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

Zoya - "Ki"

What a beautiful Sunday we're having! It's about 83* outside right now, without a cloud in sight!


Because of the great weather we have today, I chose a polish that I could get good outside pictures with (and since I'm not a big fan of holos, my next option was duochromes!).


I know there are tons of pictures of Zoya's "Ki" on the internet, but I don't care - I wanted to show you my own pictures! The pictures I took were the best I could get inside and outside. It was very difficult to capture the amazing duochrome finish with my camera. If you're thinking about purchasing this color, I suggest searching for more images on the internet.


Ki is one of the best duochromes I've ever seen. Depending on the light, sometimes it looks like a dusty purple, other times it looks sort of olive green. I'm a big fan of duochrome polishes, and this might be my new favorite! In my opinion, it should be a staple color for any polish collector/hoarder/lover!


I purchased Ki during Zoya's recent promo where you got 2 free polishes with any order. I chose this and Edyta as my free colors. I'm looking forward to trying that, too! I can't say that Zoya is my favorite brand, because I always seem to have issues with either bubbling or smudging (due to the polish not being completely dry). However, as a company, Zoya is my favorite. They are so generous with their promos, that they make it affordable and accessible to just about everyone (with free polish, BOGO, or free shipping). And, I'm noticing more Zoya colors popping up at the Ulta's near me, so that's perfect, too! Now, I can try (or at least see!) before I buy!


Application
OPI Nail Envy, Sensitive and Peeling Formula
2 coats of Zoya's "Ki"
2 spritz's of CND Solar Speed Spray

Outside, under direct sunlight:

Inside, with flash:

Inside, under artificial light:

 Do you have a favorite Zoya color? What do you think about Zoya polish all-around? Have you taken part in any amazing Zoya promos?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Thanks for stopping by!


<3,
Katie

China Glaze - "Wagon Trail"

Hey, kids! How's your weekend going, so far? Without TV, it's been hard for me to keep up with Hurricane Irene, but from what I've been seeing, it's one massive storm. To all of my friends and followers on the East Coast, please be safe! 


Tonight I decided to try an older polish of mine, China Glaze's "Wagon Trail". This beauty is from Fall 2008 Rodeo Diva Collection. Gosh, what a collection! I know I wasn't a polish hoarder back then, but from what I've seen online, this might be one of my favorite CG collections ever! I own 3 from this collection (Wagon Trail, Rodeo Fanatic and Gussied Up Green), but still want to get my pretty little hands on Midnight Ride and Side-Saddle!


I'm loving this polish for a million reasons. First, it's just the perfect color. If you know me, and could tell from my other posts, I love dark vampy colors - especially blackened blues and greens! The color *kind* of reminds me of OPI's "At Your Quebec & Call", but is darker and has more multi-shimmer colors in it. I also loved it's formula. It was a breeze to apply and clean up. It's just an all-around perfect polish; it's one that I'm glad to own and plan to wear again soon!


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
1 coat OPI Nail Envy Sensitive and Peeling Formula
2 coats of China Glaze "Wagon Trail"
Zoya Armor Top Coat
Zoya Hurry Up Speed Dry Drops

Do you have a favorite collection from China Glaze?


Thanks for stopping by and checking out this blog post! 
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!


<3,
Katie

OPI - "Standing Room Only (Silver)"

!!!WARNING: PICTURE-HEAVY!!!


Hey, kids! How's your Monday been so far? I decided to take the day off today to get some stuff done around the house. I had a fun time in Chicago this past weekend. Unfortunately, the Cardinals lost the game we were at on Saturday afternoon. However, they did win the game the next day (but still lost the series). 


Since I was home during the day, and there was a little bit of sunshine, I decided I needed to try one of the few holos I own. I don't own many holos - not because I can't find them or won't pay high prices for them, but because I'm not a big holo fan (GASP!!!!). I know, I know, I'm definitely in that small percentage of polish lovers who don't care for holos all that much. Maybe I'm just too "plain" and boring. I like dark holos (like MPJ and Revvvolution), it's the lighter ones (especially light pinks and light purples) that I don't care for.


That said, I'm bringing you all one of my silver holos, OPI's "Standing Room Only (Silver)". I found this polish when I was getting a pedicure at local nail salon. I definitely wasn't dusty hunting that day, but when I saw it on the display rack (with all the other used polishes), I asked if I could buy it. I actually bought two SRO's that day - one bottle was about 75% full, the other bottle (the bottle I kept for myself) was about 90% full. They sold each bottle to me for $8! Pretty good deal!


SRO is a black label OPI, and boy, is it stinky! It's also very thin and watery. For this mani, I used 4 coats. I think the next time I used this color, I'll layer it over a black polish like "Black Onyx". Other than being on the thin side, this polish was actually really easy to apply and control.


I heard somewhere that you shouldn't use a top coat when wearing holos, because the top coat can take away from the holo-ness. I don't know how true that is, so I decided to skip the top coat this time. 


Application:
Zoya Remove +
OPI Chip Skip (I wonder if I really need to be using both of these?)
1 coat of Zoya Anchor Base Coat
4 coats of OPI's "Standing Room Only (Silver)"
Zoya Hurry Up Speed Dry Drops

Outside with natural sunlight:

Inside, under artificial light:

Inside, with flash:

So, what are your feelings about holos? What brand, in your opinion, makes (or has made in the past) the best holo? What's your favorite holo polish (even if you don't own it)?

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts - I appreciate all of your support!

Have a wonderful week!

<3,

Katie

OPI - "Color to Diner For"

Woo hoo! It's the weekend! It's about 11:00 right now on Friday night, and I can't even think about getting to bed! My mom and I are driving to Chicago tomorrow morning to go see a Cubs/Cardinals game at Wrigley Field! I've never seen the Cardinals play in an opposing team's stadium, and to see them play the Cubs makes it so much more exciting! A vendor of ours that I work closely with has gotten a suite at Wrigley for us, so it'll be an awesome experience! I'll be sure to post pics once we're back!


Since I'll be sporting my Cardinal red tomorrow, I had to decide what red I wanted to wear for the big day. Lucky for me, I just received "Color to Diner For" from the newTouring America Collection by OPI! I won the ENTIRE 12-bottle set in my friend Tara's blog giveaway. If you haven't checked out her blog, "For Your Nails Only" before, you can do so by clicking here. Thank you so much, Tara! I can't wait to try out all of these fantastic colors!


I've heard some really great reviews about this collection: from the trendy polish colors to the amazingly perfect formula. I have to agree, the colors are incredible and are right up my alley. I know it's still summer, but these little puppies will be worn before fall!


I was pretty pleased with the formula of "Color to Diner For". It was quite thin at first, but built up beautifully. Usually, I don't care for the look of 3 coats of polish, but I used 3 here, and thought it looked perfect. 


I'm not really a red shimmer fan, but this polish was a nice surprise. It's almost a blood red with golden shimmer. Very sexy! 


Application:
Remove +
OPI Chip Skip
2 coats OPI Nail Envy, Original Formula
3 coats of OPI "Color to Diner For"
1 coat of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat
Zoya Hurry Up Speed Dry Drops

Do you have anything fun planned for the weekend?! Whatever you end up doing, have fun! 


Thanks for stopping by! :-)


Love,
Katie

OPI - "Love is a Racket"

Tonight's post includes a review and pictures of one of OPI's newest shades, "Love is a Racket". LIAR (Oh my! I didn't realize that was the acronym that would appear! Maybe I'll keep referring to it by it's full name!) is from the recent and final Serena Williams Glam Slam duo called Glam Slam USA. The other color in this duo is "Pros and Bronze". I bought this duo at my favorite local beauty supply store, but I've seen it at Ulta and Beauty Brands as well. They retail for around $14.25.


"Love is a Racket" is a bright reddish-pink glass fleck polish. If "Ali's Big Break" and "Let Me Entertain You" (both from OPI's 2010 Burlesque Collection) were mixed together, I *think* this is what you'd get. 


I have to be honest, this is just too "flashy" for me. I love a good glitter or a good glass fleck polish, but I just don't think bright reds/fuchsias look that great on me; kinda the same way I felt about another recent glass fleck polish by OPI, "Be A Dahlia Won't You?". I don't know, they just aren't "me". So, yet another bottle that will probably end up in the swap/blog sale pile! Man, this pile is really starting to grow! I've kinda been striking out these past few times, but I'm bound to find a new favorite one of these days!


After only wearing this a few hours and trying to take it off (with Remove +), I noticed some pretty bad staining. So, I'd recommend wearing at least a base coat (maybe 2 coats, just to be safe) before applying this.


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
OPI Nail Envy, Soft & Thin Formula
2 coats of OPI's "Love is a Racket"
China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

Which Serena Williams duo has been your favorite so far? I'd have to say mine's been the one that included "Grape...Set...Match" and "Servin' Up Sparkle" (although, I have yet to do a full mani with either of these, but it's comin', I promise!

Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone! I doubt I'll be back any more this week, and the earliest I'll probably do another post is Sunday or Monday. So, enjoy the weekend! 

Katie

Nubar "Iced Licorice"

Well, I survived another Monday! It wasn't nearly as crazy as I had expected. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day, but hopefully that will make the day go by a little faster. I haven't looked forward to the weekend as much as I do now! My mom and I are driving to Chicago on Saturday morning to see a Cards/Cubs game (I'm from and currently live in St. Louis, so these are always great games to catch). A vendor of ours at work gave me 2 suite tickets and is putting us up in a hotel Saturday night. So, it'll be a very mini vacation! Looking forward to it! Go Cards!!!!!!!


Okay, back to the review...


I wanted to show all of you another one of the swaps I got recently, Nubar's "Iced Licorice". Nubar describes it as a glitter polish, but to me, it seems more like a shimmer. Here's a bottle picture from the website www.bynubar.com.

I really hate to say this about yet another Nubar polish, but I wasn't a big fan of this color, either. I really don't know what I was expecting out of either "Stardust" or "Iced Licorice", but when I saw both of them on my nails, I was feeling pretty "eh" about them. I didn't hate either of the colors, I just wasn't impressed. Sorry to say, "Iced Licorice" will be going in my swap/blog sale pile along with it's sister, "Stardust".

I do have to give credit where credit is due, though. Both "Stardust" and "Iced Licorice" applied really well. The formula was nice. It wasn't too thin, but wasn't too thick, either. And I really do like the brush handle and brush itself. Both made application a breeze.

Application:

OPI Chip Skip

2 coats OPI Nail Envy, Soft & Thin Formula

2 coats of Nubar's "Iced Licorice"

1 coat of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat

Pictures taken outdoors, in direct sunlight:

Indoors with artificial light:

Pictures taken indoor using flash:

Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone! 

Katie

Essie - "Smooth Sailing"

Hi, ladies and gents. I know I've already posted today, but I was just in the mood to post again. I'm sure I could've written a post and just saved it for tomorrow, but blogging is sort of therapeutic for me. Kinda like crying, sometimes blogging just makes me feel better. 


Because I was feeling a little "blue" today, I decided to paint my nails blue(ish). But not just any blue, a blue that I've adored since the first time I saw it sitting in the 2011 Essie Braziliant display at Walgreens - "Smooth Sailing"! I've waited and waited to purchase this color, and finally bucked-up and treated myself last weekend! Walgreens was having a "Saturdate" day where they feature different cosmetic companies and usually have some sort of freebie or giveaway. Last Saturday, it was Essie and Maybelline Saturdate day. They were giving out $1 off Essie and Maybelline coupons, so I decided what better time than then to buy "Smooth Sailing" (plus, it was in a box with some cute little Essie toe separators!)?! And I've heard recently that SS is becoming  harder to find, so I didn't want to miss out on this beauty. 


SS does not disappoint - it's fabulous! It's a mix between a periwinkle and cornflower blue sparkle. It gives excellent coverage, even with just one coat. I used two in this mani, but probably could've gotten away with just one thick coat. I just feel like this is such a unique color to me. At first, I thought this color was very similar to a color from Essie's Spring Collection, Coat Azure (which I also own), but it's not at all. CA was more of a light baby/country blue with blue shimmer (you can see my review here). SS has more hints of purple in it (definitely more of a periwinkle) and the shimmer seems multi-colored (maybe blue, silver and light pink?).


I would recommend this to any polish lover out there. From the swatches I've seen online, this seems to look amazing on just about any skin tone. Plus, it's just a great quality polish. The formula was so easy to work with, you can't help but love it!


By the way, this is also my first time using the Zoya Color Lock System. I received a mini set from Jeanie from Midnight Manicures (you can check out her blog here). I was a winner in a recent giveaway she had, and this was one of my prizes! She also gave me a HUGE 32 oz. bottle of Remove + and I am now a changed woman! I will NEVER go back to the drugstore brands again! So far, I'm really liking this Color Lock System, too! It caused ZERO shrinkage, which is a win in my book. I'll let you know how the first day or two goes!


Application:
Zoya Remove +
1 coat Zoya Anchor
2 coats of Essie's "Smooth Sailing"
1 coat of Zoya Armor
Zoya Hurry Up Drops


Pictures taken indoors under artificial light:

Pictures taken outdoors with natural sunlight:

Have you tried "Smooth Sailing" yet? If so, what are your thoughts on it? What's your favorite blue(ish) polish?

I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend! Sunday evenings sure do seem to sneak up on us, don't they (well, they do for me at least!). Back at it tomorrow! I've got a very busy week ahead (and an exciting weekend, too!). I might not get another post in until next week, but I'll try my best!

Take care!

Love,

Katie

Nubar "Stardust"

Happy Sunday, everyone!


We're supposed to have a high of 83* today! Relief! For the past month or so, we've had temps in the high 90's, even in the 100's! I'm opening the windows and screen doors today and am going to enjoy this to the fullest!


And later this afternoon, my mom and I have a date to go see "The Help". I've never read the book, but I've heard rave reviews about it and the movie. 


Today I wanted to show you all a recent purchase of mine from a blog sale. I bought 5 polishes all together: 2 Nubars ("Stardust" and "Iced Licorice"), 2 Nfu-Oh's (50 and 51) and 1 black label OPI ("It's Now or Never"). It's always fun to get polishes that are HTF or hard to get locally. Plus, who doesn't love some good 'ole NAIL MAIL?!


The first polish I decided to try was Nubar's "Stardust". In the bottle it almost looks coppery-orangey-taupey. Click here to see a picture of the polish on the Nubar store website. But on the nail, it's almost pinkish-coral. It's a pretty color, but I doubt I'll be wearing it again. Instead, I think it will end up going in the swap/blog sale pile.


Other than the color not being quite to my liking, the application was great! I liked the brush handle and shape; it was really easy to work with. And the brush it self was perfect and made application a breeze. Although I didn't care for the color, that won't keep me from purchasing other Nubar's in the future.


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
2 coats OPI Nail Envy, Soft & Thin Formula
2 coats of Nubar "Stardust"
1 coat of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat




The first and last pictures below were taken indoors, under artificial light. The middle two pictures were taken outside, in direct sunlight.

What are your thoughts on Nubar polish? If you own Nubar polish, what is your favorite shade? 


Enjoy the rest of your weekend!


Katie

OPI "Have You Seen My Limo?"

Hey, kids! Happy Saturday! Gosh, it's such a beautiful day! I've already been garage sale-ing and have gotten all my errands over with for the morning. Now, time to enjoy this day off!


I'm sorry I've been kind of MIA for the past couple (maybe few?) weeks. I had an issue with one of my nails, and ended up cutting all of them down to a much shorter length. I didn't think they were pretty enough for pictures, so I've been waiting for them to get back to normal before blogging again.


Earlier this week, I purchased my first bottle of nail polish from eBay. I've been lemming OPI's "Have You Seen My Limo?" for quite a while, and I found it for a pretty good price on eBay, so I decided to just buy it so I could check that lemming off my list. Well, it arrived yesterday, and I immediately had to try it out. It was everything I had hoped it would be - a dark vampy duochrome polish that didn't look too black, but didn't look too purple. 


I'm a little bummed about this eBay purchase for one reason: the bottle of OPI I received had it's serial number etched off, and is missing the bar code sticker on the bottom (the 2nd sticker with the color name on it is still attached). I don't doubt that this bottle is authentic, it just makes me mad that the seller advertised it as new and undamaged, when it is, in fact, damaged (in my opinion). I've learned from this experience that I should always ask questions before I buy/bid on eBay.


Although I'm not happy with the actual bottle, I am thrilled with the color inside! This might be one of my new favorite colors (it hasn't made my Top 10 list, but it's close!).


Application:
OPI Chip Skip
Seche Clear Base Coat
2 coats of OPI's "Have You Seen My Limo?"
1 coat of China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat
OPI Drip Dry Drops

Have you ever purchased polish from an eBay seller? If so, how was your experience? Do you have a favorite seller you like to buy from on eBay?