrong with that?

Are you planning to make a stop?
Anna

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Polish Haul!

Gotta LOVE hauls! Who doesn't? Except the fact that your pocket has a tiny hole. If you know what I mean. However, I finally bought my first 2 Color Club polishes and I am super excited to try them out! In the mean, look out for swatches!

Yay, do you like hauls?

Anna 

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Reverse French Mani

Hello there! Sorry for my so very late post.

Lets get down to business! I went to Walgreens the other day and purchased a few Sinful Colors from the Castaway collection, few as in 3 bottles. Nothing else was really caught my attention. However, this one was one of them.

This polish is called Zeus. You can't really tell but this has a beautiful purple shimmer. Unfortunately, it doesn't really show up on the nails. It's so gorgeous in the bottle! I was a tiny bit disappointed. But I really enjoy looking at the bottle. I might just use to this to franken and experimenting to see what I can come up with. Anywho, I used 2 coats. Surprisingly, at1 coat it was already pretty opaque. Then I used China Glaze Icicle for the french at the bottom. I like the way it turned out. I'm just not all that used to it. It's a tiny twist, but I'm liking it. One thing I have say, this is like my 10th bottle of buying a Sinful Colors nail polish and for some odd reason, they all seem to be thick in application for me. Does this happen to any of you?

Oh, and look at the snow we just received this morning! It's the most snow we've gotten since. Winter. Beautiful isn't it?

Anyways. I hope you all had a wonderful day!

What do you think of the unexpected reverse french?
Anna

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Half Matte Glitter Bomb

Just messing around some more with the matte. I'm sure if you can tell if the glitter is supposed to eventually fade down the nails but my nails are so short you really can't tell. I did it on a fake longer nail and it looked absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately that wasn't my case. However, I really liked the way it turned out. Sort of feathered. My sister said she really didn't like the matte black part that was close to the base of my nail because it looks like I colored it what a sharpie. I took a second look, now I'm not diggin' the matte black so much anymore. I sort of have to agree unfortunately. But what do you think?

It was really hard to get a clean crisp line with the glitter as I am sure would be able to imagine why. It didn't turn out exactly perfect but it's definitely fun to look at. Can you tell the ends of my nail were glossy not matte? I hope so. In this mani, I used Milani Black Magic with China Glaze Lorelei for the glitter then Elf Matte Nail Polish Finisher at the base of the nail. Lastly, I hope everyone is having an awesome weekend so far! Only one more day and we're back to Monday, sadly. Oh! One thing, for the first time ever I franken'ed my very own polishes. It was so much fun! A lot of thought and creativity! I can't wait to share!

Do you think matte black nails look like a Sharpie mani?
Anna

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Sally's Beauty Clearance

Hi! So I ran to Sally's Beauty just because I felt like it and fortunately for me, I saw these beautiful China Glaze polishes on the clearance rack on sale for ONLY $1.99! I was shocked! They had a few different polishes including the Crackle ones but these two were the ones that caught my eye.

China Glaze Lorelai's Tiara (left)

China Glaze Blonde Bombshell (right)

Who could resist such beautiful polishes for only $1.99? As I was preparing to pay for the polishes, the cashier who helped me also informed me that all China Glaze purchases were $1 off. I was blown out of the water! My total came up to be $3.19 after taxes! That's about $1.60 a bottle. 

So check out your local Sally's Beauty! I am sure they still have awesome polishes hanging out in the clearance section! 

Planning to make a stop?

Anna

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