Monday, January 28, 2013

365 polish for a year challenge: day 223-225

Happy Monday everyone! Well it was cloudy and it snowed a bit today over here on the East coast, so I wanted to have some bright colors to share with you today! Well two of the polishes are bright and festive, and yes I've been doing a few Valentine's Day manicures too. I can't help it, love is just so cute! 
 
 
Brand:  Sally Hansen
Name: Heart of Stone
coats: 3
pigment: a light and flirty pink
price:$.99
 I've had this polish hanging around for a while. I picked up a ton of the Hard as Nails line a while back when they went on clearance and I had a coupon too. So I think they came to about $.99 a bottle.  This is a soft and gentle pink. I kinda want to call it a ballerina pink.
 
 To bring out the cuteness of the polish I used a BM plate with hearts and the word "love" flowing all over it. I used Sally Hansen Rapid Red. I think these colors worked so well together! The red really stood out and the pink was soft and adorable in the background!
 
Brand:  Sinful Colors
Name: Truth or Dare
coats:2
pigment: a deep wine red
price:$1.98
 
 Now in the bottle this color looked a bit on the deep raspberry side, I almost didn't pick it up. But then after putting it on me nails and seeing that it applies more to a red hue I was happy I picked it up. It has a deep and sultry wine color that is just so gorgeous. The formula was really creamy and glossy, just a beautiful red.
 
 
 To make a simple and loveable manicure I went  with a simple kiss stamp from another BM plate. For the lips I used Sinful Colors Dancing Nails. I almost added two kisses, or another stamp but I decided on simple kiss on each nail is enough ;D
 
Brand:  Pure Ice
Name: The Secret is Out!
coats:2
pigment: a simple and delightful green
price:$1.98
 Oh I love green. After all those two girlie colors I decided to go back to my favorite color, GREEN! This is a simple and beautiful shamrock green. This was one of the bottles I got in a haul last week (I just couldn't resist this color!) Went on with two coats and had a wonderful glossy finish.
 
 
 
Oh and one extra thing! I went back to A.C. Moore to grab the start hole puncher, and well I got it!
 
 Oh, and my fiancee (with his crazy eye-sight) found what looked to be the last heart shaped hole puncher too! I couldn't resist both of them, so I scooped them up!
See everyone tomorrow and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and LIKE my page on facebook !
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, January 25, 2013

mini haul time!

Oh I'm a rebel! I'm posting a haul of some of the polishes I was lucky enough to find this past week. The Pure Ice polishes were purchased at Wal-Mart. The mini hole punchers were a pleasant find at A.C. Moore today. Last but not least the nail polish sets were discovered at my local Bed Bath and Beyond mixed in with some left over Christmas items.

I don't know if I;m the only one, but I have a really hard time finding Pure Ice in stock in Massachusetts. The only store I have been successful to find it at is Wal-Mart. Even when I go there (closest one is 30 mins away, I know first world problems) every time I go they're almost always wiped out or I have to go hunting for a side panel or endcap. These were on a side panel (like I mentioned) near the shampoo. Actually the aisle has two different side panels hanging in the back of the aisle across from each other. 
It was super picked over, but I did manage to find some polishes that I didn't have, and that were just pretty.
From left to right:
Part Hard
Twist and Shot
The Secret Is Out!
Celestial
 

Now onto the goodies I found at A.C. Moore for $1.00 each! More mini hole punches!
I went on a trip to see if I could find and scrapbooking foil (nope,didn't find any) and was walking by an endcap and found these lovely mini hole punches hanging on a Valentine's Day display marked for $1.00 each! Now I didn't see a circle one, and now I'm just noticing I didn't pick the star one up either!  I will head there soon to grab that one up.

I got one that looks like a bow and arrow and a butterfly

Then one that could be a flower, star or snowflake and a dragonfly.


Now onto the best deal I accidentally stumbled upon today! I stopped into Bed Bath and Beyond to find some K-cups for my mom (whole family, obsessed with coffee) well, while in the store I saw a bunch of signs for clearance.
After picking up the K-cups up I decided to see if they had anything good. Well lucky me, I found a holiday nail polish jackpot! They had these 7pc sets by Simple Pleasures marked down from $9.99 to a beautiful $2.99! They had two different sets so I picked up both. They also had 5pc mini scented bottles of nail polish for $2.99 as well, but I passed on those.

Now I looked this company up and found out they release merchandise likes socks, bags and nail polish to retailers. They have a few polish sets out there (including a Halloween one that looks awesome!) and I guess Sears and Kohls sell their things as well.


Unfortunately the polishes only have holiday stickers on the front of the bottles and that's it. No polish names or numbers on them. They seem to be an ok thickness an pigment. I won't be able to tell until I try them on. I'll take a gamble on clearance polish, why not! I hope this company makes good nail polish. I might try a color on tomorrow.
I hope enjoyed my mini haul update! Enjoy the rest of the night!


365 polish for a year challenge: day 222

Good evening everyone! Hope everyone had a lovely day, and a nice relaxing and fun filled evening. Today's polish is from the Pure Ice polish I picked up a few days ago while on a trip up to New Hampshire to see my family. I found a few of the polishes hidden on a side panel over by the shampoo. This side panel was picked over a few times, but still had a few hidden gems on it! Shall we?


Brand:  Pure Ice
Name: Party Hard
coats:2
pigment: a deep blue
price:$1.98

Here we have a rich and creamy deep blue that borders (in the right lighting) purple or even black. I had to stair this color down at the store to make sure it was a deep blue/purple and not black. After seeing that it was a rich midnight blue I decided to scoop it up! So glad I did, so beautiful!

And what can you do with a lovely deep and rich polish? Put a beautiful and reflective metallic nail stamp over it! I took Mash pate 47 and used Sinful Colors Super Nova to make this stunning look. I always love how deep creamy colors work so well with a bright metallic polish! I might do a haul update after this to show everyone some of the goodies I've bought in the past week or so (been holding off, I've been so good!)  and I know it's been a while since I've shared any new polishes and products!
See everyone tomorrow and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and LIKE my page on facebook !

Thursday, January 24, 2013

365 polish for a year challenge: day 220 & 221



Brand:  Revlon
Name: Indigo Night
coats:2
pigment: a medium blue
price:$4.98

Here we have a very beautiful and creamy blue polish. This polish went on with only two coats with it's wonderful pigment. This is one of my favorite blue polishes that I own, so gorgeous! 


 
 To bring this polish to life a little without taking away from the color I decided to do a simple nail stamp design. It reminds me of the globes we use to have in school showing off the latitude and longitude around the world.

 
Brand:  Rimmel
Name: Precious Metal
coats:1
pigment: a simple silver
price:$1.50
 
This is a bit different for the design. I made my first nail video and well, here it is. I was wearing Precious Metal from the Rimmel Dry in 60 Seconds line. It is an amazing polish with full coverage with just one coat! Enjoy the video!

See everyone tomorrow and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and LIKE my page on facebook !
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

365 polish for a year challenge: day 213-219

Good morning! I was planning on updating yesterday, but it was just a truly lazy day off :D  Well I'm back this morning to show a few polishes I've tried out, a few foils, and a bit of nailart! Short intro today, let's get started!


Brand:  Rimmel
Name: Sunny Day
coats: 3
pigment: a bright yellow
price:$1.50
 Here we have a bright and eye catching yellow.  This was from the Rimmel dry in 60 Seconds collection. I thought the color in the bottle was awesome, but after 3 coats it didn't really give full coverage. Maybe I've trained him well, but even my fiancee said it was thin even after dry, and you could see a bit of the nail. 
I think that's one of the main reasons I try to avoid wearing yellow. You either have to put with under it, or you'll have to put a million coats on it. The only yellow I've enjoyed wearing  was the Sally Hansen Insta-dri polish, great pigment on that one!
 
Brand:  Loreal
Name: The Bigger The Better
coats: 4
pigment: a black and silver glitter
price:$4.49
 Now I finally got a round to using this polish. In the bottle it looks like there is a black base to the color, but when you put it on it comes out looking like Oreo crumbs (I kid you not, I wanted Oreos after seeing this polish) But I was happy and a bit aggravated that  this polish took so many coats to get a semi opaque look.
 
 I did this design after I saw this look watching Ihaveacupcake on youtube (don't get me started on how many youtube channels I watch for polish!) But I liked how the lines went across the polish and the hearts over it, kinda like drawing it on paper. I did add some heart rhinestones to give my not so stead hand painted hearts a real heart shape. Follow her, she has some super cute designs!
 
 
Brand:  Siful Colors
Name: Mauve
coats:3
pigment: a light and pleasant purple
price:$1.99
 I love this color. So deep, so cool and with that touch of gray! Just beautiful, serious and creamy finish. I love it when SC releases new colors. I think everyone knows that Revlon bought them, so hopefully they're releasing Revlon doups!
 
 I went with a simple nail stamp. I was trying out one of my many nail plates ( I think Gals?)  I'm still trying to figure out what polishes stamp more opaque without having to dish out the cash for stamping polish. I might have to give in soon. But as you can see my index finger is more opaque than my other ones. i think my stamping skills have improved from when I first started. I need to use my plates more ^_^
 
 
Brand:  Sinful Colors
Name: Starfish
coats:3
pigment: a light and cheerful pink
price:$1.99
 I was feeling pink, you heard me! Not that big of a pink fan, but I've been seeing a lot of Valentine's designs so I wanted to go for a sweet and simple pink!
 
 Now I didn't keep the look simple and pink! I went with a bit of a rocker mani with skulls, starts and bats. I used some nail stickers I found at Job Lots last year, I think they were like $1.00 for a package. Now these nail stickers came off better than the ones I used at Christmas, so I think it depends on the sticker maker.
 I just put nail polish remover on, and they would peel off (some did rip a little but still came off)
 
 
Brand:  One Dollar Nail Art Foil
Name:Bourbon Street
coats: n/a
pigment: a mixed texture of purple and silver
price:$1.00
 That's right kids, still working on my nail foils! I've enjoyed using them, and have a lot of people ask "how did you do that??" I love telling them how simple it is (after you learn a technique that works for you) I really wish I could find nail foils locally, I'd stock up! I heard a suggestion that it's just like the scrapbooking foil, but I've never really seen/searched for any before. Maybe next time I hit my craft store I take a look.
This foil is so beautiful, who am I kidding I think all of them are! A mix texture of smooth silver and a band-aid pattern purple (serious it reminds me of a band-aid!) I got this pattern in red and in green I think, but I was feeling the purple. I'm kinda sad looking at my order that I'm lack in the purple and even pink department...oh well. There is always next order!
 
Brand:  One Dollar Nail Art Foil
Name:Big Top
coats: n/a
pigment: a silver color with multi-colored bubbles
price:$1.00
 
 This foil is called big top, and well I understand why. It reminds me of the circus with the huge multi-colored tents. I have noticed that I have a very hard time capturing the polish with my camera. I have to turn the flash off because it reflects too much! But this is with low light and no flash, but I think the photo does the foil.

A few thoughts now. I was thinking of starting a vlog too for polish. Just a few reviews, maybe even a few tutorials as well. Would you watch it? I've never done any videos or editing so it might be a rough start. But I'd love to reach more people in the polish community. So ye or ne?
Also I don't know if I posted this on here, but I am on Instagram. This is my personal account on there so it will be a mix of cool things I see, wine and beers I've drank, hanging with friends, and of course polish!  You can find me as Brie1284. I post a lot of photos on there that i don't post on FB or Twitter.
See everyone tomorrow and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and LIKE my page on facebook !
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

365 polish for a year challenge: day 211 & 212

Ok, I think I might have found a new line of polish that I really like. It goes on with only two coats, a great choice of colors and seriously can't beat the price! I'm talking about Rimmel London 60 Seconds polish line that I found earlier this week. I have only tried (now) three colors from this line and I am very impressed with the pigment, brush and over all drying texture of this polish.
 Also a little side note. My nails have grown super long! Well they were, I filed and shaped them down today. I think they got to be strong because I kept using strengthening polish and then a base coat. I was so happy that it's been weeks since I've broken a nail! Now they're shorter and a bit squared off (how I like them!) and they look so healthy!





Brand:  Rimmel
Name:Blue Eyed Girl
coats: 2
pigment: a deep royal blue
price:$1.50
  Now the brushes for this polish is a bit of a small fat brush. I hope this makes sense to everyone. It is wide but not as thick as some wider brushes are. I feel like I have more control and a big area of coverage with this brush. The polish went on with two coats looks so beautiful and glossy and quick drying, can't complain about that last part ;D
The color does dry a bit darker than the photo shows. This is what it looks like with flash. Bye bye long nails!
 
Brand:  Rimmel
Name: Sage All The Rage
coats: 2
pigment: a deep and gray toned green
price:$1.50
 
 Hello shorter nails! This is a beautiful, gloomy and gray toned green.  This color is so beautiful and comes off mature and deep at the same time. This polish also went one with only two coats and is just beautiful.
 
I tried doing a black nail stamp and well, the black isn't that opaque. I have yet to find a non Konad polish that will have a nice coverage with nail stamping. I have not tried Konad due to the price, but I might break down soon and pick up a black and white if I can't find a drug store brand with at lease decent cover
See everyone tomorrow and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and LIKE my page on facebook !
age.
 
 
 
 

Monday, January 14, 2013

365 polish for a year challenge: day 210

I made a very need trip to Wal-Mart today to pick up some cleaning supplies for our place. While there I stumbled upon the Rimmel 60 Seconds side panel that was hanging up, I had to check out these colors! Now I haven't had that much of a run in with Rimmel polishes. But looking at the price ($1.50!) and the choices of colors...well I couldn't resist! This color caught my eye right away so I scooped it up and splashed it on my nails!
 
 
Brand:  Rimmel
Name: Mintilicous
coats: 2
pigment: a smooth robins egg blue
price:$1.50
 
  This color went on with two coats. Great pigment and is a quick drying polish!
 
 I decided to try the plastic bag manicure. So I got a paper plate and a plastic bag.
 
 I scrunched the end of the bag and put polish down on the plate. I then dipped my scrunched bag into the polish, tested it on the plate, and then hit my nails with it.
 I used a very beautiful color by Loreal. A mix between a silver and gold metallic color called Valiant. I almost went with a simple metallic gold but this color seemed a little more out of the box, so I went with it. It does get a little messy around the edges so I suggest having Q-tips handy!
 
 
 And tada! Here is my finished plastic bag manicure. It reminds me of gold leafing effect people use for crafts. I like how it looks unique and a bit aged. Every nail has a unique and one of a kind look to it, and this manicure didn't take that long to do. Not to mention I had everything I needed in my house already to do this look. I hope you try it too!
See everyone tomorrow and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and LIKE my page on facebook !
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, January 13, 2013

365 polish for a year challenge: day 206-209

Hello everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend, I know I did. My birthday was on Saturday, and well I kinda celebrated it the whole weekend with friends, drinks, cake and a lot of food!  Back on track now, I have been enjoying my nail foils very much! I hope everyone doesn't mind me doing most of my updates with the foils. Also two of my looks have to do with New England sports in this update. One of them is an entry in a contest and one was for the Patriots game (yay they won)


 
 
Brand:  Loreal
Name:  Blue Marine
coats: 2
pigment: a glitter teal with purple reflex
price:$2.00
 With this foil I used a beautiful multi-colored teal glitter polish to help blend any missed spots. I am just beyond in love with this technique! I've had so many people ask me about it, what it is and how to do it. It's so simple, and comes out so unique. My only problem is that the manicure doesn't last that long.
 
Brand: Sinful Colors
Name:   Midnight Blue
coats: 3
pigment: a metallic cobalt blue
price:$1.99
Here I used a simple cobalt blue from Sinful Colors as a base polish. This was my manicure for the Patriots game today. I wanted to try and use my foils, but as accents to the manicure.  This polish went on very smoothly, and had a very beautiful semi-metallic reflection.
 
 I used a dotting tool and the nail foil glue to cover the areas I wanted. I did a french manicure with red foil, and with silver foil I wrote "PATS" on my nails (NE on my thumb for New England) I had a blast using the foils this way!
 
 
 
Brand:  Sally Hansen
Name:  Black Out
coats: 2
pigment: a simple and rick black
price:$2.49
 This is the manicure I entered in a contest for Pure Ice. I used a few base colors, but I will review the black (I've done reviews on all the other colors used as base colors) This color went on so smoothly, and had full coverage in 2 coats. Here I used my skills to paint the Boston sports teams to represent where I live! Now after doing this manicure I ordered a new 15pc set of nail art brushes so I can do a better job on details in the future.
See everyone tomorrow and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and LIKE my page on facebook !
 
 

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

365 polish for a year challenge: day 205

Hello everyone! I'm finally able to have enough time in the day to do a nail design and update the same day! Oh it feels so good to do this again! I have another design that has one of the nail foils that I got off of www.dollarnailart.com . I like the technique used with a like color polish under to foil, to cover up any areas the foil didn't cover. Today I was itching to try one of the silvers I picked up. So I hit my nail with a silver polish, waited for it to dry, and then applied the nail glue. I wanted a minute or so, then applied the foil. I must say my first few times I was impatient for the glue to dry longer, and really messed up the foils. The key is waiting for the glue to dry and get tacky! Onto the foil!


Brand:  Sally Hansen
Name:  Gone Grey
coats:1
pigment: a metallic deep silver
price:$2.49
 
Now I didn't take a photo of the polish underneath because it was a thin (and uneven I might add) coat of polish, just to create a base color just in case I didn't get full coverage. 
 
 
 These photos reflect the foils so beautifully! It kinda reminds me of a tv screen when the cable goes out, except a little nicer to look at. The key to protecting the foil after application is a generous top coat. Not shiny or matte, just a simple top coat. You want to gently apply to polish, kinda dab it on. The foil reacts to the polish, but dries flat. Over all, after a few times trying this nail technique out I really like it! It creates such a unique look and is a really great price! This look would be awesome for a night on the town, a special event or even just wanting to try something different and eye catching!
Bah, one of the best nail accessory purchases I have made! I can't wait to try more out! I hope you try them out too!
See everyone tomorrow and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and LIKE my page on facebook !
 
 

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

365 polish for a year challenge: day 199-204

 Good evening everyone! As promised here is my other 6 day update! I finally got to try nail foils (successfully for the first time!) and I am just in love with how they look! Well short intro, onto the polish!
 
 
 
 
Brand:  Funky Fingers
Name:  Pink Pixie
coats: 2
pigment: a metallic pink with yellow shimmer
price: 3/$5.00
 
 This plays tricks on my eyes. It looks pink in the bottle, but in some light it looks brownish-peachy. An odd color, but in sunlight it looks pink!

 
Brand: Essence
Name:  Break Through
coats: 3
pigment: a simple grape purple
price:$.99
 This color is so beautiful! It reminds me of grapes, and makes me kinda hungry for them! The polish was a bit on the thicker side, but I think it's because I've had it for about a year or so.
 
 
Brand: Revlon
Name:  Tangerine
coats: 3
pigment: a glitter orange
price:$1.49 (clearance)
 Look at me, I'm on a fruit color kick! This polish I picked up about a month ago when CVS had their big clearance sales. Lucky me at the CVS closest to me tends to be on the lazy side and never puts up clearance tags! I'm not a big orange fan, but this color was really cute. And the glitter on it was really eye catching.
 
 
Brand:Essence
Name:  Date In The Moonlight
coats: 3
pigment: a deep blue with tiny glitter
price:$1.99
This color was a bit underwhelming to me. In the bottle you can see glitter shimmering in it. In normal lighting it just doesn't stick out. I figure in a better lit area or in the sunlight it looks gorgeous.  
 
 
Brand:Essence
Name:  Where Is The Party?
coats: 3
pigment:a multi colored polish reflecting purple and green
price:$.99
 This color is awesome. It's like you get two colors in one bottle (depending on your angle) It reflects purple, green and at times a gray color. This is such a beautiful and flirty color.
 
 
Brand:Dollarnailart.com
Name:  Azure Light
coats: 0 (nail foil)
pigment: a blue stripped nail foil
price:$1.00 for 5ft
 
 Here is the technique I've been wanting to try, but have been putting off for some time. I finally put an order in at dollarnailart.com and bought about 37 different nail foils. I got a gift card for Christmas so most of it was covered. The site has a bunch of nail art accessories. The only down side is that your order must be over $25, and the shipping is about $7.00 in the US. Having the gift card really took strain off my wallet. I did put a layer of blue polish underneath it to cover up any mistakes. It looks so awesome, I'm glad i captured to detail in it!
See everyone tomorrow and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and LIKE my page on facebook !