NOTD: Orly- Chantilly Peach

Grrr, sheers.
One of my big problems with sheers (Especially sheers in the nude range) is that I constantly paint over my cuticles without noticing. But, I'm not sure what happened here... I must have been blind. Aside from that, even though this color isn't my thing I really like it. Application was fine, brush is good, and I love the Orly bottle handle. This is three coats.

NOTD: SH- Plum Power

I love plums.
My friend Casey grew up in this cute little house about a block away from me, with plum trees lining the backyard. Every single year I would try to pick one, but they'd either be unripe or too ripe. It was quite frustrating.

Anyway, this polish is a nice, plum shimmer... plus pink. This isn't a true plum to me, in my opinion plum is dark, and never shimmery. This has subtle blue and pink shimmer as well, you can really see it more in the picture than IRL. Application was good, no major problems. Brush is the Xtreme Wears brush, so it wasn't amazing but I didn't mind it.

NOTD: Orly Goth

I forgot about this tiny little baby bottle I have of Orly Goth.
It's so cute!
I picked it up at my local beauty store awhile ago in the clearance section. Very fun.
I'm off to the amusement park today- I love roller coasters!
I have a bunch of swatch pics I'll post when I get back.
See you then!

NOTD: $OPI- Le Beau

I'm finally getting around to uploading all my old NOTDs and whatnot. I'm taking a sick today today, so hopefully I'll have mostly everything up by this evening. Today, I'm bringing you $OPI Le Beau, a rather old but amazing color from one of the Sephora by OPI collections.



I'd say this color is just a simple, classy, classic red. Due to the light in the picture it looks more red-toned than it is, it's actually a bit bluer in real life. Application was alright, I got a few bubbles but I'm blaming that on my seche- nail polish doesn't do well in airplanes. I love the $OPI brushes, though it took me awhile to get the hang of them.  I rarely like reds, but I'm actually quite a fan of this one. It's a very classic shade, but doesn't look outdated or old. Overall, a great polish :)

NOTD: $OPI - Blue Grotto

[Please ignore the fact that I'm holding a plastic rhino :P]

Unfortunately, this is my favorite color I own.
I say unfortunately because, although this is quite possibly the most gorgeous blue I've ever seen in my entire freaking life, it's also the most PITA chiptastic blue I own. I'd describe Blue Grotto as a dark purple-toned royal blue. It's amazingly pretty, but it took two coats just to smooth out the streaky, bubbled mess this left me. The bubbles may have been my fault (I'm a polish shaker), but the streaks were bad enough as it is.

I got one more $OPI polish, so I'm hoping that one will be better.

By golly, I'd say that's a duochrome! [NOTD]

My goodness, I've found my new favorite polish.



The wonderful duo-ness isn't very strong here. So, you're probably thinking.. pshh, that's not a duochrome!
Check out the bottle of this wonderful stuff.



So what is this beautiful quad-chrome?
It's Savina Black Pearl.
I reviewed the Savina brand a few hours ago, then decided to use Black Pearl as a full mani for today.
I'm awed by this polish. This is two thin coats with one coat of seche vite. The formula was amazing, absolutely no issues with this one. Overall, one of my favorite polishes ever.

NOTD: Sinful- Fiji & Let's Talk

I wish I did bolder stuff with my nails. I rarely use my konad or do any variations- I'm a one color per mani type of girl. But today I decided to change it up and alternate two of my untried colors- Fiji, a somewhat dusty lavender shimmer, and Let's Talk, a blue-based purple glowmonster that basically screams "GORGEOUS" at every possible moment.

I love these colors.
I've been told purple looks good on me due to my tan skin and brown hair/eyes. I don't know about that, but I do love purple. This is why:



My index finger looks all funky and dry in this pic, but it (amazingly) was the most color accurate. However, this is hardly color accurate at all. Let's Talk is on my middle finger, with Fiji on either side. Purples are the swatcher's nightmare- this picture shows both colors as very blue, while in reality they are both EXTREMELY purple. This is two coats Let's Talk, and three coats Fiji (it's quite sheer).

Hooray for untrieds!

NOTD: Sinful- Tapping Nails

It's about time I posted again!
Today, I bring you an amazing color from my new (and old) obsession. I believe Sinful is what first got me into nail polish- the range of colors and and the quality for such a low price makes me feel pretty special. I'd say I have about 25-30 Sinful polishes.  But right now, the main reason I'm obsessed with SInful is because they introduced me to an orange I can like AND wear.

I'll admit, I'm not an orange gal. I never have been. In fact, my mom has a home video of me begging to change my halloween costume from a pumpkin to a fairy- not because dressing up as a pumpkin at age five was a tad odd, but because the costume was orange. Yuck.

But, without further ado, may I present you...



Tapping Nails!
This isn't exactly color accurate. The real  color is a tad darker and redder, but does have the amazing lit-from-within glowiness I tried to capture in this picture. This is two coats with one coat SV on top (I need to get a basecoat- any recs?) If you can believe it, this is pre-cleanup. I've really been trying to improve my application, and I think it's working! I know you guys inwardly groan everytime I post swatch pics due to my mess that I call cuticles, but I'm working on it!

Have a nice day guys :)

NOTD: Milani Hi-Tech

Or, to be specific, NOAFDA.
Nails of a few days ago :)

Anyway, I love holos. I love them so much.
On the day I wore this I went to Monterey, and this was sooo pretty with all the sun and blue skies. I twas a great trip :)

Anyway, I believe this picture is just two coats with one coat SV. I was so happy that SV didn't dull this- I thought it would, but as it dried the holo came back quite nicely :) The application was smooth and very nice, though I did find the brush to be a little long and awkward, but maybe that's just me. I also have Cyberspace and Hi-Res (Both untried), so I'm excited to try those out!

NOTD: Orly Enchanted Forest

Ignore that huge dent on my middle finger... Bria and wet polish in the morning don't mix very well. Honestly though, I've got to find a better time to do my manicures, as I'm sick of them turning out like this :P But.. I love this color! I originally got it because it reminded me of my summer camp, both because of the name and color. It's my first (and only) Orly polish, but I'm happy to say that I'm going to get a lot more. I love the Orly grip cap, and while there's nothing special about the brush, it works very well. The formula was very smooth, and gave me a perfectly opaque mani in two thin coats. This picture is no b/c (I need to find a good one still, any recs?), two coats EF, one coat SV. Seriously... I love Orly.

But.. is it supposed to be Orly (Pronounced as one word) or O-RLY (Oh really). This is the question.
Do you have the answer?

NOTD: ChG Dorothy Who?

-insert frazzle complaints-

Seriously, I don't know what is happening with my cuticles right now.
And.. I chopped off my nails. Do you like the nubbins?

Anyway, I <3 DW. The application was very nice, though I got a little bit of drag on my second coat. I believe this swatch is only two coats, but I may have added a thin third one, I'm not sure. As you can see, DW is a great bright blue with dense blue and silver mircoglitter. It's very similar to OPI Absolutely Alice, except AA has gold glitter instead of silver, and is quite a bit denser. One thing I did not like about it, however, is that my usual one coat of SV didn't smooth it out for me- I insist on smooth nails, and for some reason DW didn't want to comply. Roughness forgotten though, it's a very nice polish :)

NOTD: ChG Happy-Go-Lucky

WHY CAN I NOT FIND A YELLOW FOR MY SKIN TONE?


That said, I love Happy-Go-Lucky. I love the color, I don't mind the formula.
But it looks awful on me.
For some reason, this applied horribly. But I'm almost positive it was my non-existent application skills, not the polish.

Application and skintone nastiness up ahead >>



All together, a great polish. Adorable with some black & white polka dots, as I added on to this mani after I took this picture. This pic is no b/c, two coats Happy-Go-Lucky, and one coat SV.

NOTD: OPI Ink Suede

Oh my sweet polish.
I love this polish.

Ok, so I'm not a big OPI person.
Just kidding, I love them.. just can't afford them.
I have two OPI nail polishes.
One, the great color but PITA.. Gargantuan Green Grape.
GGG gave me horrible expectations for OPI.

But then my VNS order came.. and I decided I needed to give Ink Suede a try.
Probably the best decision I've ever made.
Because my camera is currently unavailable (read below for details), I'm going to be one of those cool ultra-detailed people.
(ps- I have compulsive line break and new paragraph disorder.. bear with me. [bare? baer?])

OPI Ink Suede is part of their (not new at all) Suede collection. I believe these were released with the matte polishes. Ink Suede is the suede version of the color Ink, but it looks nothing like it. IS is an amazing dark indigo color, with tiny microglitter that dries matte, giving it the suede finish. It seems like it should dry gritty, but it's perfectly smooth. It is very nicely pigmented, mine was perfectly applied in two coats. It's completely unique- I haven't seen anything like it. One downside though, is that it chips very easily and you can't apply a topcoat while keeping a suede finish.  A tip I picked up from the MUA board is to apply two coats IS, one coat topcoat, then one more coat IS. I feel like this would be too many layers though, so I'll just deal with the chipping.

I highly recommend this polish!
So go buy it.
Now.

<3