Germainicure by OPI

This manicure is from Thanksgiving, but I am just getting around to posting it.  We had family in town for Thanksgiving, and before that I was looking for a new job.  Then I started a new job, so needless to say my life has been super hectic since mid-November.  Before I knew what happened it was Christmas and I hadn't posted anything for a while.  I have the next few days off so I'm going to try to catch up on my old posts and post some new stuff too.

So onto the polish, here I have Germanicure by OPI from the Germany Collection from Fall 2012.  I don't have anything else like this in my growing collection.  This polish is gorgeous.  It is burgundy, the main hue is brown but it also has strong red and even purple undertones.  I don't have a lot of brown toned polishes but I'm glad I opted for this instead of another one.

 

Application was flawless.  This collection has the pro-wide brushes.  I like the wide brushes and find that for me, I have a much cleaner painting experience with them.  I know not everyone likes the wide brushes, I think you either love them or you don't.

 

I purchased this with my own money and the opinions are my own.

Salon Express Snowflakes and Beginner Tips

I got a Salon Express Stamping Kit at Walgreen's a few months ago for $10.  I have tried to get it to work and have failed horribly at getting any of the images to transfer to my nails.  I didn't want to invest any more time and money into stamping if operator error was the problem.  I've been seeing so many beautiful stamped manicures particularly the Bundle Monster 323 Plate with the snowflakes.  Determined to give it another try and get it to work, I did some reading in my polish groups on Facebook and got some tips.

 

I already had on OPI's I Vant to Be A-Lone Star, see the post here, as a base and went to work with China Glaze Frost Bite and Spoiled Correction Tape for the stamps.  I used the SE20 plate that came with the kit.  I tried to use this image back in the summer for fireworks for Fourth of July, but it was a total failure.  Here some of the tips I came up with and that I picked up from the lovely ladies that are better at stamping that I am:

1. Rough up the rubber part of the stamper with a file to pick up the image.  I used my glass file and lightly filed the end of the stamper.  I saw much better results picking up the image after doing this.
2. Use an old credit card or gift card instead of the metal scraper that comes with the kit to scrape away excess polish.  I had an old gift card and it gave me much better control since the card is flexible and pushed the polish into the image grooves better.  You can get a better angle with a plastic card too.  The metal scraper scratches the stamping plates.
3. Wipe everything down with acetone or remover after each stamp.  Use a qtip if needed to get into the lines of intricate images.  I like the pointy ones.  Make sure the plate is dry before applying polish again or the polish will run.
4. Roll the stamper over the image plate to pick up the image and then roll over your nail to transfer the image.  I tried to pick up the image using an up and down motion on the plate and that just doesn't work.

Once the stamps were dry, I added a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust to give it just a hint of sparkle and a coat of Seche Vite to seal everything up.  It gives it the look of snow crystals in the sun.  I'm really proud of this manicure and really excited to share my first stamping success.

What do you think of stamping?  Now that I've go the hang of it I think I want to buy some more plates. 

Fiver and Frosty

I wore Butter London's Fiver earlier in the week, you can see the post here.  I decided to dress it up with some glitter with one of my new indies.  This one is from Amy's Nail Boutique, or you can find her on Facebook, she makes amazing polishes and has super fast shipping.  Frosty is only available through the end of December so get it while it's still available.  I have a few of her other polishes that I can't wait to try.

Fiver is an amazing spring color, but Frosty is perfect for winter.  In my opinion they were a perfect match.  The blue hex glitters were almost the same color as Fiver so they were a match made in polish heaven.

Frosty went on packed with glitter and I didn't have to fish to get the glitter out or manipulate it to get it where I wanted it.  This is 2 coats of Frosty.  Application was good.  I used a coat of Gelous to tame the glitter and a coat of quick dry top coat.



 

Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012

I'm very excited to have received another VoxBox from Influenster.  In my opinion this is a great box.  It has a lot of great stuff in it that I can't wait to try out.  So what is in the Holiday Box?

EBOOST Pink Lemonade.  I've had the Orange before in another box and it was pretty good so I'm looking forward to trying this flavor.

Quaker Real Medley Oatmeal cup in Cherry Pistachio.  I love oatmeal, and I am always looking for something quick and on the go.  I usually add stuff to my oatmeal anyway like raisins so I'm anxious to try this. 

Kiss Nail Dress, nail polish strips.  I'm a nail polish junkie so these are perfect for me.  They are covered in bling so they are perfect for the upcoming New Year's celebrations.

NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine.  I love lip gloss and keep it with me all the time so I'm happy to try out a new one.  I've only ever used NYC nail polish before so I'm anxious to try their make up products.  They are very inexpensive and readily available.

Goody Quikstyle Brush.  This brush looks funny for sure, but I'm interested to see how well it works.  I blow dry my hair almost every morning before work and anything that speeds up that process is a welcome addition to my beauty drawer.

A coupon for Sole Society.  I've been admiring Sole Society's shoes for a few months now but haven't bought anything, in the box is a coupon for $25 off your first purchase.  Their shoes start at around $50, so that's a pretty good deal.  UPDATE:  The code is INFLUENSTER25 for $25 off your first purchase ..

Butter London Fiver

So Santa must have thought I was a very good girl this year because I got lots of Butter London goodies for Christmas!  One of the lovelies under the tree for me was Fiver, one of the Spring colors that is set to be released tomorrow.  Not sure how Santa, AKA my awesome husband, got ahold of it, but he did a really good job picking colors that I didn't already have.  It helps that I don't have many Butter London's.  I was very excited to get nail polish for Christmas, let alone an unreleased Butter London color.

Fiver is a really pretty mint green.  It will be perfect for spring.  The other colors in the collection are pastels as well, and I can't wait to see what they look like.  If you are a mint green polish lover I really recommend this one.  The first coat went on a little thin and streaky, but the second coat was fine.  Everything went on smooth and leveled nicely after the initial coat.  I did have some balding on 3 of my nails after the second coat so I did 3 coats on all of my nails just to be safe and even everything out.  That was operator error, not the polish.  I always get bald spots on my thumb and right index finger no matter what polish I use.

Butter London is available on their website and Fiver should be available at Macy's soon, since that's where my Santa picked it up.  Butter London will be releasing more information about their Spring Collection on December 26th.  If you are a pastel person and you love Butter London, I recommend checking them out.  Keep and eye out on their Facebook page for sale updates and news.

OPI I Vant to Be A-Lone Star

I have been MIA for a while, I was looking for a new job from September until just before Thanksgiving.  Fortunately I found something pretty quickly.  Then it was Thanksgiving and I hosted 9 of my inlaws for a few days which was awesome.  We had a really good time.  I cooked dinner for 15 people, which is the largest meal I've ever cooked and everything turned out really good.  I've since started my new job and life has been pretty hectic as I figure everything out.  Now it is almost Christmas, and I can't believe another year is about to come to a close.  Needless to say I have been doing manicures and taking pictures but haven't been posting much.  I finally have a minute to myself so I'm trying to catch up.

I did this manicure right after Thanksgiving since it was cold and snowing here in PA.  I have had OPI's I Vant to Be A-Lone Star from the Texas Collection for a while and I haven't used it.  I got it on clearance at Ulta when I first started my polish buying obsession back in the spring.  I know it was from the Spring 2011 line but I think it is the perfect winter blue.  It reminds me of snowflakes.

 

I used 3 coats to even everything out.  I still had visible nail line after 2 coats with this.  I loved the pearly silver shimmer that this color has to it.  I've had this polish on for several days with Seche Clear and Seche Vite as the base and top coats and it is wearing like iron.

Bloggers Unite for Peace, Non-Violence, and Remembrance of the Innocent

In light of the horrific tragedy in Connecticuit yesterday, the Nail Polish Community has come together today in wearing white manicures for Peace, Non-Violence, and Remembrance of the Innocent.  My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families who lost someone yesterday and to the entire school and community as they grieve.  As a mother of 2, I am particularly upset and saddened by what happened and can't begin to fathom the pain and anguish of the parents in Sandy Hook who lost their babies yesterday.  While I know my manicure isn't going to physically do anything, to help anyone but with all of the wonderful women in this community coming together I hope that with every page view the power of thought and prayer reaches those in Sandy Hook and that our thoughts and prayers reach them and bring them some comfort on this sad December night.  I also want to send some thoughts and prayers to Oregon to those who were touched by violence in the mall shooting this week as well.

 

 

I chose Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Polar Bare and OPI Pirouette My Whistle.  What you see here is 2 coats Polar Bare, 1 Coat Pirouette My Whistle, and 1 Coat Polar Bare.

 



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Kisses for St. Nick

Today I have an Indie Polish for you.  This is Liquid Lacquer's Kisses for St. Nick.  It was a limited edition holiday polish.  You should her out on Facebook for info on her restocks and pictures of her other polishes.

I actually don't have a ton of indie polishes and was actually my first indie purchase.  I didn't jump on the indie bandwagon right away, so I only had 3 before this purchase and I won those in giveaways.  I've only recently purchased some indie polishes from makers that I have really come to trust through blogger reviews and other interactions, and Melissa from Liquid Lacquer is one of them.  She really makes some beautiful stuff.  I am anxiously awaiting her next restock and can't wait to use the other polish that I bought.

Kisses for St. Nick is a white base packed with red and green glitter in several sizes in hexes and squares.  The large red sqares are my favorite for some reason.  The polish went on like a dream.  Sometimes glitter packed polish is pain to apply.  What you see here is 2 coats over 2 coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Pink Slip which is what I had done my nails with earlier in the day before work.  Pink Slip is a sheer milky white-pink that builds, so it made a perfect base for this.  I  used a coat of Gelous to smooth things out, and topped it with a coat of Diamond Dry.