Revlon Runway Collection Nails in Starlet

I was sent a box of the Revlon Runway collection nails to try and I decided to show you my favorite design first! This is Starlet (91102) and I think these are pretty cool, they add a little glitter twist to a plain french manicure. If you want to see an even cooler twist to these nails check out this, she's amazing! Here's the manicure I did using these nails:

• What I liked about these nails is that they were long enough to cover my own nails with the exception of my thumb. This is actually the length I want my natural nails to attain, so its a little inspiration.
• The nails come with a buffer and a manicure stick! Two things I cant have enough of because I'm constantly doing my nails! The buffer is so that you can prepare your natural nails for the fake nails. Manicure stick is for cleaning excess glue.
• These nails are tinted light pink so they are supposed to match your own nail bed more closely...I dont think it did for me.
• There are 24 nails in this box,so you can find sizes to match your own nails, which is great! Have a big thumbnail? Tiny pinky nail? Chances are there's a nail in there for you!

Overall, I there are more things I like than dislike about these nails. The thing I dont like the most? Removal. You have to soak these babies in pure acetone to get them to dissolve. So when you're ready to remove these, find a great movie or your favorite TV show and a bowl to put your acetone in. Then sit down and enjoy soaking your nails because youre going to be there for a while!

You can find these at CVS for under 7 bucks.

The Last of My Orly Once Upon A Time Swatches

Remember when I said earlier that I won 4 of the Orly Fall 09 collection polishes from the wonderful Mary at Body and Soul ? Well I finally got around to getting those other 3 polishes swatched. Blame it on my camera! The batteries died...

Prince Charming was the one I was most excited about, I don't own anything like it. Ironically, it was the last polish from the collection that I tried. I think the sheerness of the polish scared me off. I put one coat on my thumb and the polish was sheer and runny! So I put it back up until I felt like facing it. The end result? Pictures first, opinion second.

Hmm. I don't love this on me. In certain lighting, like the first picture, I can like it. However, I cant constantly be in that particular lighting all day so I just can live with this on all day. I have nothing bad to say about the color; its edgy, out of the box, different, whatever you prefer. It just doesn't work on me. This is three coats + Orly Sec n Dry topcoat. I didn't like the thin, runny consistency of this polish.

Happily Ever After:

Haha, the name reminds me of the song by Case. Anyway, if I dont see this polish for a while, I will be Happily Ever After. I wore it for 3 days last week, starting Friday, and I never wear polish that long. Unless I absolutely love it of course. I took a trip home and I thought I could deal with this on my nails all weekend. Um, no. I have nothing agaisnt the color, its my first berry color! It even has very subtle shimmer in it. This is only two coats, thats all you need, this is nice and opaque shade. I used the Orly Sec n Dry topcoat.

I cannot figure out where the pictures of Poison Apple went! I promise I had them, I cant find them on my computer and definitely not on my camera. Hmm. If you want to see a swatch of it, check out Brittany's at Clumps of Mascara.

Thanks again Mary, for these wonderful polishes!

Essie Pansy

Today's manicure is Essie Pansy, which they describe a "tropical, hot pink for splendid days in the sun". Put simply, its a medium pink creme and I cant resist a pink creme! I just did a little nail art on my ring finger with my LA Colors Art Deco nail polishes. This three coats + Seche Vite. I could have done with two coats, but three was just my personal preference.

I know a lot of nail bloggers don't like Essie because they play it safe with their colors, but when I'm looking for a nice pink, I know I can find one with them. I think their polishes also make some of the best french manicures. To each their own I guess, I still heart Essie.

Orly Pixie Dust

This is one of the four polishes I won from the Orly Once Upon a Time collection thanks to Mary at Body and Soul. In the package she also included a very pretty thank you note! How nice of her! I never thought I would like a gray polish but this gorgeous shimmer has made me think otherwise. In some lights, I even think it looks a little blue! It took three coats to get to the bottle color. Here's the bottle in the sun:


I love that rubber cap, it makes it so much easier to grip while applying polish.

Now on to the polish on my nails:

A note about my index finger: This fingernail is infamous for having splits so I tried out these nail bandages I got from Sally Beauty supply. I don't think I filed it down good enough to make the surface smooth. So I will give that a try again. Anything to not have to cut my nails! I hate when they get to a length I like, then some of them split.

I will try and do the other three polishes I got in one post so that way I do not draw out a collection that most of you have already seen!

Zoya Hope

Another great polish from Zoya! Here's what their website describes it as: Magenta lavender metallic with metallic shimmer finish.
Woah! And I was just going to say its a gorgeous deep purple shimmer but their description sounds so much better. This is two coats + Zoya Armour topcoat. I could have honestly been fine with one coat because that's all it took to get the bottle color. This is tied with Malia for my favorite Zoya purple. What's your favorite Zoya purple?

Essie Peach Daquiri

Today's manicure is one I gave to my mother! I painted her nails better than I paint my own, lucky her. I gave her the star treatment since she came up to visit me and I missed her :-) I filed and buffed her nails and massaged her hands with CND Solar Manicure. She likes coral colors, so Essie Peach Daquiri was right up her alley.

This is two coats + Seche Vite. The formula on this was very good, went on smooth. I told her she would be good to go and she wouldn't have to sit around waiting on her nails dry with the Seche Vite. I think she's a believer now! On her ring finger, I added a little nail art and she liked it. I don't think it was my best work but she liked it so I'm going to go with it!

You'll have to come see me next week for another Manicure, mom!

I Took the Plunge...Matte Nail Polish!

I said I'd never do it. However, I couldn't resist ordering one of the Zoya mattes when they had their Zoya 5000 offer. I picked Dovima, a black shimmer, with the intent of putting a topcoat on it. I've seen this polish with a topcoat and I think it's better that way. Also, I felt I wouldn't be making an informed decision to dislike mattes if I'd never tried it. So here it is:


I don't like it! Mattes just don't do it for me. But that bottle does. It's frosted, like the polish is suspended in ice. The polish is very smooth to the touch, Matte Velvet is the perfect name for it. Here it is with Zoya Armour:


If I ever buy another matte, it will be a color that I just want to slap a topcoat on. But I don't know why I would do that when there are plenty of gorgeous cremes I have yet to get!

Zoya Ali

Ali, the way you make me feel...to steal a page out of MJ's book :-)
A lot of nail polish bloggers have their favorite color; for some its green, some blue or for others it may be purple. But me? I've loved pink since before I started blogging. Even with all the wonderful colors I've discovered since getting into nail polish, pink is still my first love. Nothing lifts my spirits like a hot pink manicure.

I used a Zoya trinity: the base coat Anchor, Ali and topcoat Armour. Color Lock! This manicure isn't going anywhere! Here it is, the beautiful Ali, in all it's Zoya glory:

I tried to promise myself I wouldn't order another pink from Zoya, but I couldn't resist. I love pink cremes! The formula on Zoya polishes is amazing! This went on smooth and dried quickly and matte since its a neon. Immediately I thought to myself. "How does this stand up to my China Glaze Shocking Pink?" Well, Ali takes it up a notch! It's even brighter!

A picture of me holding both with Ali on my nails:

I'll still be wearing this in the fall! I don't care how many vampies come out, this one will be year around for me. Who says I have to follow the rules?

Lady in Red Nails

Here's what inspired me to do "Lady in Red" nails. I say inspired me, because I didn't do the exact same nails, but a version of them. I wanted to do the original but last night I could not find white nail polish. It was too late to go to the store too. How does that even happen?! Check out the hotness:



This nail design is enough to make me overcome my aversion to red nail polish! Well, just for this manicure. I love this color theme, I want to do my living room in these colors. I digress...

Anyway, I made some changes to my manicure. Like I said, I didn't have the white polish so I couldn't do the white tip in Step 1. Also, I'm kicking myself for not getting rhinestones so I couldn't put them on, like in Step 3. Instead I used a dotting tool to make red dots in the grid squares and it didn't come out as well as I pictured it. I only did the design on two of my fingers on each hand and it suits me just fine. This design on every finger might have been too much for me. Okay, so here's the final result:



The polishes I used were:

• Claire's Black (no name on the polish)
• OPI Himalayan Hideaway
• LA Colors Art Deco polish in white
• Stripe Rite polish, silver glitter
• Seche Vite

Polka Dots!!!!

Okay, if you follow me on Twitter or have read my blog enough you will know that I have been on a mission to do polka dots on my nails. I even got a dotting tool from Sallys. I thought to myself , problem solved. Well I still didn't get it right, I thought it was the dotting tool, then I thought it was me. I thought I must be the only person in the world who cant make polka dots. So last night after reading a tutorial on Steph's Closet I decided to give her manicure a try. The solution was simple! It was the polish I was using. I always used this white polish because I wanted white polka dots, but that polish was very old and clumpy. No wonder I couldn't make one polka dot without a string of polish following it on the dotting tool. Now it almost seems obviously ridiculous!

I like this, but I shouldn't have added that white stripe along the bottom. I was just so excited that I did a little too much. Oh well, this is only staying on for one day. I'm trying again tomorrow!

Hot Topic Purple

There's no doubt about it, this is the best purple I've seen. To date. I had to throw my disclaimer in there because it's easy for me to fall in love with a color. I picked this up for 2.99 (yes!) at Hot Topic this weekend. That was an experience by itself. I don't shop at there, but I figured I would endure the stares anyway to get my hands on this polish. What was with that anyway? Get over yourselves. Makes me want to shop online only. Anyway, my camera could not capture the absolute gorgeousness of this polish! It's very purple in real life, with blue and purple glitter. In the sun it looks like a little pink/reddish glitter is thrown in there for good measure. Here it is outdoors:

Now indoors:

The bottle design is weird, just because of the handle. I mean the cap is tiny so its a little hard to hold. Sorry, I couldn't tell you about the dry time, I was watching The Nanny on Nick at Nite at the time I was applying it. The formula felt a little runny, but maybe that was because I kept picking up globs of polish on that silly brush. However, even with all that, this is a keeper! I love it!

More Claire's Polish

Here's the second of my BOGO 50% off polish I got at Claire's. These don't have names on them so um, here's black:

The cool thing about this polish is that right in the handle they include loose glitter! Or in my case, silver stars! Good concept right? Here's what the top looks like:
I couldn't wait to try this out. The polish I had no problem with. Nice formula, went on smooth and the brush was better than the Claire's Mixable polish. It seemed wider and thicker. The handle wasn't even awkward to hold, seeing as it looks longer than my usual polishes. Does this cool bottle translate into a good manicure? Well, judge by the pictures yourself.

So I tried to shake the glitter out and it went everywhere! Since I wanted to do this while my polish was not all the way dry and still just a little tacky, there was no rearranging the stars without messing the polish up. So I let the chips fall where they may. This is not a very smooth manicure. These are big stars to be on nails and some of them are stacked on top of each other. This is two coats of the Claire's polish and I sealed with Seche Vite.

This is a very good concept, but maybe it would have went better if I had gotten a polish with smaller loose glitter. Or if I had waited until my polish was all the way dry so that I could arrange the stars on my nails.

Claires Mixable

How cool is that? 3 colors mixed in one bottle for a color surprise! I've been meaning to get my hands on these ever since I saw them on Scrangie's blog and this weekend I finally did. I have no idea how this works but I love the concept. Of course I picked this one hoping for pink, my favorite color, but check out what I got below:

Looks pink indoors, but check it out in the sun:
It's orange! Trust me, it's very orange. These pics don't do it justice. I was hoping for a pink and it turned out to be a orange, the first orange I've ever loved against my skin tone. No, its not the fist orange I've ever bought, but its the first one I've ever loved. It dried fast and very matte. This is three coats + Seche Vite and I did three coats because I could still see my nail line at two coats. These are 5 dollars at Claire's and I happened to catch a sale for BOGO 50% so I have another Claire's polish to show you tomorrow!

CND Solar Manicure

Look what I found at Trade Secret:

What it says on the bottle:
CND Solar Manicure is a one step exfoliating treatment with the properties of Solar Oil . Sea salts provide mild exfoliation while super penetrating formula conditions nails and skin.

Directions:
Apply a small amount to hands and gently massage. Rinse well with warm water and pat dry. Finish by massing to help the natural oils penetrate into the skin.

The jar opened:

Here's what it looked like it on my hand:

Let me just say that I love Solar Oil and this felt like a heavenly, thicker, moisturizing version for my whole hand. And the fragrance! It smells good, I don't know how to describe it, but it smells better than Solar Oil. My hands felt really, soft and moisturized. I mean with all those oils in there, sunflower, sweet almond, jojoba, etc, it has to feel great. I was afraid it was going to be too oily to wash off with just water or that it would feel great as long as it was on but as soon as it washed away I wouldn't feel the benefits. Both of my assumptions were wrong. It washed off just fine and my hands were still soft when I patted them dry.

Pros:
Exfoliating beads feel really great when you massage this in
Super moisturizing
Pleasant fragrance

Cons:
Those beads feel great but they will fly everywhere! Keep a paper towel or towel near to keep the mess to a minimum.
A bit pricey, it regularly retails for 15.95 at Trade Secret but I got it on clearance for 60% off

Verdict? Its a nice product to have in my collection for when I want to do something extra special for my manicures. I use acetone and that is harsh on my hands, this definitely could restore the moisturize I lose. I imagine it would feel even better if someone else was massaging my hands! A girl can dream...

Sally Hansen Problem Cuticle Remover

This weekend I picked up some cuticle remover because I'm tired of my crazy looking cuticles. I chose Sally Hansen Problem Cuticle Remover.

This is what it says on the box:
You Have: Thick, overgrown cuticles
You Want: Easy removal, soft skin
You'll Get: Smooth groomed cuticles

Directions were simple enough, apply a thin strip around cuticle and massage into skin. Wait three to five minutes. Gently ease back cuticles with manicure stick. Wash away with warm, soapy water.
Sounds good enough right? Here's some pictures of me applying the cream:

Pushing cuticles back with the manicure stick:
The verdict? Well my cuticles aren't as thick and overgrown as I thought. I didn't have to to push as much at all. The skin surrounding my nails was soft and felt moisturized. Here's a picture after using the cuticle remover. Please ignore the bad polish removal job. Also this is the first time I'm showing my bare nails!

Pros:
Great price, it was only about 3.50 at Wal-Mart
Lightly scented with a clean smell
Aloe Vera is great for moisturizing
Came with two orange sticks

Cons:
I cant think of any...

Overall, I would recommend it but maybe that's because I haven't used the great CND Cuticle Eraser. Its supposed to work wonders. Later for that though, I need to use this one up first!