Sunday, March 31, 2013

my picks from the OPI Euro Centrale Collection

Hoppy Easter everyone!

Today I'll be showing swatches of the four polishes I picked up from OPI's Euro Centrale collection.
I kinda wanted all of them... But I was determined to be reasonable. (There may be one or two more that come home with me eventually...)


OPI - You're Such A Budapest
As always, I am a sucker for purples, and this one is niiiice. Very subtle shimmer. It is kinda thin and you need three coats for full coverage but it dries quickly so it's not a pain.


OPI - Can't Find My Czechbook
I spell this one wrong every time. But it is a lovely blue that at first seems like it would be really dupey but it actually has a lovely dusty quality to it that makes it different.  2 coats. Great formula.


OPI - My Vampire Is Buff
Why oh why do there have to be so many great nudes... This is a bone-white nude creme that's just delicious. I did three thin coats but you might be able to get away with two thick ones if you are so inclined.
Feels so nice and clean on the nails. Into it.


OPI - Polka.com (over My Vampire Is Buff)
First of all, love the name. Second, LOVE THE POLISH.
This one is soooooo good and you really need to go get it. I think this will be one of the ones you'd regret not buying in a few months when it is out of stores.
Pink, purple, and blue glitter? Yes please. All of it. All the time. Gimme.

I decided that turning the above combo into a jelly sandwich would be kinda Easter-eggy, so I added a coat of OPI - Don't Touch My Tutu, and voila!


This is my current manicure and I don't wanna take it off!

I also wore Polka.com over the other 2 colors I bought - immediately after buying the polishes I had to put them on. (But only on my right hand because my left hand was occupied with swatching.)


I will never master the art of taking photos of my right hand. It is just too hard with a camera built for taking photos WITH your right hand. You should see me trying to hold the big camera with my left hand and pose my right hand and look through the viewfinder. It is really comical. Anyways...

What did you guys think of Euro Centrale?
And again... Go get Polka.com!

Friday, March 29, 2013

Shimmer Polish - Leslie, Jennifer, & Jasmine

Happy Friday. Glitter tiiiiiiime!

Today I'll be showing three more pretties that were sent to me from Shimmer Polish.


Click the above photo to zoom in and see those pretties up close!
As I said in previous Shimmer posts (here & here), Shimmer Polishes are crazy glitter mixes that you can tell weren't just thrown together. Each one is so complex! And so glitter-dense, with a great formula.
I have zero complaints about these polishes!


Shimmer Polish - Leslie (over NCLA - As If!)
Just. Look. At. All. The. Glitter.
It's so pretty, I can't handle it! And Leslie is my middle name! So it's extra special. But when will there be a Shimmer Rebecca? Hmm? HMM?!
(Just kidding Cindy, no pressure.)
(Unless you wanna.)
;)


Shimmer Polish - Jennifer (over NCLA - Don't Call Me Peachy!)
I love the blues and purples in this one but I could probably do without the orangey glitters. Even though this one isn't one of my faves, it's still great. Nice and sparkly. Just how I like it.


Shimmer Polish - Jasmine (over China Glaze - Keep Calm, Paint On)
Purdy greens and teals. I'm gonna assume this might have been inspired by Jasmine the Disney Princess, and it definitely reminds me of her! The blues and greens could represent her clothes and then the oranges and golds are like her jewelry and skin and the tiger! Haha.
Like the last polish, I could do without the orange glitters, but they do make sense in the mix.
I wore this as a full manicure and I just love how much it sparkles because of all the different glitters. All Shimmers are that way.
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What do you guys think of these polishes? I hope you like them as much as I do!

Shimmer Polish is available in their Etsy shop, or you can order via email.
The polishes are $12 each, and you can even order custom polishes for $15.
Head to shimmyshimmer.com for the details! And don't forget to check them out on Facebook.

Products provided for honest review.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

layers of pastels

Haaaaaay. Here are some cute nails I rocked last week!


Tada! I'm not really sure what to call this manicure. Quadruple ruffian?! Haha!


This fun mani was inspired by the lovely Jackie of Candy Coated Tips.
She posted her nails on Facebook and as soon as I saw the photo, I went and did my nails. It was instant-inspiration! (And I had just gotten new polishes so I was itching to use them.)
Click here to see Jackie's cool green version!


To create this manicure, you simply paint your nails with the first color, and once that has mostly dried, you paint on the second color, leaving a margin around the edge so the first color still shows.
You add the next colors in the same fashion! You don't need any fancy tools for this look, you can just use the brushes from the polishes themselves.

Here are the colors I used, from the bottom up:
OPI - Can't Find My Czechbook
China Glaze - Keep Calm, Paint On
OPI - You're Such A Budapest
China Glaze - Bahamian Escape


Here's OPI - Can't Find My Czechbook by itself. I picked up four colors from OPI's Euro Centrale collection, and I'm in love with all of them. Originally I wasn't planning on buying this blue because I thought it would be too similar to others in my collection. But then when I saw it in person, I was convinced that I needed it because it has a slight dustiness to it that makes it different (and so pretty.)

I will post swatches of the other colors I bought from the collection ASAP! Maybe I'll swatch them tomorrow...

That's all for today! Thank you Jackie for the awesome mani inspiration!

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

piCture pOlish - Atomic

Hey guys! I messed up this week and I missed PP Monday... And then also what could have been PP Tuesday... So now it is PP Wednesday!
I'm just not feeling well enough right now to always paint my nails but hopefully I am starting new medications next week that should be my miracle drug! Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

So here's this week's piCture pOlish installment.


piCture pOlish - Atomic
This shade was created with the lovely Sarah of Samarium's Swatches. 
Atomic is a platinum silver shimmer, with crazy holographic shimmer particles and I feel like I can see a bit of a pinky sheen to it at times as well. There's no glitter, so it's totally smooth and perfect. It's very complex and definitely deserves to be seen in person! Please check out Sarah's own swatches of her shade, because she has some amazing macro shots of the polish!


I wanted to do some nail art over Atomic, but couldn't decide what to do. I was talking to a different Sarah (Chalkboard Nails) and she made a great suggestion: "Duh, atoms."


I guess it is sort of a loose interpretation of chains of atoms, but I think it turned out kinda cute! And kinda silly, for sure.
I stamped with Bundle Monster plate BM-313 and then added the atoms with piCture pOlish - Jade and piCture pOlish - Wisteria.


What do you think of my silly Atomic atoms?

piCture pOlish is available at picturepolish.com.au as well as with lots of other network members around the world. Check out the Network list for a full rundown of the places you can find PP!

Stay tuned next week for another gorgeous shade!


Visit the on-line store - www.picturepolish.com.au
Follow on Twitter - piCture pOlish
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Pin on Pinterest - piCture pOlish

Product provided for honest review.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

OPI - Can't Let Go

Happy Sunday! Today I've got another Liquid Sand polish by OPI to show you.

If you're unfamiliar with the Liquid Sand range, basically they are dense glitters that dry to a matte, textured finish. You don't use topcoat with them to keep the matte finish, and they dry relatively quickly but sometimes can take a while to become rock-hard.
Of course, you can add topcoat to change the look and make them sparkle!

The first four Liquid Sand polishes were released with the Mariah Carey collection, one more came out with Oz The Great And Powerful, and coming up soon there will be six new ones - The Bond Girls collection, and then three more in the fall with the San Francisco collection.
OPI really seems to be pushing the Liquid Sand finish! And I gotta say, I'm cool with it. I really like them!

Here's the pretty purple one! (And you can check out the other one I posted before here.)


OPI - Can't Let Go
This is a blue-toned purple, with small and large glitters to give it dimension. Even though these polishes are matte, they still manage to sparkle!
I really like the way it looks on the nail, very chic! While I was wearing this, I kept staring at my nails! I'm really into it.


I find that these polishes also have amazing lasting power. Some people complain that they chip easily but for me they wear like iron.
And I know they look like they'd be difficult to remove - but they really aren't! Polish remover takes care of them without much difficulty or scrubbing like you'd expect from glitter.


How do you feel about the Liquid Sand finish? Do you like having textured nails?
I thought I would hate it but it got to me! Viva la Liquid Sand!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Shimmer Polish - Erica, Nichole, & Karen

Time for more Shimmer Polish! I'm excited, are you?
(If you missed it, check out yesterday's post with the first three beauties.)


As I said in the last post, Shimmer Polishes are very complex and full of so much fun glitter.
The formulas are wonderful, glitter-packed without being gloopy, and they can be worn layered or built up on their own.

Here are three more glittery beauties for you!


Shimmer Polish - Erica (over Color Club - Wild Cactus)
I love green glitters. Erica is a mix of different greens and golds, some holographic, some iridescent I think... So much prettiness! This would be wonderful for St. Patrick's Day! (Or any day.) This is one coat of glitter,  the formula is great and I have no complaints.


Shimmer Polish - Nichole (over Color Club - Mamba)
What a patriotic polish! All you Americans should wear this for the 4th of July. A mix of red, silver, and blue, with some holo sparkle goin' on. So pretty! This is just one coat.


Shimmer Polish - Karen (over Color Club - Flamingo)
Hhhhhwedwhedowieofwked. Hello beautiful. This is one of my absolute favorites! Pink and purple and holo, oh my! Can't even handle it. I wore this combo for a couple of days and loved it the whole time!
Just look at all those pretty glitters. Perfect!
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That's it for today's installment of Shimmer! Which one is your fave?

Shimmer Polish is available in their Etsy shop, or you can order via email.
The polishes are $12 each, and you can even order custom polishes for $15.
Head to shimmyshimmer.com for the details! And don't forget to check them out on Facebook.


Products provided for honest review.