Essie- Mint Candy Apple

I don't know why I never got around to buying this polish sooner, it seems to be a staple in every addicts stash..and if you're lucky its the first version! Obviously since I just bought this polish about a week ago its unfortunately not the 1st version which I would have loved to get but its still a great polish. Mint Candy Apple is a mint (duh) green/blue cream with no shimmer or sparkle what so ever. The application was only so-so which made me kind of disappointed.. it was a little too thick for my liking. 

I bought this polish at ULTA for $8 and I've come to ONLY buy my Essie polishes from ULTA because they still carry the old engraved better quality bottles which to me is a score...usually means better quality polish too.

Essie & Pure Ice black and teal crackle

For this manicure I used Essie- Licorice which is a very shiny black polish. I also layered it under Pure Ice Crackle- Strike a Pose. I got the Essie from Target or ULTA a while ago...I really can't remember but it was well worth it, its such a perfect black. The consistency of the black is amazing, just liquidly enough that is opaque in two coats. I got the Pure Ice Crackle at Walgreens about a month ago. In the pictures the crackle seems pretty blue but its really more of a teal color. Although i did a pretty thin coat of the crackle it didn't crack as much as I wanted it to..for $3.99 I think it was definitely worth the money but I would not have paid more for it.

How do you guys like it? Have you tried any of the other Pure Ice crackles? Also, would you guys like me to post about the upcoming collections that are coming out? I know I see a billion posts about them so it gets SOO repetitive that I don't feel like posting about it but if you want I totally will!!

4th of July Mani!

For this mani I used these polishes:
1. Essie- Blanc
2. OPI- Red Shatter
3. China Glaze- Frostbite
4. Konad special stamping polish White

So how do you guys like this mani? I was actually kind of dreading doing a 4th of july themed mani because i knew it would be very in depth and I stupidly just painted my nails in a full mani yesterday. Anyway in my opinion I think it came out pretty well, I mean its not the most creative mani ever but who cares, its fun! I used China Glaze- Frostbite on my thumb topped with Konad Special Stamping Polish in White and I used the stars on Konad plate m3. On the rest of my fingers I but a base coat of Essie- Blanc under OPI- Red Shatter. 

Also, I did my nails at my friends house and she did a 4th of July mani also! (she used all the same colors by the way except she used Wet N Wild- Red Red instead of the OPI- Red Shatter)

Hope ya'll like them, have a great 4th!!

Hiatus

Hey guys, so school is currently kicking my ass and I am going to need to go on hiatus for the last week of finals.  I'll be back up and running Wed. May 11th so don't worry..its not too long. I'm going to leave you guys with a quick post for today.


Here is Essie Merino Cool

Artificial Light

Sunlight

This polish is a taupe/purple mix leaning more purple. Yeah, I realize they look completely different but thats what's so cool about this polish, it always looks different.  This has been a lemming of mine for FOREVER and it definitely lived up to my expectations.  It was a little thick but a little polish thinner would have fixed that right away, I believe its also because I bought this polish after Essie was bought over by a different company and they just do not make the best quality polish anymore =(

How do you like it?!!

Brucci- Emmi and Olli go Bananas

So hey guys, I'm over the moon.  I'm not sure if any of you follow 'Also Known As...' but she is a great blogger who just had her 2,000 follower giveaway in which she had 6 different prizes.  Lucky me was one of the winners!!! I am so excited, I'm getting two of Claires mood changing nail polishes, an EOS chapstick and a Milani nail art kit. I will definitely let you know right when I get them and obviously I will swatch them.

For the manicure I am showing you today I used Brucci Emmi and Olli go Bananas and Essie Aruba Blue.

The reason I did this manicure is because this past weekend my school had our "Greek Weekend".  The colors of my sorority (Theta Phi Alpha) are Silver, Gold and Blue but most of the time we use yellow instead of gold.  On saturday we had our annual Greek Olympics where all the sororities and fraternities participate in field activities such as kickball, tug of war, water-balloon toss etc and so I did this mani to show my spirit =)

I did three coats of the Brucci yellow polish which was a little on the thick side so it took some finagling to get it looking good. Then I used the little curved side of a revlon cuticle pusher, dipped it in the Essie polish and then just made little dots, very very easy. I think the mani turned out pretty well, I got so many compliments on it!

Essie- Island Hopping!

I went a little picture happy today so bear with me haha. I've been doing so much posting today..way to be on top of things Lauren =) I have a nice green to show you next for St. Patty's Day but for this post I am showing you...

Island Hopping by Essie.

*All of these photos were taken inside under and artificial light source.

So...about this polish.  I was taking full inventory of every Essie polish that Walgreens had when I stumbled upon one that wasn't a "normal Essie".  By normal Essie I mean, a sheer light pink or pastel. Isn't it true? Because of this I just had to have it.  Although the color is pretty, I'm not sold.  The application was only so-so, a bit thick compared to the other experiences I've had with Essie polishes.  Not surprisingly this polish chipped in about 1 1/2 days of wearing it.  I used this polish over break so I wasn't really doing any hands on activities either, hmmm. (sleeping doesn't really require much of that lol). Well, for what it was worth I'd say it was a worthwhile purchase. The color was just brown enough so it's not a "pink"..more of a mauve haha. I love how I have to talk myself out of colors being pinks so I will like them more, such a bad habit of mine. ($8)

How do you guys like this color? Have any of you tried it and had trouble with the consistency like I did?

P.S- Don't you just wish you could have an in house nail shaper extraordinaire sometimes. My shape is getting just a little too unruly for me.  Maybe it's time for a real nail salon manicure hehe.

Ulta Haul!!

Hey guys, this is going to be a non-swatch post but I just so so excited and wanted to show you all of the new polishes I bought today from my local Ulta!

Here we go:

Left to Right: Bombshell by Ulta, Iris upon Stars by Piggy Polish, Aruba Blue by Essie, OPI Ink by OPI, One Less Lonely Glitter by Nicole (by OPI), Elle's Spell by Barielle and Decadence by Barielle

First off we have Bombshell by Ulta. It's a bright red jelly with holo glitter throughout. From what I have tested, it seems to lean pink. Clearance for $2.99

Second is Iris Upon Stars by Piggy Polish. It's a very vibrant purple with the SLIGHTEST bit of pink sparkle in it, almost too slight for the eye to see! It even comes with a toe ring =) $7.50

Third is Aruba Blue by Essie. It has a dark navy base with light blue shimmer.  The polish reminds me of a sapphire. You know what makes it even better? I just found out that this is the polish that Emily Blunt wears throughout most of the movie The Devil Wears Prada AND the polish that tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) wears most of the episodes of Glee! $8.00 

Fourth is OPI Ink by OPI. This polish is an AMAZING mix of blue and purple lacquer with pink micro-glitter throughout.  It is from the OPI Night Brights Collection. $8.50

Fifth is One Less Lonely Glitter by Nicole by OPI. This polish is a very dense purple glitter set in an almost sheer purple base. Covers pretty fully in 2 coats, although I would do three. $7.99

Sixth is Elle's Spell by Barielle.  Its a flaky red jelly polish which came out for Holiday 2010.  I CANNOT wait to try this polish, its been on my lemmings list since I've made one and i finally got it..on clearance! $2.99

Last but not least is Decadence by Barielle.  It is a teal with a shimmery finish from the Sugar Rush Collection. 

I hope you like my new polishes...posts on them soon to come!! ...Off to write a paper, byee!!

Love & Beauty

Why hello everyone! Once again I'm procrastinating, I have a test on monday but I'm not studying until tomorrow hahah. College sucks, all I do is study, sleep, study and study. wahh.

Well w/e, today I'm showing you Forever 21 Love & Beauty Mint.

This polish looks exactly how it does in this picture so no need for more than one.  It is a very thick blueish green cream polish (more blue than green).  In the bottle it looks pretty white but on the nail you can see exactly what color it actually is.  The application was PERFECT and soo surprising for a polish that was only $2.80.  It went on thick but not clumpy at all, covered in practically one coat  (although here is 2).  Because it was so thick cleanup was a bit of a pain but i think it turned out good! I would definitely buy Love & Beauty brand again!

By the way, I have the weirdest shaped pointer finger nail. No matter what shape i file it in to or how much I clean it up on the sides its abnormally round. What is up with that? Oh and another addition: my cuticles are not that red...I'm not sure why they look like that but they are normal color in real life hahah

EDIT: Thanks to my sorority sister Nicole she reminded me of a color that is very dupey to this one.  As I'm sure many of you have already, its Essie Mint Candy Apple.

* Picture courtesy of Amarixe blog

As you can tell mint candy apple is a little greener but it's still a pretty solid dupe. (It also depends on which formula you have of this polish, rumor has it that they changed the formula a while back). Does anybody have both of these polishes? Do you think they are dupey?   

Totally not as expected

I'm disappointed. The polish I used today was such a let down! Its First Blush by Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear.  It was SOOO not the color I expected it to be =(

Ok so I'm sure I should have expected this but the color was way too sheer.  This was three coats and you can still see the tips of my nails.  Aside from the color, the application was totally easy, but a little watery. The polish did not stay where I put it, making cleanup take super super long.  On a positive note the polish dried really quick (I even changed my pants right after I painted them and there was no smudging!).  Well, anyway the color is a middle ground between a white and a cream pink.  In my last post I had mentioned that I was on the prowl for a white/pink cream and although that is how I described this color...this is not what I had in mind.  I want something more like this...

*Picture courtesy of All Lacquered Up Blog

See how much different?? Good thing I had this Sally from a few years ago and didn't buy it expecting a specific color. Expect another post in the next few days, I can't stand this color already.

While the roommate is out to play

So my roommate is out having a great time (if you know what I mean) which leaves me all alone in my room.  Bored and all Sex and the City'ed out I bring you a quick little post to just touch on some key points that I keep forgetting to add in prior posts.

1. Although this may be silly to everybody, this is the longest my nails have ever been...EVER. I never used to let them grow past my fingertips and I had a horrible biting habit but I've ditched that addiction because who wants to ruin a b-e-a-utiful manicure? Not I haha, I finally realize why its such a big deal when one breaks a nail...it takes a great deal of effort to get them looking like that again, it's like a full time job!

2. I have asked for a konad kit for easter (yes, I do get easter gifts haha).  After reading Polish Hoarder Disorder (PHD)'s blog post "Konad. What? and How?", I realized konad Isn't:
                         1. As expensive as I thought
                         2. As hard as I thought
                         3. As messy as I thought
I'm REALLY looking forward to trying some things out...all day tomorrow is going to be spent picking out the plates/ colors that I want. Any recommendations?

3. I still have yet to get an organizational tool for my polishes...after looking on transdesign.com at the organizer I showed you in a previous post I realized that I cannot fathom spending the $30 on a little plastic thing (which I would now need 2 of because I have over 60 polishes), so I am still using an Ulta bag..but I'm heading to target over the weekend so I am determined to find something that works just as great as that one but less than half the price!

4. The polish that I showed you guys today (although initially put on yesterday afternoon) already majorly chipped. What a bitch.

5. I'm looking for a light cream/white color (kind of the same color as Ballet Slippers by Essie) but I cant seem to find a good one.  I have a pet peeve about ordering nail polish online...I need to physically see it before I go and spend money on it, meaning I can't buy Ballet Slippers because Walgreens does not carry Essie yet.


6. Yes, I said it. I'm not sure if you guys have heard but pretty soon..or so they say.. Walgreens (my old job) will start carrying Essie polish. HOW GREAT..I'm literally ecstatic. Essie is awesome.


7. I have gotten my whole suite into painting their nails every few days...just this afternoon four of them (out of 5) were painting their nails!

Okay, I bet there are still tons of things that I will remember I left out right when I hit publish but I can't think of them right now so my rambling is over.  Sorry no swatch pictures in this post, but I'll leave you with some of my favorite... Warhol!!

OH MY GOSH. How could I forget!?! The biggest thing of all.  I will be having a small giveaway (2-3 polishes) when I reach 100 followers so pleasee recommend me to your friends/ fellow bloggers =)

You're going to hate me.

Okay guys, I'm really sorry. I found a polish that I had at home which came from one of those makeup/nail polish big palates and I really really liked it so I decided to paint my nails with it today. The bad news is I don't know what brand it is or what the name of it is.

So I have a dupe if that helps, its Mink Muffs by Essie (Nordstrom Exclusive Collection)- I got this dupe after an hour of searching the internet because I don't own any polishes that look like this so sorry if it's not perfect, it's the closest thing I found.

This is What Mink Muffs looks like...

* Picture is courtesy of the Nailstah blog

Here is a picture of the polish I used today which I will call Milk Chocolate because that's what it really looks like!!

As you can tell, my polish is a lot richer than the Essie but like I said its the closest I could find.  Milk Chocolate went on very well, the formula was nice and creamy but my nails soaked up the polish so I had to get the brush full of lacquer to cover a whole nail without re-application or touch-ups.  This polish took three coats to look like the color in the bottle which for such an old polish (probably at least 10 yrs old by now) is pretty darn good...I'm so surprised that it has not dried out or become clumpy by now so cheers to whatever brand made this polish.  I instantly liked the color when I saw it, there is just something so chic about a neutral brown that really draws my attention.  I have a color all set for my next post but I need to dress up tomorrow ( I have weekly dress up days for my sorority) so I figured I'd go with the more muted polish now and repaint after tomorrow-you will see what I am talking about soon-I'm soo looking forward to it!! 

Goodnight all.