Friday, August 13, 2010

Nail Palettes - Blues

Blue polishes are among my absolute favorite, as blue is my favorite color! I really love any shade of blue polish, even though they tend to stain a bit.





(From left to right: China Glaze For Audrey, China Glaze Atlantis, N.Y.C. Skin-Tight Denim Creme, China Glaze Rodeo Fanatic, China Glaze Custom Kicks)

China Glaze For Audrey: What can I even say about this polish? Almost every nail-obsessed person probably owns this polish. I really can't get enough of this sky blue polish. It isn't actually a dupe for Tiffany's blue (which is impossible, because Tiffany's owns the color apparently), but it comes very close. Regardless, this color looks amazing, whether you care about Tiffany's jewelry or not (which I don't because it is ridiculously expensive). I do however, own two bottles of For Audrey, just in case!

China Glaze Atlantis: I'm not quite sure why, but I did not like this polish on me at all the last time I tried it. It is a very gorgeous color; perhaps I was just not in the mood. As you can see in the first picture, Atlantis is very glitter-packed in a jelly base. I think the reason I am not a huge fan of wearing glitters alone (like Sour Apple), is because I don't like the jelly base look around the edges of my nails (all the glitter seems to concentrate in the center). Maybe some practice at applying said glitters will make me like them more.

NYC Skin-Tight Denim Creme: As the name implies, Skin-Tight Denim Creme is a creme. It is not as shimmery as it looks in the first photo; the finish is a little dull. That being said, it is still a very versatile and gorgeous blue color. Before I discovered base coats, this one always stained my nails; I haven't tried wearing it in a while, but I'm sure having a base coat helps.

China Glaze Rodeo Fanatic: I reviewed this color a week or two ago, and although in that post I said I was not wowed, it is still a very gorgeous color. I think I wanted it to be more of the duochrome that appeared in the bottle, even though it is not supposed to be a duochrome.

China Glaze Custom Kicks: This is one of my new polishes. Custom Kicks is a very pretty teal color, with gold shimmer. I think the gold shimmer really makes this polish stand out among other teal polishes; it makes it look and feel very summery and luxurious at the same time.

China Glaze Calypso Blue (not pictured): Calypso Blue is a deep, midnight blue. It's very deep, almost black when you first look at it. A closer look reveals a gorgeous midnight blue creme. I really love this color!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Zebra Diva

Happy Thursday! Today I'm going to show you a manicure I did on my sorority big sister S. She had already painted her nails with China Glaze Limbo Bimbo (hers, not mine) and I followed it up with LA Colors in Black and China Glaze Techno. Doesn't she have the prettiest nails?




Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Nail Palettes - Greens

My first green nail polish was Sally Hansen Glow. This was back when I wasn't all too experienced and knowledgeable in the world of nail polishes (still learning though), and I was blown away by the Sally Hansen Lacquer Nail Collection. The colors looked so gorgeous. However, the price tag for them was a bit steep I suppose; at $7-8 a bottle (versus China Glaze at $3-4 a bottle). I still love my Sally Hansen Lacquer polishes (I have Glow and Flair, but I wish I had Spark!)




(From left to right: Sally Hansen Glow, China Glaze Sour Apple, China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada, China Glaze Gussied Up Green, China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald, and China Glaze Paper Chasing)

Sally Hansen Glow: Glow is a very gorgeous green, with very strong gold undertones. It really does look like it's "glowing," even though it is not a neon.

China Glaze Sour Apple: Sour Apple is a jelly-like base with tons of glitter. The only negative I'd have to say about Sour Apple is that it really cannot be worn alone because the base is very sheer. I wore it over Sally Hansen Glow and it looked absolutely fabulous, almost like a green apple Jolly Rancher.

China Glaze Kiwi Cool-Ada: This is my very first neon! I wasn't sure quite what to expect, as I read that neons dry matte. I have yet to try this on my fingers/toes yet, but I think I would want to apply a top coat; otherwise, the finish feels a bit like a highlighter.

China Glaze Gussied Up Green: Gussied Up Green is a deep forest green, leaning on the brown side (as opposed to Emerald Fitzgerald). It has a gorgeous shimmer and applies very easily.

China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald: This is a gorgeous deep green, leaning on the blue side. It really does have a vintage green feel to it, as the collection name implies (Vintage Vixens).

China Glaze Paper Chasing: Paper Chasing is a bit sheer, but overall a very gorgeous bright green. I wish it looked a little brighter/deeper, like it looks in the bottle. It's a bit darker than Kiwi Cool-Ada, and with very pretty shimmer. I also purchased this because I loved the name!

Misa Dirty, Sexy, Money (not pictured)
: I didn't feel like taking another nail palette picture for the three new greens that I purchased. In case you haven't noticed, I LOVE greens and blues! Anyways, Dirty, Sexy, Money is a gorgeous "dirty" green creme. It's not very blue, although I've noticed that when people post swatches, it appears blue (when I just took a photograph, it looked blue in the photo too). I'd describe this as a very gorgeous "army" green.

Misa The Grass Was Greener On My Side (not pictured)
: This color is really pretty, a very bright green. It's a very true green, which I guess I'm trying to say that it's neither gold-toned or blue-toned. The polish dries matte, which I was not expecting. I think the color will look even more gorgeous with a top coat.


Misa Toxic Seduction (not pictured): Toxic Seduction is like the middle child between China Glaze Gussied Up Green and China Glaze Emerald Fitzgerald. While Gussied Up Green has a brown-toned feel to it and Emerald Fitzgerald has a blue-toned feel to it, Toxic Seduction leans more towards Gussied Up Green, but with less brown. All three are very beautiful!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Pink Gradient

Happy Tuesday everyone! As a treat for getting through Monday, I decided to try doing a pink gradient last night. I also can't play StarCraft II, so this kept me busy while I was on Skype with the boyfriend.

I saw this technique used by a number of bloggers, but I wanted to specifically point out Wan's from http://ilovenailpolish.blogspot.com/. I really liked the colors she used, and although I don't have the exact polishes, I used similar colors.


Misa Camellia Destiny, Sally Hansen Pink Promise, China Glaze Preppy Pink, China Glaze Fairy Dust and China Glaze Techno

2 coats of Camellia Destiny

1 coat 3/4 down of Pink Promise

1 coat of 1/2 way down Preppy Pink, then 1 coat of just the tips

With Fairy Dust, Techno, and rhinestones!

Makes me think of summer

My nails are getting slightly less nubbly!

Monday, August 9, 2010

China Glaze VII

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. I spent the last two days playing StarCraft II (the boyfriend's account); I finished campaign on casual. I should have prefaced this by saying that I don't play computer games at all. I bought the boyfriend the game for our one year anniversary, and him and his friends have been playing nonstop since it came out a few weeks ago. I just discovered how fun it is, and now I completely understand their obsession. However, a girl does need to go to work and go to school, so no more playing for me (except maybe on weekends with the boyfriend).

On to the nail polish. Today's polish is China Glaze VII. I bought this polish last week on sale from Sally's Beauty Supply near my apartment. It was only $1.99, which made me very happy! I really do like this color and I think it'd be a great color for fall. However, after applying it (intending to wear it, not swatch it), it didn't really feel like a summer color for me so I took it off. The color is a purple/red creme (leaning more towards purple). The polish applied easily and I see myself wearing this in the fall!




As always, don't forget to check out my giveaway (ends September 15). You can find the directions/link to the blog on my giveaway tab at the top of the page.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

China Glaze Jitterbug

I absolutely love foils and glitters (even though they are hard to remove). Today I am wearing China Glaze Jitterbug. I ended up topping it with China Glaze Fairy Dust and China Glaze Wireless Holographic Top Coat for a super glittery effect. I feel like if I added a matte top coat, it would have looked like those suede matte polishes. Maybe I'll try that next time! I have China Glaze Matte Magic, but I generally prefer my polishes to be shiny. My boyfriend always says I'm like a magpie, attracted to shiny things; this is definitely true in the case of polishes!

(From left to right: China Glaze Wireless Holographic Top Coat, China Glaze Fairy Dust, and China Glaze Jitterbug)

Jitterbug alone

Jitterbug alone again

Jitterbug + Fairy Dust

Jitterbug + Fairy Dust + Wireless



Don't forget to check out my back-to-school mini giveaway here: http://aliceinpolishland.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-mini-giveaway.html. You have until September 15 to enter!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

China Glaze Ruby Pumps

I had a tiny haul on Thursday with two of my best friends. We went to the Sally's that is close to our college, and then to the Asian grocery store next door! I bought China Glaze VII (on sale for $1.99!), China Glaze Fairy Dust, China Glaze Ruby Pumps, and Finger Paints Tough Art to Follow. I am absolutely in love with all of them! I have only tried Ruby Pumps so far, but I've wanted Fairy Dust for a while now. VII and Tough Art to Follow were more of an impulse buy, but Tough Art to Follow is my style of green! My friend S let me use her camera because Ruby Pumps was so difficult to capture on mine. I still didn't quite capture exactly what it is; Ruby Pumps is a gorgeous glitter in a red jelly (not chunky glitter though), with black/darker undertones in some light. I think the best description of these are really Dorothy's red slippers from the Wizard of Oz. As you might know, I am not a fan of wearing red polishes; I've just always felt like the color was old on me. However, Ruby Pumps totally changed that. I can't stop staring at my hands!





As you can see, the color looks different in every picture, it was so hard to capture. I highly recommend this gorgeous red!



Our other little haul on snacks! I grew up on Pocky so I absolutely love that stuff!

Don't forget to check out my back-to-school mini giveaway here: http://aliceinpolishland.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-school-mini-giveaway.html. You have until September 15 to enter!