Floam!

In my quest to find amazingly awesome and unique colors of nail polish which may also to be an excuse to justify adding another polish to my ridiculous stash... I have found that Indie brands are the way to go...

I came across Floam on Ninja Polish website.  

When I saw that Nail-Venturous Floam was sold out, I was intrigued and I did a quick search and saw how unique it was and entered my email to be notified when back in stock.  A couple days later it was and I sent my paypal payment.  I had to wait until I returned from vaca though!  2 weeks!  :)

Ninja Polish also sells more Nail-Venturous colors created by Amy of I'm Feeling Nail-venturous'.  I will be grabbing Pinkerbell next which has the same yellow glitter combined with pink and bright blue!

Floam is straight up glitter in a clear base. Small neon blue and yellow glitter!  I used 3 coats for the photos.  Next time I might layer it over a mint green or yellow to use only 2 coats.  I used only one coat of Seche but if you want your results more shiny, another layer is needed.

How cool is this polish?

Ninja Polish also sells BB Couture, A-England, Jessica, Glitter Gal, Hits, Ozotic, Picture Polish, models own and so many others.  Fast shipping and fair prices.  My kind of on-line shopping!

So here we are nearing the end of the summer.  Well for us in the South, the season definitely feels much longer with the heat that we experience, but I did feel a cooler breeze at the beach today!

We are trying to stretch the summer as long as we can so we headed out to Bear Island before the kids start school next week.  Despite my SPF 50 application, I'm feeling the sting of too much sun...

Just a lovely day with the fam...  :)

Are you looking forward to fall or wishing for more summer fun?

Announcing Mariah Carey's Collaboration with OPI

Press Release time!!!

OPI Announces Collaboration with Multi-Platinum Selling International Superstar Mariah Carey

LOS ANGELES – August 10, 2012 – OPI Products Inc. announced a collaboration today with multiple Grammy Award winning and multi-platinum selling recording artist Mariah Carey. A five-time Grammy Award winning global superstar with over 200 million records sold worldwide and 18 Billboard No. 1 singles (more than any solo artist in history), Carey will be the inspiration for a line of OPI limited edition nail lacquers that will launch January 2013.

“OPI is thrilled to work with Mariah, an industry icon who loves nails and considers lacquer one of her favorite accessories,” says Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP & Artistic Director. “With her magnetic personality both on and off the stage, Mariah serves as a great inspiration for beautiful, bold colors.”

About Mariah Carey:

With a distinct five-octave vocal range, prolific songwriting and producing talent, Carey has defined the modern pop performance. As a singer/songwriter/producer, she has been recognized with five Grammy Awards, nine American Music Awards, Billboard’s “Artist of the Decade” Award, the World Music Award for “World’s Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium,” and BMI’s “Icon Award” to name a few. Mariah has written seventeen out of her eighteen Billboard No. 1 singles and has two consecutive and unparalleled Billboard “Song of the Decade” titles “One Sweet Day” (with Boyz II Men) and “We Belong Together,” further marking her massive presence on the charts since her 1990 song debut “Vision of Love.” Mariah became the second artist in history and the first female performer to have a song debut at No. 1 with “Fantasy” (1995), the groundbreaking collaboration with O.D.B. of the innovative rap group Wu-Tang Clan. Carey’s original holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas is You” redefined its place in pop culture as one of the greatest holiday hits of all time when it reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 2011, seventeen years after its debut. Mariah’s influential and stellar contribution to the music industry spans multiple genres and is showcased through a multifaceted hit catalogue as well as a long list of diverse collaborations.

Carey's ongoing impact transcends the music industry and has left an indelible imprint upon the world at large. She recently made a substantial mark in film with her critically acclaimed role as a social worker in “Precious,” the 2009 film based on the novel “Push,” by Sapphire. A Congressional Award recipient, Carey has generously donated her time and energy to a range of domestic and international philanthropic causes near to her heart including The Fresh Air Fund/Camp Mariah (a retreat where inner-city children explore career development), Save the Music Foundation and Make-a-Wish Foundation among several others.

Mariah is currently in the studio, writing, recording and executive-producing her next album for Island Def Jam Music Group; the lead single "Triumphant (Get ‘Em)," is now available on iTunes. Recently Carey made worldwide headlines with the exciting news that she will join the judges’ panel of FOX’s American Idol when the series returns in 2013.

About OPI:

As the world leader in the professional nail care industry, OPI is committed to providing high-quality products and services to both salons and their customers, along with a focus on industry safety and innovation. Known for its exceptional formula, fashionable colors and iconic names, OPI’s heavily-pigmented lacquers are super rich, long-lasting and chip-resistant – offering an affordable luxury to consumers. OPI nail lacquer is available in over 200 shades and contains no DBP, Toluene, or Formaldehyde. Each lacquer features OPI’s exclusive ProWide™ Brush for the ultimate in application. Currently, OPI is available in over 100 countries and retails a full line of professional items, including nail treatments, finishing products, lotions, manicure/pedicure products, files, tools, gels and acrylics.

July Julep Maven!

I know I've mentioned this a hundred times before but I usually gift my Julep Maven box every month.  This month I had to keep it all to myself.  I liked the colors and a sparkly, glittery 4th of July polish came just in time!

Hot balls y'all!  I love it when they give out candy!

This is the American Beauty for July 2012.  Bonus polish and a lippie!

So from left to right, Lynn a pearly, pinky blush, America a red, white and blue glitter, Yumi, a gold and hallographic glitter and Lip Vernis in Peony, an opaque pinky nude that complements Lynn.  The lip vernis smells sweet, feels moisturizing and is not sticky at all.  I really like it.

I'm very happy with the selections this month.  I will be doing a couple of nail looks with these this week!

The shoe!

If you missed my twitter excitement the other night, this is the shoe I found for my sister's wedding in June.  THE SHOE!  I had to find a specific color green, kelly, to match a leather planner that I have.  My sister was actually given the same planner last Christmas from her soon to be mother-in-law and I searched and searched and finally found it on ebay earlier this summer and ordered it straight away.

Can I also say how difficult it is to find a kelly green shoe?  Well one that isn't stripper-esque, not that there is anything wrong with that, just wasn't the look I was going for!  Nor did I want 6 inch platforms. 

This beauty is the Nine West Makeascene Pump!  It comes in red with blue trim, straight up black and on NineWest.com they have it in light pink and a taupey brown!

Like I said previously, for my sister's wedding I needed to find a very specific kelly green.  From the above pictures, it seems that it is the perfect match.  The shoes should arrive by the end of the week.  All the bridesmaids are wearing a different color shoe with our black dresses.  So fun!

The last pair I received were a disaster.  I ordered from DSW.com.  The shoes took forever to arrive, like 10 days!  I opened them from the box and what did I see?  Grease and scuff marks on the satin!  I was so bummed.

It wasn't quite the perfect match to the planner but they shoes were just so comfortable!  I loved them...until I saw some scuffs marks and then..ick greasy thumb prints?  What? On both shoes in the heel and also on the toe.

I am aware that I would be the only one who would have known that they existed as they barely showed in the above pictures.  They were definitely very noticeable in real life.  My mom calmy told me to, well calm down about it.  But I was just ever so annoyed that a brand new shoe purchased at full price should not be, well nearly perfect.

I contacted customer service who promptly responded that they would hand-pick another shoe so that I would receive a perfect substitute and give me 10% off for my troubles.  Then I get the dreaded email...  They are out of stock in my size of 8.5 in the "Emerald" color.  Just my luck right?

I had already sent pictures to my sister, she already had a satin bag handmade by an Etsy vendor based off that exact color.  I probably should have just kept them but it was done, they were already sent back and my account was credited for the return and a new search for the perfect shoe ensued.

The Makeascene Pump was what I was looking for in the first place, leather for one, perfect color and something with a design element.  It hit the mark on all 3. 

Now I just hope that they are comfortable!

Beetle Juice!

So here they are in all their glory... the Models Own Beetle Juice Collection!!!  Ordered on November 1st, really early in the morning and they arrived Saturday afternoon...

So first, the packaging.  White Models Own sleeve over a black box with grey and white tissue paper wrapped around the bottles.

I bought the set which came with the 3 n 1 base coat/top coat and gloss... With flash from left to right, base coat, Pinky Brown, Aqua Violet, Golden Green, Purple Blue, Emerald Black.

In the sunlight from left to right...  Aqua Violet, Purple Blue, Pinky Brown, Emerald Black and Golden Green.

The bottle shots!

Aqua Violet Beetle Juice

Purple Blue Beetle Juice

Pinky Brown Beetle Juice

Emerald Black Beetle Juice

Golden Green Beetle Juice

They are gorgeous and complex.  I can't wait to see how the colors in the bottle translate on the nail.  

I can't decide which one to wear first!  AHHH!!!

Rimmel Week!

Well the rest of this week is Rimmel week, starting with yesterday's Violet Metal. 

Today I have for you 340 Marine Blue.  Another clearance polish from earlier this year!  Love teals!

Rimmel makes a great formula.  The brush is wider as you can see here:

This is next to a WnW brush (Ocean Grotto).  So as you can see it's almost 2.5 times wider.  It can cover my entire pinky in practically one swipe.  Application is smooth with a little adjustment if you are used to the thinner brush. 

Here is my Rimmel polish stash!

I just love the square bottles.  They store very nicely.

I have 350 Violet Metal, 270 Steel Grey, 420 Midnight Blue, 286 Rags to Riches and 310 Sunset Orange.  The only one I didn't purchase on clearance was Rags to Riches.  In fact it wasn't even on sale, but I did have a $1 MC.  So glad I picked it up!!!

ZOYA

So this is embarassing...  Right after I published the last post I realized that I still haven't received Edyta that I ordered with the 3 free deal back in January.  Everytime I think to call it is after business hours.  I've attempted to send them emails as well.  Anyway, I just called.  There was a glitch and the backordered orders were cancelled but they had no way of knowing which ones.  Well my order apparently was cancelled hence the 2 month delay.  Well I noticed that there were 2 charges on my account back in January so I thought it was paid for.  The women I spoke to on the phone said that they originally charged $13.95 to "make sure that funds are available."  Weird.  My order was for shipping $6.95.  So I need to make sure that I was indeed reimbursed for the last Edyta mix up because I will be charged $7 today.  I won't be charged shipping and I will be getting Edyta at the old $7 price.  I didn't know that they raised their prices to $8.  So that was nice.

So long story short, I just "bought" another polish after I said that I wouldn't.  After I realized that she was going to be charging me for a second time, since the first order was cancelled I could have said no, but I had a weak moment.  hahaha  Please forgive me. ;)

It's official...

Yes, it is official, I am banning myself from purchasing nail polish. 

I just couldn't help myself at Rite Aid.  I went in for Motrin PM.  The 40 ct. are on-sale for $3 and I still have a $6/2 coupon.  The other night I wished I had some because I fell sleep early, 7pm and awoke at midnight.  Then I was wide awake with a splitting headache for another couple of hours.  Anywho, they were out so I grabbed a rain check for the next time they have it in stock.  No worries except I won't be getting my +up rewards.  Apparently they take the rewards off instantly.  Which would be nice if I were paying cash without a coupon but I have a coupon.  They will probably just adjust it down. 

So while I was walking around I saw that Borghese nail polishes were on clearance for 75% off!  I grabbed a couple and then kept walking and then saw some Sally Hansen at 75% off as well.  So the Sally Hansen came up to $1.23 and the Borghese $2.  Borghese is normally $8.  Crazy.  Great formula by the way but so is Sally Hansen. 

Also I noticed that Essie is all over the place in the drugstores now.  I've seen it for $8 and $8.29.  That is craziness.  Not all Walmarts carry Essie but if yours does, you can get Essie for $5. 

This is a horrible swatch.  My cuticles are rough!  Ugly I tell you.  Believe it or not I put some mango oil on them earlier.  I have been washing my hands a lot due to constant nose blowing.  I need a serious remedy. 

But on the pinky is Borghese Plummagio Purple which is more like a blue.  First swipe had turquoise in it.  Strange.  But the bottle looks purple.  This was only one coat.  I'm planning something for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow so this one will have to wait. 

Ring finger is Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in  Blazin Blue.  Love the brush.  One swipe and just one swipe of color.  Love.  Middle is SH in Jumpin Jade.  Another lovely color.  And pointer is Borghese Belissima Rose.  I really like this color.  It's perfect for my skin tone.  I always gravitate towards darker shades for some reason now that I have branched out into color over the last year.  For years I wore nude colors all of the time.  I hated color.

So this is it.  No more nail polish even if I can get it for free.  You just have to say no sometimes.  Well maybe not forever but I need to wait a really long time, so let's say 6 months.  I still have a bunch that I bought a couple months ago to swatch including Eyeko!

So I ended up paying $3 and change for all 4.  I had $3 in +up rewards to spend.

Prediction

I think 2011 is going to be the year of nail polish.  I'm absolutely obsessed.  Last year I was obsessed with eyeshadows and found a ton of mineral companies and this year since I have way too many eyeshadows, I'm switching to nail polish! 

I received my 3 free Zoya nail polishes and they are amazing.  I have one coat of Jo which is a fun periwinkle blue.  I need to finish before I show you some pictures.  But I also received Kelly a grey with a hint of purple and Audrina a fuchsia pink.  I also ordered Edyta but apparently it is backordered. 

What a promotional campaign!  Zoya's business is booming!

The colors for the Spring 2011 are just gorgeous.  $36 for the entire collection.  I love that they are formaldehyde, toluene, dibutyl phthalate and camphor free. 

I'll get my nails straightened out and post some pictures!

ZOYA Color Spoons

Interesting concept...  ZOYA offers "color spoons" so that you can put them over your fingernail to see if that color nail polish suits you.  The feature a quick youtube video on their website, zoya.com  Brillant.  Also, the amount you spend on the color spoons, is applied to your next purchase of nail polish on-line so basically you get them for free.  And tomorrow, December 10th, ZOYA is offering 6 color spoons for free!  Additionally, they will give you a $3 credit towards furture zoya.com purchases.

I already know which ones I'm ordering tonight at midnight...  I'm not staying up for the event, I will probably still be up studying for finals!  AHHH!!!

Julianne, Valerie, Edyta, Kelly, Stacey, and Shawn

Paradoxal Dupe

Months ago I was on the Chanel website ready to click submit.  I just couldn't justify the $23 for one nail polish.  So I passed.  Then I regretted because a while later it was sold out.  Well it is now available on the website but there is other good news. 

The discovery of a dupe!  Revlon Perplex.  And it looks good enough for me!  It wasn't the Chanel name that had me wanting the color.  I thought that this was the case hence my order deletion.  I've been really liking Revlon polishes lately.  Not sure if they changed the formula or the brush.  But they tweeked something and the polish goes on nice and smooth.

Of course it's all over the blogasphere and I can't get my hands on it!!!  I've been a madwoman driving to every Rite Aid, Walgreens and CVS, in town with absolutely no luck!!! 

Steph's Closet tweeted an awesome pic.

So it's not quite an exact copy but I actually like the purple.

Patience is a virtue and I have a ton of it.  Eventually the display will come to the Southern Tier.  And of course, I will keep looking. 

Revlon nail polish on sale at Wegman's!

Run out to your local Wegman's and stock up on Revlon nail polish for $2.99!!!  Including the limited edition Just Add Sparkle Collection! 

I'll post pictures of my haul soon!