NOTD: OPI It's My Year

I set out looking for this little lady a couple of weeks ago, only to find her sold out at my regular spots. This is the only one from the collection that I actually wanted (it's from the Miss Universe collection) but I wanted it bad. By chance I came across a salon and found the very last bottle buried in a bin at the end of the counter. What luck! I know it's not very close, and definitely not a dupe, but this polish is helping me quash my MAC Bad Fairy lemming just a bit. It has a purple base and flashes with bronzey/gold/pink shimmer.

It went on beautifully and was supremely easy to control. I do feel like it will look a little bit better on me once my tan fades a bit, at the moment the gold flashes are blending with my skin tone a bit too much for comfort.

NOTD: Agate Water Marble

I haven't posted any of my water marbles yet, as I'm pretty sure the only good one I've ever done was my first, and I haven't bothered trying to do one since February... so here goes! 

I tried a bunch of different methods with this and screwed a up a few (I actually had to start two nails over completely from scratch) but this is the end result. I really like them! It took about an hour and a half to do it all (re-dos included). I used American Apparel's Cotton for the base, then the other colours are American Apparel Raccoon, China Glaze For Audrey and OPI Greenwich Village.

NOTD: China Glaze For Audrey

What a classic. This polish is the one that sparked my renewed interest in polish when I saw it on Ali's pretty little fingers. Naturally I had to pick it up. It was among my first China Glaze purchases and I wear it every now and again, but I've never gotten a good photo of it.

Alas - the timeless beauty.

Holding my bottle of Uluru Shower Gel!

This colour reminds me of kitchen appliances in the 1950s. I just love it, end of story.

NOTD: China Glaze Rose Among Thorns

I got this bad boy in a swap with Ali and I do not regret it one bit. It's bold, bright and perfect for my skin. If it was too orange it would have clashed horribly with my tone (I can only wear Sun Worshipper on my toes) but this pulls much more on the pink side.

I used 4 coats, no underwear. There's still a VNL (visible nail line) which is driving me a little mad, so next time around .. undies it is!

Cameras have a way of gobbling up all the neon wonder of a polish, so I took another picture that made my skin look atrocious, but it kind of points out the intensity of the colour.

I really need a kick ass camera. Nonetheless, this polish simply screams my name and I adore it. <3

NOTD: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 2

At the very last minute I ended up snagging some tickets for the midnight showing of the final Harry Potter film, which of course demanded I do a manicure to fit the night. So I scurried on home and decided it was about freakin' time I tried to do a checkered tape mani.

Each nail is painted with the colours of the Hogwarts houses made to look like the background of a crest (isn't is neat how nails are kind of "crest" shaped too? I think it really helps add to the concept). Overall, this mani was tricky. The paint from my index finger lifted twice, I had polish leaking under the tape, and some polish transfer to other places while removing the tape. I did a bit of touch up work to the really bad spots but I think for the most part it looks great.

Now onto my favourite part: the thumb.

Here is my ode to Dumbledore. I didn't know what to put on my thumb to complete the set, and I figured what could be better than making an "In Memory of Dumbledore" type statement. The stars are simply craft confetti that I had lying around the house. One from each thumb went missing in the forays of battling dark wizards, which I fully expected, but I'm impressed with the durability of the other two. They even made it through the night of me sleeping on them.

Anyway, thanks for looking!

NOTD: Nfu Oh 45 over OPI Double Decker Red

My first Nfu Oh polish! I was so happy these arrived yesterday, just in time for the Untried Challenge. I wanted this one because I've been lemming Hard Candy's Lava for some time now and I thought that this would fill the gap a little bit. It actually filled the gap a lot, I don't feel like I need it anymore! This is a flaky polish, meaning the glitter inside is more in small sheets (or flakes, duh) instead of pre-formed, identical sparkles.

 

Isn't the bottle just adorable too? For those of you who've never seen it, here's a look at the back too.

I can't help but LOVE this brand, even if only for the bottle. I was really surprised at how opaque this went on. I was expecting to have to layer and layer, which is why I chose red underwear, but I don't think I really needed it. I can barely tell if the red is underneath at all.

I ordered another colour along with this one, Nfu Oh 56, that's up next!

Look at all the blue and green glistening in there! What do you suggest I use for underwear?

NOTD: Week of untrieds - Essie Smooth Sailing

So the nail board at Makeup Alley.com is doing a "week of untrieds" challenge where you need to wear a new untried every day. Yesterday's was Essie's Smooth Sailing which I won from a contest that I entered with Trade Secrets.

When I first googled the colour I was on my phone and didn't see the micro-shimmer, it just seemed like a beautiful periwinkle blue. Upon it's arrival I saw tiny silver/blue/purple flecks and I was so disappointed. I'm not much for subtle micro-shimmer. I like my polishes with a creme finish or very obviously sparkly. I decided to swatch it anyway to see how it would turn out, and since it's Untrieds week I figured it was a great opportunity.

Looks pretty in the bottle, not so hot on my nails. I know this is a favourite for many but I just don't love it. With all that being said, it will have its uses. I'm swapping with Ali for China Glaze Rose Among Thorns... my first swap! Yay :D

NOTD: OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous

I've been passing this bottle at the mall almost every time I work. I stop, I pick it up, I change my mind and I walk away. I finally decided last month to make the purchase and now with all this Chanel Graphite talk I just felt like finally giving it a whirl. I know it's not the same as Graphite but I like a darker grey anyway. After all was said and done, turns out this matched the dress I finally decided on for the day so it worked out wonderfully in the end.

This polish was from the Swiss collection for Fall 2010.

Sparkly goodness!

NOTD: OPI Designer Series Glamour *EDITED*

MY FIRST HOLO! Oh that's so exciting. I found this and OPI DS Amethyst on a dusty hunt this week, unreal! Anyway, this applied like a dream. This is only two coats (which is unheard of for me) and it was really easy to control. OPI - this one is a huge win for me.


I'm still pretty n00b at my photo taking so that whole effect of the holo-y goodness isn't there in one simple photo, so you get MANY to gawk at. Yay!

Indoor lighting, no flash

Indoor lighting, flash

Sunshine!

Moderate sunshine

Back to full sun again

So what do you think? Not bad for my first holo snag eh?

**EDIT**

Moar picturez!

NOTD: Accidental Camouflage Nails

What I was aiming for with this mani was something forest-y or wood nymphy, and what ended up happening was I guess I got a little over-zealous with my colours and it turned into a camo mani. That's okay! DBF really liked it, and so did a couple of my friends so the world isn't over this time around.

Mmm, tea!

I guess it's kind of cool eh? Too bad I'm not into the camo pattern, otherwise this would be heaven.