Let Me Apologize...

...for sucking at blogging recently! Things have been super crazy in all parts of my life! The kids started back to school and that's meant getting up earlier and more running taxi during the day. Then work has also been very busy and on top of that I have applied for a new position at work so that's been niggling at my poor, little brain! Then we also went camping last weekend which, of course, required 10 days of prepping for 3 days of camping, lol! I've also got some voiceover projects I've been working on and on top of all of that, the baby is teething and has been a little bear!

I actually have some really awesome manis that I'm really excited to share with you but I'm still in the photo editing process! That's my least favorite step and takes the longest. It seems like I just get started on it and something comes up to interrupt me and I don't get back to it.

Not to fear though, I haven't forgotten about all of you wonderful people and I'm hoping that I have something on this old blog very soon. I'm also hoping that, with summer over (BOOOOOO!), things will calm down a bit and I can do more regular posting. Unless I get a new position at work... which would mean training...and more hours...and more stress... Ahhhhhhhhhh! Don't worry, I'll be okay - I promise - just hang in there with me because I also have some fantastic video ideas and product reviews - yayyyy!

Oh yeah, and I know that I suck but I did notify the winners of the giveaway, so if you didn't get notified - SORRY! Thank you all SOOOOOOO much for participating, I will definitely be doing it again sometime! MWAH!

Rad Awesome Guest Post At Gnarly Gnails!

Hey everyone, I'm super excited to share with you that I'm a guest poster today on Gnarly Gnails!! I'm sure you've all heard of the fabulous Missy that runs that place but if you haven't - go check her out! Click on her banner below to enter a world of awesomeness and see what I cooked up for her!

 

I'm sure you're all anxiously awaiting the results of the giveaway and I will have those up for you tomorrow! Sorry, work is crazy and unfortunately, nail polish doesn't pay momma's bills so I gotta go to work!

Zoya Fall 2013 Cashmere Collection Swatch and Review

Hello beautiful people! I meant to have this post up sooner but my 'puter broke. I had to shell out the dough to buy a new one and that kind of hurt but I likey my new laptop a lot!

Let me just get this out of the way and tell me that these polishes were provided by the awesome people at Zoya for my reivew! This will not affect my opinions in any way - you can count on that!

I have NEVER fallen in love with an entire collection like I did with the Zoya Fall 2013 Cashmere line. LORDY - just look at it will you? The colors are insanely rick and beautiful and I'm just going to tell you off the top that they all applied like a dream - no lie! I'm pretty sure I oohed and ahhed during this entire swatching session!

I'm listing them her in order from least to most favorite... not to say that this has any real meaning as even my least favorite is a gorgeous polish and something that I will wear again!

First up is Pepper. I feel like this is the most "Fall" of all of the colors and I'm not really a Fall person. That being said, this was two dreamy coats even though you could get away with 1 if you were careful. It's a true brick red and I felt like it was more brown in real life - these photos give it a bit more red than I saw. I don't know how Zoya does it but doesn't it look like a gel polish? *sigh*

 

Then comes Louise. This is one coat only - woohoo! Usually brown would be on the top of my list. Even though she is a real, rich beauty, the others in this collection were a little more unique! Either way, I love that this is a chocolate brown that even though it's deep in color, won't be mistaken for black. Also, there aren't any undertones to it so it really is a neutral and will go with any color!

Then comes Hunter. The name says it all - it's a true hunter green. Normally, I can't stand dark greens but there is something about this one that I really liked! This photo is two coats but this one could be a one-coater if you were in a hurry!

Then comes the classy lady of the bunch - Livingston. A PERFECT red that would be flattering on any skintone! I found this one to have an almost crelly finish to it and for me, that only added to the depth of the color and richness. This one does need two coats but you certainly won't mind with this formula!

And hello Sailor! Wow, just wow. I know a lot of you are blue fans and I'm normally fairly "meh" on them but this little lady really took me in and held me captive - WOW! This navy creme is amazing. Have you ever seen a blue look this classy? I dare say I haven't! This color finds the balance between really dark blue and bright, cartoonish (I know, weird) blue and is a highly wearable color for any occasion! This baby was a one-coater for me.

 

And finally, at the top of the polish pile is Flynn. I honestly never thought I could love a nude polish this much but she is amazing. Nudes usually have a yellow or pink tint to them that make my skin look terrible or they are so close to my skin color that they give me mannequin hands - blech! Not only will Flynn make a fabulous base for nail art but it can be worn all on it's own without looking weird or unfinished.  This was two coats and was just as amazing as the others to apply!

  

So, what do you think - do you love them all? Some of them? None of them? (If you say none then I can't be your friend anymore - I'm sorry.) I'm sure you will be seeing these polishes in many more posts to come. 

Zoya - good on you!

Cheeky Cupcakes!

Hey happy, lovely people! I have my favorite mani to date to share with you today! I'm obsessed with everything cupcake. From nailart to eating them to having them on my kids clothes, whatever it is, I want it!

 

I ordered 3 of the new Cheeky jumbo plates on Amazon and let me tell you - they are AWESOME!!!! I got # 7, 8 and 9 even though I want them all, I went with these first because they were my favorites. I think you will be seeing a lot of stamping on this blog for a while.

 

For this particular mani, I painted on a base coat of Color Club - Harp On It and stamped over that using Konad - Black Pearl. This particular image is from Cheeky Jumbo plate 7 - Home Sweet Home. I then used a TINY brush and acrylic paints to add the colored bits! This one took me quite a while but I loved the outcome so much that it was totally worth it. What do you think?

 

 

I honestly never keep a mani on for longer than about 24 hours but this baby has been on my nails for 3 days now and that includes a day at the water park! There is only a tiny bit of tip wear so I could keep wearing it but I'm too excited to try out some of the other stamps so it's got to go.

Don't forget to go enter my GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

International Nail Art Day And My 100th Blog Post!!!!

HELLOOOOOOO! I hope everyone's Saturday is going awesome! As many of you know, today is International Nail Art Day or INAD! I thought it was pretty flippin' awesome that this day just happened to coincide with my 100th blog post so I did something extra special!

 

For this mani, I painted a base of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - White on and then stamped over that with Konad black pearl and Mash plate 47. I just got my Konad polish and I'm not sure how I lived without it! It makes such beautiful, clean lines and stamps like a dream! After stamping the image onto my nails, I then went in with acrylic paint for all of the lovely color you see!

The lighting in the next two pics is a little weird but I think they really show off the design so I included them anyway!

 

What do you guys think? Was this worthy of a 100th post ceremony? Thank you so much to all of you that have put up with me this long - I hope you stay tuned in because (hopefully) I'm just going to keep getting better!

Nails4Dummies GIVEAWAY!!!!

I am sooooo excited to share today's post with you because it's a GIVEAWAY!!!!

 

I really debated whether or not to do one of these. I initially thought that I didn't feel right asking people to follow me just to be entered in a giveaway but when it comes down to it, if you don't like what you see, you can always unfollow but I love the idea of getting more people to see my work. I started a blog so that I could share, so I should share with as many people as I can, right?? And who doesn't love free stuff? Crazy people - that's who!

 

So who wants to see the prizes?? I know I do!

 

Prize pack #1 includes the Zoya Fall 2013 Cashmere collection, 2 Jordanna Glitters - LA City Nights and Gemstones. Revlon - Heavenly, Whimsical and Girly and OPI You Only Live Twice. A 16 pack of diamond-shaped glequins, some hole reinforcements (I know, weird!) for helping with French tips and ruffians! Some Nutra Nail Speed Dry Top Coat, some adorable animal fimo cane slices, 3 pots of shaped glitter thingies (don't quite know what you'd call them!), an adorable set of mini stamps, and and owl notebook and some pointy orange sticks that are great for watermarbling! Then I also put in some of my handmade goodies which includes a Coptic stitch notebook (that pink & black swirly thing!), 8 paper-pieced gift tags (the pics don't do the detail on these justice!), a set of 4 SUPER strong magnets that you will wonder how you lived without! Finally, you will also receive 3 pairs of handmade earrings - phew! That's quite a lot of stuff...can I enter my own giveaway! ;)

Then for lovely prize pack #2, you will receive a Color Club - Poptastic Collection (yes, those are full size!), Sally Hansen Diamond Strength - Moonlit Dance and Honeymoon Red, Sinful Colors Sinful Shine - Pragmatic and All The Rage, Sinful Colors - Irish Green and Green Ocean, Pure Ice - Come Closer and Freedom and Wet 'n Wild Megalast - Telescope Vision (sorry there's a glare on that one, it's a mega-glittery polish with a bluish jelly base!). You will also receive some pointy orange sticks which are great for watermarbling, a cute little clipboard notepad, some colorful shape-thingies and some hole-reinforcements perfect for French tips and ruffians! Then you will also receive some handmade (by ME!) goodies that include a Coptic stitch notebook (that cute thing with deer and owls on it!), a set of SUPER strong magnets (seriously - they are AWESOME!) and two pairs of bead earrings!



 

 

Wow - pretty prizealicious isn't it? I thought so! I will be making this open INTERNATIONALLY!!! I'm only leaving it open for 2 weeks though because I'm really impatient! The winner will be drawn randomly from the entries. If you are not 18, I will require a parent's permission to receive a prize but other than that - go! Enter at your own risk, muahahahahahahaha!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pink and Gold Love Nails

Hey everyone, I hope your week is going fabulously! Today I have something very quick and simple for you. I really like the look of pink and gold together so I decided to do a little bit of everything with those two colors!

 

Unfortunately, being that I am highly unorganized, I forgot to write down what the polishes I used were. I really thought I would remember but I need to stop counting on my memory to do what it's supposed to! I know that the gold used here is Revlon - Golden. This is a fabulous, opaque gold that is excellent for stamping!

 

 

I don't really have too much else to say, I kept it pretty short and sweet today! :) I hope you all have a truly fabulous day!