Friday, July 29, 2011

Butter London Wallis

I'm sure you're wondering why I'm reviewing Butter London again, since I pretty much wrote them off after Big Smoke. On my birthday, I was at Nordstrom, and I saw the Butter London display, and that is when I saw Wallis. This color was stunning, and I couldn't pass it up!

Wallis is a olive-gold shimmer-foil.

This is stunning! The shimmer in this is beautiful. This color is very rich, and I found the formula on this good. Butter London has definitely revived themselves with this shade. I'm going to throw it out there, this is a must have. This is similar to Chanel Peridot in that is a yellow-gold, but the shimmer in this is much more compact and there is no multi-chrome. Plus, this is darker and richer. That being said, I prefer Wallis, hands down.

Happy Friday!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Blogging Revelations

I've been thinking a lot lately about the things I've learned throughout my blogging experience. I figured I'd share because I think some things are interesting. Be mindful this is my personal experience, this doesn't necessarily apply to everyone.

These are in no particular order. This isn't a rant or anything, just a very long ramble.

1. My beginning swatches were horrific. I had terrible cuticles, messy paint jobs, and blurry photos. That being said, you have to start somewhere. My swatches are still not perfect, but having a platform to practice swatching through this blog has definitely improved the way I do my nails.

2. I did not need every nail polish known to man. I think this behavior starts when you first start blogging. You have this impulsive rush, where you want anything and everything. You definitely do not need anything and everything to have a nail polish blog.

3. Giveaways can be a pain in the butt. I enjoy having giveaways, but they are extremely time consuming. You have to sort through and check entries, which can take hours. Plus, the longer you have a giveaway running the harder it gets. The more optional entries you have, the more work you have to do. I've definitely learned to shorten my giveaways because of that!

4. My initial concept of my blog never came to fruition, and that's completely fine. I think being a newbie blogger, you want to have some sort of hook that makes you different. I think I tried too hard. In the beginning I had little ideas for featured posts that really didn't work out. This made my blog more work than play. So, I gave up, and just posted what I wanted to.

5.  I have definitely changed my mind. Blogging has opened me up to a world of colors I would never touch. Can you believe I barely had any purples, blues, and greens? I was convinced all these colors looked terrible on me, but they don't. Now, these are some of my favorite colors.

6. Purging polish is good. This goes along with #2. When I first started blogging, I bought so much nail polish. It just starts to accumulate, and there is no possible way you're going to be able to swatch it all, wear it, and enjoy it. Plus, you end up with dupes, and colors you're asking yourself  "Why the hell did I buy this"? This was a good time for me to purge 300+ bottles. It feels good! Less is really more. Plus, you can truly enjoy your stash now since it's not so overwhelming.

7. My buying habits have changed. Once you've accumulated so much nail polish, it gets to the point where "you've been there, done that". Some stuff starts to all look the same, and when new collections come out there are colors you are 100% sure you have a dupe of in your stash. I've definitely become more selective. I find myself wanting way less, and I almost feel guilty because of it (i.e. China Glaze Metro). I have to think "how many of these polishes would I really wear outside swatching"?

8. My attitudes have changed. I have to admit when I first started blogging was very anti-high end nail polish. Now, I'm more middle of the road. I think the massive purge helped me to see a difference perspective. Sometimes it's nice to have one thing that is extra special than 10 things that are ordinary. I'll never be a regular high-end buyer, but I'll be willing to spend the money on one special polish I really love vs. 5 or 6 that I just kind of like. That being said, there are some high end polishes out there that are just flat out ugly. Chanel Quartz...gag!

9. Helmers are my best friend. I love my Helmers.

10. I prefer my nails short. In my earlier posts I never realized how long my nails were! They were very long. I think long nails look great on some people,but not so much me. You want to know why? They are definitely hard to maintain and shape. I'm too lazy to shape my nails :-/. I like my nubbins now, they're easier to maintain and take less work to shape!

11. Swatching takes forever. I do not think many people appreciate this who are not bloggers. Whenever I get new stuff, I put it in this blue basket in the area I do my nails. This accumulates over time, and I set aside a swatch-a-thon day. Swatching is ever so time consuming. I think that's why so many of us are so protective of our pictures. It takes a long time to swatch. It's not just painting the nails that is time consuming, so is the photography. I don't have the best camera so I take 10-20 pictures of one swatch just to make sure I get a decent picutre!

12. Commenters > followers. I think we all start out blogging with the hope we'll have lots of followers and be super popular. It is nice to have a large number of followers, but I'm not foolish to believe I have X number of people reading my blog every day. I'm also aware that probably without the giveaways that instead of the 1488 follows I have now I'd probably only have a few hundred at most. I appreciate the handful of people I have commenting on my blog much more. This is more rewarding and valuable to me than a number. *Edit* I think I may of said this wrong. I'm not saying I only appreciate people who comment on my blog. I was just trying to differentiate that having a smaller number of people reading/commenting and involved in my blog is more meaningful than having a high number of followers. I'm sorry if this came off badly, that wasn't my intention. I appreciate all of you who read this blog!

13. Sometimes people blog for the wrong reasons, and it can test your patience and your mouth. I've always been opinionated, and luckily for the most part I've been able to stifle my opinions. As a blogger, you have to be careful with what you say and how you say it. You don't want to stifle yourself entirely, but you don't want to alienate others and make them feel bad. Sure, there are bloggers out there who are in it for personal gain or other selfish reasons. I have no respect for those bloggers. It is so frustrating, and I've made some comments, that maybe I should not have. Do I think my comments are always wrong? Not at all, but do they always need to be said? Probably not. The Dalai Lama has said "Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent." It's difficult, but you have to learn to brush it off. This is something I'm working on currently!

14. There will always be drama. I don't think anything in life is ever drama free. The blogging world has its share of drama. It can make a fun experience stressful and negative. There are many mob-mentality situations I see, that truly disgust me. In the end it's all beauty and nail polish. There are far more important things in the world to worry about. I have to step back, and remind myself of this sometimes.

15. Let it go and be yourself. I've enjoyed blogging the most when I honestly just stop caring. I post what I want and when I want. I say what I feel like saying, and somehow this all works. I don't try to be someone I'm not or the best there is out there. Blogging should be fun.

I think that's it for now. That's way more than I initially thought I'd have. Again, these are just personal to me. This is in no way a guide of how to blog or anything.  Sorry if this is so long. I'd love hear what some other bloggers revelations in the comments.

Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

China Glaze Pin Prick

I have an oldie, but a goodie for you today. I first saw this polish on Pretty Random's blog. I instantly knew I had to have it! Why? Red with gold shimmer! How can I pass that up?

Pin Prick
 
Pin Prick is a warm-toned red with gold shimmer.

I love red + gold shimmer! Plus, this one is pretty easy to find. I've seen on ebay running between $3-$7.

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Color Club Ultra Violet

I think I maybe losing my nail polish mind? Is it me, or are a few of the nail polish fall collections falling a bit flat for you? I'm usually all over China Glaze, but I don't want any of them. I want maybe 2 from OPI and 3 from Zoya. What's unusual is I'm finding myself looking more forward to fall collections from brands I don't typically frequent like Color Club, Orly, and SpaRitual. Is anyone else not really feeling it with some of the more well known brands fall collections?

Anyways, speaking of Color Club. I think one thing Color Club does the best is neons. I think I have the most neons from Color Club. This one is definitely special.

Ultra Violet
Ultra Violet is a bright fuchsia with a blue/green shimmer flash.

This is a beautiful unique polish. The blue/green flash added to this really makes this polish. You know how I am with great polishes, I can get rather repetitive. It's an awesome color, I'll leave it at that!

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Chanel Peridot

Last week I received and wonderful and unexpected email. I received an email from the PR manager at Neiman Marcus Orlando. She told me she enjoyed my blog, and wanted me to come in because she had a bottle of Chanel Peridot polish for me.

I have to be honest, I was really surprised. My blog has always just been fun for me. I never intended it to be anything fancy or special, but to be recognized by Neiman Marcus was a real treat! I went into Neiman Marcus the next day, and met with Andrea, the PR manager. She took the time to take me downstairs, and show me all the new fall collections in the cosmetics department.

It was truly wonderful. There are a lot of beautiful colors for fall. What I noticed is the fall colors seem to be rich burgundies, deep blues, and lavish teals. The store was beautiful. I'm familiar with Neiman Marcus. I was born and raised in Dallas, where the department store originated. My dad and I on Sundays would go to the farmers market and then stop by the first Neiman Marcus to walk around. They're definitely beautiful and luxurious stores!

On to nail polish!


Chanel Peridot


Peridot is olive green-golden multi-chrome shimmer.

When I saw previous swatches of this color, I was floored by the amazing finish on this, but I was worried about the color. Yellow-greens tend to not play nice with me. I'm over it, this color is beautiful! I love the gold in this. You never know exactly what color you're going to get depending on the I light. I noticed indoors under bright light the gold pops out more. In the shade outdoors the green pops out more. It's magic in a bottle!

I'm typically not one to spend the money on higher end brands, but having the opportunity to view a lot of these up close, I was able to see the appeal of them. The pigmentation in these polishes is amazing. The polishes that had shimmer or glitter, you can tell the materials used were top notch. They did not look like your run of the mill shimmers. I was so impressed, I ended up purchasing a Yves Saint Laurent polish from their fall collection. I don't have the budget to fill my stash with a lot of these beauties, but I definitely see myself saving up for some more in the future.

I want to thank Andrea, for the polish and taking the time to show me around the store. You definitely made this bloggers' day!

***This nail polish was provided to me by Neiman Marcus****

Happy Monday!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Share with You Sunday Hiatus

Unfortunently, I'm going to have to take a 2 week hiatus from Share With You Sunday. These posts are the most time consuming, and I simply haven't had the time to view many blogs this week :(. I know the same will go for next week as well, since my parents will be visiting next weekend.

Share With You Sunday will return August 6th though! You can still submit links, and I will add them all to that post. I hope you all understand. No worries, this isn't a blog hiatus. :)

Happy Sunday!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Bottle Spam Saturday: Aquas/Teals/Blue-greens Edition

You all voted, and aquas, teals,.....er anything that is between a green and blue won!

Please vote for next week's bottle spam!

 China Glaze For Audrey, L'Oreal Water's Edge, Maybelline Turquoise Seas, BB Couture Man Bug, & Cover Girl Anti-Freeze

 Pure Ice Heart Breaker, China Glaze Passion in the Pacific, LA Splash Sparkling Oceanspray, NYX Girls Maven, & Essence Caribbean Sea

 Rimmel Marine Blue, Savina Ocean Waves, Finger Paints Carnation Creation, Sinful Colors Rise and Shine, & Sally Hansen The Real Teal

 Milani Fresh Teal, Rimmel Green with Envy, Revlon Ocean, Wet n' Wild Caribbean Frost, &  Mega Dare Fame and Fortune

 Color Club Untamed Luxury, OPI Catch Me In Your Net, China Glaze Atlantis, China Glaze DV8, & Cult Nails Let Me Fly

 Milani Molten Rock, Zoya Akrya, Joe Fresh Peacock, OPI Ski Teal We Drop, & Orly Sapphire Silk

 Tres Risk Satin Gown, China Glaze Rodeo Fanatic, Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe, YSL Wintergreen, & Rimmel Mania

Essie Dive Bar, Cult Nails Living Water, & Ulta Underground

What are your favorite blue-greens?

Happy Saturday!

Friday, July 22, 2011

China Glaze Blue Sparrow & Comparison

Hello there! I'm sorry for my absence yesterday. It has been a busy week, but amazing week! Today, I have for you China Glaze Blue Sparrow. This came out in the summer 2008 INK collection. I'm pretty sure this was one of my first China Glaze nail polishes, along with Flying Dragon and Ruby Pumps!

Blue Sparrow
Blue Sparrow is a electric blue with light blue microglitter. I *almost" want to say this is jelly-like.

This one definitely needs a top coat, because it dries matte. What I've noticed in reviews, people seem to either love or hate this one. I actually love it. It's a cheerful blue, with a unique micro glitter finish.

A little while ago, when I reviewed China Glaze Blue Iguana a few of were interested in how this compared to Blue Sparrow. Well, I have a comparison for you. :)

Index and ring finger are Blue Sparrow/ middle and pinky are Blue Iguana

Both of these blues are practically the same shade wise. They are both bright/electric blues. The difference between this is the finish. Blue Sparrow has a micro-glitter finish. The glitter particles Blue Sparrow are very apparent. Blue Iguana on the other hand, is more of micro-shimmer maybe even glass-fleck. The shimmer-like particles in this are very tightly compacted giving Blue Iguana almost a metallic-like finish, unlike Blue Sparrow.

I know. These are two types of polishes where the lines can get blurred between micro-shimmer, micro-glitter, and glass fleck. They're definitely different finish wise, whether I have the terminology correct is a different story! I hope you can tell what I'm talking about by the photos! :P

Happy Friday!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Birthday Haul & Giveaway Winners

Thank you all for all the sweet birthday messages! I appreciate your kindness.

I had a wonderful birthday. I have the goods to prove it. I did some birthday haul damage. ;)

Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle, Glitter in the Air, Butter London Wallis, & No More Waity, Katie

a england Iseult, OPI I Lily Love You, Icing Bird of Paradise, & At Dusk

Ulta Underground, Blue For You, Nicole by OPI It's Not Me, It's Blue, & Sounds Grape to Me

I'm very pleased with my hual! I got a lot of stuff I never typically get, so I'm excited to try them

On to giveaway winners!

Winner of the Red Prize is.....Makeup Zombie!


Winner of the Blue Prize is.....Jastol!


Winner of the Purple Prize is.....Kar326!


Winner of the Pink Prize is.....beautybehaved!

Congratulations all!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

25? No Way Jose!

 **Today is the last day to enter my birthday giveaway!**

Today is my 25th birthday! I have peers saying how old we're getting. I actually like getting older now. I feel like I skipped that whole 18-24 wild and crazy stage. I think I grew up too fast, so it's nice to see everyone starting to settle down and act like mature adults now :P.

In other ways, I still feel like a kid. It's bizarre. I vividly remember childhood experiences. I remember elementary school. I remember our school song, and buddy-fun day at the end of the school year where we got to play games for prizes. That was 14 years ago, which seems like a long time ago, but really doesn't either? I know I'm contradicting myself, but hopefully some of you will understand.

Anywho, last week I was able to crush my #1 biggest lemming ever, China Glaze No Way Jose, so I'm wearing it for my birthday!

No Way Jose
No Way Jose is a medium lavender with silver micro glitter.

This is actually a little more red-toned than in the picture. My camera tends to turn all red-toned purples into blue-toned purples. It's beautiful. I love this color. I've been looking for this one for years. I'm thrilled it's finally mine! What I noticed is these tiny glitters, had a slight iridescence to them, that I didn't know existed. All kinds of win, there's not much more to say.

Happy Birthday to me! I know that sounds conceited, but you're allowed to be a little selfish on your birthday...right? :)

Monday, July 18, 2011

a-england Merlin

Have you ever bought a polish  because of the name? Well, I did with a-england Merlin, but I have a good reason. My last name is Merlin. How could I not get a polish with my last name? I used to hate my last name growing up, everyone would be like "Merlin? Like the magician or the wizard"? It got annoying, plus many people didn't believe that was my last name. Now, I'm proud of my last name, it's pretty awesome.

It's not English in origin though, at least not from my family. My family is from Russia, I'm not sure if my surname was originally Merlin or something longer that got shortened when my ancestors came to America. Who knows, but I like it!

Now back to polish, despite, that I did purchase this for the name, it is actually an awesome polish!

Merlin
Merlin is a dense silver glitter in a clear base.

What I love about this glitter, is that it's not your standard silver glitter polish. We all know that silver glitter is a pretty common polish. This silver glitter is different because it varies in shape. The tiny glitters are cut at angles, allowing for it to give off this neat textured look. This glitter is very shiny, and you can build it up to opacity in 3 coats. It also only needed one coat of top coat and it was completely smooth! You could definitely layer this too if you'd like.

All in all a great glittery polish. Plus, I have Zoya Stephanie. I think it's pretty awesome there are polishes out there with my first and last name! :)

Happy Monday!




Sunday, July 17, 2011

Share With You Sunday: 7/11/11-7/17/11

July is whizzing by! I slept 9 hours last night, it felt really good! It wasn't completely uninteruptted, but I feel refreshed. I hope you all slept well too last night.

There are 2 days left to enter my birthday giveaway!

Please submit your links for this post.

Picture of the Day:
Pretty giraffe I saw, while I was visiting Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Nails:
Bottles and Bottles of Polish shares with us some vintage China Glazes.
Emily's Nail Files shows off her Minnie Mouse nails.
Let Them Have Polish shares with us her first franken.
Like a candy shop shows off Kiko 229.
Polish Vixen shares with us her OPI DS colors. 
Cult Nails starts the pre-sale for her fall line of polishes.

Beauty:
Scrangie swatches Limited Edition OCC Lip Tars.


Miscellaneous:
Beauty Behaved shares with us her summer jewelry.

What You're Loving: 
Liquid Jelly reviews the Deborah Lippmann Get This Party Started set.
LadyLuck Beauty Blog gives us the moon and stars in a nail polish.
Reflections, Sassy Nails, and Silly Diversions shows off her Pink Wednesday manicure.
dameliac shows off her Wet n' Wild and OPI manicure.
Make-up/Music/Money/Me shows us how to get your moneys worth from products.
DeyiMizu shows off her new haircut and tangerine coral FOTD.


I've received two awards recently. They both have the same questionare thing so, I'll show them together.

I got the Best Blog award from Libby's Pink Vanity.
I also got the Butterfly Award from BeautyBehaved. 

Thank you ladies!

The Rules:
1. Link the person back who awarded you
2. Share 7 things about yourself
3. Answer the following questions below
4. Award this to 15 bloggers

Seven things about me:
1. It has to be really cold in the house for me to sleep. I HATE being hot while sleeping, I always turn the A/C down and bundle up.
2.I never got my ears pierced. I was too scared at 12, and never got around to it. I figure if I got them pierced I'd want a ton of earrings, so why have an added expense?
3. I hate medical settings/doctors offices/hospitals. I'm not afraid of needles or blood. I'm always scared they'll tell you something is wrong with you. I'm a bit of a hypochondriac.
4. Outside of nail polish. I collect The Little Mermaid collectables. I love Ariel and Disney.
5.I was born and raised in  Dallas, Texas, but majority of my family is in Atlanta,GA. 
6. I played the flute in high school.
7. I'm a forever student. I absolutely love learning. I'm always up for an academic challenge. History is my favorite subject.  If I could afford it I'd be in college forever.

Questions:
Name your favorite color-aquamarine
Name your favorite song- Piano Man- Billy Joel
Name your favorite dessert- Red Velvet cake
What pisses you off- Fake, greedy, & entitled people
When your upset you- I'm either really cranky or I completely isolate myself
Your favorite pet- My cat Chara, and the dog I grew up with Frasier RIP
Black or white- black
Your biggest fear-Throwing up in public. I know it's crazy, but vomiting freaks me out.
best feature-My eyes?
Everyday attitude- contemplative
What is perfection- Nothing is perfect
Guilty pleasure- Crappy reality TV, and Americanized Chinese food.

I tag anyone who would like to do this!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Bottle Spam Saturday: Neon Edition

This week's poll we had a tie between neons and aqua/teals/blue-greens. I went to twitter to break the tie, and I got the most votes for neons.

I must admit picking out neons was difficult. There are so many colors that are on that blurred line between bright and neon. I just used my best judgment to determine what I thought were neons. Also, some brands did the work for me, some of these came from neon collections or had neon in their name. Some of the colors that were deemed neon by their brands didn't look neon to me, but I put them in there anyways. If you're a stickler for what a neon is, leave me alone :P!

Be sure to vote for next week's spam. 

Color Club Electro Candy, Poptastic, Warhol, Tangerine Scream, & Wham Pow

Color Club Chelsea Girl, Pure Energy, Ultra Violet, & Pucci-licious


China Glaze Pink Voltage, Flip Flop Fantasy, Purple Panic, Flying Dragon, & Blue Sparrow

Milani Pink Pop, Juicy Glo, Pink Hottie, Techno Red, Fresh Teal, & Dude Blue

Savina Carnival, Orange Sky, Zoya Phoebe, Ulta3 NYC Fruit Tingle, Nina Pro Say Cheese, Sinful Colors Cream Pink, & Dream On

I'm sure you're wondering where are the yellows and greens?

Well, I had neon yellows and greens, but honestly I'd never ever wear them, so I sold them or gave them away. I have nothing against those colors, but yellows and greens don't tend to look good on me anyways, so neons yellows and greens are ten times worse.


What are your favorite neon polishes?

Happy Saturday!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Orly Frisky

When I first saw swatches of the Orly Happy Go Lucky collection, I knew I had to get Frolic, the purple creme. When I saw these in person though, I fell in love with the other colors too, especially Frisky. I rarely wear brighter blues, but I think this will change from now on.

Frisky
Frisky is a bright cyan-blue creme.

This a pop of color on your nails. I can't stop staring at mine! Orly really did a good job with this color. The formula is great. It's not streaky, and applies smoothly. As I said, I typically don't wear colors like this often, and I have no idea why. I love this color so much. I think this is one of the fun parts of blogging, discovering a love for different types of colors you're not used to. :)

Happy Friday!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Sally Hansen Pat on the Black & New Stuff

It's getting to that time of the summer season where I start to crave fall colors. This always happens I always wear out the present seasons' colors way before that season ends. I know there are no rules on what color polish to wear in what season, but for some reason I like to do that. The problem is you get tired of it easily. Here's a nice Sally Hansen fall shade that makes me long for the cooler weather!

Pat on the Black
Pat on the Black is a deep blackened plum creme.

Great chic color. This is the older bottle of it, but it is part of the Complete Salon Manicure line, that you can find currently. I love "almost black" shades. I think I have an "almost black" shade in every color. :)

I did find a new Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Display today at Walgreens. I'm pretty sure these are for fall based on the colors and their names. Sorry for the blurry camera photos. It's best to enlarge these.




  
I got the following L-R: Pumpkin Spice, Twinkle Twinkle, Set the Stage, & Teal-y Cool

This collection is a mix of glitters and foils. Sadly, these glitters are definitely meant for layering. These are sheers as can be. Pumpkin Spice which has a blackened base and orange glitter (ala China Glaze Ika-bod-y) is still very sheer on a nail wheel after 4 coats. I'm a bit disappointed. I don't do much layering with glitters any more, so I was hoping for at least a few glitter bombs. The foils in my opinion look pretty pathetic, a bunch of not highly pigmented unattractive colors  with silvery foil glitter mixed in. The pink glitter looks similar to the glitter in Hard Candy Fabuluxe sans the magenta base. I'm 99% sure this will be sheer as well. Wah wah wah. This is just my opinion! :)

The glitters are very pretty, but I don't want anyone purchasing these thinking you're going to be getting some Milani One Coat Glitters or OPI Mad As A Hatter glitter bomb action. They'll definitely be very pretty for laying though. I think the winners here are the Set the Stage and Twinkle Twinkle. I can't help but be disappointed that these don't offer the punch that glitter polish is obviously capable of :(. I'll be swatching these for the blog soon. :)

Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Spam Spamity Spam Spam

It's kind of late, but I felt like posting something. So how about some spam? This is a pic heavy spamosaurus!

 China Glaze Papaya Punch

 China Glaze Spontaneous

 Cult Nails Devious Nature

 Essie Lollipop

 Finger Paints Rose Patina
 Franken Billions of Billions

 Huemorista Sex on the Moon
 Jordan Silver Jewel over Zoya Trixie

 NYX Girls Gilded Glitter over NYX Pacific Blue

 OPI Mermaid's Tears

 Revlon Dawn

 Rimmel Mania

 Sinful Colors Fig

 Zoya Caitlin

 Zoya Danielle

Zoya Tamsen

Happy Wednesday!