Mixed Metals!!

I found this design in an issue of InStyle magazine a few months back and have been dying to try it. I've been sick and stuck in the house the past couple days so I decided to try it out since I was bored. It turned out pretty nicely and I think it looks like a Minx design. But the best part is that it is inexpensive and easy enough to do at home! See instructions below the pic...

 

As you can see I was trying to catch the sun, it was playing hide-n-go seek but I managed to get a few good shots, these two were the best from the group...To get the look all you need are these things:

• Base Coat
• Gunmetal Nail Polish (OPI's "Baby It's Coal Outside" or Zoya's "Freja" are good ones)
• Kami Nail Foil Adhesive (click here)
• Kami Nail Foil in Gold and Silver (click here)

Follow these simple steps and you've got the look:

• Lacquer nails with two coats of gunmetal. Allow at least five minutes for the polish to dry.
• Sweep nail adhesive over the polish. It will change from white to clear matte when dry.
• Place a strip of silver foil (shiny side facing up) over your nail, tap three to four times with your fingertip to deposit the pigment, then peel off. Repeat steps with the gold foil

**Don't use top coat it messes with the effect of the foil. I tried it on my pinkie finger as you can see it looks slightly different from the others...also don't be afraid to experiment with other colors. The foil comes in an assortment of colors, so try out some different ones!!

Hope you enjoy...Happy New Year!!

NEW YEARS EVE SPARKLE!!

Hey ladies, I got just enough sunlight today to showcase my two suggestions for your new years eve plans!

The first color, is 212-Sephora by OPI...

Where do I even begin with this color?! If you're thinking of doing a black nail for new years eve night, why not jazz it up a bit with this smoked out, glittered out, gunmetal-black polish. The formula is great and goes on opaque after two coats. The base is a smoked out gunmetal blackish-grey. It contains iridescent mini glitters, regular sized glitters, and the big glitter flecks similar to that of OPI's Merry Midnight and Shim Merry Chic. A beautiful color, you'll be staring at it all night...

The next color is Rescue Beauty Lounge "Frugalista"...

If you really want to sparkle new years eve night, then this is the color for you! It is a clear base coat filled to capacity with silver and fuchsia glitters. This color also goes on opaque after two coats! I got a lot of compliments when I wore this color over the weekend for my test run...I think this is the perfect color to bring in the new year right!!

Sidenote: Make sure you have an acetone based remover, because these polishes are slightly harder to remove than ones without glitter.

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!!!! HAPPY 2010!

Dear Santa

Ok guys I know this is a little late but I've been out in the Christmas Eve madness all day. But I really wanted to post this color from the OPI Holiday Wishes Collection, mainly for its name, Dear Santa. I thought that was the cutest name for some reason. It is most definitely a Christmas red. It has a bit of an orangey undertone to it but the mini glitters of red and gold make it super sophisticated.......Merry X-mas to you and yours!!

 

New Years Eve party post coming soon!!

Beat Winter Dryness

Hey guys, I know I have been M.I.A. lately, I went out of town over the weekend and things have been pretty hectic since I got back so I haven't really had any time to do color swatches. But I do have one more X-mas day suggestion that I hopefully will be able to post tomorrow and I have some really special suggestions for NEW YEARS coming soon!! I'm excited to post those!! But anyway, I have some natural nail care tips for you in the meantime.......So we all know that our skin can become really dry during the winter, so I have a few tips and products that can help you beat the winter skin blues.

Because there is less moisture in the air during the winter, our skin can become really dry and our hands and feet suffer as well. Our cuticles can become especially dry and they need to be cared for between manicures during the winter. Here are some cuticle care tips that you can do at home:

1.) Once a week, soak your cuticles in warm water with a couple drops of cuticle oil (I LOVE Sally Hansen's cuticle oil with vitamin E) in the water AND applied directly to the cuticle. (DO NOT USE SOAP, it dries your cuticles out) After soaking your nails, use a cuticle pusher to push those bad boys BACK!!

 2.) Once a week, exfoliate your hands (True Blue Spa "Just a Minute 60-sec Manicure Scrub from Bath&Body Works will do the job), this removes the dead skin cells from your hands and allows you to apply the moisturizer to your fresh clean skin, not on top of dry, dead skin cells.

3.) Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize!! I love True Blue Spa's "Look Ma New Hands" from Bath&Body Works. Its ingredients feature paraffin oil, which keep hands/skin super moisturized and protected.

4.) Lastly, we can't forget our feet!  Like most, I tend to slack off of my pedicure regimen during the winter because my feet aren't exposed. But this doesn't mean that you can't keep up with grooming them at home. Even if you don't give yourself a full pedicure at home the least you can do is exfoliate and moisturize! Try True Blue Spa "Toe the Line" for your scrub and "Shea it Isn't So" as a moisturizer...they work wonders together! Scrub weekly or bi-weekly; moisturize daily!!

Christmas Gold and Silver!

OPI's Curry Up Don't Be Late is the perfect subtle gold for the holidays...It's a yellowish gold but still very pretty and it shimmers in the light.

I absolutely love Sally Hansen's Celeb City, a very opaque silver micro glitter formula. It only took two coats to cover the entire nail completely...I'm gonna call this Silver Bells!! 

Natural Nail Care

I'm currently reading "Rescue Your Nails" by Ji Baek, the founder of Rescue Beauty Lounge and creator of some of my favorite polishes. So I wanted to share some of her natural nail care tips with you. Hey, you can't be a polish freak and not have beautiful hands and nails to show off the beautiful polish!! ;-)

The Ten (unbreakable) Rules of Nail Care

by Ji Baek

1.) Take your vitamins. Nails are keratin-based, so make sure you have enough calcium, protein, and nutrients in your diet.

2.) Moisturize and hydrate. Dryness can cause your nails to crack and split. Use moisturizer for your outside, drink plenty of water for your inside.

3.) Keep your nails clean. There is nothing more unattractive than having dirt under your nails--remember, clean is chic!

4.) File your nails weekly into a smooth, even shape, whether they're short or long.

5.) Take care of your tools. Learn the three S's--sterilization, sanitation, and storage--and be vigilant. Preventable infections are just that--preventable!

6.) Trust your instincts. If it hurts, don't do it. If it feels wrong, stop it. If (heaven forbid) it bleeds, tend to it immediately.

7.) If it chips, take is off!! If you see the chip, EVERYONE can see the chip. Uniformly lovely nails are just a swipe of remover away.

8.) Don't be a slave to trends. If you're seeing the same color everywhere, only wear it if you like the way it looks. Say no to peer pressure!

9.) Don't be afraid of trends. Get out of your rut and try something new!

10.) Have fun! Experiment! Remember, your nails' style is hardly permanent. If you're even slightly tired of your current look, change it! If you're not happy, all it takes is some polish remover and you're back in the safety zone.

Emerald City!!

A perfect emerald green for the most wonderful time of year!! Sally Hansen's (Insta-Dri) Jumpin' Jade, should be called Emerald City! It's gorgeous and so opaque it only needs one coat!! It definitely lives up to its name and drys in a snap...

 

  

Since its been kind of overcast the last few days I took the top pic in natural light (the sun was trying to peak through the clouds) and the bottom pic with the flash so that you can grasp the full effect of the color. Its definitely a shimmering color and looks great when the light bounces off of it. LOVE IT!

RESCUE BEAUTY LOUNGE SALE!!

SHHH!!! IT'S A SECRET. EXCLUSIVELY FOR POLISH FREAK READERS ONLY. RBL (RescueBeautyLounge-click here) IS HAVING A SALE ON THEIR POLISHES. 50% OFF ON ALL POLISHES TODAY ONLY NOON-5PM! ENTER "VIP 5 HOUR" UNDER COUPON CODE TAB AT CHECKOUT! DON'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO STOCK UP ON THESE FAB POLISHES OR GIVE THEM AS A GIFT!!

Sunday Randomness!

Ok so I know this is a polish blog, obviously, but recently I have been getting into makeup a little bit and just had to share my purchases with someone! I consider myself a natural kind of girl and I don't wear makeup everyday. But for special occasions and going out I like to put on a little makeup, particularly on my eyes. I LOVE dramatic eyes! I have been experimenting and playing around with drugstore shadows, usually Covergirl and Maybelline. But I figured it was time to step up and invest in some quality makeup...so I've discovered Urban Decay! I don't know how many of you have tried it, but I think I'm falling in love. The company prides themselves on being "beauty with an edge", a dare to be different sort of deal, so I loved that approach from the start! This is the perfect time of year to try something new because there are plenty of gift sets featuring different types of products....so here is what I got...

Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. II 

 

A cute little box, with hidden compartments that reveal a mirror and look book at the top, and some gorgeous shadows in a pull our tray on the bottom. The set also features two 24/7 glide on eye pencils and one of their most popular sellers, the Eyeshadow Primer Potion (it works great! It keeps the shadow on your eyes all day!) This would make a great gift or hell, just buy it for yourself. ($48.00 at Sephora or UrbanDecay.com)

I also purchased the Urban Decay Hall of Fame, a gift set that features their most popular products...

This set features the Eyeshadow Primer Potion XL, the Skyscraper Mascara (which I adore!), a mini lipstick (in Midnight cowboy, a pretty shade of mauve champagne), rocket pocket lip gloss (which I didn't really care for too much), and one 24/7 glide on eye pencil. This set retails for $29.

And last but not least I wanted some eye pencils in various shades so I got the Urban Decay Super Stash 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil set...

This set retails for $36. It features some really cute colors, I can't wait to try them all...So this concludes my beauty buys, I was so excited about them I had to tell someone! Stay tuned, the polish obsession continues this week...more golds and silvers and greens, oh my!

Festive Red

I hope you ladies have been enjoying the holiday season thus far. With Christmas in about two weeks I figured it was about time to reveal my top Christmas day colors...I went to get a mani/pedi this morning and I decided to take my OPI Smitten with Mittens to the shop (I hadn't tried it yet). Needless to say, I got a lot of ooo's and aaaa's from the ladies that work in shop in admiration of the color. And a couple other ladies that were getting their nails done commented on the beauty of the color as well. I don't usually do reds, but when I saw this one in the OPI Holiday Wishes collection I was immediately fascinated...The picture doesn't really do the color justice. It's a deep crimson red with tons of gold mini glitter. As I mentioned before, OPI has been killing it this season with the glitters. They have really made glitter nail polish sophisticated and not tacky as some may have previously thought. The depth that this color has is amazing and the way the light hits it makes me just sit and stare at it...its a gorgeous festive red!

I really wish that my camera could have captured the true beauty of this color. If you get a chance to stop into Ulta (or another beauty store that sells OPI), please check out this color, you won't be disappointed! Plus, I believe they still have their "buy two get one free" on OPI and Essie polishes...Keep checking back throughout the week for more Christmas Day options, I'll be posting all week...PEACE!

Rainy Days Collection

Since it's raining and nasty outside I was inspired to post my go to colors for rainy days and mellow moods. I also matted each color so you can see the difference between the regular color and the matte finish. I used Essie's Matte finisher, which you can find on their website (Essie.com) Hope you enjoy...

The first is one of my all time favorites from OPI, "You Don't Know Jacques"...a classic! The first pic is regular, the second is with the matte finish...

 

  

The next color is "Chinchilly" by Essie (This color is from their Fall '09 Collection). It's a gorgeous shade of taupe-gray.

 

 

And last, but not least one of my favorite colors of all my polishes, "Stormy" by RBL (Rescue Beauty Lounge). You know when it's getting ready to storm outside and the sky has that dark grayish-blue look to it, well this is that color...

So there you have it, my go to grays/taupes. I really loved these with the matte finish too, I had never matted these before. The formula on all of these is great, especially the RBL, they are a little more pricey but they last a little longer....

MORE HoLiDaY PARTY CoLoRs!!

OK, so I know I've only been featuring OPI colors so far, but OPI has been killing it this season with their holiday colors! (brand variety coming soon, I promise!) ...SO, I went in Ulta yesterday to pick up a gift for Bunco night with the girls. I ended up getting OPI's holiday minis gift set as a gift for game night. Needless to say, I walked out with three other polishes too! (Ulta is having a buy 2, get one free sale on OPI and Essie polishes) So I did get a good deal! But anyway, I ended up getting a really pretty red, from their holiday wishes collection and two colors (a purple and a gold) from their Ulta Exclusives holiday collection. So here they are...

The first is Glove You So Much (from the Holiday Wishes Collection)

The top pic, is without the flash and shows the dark tones of the color. The bottom pic with the flash, shows the warm red tones of the color. In real life, it looks closer to the color in the first pic...it has a really pretty shimmer to it...its what I like to call a sophisticated, sexy red!

The next color is Visions of Sugarplum (from the Ulta Exclusives Collection by OPI)

 

Another pretty purple from OPI! (Y'all know I'm biased on purples because I LOVE them, lol) ...This one is slightly different because it is a purple glitter. It is not like Merry Midnight, however, which I featured in my last post because it does not have the jelly formula of Merry Midnight. What makes this one really different though is that it has very dense purple and silver glitters that give it an awesome shimmer! It reminds me of one of my other favorite purples from OPI, Catherine the Grape, without the glitter...great color!

Lastly, Dazzled by Gold (also from the Ulta Exclusives Collection by OPI)

 

So I don't usually like glitters, but OPI has been making me fall in love with them, well at least theirs! So this is a really opaque glitter, which is awesome. This is three coats, but it really only needs two, I just added an extra coat because I felt like it I guess. It doesn't look cheap and guady like some glitters can. It definitely has a level of sophistication to it...OPI you hit the nail on the head with this one! (OMG! I'm turning into my mother, that sounds like something she would have said...it slips out sometimes! LOL)

THANKS OPI, FOR DOING THE GLITTERS RIGHT!

Have a great weekend ladies! Peace! 

HoLiDaY PARTYING!!

Hey ladies, December is here again, can you believe it!? The last year has flown by and now its time for office parties, "get-togethers" with family and friends, and holiday partying!! What better accessory than your nails to show off your festive holiday spirit. So I've got five OPI colors that I think look great for holiday parties. Three of the colors are from OPI's Holiday Wishes Collection 2009 and two of the colors are from their Suede Collection. The suedes are up first....

Before I get started, let me explain the suedes first if you don't already know about them. They are mattes, meaning when they dry they don't have a glossy finish to them. These particular mattes are loaded with dense micro glitter, which gives them the look of suede. I absolutely love the suede collection, I think I have them all, except for the Russian Navy, which I really didn't want. They are so fun and easy to paint on because they literally glide on to the nail. Like most mattes though, they only last a couple days before chipping. But that's why I am recommending these for a night out on the town or a holiday party of course!

So let's get started, the first is "You Don't Know Jacques!"Suede

 


I love the regular "You Don't Know Jacques" color and this has become a fav as well. It has a goldish-bronze color to it and it really shimmers in a low-lit space (think candle light dinner or nice jazz club) The bottom pic, is with a top coat which actually gives the color a slightly different look.

Next is: "Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees" Suede

Another gorgeous suede, it looks silver in the bottle, but on the nail it has a grayish-green look to it that I love, especially since greens are in this season. Again the bottom pic is with a topcoat.

The next three are from the OPI Holiday Wishes Collection 2009, the first is "Holiday Glow".

I LOVE this color, so fun and festive. It's nearly impossible to capture the true color through photograph though. But this is pretty close...the color is a deep chocolate brown with purple and smoke gray under tones. It has gold, bronze, and silver micro-glitters. It's a really pretty shade! It would go perfectly with any color party dress for the season, particularly silver or gold!

The next color is one of my favorite golds for the season, "Shim Merry Chic"

And Chic it is!! Beautiful golden bronze shimmer with mini green and silver glitters and big gold flecks! Love it! Tame enough for the office and chic enough for a night out!

Finally, my favorite color from the Holiday Wishes Collection, "Merry Midnight".

I'm a purple girl :-) So that's why this is my absolute FAV from the collection. Isn't it such an awesome color though? It has a jelly formula so I applied three coats to get the darkness that I like in a purple. But it looks great at two coats as well. It has mini glitters of silver and blue and like Shim Merry Chic, it has the big gold flecks that really make the color pop!!

So I hope you have enjoyed my recommendations for the holiday partying season! Happy Holidays to you and yours! Stay tuned for my Christmas and New Years suggestions...also coming soon nail care tips for the budget conscious fashionista! PEACE!

My Favorite Fall Colors!

I love fall! Such a beautiful time of the year, especially since all of my favorite colors are everywhere: burnt orange, deep reds and purples, browns and greens...makes me smile just thinking about it :-) So below are three of my favorite fall colors...between the three colors, they should cover your entire wardrobe(remember, everything doesn't have to be perfectly matched, just as long as all the colors go together)...

This is one of my favorite RBL (Rescue Beauty Lounge) colors, No More War. It's a deep olive green that goes on so perfectly. The formula is excellent and it really lasts for 7-10 days! The first pic shows the deep, dark tones of the color. The second pic I took with the flash on to show the brighter, warmer tones of the color. Isn't it gorgeous! Perfect color to go with browns, tans, purples, a burnt orange, teal/turquoise and even black.

The next color is Sally Hensen Salon, The Deepest of Violets and it really is! I like Sally Hensen formulas, they apply smoothly and you can get a few days of wear from them. But when you are someone who changes her nail polish as much as I do all you need is a couple days of wear anyway. My only complaint about this polish was the skinny brush (it makes the application awkward) but I think I have just gotten used to the OPI pro-wide brush. But I really like the depth of this color, as shown by the two pics. Again, the one at the top shows the deeper, blackened purple base of the color while the second pic shows the warmer purple tone of the color. Lovely...a great steppin' out for the evening sort of color. And it goes with just about anything because it's almost black.

Last, but certainly not least, one of my favorite colors from OPI's Holiday 2009 Collection, Ginger Bells. The perfect color for fall and for brown skin! When I first saw this color it immediately reminded me of candied yams and my grandma's sweet potato pie, it's the perfect Thanksgiving Day color! I didn't even need to take two pics of this color because I thought that this pic captured the color very well. It's a very warm fall color. And of course, like most OPI colors, the formula is great. The wide brushes that OPI polishes have really make for easy and smooth application.

So these are my three favorite fall colors and they will definitely transition with me into the winter! Hope you guys have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Polish Freaks!

I have what I like to call a passion for nail polish,though others might call it an obsession. But whatever you want to call it, it's my passion and I want to share my love for polish with my fellow polish freaks. I like quality polishes such as OPI, Essie, Zoya and Rescue Beauty Lounge (which is my splurge buy every now and then!). So what better way to share an obsession than through a blog. You may be thinking, "What makes your polish blog so different from the ones that are already out there?" Well my answer to that would be: I am a college student with not a whole lot of money to spend on entire collections of nail polish so my blog is going to be creatively different. I view nail polish as an accessory to my wardrobe and an indicator of my mood. I intend to post my favorite colors of the season, make suggestions about wardrobe color co-ordinations, suggest colors for special events/holidays, etc....I think you get the idea....The other thing that makes me different is that I am African-American, so I think it will be good to get the perspective of a person of color for what polishes work best against our skin tones. I'm not only going to feature my hands, but those of my friends as well (and they are all different shades!) As you may know some colors may look good on some, but not on others. This is because different colors pick up various tones in our skin...So this is my polish blog...I hope you enjoy it and make this your first stop for polish suggestions....PEACE!