Haul: December!

Hello!

Another year has nearly come to a close. I spent some time today reading through the last two years' worth of haul posts, and I'm glad to have them. As I read them, I remembered the days around those posts and they're perfect little snippets of the way every day life was at that point in time.

This year has seen a lot of change for us here outside of the blog, and, sadly, my posting has been neglected as a result. We made the big move from Maryland to Minnesota, I changed jobs, my husband went through a crazy five-month long 'ordeal' over whether or not he would get the job he's waited three years for (We basically put everything on hold until we new the answer, so we are very happy to report that he has accepted the position and finally started!), celebrated our one year anniversary, said goodbye to one of the best dogs anyone could ask for, and have just started the process of building our new home. It's been a roller coaster of a year. I am excited for 2015, and I hope that in the next year I will be able to pick back up to more frequent postings.

For now, here is December's haul!

First, Rainbow Honey's Mystery Bag for December included larger mini polishes, lotion, solid perfume, and a jumbo cuticle balm (not pictured because I gifted for Christmas).

RH's mini Mystery Bag for December.

Second, I received the holiday collaboration gift pack from Serum No. 5, Polished by KPT, and Lacquer Lust as a Christmas gift. This included three polishes, one from each brand represented that showcased the type of polish they are typically known for (For example, Polished by KPT is known for thermal polishes, which is the type of polish in this set.) and another product from each brand. Polished by KPT made a lavender salt soak, cuticle balm from Lacquer Lust, and a lip serum from Serum No. 5.

2014 Holiday Collaboration Set.

I was so excited about these polishes! They are so pretty! Here is a better shot of the three polishes, Serum No. 5 New You, Lacquer Lust A Toast to the Good Life, and Polished by KPT Live the Night:

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Finally, I came across Sally Hansen High n' Dry in a clearance bin at Shopko. This is from the Insta-Dri line, which I've read is good for stamping, so we'll see if this one is as well.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

That's all for now!

More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Two Weeks of Jamberry Christmas!

Hello! Merry Christmas! I hope you are enjoying the holidays!

I have two different looks to share with you today that I did while wearing some Jamberry nail wraps as accent nails.

The first, is this peppermint candy look I wore last week:

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I used Zoya Elisa and Orly Au Champagne here over my base coat of Duri Rejuvacote plus Sinful Colors Nail Hardener. I stamped the candies with Zoya Elisa and Bundle Monster plate BM-213. The candy cane stripes are nail wraps from Jamberry. I was a little sad to see that the red on the wrap was much more orange-toned than my polish, which made this one my least favorite of the two designs.

The second, is this festive little number I'm currently wearing:

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

This mani features OPI The Color of Minnie over my basecoats, which is a punchier, brighter, and more orange red than Zoya Elisa. While it still doesn't match the red on the nail wrap perfectly, the colors do play nicer together. After that was topcoated and dry, I used one dabbed on coat of KBShimmer Kringle All the Way to add some sparkles to my middle finger and double-topcoated it smooth.

I hope your holiday is bright and cheery!

More soon I hope. ^_^

NOTW: Classy Christmas Skittle

Hello!

I'm excited to share these nails with you today! I absolutely love the burnished, rich colors.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I started with a base coat of Duri Rejuvacote and then painted two coats of OPI Sleigh Ride for Two, the burgundy shimmer, and Zoya Hunter, the deep green creme. The gold glitter is Sinful Colors All About You, and the silver hex glitter is Essie Set In Stones. I stamped the various gold snowflakes with Orly Luxe from Bundle Monster plates, BM-323 and BM-H01, and then I added individual glitters picked out of Set in Stones. Two coats of topcoat followed that.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Nicely festive, yet not over the top.

More soon! ^_^

Haul: December!

Hello!

The last haul post for 2013! And it's a small one... after last month, there wasn't a whole lot that piqued my interest! My bank account is happy about this....

First purchase came during Black Friday sales. This is the one Cirque polish I wanted, Vaudeville.

The rest came from a quick trip to Ulta. This is OPI This Gown Needs a Crown and Sleigh Ride for Two.

And a few eye shadow palettes from Essence.

I really hope these eye shadow palettes are not discontinued because they are my favorite! They're nicely designed, compact, and sturdy, and I love how all the colors work so well together! Ah well, if they disappear, I now have two backups of the neutral one!

The OPIs were on sale two for fifteen, the eye shadow palettes were on clearance for a few dollars each, I had a coupon for five dollars off a purchase of ten or more, plus expiring rewards points, so my entire purchase came to $8.88!!! Woot!

Three polishes is not bad right? ... Okay, so I did purchase two more polishes from Llarowe just a few days ago during their 12 Days of Christmas sale, but they'll be featured in January's post since they haven't shipped yet!

My 2013 was awesome! It was a big year for us: we got married, sold our house for a profit, purchased land in Minnesota, and are making plans to build our dream house. Not to mention, some epic hauls! Cheers to an even better 2014!

More soon! ^_^

Stash Swatch Initiative: KBShimmer Kringle all the Way

Hello and Merry Christmas!

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I saved a very Christmas-y polish just for today. This is KBShimmer Kringle All the Way.

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Kringle all the Way is a fabulous glitter topper in a clear base. I see four sizes of circle glitter in holographic green, red, gold, and silver plus holo dust! It's very shiny and gorgeous!

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Swatches today are a base coat of Seche Clear, and two dabbed coats plus NYC In a New York Minute and Gelous over my base colors of Zoya Sooki, Pure Ice Wild Thing, and Zoya Trixie. The glitter coverage is rather sparse if you try to brush this on. I found it best to capture a bunch of glitter on the brush and dab it on to place the glitters where I wanted them.

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way, matte. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I purchased this bottle from KBShimmer's website. They offered Kringle All the Way as part of this year's holiday collection. It was their charity polish -- they donated a part of the proceeds from each bottle sold to Toys for Tots. According to their Facebook page, they raised nearly $3000 for the charity!!! Amazing! This one is still available for a few more days, but the charity part is over. If you're after this one, get it now! They announced recently on their Facebook page that this was going into retirement and may or may not return next year.

KBShimmer Kringle All the Way. Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

Happy Holidays! Enjoy the good times, family, and feasts! More soon! ^_^

NOTW: Santa and Blitzen!

Hello!

I am so excited to show you my first holiday mani this year!

Merry Christmas!

After my usual base coat combination of Duri Rejuvacote and Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, I started with two coats of Zoya Elisa on all my fingers except the middle and ring finger of my left hand, which got two nice coats of Zoya Flynn. Once that was good and dry, I started on the nail art.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

For my left hand, I was inspired by this pin on Pinterest. The santa face was really easy to do. I placed a piece of scotch tape across my nail and used one coat of Zoya Elisa to fill in the hat, removing the tape immediately. Then, I used a dotting tool dipped in Milani White On the Spot for the hat's details. I used a small nail art brush and the same polish for his beard. I love how the brush strokes turned out to look like hair! A smaller dotting tool and Cult Nails Nevermore for eyes, Zoya Sooki for his nose. How cute!?

Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

The reindeer is another story. I wanted to use the image from Bundle Monster plate BM-H01, but as with all my attempts to stamp a large expanse of polish, I failed repeatedly. Once I got most of the image transferred, I gave up and used a small nail art brush to fill him in. I used Zoya Louise for his face and ears, and Zoya Cheryl for the antlers. Zoya Robyn and Cult Nails Nevermore rounded out the eyes. This took forever, and once I was done I was so worried I'd ruin him before he dried! Freehand is just not my thing!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

My right hand was stamped using Konad special polish in White and Bundle Monster plates: BM-H03, BM-SE1, BM-302, and BM-H01.

Everything got a generous coat, or two in some cases, of NYC In a New York Minute.

I am SO happy with how this turned out! It's worn like iron, and nine days later, still looks great!

More soon! ^_^

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

I have another holiday look to show you today. This was inspired by Joanne of Northern Nails' post, here.

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

I used a base coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener, then three coats of Orly Star Spangled on all fingers but my ring finger, which got three coats of China Glaze Glittering Garland. I topped everything off with Seche Vite. Once it was good and dry, I applied the rhinestones and sealed it all with a few coats of NYC's In a New York Minute.

Outdoors, sunlight, no flash.

This was the most gorgeous in low, indoor lighting. The colors were extremely saturated,  glowy, and jewel-like but impossible for my camera to capture that way!

Enjoy the day! More soon!! ^_^

Merry Christmas Skittles!

Hello again!!

The base for this is one coat of Sinful Colors Nail Hardener and two to three coats of Zoya Elisa (I smudged a few and had to fix my boo-boos, so some got an extra, band-aid coat.). I love this red--it reminds me of Christmas ball ornaments. It's a nice rich red with red shimmer. Absolute best holiday polish! The gold flakies are one coat of Zoya Gilty.

On my left hand, I attempted a few nail art techniques from the tutorials created by Nailside. These were simple to do, I just need some practice with the freehand holly design! I LOVED the way the tree came out (I used this very helpful tutorial.); it's done with China Glaze Glittering Garland. I topped the tree off with a holo gold star glitter I fished out of a bottle of Wet n' Wild Hollywood Walk of Fame from their Fergie line. On my thumb, I started with a coat of Nyx Algae. Once that was dry, I used Zoya Elisa to create the edge of the leaf design (tutorial here). A white striper polish, and some dots with Zoya Elisa, and ta-da!

Indoors, artificial light, no flash.

 And now on to my elusive other hand! On my thumb, I stamped the holly leaves from BM-14, first with Glittering Garland, but it wasn't very opaque, so I stamped it again with Orly Luxe. I used the end of an un-bent bobby pin to dot on the holly berries with Orly Star Spangled. My ring finger is simply stamped with Orly Luxe and the bells from plate BM-14. Everything got finished off with a generous coat of fast dry topcoat, I used NYC In a New York Minute.
 

Indoors, artificial light, with flash.

 Hope you all have a wonderful holiday! More soon! ^_^