Shattered Heart

Hello hello! I'm proud to say that I've been diligently working through my untrieds, so here are three of them in today's mani! This mani was actually inspired my ring in the first picture, which gave me an idea to do something with a jelly polish and heart glitters. As you may know, I'm completely infatuated with randomly shaped glitters--hearts, stars, flowers, etc.--so I couldn't wait to go through my polishes and come up with an awesome combination!

I started out this mani with two coats of NYX Girls Roxy, which is a coral jelly with a hidden pink shimmer. The shimmer was really hard to capture on the nails, but you can clearly see it on the part of the bottle that lacks polish. That's also how I can tell if a polish is a jelly by looking at the bottle--if you tilt the bottle and you can see through it quickly, or if you turn the bottle upside down and you can see translucent air bubbles. This isn't a foolproof method because you could also have a streaky, thin creme on your hands, so I like double check by looking at the brush. But anyway!
Next, I layered on Bonita Red Heart--a random polish I found at a nail supply store. It looked very underwhelming because the heart glitters were so sparse, so I topped it off with Icing Rave Royalty. Rave Royalty is a really cool mylar flakie polish that flashes orange and green in the shade! I'll try to get some pictures of it next time, so you can see what I mean.











NYX Girls NGP 106 Roxy + Bonita Red Heart + Icing Rave Royalty

I really wish I could have worn this mani longer, because I had it on for less than a day! After I came up with this mani, I received a phone call regarding an interview for the following day, so I had to change my nails to something more appropriate. It's always better to be safe than sorry, right? (:

Thanks for reading! Til next time!

Maxin & Relaxin

Nike Blazer Mid Wolf Grey/Spark x New Balance 751 Black/Teal

Just a day in the life... (:

Twilight Rays

I'm sure many of you have seen the Maybelline Color Show display at your local drugstore. From the large selection of various colors, it seems like a pretty good line--especially considering that it's coming from a drugstore brand! At first, I was rather indifferent about their line-up because none of the colors really stood out to me; however, after checking out their display for what seemed like the bazillionth time, I thought Twilight Rays was nice, and so it came home with me!

Twilight Rays is a black creme laced with golden glass flecks. The formula was a tad watery, but it wasn't too bad. I used two coats for my mani and it seemed perfect until I went outside and the sun revealed its patchiness, so I would definitely recommend using three coats for this polish.
This color sat in my untrieds for so long because it seems underwhelming next to other colors, but I quite like it. I'm totally digging the glass flecks, and it's not a bad shade for layering, either. I added LA Girl Synergy to my thumb and ring finger for some extra oopmh.











Maybelline Color Show Twilight Rays + L.A. Girl Glitter Addict Synergy 

Do you have any of the Maybelline Color Show polishes? What do you think of this line?

Pink Duchess

Hello girls! I was feeling extra girly the other night when I was doing my nails... can you tell by my all-out pink mani?

Anyway, after my last mani with the NCLA line, I had to try out another one of their polishes and I've gotta confess--I'm kind of obsessed! I love the colors I picked out because the shades are extremely flattering!

The one thing I don't like about this line is the price, because I don't think their polishes are worth $16. At the end of the day, they're still just standard cremes, and I'd rather put that money towards a polish that's harder to dupe or has some really awesome glitter/color-shifting effect. (That's just me though, and keep in mind I'm extremely frugal when it comes spending more than $10 on a polish.) Even though the formulations were nice, they're not the BEST cremes I've ever tried. I also thought the rectangular brush handles were really awkward to hold during application, despite how cute the bottles are. I know I'm being really nit-picky because this line isn't bad at all, but since it's really expensive, my expectations are way up there.

Putting the price aside, I'd definitely recommend checking out NCLA if you can catch them during a promotional sale! I got all of mine at half-price a while back, so it definitely pays to be patient. You can take a peek at my prettified pink mani below--be sure to let me know what you think! (:







NCLA Like... Totally Valley Girl + Essie A Cut Above

Magenta Magic

Hey girls, have you ever made a run to the store for something, only to come out with more polish?

That totally happened to me when I stopped into a Kmart to get some drinks, and came out with two new polishes! I used to think that Jordana polishes weren't available in my area because I never saw them around, but I found an entire collection of them sitting quietly in the cosmetics aisle. I've been wanting some of their glitters, so I'm sure you can imagine my excitement (:









Jordana Glitters Magenta Magic + NCLA Pick Me Up At Melrose Place

Yeah, I'm kinda infatuated with accent manis as of late. What nail trends have you been obsessed with, lately?

Sandy Beach

When I was in Seattle, I stumbled upon the one and only Butter London store at the Seattle airport. It was on the way to our terminal, so of course I had to make a quick visit. The store was so nice--I remember it having chandeliers and the walls were adorned with rows and rows of Butter London lacquers!!!!!

Even though I'm on a no-buy, I had to commemorate my visit by picking up some of their polishes. They have an on-going promotion depending on how many polishes you purchase, so I got two of my lemmings for $25. The one I'll be showing you today is Tart with a Heart, a bedazzling iridescent glitter! I paired it up with a nude accent for a functional mani since life's been more hectic than usual. I've never truly appreciated the non-distracting nature of a nude manicure until recently!

On a side note, I can finally cross Essie Topless and Barefoot off my wishlist, because L'Oreal Walk on the Beach is what I wanted it to be! The formula for Walk on the Beach was on the runny side, but it was perfect in 3 coats (:





L'Oreal Walk on the Beach + Butter London Tart with a Heart

Updated Sneaker Collection

It's been a little over a year since I last looked at my collection, so here's a quick shot of my subsequent additions. I figured it'd be a good time to do this post because I'm starting to slow down on the pick-ups. I'm not even close to getting over my sneaker obsession, but I am in a stage of life where I need to focus on other things for the time being.

It saddens me to know that I won't be able to cop the leopard Air Max 1's and Bred 11's (the two pairs I've been looking forward to all year!) but I'm looking forward to day where things settle down and I can actively participate in copping kicks again. I'm not sure when that will be, but I'm not worried. If something is real, you can pick it up where you left off, and it'll be just as good (:

My sneaker additions up until Fall 2012

On a side note, I wanted to let you know that my girl over at UglyMely came out with her very own Reebok sneaker collaboration! I'm so happy that she got a chance at this phenomenal opportunity, so be sure to check out the details of her collaboration here, and peep the pictures below to see what she came up with!

Strike a Pose

Today I'll be sharing a swatch of Essie Camera. This particular polish was on my wishlist for a very long time because it's a vibrant jelly, and I love the name, being the hobbyist photographer that I am! (:







Essie Camera

Shown above is two easy coats topped with Seche Vite. I did experience some bubbling, but I'm quite certain that it's my fault, and the formulation of the polish isn't to blame! What do you think of this jelly?

Now I usually like to keep my posts as on-topic as possible because I tend to like that in other blogs, but since this post is along the lines of photography, I thought I'd share some highlights from my cruise. Hit the jump if you'd like to see them (:

Shore Thing

Hello everyone! I'm back with another mani, and this one features a polish from the NCLA polish line. I've been wanting to try their polishes for quite some time, so I was thrilled when they had a promo for their lacquers awhile back!

The "Tiffany" shade below is Santa Monica Shore Thing. It's nice, but to be honest, I'm not sure why I got it since I have so many similar shades already?! Aquas must be my weakness! I accented my ring finger with a glitter my friend Kumi gave me a while back. I wasn't sure how to pair up the glitter at first, but this is definitely a match made in heaven!







NCLA Santa Monica Shore Thing + Shine Plus Nail 02

I hope you like this mani, thanks for stopping by!

Perf

The last polish I picked up from Floss Gloss is Perf, which is described on their site as "the perfect lavender". I'm always intrigued by shades of lavender, so I had to give this one a shot, but much to my surprise--it's straight up pink! Definitely not what I was expecting, although the bubblegum pink color did not disappoint! Unlike Wavepool, this polish dried to a glossy finish, although it needed a bit of a boost from my Seche Vite top coat.










Floss Gloss Perf + Deborah Lippmann I Love The Nightlife

For this mani, I decided to do a reverse glitter gradient with I Love The Nightlife. I wasn't sure if it was going to turn out well, but I like it! I think the gunmetal glitters add a nice edge to the girly pink. Are you feeling this mani?

Have a sweet weekend, and happy September!