Neon Tips

Good Morning-

Today I have a treat, the swatch I have today is not from my own hands (no my hands did not shrink)....they are the hands of my niece Madison.

She is 10 yrs. old and is a freak about the color purple...but surprisingly for her "Auntie manicure", she choose a neon.  See, she likes neon in the summer time and choose the neon yellow/green Clarie's Mood Polish  "Earthy/Happy" over her beloved purple...the shock!

Anyway, since she is "hard" on her nails and likes to pick at them (try to not to pick sweetie), I did a "bonder sandwich" with three coats of color and finished it off with Poshe fast drying top coat.

Here is the difference between cold (on the left) and warm/hot (on the right) !

She has the cutest nail beds :)...what's your favorite neon to wear in the summer?

Orly: Royal Navy

Happy Friday-
I saw on Body and Soul, how she had posted a picture of this gorgeous  NEW blue polish from Orly and she wanted to know where to find it.  Another follower stated that it was new and at Sally's.  So I hauled ass to Sally's and when I saw it, I knew it was meant to be...Feast your eyes on this baby...

This was hard to capture on camera, but you can see what this polish delivers...PERFECTION!

Oh so pretty, kind of reminds you of China Glaze Blue Sparrow or Pure Ice Strapless?

Not quite, it is so much more...Its a electric royal blue jelly with micro fine turquoise glitter, its actually more like a fine shimmer, but it sits way deep and shimmers from within...almost like sunken treasure.....so pretty! so necessary! ...so mine!

The formula was nice and easy to control, no issues, here.  This is 2 coats, I should have done 3, but I was being impatient.  It dries sorta matte, probably because it has an almost neon quality about it.  But once I added my Poshe top coat, it was all good!

Have a great weekend!

Bonder and Strawberry Sandwich

I REACHED 101 FOLLOWERS...YIIPPEE!!!!!!

I saw the post on Nails Beautiqued, where she did a post on CND Stickey and the well known "Sticky Sandwich". In the post she said that you can use Orly Bonder in place of CND Sticky....I thought "YES!, I have Bonder".

So I did the formula as she instructed. Here is what I layered:

1. 1 coat OPI Nail Envy (this is necessary since bonder has been known to yellow the nail bed)
2. 1 coat Orly Bonder
3. 1 coat China Glaze "Strawberry Fields"
4. 1 coat Orly Bonder
5. 1 coat China Glaze "Strawberry Fields"
6. 2 coast Poshe fast dry top coat ( or any top coat)

Nail Tip: I wrapped the tips of my nails in polish and Bonder to make sure I was starting off with a perfect manicure with no "free edges"......and I wore it for 7 days, here's what happened...

Day 0 (Application Day)

Day 1

Day 2

First chip, I whacked my hand against the door in my office really hard. It was a freak accident, but then again...I'm a freak!

Day 3

I baked Mexican wedding cookies and got a chip on the right thumb nail...I do not do this on a regular basis! Slight tip wear on some nails.

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Visible tip wear, but no more big chips. The big patch missing on the index finger, is actually all tip wear :)

Day 7

So after 7 days the manicure as a whole isn't too bad.

In the manicures defense, I do not usually whack my fingers on doors or bake cookies in a regular work week. I think the Bonder sandwich would really work out great for a manicure that you know you have to wear, without chips, for more than 3 days.

The manicure by the end of the 7 days was not as shiny, but nothing a new top coat couldn't fix. I would definitely do this again, for a long 4 day vacation, or a busy work week, or any vacation where I can not bring a change of polish or get them done.

I know it was a long post, thanks for "sticking" to it...ha ha ha ha..I love lame jokes!

Have you tried the "Bonder Sandwich" or "Stickey Sandwich" ?

101 followers...THANK YOU!!!!!

Thank you to everyone who follow me and who take the time to leave comments, I really listen and try to respond to every comment.

There are 8 more days till my "color poll" ends and I will start shopping for my first follower giveaway!

What color will be the theme for my giveaway?...right now PURPLE is in the lead with GREEN and BLUE tied for second. ....who will win?

We shall soon see!

Keep it sweet!

My favorite way to fix a manicure...

Ruffian...

I did mine free-hand, and it isn't as bad as you think.

I started off wearing Diamond Cosmetics "Silver Brocade", 2 coats with Poshe top coat. It had been three days and I was showing signs of "tip-wear", but didn't want to take it off, so......




I covered it with Rimmel "Black Satin".





See not too bad...right?

What is your favorite way to "extend" a manicure?

Swapage!

I swapped a while back with Ange over at Scandalously Polished. She wanted the Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter from Lush, and was kicking herself for not picking it up on a trip.

At the suggestion of a "follower", I offered to grab it for her for a nail polish swap.

Living in So. Cal, there are several Lush stores around so I grabbed one for her and mailed it out.

Now the fun begins, after the package was returned twice to her (she was so pissed), she emailed me and said that she was sending it a third time and because she knew I had been hunting "Hidden Treasure", she included it in the package...my response was sheer SHOCK...I am so happy it was returned twice...LOL!

Here are my new beauties..Hidden Treasure, Nubar Prize and Essence and Milani Cyberspace...she included the last because she knew I loved blue!


I love them soo much! I told her I needed holos and that she could surprise me and she did!

Ange you rock! I know I say this a lot, but I MEAN IT!


Notice the stack of documents behind them, my day has been hectic, but these polishes just made me smile ear to ear!

These supportive gestures are the reason why I love the beauty blogging industry, Thank You Thank You Thank You!

And to all my polish happy moms..Happy Mother's Day!!!

The good, the bad and the ugly

This manicure is definitely the later of the three! LOL!

Not pretty but INTERESTING! I decided to water marble with (l-r)

Orly "Basket Case"- base color

China Glaze "Strawberry Fields"- marble
China Glaze "Watermelon Rind" - marble

Here is the UGLY

The pinkie has the slightest wisp of green, can you see it?

This one turned out so odd, I decided not to even do a decent job of cleaning up.

So these are the GOOD things about this manicure:

1. This is my third time marbling and it DOES get easier with practice.
2. Always use a glass bowl or cup (when nail polish sinks, it eats threw everything else)
3. It's good to try colors opposite on the color wheel, you never know what mix you will come up with. :)
4. Every nail is unique...no one will ever get "your" manicure!
5. Putting oil or Vaseline on the skin before is EASIER than using tape, especially if you do both hands.

So here is the BAD

1. It wastes polish, so make sure you use colors that you can get dupes of.
2. You will use a lot of remover, cotton balls, and toothpicks. So prepare for your cuticles to look like crap after wards!
3. Not all polish is good for marbling, some polish is too thin, others too heavy and sink to the bottom.

Now the big question...would I do it again?...HELL YEAH! :)

Water..what?

Can anyone pass the watermelon...yum!

This is Watermelon Rind by China Glaze...and boy is this polish deceiving in the bottle, but it is so pretty once it's on the nail and even prettier once you step your hot nails into the sweet sun!

Boy is this polish a showstopper!

This is 3 coats, and it applied perfectly. This is a dark green (with blue undertones) jelly shimmer and boy does it shimmer! The first coat seems thin at first....but this baby layers perfectly, like a 4 tier layer cake....yum yum!.

This is a NECESSARY color to have in the stash...this polish even makes my "nubbins for nails" look good.

Don't forget to vote on my poll, and choose which polish color you like the most. So far purple and green are running neck and neck...and if green wins, this baby may be part of the giveaway!

I don't know about you but I need a good plate of BBQ, some fresh fruit and a cold beer, because summer is HERE!

Happy Cinco De Mayo Everyone!

Hubba Bubba anyone ?

Hello my little Chiclets

Today I have Orly "Basket Case" and I am in love! NY.Nail.Diva, blogged about how this was her favorite color, and now I know why!

I usually do not like pinks, I've said it before I always think they look odd on me. But this one is perfect for Spring/Summer, it is bright without being too bright and the quality of the polish was really easy to apply...no pooling, no drag and it wasn't sticky...I love it!

This is 3 coats with a top coat of Poshe Dry Fast Top Coat!

These pics make it look like its neon, but it isn't. Blame the camera...I do! :)

Thanks NY.Nail.Diva, if it wasn't for you I never would have touched this bottle :) Also check out her giveaway here

So what's your favorite pink?

Keep it sweet!

Zoya Chopping Block: Part 5...the final verdicts!

Okay, so we have final 2 bottles, that are on the chopping block.

Meet defendants #9 Sally Hansen "Linen Creme" and #10 N.Y.C. "Cashmere Creme".

Linen Creme

This is 3 coats...so thin!

4 coats, still slight "V.N.L."...visible nail line.

This is a nice ivory creme with a slight golden shimmer, but its 4 coats..no bueno. Yeah this one is a goner, I mean really?..4 coats?! No way. I originally bought this to do a french manicure, but now I've opted for a less "muted/cloudy" more "clean lined" french manicures, so that's it..no go on this one.

Next?!...

"Cashmere Creme"

Please excuse the state of the index finger, it was not happy about all the swatching :(

So this was 3 coats, nothing special a beautiful bright baby blue shimmer, but if I want a baby blue polish, I want a baby blue creme, not a shimmer. I actually mixed a little of "Zoya's "Snow White" into to this to make it more of a creme. But no dice.

My verdict is...Both gotta go, I have my sights set on some Zoya's and its time to "trim the fat"....hee hee...Keep it sweet!

NUBAR Mothers Day Discount

Nubar is offering 20% off retail customers purchases of $30 or more using the code MOM20...thru May 6th...so run, don't walk to catch this deal!

Plus there is free shipping with order of $75 of more after the discount is applied..wake up ladies, it's Nubar time! :):)

Their new "Nubar 2010" color is available, and it looks to be a very nice flaky!

Go now...NUBAR