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!