Purple Diamond (in the rough)

I think I got into nail polish *just* after all the cool stuff became hard to find!  I missed out on China Glaze holos, the OPI DS collection, Sally Hansen Prisms...

Thank goodness for Ebay!  I found my SH Prism Purple Diamond lemming!

This is one coat - very sheer, but you can already see the holo goodness.

Two coats.   Perfection.

 Have I mentioned how much I love a holo polish?  It's a weakness of mine. 

Right hand:

I thought this stamp would look good over it... not sure I like it, though.  It's Color Club Blue-topia.

Do you like to embellish your holos?

I won 2nd place! and a prize! and I did a mani! And used many exclamation points!!

I won second place in **this** contest from Jilltastic Nail Designs with this submission.  "Speak up, I can't see you!"

And I got my prize in the mail!  Woot!  Jordana Rhinestones and a cool zebra nail file!

and cool color-changing nail stickers!  I used to use a lot of nail stickers, and I'd never seen these. 

 

So, I did a couple of manis to use my new, cool stuff!  I started with Jordana Boy Oh Boy, a beautiful turquoise blue that applied like a dream.  For an inexpensive brand, this stuff is great.  Look at that shine - no topcoat!

 

I was inspired by this dotticure on Lucy's Stash.. not that I have the nails or talent to do what she does.  Wow, her manis are awesome.

I used the Rhinestones by Jordana that I won as a prize!  They made cool dots, actually - most of the glitter is small, so it didn't clump up, and the occasional medium glitter looked pretty neat on the dot.

 Right hand:

Another day I used the stickers over Sally Hansen Loves Me Not, a gorgeous purple fleck that looks like it has a golden duochrome shimmer, but it was fairly shy on the nail.

It was too hot to stay outside for long, but I did see a very subtle pink color in the stickers before the heat forced me back into the A/C.

Thanks for the stash, Jillian!  :) :)

4th of July Fireworks!

This is a mani I entered into Ms. Lizard's patriotic mani contest. I've never done fireworks before, but nothing says July 4th to me more than a fireworks show.  I didn't win the contest, but I still really like my mani!

I started with NYX 103.  Have no idea if it has a name.  It sounds like a radio station, not a nail polish.  It is a gorgeous cobalt blue jelly.  Jelly!  I only did one coat, and you can see that it's not opaque, but I covered it with glitter, so it's all good.  The glitter is one coat of Girly Bits Into the Night.  Doesn't it look like a twilight sky?

I made the fireworks using a bunch of cheapie stripers I got from the dollar store.  I didn't take any more pix along the journey, which is so unlike me!  To make up for it, here's the mani, EXTRA LARGE!  so you can look at it longer.

 Can you see the glitter from Into the Night behind the fireworks? 

Here's another patriotic mani I did for one of my fave blogs -  Nouveau Cheap's Independence Day Roundup.  I like the index finger best - watching the fireworks with my sweetie. 

And, another mani for Genia Be Me.  First time using laser strands - they don't bend so easily to my nubbies!

How are you celebrating the USA Independence Day?  Beer, Apple Pie and some sporting event on the TV?

Ms. Ruby Flower-Tips

At my first Central Florida Beauty Bloggers' meeting, we had a products swap where the ladies brought in whatever products they didn't want, and picked up others that were discarded.  It was AWESOME.  There were boxes and boxes of nail polish to choose from.  This is one of the polishes I picked up.  When I got it, another blogger made me promise to write it up in my blog, so here it is.

This is Joie Kollection Metallic Burgundy.  I'd never heard of this polish before.  I thought the color was divine.  It was thick as molasses, though - I needed a lot of thinner to manage this application.  I didn't realize it was metallic until after I put it on, but no matter.  I still loved the color, brushstrokes and all.  I will probably try it for stamping, next.

Ms. Ruby Stipple-tips has a long-lost cousin, Flower-tips.  I started with the flowers in white, which bled through the burgundy in short order..

 ..and then I used Sally Hansen HD in Hue to highlight.  This is such a versatile polish - it's yellow in the bottle, but has a great iridescence to it - it becomes a shade of whatever is underneath it, and if you change the angle that you're viewing it, it becomes opaque.  That gold reflection shining back at you in this pix?  That's the HD.

 I added some black dots for the center of the flowers, and topcoated with Seche Vite.

 Right hand:

I know I'm an old fart for liking frosts/metallics.  I hear it over and over again that it's a dated look, but I can't take it too seriously for the most part.  I've lived long enough to see all the silly things I wore growing up come back into fashion again.  Seriously, people, leg warmers?

Leftovers are better the next day...

For some reason, these swatches didn't make it into earlier posts...  so now you get a swatchfest!

I had such lemmings for this color, and eventually found a buy one get one 50% off sale at a salon, so it was MINE MINE MINE.  This is OPI Thanks a Windmillion, a dusty light green from the Holland collection. Like most OPI colors, it applied nicely, was opaque in 2 coats, and look at that shine.  No topcoat here.  My hands do look a little red.. hmm.. maybe I was clutching the bottle too tightly? ;)

I picked up this Revlon in a swap at the CFL Beauty Bloggers' meeting.  I have slowly been collecting more yellows.  I used it as a base for nail art, so I used 2 coats, but it could have used three.. or maybe 4.  Like most yellows, it is a little streaky, but I love the shimmer that gives it it's name:  Sunshine Sparkle.

This is Barielle Falling Star.  I'd never seen a blue with copper glitter in it before!  It's beautiful, and I just couldn't cover it with nail art, so I wore it by itself.  Barielle makes great polishes.

This is CQ Twinkle, a lovely silver shimmer (It doesn't appear to be a foil or metallic), with Chameleon Cyclone over it on the accent nails.  Chameleon is an iridescent polish, very very sheer on its own, but is great as a layering polish to change the color of whatever you put it over.  Can't wait to try it over black!

Next up is China Glaze Rainstorm.  This is a jelly blue with shimmer.  It's very, very sheer - I think this was 2 and a half coats and you can still see VNL.  I was using it as a base for nail art, so I wasn't worried about it being sheer, but if you were going to use it alone, you'd need at least 3 coats.

I picked up a few polishes from indie polish Not Too Polished.  This is Peach Blossom, with an accent of Color Club Turn the Other Chic, an orange layering glitter.  I wasn't too excited about Peach Blossom on the nail - it was a little goopy and hard to work with.  I am still looking for the elusive perfect creamsicle color...

Can you hear the beat?  The Electric Beat, from China Glaze.  This is one of my fave blues/periwinkle colors.  It's more blue than Secret Peri-wink-le.  I love this color!

Hope you enjoyed this totally random collection of colors!

BBC Roundup - 6/30

• Who doesn't love FREE beauty loot? Mama Fashionista and Use Me! Products are giving away a styling product worth $25 to one lucky reader!
  
• Looking for easy summer makeup? Retrodiva checks out the lastest from Anastasia Beverly Hills: the See and Be Seen Kit. Find out which products she's super crazy about.
• Olympic Skater Nancy Kerrigan wore her designs at the Olympics, and so have a gazillion brides, but now Vera Wang has created a brand new collection that we can all afford. It's for your FACE, not your body. Alison Blackman of the Advice Sisters takes a first look at the Simply Vera by Vera Wang makeup collection.
• Not sure how to use a palette full of polka dots? Brooke from BlushingNoir shows you how to use MAC Powder to the People from Beth Ditto from your eyes to your cheeks!
• Jessika aka polish insomniac hates brown polish... until a new polish from the land down under changed her mind!
• Ro reviews Milani Infinite Liquid Eye Liners and shares why they've become a permanent part of her beauty routine.
• Miss L from Beauty by Miss L shows her favorite eye brush set and tells why she likes it.
• Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom highlights some great browns from Milani.
• The Lacquered Lady tries out Yes to Blueberries Brightening Facial Wipes.
• Lola from Lola's Secret Blog is embarrassed to confess that she was confounded by the Hakuhodo Mizubake Brush for the longest time- that is until she tried it for the first time. This may just be one of the greatest foundation and liquid blush brushes ever made!
• Blushing Basics may have turned 31 but MAC sent her a birthday gift to make her smile. Come check out some pics of the new Heavenly Creatures Collection out July 5th.
• The FabZilla tests products from Sircuit Skin Cosmeceuticals specifically targeting her greasy face: pomegranate acai at-home peel and sulfate-free facial wash. Yay or nay?
• Polarbelle has a bright new reason to smile thanks to the Smile Brilliant LED system.
• The Pink Sith thinks she may have found her childhood holy grail lip color and it just might be the new Chanel Fall 2012 Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Troublant.
• The Body Shop launches a new and cruelty-free makeup line with Model/Activist Lily Cole. Pammy Blogs Beauty checks out this super cute collection! 
• My Newest Addiction Beauty Blog gets Color Minded with Bumble and Bumble.
• Cosmetically Challenged takes you to California with swatches from the California Gleamin' Collection by Sation.
• Beauty Info Zone reviewed two winners: Reviva Labs Willard Water and Collagen Fibre Eye Pads. Find out not only why they are so loved but see how you can win these two items for yourself.
• Beauty and Fashion Tech looks at 10 Things That Will Ruin Your Complexion.
• Girl Gloss has a Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Naturale Lipstick Review.
• Hot weather skin woes? BeautyTidbits has got you covered with tips to Summerize your Skincare.
• Nothing goes together better during summer than a tan and bright colors. Curls N Pearls has you covered with perfect turquoise jewelry to sport this summer.
• Grab a sneak peak of the latest Sigma Beauty Expert Brow Design Kit to be released on July 23rd!
• Need tools for perfect brows? Head to Spontaneous Chick for the billion dollar brows giveaway.
• Phyrra is in love with the cult product inspired by beauty balm creams, Illamasqua Skin Base!
• Oh So Lacquered reviews two super cute polishes from a new indie brand called F4. But be warned, these polishes might make you hungry!
• Wendy from Painted Ladies reviews the Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer  ... in haiku.
• Get your nails ready for summer! Take a look at Geniabeme'ssummer inspired gradient nails!
• BB Cream. What is it and why would you want it? Emily Hudspeth, hair & makeup shares her favorite and why you will love it.
• As a devotee to dark statement lips, the Stepford Witch tries out Tom Ford Lipstick in Black Orchid.
• See what Janelle from Glamorous Mama thinks of her first purchase from Jewelmint!
• Gia of Bottles and Bottles of Polish shares her favorite lip products of all time- NARS, MAC, Aquafina and more!
• Mina loves Pacifica Color Quench All Natural Moisture Lip Tint! Check out her review and swatches of the new shade Sugared Fig at Fabulous Awesomeness.
• Looking for the quintessential bronzer? The Beauty Professor sings the praises (and provides plenty of swatches!) of Rouge Bunny Rouge Bronzing Glow Powder in Netherway Cove.
• Ashley from Peek.Ponder.Publish shares a simple flower nail design created with a bobby pin! Check out this cute mani.
• Do you remember the first time you purchased a nondrugstore polish? BeautyJudy shares her first OPI, Route Beer Float! Swatches and sentimentalism in this week's "Stash Attack!"

Another stamping Sunday..

I'm informally joining the Stamping Sunday crowd again.  Yes, today, I'm a joiner.  But, since it's a secret, I'm also a rebel.  I am also an enigma wrapped in a riddle. 

Let us pause to regain our composure.

Today's color could be a camo color, it's Nicole for OPI Green Up Your Act.  I believe it's a Target Exclusive color.  I ordered it from their website after seeing on someone else's blog and having to have it.  These blogs are to me like the shady guy on the corner who whispers, 'c'mere, you gotta see this' and then opens his trenchcoat to reveal a lining full of shiny, pretty things.  See, it's socially acceptable to own a few bottles of nail polish.  Not so much when your collection is three digits and steadily heading towards 4.

 Don't you want this color now?  C'mere, you gotta see this!

I stamped over it with Pure Ice Black Rage and one of the Red Angel plates.  Those plates have such weirdness on them - their patterns are cool, but slightly whack at the same time.  Like the person who was designing them had a love affair with hallucinogenic drugs.

For some added shiny, I added Sally Hansen Glass Slipper, a clear polish full of clear, iridescent flakies.  Flakies are like glitter's helpful cousin.  Not as showy, but also not as hard to remove.  And they play nice with others.

Are you tempted? hmmmmm? :)