Catch a Wave and You're Sitting on Top of the World

 This manicure is to this day probably one of my favourite things I have ever put on my nails.  My best friend took me to the Beach Boys 50th Anniversary tour when it came to my area and I had to do special nails for the event.

 I decided to do a beach theme with sand, waves and a surf board.  What would a Beach Boy's manicure be without their board?

 I couldn't stop taking pictures of these nails.  They made me so incredibly happy.  Every time I looked at my hands I smiled.  Honestly, I think I was shocked that I was able to produce something like this.

 On my right hand I left off the surf boards, and also the top coat, so you could see the awesome texture of the sponged waves.

I really loved how the waves turned out, even though the blue had a hidden shimmer in it, it wasn't too overpowering for the manicure.

I really need to work on my nail art more.  I enjoy the results, but it takes so much time.  And honestly, since I work with my hands, it only lasts a day.  If I have a few days off in a row I can do something fancy, but for daily wear it's just not practical.

The base was China Glaze Fast Track, with sponging of Color Craze White and Confetti Blue Bombshell.  The surf boards were done with OPI Big Apple Red and Need Sunglasses? along with the CC White.

I took this one before I cleaned up my edges or painted the surfboards.  Just so I would have an in progress picure to show off.  I'm probably more proud of this than I should be, but it was definitely a feat for me.

Shimmering Liquid Crystal

 This post is incredibly picture heavy, I will warn you now!  When China Glaze put out their collection of glitter multichrome polishes I had to have the entire collection.  I snatched up all but one from Sally's when they were released and have yet to find the lone straggler.

This is Liquid Crystal.  I wish I could discribe the color for you, but it shifts so much that it really is hard to pin point it as one color.  I would say the base is teal, and it shifts to green and purple and blue.

 This was the only way I could show you the beautiful pink/purple flash.  It came out in incredibly odd angles, which made for me twirling my hands around like a freak quite a bit while wearing this manicure.  I would stop in each new lighting and see what colors would show up for me.

 Outiside it was much lighter and definitely had more dimension.  The sun brought out a lot of nuances that you couldn't see indoors.

 This is my new favourite pose for showing off multichromes.  Being able to shoot that many angles at once entertained me more than it should have.  I'm sure it's been done before, but when I figured it out I was giddy.

Here, in the shade, you can see some silver and blue coming through.  It was definitely lightest in this lighting.  Overall the polish was a hit and I can't wait to wear more from the line.  Or to layer it over black.  I love polish with a lot of options!

I can be a bit of a Prima Donna.

 I know what you're thinking, "Another lavendar foil??!?"  Yes, another lavendar foil.  I have a horrible addiction to lavendar/lilac foil polish.  Once I actually swatch the polish that is the source of this obsession I will explain to you the entire reasoning under my collection of purple shiney things.

Now that that little thing is over I'll introduce this pretty little paint.  I am wearing Ginger and Liz Prima Donna.  I have to say this is on the top of my list of lavendar foil polishes, it applied easily and had a gorgeous finish.  I got it off of Hautelook which sometimes has some really interesting brands.  (Yes that is an invite link, you can use it if you want, if not I will not cry).  I don't know if they will have Ginger and Liz any time soon, but if they do you should look at them!

I'll be your Baby Goth Girl

This manicure is two coats of MAC Baby Goth Girl.  It has a really interesting shimmer that hides when you're inside, but the flakies come out pretty strong when you go outside.

MAC polishes can definitely be hit or miss, this one I think was a hit in my book.  It was incredibly easy to apply, which I know is surprising for a MAC polish. I have definitely experienced the bad side of the brand's polish selection and this was amazingly one of the better ones.

If you look closely at my thumb you can really see the gorgeous flakies that this polish hides.  I wish all MAC polishes were as nice as this one, which has become one of my favourite vampy shades.

Princess Tears of Joy

Today I am very happy to show you my very first A England color.  This is Princess Tears.  This is a gorgeous holographic color with a duochrome flash undertone. 

For how in love with this color I am you would think I would have more to say about it.  It applied wonderfully and was generally a wonderful polish.  I stared at it all the time and loved moving my hands around under different lights to see all the different dimensions of the color.

This shot is probably my favourite I got of this polish.  It shows quite a few of the dimensions and different colors that the polish can give off.  I love linear holos and this one definitely did not disappoint.  I can't wait to get my hands on a few more A England polishes!

Androgynie?

This is Orly Androgynie.  I don't have a ton to say about it, although I have enough pictures to do all of the talking.  This color was not anywhere near what I was expecting, and I was pretty disappointed.  All of the swatches online made this color seem alright, and I guess I just didn't want to believe something so pretty in the bottle could be meh on my nails.

Application was pretty easy, no complaints.  I did find that after a few coats the glitter from the first few coats would get completely covered.  I would have liked to see it either slightly more sheer (so the glitter would shine though) or more opaque (so I would need less coats).

Outside it was definitely more to look at, and I have to admit that when driving I had to sneak a peek once in a while.  I had to get pictures in the sun to show all of the pretty glitter that hides when you're inside.

Overall, I can't say this polish was worth it, but I am glad I purchased it to see for myself.  It's not on my must buy list at all, but I am sure I will get some use out of it, especially for nail art.

Magic turned my Agro Mahogany

 Here is another Capitol Colors manicure.  This time I have on China Glaze Mahogany Magic with accent nails of Agro.  Both polishes applied beautifully and probably required less than my normal two coats.  They complimented eachother so nicely that I wore them for almost a week.

After a few days I believe I put a shimmery top coat over the MM, but all the pictures I have of that turned out blurry.  I remember loving it though, so I will have to revisit that manicure sometime soon.

Electrify my Flirting Nails

 I still can't wrap my hand around two bottles gracefully, I don't know why I still try!

 This manicure is Sinful Colors Flirting Nails with accent nails of China Glaze Electrify.  I absolutely love the China Glaze Capitol Collection.  All of the colors were so unique and gorgeous.  The funny thing is, I never read the Hunger Games, nor did I see the movie.  Doesn't mean I can't appreciate the amazing polish though,

Sometimes Sinful Colors puts out amazing polishes, and sometimes they are just so-so.  This time I definitely wish I had used a different base.  The color was pretty, and very plain, but I feel like I could have used something with a little more oomph and gotten a slightly better manicure out of it.

Blingy Celeb City

 This time I decided to just wear a basic foil from Sally Hansen.  This is Xtreme Wear Celeb City.  It was so shimmery that my poor camera had a hard time capturing the picture!

This polish was easy to apply and easy to remove, and will definitely be something I reach for when I am looking for a mindless manicure.  Sometimes you need something that you don't need to think about on your nails after you've had a long day.

Birthday Haul 2012

This was my birthday haul from this year.  As soon as I got it I had to put them all on my hands.  My pointer has Sephora by OPI Betsey Johnson It's My Pink!, my middle finger is Illamasqua Elope, and the rest of my nails are Nails Inc Chelsea and the ring finger has the Donmar special effect polish.  This was literally just a little swatchfest so I could see (and smell!) the colors I got for my birthday.  The Betsey Johnson polish is scented like her perfume, which is kinda cool.  I can't wait to wear these polishes as full manicures, I've already worn the Donmar collection since, and the other two are just waiting in line.

Peppermint in my Alfredo?

 This manicure combination was a happy surprise, and has ended up being one of my favoutite layering combinations.  I started with MAC Peppermint Patti.  I know that this polish is old news, but it still means a  lot to me.  It was my first MAC nail polish, and I payed the scalpers on ebay a pretty penny for it.  I still love it even if it looks horrible on my skin tone.

 I topped the PP with a light coat of MAC Al Fredo leaving my accent nails plain.  I like the color in the bottle, but it is so sheer that it definitely needed something under it.  I have no idea why I chose this combination, but for some reason I did.  In the end it created this really pretty green, I can't really put a finger on what to call it though,

 Outside you can see that the Al Fredo was a little patchy, but honestly I didn't care.  I liked the combination enough to deal with it and I knew that another coat would ruin the gorgeous color I'd found.

Here is my elusive right hand, and in the shade.  The yellow tones are even stronger this way and still amazing in every light.  I will have to revisit this one when I have more time and patience to try and get a nice, even look on every nail!

A rainbow in the Night Sky.

 This time I have a crazy scattered holo glitter to show you.  I am wearing Claire's Night Sky, which is a mixture of a deep navy glitter and holographic particles.  It dried a little gritty, I have to say, and removal was a pain (like glitters can be), but it was so worth it.

 The polish sparkles in any light, it's like having a disco ball on your nails.  Every time I looked down at my hands I had to smile because the color was so amazingly sparkly.

I threw it out of  focus so you could see all the amazing holo glitter that it is filled with.  I'll probably wear this again with a base coat of something navy, since this was probably four coats and it ended up being a little thick for my liking.  Overall, it's a wonderful polish, since there is nothing like staring at glitter all day!

Blue Apples on the Fourth of July

For Independance Day this year I decided to keep my nails pretty simple, since I will be at work anyway.  I did a french manicure with a base of L.A. Colors Color Craze Blue and accent nails of OPI Big Apple Red.  My right hand is flipped with the accents being the Blue, but the tips are quite wonky so you won't be seeing it today.

I used Color Craze White for the tips, but I didn't wait long enough for the base polish to dry, so I needed two coats.  The first coat was cool with it's red and blue swirls, but not exactly the look I was going for.  Since I had that little set back my tips are a tad bit thick, but that's fine since I don't really intend on wearing this more than just one day.

I tried to get a shot of this outside in the sun, but it was already too late in the day so instead it's more like an overcast lighting.  Still, I like the combination, and it was quick and easy (yet still festive) for July 4th.