OPI "Sapphire in the Snow"

Good morning, guys and gals! Happy Sunday! I woke up to see a little bit of frost on my car windshield this morning - winter's on it's way!


Today's post is looooong overdue. I can't believe I waited so long to share OPI's "Sapphire in the Snow" with you! It's probably one of my all-time favorite OPI cremes ever. In fact, it's one of those polishes that I rarely use, because I don't want it to ever run out! 


I feel very fortunate to have found this beauty about a year ago at my local beauty supply store. It was in a gift set with "Merry Midnight". I really only wanted SitS, but the sales clerk could only sell me the set (which came with a free silver cuff bracelet!). Who'da thunk that both of these polishes would become some of my favorite OPI's?! This is one of my only polishes that I feel I need a back-up bottle of. If it weren't going for so much on eBay, I might buy a bottle today. But I'll wait to see if I can find another bottle dusty-hunting some day. Fingers crossed!


Although the name is "Sapphire in the Snow", it's not a sapphire-colored polish. Instead, it's more of a purple-blue. When "Road House Blues" from the Touring America Collection came out earlier in the year, I thought (more like HOPED!) that it was just SitS re-named. RHB is more of a true blue creme; it's bluer than SitS. Regardless, they're both some pretty awesomely gorgeous cremes!


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
1 coat OPI Nail Envy, Original Formula
2 coats of OPI "Sapphire in the Snow"
1 coat of Poshe' Super-Fast Drying Topcoat

And here's a little sneak-peek of my next post...

Last night, at Target, I found this cute little holiday dog t-shirt and couldn't pass it up at only $2.50. As you know, I only have cats...

My little Snow Princess!

She might not look happy, but I really do think she likes her new t-shirt!

Well, enjoy the rest of your Sunday! Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

OPI's "Parlez-vous OPI?" and China Glaze "Below Deck" Comparison

Well hello!


Today's post is going to be short and sweet...


A friend of mine on Facebook recently wanted to see a comparison of OPI's "Parlez-vous OPI?" and China Glaze's "Below Deck" to see how similar they are. As you may know, PVO was part of OPI's 2008 Fall Collection de France (one of my favorite OPI collections!). I purchased mine at my local grocery store (I know, total diversion...) and am so glad I snatched it up when I did. It's quite hard to find, and is going for some pretty crazy prices on Amazon and eBay. I purchased Below Deck recently from a local beauty supply store. This one isn't as hard to find (yet!), since it was part of China Glaze's 2011 Anchor's Away Collection which was released earlier in the year. 


I never realized how close the two were until my friend requested a side-by-side comparison.

Sorry about the messy painting. I literally just slapped on a couple of coats of each and snapped some pictures quickly. 

But as you can see, they are very close, but not dupes. PVO is much more "purple-y", where BD has a hint of taupe in it. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I prefer the color of Below Deck over Parlez-vous OPI. Normally, I'm all about the OPI's, but this time, CG wins! That said, I'm not giving my bottle of PVO up to anyone! 

Essie - "Bobbing for Baubles"

Today's post is for one of my new favorites, "Bobbing for Baubles" from Essie's 2011 Winter Collection, Cocktail Bling.


Essie describes this color as "a deepest darkest sapphire". To me, it doesn't scream sapphire. It's more of a dusty gray-navy blue creme. That said, it's still pretty awesome. I got a lot of compliments on it when I wore it recently. I love the fact that it's a dark shade (as you know, I LOVE dark shades, especially blues!), but it's not black, and doesn't look black when you're wearing it. One of the women who complimented me when I was wearing it asked, "Oh, is that teal? It's amazing!". I didn't mind, because she didn't ask if it was black!


If you've never tried Essie before, you really should. It's one of my favorite brands of polish that never seems to disappoint. If you're looking to try Essie and not spend a lot, Beauty Brands has a bunch of their polish on clearance right now, since they will no longer be carrying the brand (*sad face*). Normally, they retail for around $8/bottle.

Barielle - "Berry Blue"

Hey, gals! Happy Monday! Maybe I should say "Happy Barielle Mani Pedi Monday"!


For those of you who aren't familiar with the brand Barielle, they have a Facebook page where they do Mani Pedi Monday contests and fans can submit their Mani/Pedi Barielle pictures.


I submitted a photo today of my "Berry Blue" mani. I LOVE this color! It was such a BREEZE to apply. The best way I can describe this color is like a watery creme (but not a jelly). It's a great polish that was super easy to work with! And the color is divine! This is just the PERFECT color for fall, too! Lovin' it!


Here's the picture I submitted:

Here's a direct link to their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/barielle

Before you can vote, you first have to "Like" their page. Then, please "Like" my photo! :-)

Thanks for your support!

Have a great night,

Katie

OPI's "Steady As She Rose" and my GingerKitty Birthday Giveaway prize!

WARNING: VERY Picture Heavy!

(with 2 very special guest stars at the very end!)

So I told you all in my last post that I was going to *attempt* to blog 2-3 times per week in June. So, I wanted to start off the month on the right track! 1 down, 1 or 2 more to go this week! *Fingers Crossed*!

Today's post is another polish from OPI's Pirates of the Caribbean Collection, "Steady As She Rose". When I purchased the polish, I was thinking it would be sort of a muted pink. Instead, I'd describe it as a muted pinkish-lavender. As you can see in the pictures below, it looks pink in some, and purple-ish in others. No complaints, though - I really like the color. I like the application even more! Just like with "Stranger Tides", this little beauty was a breeze to apply. I did use 3 coats, but probably could've gotten away with just two.

I'm also including pics of my new GingerKitty Designs Clarins 230 ring I WON in her Birthday Blog Giveaway! How cool, huh? I got my ring in the mail today and have been admiring it ever since I opened the package. The best way I can describe this ring is by saying it's "like a juiced-up mood ring"! Tracey, the designer and creator of all of the GingerKitty jewelry, used Clarins 230 nail polish for this ring. So now, I can honestly say that I "got my hands" on Clarins 230 - finally! (Did you catch the pun there?)  Here's a link to her Etsy shop (this link goes directly to the Clarins 230 ring I won!). Have you ever checked out the GingerKitty blog? If not, here's the link. 


Thank you, Tracey, for such an incredible and generous giveaway! I'm honored to own one of your pieces of artwork! 


Now, the fun part - the pictures!


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
1 coat OPI Nail Envy, Original Formula
3 coats of OPI "Steady As She Rose"
1 coat of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat
OPI Drip Dry Drops
1 spritz CND Solar Speed Spray (I reeeeeeally wanted my nails to dry quick!)

Without Flash:

With Flash:

Now, the beautiful GingerKitty Clarins 230 ring! Look at all the different colors that come out, depending on the light and the angle!

You can't say I didn't warn you about the abundance of pictures! Now, just 2 more (to me, they're my favorite pictures in the whole post!):

My baby girl, Cleo (aka Cleopatra, Kee-Kee, Cleeps, Cleepy-Weepy, the list goes on and on!)

My other baby girl (and Cleo's mom), Gracie (aka Gracie McGee, Gracie Face)

If you've made it to this point, THANK YOU! I hope I didn't bore you with all of my pictures! Thanks for reading!

xoxo, Katie (and Cleo and Gracie, too!)