OPI Pink Shatter, Two Looks

I still love crackle polishes & I probably always will. I rarely keep my nails the same for more than 3 days in a row, but occasionally I just don't have time to completely start fresh. If my nails are looking chipped or have tip wear & I'm in a rush, I always reach for a crackle. They dry quickly, are virtually foolproof, & easily cover any wear that I want to hide.

That being said, OPI Pink Shatter didn't win me over on my first try when paired with The Painted Nail by Nubar OMG Gorgeous. It dried matte & just seemed kind of weak & washed out. The formula was fine but very sheer for a crackle.

I wanted to give it another try before I gave up on it & I'm so glad I did. I layered it over Maybelline New Year's Blues with almost no expectations. The results were quite amazing. I think this combination would be a good start for some galaxy nails which I still haven't successfully done yet.

 

Thanks for reading!
April

Layering With Zoya Chloe

Zoya Chloe is a sheer pink topcoat loaded with duochrome flakies in red-orange to gold and gold-green to blue from their new Fleck Effects collection. This set looks gorgeous in their bottles so I decided to try to get the same look on my nails. I think I accomplished my goal!
Chloe by itself is very sheer with just a hint of pink in the base. This is 2 coats of OPI Elephantastic Pink topped with 2 coats of Chloe. Gorgeous! I love all of the Fleck Effects but Chloe is my favorite. I can't wait to try it over other colors.

 

Thanks for reading!
April

This polish was sent to me for review. All opinions are my own & were not influenced by Zoya! For more information you can read my disclosure policy.

Layering With Zoya Opal

Zoya Opal is a sheer green topcoat loaded with blue & green flakies from their new Fleck Effects collection. This set looks gorgeous in their bottle so I decided to try to get the same look on my nails. I think I accomplished my goal!
Opal by itself is very sheer with just a hint of green in the base. This is 2 coats of OPI Greenwich Village topped with 2 coats of Opal. Lovely!

Thanks for reading!
April

This polish was sent to me for review. All opinions are my own & were not influenced by Zoya! For more information you can read my disclosure policy.

OPI You Don't Know Jacques Suede & Christmas Garland Nail Art

I love matte & suede finish polishes. I traded my friend Carla-Rose a Nubar 2010 for You Don't Know Jacques Suede. The formula on the suedes is very tricky. It seems like you need to do one coat without going over anything! It starts to ball up and drag when I tried to level it out. I tried waiting a while for it to dry before I did another coat but I had the same problem. I love the look but I could use some application tips ladies!

The next day I used Zoya Holly & Rina to make garland and then added sparkly bows with China Glaze Ruby Pumps. I added a topcoat too.

Thanks for reading!
April

OPI DS Signature

I was lucky enough to win this gorgeous polish from Rin's Nail Files. This is easily applied coats. Dark dusty rose linear holo loveliness!!

 

 

One shot in the shade.

Thanks for reading!
April

Nails To Match My Dress; Or The Magic Of OPI Up Close & Personal

I love occasionally matching my polish to my outfit. This one was only moderately successful but still fun.

Polishes used from thumb to pinkie are American Apparel California Trooper, American Apparel Hassid, Zoya Bailey, Nina Ultra Pro Salsa & Sinful Mint Apple. I topped them all of with one coat of OPI Up Front & Personal.

I've worn Up Front & Personal once before but never used it as a layering polish. It's gorgeous! Full of multi-color micro glitter.

Thanks for reading!
April

OPI Atomic Orange & My First Ruffian

This is OPI Atomic Orange. Not a color I will wear on it's own much, but a great orange creme with a perfect formula. No clean up on this one!

This ridiculous color combination was inspired by these shoes that many players wore in this year's World Cup. I used this Toma polish because it is opaque in just one coat, which seems necessary if doing this freehand. It turned out pretty well, but I found this technique kind of difficult.

Thanks for reading!
April

OPI Absolutely Alice

I won OPI Absolutely Alice from The Lacquer Lady. It's a gorgeous polish, dense blue glitter in a clear base with a sprinkling of gold glitter thrown in too. It takes three coats for opacity, which is not bad at all for a clear based glitter. While this is lovely, I just couldn't see mysellf wearing it again so I already passed it on to a new loving home.

I'm still way too sad to talk about the World Cup today. I started looking up players and teared up again. I'll try again tomorrow.

OPI Up Front & Personal

I won OPI Up Front & Personal from the Lacquer Lady's giveaway. It's a lovely champagne foil/glitter color. 4 coats. Still sheer but very pretty.

Woohoo USA!!!!! That was a very stressful game! So glad we made it through even though we had not one but TWO disallowed goals this cup that should have been counted!

Today's World Cup hotties are the Socceroos of Australia who played hard but were eliminated today. Special mention for Harry Kewell who couldn't play today because of a red card & Tim Cahill who was today's man of the match.

Thanks for reading!
April

OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui

Will loves OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui, but I'm not so sure. I thought it would be dustier. It's still nice though. Easy application, three coats.

Thanks for reading!
April

OPI Parlez Vous & Some Wally Pictures

OPI Parlez Vous is a perfect nail polish. Gorgeous color, easy application.

And now for some pictures of my adorable dog Wally Thor, a.k.a. Wally, Wobbles & Wobblers.


I love him so much it hurts.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to enter the MaryMary Handmade Giveaway!
April

OPI Russian Navy Suede With Topcoat & A Giveaway Roundup

I love my OPI Russian Navy Suede! This is 2 coats and a topcoat. I love it with or without a topcoat. Gorgeous! My heart would break if I ever lost the ring in this picture. Without a doubt my favorite material possession. I picked it up in New Orleans several years ago.

There are some really good giveaways in today's roundup. I love blog giveaways because you actually have a pretty good chance of winning! (And you may find yourself some new readers!) Check out the Point Blank Art giveaway (#6) for example. There are only 4 entries at the time of this posting! Go enter and tell me if you win! Also check out #11. You can win an amazing prize pack that includes products from Illamasqua, MAC, Zoya & many more. Anyone who likes traditional tattoo art and handmade awesomeness should check out #15. Only 25 entries so far!

Giveaway Roundup

1. Win your choice of Flirty Aprons from Evenflo & Two of a Kind. Ends 2/1.
2. Win 2 pairs of socks of your choice from Ozone Socks & Mommy 2 Two Girls. I love over the knee socks & they have some really unique options! Ends 2/1.
3. Win a $50 gift certificate to Snapfish from Lipstick to Crayons. Ends 2/1.
4. Win Cowgirl Chocolates from Mommy Loves Giveaways. They make all sorts of hot & spicy chocolates that I have been wanting to try for well over a year! Ends 2/1.
5. Win a Slanket from a Mom's Balancing Act. (The word slanket makes me laugh.) Ends 2/1.
6. Win your choice of prints from Point Blank Art & Nerdlike. You may remember me telling you about Point Blank's prints in my Halloween post. Go enter this one now! There are only a few entries so far. Ends 2/1.
7. Win your choice of shapewear from DuMi & the Funky Monkey. Ends 2/1.
8. Win your choice of Flirty Aprons from Silver Savings. Ends 2/2.
9. Win a Shabby Apple dress from This Mama Rocks. Ends 2/2.
10. Win Hampton Sun Sunless Tanning Gel from Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends 2/2.
11. Win a prize package of beauty goodies worth almost $1000 from Krasey Beauty. Ends 2/3.
12. Win a Kodak Digital Frame from Mommy Goggles. Ends 2/3.
13. Win your choice of Flirty Aprons from a Little of This and a Little of That. Ends 2/3.
14. Win a Sodastream from Sweeps4Bloggers. Ends 2/3.
15. Win a set of articulated paper dolls (these are so cool!) from Illustrated Ink & Tattoo Tales. Ends 2/3.
16. Win a $50 gift certificate to Sanpfish from Rockin Mama. Ends 2/3.
17. Win a $25 gift certificate to Good Judy from Handmade Guru. ends 2/3.
18. Win Cowgirl Chocolates from Fab Find Foodie. Ends 2/3.
19. Win a CleanRest package (for folks with allergies!) from Emmys Boos ans Rawrs. Ends 2/4.
20. Win an Air-O-Swiss humidifier from Thanks, Mail Carrier. Ends 2/4.
21. Win a Parazul handbag from Theta Mom. Ends 2/4.
22. Win an Adi Bakshi scarf from Fashion Fling. Ends 2/4.
23. Win a $50 gift certificate to Omaha Steaks from the B Keeps Us Honest. Ends 2/4.
24. Win a sweater & shirt from Land's End & the B Keeps Us Honest. Ends 2/4.
25. Win your choice of Swanky Aprons from the Adventures of Paul & Natalie. Ends 2/4.
26. Win your choice of Flirty Aprons from Rockin Mama. Ends 2/4.
27. Win a $70 gift certificate to J. Fold from Born 2 Impress. Ends 2/4.
28. Win a $40 gift certificate to Skindecent and a jar of Manicure in a Minute from Handmade Guru. Ends 2/4.

Thanks for reading!
April

OPI - Done Out In Deco

I don't think much needs to be said for this color. It's a very beautiful lavender creme and is from OPI's South Beach Collection.
This is two coats. If you were in a hurry I think you could get away with one coat, which is always a plus.
-Ashley

China Glaze Solar Power with nail art

The base is China Glaze Solar Power, the dots were done with OPI Greenwich Village and the lines with OPI Alpine Snow. This is the first nail art I ever attempted and I think it turned out pretty well.


-Ashley

Masquerade Ball

Ashley and I were recently invited to a masquerade ball. We weren’t planning on attending and then inspiration struck. I had 2 very similar dresses with great colors. We each wore one and matched our nails to the 5 different colored stripes in each dress. It was fun!

From pinky to thumb on both hands in the picture below China Glaze for Audrey, China Glaze Entourage, OPI Blue My Mind, Finger Paints Yellow Bikini and China Glaze Recycle, all with Nail Tek Foundation II as a matte topcoat.

See they match the stripes!

Here are Ashley’s colors. From pinky to thumb on both hands Color Club Blue Light, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Jumpin' Jade, OPI Red, China Glaze Solar Power and China Glaze Recycle. Also with Nail Tek Foundation II.