Time to Bling In the New Year!

Alright ladies...I attempted my first glitter gradient effect tonight.  I've been seeing so many talented artwork with the nail polishes and wanted to try something new with my glitters.  To start off, I just bought a Sally Hansen product called "Hard As Nails, Hard As Wrap: Powerful Acrylic Gel".  I used 2 coats of it as a base coat prior to the polish.  I let it dry for at least 10 minutes.  Having that under my polish seriously worked wonders on the how smooth & solid the polish went on.  The first 2 coats was one of the Nicole by OPI Kardashian Kolors "Khloe Had A Little Lam-Lam".  It's a gorgeous blue-green.  After letting that dry, I sponged on "Kendall On The Katwalk"....a clear base of the finest blue & green micro glitter & pieces of slightly larger round purple glitter in a gradient effect halfway up the nail.  Lastly, I sponged the tips with some OPI "Crown Me Already" to get some of the big hexagon silver pieces for a little extra New Year's glitzy pazazz! I definitely need to work on my photography & lighting (perhaps use a camera other than my iPhone).  But I hope y'all enjoy my New Year's gradient glam :)

"Khloe Had A Little Lam-Lam" NOPI

"Kendall On The Katwalk" NOPI

"Crown Me Already" OPI

Kardashian Kolor Kollection

Went to Wal-Mart yesterday and bought 4 of the new 14 Kardashian Holiday Colors from Nicōle by OPI.  I was so excited to find some of my favorite colors from the collection there, with the exception of really lemming for the glitter one called "Rainbow In The S-kylie".  That one was not at the store sadly :(  But I got 5 new polishes total yesterday which was the highlight of my day! Here they are!!!!

Left To Right:

"Kim-pletely In Love"  NOPI

"Kendall On The Katwalk" NOPI

"My Empire...My Rules" NOPI

"Khloe Had A Little Lam-Lam" NOPI

"Bahama Mama" Essie

Your Lacquer Is My Drug!

Just like an addict needs a fix...I got such a high tonight buying new bottles of polish from ULTA!!!!!  Went in to see what they had & just raided their clearance tower.  Hundreds of bottles on sale for $3...then when I finally got to the checkout counter, my cashier girl gave me an additional 20% off with my Ulta Club Card. I got 5 new colors for $20! Being my typical self though, now I just want MORE! ;)  Let me know what you think of these new colors...cant wait to try them out!!

Left to Right:
China Glaze "Señorita Bonita" - a gorgeous vibrant purple with almost gold iridescent flecks
China Glaze "White Cap" - (similar to Snow Globe) sheer milky base with gold shimmer
China Glaze "Blue Year's Eve" - rich shimmery blue
China Glaze" Marry A Millionaire" - clear base with small round purple glitter & green/blue flecks
OPI "Speak For Your-Elf!" - the most beautiful ruby-red filled with red micro glitter

Oh Yes! I Juggle...Men!

This is just going to crack me up...the contradiction of the 2 polishes for this manicure (the names of them I mean).  For the base coat, I used an Essie color called "Main Squeeze"; and for a top coat layer of shimmer, I used an OPI iridescent micro glitter shimmer called "I Juggle...Men".  The Essie color is a very light grey with a purple/pink iridescent sheen to it. Because both polishes are very sheer, I used 3 coats of the Essie & 1 coat of the OPI.  It is a very subtle manicure but still sexy and fun.

"I Juggle...Men" by OPI

It's Never Too Late To Be Merry...

Sure, sure...Christmas just ended this Sunday. But people still have their trees up & Christmas lights out on their houses.  A few might still be listening to holiday tunes and enjoying their Christmas vacation.  And it is never too late to rock a very merry holiday glam manicure.  Here I used 2 different colors: a vibrant frosty red base layered by a very light micro glitter (almost a clear-based shimmer) to layer on top of the red.  The shimmery glitter coat changes the tone of the red slightly because of the blue tones in the glitter pieces.  I just did my fingers & toes with this combo and have received endless amounts of compliments on how festive it is.  So go ahead & stay merry with this mani duo!

"An Affair In Red Square" by O.P.I.

"No-el If I Know" SEPHORA by O.P.I.

On Pointe With My "Ballet Slippers"

We all love our loud, bold, wild, glittery colors that make our fingertips pop...but there is also something gorgeous about a simple pink nude like this lacquer by ESSIE.  It's my go-to color to alternate with in between all my 'in-your-face' kinda colors :) It is very classy, just like the beautiful art of dancing ballet.  I own many Essie nail polishes, but this one really won me over.  It will make you feel like your fingers are dancing Swan Lake!!!

                        "Ballet Slippers" by Essie

Why don't you just "Crown Me Already"!

Every girl needs a little glitter in her life...and this is just the little bottle of glitter you need.  It's more like a bottled disco ball, it's so complex and silver.  You can layer it over another color or just do 2 coats of the shimmery sequiny glitter.  This is an OPI 'color'  from this year's 2011 Miss Universe collection called "Crown Me Already".  It contains large & small pieces of glitter of different shapes in a clear base.  It definitely screams Queen of the Universe...

                                    "Crown Me Already" - OPI, Miss Universe Collection

It's so "Chinchilly" out!

So this is one of my favorite colors....I also have a very similar color from OPI called "You Don't Know Jacques".  Both are just fabulous.  I have usually been just an OPI kind of girl because if I'm going to spend any money on nail polish, then I'm going to go ahead and invest my money in polish that is worth every penny.  I started using ESSIE this summer and have come to love it.  It is very good quality polish, lasts a while, is slightly cheaper than OPI, and is sold in stores (i.e. Wal-Mart).  I always use a base coat. I really like Orly's rubber bonder base coat.  Then, depending on the sheerness of the polish, I do 2-3 coats of the color.  Lastly, I always definitely use a high-shine top coat.  I really like the addition of OPI Chip Skip.  Definitely check out Essie's line of polishes...and this one's a keeper for any season!

                                                                "Chinchilly" by Essie