Happy Halloween!

  Originally I was going to do a totally different mani for Halloween... but then I received CG It's Alive a bit early and decided I was going to have to use that instead!

Indoors, artificial light

  For this manicure, I started out with two coats of the amazing China Glaze It's Alive, a yellow-green glitter bomb from this year's Haunting Halloween collection.  It is a perfect Halloween green and I am really glad I finally broke down and ordered it.  On top of that, I sponged on a layer of China Glaze Ick-a-Body on the bottom half of the nail, followed by China Glaze Mummy May I? on the tip.  This was gorgeous alone and I wish I would have taken a picture!  For the final touch, I added OPI Black Shatter to all of the nails.

Outdoors, shade

  While this is not the most overtly Halloween mani I have done so far (I think that honor belongs to the orange and black pumpkin mani), I still really like it a lot!  The glitters look amazing together and the shatter is very fun.

  Hope everyone has a fun, safe, and Happy Halloween!  Dan and I will be watching scary movies and answering the door tonight... what are your plans?  :)

Halloween Marbling/Go CATS!!

  Today is two days before Halloween.  It also happens to be Homecoming at K-State, and I am lucky enough to get to go to the game!  That's right, I am talking about my #10 ranked, undefeated K-State Wildcats!  So what to do, Halloween nails, or KSU nails....?  How about I just combine a bit of both for the ultimate mani?

Shade

  Purple and white in honor of my Cats, and orange and black in honor of Halloween.  I started this off with two coats of OPI Funky Donkey on all nails but ring finger, and three coats of Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers Creepy Pumpkin on the ring finger.  Then I did water marbling with SH Xtreme Black Out and OPI Funky Donkey on all nails, including on the tip of the ring finger (using a tip guide).  I then added cute little skulls from BM-225 (index finger) and BM-211 using Konad Special White.

Early Morning Sun

  I love how this came out!  It is a bit different than I originally planned - in my original thoughts for this mani, I was not going to have an entirely orange accent nail.  But then I found Creepy Pumpkin and I had to do it.  It is a gorgeous, squishy jelly orange full of microglitter.  It was a bit of a pain to apply but I love the final look.  And the bottle is completely adorable!

Bottle Shot!

   Have a great weekend-before-Halloween!  I am off to root for my Cats now... it is going to be a tough game for them (we are playing #11 Oklahoma) but I think we can pull it off.  :)

Witches on their brooms!

  My initial instinct on Halloween manicures is always orange, black, maybe purple.  I wanted to try to branch out a bit (for me) and do something with green.  Although I didn't find in my stash a perfect Halloween green, I did find a fun one I hadn't tried yet... and then I promptly ordered CG It's Alive for next year, haha.  I tried to find that one in stores but no such luck.

Outdoors, overcast

  For these nails I started out with four coats of Confetti My Favorite Martian, a very sheer yellowish green shimmer.  I then added Confetti Happy Birthday, a dark purple shimmer of the same finish to the tips.  I added the cute flying witch stamp from BM13 and Konad Black, and finally added orange rhinestones to the ring finger.  Unfortunately, the Confetti polish didn't seem to play too well with Seche Vite, and I got quite a lot of tip shrinkage, which you can clearly see.  Some polishes (ahem, Zoya) just don't get along with Seche at all.  Now I know when I use these again in the future... use a different top coat.

  This was a fun Halloween mani and I am very glad that I deviated from my original all orange-black-purple based plans and added in a green!  However tomorrow it is back to purple-black-orange.  Get ready for some water marbling! :)

Arachnophobia

  One of my biggest fears is probably spiders.  Logically I know that most of them aren't dangerous and that they keep other bugs down and blah blah blah... but there is something about the way they move I think that just totally creeps me out.  Nothing should have that many legs.  Although I think octopi (...?) are adorable, so that doesn't really make much sense.  Either way, not such a fan.  Perfect for a Halloween mani, though!

Shade

  The base of this manicure was China Glaze Ick-A-Body, which I showed last year as a swatch only.  I am seriously in love with this polish, it is still by far the best Halloween polish I have yet to find.  I added spider webs using Konoad White and plate BM13, as well as the spider in Konad Black from the same plate.  Another fun and festive orange and black manicure!  Luckily these spiders are small and not too creepy... otherwise I wouldn't have been able to put them on my nails.  :)

Sunlight

  Sadly, my ring fingernail also broke again recently.  Ever since I chewed them all down, my nails have been very weak and peeling.  I have been trying really hard to get them stronger but it is difficult.  Hopefully with time and lots of TLC they will strengthen up again!

Glittering Pumpkins

  I love this way this mani turned out!  I almost wish I had saved it for actual Halloween, but alas.  :)

Outdoors, shade

  I really wanted to use Zoya Tanzy, but I wanted it to be a bit darker... so I started this with two coats of NYC Spring Street, a nice darker orange creme I found at Target, then layered one coat of Tanzy over it.  I added pumpkins with Konad Special Black Pearl and BM-222 and BM-224 (ring finger).  I really love how that layering worked out here - the nails had an almost duochrome effect of the darker deep orange and the yellowy-light orange glow, it was fun.  Really pleased with the end result - very festive!

Haunting Silver Specters

  It is almost Halloween!  I love Halloween... although it is second to Christmas on my favorite holiday list, it is a close second.  I haven't actually gotten to decorate yet, which is very sad (I have been SO busy!) but we are decorating Monday after my big toxicology test so that will be lot of fun.  Anyway... the next week and a half are going to be totally dedicated to Halloween manicures!

Outdoors, shade

  First up is a manicure I did with the gorgeous China Glaze Haunting, a black filled with tons of silver microglitter fron their Halloween 2011 Haunting collection.  I have been wanting a black and silver glitter for awhile now and I knew this was the one as soon as I saw it!  Fabulous application at two coats.  On top of that, I added cute little ghosts from BM-223 using Zoya Trixie.  These ghosts are just too cute, and the silver looked very nice with the silver glitter.  A very fun first Halloween 2011 manicure!

Multi-Chrome Goodness

  Some of you might remember a few months ago, when I shared with you the polish that started it all, OPI Movin' Out.  There I wore the polish alone, but I promised to show you the beauty of this one layered as well.  Here it is!  Please excuse the tipwear, this was several days after I put it on and I use my hands a lot in lab.  I really meant to get pictures earlier, but... that didn't happen so much.

Shade

Shade

  This is two coats of OPI I Brake for Manicures, plus one coat of OPI Movin' Out.  On the ring finger I also added one coat of Nfu Oh 51 for a somewhat subtle accent.  Movin' Out has some serious multi-chrome action when layered - about you can see the predominant pinkish-purple, as well as some of the gold and green colors.  In addition, it has this amazing microshimmer that makes it just glow from within.  It is SO pretty!

Sunlight - pinks, purples, and reds

Sunlight - dark purple

Sunlight - Bronze and gold

Sunlight - greens and blues

  Above are several pictures in the sunlight at various angles to try and show just a bit of the possible range of colors you see in this polish - purples, reds, browns, golds, greens... it is crazy!  I often caught myself staring at my hands, moving them around to try to see more colors.  People probably thought I was crazy.  But I don't really care... it is pretty!  I love this polish layered, and will definitely be wearing it like this again sometime soon.  I may try out a different base color and see what happens!

Pretty in Pink - Breast Cancer Awareness

  As I am sure many of you are aware, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  You would be hard-pressed to find somebody who hasn't been impacted in some way by breast cancer - either personally, through a family member, through friends or their friends loved ones.  It is important that we recognize what these people go through, and help support the search for a cure and the treatment of those suffering with the disease!

  For these nails, I started out with three coats of China Glaze Good Witch? followed by the addition of designs using Zoya Trixie and Mira with plates m19, BM205 and BM02.  I then added pink rhinestones to the center of the purple design.  A pretty, very girly pink manicure!

  This manicure was all suggested by Becky - I had no idea what to do, and she chose the base color, the complimentary colors, and helped me out with the design.  So thanks Becky.  :D

  For more information on breast cancer, please check out The National Breast Cancer Foundation and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Blue and Silver

  Quick post today.  Here is a stamping combo I did with OPI Swimsuit... Nailed It!, the beautiful bright blue foil from their Miss Universe collection.

Outdoors, shade

  For stamping, I used Zoya Trixie (which is my go-to silver stamp, these days) and BM-206.  I really love this combo of blue and silver, they go really nicely together in my opinion.

  Only one more manicure left from my queue before we move on to my short little post-biting-meltdown nubs.  I miss my long nails... but I am kind of enjoying the length they are now as well.  :)

Congratulations Giveaway Winner!

  So I finally got around to finishing up the list of entries and selecting the giveaway winner!  About 400 people entered, what an amazing turnout!  A lot of you also left really great suggestions, I really appreciate all of those thoughts and ideas, and I will try to make at least some of those thoughts happen soon.  And now, on to the giveaway winner...

Freshie from Polish Freshie!

Congratulations!

  Thank you so much to all of those who entered.  I also hope that at least some of you who have been commenting so much throughout the giveaway continue to comment - I love reading what you have to say!  Thank you all again, this blog wouldn't have made it a year without all of your support!

  I already have some ideas for a couple of smaller upcoming giveaways, so stay tuned! 

Leo - up close and personal

Zoya Neeka

  While I have had to be very selective about what polishes I buy lately (darned budget), I knew I had to get at least a couple of the Zoya Smoke and Mirrors collection... but which to get?  After much debate, I finally settled on Neeka and Yara, the two shades with golden microglitter.  Here is the purple, Neeka, with a lovely gold design to match.

Outdoors, shade

Outdoors, sun

  This is two coats of Zoya Neeka plus stamping from BM-210 in Nicole by OPI Not a Gold Bigger, which is my new favorite gold stamping polish - it comes out very beautifully!  Love the combo here, it really brings out the gold glitter nicely in Neeka.  Neeka was a wonderful polish to apply, which is something I have come to expect from all of my Zoyas!  Here are a few swatches of Neeka alone.

Shade

Evening sun

  Also, if you are in the mood for some pet pictures, I added new pictures for everyone on the About Me page, go take a look!  Here is another adorable one of Leo.  Also be sure to check tomorrow for the giveaway winner!

Back again - and my all-time favorite polish

  I gave my seminar this morning!  I always get so nervous for these things.  Anyway, now that I am done fretting about that I should have more time for my poor little neglected blog, yay!  Sorry for being so absent lately, I will make it up to you!  Also, plan for giveaway winner announcement this Saturday.

  Now I wanted to share with you what is probably my favorite polish.  I don't usually have favorites of just about anything (this drives my husband crazy - he has a favorite everything), but I think if I had to choose one polish this would be it.

Outdoors, shade

Indoors, artificial light

  This is three coats of OPI Absolutely Alice, a completely gorgeous blue and gold glitter bomb.  While I credit OPI Movin' Out with starting my nail polish obsession, I credit this beauty for taking it to the next level.  After my sister Becky called this one to my attention last year, I ordered two on eBay (one for her and one for me), and loved it so much I wore it for about three weeks straight, nails and toes.  Then I started checking OPI's site for new collection release information... and then one day when I was curious about an upcoming collection on their site, I googled it - and stumbled upon this wonderful world of nail blogging, and all of the other fabulous polish brands!  So this polish is to blame for my ~400 polish stash (small compared to some, I know, but it seems huge to me)!  I have since bought a backup of this one just in case.  Love it.

With DL Boom Boom Pow

  After wearing this for a few days, I decided to spice it up for extended wear and added two coats of Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow.  I love the combo.  Unfortunately, I never got around to taking pictures with my good camera of the combo, so you will have to survive off of the iPhone shot.  But it was very pretty.

  What is your all-time favorite polish?  If you can pick... haha.  I'd love to hear! :)

OPI Rally Pretty Pink vs. It's My Year

  Hey everyone - I am going to try to get back into the swing of the M-W-F-Sa posting schedule.  Things are still a bit crazy... I am giving the departmental seminar next week which freaks me out, Leo is getting sick again and I am taking him to another vet for a second opinion, Nova just had her spay (poor baby)... and I am still having a rough time dealing with the loss of my sweet Papa.  I found some videos I had taken of him on my computer, I think I watched them about 50 times each.. :(  I am sure it will get better with time, but I am still just in a bit of a disbelieving state.  Anyway, point being I will do my best but bear with me if I have another teeny lapse this week!  I promise I will get the giveaway results to you first thing next week, probably Monday.

  And now on to a comparison I did awhile back... two sister shades with a very similar finish.

It's My Year and Rally Pretty Pink

  When I first put on It's My Year, it really reminded me of Rally Pretty Pink.  And they are incredibly similar, but one is purple and one is pink.  Both are gorgeous.  I just realized that I have not labeled these pictures, but I am fairly sure you will be able to tell which is which.  :)

Shade

Sun

  Both have that amazing shimmery foil-like finish full of golden flecks.  I adore both of these colors, and I am sure they will get plenty of wear out of me!  They look amazing on the nail (and in the bottle of course).  I highly recommend both of them!