Please vote for "Tuxedo" !!!!

So, there's this really awesome brand of nail polishes called "Lex Cosmetics". If you've never heard of them, check them out at www.lexcosmetics.com.

I recently submitted a photo of my cat, Cleo, in their nail polish contest. The winner of this contest will have a nail polish color created and named after them! Since my cat, Cleo, is a tuxedo cat, I thought that would be a cool name for a nail polish color!

So, this is where I need your help!

Go to: www.lexcosmetics.com. On the top of the page, there is a link for "Vote". After you click that, scroll down to the 5th picture (2nd row, 2nd picture) and check out "Tuxedo". On the right hand side of the page, you can vote for "Tuxedo"!

Please vote for "Tuxedo"!

Tuxedo

Katie told us "I'm a huge fan of dark, "vampy" nail polish colors. I'm also a huge fan of my adorable cat, Cleo. For my whole life, I was always a "dog person", but an all-around animal lover. Cleo came into my life (by mistake!) about 3 years ago, and I've loved every minute she's been here! We're definitely "buds"! If I were to create a nail polish color, it would be a black-ish gun metal gray-ish color with a hint of silver sparkle/shimmer"

Thank you, in advance, for your help and support! I'll let you all know who ends up winning the contest!

My St. Patrick's Day Mani - Zoya's "Suvi"

For the past few days, I've been thinking about which green polish I am going to wear for St. Patrick's Day. When I choose the color I'm going to paint my nails, I always take into consideration the colors I've never used. I mean, I'm new to blogging, and am working feverishly to get as many of my polishes swatched and reviewed. So, since I had already worn Zoya's, "Shawn", OPI's "Here Today...Aragon Tomorrow - Suede", OPI's "Don't Mess With OPI" and OPI's "Jade is the New Black", I chose to wear one of my newest polishes from Zoya, "Suvi". This was one of the three polishes I received in their recent "Get Your Green On" trio. As you know, I've already worn Shawn, so it was between "Suvi" and "Ivanka". As pretty as "Ivanka" is, it's pretty "flashy", and I'm not sure if it's work-appropriate (I'm sure it is, I'm just trying to find excuses to avoid wearing it, I think). I am, however, excited to show off my Suvi-nails tomorrow at work! I have a feeling they will become a distraction while I'm typing all day!


Suvi is one of the prettiest emerald greens I've ever seen. I mean seriously, it reminds me of an emerald stone. In my opinion, the color in the bottle isn't the same color that it appears on your nails. I was pleasantly surprised by the final outcome!


I should also mention - my experience with "Suvi" was much better than it was with "Kelly". The application was incredible, and I noticed very little bubbling. I actually completely paint my nails the first time, but smudged quite a few nails when I was cleaning up my cuticles, so I started all over again. The first round, I had zero bubbling. The second (and final) time around, I noticed a teeny bit of bubbling, but it was because I was in a hurry and made my coats thicker than they should've been. 


So, here she is, Ms. Suvi herself!


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
2 coats of OPI Nail Envy, Original Formula
2 coats of Zoya's "Suvi"
1 coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

OPI's "Merry Midnight"

Today's post is going to be about one of my all-time favorite polishes, OPI's "Merry Midnight". It seems like most of my polish buys have some interesting story to them, and this one is no exception. I purchased "Merry Midnight" in a duo set along with "Sapphire in the Snow" last year when I had first starting collecting OPI polish (and really knew nothing about the different polishes or collections). I purchased them from one of my smaller, local beauty supply stores here in St. Louis. The set was on a bottom shelf, near the back, collecting dust. I mean, there was a nice layer of dust on these guys! I'm guessing this just got placed there a while back and no one ever knew or cared that they were there. To be honest, when I picked up the pack (which was a gift pack that included a cute silver cuff bracelet!), I originally was only interested in "Sapphire in the Snow", but the salesperson told me she had to sell it as a set (for $14.50). To me, "Sapphire in the Snow" was worth $14.50 alone, so I got them both. And I'm so happy I did! I actually wear "Merry Midnight" more than "Sapphire in the Snow"!


I'd describe this color as a plum jelly with and abundance of gold flakies and blue and red micro glitter. I haven't worked with other flakies, but this polish seems to be packed with 'em! I've seen other flakies swatched (other brands), and they seem to lack the amount of flakies compared to this one. It's simply unique and absolutely stunning.


The application was pretty easy. You can actually control the amount of glitter and flakies you see on your nails by the amount of polish you use and the pressure you use when applying. Maybe it's just me, but this polish seemed to dry quicker than most other polishes I've used. Has anyone else noticed this?


Ok, enough babbling, here are some pictures of "Merry Midnight":

Look at those gorgeous flakies!!!

Application:

OPI Chip Skip

2 coats of OPI Nail Envy, Original Formula

2 coats of OPI's "Merry Midnight"

1 coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

And since I saw a little streaking (my own fault when applying), I decided to add one more coat of both "Merry Midnight" and Seche Vite (for a total of 7 layers of polish on my nails!):

Borghese "Stellare Notte"

Ok, let me just start off by saying that you're just going to have to trust me when I describe Borghese's "Stellare Notte". I tried numerous times to capture it's incredibe duochrome in photographs, but I had no luck. Maybe if the weather was nicer (we got SNOW today!!!), I might've been able to get some pictures in direct sunlight. But I couldn't, so I guess you're just going to have to go buy this polish yourself and fall in love with it like I did! :-)


So, I purchased "Stellare Notte" about a month ago at Walgreens. It was on clearance for $1.99, so I knew I couldn't pass it up. And I'm so glad I didn't - this is without a doubt one of my top 10 favorite nail polishes, all around. And it's not a favorite just because of it's fabulous color; it also has a great small, easy-to-use brush, the consistency is perfect, it doesn't get streaky, and the dry time is actually pretty quick! Plus, no air bubbles! Score!


This is my first Borghese nail polish, but definitely not my last. I have to admit, a big reason I purchased it was because of the price. But actually, I've seen this brand at Ulta before, and their original cost is about the same as my OPI's and Essie's (so they're in my price range).


Like I said, the color is fabulous. In the bottle, depending on the light, it looks navy/black/green/teal/purple/gray. And fortunately, those same colors appear when it's on the nail. I can't stop moving my hands around, just happy to see all of the different color pigments this polish brings out depending on the lighting! Not only is this a fun color, but it's sophisticated, too. 


Bottom line: I LOVE this polish. Maybe I'm just a little excited right now because I've found a color and product that I'm 100% happy with, but I might even go so far as to saying this polish is...perfect. So perfect, I might need a back-up bottle!


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
2 coats of OPI Nail Envy, Dry & Brittle Formula
2 coats of Borghese "Stellare Notte"
1 coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
1 spritz OPI RapiDry Spray


(Again, I realize that in these pictures the polish just looks kind of smokey and dull. It's NOT, I promise! When the sun comes out, I'll try to get a picture of the polish in direct sunlight). For now, here's what I've got:

Zoya's "Kelly"

I've been anxious to try Zoya's "Kelly" ever since I got it in the mail last week. Zoya describes this color as a, "rich gray shade with soft purple and blue undertones. An easy to wear alternative to black and a perfect NEW neutral."


I've been searching for the perfect gray for quite a while. The problem I've been having is that most of the grays out there are just too light or too silvery for me. When I saw this on Zoya's website, it seemed like exactly what I was looking for - and it is! I've finally found my go-to gray! 


I found this polish to be extremely easy to apply. Just like "Shawn", I probably could've gotten away with just one coat, but I prefer to always use at least two. My only "problem" with this application was that I noticed bubbles after both coats of polish I used (as you can see in the photos below). Now, this could've been operator error on my part. But I did kind of notice it with "Shawn", too. The next time I use a Zoya polish, I will be sure to keep my coats as thin as possible.


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
2 coats of OPI Nail Envy, Maintenance Formula
2 coats of Zoya's "Kelly"
2 coats of OPI's RapiDry Top Coat
1 spritz OPI RapiDry spray

OPI's "Black Shatter" over Essie's "Platinum Perfect"

A few days ago, while I was shopping at TJ Maxx, I found a really cool bottle of Essie nail polish called "Platinum Perfect". I'm fairly new to collecting Essie's, but  I couldn't remember ever seeing this polish before. It's very similar to OPI's "Birthday Babe". It's a gorgeous silver metallic shade. For $3.99, I definitely had to have it!


Once I got home, I tried to do a Google search for the color, to see when it was released, and if it was still part of their collection. I have yet to find out anything about this polish, so if you've heard of it, or if you own it, please let me know!


Here's "Platinum Perfect" (3 coats):

I haven't used OPI's "Black Shatter" much, so I thought "PP" would be a great color to use under it. Here's 1 coat of "Black Shatter" on top of "Platinum Perfect". I also added a coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat:

OPI's "Unripened"

Last Halloween, OPI released a collection of mini's called the "Go Goth" collection. This collection included the colors "Obscurity" (a black matte), "Sanguine" (a deep, dark blood red-maroon), "Nevermore" (a blackened purple) and "Unripened" (a dark glittering green). I was fortunate to snatch this set up for 1/2 price the day after Halloween at Beauty First!

It's pretty obvious when looking at "Nevermore" that it's a dupe of "OPI Ink". I mean, if you put the two next to each other, it's almost impossible to tell the difference between the two. The same goes for "Sanguine"; it's almost an exact dupe of "Royal Rajah Ruby" and "Midnight in Moscow". I'm happy about this, because I like the colors, and I have the full-size bottles of their dupes. So when the mini's run out, I'm still good. I don't recall OPI ever making a black matte, so it's nice to have "Obscurity" when I'm wanting a true black matte. 

My absolute favorite from this collection is "Unripened". It was the first color I tried on when I bought the set, and the one I used the most out of all 4 colors. Apparently, OPI made a limited number of full-size bottles of "Unripened" for some distributors, as a promotional item. Although, I read on OPI's Facebook fan page that some people were able to buy them (somehow) from stores that had them. 

I'd describe "Unripened" as having a black base, with teal shimmer. Unfortunately, you can't really see the purple/blue/pink duochrome that shows up in the bottle. When I wear it, it just looks like a black with teal shimmer. Regardless, it's amazing. 

A very dear from of mine (whom I met on the OPI FB fan page), Cathy P-R, is a licensed Hairdresser, Aesthetician and salon owner (check out her FB page called "Ask Cathy!"). She was able to get her hands on a few full-size bottles of "Unripened" and was generous enough to trade them with me for a couple of polishes she was interested in. Score! Not only am I fortunate to own ONE full-size bottle, but I've got a back-up bottle, too!

"Unripened" is just one of those colors, for me, that I will never get tired of. I think it's safe to say that it's in my top 5 favorite polishes, and I don't see it ever leaving that spot. 

Here are some pictures I took of it outside yesterday when the sun was shining (we haven't had a lot of that lately here in St. Louis, so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity!). After reviewing my photos, I realized at how awful a paint job I did on my nails. Oh well, my main purpose was to capture "Unripened" awesomeness, and I think I did an okay job doing that!


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
2 coats of OPI Nail Envy, Original Formula
2 coats of OPI "Unripened"
1 coat of Seche Vite 

Look at that BEAUTIFUL duochrome!!!!

I've seen some "Go Goth" sets at Trade Secret here in St. Louis. They're also being sold on eBay for pretty reasonable prices. You can also purchase full size bottles of "Unripened" on eBay. I've seen them being sold anywhere from $14 to $25.