Orly Hope & Freedom Fest Spring 2013

Happy Easter Everyone!!  I really wanted to do some nail art for today, but I haven't had the time. I've been busy working more lately and don't have the time I want for my nails :(  

I was going back and forth about ordering Orly's Hope & Freedom Fest Collection, but ultimately decided to just get them.. lol.  The colors looked pretty interesting in pictures, so I wanted to grab all six so I could post the entire collection (Oh, I'm not digging the new bottle design at all)...

Melodious Utopia:

direct sunlight

Melodious Utopia reminds me of lemonade.  It's a pretty yellow (that looks much brighter in the sun) with a subtle shimmer.  As with most yellows, the formula wasn't that great.  It was a bit streaky and clumpy.  I used three generous coats in the above photos.

Peaceful Opposition:

Peaceful Opposition was a pleasant surprise for me.  I REALLY like it!!  It has a milky white base packed with silver glitter in squares and hexes.  The formula was great for a densely packed glitter and there is NO curling at all.  I used two coats in the above three pics... I'm loving this one!!

Elation Generation:

Elation Generation is a gorgeous watermelon pink jelly packed full of holo micro-glitter!!  Ahhh... it's amazing!!!  All three pics above are in direct sun, but my camera didn't do the holo shine justice.  For a jelly, the formula is perfection!!  (Someone on my instagram commented their formula was thick-- but mine was great).  This polish will get much use this summer!!  I can already see it on my toes while sitting by the pool!! :)

Boho Bonnet:

Boho Bonnet is a pretty slate blue.  It reminds me of Zoya Kristen.  Zoya's formula is better though.. this one was a bit thin.  I held the two bottles side-by-side and Kristen is a bit bluer.  Boho Bonnet is pretty, but I'm sure I'll grab my Zoya if I'm looking for this color.

Coachella Dweller:

direct sunlight

direct sunlight

Coachella Dweller is an apple green creme.  Actually, it looks more apple green in sunlight and mint green in natural light.  The formula wasn't the greatest with Coachella Dweller.  I used three coats and still have some streaking on my pinkie finger.

High on Hope:

High on Hope is a deep indigo (almost navy) creme with a pretty micro-chrome shimmer.  All three pics were taken in the sun, so you can really see how beautiful the shimmer is!  The shimmer isn't as noticeable indoors, but you can still see it (it looks almost goldish pink).  The formula was nice.  Only two coats were required for full opacity.

**Overall, I like the collection.  I'm usually a bigger fan of cremes, but my favorites from Orly's Hope & Freedom Fest are: High On Hope, Elation Generation and Peaceful Opposition.  Do you have any from this collection?  Which are your favorites?

--PS--  Happy Birthday to my step-son, Matt!!  :)

Orly.. I Love Nails

Hey Everyone!!  Hope you all had a great weekend!!  I was excited to watch the return of The Walking Dead last night!!  Anyone else??

I picked up this mini collection of Orly's I <3 Nails and wanted to share it with you all.  I don't think any of these colors are new.  I think Orly just put them together for a "Valentine's Day Collection."

L to R: Toast the Couple, La Vida Loca, Lift the Veil, and Monroe's Red

Toast the Couple:

Toast the Couple is a peach-y champagne shimmer that totally is not for me.  I'm not a fan of frosty shimmers at all.. ugh.  And, look at the brush strokes-- so streaky!! I used three coats.  Sorry, this one does nothing for me.

La Vida Loca:

La Vida Loca is much more my taste!!  It's so much brighter and pinker in person.  It's almost neon.  I used two coats of this gorgeous fuchsia shimmer in the above two photos.

Lift the Veil:

Lift the Veil is a delicate pink creme that really does remind me of what I wore on my nails for my wedding.  The formula is a bit sheer.  I used three coats.  It's so soft and girly.

Monroe's Red:

Monroe's Red is stunning!  I love most red polishes and this one is no exception.  I love the shiny, almost jelly-like finish of Monroe's Red!  This is a perfect "Valentine's Red."  I used two coats in the above pictures.

Have a wonderful Monday!!  

Weekend Pink Spam

Happy Weekend!!  I grabbed some of my favorite pinks to share with you today.  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I just love pinks in general..

Deborah Lippmann Sweet Dreams:

Wow...Sweet Dreams is stunning!!  It has such a beautiful strawberry pink jelly-like base packed full of golden flakies!!  The formula was kinda goopy, so I added a few drops of polish thinner before application.  Pictured above is three coats of Sweet Dreams followed by topcoat..  It's simply gorgeous.  You can purchase Sweet Dreams and tons of  Deborah Lippmann polishes at Apothica!

SOPI Seeing Pink Elephants:

Seeing Pink Elephants is the perfect bubble gum/pepto pink creme.  It's a little brighter in real life.  I'm such a sucker for pink cremes and when they're as gorgeous and have such an excellent formula as Seeing Pink Elephants, I'm totally in love.  This polish was a birthday gift from my good polish pal, Erika at Polish Fixation.  I have two coats of SPE in the above photo.

Orly Cupcakes and Unicorns over Seeing Pink Elephants:

Cupcakes and Unicorns is from Orly's Flash Glam FX Collection.  Call a polish "Cupcakes and Unicorns" and it's pink & red = I'm sold!!  This one has a pretty pink shimmery base with red bar glitter.  The bar glitter was kinda sparse, so I used two coats in the above pic.  It's girly and fun!!

China Glaze Beach Cruise-r:

I am in love with Beach Cruise-r!!  It's been one of my favorite polishes since I got my hands on it in the summer!  I'm gonna need a new bottle soon!!  Beach Cruise-r is from the Summer 2012 Neon Collection.  I love that it's not too bright and I love the subtle blue shimmer!  This one is a perfect match for my skintone.  I've already worn two pedis with Beach Cruise-r!!  Awww...I miss summertime already!!

Lynnderella Love Potion No 99 over Beach Cruise-r:

I still have so many untrieds in my polish stash and Love Potion No 99 was one of them.  I thought this would look great over Beach Cruise-r and I think I was right!!  Love Potion No 99 is very complex.  Most of the glitters are purple, but layering it over Beach Cruise-r really allows the fuchsia glitter to shine!!  This glitter was quite dense.  I have one coat of Love Potion No 99 layered over Beach Cruise-r, followed by a coat of gelous, then a thick coat of topcoat in the above two pics.

GOSH Flamingo:

GOSH Flamingo was another birthday gift from Erika.  She knows my taste all too well!  :)  Flamingo is another gorgeous bright pink creme.  The formula was kinda thin for a creme, so I used three coats in the above two photos.

**I hope you've enjoyed my "pink spam"...  Have a great weekend!!**

A Birthday Splatter!

Hey All!  So, today's my birthday and I wanted to post something fun.  I recently purchased the Orly Fired Up minis and thought they might work well in a Splatter Mani..

My Birthday Splatter:

It's fun, right?  It was so hard to photograph though.  My favorite fingers are my thumb and ring.  I started with a base of Orly Au Champagne.  After that dried, I splattered with Orly Rapture, Flicker, Smolder, and Flare.  (To "Splatter", you dip a straw in some polish then quickly puff on the straw while holding it about 3-4 inches above your nail).  

Hope you like it... I love the Fall Colors!!

**Don't forget to enter my One Year Blogiversary Giveaway!!**

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

Happy Independence Day!!  I really do love this holiday... it incorporates some of my favorite things-- America, Summer, Family, Friends, Food, Fireworks, and our local trashy carnival-- lol!!  Here is a red, white, and blue Gradient Dot Manicure inspired once again by... yep, you guessed it-- Sarah at Chalkboard Nails.  This post is also part of a group mani done with some pretty talented polish pals..

My Independence Day Dot Gradient:

For this 4th of July Mani, I started with two coats of Orly Au Champagne.  After that was completely dry, I did my blue dots first with China Glaze Blue Year's Eve, then my red dots were done with Zoya Carrie Ann. (duh, should have done the red first..I think the blue would have covered the red better.. oopsie).  Yikes, my nails are kinda tiny and I shouldn't have added as many dots.  My thumb looks the best because it's much wider than my other fingers..  All in all, I like this one!!

**God bless America**

A Dotted Border Mani

"Border" or "Framed" Manis are becoming quite popular, so I decided to give one a try..

I like this concept and I really like using dots as my border since I don't think I could create a regular border quite as neat (check out how neat this one is from Sarah at Chalkboard Nails!).  For this mani, I started with two coats of OPI Skull and Glossbones, followed by a coat of Northern Lights by Out The Door.  After everything dried, I used a dotting tool and applied Orly Snowcone, Orly Basket Case and Orly Green Apple.  As much as I want to like Skull and Glossbones, I just do NOT like it on me.. it makes my skin look dead.. blah.

Happy Weekend, Kids!!

**Jodi and Destany's Super Awesome Fantastic Giveaway ends in 2 days!  Ahhh... hurry and enter!!**

Weekly Water Marble 5/31/12

I can't believe it's Thursday already!!  This week is flying by so fast!!  Here is a water marble I did with Orly's Feel the Vibe Collection.  I really like how my Orly Splatter turned out, so I decided to try to water marble with them.. (it wasn't so easy)..

Orly Feel the Vibe Water Marble:

I started with two coats of a white creme and after that dried, I marbled with all four of the neons that are a part of Orly's Feel the Vibe Collection.  These neon polishes are a bit more difficult to marble with because the formula is so sheer.  The polish wouldn't "drip" in to the water, so I had to dab the brush in each time to build my bulls-eye.   You can tell these polishes are sheer because you can see the white base (especially on my thumbnail).  Although this was a pretty difficult marble, I'm still pleased with the final result. :)  

**Have you entered Jodi and Destany's Super Awesome Fantastic Giveaway yet??  Hurry and enter.. time is running out!!**