Digital on My Digits

It's nice when a nail polish company tells your right up front what type of polish it is.  Milani's 3D Holographic....

This is 'Digital.'  This is awesome.  This is so mine.

It is on the sheer side.  I have 3 coats here.  But I'm forgiving...THIS time.  I just love staring at it.  Along with a base coat, I wrapped up this manicure with 2 coats of Seche Clear and one of Vite.

It's the gold, pink and iridescent micro-glitter that holds my fascination.  All floating in a pink, almost mauve, base.  I can fall in love with colors quite easy.  However, I'm gonna put myself on the line by stating that this is pink, it's got glitter and it's shimmery;  all the makings for a nail polish I'll fall for.

The bottle size is easy to hold on to, but Milani has shrimpy tops.  The brush is long and just about too skinny.  The polish, itself, laid down well, albeit watery.  And the micro-glitter did cause it to dry with a fine grit.  I don't care.  Seche fixes just about any of those issues.

Outdoors it comes alive!!!  Now you can see more of the gold glitter.  What can I say but, stunning!

So, here's a polish that's called 3D holographic.  And you don't even need to wear the funny 3D glasses to enjoy the beauty.

Now, if you made it reading down this far, and I can't blame you if you just want to stare at the polish color, then I have got to remind you of my giveaway.  There's only 3 days left.  I think the odds are on your side with this one as there are not a billion entries.  But then, there could be by the end of Saturday night.   Quick, go enter before I decide to giveaway Halloween candy instead and keep the prize for myself!!!!

Lie Down a Blanket and Enjoy Sex on the Beach

Once, I mused with co-workers that I thought sex on the beach would be so romantic.  One of the guys commented 'No, it's not.  You get sand everywhere and it's really uncomfortable.'
*crickets*

Here's some Sex on the Beach that I can, uhm, comfortably enjoy...

Holy sandbox!  If you have never tried BB Couture, stop reading blogs and go to  Overallbeauty.com and order some RIGHT NOW!  Seriously.  You will NOT regret it.

Sex on the Beach is an orange-red with the most fab gold and orange micro-glitter.  Personally, I have never seen any color like this.  I have 2 coats applied.  Since BB Couture is a base coat, color and top coat in one, it saves you gobs of time.  And the application, better than sex (on the beach!).  Truly glides on smooth, no grit.  The brush isn't skimpy or too thin.  I think the shape of this bottle is very chic. Sex on the Beach wears so well that I didn't get any lift or chips after 5 days.  I love this color so much I hated taking it off.

High shine?  You bet!  And if you don't get some BB Couture, you'll regret laying in the sand.  You don't want to get uncomfortable, do you?


BB Couture's Sex on the Beach was sent to me for review and my honest opinion.

Met Pink's Cousin~Lavender

Don't waste any time!!  Jump over to my giveaway post and enter.  It ends Saturday, 10/2/10 at 10 EST.

When I was a kid, I remember the Avon lady coming to our house, sitting down with my mom and chit chatting while my mom looked at the Avon catalog.  Now, women shop Avon online.  Or, I do see shops at the flea market.  When I lived in Virginia, there was an Avon store.  Ah, instant gratification!

Now, before I go off on a tangent about how much I like Avon, let me put a photo up of a really cool Avon polish...

This is Nailwear Pro 'Luxe Lavender.'  The photobox doesn't capture the color too well.
Here's one outside...

That's just a cool, literally, purple.  This creme isn't quite a pastel.  I think it's just a bit too dark to be an out-and-out pastel. 

The squared off bottle is easy to hold.  And, the top, being squared off as well, makes polishing quick.  The brush isn't skimpy.  It loads up a nice amount of polish and applies very smoothly.

This is in the sunny window.  Not a terribly clear photo but you can see the shine.  This is two coats of color.  I needed that as only 1 made bald spots.  I have a coat of Seche Clear then Vite.

I'm just going to quit apologizing for my cuticles.  They suck.  I know it.  You know it.  We are all hoping that I can get them moisturized.  I did some swatching today and remembered to put on some Lemony Flutter before the photo shoot.

Anyhoo, I love that the back of this bottle is bare.  You can see for yourself that this is a cremey, dreamy lavender.  It's a color I love.  But I bet you wouldn't like it so much if the bride picked this shade for your bride's maid dress.

Did you know that purple is pink's cousin twice removed?  Yes, you can discover this on heritage.com!  So, don't you think a cousin purple giveaway would make a nice theme?  I'm just sayin'......

I Don't Want to Be This Old, But I'm Going to Be Turning 200 Giveaway

It is cool to have a giveaway.  They are very special to me because I want to treat my followers.  If you were here, we'd go out to Starbucks or Panera.  Seriously, I like to hang out with friends.

However, since everyone lives all around the world, I will send you a gift of gratitude.  A few of you live in my city so don't let it scare you off if you win and I say 'come and get it!'

I'm just a few followers short of 200.  I figure I'll be there in less than a week. This is cause for a celebration giveaway.  So, I've been giving special thought about what to have as my giveaway.

At this time, I'd like to step up on my soapbox: No Giveaway Ho's.  This giveaway is for my followers and not for those that troll for free stuff.  I sincerely try to say things in a nice manner.  But, upon careful consideration, it's my blog.  I share my thoughts, feelings and beliefs here.  If this makes you uncomfortable or unhappy, please leave.

Besides the quintessential required entries, I'm going to ask a question and entries will have to give a meaningful answer.  This 'nice blog' answer shit will not cut it.  If you found this blog and this post and are new, just say so.  Let me know who you are.  New followers are welcome.  Trollers for free stuff only, are not.

I purchase my giveaways with my own money.  I don't have any backers at this time.   Please do not participate in this giveaway if you don't like the prize.  All the other participants want to win.  Don't steal away their opportunity just to get something for nothing.  Email me at libbyspinkvanity(@)gmail.com if you would like clarification on this.

Enough of the preaching, Kimberly, WHAT IS THE PRIZE?????!!!!!!

It is a brand-new set of Color Club's Rebel Debutante collection.  I haven't opened it.  And I didn't do my research as to which color is which but, here's the names listed on the package.

Who Are You Wearing?, High Society, Best Dressed List, Charity Ball, Uptown Girl, She's Sooo Glam, Ms. Socialite.

I purchased this with full intentions for a giveaway.  It has pink in there, of course.  However, I liked that it has some softer colors and some of the trendier fall colors too.  I covet Color Club sets!

Wanna know how to win 'em?  OK, here's the dirt:
MANDATORY  (each of these is an entry)
* Be a follower (new and current)
*Post a comment with your email

EXTRA CREDIT: (each of these is an entry, but you have to give link where you did it)
*Tweet about this giveaway, link it to here
*Put this giveaway on your Facebook, link it to here

SUPER-SIZE EXTRA CREDIT: (3 entries count for this one)
* Post about this giveaway on your blog with at least one of the first 2 photos, put the link in your comments)

This giveaway is open to international as well.  Even if you have won a giveaway from me before, you can enter again.  I like it when someone gets super lucky like that!  You can enter separate posts or all in one.   Giveaway ends on October 2, 2010, Saturday, 10 PM EST.


Thank you for following my blog.  And, Good Luck!

Pink Can't Be Sinful, No Way!

Like many of us in nail blogland, we had some (ok, a LOT) polishes to start off with.  This isn't one of them.  But it is with a brand that I have purchased a lot from because 1) it's cheap affordable, 2) easily accessible at Walgreens and 3) when they go on sale, you can still afford it even if you are on a ramen noodles budget.

Pink blog, pink polish...what's there to figure out?

Sinful Colors isn't committing a real sin with this color.  It's 'Beautiful Girl' and there's nothing sinful about that.

Nice creme, girly pink.  I have 3 coats here, and that is my norm.  It is a bit watery but it still looks beautiful.  I can still see some VNL however, not much.

If Sinful Colors is a new brand to you, let me tell you; they have come pretty cool colors for a $1.99 price tag.  Found at Walgreen's, you can even catch frequent sales at 99 cents.  The bottle fits really well in my hand.  And even the top is easy to hold.  The brush is long and thin however, I find that it holds a decent amount of polish for application.  Depending on your skill level, the polish applies nicely and this one didn't have any streaks.  I added to the shine by topping it with Seche Vite.

I think I'd call this a 'safe' color.  It's bright but not a neon.  And I am making this my 'go to pink' shade.

Here is a rare look at my attempt at stamping...

Really bad cuticle kills this shot.  Ugh!  I moisturize like crazy, but obviously not enough.  I am working on hydrating before photo shoots.  I'm ashamed that the cuticles are raw.  FAIL!!!

And, the point is, that 'Beautiful Girl' makes for a beautiful canvas for stamping.

Can you see why I'd make this my 'go to' pink?

When Is A Creme Not a Creme?

Is it that hard to come up with a witty name for a nail polish? Personally, ehhem, I feel I can do better.

Here's a cute polish that has a total misname...

NYC makes 'Classic Coral Creme.'  Really?  It's not even a creme!  Even a novice like me can tell you that much.  And, I'm kinda iffy on the 'classic' part too.  I see that micro-micro glitter in there!  There's pink, silver and a darker coral glitter in that bottle.  I'm not a 'coral' girl, however, I'm digging this gem.

But here's what I can tell you; this is a fun, summery color.  I almost wore flip flops this color was so beachy.

Classic Coral Creme (blech!) is pretty watery.  I have about 4 coats here to give it some opacity.  However, since it's waaaay down there on my toes, I didn't care as much as I would with my fingernails.  I find the top skinny and not too easy to hold onto.  The brush is long and thin too.  But it is flexible enough to manage.

I have a top coat and the Vite on top.  And since my toes don't get any of the wear my fingernails do, this wore well. 

Truly, I feel sorry for this pretty color.  It makes me think of Johnny Cash's ''A Boy Named Sue.'  Well, how do you do?  I'm naming you 'Coral Glitters Too.'

Do you roll your eyes like I do when you see a nice polish with a totally lame name?  Or, do you roll your eyes when you read my new, made up names?

A Rose By Any Other Name

Growing up, I could rarely use nail polish.  Mostly because my father is highly sensitive to odors.  So nail polish, nail polish remover, incense (hey, it was the 70's!), and perfumes where out of the question.  When I could, on rare occasions, apply polish, it was done outdoors, hours before my father got home from work.

I'm soooo lucky I didn't inherit THAT trait!  Not that I love the smell of polish, but I just plain like to polish my nails!

And I love, love, LOVE deep, rich colors.  Check out this cutie I got from Forever 21...

Hooray!!  The camera DID pickup on the gold duochrome in this sassy magenta.  But why do they name this lamely 'Rose'?  At least spice it up like 'Gilding Rose.'  Forever 21 calls their makeup like 'Love and Beauty' which is much more appealing.

Yea, it is sassy on my toesies.  See the brown patches on my feet.  That's my attempt with self-tanners.  I try to embrace my paleness.  But, well, remember I can't leave well enough alone?

This is a mini bottle.  It has a rubber-grip top.  That is a nice quality.  With a squared bottle, I like the way it fits in my hand.  The brush is long and thin but nothing weird or terrible about it.  The consistency of the polish is very nice.  It's not watery, nor is it gloppy thick.  Goldilocks approves it as juuusst right!

I admit I am so smitten by the color, I took more photos of the bottle!    But I am so fascinated with the gold veins in this polish.  Uber love-sauce!

And the kicker, for me, it only cost $2.80!  One last note on the polish; even though the gold shimmer came through digitally, the color of the magenta is a little bit darker in real life.

With this winning cutie, I will say that it has the sweet smell of success.

What's your favorite smell?  Baking bread?  Babies' necks?  Newly mowed grass?  Those are a few of mine.

Apple Harvest Ready

After I got out of college, I began to love fall.  No more starting school!!!  But, it also meant the end of a 3 month vacation.  Hello, adult life.

And, as I get a bit older (hey! it's rude to ask!!!), fall is a pleasant temperature season.  I AM a sweater girl.  I love wearing boots.  I adore flannel sheets!  I SO live in Florida!  Hmmmm....

In a previous post, I showed this set I got from Icing...

Yeaaahhhh!  My first fall collection of the year!!  Yummmy!!

First one tested....

A creamy red that is orange/yellow based.  Icing doesn't name any of these.  And that gives me a chance to "NAME THAT COLOR!!!!"

I, hereby, dub thee "Harvest Apple."

It's cute, I do like it.  However, I think blue reds are better for my skin tone.  But, since I am in a (hurry up and get here!) fall mood, it fits.

This is 2 base coats, 2 coats of Harvest Apple, one Seche Clear and then Seche Vite.  It wore like crazy.  Consistency is a bit thick and would be much easier to manage on my fingers.  And the stupid little top and brush...it will put a scowl on your face.

The price wasn't too bad; $8 for the entire mini set.  And, I still see this fall collection in the Icing stores.  So they are not flying out of the store.  But then, I figure since it is 'mostly' a young girl's boutique store, that audience isn't into these shades of polish anyway.

Which looks better on you: orange reds or blue reds?  Do you have a 'rite of passage' fall color or shade?

A Beauty Tool You Can Love

What's this??????

A trick chopstick?  A tool for torture?  (Close!!!)  A fine hair removal tool?  YES!

This was a queenky-dink, but I had been trolling around YouTube and saw this...

And not but two days later my fab friend, Darcy (who is out to prove to the world that 3 little boys are NOT a match to one great mommy) said she had ordered herself one from Amazon and had received it.  I begged her to 'fess up on how it worked for her.  She liked it.
 Bellabe Facial Hair Remover.

Well, I knew I was going to get an Amazon Gift Card (I AM a good egg, sometimes!) and I vowed that when I did, I was getting this.  I trusted that the facial-hair-removal gods had aligned it.  I didn't have to wait too long when I got the GC and that same day, I ordered my Bellabe from Amazon.

I have had my brows threaded in the past and love the results way better than waxing.  Something about waxing just made me leery.  I think it happened about the time my hairdresser friend said that her boss asked to her to wax her brows.  In the process, she removed half of her boss' one brow!!!  No Redo Button!!!!  EEEEeeeeee!

Threading is such a precise process and doesn't hurt as much as waxing.  I thought it was such a cool process, I even went to a threading class to learn it.  Oh, it wasn't easy!  Damn, it was like when I got a guitar for my birthday.  I couldn't pay it right off.  What a downer!!!!
But, luckily, learning threading didn't take years of training like it did to sort of play the guitar. (Bless Joyce Eisenhour's heart. She was my patient guitar teacher.)

With some practice I could thread my legs.  But there was no way I could thread my face!  This is the cue for the Bellabe to appear!!!  Ta da!

For about the cost of getting my eyebrows threaded, this little whiz can defuzz my face faster than you can say 'don't get that thing near MY face!!'  Ah, come on...it doesn't hurt THAT bad!

When I got mine, had played around with it and found just the right way to hold it, I was off.  And so was the peach fuzz.  I told Darcy I loved mine.  She asked if it hurt.  No, it felt tingly though.  She said I was some sort of he-woman because she said it hurt her.  I didn't know what to think about that.  This coming from a woman who had three natural child births!!

After using it for several days (I think I've become quite addicted to using this!), I did confess that it did smart using it right under my nose, above my lip.  But the rest, really doesn't hurt ME.

Can I say the same for you?  Nope.  We all have different pain tolerance levels.  But, once you get down the knack of this tool, you should get that smooth skin de-peaching.  And why do we want that, you ask.  It allows your foundation to apply and look better.  And you don't want to end up having whiskers, do you?  I think I see some heads out there shaking 'no.'

I do need to give a disclaimer here: I don't use the Bellabe on my eyebrows.  I use it between them, on top of them and on those strays that appear off the end of my browline.  Someone way more gifted than I am may be able to do their brows with this.  I am sticking to having threading done the old-fashioned way with my professional.  Only negative I have, I didn't get a PINK one. :(  No choices given on color.

Other disclaimer: I bought my Bellabe with my own money (or, in this case, an Amazon Gift Card).  The manufacturers probably want me to assume all the risks.  You assume all your own risks, too, if you try this out.

Any takers?

What? No Photos???

Blogger isn't getting along with me right now.  I've been trying since 9/12 to create posts but I can't get the photos loaded.  I don't know about you, but the photos make it interesting!!!  Sheesh!

So, until I get this technical difficulty worked out, I'm unable to share my findings and hobby with you.  :((

Please don't think I have forgotten you or have abandoned my blog.  I'm gonna be back as soon as I can figure out how to rip the wiring right out of Blogger and shove it up it's post.

9/11 Never Forget

I wore an American pin on my shirt today.  It was a visual reminder that I was honoring all the fallen heroes of 9/11. 

I went with a friend and her family to the Kennedy Space Center today.  And, I was reminded of those that gave their lives so that we could learn more about our 'space' in space.  I was glad to see the flags at half-mast. 

9/11 is, to me, a reminder to not hate.  Too not judge too quickly.  And a reminder to realize that there are others who do not feel this way and will never change their minds.  As a devoted American, no one will change my mind in what I believe in.  And that is FREEDOM.

Glitter Is My Crack's First Giveaway

She has to be the most beautiful person on the Internet!  Blix has a makeup blog that is a scene-stealer.  The makeup looks this chickie comes up with makes my eyes bug out of my head.

She is also hosting her first ever giveaway.  Click on the link to jump over to her blog and enter.  And check her out....she's gorgeous!!!!

I Couldn't Leave Well Enough Alone, Part II

A couple of posts back, I had Part I of 'not leaving well enough alone'.  However, I have to admit, when I did plop down a sparkly top coat here, it did make me feel I had improved on it.  Remember 'Home Improvement'?  Tim never could leave well enough alone either. 

For me, it's just a wickedly expensive fun hobby. 

Here's Confetti's 'Debutante'...

I'm going to call this a soft, gold taupe.  Very subdue and very office appropriate.  It's shimmery but not screaming.  I used three coats to make it Solid Gold. There's 2 coats of Seche Clear and 1 Coat of Seche Vite.  I'm sorta 'meh' about this color.  It's OK, but my tastes usually are to have my fingernails SCREAM!!!

Confetti's is a new brand, MBA Beauty, released at CVS.  Here's the scoop on why you may want to get some of MBA Beauty's polishes before they are GONE! 

I didn't wait...

If you see a color more than once, that means it's gonna be in a giveaway.  One for you, one for me.

I'm brazen enough to think I can do better.  Now, I did put on my thinking cap that not only lets me think outside of the box, but also color inside the lines.  If this color is golden, why not try a silver glitter????  Hmmmmm...I DID just get a new topcoat from Revlon.  They released a few new colors recently along with accenting glitter topcoats for...well, not leaving well enough alone!  YES!!  (I have learned, with lots and lots of practice, to justify about anything I do.)  Here's 'Belle' and she is a silver cutie pie.

Top photo is with the sunny window, last one is outside in sunny (read: hot) Florida.  How sad that the silver glitter and holographic larger glitter doesn't show up on the nails in the photos.  It does a lot more in real life.

Albeit some serious wear in the top photo (that looks really ugl-le), you can see some of the reflections.  And last, a photo of the bottle.  Ahhh, see what I mean!

And, even if I couldn't leave well enough alone, I feel I made a somewhat boring color a bit more spunky.

When you saw 'Belle,' did your mind start reeling as to what other polishes you could use this with?  Which ones?

Tagged For Sunshine Award

This has been the most fun hobby I have ever had!  It's so addicting to not only creating a new post but to read allllll the wonderful and creative nail blogs out there.  Here's one that is new to my list of favorites: For Your Nails Only.  You have got to go over to Tara's blog.  Talk about a creative and unique place!  I'm always excited when she tweets that she's posted something new.

Then....she sends me a Sunshine Award.  I feel gushy when someone I admire comes to see what I'm up to. :)

Here's the guidelines:

1. Save the image above and post it on your own blog.

2. Pass the award on to 12 fellow bloggers.

3. Link the nominees

4. Let nominees know they have won this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to the person you received this award from.

 

Here's my fellow bloggers I tag:

 

1)  Deez Nails

2) Do Not Refreeze 

3) Kitschy Suburbia 

4) Emerald Sparkled 

5) Just Peachy 

6) My Simple Little Pleasures 

7)  Never Enough Nails

8) Painted Lady Fingers 

9) Nail Juice

10) Lacquer Cocktail 

11) Tassa's Blog

12) The Chain Nail 

What a fine group of bloggers!  

 

When you go over to Tara's Blog, tell her she's got company in being a 'cornball'....me!  ;)

Bath and Body Works Giveaway

Good evening!!!

I just drew the winning name for the BBW giveaway.
The winner is......killou.kilou  CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Only 2 followers guessed the movie I saw as 'The Last Exorcism'.  Creepy movie!!
Several of you guessed 'Inception.'  My hubs and I went to see that the first week it came out.  We both loved it.

OK, back to the subject at hand.  I'm off to email killou.kilou.  Please respond back by Monday, Sept 6. 

Oh, and just to let you know, I always put in a signature bottle of pink nail polish too.  So I'm going to pick a pretty one to go with a very pretty fragrance. :)

Thanks, everyone!  I'm touched that so many of you read and/or stop by my blog.  Giveaways are a blast and with me approaching 200 followers, I will be following up with another giveaway VERY soon!  Stay tuned! 

Have a safe weekend!

It's Libby chillin' in my office.  This is her 'place' to hang out in my office room when she's not under the desk.