The Blogger Made Me Do It: Sally Hansen Open Mica Night

Hey everybody!  I know you all are ready for my special little blame game in which I don't accept responsibility for my polish buying.  Today's guilty culprit is Yadi of Night Swatcher!  I am not usually somebody who is drawn to glitter toppers, but when I saw Sally Hansen Open Mica Night on Yadi's blog, well...I knew it should be mine.  After all, she specifically said we needed it in our lives. :)

YIKES!!  It's holo AND square!!  What a gor-gee-ous topper Open Mica Night is.  Look at that bottle shot!!  This lovely glitter spread well, but since it's so chunky, it needed a little help with landing in all the right places. ;)

I dabbed on Open Mica Night over Nicole by OPI Back to Reality...TV, which is a rather strange little number.  It's a dusty, deep periwinkle with a sludgy look about it, and it's got a pink shimmer.  It's very unusual, but I like it.  I debated on using such a flashy topper as Open Mica Night over it because of the shimmer, but I love the result.  Rule #3:  Shimmer makes the world a happier place!

Now, once more, let the colors and flash assault your eyes!!

AND...let me add one more thing to the awesomeness of this mani:  I used OPI's new Glitter Off as my base coat, so no worries about busting out the old foil tonight when I change.  I have read some negative reviews about Glitter Off, but I have to tell you that it works fantastically with my chemistry.  So, if you're like me, and butter LONDON chips like crazy on you, check out Glitter Off for all your non-foil, glitter-friendly needs! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

A Disturbing Green Post: Nicole by OPI and Orly

Hey everybody!  Today I'm continuing my green polish posts...I've already posted about some grassy greens.  Today I have the category of green that's a fun one:  disturbing greens.  These are the greens that are a little off for some reason.  Or maybe they just plain bother you. :)

First up, I have a polish that a lot of people love, but in the bottle it looks so...I don't know, murky?...to me, Orly Coachella Dweller.

Let me begin by saying that Blogger magically turned the color of Coachella Dweller into a pea soup green.  It looks totally different from the picture I just took and uploaded.  Oh well.  The second pic looks like the The Real Coachella Dweller. :)  I decided after I got it on my nails that it's not as disturbing as I once thought...more like that comforting fern green you'd see in a therapist's office at your weekly session.  I used 3 coats, as the formula was a tad thin.

Next up is a polish graciously given to me by sweet Yun of The Polish Hideout.  You may remember all of my whining last year about not being able to find the Nicole by OPI Tink Collection...well, Yun kindly sent me 2 of the polishes that I loved from the collection, including Sweet on Pete.

Wow.  Now that's one frightening green.  I remember having been somewhat bothered that I liked it so much on Yun.  That's just plain old zombie blood there...or rotting meat...or appendicitis.  I used 3 coats after experiencing some streakiness.  Oh, and please excuse all the dents in the polish...I was doing yard work for a couple of hours and poked myself with quite a few sticks before I took pics. :P  Sweet on Pete is touch greener than Sally Hansen Triple Shine Statemint I posted about earlier.

And last I have another disturbing Orly, It's Not Rocket Science.  This one could be called "Glamorous 70's Funeral."  This one is from the Cosmic FX 2010 collection, and I'm not sure if it's still a part of their core line or not, as is another one from this collection, Space Cadet.

Ahhhh, well, if it's got to look like nausea, at LEAST it can sparkle, right??  It's Not Rocket Science is a goldish-green with a crazy amount of glittery goodies that just light up the polish.  It's a bit sheer, so I used 3 coats for opacity.  And I checked:  butter LONDON Wallis is darker and more gold; It's Not Rocket Science is definitely more green. 

So...what are your feelings about my disturbing greens?  Are they the stuff of your nightmares, or perhaps your dreams?? 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! :)

Grass Green Comparisons: Zoya, China Glaze, Nicole by OPI

Hey everybody!  Well, much to my dismay, it's spring.  And with it come pollen and lots of growing things that have no mercy on my allergies.  So I decided to do a nice springtime comparison today, minus the hay fever.  I've got three different grassy greens for your viewing pleasure. :)

First up is Zoya Meg, a foil polish that you could, quite honestly, apply in the dark.  Okay.  Maybe that wasn't *entirely* honest.  But my point is that Zoya's foils are so wonderfully forgiving...in fact, I tend to reach for them when I'm tired and my eyes aren't focusing quite right.

Meg is a medium grass green from the 2012 Surf collection that ensnared me completely.  She is very shimmery and has a yellow undertone, but I won't hold that against her.  I used 2 coats of Meg for full coverage.

Next I have China Glaze Paper Chasing, a more subtle shimmer that's a kelly green.  It's the color of the legendary Crayola crayon called "Green", back when crayons were named actual color names, as opposed to "Dragon Guts"  or "Fat Caterpillar" or something of that ilk.

Paper Chasing is a bit on the sheer side, so I used three coats and still had Mr. Troublemaker Who Shall Remain Nameless peeking through.  For some reason, though, the VNL doesn't bother me with this polish.  It's just so pretty and I can't stay perturbed at it.  It's also got a great formula.

Well, if Paper Chasing was a bit sheer, Nicole by OPI Make Mine Lime is cheesecloth.  Another grassy-hued hard shimmer with just a *hint* of chartreuse, Make Mine Lime is so sheer that I had to use FOUR coats to achieve the amazing lack of opacity you see before you. :)

Yet, it IS lime.  It's quite summery, and the shimmer is really pretty in this.  I just don't know how many people would have the patience to put it multiple coats just to assure themselves that they hadn't mistakenly reached for a topper. :/

So there you have it...three grass greens that are as different as rye, centipede, and St. Augustine. :)  Are you all glad to see spring here?  You are??!!  UGH!  WHY?!! :P

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day. <3

Nicole by OPI Sweet Daisy and Southern Charm

Hey everybody!  How is everybody's Monday going?  Mine is full of allergy woes, and my left eye looks like it's sprung a huge leak.   So much for the eyeliner.  My NAILS, however, are quite a different story. :)

Today I have two polishes by Nicole by OPI from the Carrie Underwood collection.  I wasn't super-wowed by these when I saw pictures of them at first because most of the colors seemed not that unusual...but they grew on me.  However, somebody out there liked them, because when I went looking for them, the entire display was cleaned out except for one bottle.  I had to go shopping elsewhere! :/  One of the colors I picked up was Sweet Daisy. 

Shall I tell you why I got this one?  Because you all don't expect to see me wearing this color.  Admit it...you are SHOCKED to see dusty peachy-apricot on these nails!  It's okay.  So am I.  But once I got Sweet Daisy on, I absolutely loved it.  The creme formula was fabulous.  I used 3 thin coats and application was great...but as you can see, Mr. You-Know-Who was still peeking through.  The pest...

The other polish I got from the line is Southern Charm.  I mean, it's totally me, right?  Southern...check.  Charming...well CHECK!  Right?? :P  This color was my favorite of all the Carries when I first started seeing swatches popping up.  It's one of those ever-present neutrals we are seeing in droves right now...it's a nude creme that looks slightly pink on me.  I love it.   

When I was little, I always loved the way the models' fingernails looked on The Price Is Right.  And their shoes were the same color as their nails!  I think I've found that loved-of-old shade.  I hope I get to play the Cliff Hangers game too!! :)

I used 3 coats of Southern Charm as well.  It's really strange...I used this polish a couple of weeks ago, and I had THE streakiest time with it...it was just a mess.  Well, this time, I had no trouble at all, so I'm chalking the first experience up to sleepiness...bad lighting...allergies?

Have you all picked up any of the Carrie Underwood collection?  Are you still loving the neutral thing?  And most importantly, what do you use for sinus and allergy woes? 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day! <3

My Favorite Gumdrop: Nicole by OPI That's What I Mint

Hey everybody!  Well, how do you like that?  Nicole by OPI goes and sneaks in a couple of new textured Gumdrops shades on us.  And one of them is teal.  Hyperventilating yet??

Goodness gracious ALIVE, but this color is fabulous.  NOPI calls this shade emerald green (not mint, as the name suggests), and it honestly does look very much like Zoya Giovanna.  But sorry, I call greens with this much blue in them "teal."  It's my blog, after all. :D

Oh, and I didn't mention the highly visible gold shimmer that runs throughout That's What I Mint.  Yep, this one officially wins the blue ribbon for my favorite texture.   The photos show 2 coats on its own.

And 2 coats with topcoat:

ARRGGHH!!  Look at the depth the top coat gives the color.  It also allows the gold shimmer to really be noticeable.   You all know how much I love textured polishes with topcoat...they always look like a pavement of colored diamonds. 

That's What I Mint was released with a limited edition yellow polish called Lemon Lolly.  I found them at Target, right after I left Ulta next door...Ulta had a full display of the original shades, but not the two new ones.  Wow, how lucky am I that just HAD to go to Target to get some Pumpkin Spice M&Ms that night?? :P

Thank for stopping by, and have a lovely day! :)

Nicole by OPI Comparison: Just Busta Mauve and Cinna-Man of My Dreams

Hey everybody!  We've seen a whole lot of textured polish this year.  And while I don't go crazy for them as many people do, there were two textured polishes that I really wanted this year:  Julie G Rock Candy and Nicole by OPI Cinna-Man of My Dreams.  I wanted them for the same reason I usually want a polish:  because they were unusual. 

When I finally found Cinna-Man (everybody seemed to be really late getting the NOPI Gumdrops), I noticed right away that in the bottle, it bore a striking resemblance to another of my very favorite NOPI polishes, Just Busta Mauve.  Sooo...I decided to do a little comparison of the two.  Obviously, I knew they wouldn't, or couldn't, look a whole lot similar due to the texture difference, but the colors are so close in the bottle that it got me curious.

(L) Just Busta Mauve and (R) Cinna-Man of My Dreams

Just Busta Mauve is a brown glass fleck polish with a little pink and a lot of blue shimmer.  I LOVE this polish.  It's a bit sheer but builds up nicely in 3 coats.

Look at that insane shimmer!  The blue is hard to capture in photos, but it's very visible in real life and produces a sparkling effect.  The only thing about this polish that I don't like is the name.  Mauve?  Really??

Cinna-Man of My Dreams is another polish that's a little bit unusual...it's a brownish-red that looks a little pink too.  It's crazy sparkly and looks magically delicious! :)

As you can see, Cinna-Man is super sparkly, but bears absolutely no resemblance to Just Busta Mauve on the nail.  It's a little closer with top coat, but still Cinna-Man is his own man. :)

UGH...I LOVE THIS with top coat!!  Look at the depth it gives it.  It's a striking polish either way.  So is Just Busta Mauve.  But they're not even close in color when you get them out of the bottle.  Am I the only one who thinks they look alike in the bottle??

Well I hope you've enjoyed my little comparison of completely different polishes, LOL.  Well, okay...let's just say it was for my own benefit!! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and remember to enter my giveaway!  It ends Sunday night, and the prizes are fantastic! :)  Have a lovely day!

What I Did For Cheap - Ulta Into Astrono-Me?

Hey everybody!  I love my neighborhood Ulta.  I visit it nearly every Sunday after church.  The employees all know me.  Should that embarrass me?  Maybe. :)  My very favorite thing in Ulta is the clearance section.  Since I go almost every week, I happen up on a lot of good stuff for really cheap.  And I love it when I can get good stuff for cheap.  A couple of weeks ago, I found a few discontinued Ulta brand polishes on clearance.  I really like Ulta polishes...they wear as well as any other polish does on me, they have a good color selection, and they have several different formulas (creme, glitter, metallic, etc.).  Tonight I am showing you Ulta Into Astrono-Me?, which I got for the very agreeable price of 99 cents. :)

 

Ulta Into Astrono-Me?

In the bottle, this looks like a plain navy blue.  I was surprised to see the shimmer and the very slight green undertones.  It's a very pretty color.  And did I mention it was 99 cents? 

That's 99 cents worth of purty!

The formula was a little streaky on the first coat, but a second coat evened everything out.  I decided to add a topper to see how it would look.  I chose another clearance acquisition, Here Kim's the Sun by Nicole by OPI.  I bought this one a little while back for $1.99. 

Here Kim's the Sun (WHY did they have to use the apostrophe?)

Here Kim's the Sun is a glitter topper of sparse opalescent glitter.  It's a very stunning look...the glitter is multicolored  and tiny.  I added one coat over Into Astrono-Me?, and the result was something like a night sky.  Not exactly "galaxy nails", but something a bit like it...and that's rather apropos, considering the name of the blue. :)  Here Kim's the Sun produced a twinkling star effect.

Here Kim's the Sun is a little hard to find anymore, but you can still get it on Ebay.  And if you hurry to your hometown Ulta, you may be able to find Into Astrono-Me? before it's gone forever.

What are some great deals you've found on clearance lately?  I am seemingly so adept at hitting the clearance jackpot that I could possibly make this a regular blog feature.  I hope that doesn't make you think I'm a tightwad. :)

Glam on the cheap!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a fantastic and safe Saturday! :)