Models Own "Pinky Brown" from the Beetle Juice Collection...

Hey Guys... I received my first Models Own polishes today in the mail and couldn't wait to apply Pinky Brown.  I'm not too familiar with Models Own.  They are made in the UK and just released their "Beetle Juice" Collection.  Anyway, I saw an opportunity to go in on a group-buy, so I jumped on it and purchased two colors from the Beetle Juice Collection....

Here is Pinky Brown:

Direct Sunlight

Direct Sunlight-- different angle

Shade

Indoors with flash

Indoors--right beside window

Indoors--Natural Light

Obviously with a name like Pinky Brown (not too original), you already know the polish is a duochrome. But... where's the pink and where's the brown??  I see copper..  I see magenta.. I see purple... that's about it.  This polish is neat.  The different colors ARE there.  I guess I just wouldn't have named it "Pinky Brown."  This is three coats with one coat of Out the Door topcoat.  I like this foily duochrome, but I'm a pink lover and expected it to be a little more pink.

Once again, Dugan followed me everywhere I went :)

50 Follower Winners!!!

+679entries so far

OVERcontest is over!

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Entry #26Jessica Hall

Entry #488Lisetta

results powered by Random.org

Using Rafflecopter is so easy!!  Here are the winners!!  I am getting ready to contact them by email now.  If I do not receive a response from them in 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen!!  Thanks to all!!!

Zoya Kristen and Lynnderella Connect the Dots!

Hi Everyone...  I guess I'm on a "zoya streak" lately.  I have another one for you today.  I had to get her she has my middle name--Kristen (spelled correctly and all)!  Also, I participated in a "group buy" and now I finally own some Lynnderellas!!  Yay!  Let's get started..  Kristen is up first...

held hand up to window.. you can see shade from the screen 

Kristen is from Zoya's new "Feel Collection." Six new neutral colors were released  last week and I'm glad because I'm tired of glitter already :)

Kristen is a light gray-blue..   This color is pretty, it's just not one I would pick that often.  I'm usually drawn to darker colors.  Kristen is a bit too pastel for my liking.  The formula was excellent.  Kristen was fully opaque with two coats

Since Kristen was kinda dull, I knew I had the perfect polish to spice her up..  Lynnderella's Connect the Dots..

Gahhhhh!  Love it!  Was so excited to finally have it!!  This top coat is so much fun.. it really does remind me of a Connect the Dots Puzzle!!

Lynnderella polishes are hard to come by.  You have to stalk Lynnderella's Blog to see when her shop is open, then you have to hurry and get your order in as her shop usually closes quite quickly.  Connect the Dots is so simple, but unique.  Above is 2 coats over Kristen... if you look close, you can see the base is a milky shimmer!!  I love it!!

Soon, you will be able to purchase Lynnderella's polishes at Llarowe, so keep your eyes peeled...

Zoya Julieanne..

I've missed swatching the past few days... I've had a horrible cold, but finally felt a little better today, so I chose a gorgeous color to share with you!

It's Zoya Julieanne...  Zoya describes this color as: "Unique purple sparkles with gold, peach and yellow-green duochrome in a dark blue-purple base."  They hit the description on the head.  Sometimes, I don't agree with the way Zoya describes their polish on their website, but Julieanne is exactly as described AND she's beautiful!!

Look at the sparkles!! It was hard to capture the duochrome with no sunlight, but I love the way Julieanne shines!!

with flash

I've been a little overwhelmed with all the glitter polishes lately, so Julieanne was a nice change.  She's a metallic sparkle that shines just enough to be a little more subtle than a glitter!  She's definitely one of my favorite zoyas!!  I also love the way zoya polishes apply.  Their brush is so easy to work with.  I usually need little to no cleanup after using a zoya.  Pictured above is 3 coats of Julieanne :)

Which Zoyas do YOU love???

I want to mention my 50 Follower Giveaway again.  It ends in 4 days, so hurry up and join! :)

I did a guest post....

Check out my guest post I happily wrote for Destany at Confessions of a Sarcastic Mom..

Hi Everyone!  I'm excited to write this guest post for Destany while she's busy writing.  I knew which polishes I would swatch as soon as she asked if I wanted to do a guest post.  This first polish is named after Destany.  It's a franken by our friend, Erika at polish fixation The name of this polish is "Sparkling Pingleberry":

Sparkling Pingleberry is packed full of tiny multi-colored glitter and scattered round glitter is a rich grape-y base... It's such a fun color!!  I love frankens.  I haven't made any yet myself, but it's pretty cool having some polishes that are one-of-a-kinds!!

Next up is a franken made by Destany herself.  It's called Panic Under Pressure II":

I saw a post of the original Panic Under Pressure in a nail polish group Destany and I both belong to.  I asked her if she could re-create some for me and she came so close that she named it Panic Under Pressure II.  Panic Under Pressure II and Sparkling Pingleberry are quite similar.  Panic is darker than Pingleberry and it contains tons of  small pink glitter.  I love both of these polishes and hope to obtain many more polishes mixed up by my fellow polish-lovers!! 

Thanks for asking me to write this post, Destany.  It was fun!  Good luck in you writings!!

November Birchbox

Hey Everyone.. I wanted to post some new polishes I just received in the mail, but I'm sicker than a dog today (why do people say that?  Dogs aren't always sick) so I'll just be doing a boring post about my birchbox. LOL.  I'm still on the fence about birchbox.  I feel like I like half of the items each month.  November is only my 3rd month, so I'll stick with it for a while.  For those of you who aren't familiar with birchbox, click here.

You could probably just send me a box full of bubble wrap and I'd be happy because I love nail mail (or anything that isn't a bill)

Everything is always packaged so cute.  I like surprises, so it's like Christmas once a month. :)

Shalimar Perfume by Guerlain...  I like this perfume.  It's a bit too strong for me, but not that bad.  I wouldn't spend the $84 on the bottle, though.

I do love this Eucalyptus body lotion by Thymes.. it's awesome!!  $24 for a large bottle (9.25 fl oz) is worth it.  This bottle is perfect for my purse.  I want to try the Borghese  Hydrating Mud, but my skin is so sensitive, I'm not sure what I'll do.. I may just give it to a friend.

A Zoya!!!  One of my favorite zoyas at that.  It's Sooki and it's my current favorite red!!  Zoya polishes are amazing!!  I want a billion of these cute little bottles!!  As for the "Two Paper Dolls" paper coasters... eh, not so much.

Last, Thymes Kimono Rose body lotion.  I don't like  rose scent, but the lotion is nice.  I'm glad I got the larger size in the eucalyptus!!

What did you get in your November Birchbox?  I think they make like 22 different boxes, so there's something for everyone!!

My first attempt at Gradient Nails...

Yesterday, I looked at some tutorials on youtube and on other blogs about "Gradient Nails".  It seems each tutorial was different.  "Gradient" is defined as: A rate of inclination or declination of a slope.  The colors you use are supposed to get either lighter or darker as you apply each polish...  


Let's see how I did:

I chose Yachty Yadda by Color Club as my base color... so far, so good..

... and here's where is goes slightly wrong.  Yes, my second color (OPI's Pink Flamenco) is darker than YY, but it's too dark.  I should have picked a lighter pink. (By the way, Yachty Yadda is the only color I painted on, the rest I did with a make-up sponge)  Originally, I picked Essie's Mod Square as the second color, but I was afraid it wasn't that much darker than YY...  Oh well, I'm not going to stop now..

Next, I applied butter LONDON's Queen Vic.  I like this color, but it's a jelly (or close to it), so it didn't show up as well as I would have liked... maybe I should have sponged on a second coat..

The last color I sponged on was Julep's Gayle.  This was a good choice.  Gayle has an awesome formula.

Lastly, I sponged on Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Strobe Light glitter.  I tried to apply the glitter a little more thick at the tips of my nails.


There you have it.. my first Gradient.  Yes, it qualifies as a Gradient Manicure... next one will just be a tad more subtle.  Have you tried a Gradient Manicure yet?  What colors did you choose?


Don't forget to enter my 50 Follower Giveaway!!  Only a week left!!


Bye for now.. I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend!!