Arizona Ice Tea wannabe

Today I have my rehearsal dinner mani. Unfortunately not only did I not make it to the rehearsal but the mani didn't last that long anyway. Note to self: don't let the bf pack and since he isn't allowed to pack don't do mani before packing. I woke up early so I could do my nails before having to leave to the airport. I figured that while I was doing my nails he could pull out the clothes that needed packing. I didn't anticipate him totally freaking out because nothing would fit in the bag the way he wanted it to. I walked into a room with clothes everywhere and a bag overflowing with only his clothes lol. I thought I over packed! By the time I was done packing I already had a chip which was not cool at all!

I had a great plan for the mani using Jordana Mint Candy as the base. I was going to use Sephora Brownie for the branches and either Orly Spark or Loreal French Tip White for the flowers and those little fimo flowers.

I used the top left image on M66 for the design.

Luckily trying to take all these pictures actually distracted me from freaking out on the plane ride. I am sure I won't be posting many nail shots from a plane lol. I ended using the white for the flowers and then using Spark to put a yellow center in the flower. I used one fimo flower on each middle finger to give it a little extra kick.

Planes don't provide the best lighting for these pictures. Most of the pictures were either too bright or two dark.

I had put some Burt's cuticle cream on earlier so my fingers are shiny.

This mani reminds me of the Arizona Tea cans. I didn't get to take my pretty mani to the rehearsal dinner because we got incredibly lost on extremely dark roads in North Carolina. The girl that gave us directions didn't do a very good job and we ended up about 100 miles out of our way past our destination. It was a long night! I think by the time we made it to our destination I had only a couple fingers left with polish on them. It was nice while it lasted though. The fimo flowers didn't bother me as much as I thought they would. This means I must have more!

That's all for now :)

I'm back! Vacation Haul.

I am BACK!!! I am sorry for the lack of posting but my laptop would not cooperate and Internet wasn't the best. I fully intended on blogging each day but we spent a lot of time in the car exploring which left me with NO Internet at all. It was a great trip, beautiful wedding and a wonderful get away. I am still tired and very much not in the swing of things yet but I am getting there.

I loved the bouquet and wanted to bring it home but this is how he looked Sunday afternoon. Parched! I didn't know how well it would go through the trip back to Florida and it was already wilting so I left him behind :( So pretty though.

I managed to stop at every pharmacy I could lol. We don't have Kerr Pharmacy (or is it Kerr Drugs?) here so I was all over that place! It helped that I really had to stop for a bathroom break so that was my main excuse. The bf knew I wanted to check out the polish though lol. This is what my zip lock bag looked like on the flight home. I was really really really nervous that security would have an issue with all the polish but they didn't say a word to me. DARN IT, I could have bought more!

I hit up the Kerr and then Rite Aid and a Sally's and Walgreens. I also checked out some other stores but they didn't have anything so they don't get to be mentioned lol. It was actually cold for this Florida girl so we ended up having to hunt all over town for sweatshirts. Apparently no one has jackets and sweatshirts this time of year. Luckily Walmart had some on clearance (thank goodness for the local college apparel that didn't sell during the winter). So my vacation haul was Sinful Colors Innocent, Wet N Wild Sunburst (the rest of the display was out) CQ Tahitian Green and Golden Green (wish I could have gotten more of these since we don't have em here), Milani Bolting Blue, Orly Pink Whisper, To Have and To Hold and Honeymoon in Style (Sally's Clearance) and Chameleon Calypso (never heard of this one before but it was pretty).

Part of the gift the bride gave me. A Glow in the Dark pink glitter from Hot Topic, Nerds Grape scented nail polish and Vanilla scented Nail Polish remover pads. Super sweet of her :)

I found this old Sally Hansen polish when I was looking for my brush in the car a while back. I just threw it in my purse this morning. I apparently took the labels off of it for some unknown reason. I have no idea how long it has been there but it has been there for quite awhile.

That's my vacation haul. I also found a LUSH store and picked up a Lemony Flutter cuticle butter so we will see if that stuff can get these cuticles in shape. My nails have spent the past couple days naked. Traveling is not good for manis or nails in general! I wore Teenage Dream for the wedding because I was running out of time to do what I wanted. Unfortunately it was all chipped and looked horrible by the time I got back to the hotel and was ready to take pictures of it.

Now that I am back we are back on track for posting. Next trip I take (we have a Disney trip coming up) I will be prepared on the posting front.

That's all for now :)

We have a landing

Well we made it to North Carolina fine. There was a little bumpyness on the approach but I did not panic - much. I did bring my laptop and have some pictures to share but it is old and being difficult right now and I don't have time this morning to fight with it but I will try and get something up later. I already discovered a Kerr Pharmacy (I think that is the name) which I have never seen before. There is a Rite Aid not too far from where we are staying too so I will hit that up later lol. Right now the nails are naked but I think I decided to wear Teenage Dream to the wedding since it is sparkly but not too out there. For now I have one picture I managed to get uploaded and then I did something weird to it with photobucket. I don't know what because I was just pushing buttons lol.

I can't believe that is the same picture as the first one.

That's all for now :)

My Caitlin Opal

It is Thursday and I am totally not prepared to fly tomorrow! I have a lot to do including packing. Today I have a really pretty mani that I love! I hadn't tried to mattify flakies and thought it was the perfect time to try it.

I used Zoya Caitlin as the base and Color Club Covered in Diamonds (came with a set at Ross) and Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love.

This polish reminds me of the cellophane you can get for wrapping baskets.

Caitlin is more purple than blue in real life and on me but I couldn't get the color right.

I picked this up at Walmart on a whim one day. I like making things matte.

I took a couple pictures in the sun because it shines so pretty.

Caitlin applied like all Zoya polishes I have tried so far, really nicely. I used two coats. She is a really pretty purply gray toned creme. I love the color on it's own.

Covered in Diamonds was a pain to apply. The problem with this polish is that the chunks are thick and stick up. It was not easy to keep a few of them laying flat. I pushed them down, used a thick coat of Matte-ly in Love and still a few stuck up. I got less of the glitter flake chunks on my left hand and opted to just leave it alone rather than use another coat.

You can see the difference between the hands in these two pictures (top and bottom). I made it a point to get a lot more on my right hand than my left. I like it both ways but more pretty stuff is always better lol.

Matte-ly in Love was great. I don't have another to compare it to but it made the polish pretty matte and dried really quick. I used two coats on a couple of fingers to try and keep the glitter chunky flakie things down (didn't work well).

I love this combo. I think the mattified Covered in Diamonds gives it an Opal feel. I love Opals, they are my birthstone so I am really enjoying this look.

I had to post a lot of pictures of both hands because I loved it so much.

I will definitely have to remember to wear this again in October. Now I want to mattify everything sparkly!

That's all for now :)

Morning Haulin

 I should NOT be allowed to go to my dusty beauty supply place unsupervised. It never ends well for my wallet! I actually was down the street trying to get the cleaner to hem my bridesmaid dress (with heels it is still about 3 inches too long) and stopped in to see if they were stocked yet. Oh My Gosh they were. The China Glaze rack was still pretty empty but the rest of the store was well stocked. I walked into work this morning with a dress that is still too long (hopefully I can figure something out) and a bag of new pretties.

China Glaze is really cheap there so I picked up Liquid Leather. I just can't pass it up for the price. Unfortunately none of the others jumped out at me. I was looking at Jordana polishes online yesterday and was intrigued by this Extra Garlic Basecoat for super growth (their words not mine). I also saw Mint Candy on a blog and have wanted it since.

I sorted through the Konad plates and I liked this one the first time I saw it but have a great idea to use it for tomorrow's mani (more about that below). They had the Orly Precious display and had one Ancient Jade left. I have been to every Sally's around to no avail and kicked myself for not getting this when I first saw it so I snatched it up real quick. She said they JUST got that display in this week. They apparently run a little behind which is good to know for future reference. I also picked up Sapphire Silk. Those two Orlys didn't WOW me when I first saw the display (I was also in a hurry) but seeing swatches online has made me want both. I have read raves about Healthy Hoof and my cuticles are not happy so I figured I would give that a go as well.

I am still working out the design but I was thinking maybe Ancient Jade as a base and the image on the left top in brown with white flowers and then replace a couple of flowers with fimo ones on an accent nail. I am not sure if that is described well but if it looks as good as it does in my head it will be perfect for the rehearsal mani. I can't wait to try it :)

I found this China Glaze at Publix last night. I am going to have a problem going in there for groceries and not checking out the nail polish every time. This is Cross Iron. I saw it the other day and really liked it but pounced on Meteor Shower instead. They also have Bad Kitty which I have wanted so that will be next time. :)

That's all for now :)

It's a Party on My Nails!

Happy Hump Day!! Wow, I am exhausted! Today was a fairly busy day at work and this getting up at 5:30 am is not fun (I don't stay up lol, just get woken up by the bf's alarm). I usually go back to sleep for about 45 minutes before I actually have to get up. It wouldn't be bad but I can't fall asleep before midnight, I am not used to the schedule change yet. Let's just say coffee is my friend right now, my very good friend.

Yesterday Random.org randomly picked Wet N Wild Party of Five Glitters. I knew I wanted to layer this over something and I have seen it over black so I chose white. I used Wet N Wild French White Creme. Have I mentioned how much I do not like French White Creme? I don't, at all, he is a pain to apply. I used three coats and it was still streaky. I went to Sally's today intending to get an alternative if there were three polishes I wanted. There wasn't so I didn't. I am putting you on notice Mr. French White Creme, your days are numbered, you will be frankened because you are not my friend.

Party of Five Glitters is quite a festive glitter. Confession time: Dear Party of Five Glitters, I didn't like you at first nor did I like Gems. I fully intended on swapping Gems and not keeping it and picked up you as a cheap replacement in case I ever felt remorse for swapping. I never swapped Gems and never intended on using you. I am sorry. You are lovely and all but I wasn't into you. Fortunately you were randomly picked and now I do like you. You are festive. Please forgive me.

Party of Five Glitters is a clear polish, (mine has a slight pink tint to it probably from all the pink glitter) with tons of glitter jam packed in there. There are larger silver hexagons, medium magenta and blue hexagons, smaller green, red and silver? glitters. I am not sure if the little ones are silver or gold because they are pretty small and sometimes they look gold and others they look silver. It is a party in a bottle. This polish is very similar to Milani Gems which is very similar to Deborah Lippman Happy Birthday.

I did a somewhat gradient mani with the Party of Five Glitter just to be different. These first pictures were taken in the car. I was in the Starbucks drive thru waiting to pay so you got a couple money shots.

The glitter in this polish seriously reflects light. Luckily the sun wasn't out when I was taking these pictures because when I tried later the camera couldn't handle the glitter in full sun.

They are still pretty shiny in the office! The glitter is pretty sparse and I imagine it would take a few coats to get a lot of glitter going. I used an eyeshadow applicator to sponge this on because the polish is rather thick.

I am really enjoying this mani. It is fun and the bf said it looks like a sprinkle cupcake. I would like to put a sheer coat of something over it and really make it look like a cupcake. Now I want cupcakes. Darn you diet!

That's all for now :)

Odds and Ends

This is just an odds and ends post with some pictures. When my purse starts to get heavy I usually try and clean it out. It was pretty heavy the other day so I decided it was time. I can't imagine why it was so heavy...I only had 21 polishes in there. I tend to not empty my purse out a lot. Can you tell?

I was shopping at Publix which is our local grocery store. LOVE PUBLIX! The other day I found a random China Glaze polish and freaked out. Last night I found a whole display and really got excited. I whipped out my camera to take pictures. My son thought this was odd.

They have some random stuff there. The one thing they did have that I got totally excited over what Meteor Shower! I have been lemming this one for awhile but no one else carries it. I of course snatched that one up and did a happy dance. My son thought that was odd too. I need to go back and really look at what they have to see what else I need. They are $4.99 each which is about average, I think Sally's is a little less with the card but Sally's doesn't have these colors. I will have to check it out and then go to the dusty supply store and see if they have any because they are far better priced. Unfortunately last time I was there the rack was nearly empty, I don't think they had a chance to fill it yet. I hope.

Publix also got a whole rack of OPI. They had a few randoms before but now they have a whole rack! They didn't have anything that jumped out and me and hitched a ride home. I think I was more excited about the China Glaze because I have never seen it there before.

This is Meteor Shower in all its glittery goodness. This picture reminds me of the night sky. I love it!

That's all for now :)