Kind and Generous

What a fantastic, kind, caring and lovely ladies you all are!


I thought twice and even three times before I hit the "publish post" button to post that last one up. I never want my blog to be a place where I come to whine. I have a whole other blog for that! no, just kidding, but the weight loss blog had it's fair share. I need to get back to that - the blog, not the whining!


This one is for all of you who took the time to read and especially those of you who shared a comment. I will definitely be trying out a few of your ideas and I am starting to feel so much better thanks to all of you.



(feel free to let it play while you surf on another tab!)

I've got hauls from contests to post, and swatching to do and I've got lots of good stuff to share coming up, but I have to wait a day or two to share some of it. Be patient for a day or two and I'll fill you in.

I was trying to put together my next comparison but I'm fighting with The Gimp and it's fighting back. Tomorrow I shall read a tutorial on how to do what I'm trying to do and try again tomorrow. For tonight, I'm hitting the sheets early because I think I may be coming down with the latest cootie from work. If I sleep well and long, I usually beat it out of me.

Thank you all again for your kind thoughts and words. This blog and those of you who are reading and viewing are very special to me indeed. I'm sending a great big hug out to all of you.

Will the Real China Glaze Flying High Please Stand UP?

Before I show pictures, let me just put out a blatant request for encouragement for life in general. Life has been exceptionally challenging for me this year (yeah, I know it could be much harder) and I'm losing steam fast. I didn't think I'd find myself here at my age, still struggling to make ends meet.

When I was a kid, I thought I would be a rock star, and though that is still a dream, it's not a realistic one. So I find myself at a crossroads trying to find my way and head in the direction of what I want to be when I grow up. I can be anything now! The days of making sure I can feed my son are behind me, he's on his own now - even if he does need an occasional assist from me. Truth be told, I haven't had to do much for him financially for a few years now and yet I still struggle.

Flying High (full evening sun)

I'm tired.

I need some kicks in the butt and some encouragement. I'm battling depression and losing interest in everything that gives me joy, including - dare I say it? - Nail Polish! *background shriek goes here* 

I think I'm fighting depression along with all the other health issues. I just want to be comfortable. I think all the hurt feelings and lashing out that I'm seeing isn't helping, and I'm not singling out any one group of people either, I'm seeing it everywhere. I'm just so tired. 

I ask you, wonderful readers and fellow bloggers, drop me a comment to put a smile on my face, a song in my heart or just a little bit of sunshine-y hope back into my thoughts. Because as lovely as this color is, it didn't help much. :(

One little piece of info to add here regarding "Flying High."  The photos above represent what I've seen all over the web to show this color. Even my camera picked it up this way. Flying High is not this color! It's more teal, it's like For Audrey's darker sister. It's For Audrey more saturated. So I futzed with the color a bit and here are pictures that capture the polish color better, just ignore what color correcting did to my skin.

Almost right...(shade)

Even Better! (shade)

And still, I can't quite capture it...

Have a good evening. Thanks for reading! I value your comments, your friendships and your blogs. 

G'nite. :)

Emerald Sparkled Blog flat out copy mani.

Trincess over at Emerald Sparkled is having a fantastic giveaway and I've been putting off entering until I could find a mani I could replicate with the limited Konad disks that I have. That girls got them all, so it took me a while but I found this one: (her version)

and created this one using Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics Man Chaser with a coat of Nfu Oh 49 on top, then I used WnW black and SH Insta dry white for the stamping with layers of Seche Vite in between. Counting base coat and stamp layers, I have 9 coats of polish on my fingertips!!! 9, yikes Trincess! Here it is in all it's glory and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out:

and just to prove it was a full mani, here's the left hand:

This concludes today's post, now I shall head on over to Emerald Sparkled to enter the giveaway. Come on over with me!

These Companies Agree: Customer Service is Job 1

I've been doing a lot of writing to various companies to ask questions about their products and I am amazed at the level of service I've received from the following: Miss Marion, China Glaze, Color Club and Cheeky Monkey have wowed me with the level of service delivered by their representatives/employees.

I wrote to Miss Marion - the J Pinon Cosmetics company - when I wrote to them about my experience with "Garnet" they not only responded but sent me replacement product with assurance that what I had was not what I thought I had. I have since received the replacement and some fun stuff along with that which I'll be sharing soon. I think the change from old formula to 3free is what has made a difference, but Garnet is still quite a gem and I'll show her to you very soon!

"Carnival" - a bright red jelly

Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics not only responded to my email, but I have had a few more email conversations with the founder to learn more about the product. It's obvious that Andrea cares about her customers as much as she cares about her company and delivering a quality product.

 

Social Climber, Man Chaser, Trailer Trash, Pop My Cherry 

with top coat - I Like it on Top and base coat Wet Dream

This is some high quality product and fast becoming a favorite of mine!

China Glaze not only answered my questions about their products, but went above and beyond to find out information about a sister company for me. Sadly, the answer was not what I was hoping for, but once a product is discontinued, that's all there is to say. Irene was so helpful and I hope to be in contact with her again sometime in the future, it was a pleasure to chat with her.

My Love - China Glaze Atlantis with a stripe of Twenty-Four K

Color Club, what can I say about this company? W O W. I wrote a quick email on their site asking about a product and I didn't get an email at all. At about 6:30 pm this evening I got a phone call from Forsythe Cosmetic Group that led to a wonderful conversation about their products and my recent experience with Color Club. The conversation ended with them being more than willing to correct a problem and make sure I was delighted with the resolution. 

Color Club Wild at Heart with a Matte Funky French tip

This is customer service at it's best. I wish every company in the United States would truly understand this and act upon it like the companies I've mentioned did.  I am impressed and so happy to have found this world of nail care again. From the companies I've dealt with to my fellow bloggers, it's a pretty great place to find myself right now and I'm so grateful to be a part of it.


I have a ton of pictures to share, and I'm on a no-buy til I swatch and swap what I have, keeping only the true keepers. I have a ton of dupes to do comparison swatches and choose the keeper...then I'll give the rest away to make room for new stuff. :)


I don't think I'll be posting much til after April 15 since I'm in the midst of the busiest part of the year at work.  But I've got some stuff to share and will do my best to get them posted for you all very, very soon. Bear with me and thank you so much for being there, reading, commenting and even just perusing my pictures. I don't even have much time to respond to your comments, but I'm reading them and appreciate every single one!

Ladies and er...Ladies! I give you Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics' Social Climber!

Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics describes this color as a dark brown, but my description of  it would be more like this: it's the color of the dried blood found under your finger nails after a long day of climbing the social ladder. :) I hope they don't mind.   I love this color! It's the perfect purple brown, like milk chocolate but a shade darker. It's a creamy jelly (is that even possible?) that is opaque in two coats.

Upon the first application of this, I found it to be a bit too thick for me to apply. I added some thinner and it applied the way I like a polish to apply - it stayed where I put it without running all over the place and pooling. 

I used 1 coat of the Cheeky Monkey base coat, "Wet Dream" followed by three coats of "Social Climber" and one coat of Cheeky Monkey top coat, "I Like it on Top" to finish the manicure. I stayed up for another 4 hours, went to bed and woke up with sheet wrinkles. :(

I talked with Andrea about it and she let me know exactly how awesome this formula is. And so I tried again with fantastic results (which you see above, the first try was so bubbly and thick it was awful!) I started with 2 coats of Wet Dream, followed by two three-stroke coats of "Social Climber." I did, however, finish this mani off with Seche Vite because it was late and I wanted to sleep and know there would be no sheet marks.

What is amazing about Cheeky Monkey is how the formula works so much like Seche Vite. I over worked it the first time and got tons of bubbles. The second time, I used Andrea's tips and the polish did just what she promised it would, it self-leveled! Are you kidding me??? This stuff is amazing! Stays where I put it, levels and evens itself out and looks just as good on day three as it did the day I applied it. I wonder if I didn't really need to thin it at all...

Well, I had a bit of a learning curve, but I am a huge fan of Cheeky Monkey Cosmetics nail polish.

Next up: Trailer Trash!

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me by Cheeky Monkey for my consideration and honest review

Huge Giveaway at Nail Addicts Anonymous!

Picture refuses to post so here's the haul:

Essie

Mink Muffs, Shindig, Porcini, Van D'Go

Orly

Snowcone, Mint Mojito

OPI

Chapel of Love, Jade Is The New Black

China Glaze

Bahamian Escape, Shower Together, Tree Hugger

Awakening, Lemon Fizz, Bermuda Breakaway, Good Witch?

and some candy and funs stuffs too!

Head on over there and enter this awesome giveaway!

HEY! If you're following me, and I am not yet following you...

drop me a link! let me know! And just because I can:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6T3KiHtkUk
A little music to post by. :)

My first Marble! A Subtle Success?

Thanks to Colette, I finally understand how to do a water-marble mani! Her tutorials are so helpful, watch 'em!
The only thing I do different is I use a small paint brush and paint a thick layer of petroleum jelly all over my finger, around the nail (being careful not to get it on the nail) and also under the nail. This helps with clean up so much - you let the polish dry and then it just wipes right off! Minimal clean-up. I read this tip somewhere and I can't remember where, so if it was your tip, please let me know so I can credit you!

So I wanted to keep it sorta green for Wednesday, and figured, if I do all this work, it's staying on for a day or two! I did a base coat of SH hydrating basecoat then did two coats of China Glaze For Audrey.  I used ChG Adore, Cherish and Metallic Muse and did the drops according to Colette's video tutorials.

It's really subtle, but I like it: these should all be clickable (shade)

This was the first nail I did and I was really happy with the way it turned out...the rest aren't so good, but still, I'm happy.

(sun)

And the full mani in full sun

The hubby and I had dinner at the beach tonight and so he helped me take the photos. :) Yes, that is the ocean in the background. We had over 80 degrees today...unheard of for this time of year. I am NOT complaining!

Thanks for looking, let me know what you think of my second attempt (first successful attempt) at water-marbling.

Enjoy the holiday and celebrate safely. Please, don't drink and drive.

Have a sparkly, shiney day.

Tag - Threes of Me

I had the honor of being tagged by the Recessionista over at Nouveau Cheap (thank you!) and I thought this one was fun to read on other blogs so I'm happy to have been tagged and have the chance to share a little about me.  This was a lot of fun. :)

Three names I go by:

1. Elizabeth
2. Lizbeth
3. Auntie Lizz (sometimes prefaced by "Crazy" as in that's my Crazy Auntie Lizz")

Three jobs I have had:

1. Glass fabricator and finisher (one of two women at the plant and I was 19!)
2. Bank Teller
3. Receptionist for a Beer Distributor

Three places I have lived:

1. Groton, CT
2. Waipahu, HI
3. California North and South

Three favorite drinks Non Alcoholic:

1. Chai tea, latte or not
2. Any Fruity herbal tea (hot is fine even in summer time)
3. Tonic Water (the quinine helps with night time leg cramps)


Three favorite drinks Alcoholic:


1. Chai latte with Captain Morgan's spiced rum (awesome winter drink)
2. Consilience Zinfandel (OMG this stuff is sooo fricken delcious)
3. Any other wine made by Consilience...I am a wino, what can I say???

Three TV shows I watch (I had to answer this one based on when we actually sit in front of the tv since we tend to netflix and hulu a lot of video/tv stuff):

1. American Idol and this year is soooo disappointing but let me just say: Go Siobhan!
2. Two and Half Men (this one is on when we sit down for dinner and so we watch, talk over it, catch some of it and laugh)
3. GLEE  yes, I am a gleek. Can't help it, I was one of THOSE kids in my day...actually, I still am. :p

Three places I have been (kind of an ambiguous question...):

1. in bed
2. at work
3. at the beach


but no, seriously


1. Manhattan
2. All over Oahu 
3. Seattle (note that I have never been out of the USA- ain't that sad?)

Three places I would like to visit:

1. Santorini Isle in Greece
2. The Andes Mountains in Peru
3. EVERYWHERE! (have you all seen this??? http://www.couchsurfing.org/  )

Three people who text (or bbm) me regularly:

1. Husband
2. Son
3. my closest family from their facebooks. 

Three favorite old TV shows:

FX Breakfast Time and you can see a clip HERE and there's a bunch of clips on YouTube.  I really miss that show.

Always wanted to be on this show...now I am too old for AI

Three favorite dishes

1. Pad Thai SPICY.
2. My homemade Lemon Chicken (not asian, got this from a chat room back in the AOL 90's)
3. Lately: Frozen mixed berries with a little heavy cream. (it freezes and you have this kind of berry ice cream deliciousness)

Three makeup/beauty products I cannot live without:

1. Aveeno skin care. I use the cleanser for older skin and the moisturizer for acne prone skin
2. hair color
3. NAIL POLISH

Three things I’m looking forward to:

1. The launch of my husbands business
2. Visiting my son in Seattle
3. Getting my knee fixed (yeah, surgery) and getting my back fixed, have appointment to start that process on March 25 and
4. (due to 3) Riding my bike again and walking on the beach!
Three people I tag:

1. Amberski
2. Skula's Claws 
3. Kaz 

Quick update and posts coming up

Hi everyone! Did you all get your entries into all the contests happening this month??? For some, the deadline is TODAY so get on over if you didn't...and check out the two over in my contest box on the left.

I've been a little swamped at work...today is a big deadline so I worked eleven and a half hours this weekend to help the team meet it, I think we're good, but we'll double check that today. We're in the home stretch for deadline #2 coming up in April so I'll be somewhat overwhelmed by all of that for a while.

Generally, I get a lot of my post work done on the weekend (photos and such) and I didn't have the weekend to do much of that. The time I did have was spent reorganizing my stash and adding another layer to my stash bin. Which means I'll have to have another giveaway soon! Though I love them all, I just can't justify the space they take up and I have NEVER owned so many bottles of polish in my entire LIFE! Nail bloggers are dangerous to an addict like me!!!  I love them anyway, their pictures and blogs inspire me.

I recently received the shipment from Miss Marion! and I'm excited to share that with you. She may just get some of you "frost" haters to love a frost. No, seriously, she just might!  So swatches and info about Miss Marion coming up in a few days.

I also have some Cheeky Monkey! Andrea is Superwoman! I don't know how she does all she does, but I bet that woman is eeking out every inch of what life has to offer. I have 4 colors to show you, but so far, I've only worn 2 as full manis. I want to test out wear as well as application and formula. (so far, I am impressed!)

I have a few hauls I've picked up, but didn't photograph. I'll just say I got Color Club Electro Candy collection with Vivid top coat for 8 bux at Ross last week. And I picked up some stuff at Transdesign, including my first bottle of Essie Matte about you which came with a bottle of Wicked. I'm anxious to try the matte top coat and see how it compares to ChG's. I got some more from the Up & Away collection - Sugar High and Four Leaf Clover, a back up of Atlantis, (gawd I love that color!!) and ChG Carnival Lights (which looks pretty amazing on top of Cheeky Money Social Climber.

I'm also waiting for my giveaway wins to arrive. I won some Zoyas and Sinfuls from Scandalous and I won April and Ashley over at Concrete and Nail Polish's first giveaway. So I'm looking forward to those arriving soon.

I'll get posts up in a day or two, thanks for your patience...I wish I could go back to bed now...but I'm off to work!

Have a shiney, sparkly, glossy day!

So Many Giveaways!

Goodness! March is turning out to be the Month of the Giveaways! Exciting stuff is happening in the nail blogosphere and I'm here to tell you all about it!

The list is long but stick with me and follow along:



All You Desire is having her celebration of, get this, 500, yes, 500, not 50, but 500 followers! And for that she is giving away these great gifts. Click the pic for more information and to enter! (ends April the 10th)

My girl Deniz over at Emerald Sparkled is having a great giveaway to celebrate hitting the 200 follower mark. Amazing, 200 followers. We sure do love our nail art and swatches, don't we? Deniz has put together a wonderful array of cool items, check out the Konad disk storage wallet, then click the pic for more information and to enter! (ends March 27th, 11:59 pm (GMT)

Over at the Nail Junkie, Lyra went a 'lil NUTZ when she put this prize package together, and I'm pretty excited about it, click the pic for more information and to enter. (ends 20th of March, 8pm Central European time)

Celebrating a Blog Birthday is Polishing the Nails and she's giving away a gorgeous selection of GOSH polish, click the pic for more information and to enter. Happy Birthday, Maria! (ends March 21 at Midnite)

Zuzu at Inside of My Purse is offering a crazy huge selection of items for her 250 followers - or blog posts? My translator isn't translating all of her blog so it's hard to tell, but click the pic for more information and to enter (ends April 23rd)

Laura at Sawan is helping THREE lucky winners get the new Claire's Mood Polish on their hands! Thanks Laura! Click the pic for more information and to enter. (ends March 28 at 5:00PM Central Time)

Tiffany over at Yardsticks for Lunatics is giving away a bunch of gorgeous Nyx items, including some pretty polish! Click the pic for more information and to enter. (ends March 15th)

Mary at Body Soul Beauty has bought into MARCH MADNESS with a greentastic bundle of color and fun, another huge giveaway for one lucky winner! Click the pic for more info and to enter. (ends March 17)

WHEW!!! That's it that I'm aware of, if I've missed any please let me know!

Sparkle and Shine!

Oscar night

I am a nail blogger failure.

I just sat through the entire Oscar show and never ONCE paid any attention to fingertips. I was in awe of the gowns and OMG did you see Sandra Bullock? I don't think I have EVER seen her look more glamorous. (OK, I admit it, I have a girl-crush on Sandy...happy now???)

China Glaze Something Sweet with a sprinkle of a Sally Beauty supply sparkle,

topped, of course, with Seche Vite

I really didn't see a gown I didn't absolutely love. Every woman had a gown that was perfect for her figure, her coloring and her age. I love the glamor of Oscar night! I get emotional for some speeches and some of the presentations. I cried a lot tonight. I ain't afraid to admit it!

I missed out on volunteering at our local film festival due to health issues - which I am still dealing with - and therefore missed out on actually seeing Sandra Bullock life and in person here in town. SAD PANDA...very very sad.

I just made my hubby swear that next year, he will drive me up to the red carpet on his motorcycle, drop me off to enjoy the show, and pick me up after (he has no interest). We'll stay at a local hotel and ride the bike home the next morning. All I heard on the radio today was how difficult parking was in Hollywood today, so the motorcycle solves that, (as well as the hubby's reason for heading to Hollywood!) So now, I just hope next year's movies are worthy of my attendance. LOL!!!

On a serious note: I will be glad to be there next year, but I do feel like I missed the dream by missing this year. The SBIFF and the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes..it's been an amazing year for my girl, and I missed seeing her enjoy the ride...well sort of.
Not being a "glass half empty" girl, I am thinking next year will be super fabulous and will work toward having long glorious nails painted meticulously in some fabulous design. So, who's going with me???

Have a shiny, sparkley and shimmery day!

Tag - 10 Things That Make Me Happy

I was tagged by Amberski and Toxin for this.  These are the rules: List 10 things that make you happy and link back to the person who tagged you and ten others.  


I love so many more things than just this ten, but these are what popped up for me as I filled this out. I am sure, there are some things that should have made this list but didn't and I'll look at it in a couple weeks and wish I'd included something else...but here it is, as it happened today. 


In no specific order, they are:

1. Riding my bicycle! With all the health issues I've been dealing with, I really miss it. I feel like a kid, so free and alive when I am riding that thing, especially with all the cool trails around here, see my ride to work here and one of my favorite parts here.

2. Nail Polish of course. I've loved it since I was 13 or so, dumped stashes completely and had to start over again. Did it again in 2006 and then I found nail blogs and my collection is the biggest it's ever been, I am an addictive personality and this is my latest addiction, but I can stop anytime I want!  I'm lucky thought, I just paint my nails and they grow. Nothing special required. Don't hate me.

3. The Ocean! I am so happy to live just a minute walk from my front door to the beach. And a couple times a year, I am even closer! My mother's ashes were scattered over the water just outside of the Golden Gate Bridge (it was legal, check into The Neptune Society )  So when I go to the beach, I usually have a chat with Mom. It's been 20 years and I miss her so much even now.

4. Movies. I love being entertained and taken into a different world. I like plays too, but don't get to those as often as I get to see movies. I like books too, if a movie is from a book, I like to see the movie first...that way, I enjoy them both!

5. Wine. I am also known as The Goddess of the Grape because I love a good wine. Good wine isn't necessarily expensive, you just have to understand how to make it work and I know how to work it!

6. Sunshine. I, and some of my family members suffer from SADD and I refuse to invest in a sunlamp when I can have the real thing. There is a REASON I live on the coastal desert. :)

7. My family, all of them, near and far. The ones I got at birth, the ones I got with marriage and the ones I've chosen.

8. My girlfriends.  While husbands and significant others are great, no one "gets" us like our girlfriends. I am planning a girlfriend getaway this year at a nice vacation rental somewhere in the states this year, just a long weekend filled with talking, relaxing, do it yourself spa days and hanging by the pool with a beverage of choice.

9. Camping, I love it so much, I do it everyday!  I look forward to getting this show on the road and seeing the places we can drive to. Then I wanna travel the world, but first, the Americas. :)

10. Music. I sing...constantly. I don't function well without music in the background. I mainly like Rock, classic, metal, heavy metal, but all music appeals to me at some point, depending on my mood and what I'm doing.


I tag:
Emerald Sparkled
Polish Hoarder Disorder
Nailed
Dr. Frankenpolish
Glammed-up
Nail Junkie
jellynat
Polished Lyrics
Tropical Mind
Moonblossom

Speaking my piece/peace

I changed my mind. I'm not going to continue to add energy to what happened. It's over, it's done, let's move on, shall we? (hat tip to Scandalous)

Nothing to see here...move along, move along...

If you found this post via blogger, ignore/delete it. I now return you to my regularly scheduled blogging.

Who can/will Help Me get this polish?

I keep seeing P2 polish and I think they have some rockin' hot colors...Especially after this mornings post from this blog: http://www.lacquerized.com/  strange though, it's not there anymore. The color was Rebel, but I have seen so many gorgeous colors from them. Is there someone out there in reader land that would be able and willing to help get my hands on a couple of these pretties?

The breaking point illustrated. :(

My nails are natural, for anyone wondering. Here are some photos I took of them a couple months ago, just after trimming 2cm off of them:

Yeah the right Thumb is a problem, and I'm learning to use anything but that nail as a tool to open things. It suffers badly as does the nail on my right index finger...it's always a little shorter than the rest. Unfortunately, the index finger nail gave up the ship this week...but I took photos of my nails before I chopped them off. See?

Left index split up the middle while wearing a matte polish, it's recovered nicely with the help of 

Orly Nail Rescue.

Right hand. Ugh. Index nail is broken way below the free edge (My mom used to call that "the quick"). Bleedy and all that stuff. I am a pain and blood weenie!! I saved it for one more week to wear the NYC/WNW Konad featured a couple days ago, but when I finished all the swatching of holos and colors, the nail gave up and was all floppy and upset.

I soaked the Orly Nail Rescue off, chopped my nails short and then reapplied Nail Rescue to help support the nail til it grows out to the free edge.  I know you see some on my thumb nail. I've found that Orly Nail Rescue is the best solution for MY peeling nails. Just a little on the tip has kept it from peeling and it's growing again. Of course, I'm paying attention and finding other tools to use for opening things, rather than poor right thumbnail...but in a couple weeks, I'll remove the nail rescue and my thumbnail will be happy once again. 

Again, cuticles are fried and there's color residue because I'd just finished doing a bunch of swatches. A assure you all, a full manicure including cuticle treatment and moisturizing followed this photo shoot. 

Did I mention Orly Nail Rescue? I will never be out of this stuff in my stash! 

Some Tips: Tighten the cap on the glue as much as you can...use a wrench and vise if you have one! Or get your husband or boyfriend to tighten and open it for you when you need it. It dries out if you don't seal it tightly. I've had mine for months and the glue is just the same as when I first purchased it. I can't do wraps, this is easier and it doesn't hang on like acrylic. A few manicures and you need to redo it, so it's very easy to soak off. If you don't have some, get it. I always take it on trips, just in case! 

Yellow comparison - China Glaze and Sally Hansen

And yet another comparison for you dear readers! I am so in the mood for sunny weather, so I figured I'd check out my two yellow cremes and see how they differed.
I compared China Glaze Happy Go Lucky, (LOVE) and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow. (Like)

I am not sure EITHER one works on me as a single color to wear alone, but they will be good for Konad or Nail Art when I figure out how the HECK to do THAT! LMAO!!!

Take a look:

Sunlight

Shade

Combo lighting! :) I aim to please here!

Happy Go Lucky is the brighter yellow of the two, while Mellow Yellow is a bit softer. Both are pretty bright, but Happy Go Lucky is just "sunnier" to me.  China Glaze HGL is on my index Finger while Sally Hansen MY is on my middle finger. 

Both applied like I read on other blogs as yellows normally do...kind of streaky and a bit gloopy, but evened out at 3 coats. No top coat used here as these were just swatches and they were barely 5 mins dry at time of photos. 

Depending on sales and location these can be comparable in price, but I think SH will generally be the more economical choice. I am glad I got Happy Go Lucky to keep in my collex for something I will do at some point. :) It's just the right color for "Have a Nice Day" nails. 

Which one do you like better? Do you have an even better yellow in your stash? Tell me about it!

Have a sparkly, shimmery, and glossy day!

My Illamasqua Dream Color

Actually I have two. If that disqualifies me...so be it.

First one:

I even have a name for it: "Santa Barbara" after the plant that inspires the idea: (Word count begins here as this is the description) 


A beautiful, soft sage green with the barest hint of silver shimmer to make it so much like the silvery leaves of the plant but then a stronger sprinkling of a red violet shimmer, like the flower this lovely bush dons from spring to summer. 

It would be Scrangie in reverse and softer, more feminine. A green polish any woman would love.


Second one:

A duochrome with rich blue base the color of the sky or ocean at sunset, with duochrome colors that come through being the pink/purple/orange/amber of the clouds that float in that glorious blue. These are sunsets over the American Riviera. This color is all about the drama!








ah heck, I could do a series of color to represent the area...even a silvery blackened brown named Tea Fire Ash, for which a portion of it's sales would go toward one of the many charities we have in place to help all the people and programs in the area that have been devastated by all the recent fires here.


If I only get one entry, then I pick the Sage...no, the duochrome! no! Sage! No Duochrome! aaaagggghhh!

Holy Holo Fun Batman!!!

I have acquired quite the collection of Holo Polishes...and yet, my collection is incomplete and I need MORE! HEHEHEE!
I had some fun with Milani, China Glaze and Color Club and the intermittent sunlight we had yesterday while waiting for the Tsunami to hit the Santa Barbara Coast. Things were a little tense downtown, but here at home we have an 80 foot drop from the bluffs to the ocean, so I wasn't worried. It turned out to be uneventful but with all the earthquakes happening, the hubster and I decided we would be wise to make sure we have plenty of bottled water in case the big one hits close to home. Santa Barbara is somewhat isolated from travel in the event of a big disaster as we learned when the mountain fell in 2005 cutting us off from most suppliers. Our grocery stores were almost bare when they finally reopened the roads.
Our lifestyle has us basically prepared anyway, but we need to keep a few gallons of fresh water on board too...but I digress into unhappy things..., let's move on to polish, shall we?

I chose Milani HD and China Glaze OMG to compare and play with, Take a quick look:

What you're looking at: from Pinkie to Thumb: Milani HD 3 coats, ChG OMG 3 coats, OMG topped with HD 2 coats OMG, 1 coat HD, HD 3 coats with ChG Matte Magic over the top, and on the thumb I did OMG on the left side (upper in this pic) and the omg/hd combo like on the middle finger on the right side (lower in this pic) then I put Matte Magic over the top.

Let me say first off, putting a matte topcoat over a holo, takes away the Holo completely...and you cannot get it back. Nope, not even if you put a shiny topcoat on top. Look:

See? Nuthin'.

Let's move on, shall we?

Here's a closer look, side by side: click it!

Now, I don't own Nfu Oh #62, but I think Middle finger just found a good dupe! I'm telling you, getting that smooth rainbow topped with the chunkier one and it was blingtastic! Gorgeous! Those of you who do own the Glorious #62, please tell me what you think, I need to know if I still need to add it to my hubby's buy list. :)

I love Holos for their color and for their drying time. I will say that HD was MUCH easier to apply, just smooth and nice as I don't give each layer much drying time, I don't have the time! :)  OMG was a bear, dragging polish for the first two layers so I applied it a bit more thickly for the third and it evened out. I used no top coat for the non-matte nails.

I will definitely layer the Milani Holographic polishes over the corresponding China Glaze OMG series colors because it's just so much more holographic. I like having options!

PS: For those of you having issues with blogger, be it posting, commenting or whatever. Get Google Chrome. DO EET NAO!! It works seamlessly and I am in heaven.