Smooth Sailing & Lighthouse

Essie Smooth Sailing is a beautiful muted blue from one of their recent collections. I added one layer of China Glaze Lighthouse on top. I prefer China Glaze White Cap as a top coat over Lighthouse, but this manicure was cute for something different. Layering manicures are simple, fast, and I think most times they turn a plain polish into something really unique.

Orly Snow Cone

Orly Snow Cone is a light blue creme polish that is pretty average as far as I'm concerned. I probably own 4-5 blue polishes and this one is my least favorite. I got this polish for free with a coupon a few months ago so it is hard to complain. I think it will be good for water marbling so when I have time I will try that :) This is two coats, no top coat.

My 450 Follower Giveaway!

I reached 450 followers:)

Thank you to all of my followers, this giveaway is to show you all my appreciation.

China Glaze: Coconut Kiss, Rainbow, Purple Panic, Beauty & the Beach

Open internationally.

Closes July 30 2011 - anywhere in the world.

The winner will be picked by random number generator. Please fill out the form below:)

Love: OPI Shorts Story & White Cap

I love pink polishes, and I LOVE China Glaze White Cap. When I finally finish my bottle of White Cap I will definitely be repurchasing it. This was a simple manicure but I still received several compliments. This is two coats of OPI Shorts Story, with one thin coat of China Glaze White Cap.

Essie: Smooth Sailing

Essie Smooth Sailing is a beautiful new polish from the Essie Braziliant Collection. Although I thought the collection was pretty plain I purchased both Smooth Sailing and Absolutely Shore because they were both very unique compared to the pink polishes I own, and I had a Target giftcard :) If you love blue polish I would recommend Smooth Sailing. The formula was good, and it dried way faster than the other eight Essie polishes I own. This is two coats, no top coat.

Simple Tape Manicure

For this mani I used China Glaze Knotty & Empowerment layered together for the base. I then added a thin strip of tape and painted on top with Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Steel Grey. The brush on the Rimmel polishes is large and wide and I love it. It makes application very easy. I finished everything with one coat of Seche Vite to complete the manicure.

Sally Hansen: Bling It On & Question

I have read several great things on Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. I won Bling It On a few weeks ago and have finally decided to try them out. I was able to do all ten nails with only five strips. If your nails aren't too long I would definitely recommend cutting your strips in half to make them last longer. The price range for these is around $10 per pack. I am going to test these out and see how long they last so it might be awhile before I have a post again. I LOVE the pink glitter strips, and unlike a normal glitter polish it is smooth without a top coat.

Does anyone know of a pink polish that looks like the pink glitter strips? I would love to wear this manicure everyday, but it has been hard to find a good selection of the polish strips in my area.

Essie: Nice is Nice

Essie Nice is Nice is a pretty lavender creme polish that is perfect for spring/summer. I purchased this polish during a CVS 50% off clearance sale but I would have paid full price for it. The formula is great, and it is unique from several other lavender polishes I have tried. This is two coats, no top coat.

Quick Manicure & Giveaway Winner

Every time I decided to do my nails in a jiffy I always turn to polishes from the China Glaze Tronica collection. From my experience they all dry extremely fast, and can be opaque in one careful coat. Today I used China Glaze Hyper Haute as a base, and the newest collection of Bundle Monster plates for the stamping. I do not normally do accent nail manicures, but this was fun for something different.

I have finally drawn and contacted the winner for my 300 follower giveaway. Sorry for the delay. I broke one of the bottles when I moved, so I had to find a replacement. The winner is Jenny S! Thank you everyone for the nice comments and for following my blog :)

Mermaid's Tears & Silver Stamping

I love OPI Mermaid's Tears, it is the perfect creme base for stamping. I also love Sally Hansen Celeb City, which is perfect for stamping. This also happens to be one of my favorite Konad plate images. I think this is my favorite non-pink manicure I have tried so far :)

Layering: China Glaze Knotty & Empowerment

I have been testing China Glaze Knotty as a layering polish since I purchased it a month ago. Knotty makes any polish more muted and dusty. For this mani I used two coats of China Glaze Empowerment with one thin coat of China Glaze Knotty on top. Although Knotty is interesting for a top coat, China Glaze Lighthouse and White Cap are still my favorites.

Stamping with Pink Voltage

It is no secret I love pink manicures. China Glaze Pink Voltage is one of my favorite pink polishes. If you would like to read my post/view links to my other favorite pink polishes you can see that here. For this mani I used Pink Voltage as the base, and black Bundle Monster stamping on top. The first picture with without top coat, and the second photo is with.

Pirate Skittles

I purchased the small OPI set from the Pirates of the Caribbean collection awhile ago and finally decided to use them. I wanted to test all four polishes out, so I painted my nails like this. They only stayed like this for a few hours, but it was fun to have rainbow nails for once. I love all of the Pirate colors, but I think in the future I will stick to the full size bottles and not the minis.

China Glaze: Encouragement

Encouragement is a light baby pink with silver shimmer from the China Glaze Fight Like a Woman Collection. I love this color, and I think it would be perfect for the workplace. I think Encouragement would look best with a white/ivory base. This is three coats, no top coat.

Quick Purple Manicure

For this fast mani I used China Glaze Virtual Violet (from the China Glaze Tronica Collection) as a base. Virtual Violet dries very fast, and I only needed to use one coat. I then stamped on top with my Bundle Monster plates and a white Wet n Wild polish. I think this whole manicure took less than ten minuets :)

Orly Oh Cabana Boy & China Glaze Pom Pom

Lately I have not been buying many new polishes because I have been busy with moving and my ongoing job hunt. Instead I have been finding new combinations for my old polishes. I have worn this manicure for a few days now, and still have no chips. This is two coats of Orly Oh Cabana Boy with one coat of China Glaze Pom Pom on top. I found Pom Pom on clearance at Sally's a few months ago, but any pink glitter top coat would be cute. I topped everything with a thick coat of Seche Vite, which I think is really helping this manicure last.