I Spy...New Stuff At Walgreens Today

Have you read about the Sinful Colors polish that is a green flaky called 'Green Ocean'? I read about it on Nouveau Cheap's blog.  She reckoned this St. Patrick's day re-release to a 'blue-green Hidden Treasure.'  This, naturally, created a big, fat lemming!  Today, I stopped by the Walgreens closest to my home and didn't find it.  I was really disappointed.  But, I know I'm going to pass at least 5 stores tomorrow while out and about working.

I didn't want to let the trip be a waste though.  Here are some things I did find...

I love nail art!  Kiss' New Fine Art Pens look like they would make 'drawing' on your nails really easy.  I need easy. :)  I have a lot of nail art stuff.  What I've learned about doing all this nail art is, having a lot of nail art stuff doesn't make you good at it.  Fail.  Rats.

The display didn't even have a price on it.  In fact, a lot of the items on the 'promo area' didn't have prices.  I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and that they had just put all those out only 2 minutes ago. 

Each package has 2 pens in it.  There were 2 different sets.  One set was pink and white, while the other was black and silver.

The next display I saw wasn't necessary for new products either, but it did catch my eye...

The reason this stood out to me is because it was boring and terribly uninviting.  I'm thinking there is a lot of unused space!  As a visual merchandiser, I know that companies have it down to the nth how much everything has to cost to pay for retail real estate (the place it occupies).   This one fails in volume and interest.  Some artsy fartsy sold this to Revlon by saying 'it's CLEAN and FOCUSED.'  Oh, boy. 

What do you guess the Kiss Nail Artist pens sell for?  I'm going to say $3.99.  ???

You Fascinate Me- Perpetually Purple Part Deux

I was infatuated by my 'Perpetually Purple' manicure for over a week!  Even though I had to work some longer than usual hours and I have been sick off and on, my manicure stayed fast.

But before I bid adieu to this color, I wanted to try out a new glitter over it...

This is Kleancolor's 'Silver Lining.'  I got it at a beauty supply store.  Go ahead, take a moment to gander and take all this in...

Shiny, sliver micro-glitter with some larger, purple glitter thrown in like confetti on New Year's Day.  It doesn't seem like the purple glitter is round.  It appears to be like a starburst. 

Here are some super-duper close-ups...

Hexagons, right?  Sweeeeet!  How much more interesting can this glitter polish be!

The only nail that shows off this polish righteously is the pinky in the last photo.  I think the sun was actually too bright this time.

This is just one coat.  I loved it and I wore that look for 2 more days.  'Silver Lining' only added to my fascination of this manicure.

I'm tickled..uhmmm, PINK when I find polish that is so unusual.  How about you?  What was it?

'After Dark', Do You Really Think About Your Toes?

There are some vampy-color nail polishes that look damn good in real life but, they don't translate on camera very well
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This is one of them...

I got this at the beauty supply store.  This is Nicka A's 'After Dark.'  I'm sure this is a take off of OPI's 'Lincoln Park After Dark' and another, Rimmel 60 Second Polish's 'Deliciously Dark.'  It has that same blackened, deep burgundy wine color.


Shows up lovingly in the bottle...

But it is not translating to the toes very well.  When I took these photos, this evening, I didn't think I would capture any of the burgundy.  However, I see a tad bit of it here.  Otherwise, it looks like just a black polish.  And that's just too bad because 'After Dark' is more sultry with that hint of burgundy in there.  I have on 3 coats here, and followed up with Seche Clear.

Besides the polish being too far away from my eyes to enjoy the color, this polish didn't level out very well on its own.  But a couple coats of Seche Clear and it hid a lot of that.

'After Dark' is not a polish I'm going to put back into the dark of my closet.  I think I'm going to try it later on as a nail look.

Do you sometimes feel your toes are too far away to enjoy the pretty polish you put on them?  ;)

Showcasing Nail Art From My Fitness Buddies

I am a fitness enthusiast.  I workout with fitness DVDs and have a vast collection.  Don't think of the walking in place workouts or the Jane Fonda workouts of old.  Check these out...
Cathe Friedrich Gantlet Workout
Kelly Coffey-Myers Boot Camp
Amy Bento Kickbox Extreme

I belong to several forums and blogs about DVD fitness.  On one of them, I have been friends with many of them for 5 years and longer.  On  this forum, we are quite close and we share it all, not just working out.  I shared my wish to start a nail blog and has lots of support and 'you can do it' guidance from my friends.

A few of them have fantastic nails and wanted to share them with me.  I begged for permission to showcase these as they are simply gorgeous.

Thea does her own nails and ,yes she did this herself!...

Doesn't that just blow you away?

Next is one shared by my bestie, and we have known each other for over 8 years.  If you think you cannot have a close relationship over the Internet, you can't be more wrong.  We have been through many tragedies and accomplishments together.   Being there, no matter what the medium, is what makes true friends.
Here's what she had done...

That detail of three stripes is marvelous.  She had this done for Valentine's Day.

It is an honor that they shared these nail arts with me.  I think I should step aside and let them nail blog!  Either way, I'm keeping them as friends, albeit sweaty ones at that!

What other hobbies do you enjoy besides nail polish and makeup stuff?  Do you have groups of friends online for those hobbies as well?

Perpetually Purple Gave Me Promising Pride

Isn't it great to stumble onto some new brand of polish and just adore it?  I did about a month ago.

My job takes me out and about all over town.  I can stop by different Sally's, CVS, Walgreens, Kohl's and Ross stores.  I like Ross because I can get older collections of Color Club polishes there.

Then, I stumbled onto a brand called Cosmetic Arts...

I picked up 4 different colors because I had no idea how good they would be.  The first color I swatched was a pink during my St. Patrick's Day Marathon Manicure here.  And for a creme, I was impressed and happy with how easy it was for me to use.

I also picked up in that shopping spree this purple.  Yowza, is it PURPLE!  No name?  How about 'Perpetually Purple'?  I got 2 compliments on this before I even left the nail salon.  I wonder if it was obvious that I was admiring my own nails.  lol!

What a color!  I did find 4 more, new colors at a Ross yesterday.  However, there wasn't an almost full display like I found the first time...

Since Color Club is one of my favorite nail brands, I went to their site only to discover that their parent company, Forsythe Cosmetic Group, Ltd., makes Cosmetic Arts as well.  No wonder my love-fest for it.  See that purple polish set in the front?  That's the same as my swatch, just that the color is more true in the group photo.

I don't think I'm going to change my salon manicure for a few days, I like this so much.  And it is an unusual shade of purple. 

No sunshine today in Florida.  But I couldn't hide that shine if I tried.  This is 2 coats and a salon top coat.  I should have sneaked a look at that top coat they used.  But they refill their bottles so I know it wasn't what the bottle said.  Alas, I'm just left to be narcissistic with my manicure.

Mimi, who owns Makeup Withdrawal blog, got a serious lemming from the color I used during the Marathon.  I owned up that I found it at Ross.  However, she reported back to me that her Ross stores tend to be picked over before she can get to them.  I can relate; mine usually are too.  However, she told me she got lucky and found one Cosmetic Arts polish left and snagged it.  I'm looking forward to her swatching it on her blog.  Check out her blog because she does a bang up job on swatches and reviews. 

This is one time I showed buying restraint and wish I would have gone ahead and bought all the colors I liked right off.  Have you ever done that yourself?  What item was it?

When Doves Use A Sheer Disguise

Today's swatch makes me think of the song 'When Doves Cry.' 

This is Color Club's 'Sheer Disguise' from the newest collection, Alter Ego.  A dove gray that has a blue-purple tinge to it.

'Sheer Disguise' was sheer through the first 2 coats.  However, I could tell that it didn't have to be left sheer.  So, with 2 more coats this shade moved into this..

The outdoor light shows the color more true than indoors.  This creme wasn't as shiny as I would like it to end off.  I added Seche Vite but then used Orly's Glosser to get a higher shine.  If there is anything else out there that makes for a higher shine, I would go for it.  I like my creme polishes to be super-shiny.

If I had a Crackle overlay "cough, cough, China Glaze, cough, cough" this would be a cool polish to experiment with.

Powdery and soft, don't you agree?  I never would have thought a grey polish could look so demure!

Seizing My Golden Opportunity

It is a great pleasure to show you a swatch in GOLD!  Not just a regular gold but, a gold holo...

I got this at a new to me Beauty Supply store...you know, the ones that sell hair.  Hee hee!  This is Kleancolor's 'Holo Yellow.'  I quickly scanned the polish rack for other Holos and found 4 more.  I checked online and I got all from this collection except for a pink.

I'm not a fan of yellow polish at all.  Not that I don't think it looks OK on me, it's just not a color I gravitate to.  Not even in clothing.  But 'Holo Yellow' is a yellow with gold in it that got me to say 'it's doable!'

Here's why I couldn't resist...

A gold-ish yellow with enough glitter to keep the Tooth Fairy flush for a couple of years.  Lots and lots of gold and iridescent micro-glitter.  It was soupy the first couple of coats but, I got it in line after the third coat and gave it a 'wow, glad I tried this' nod.

Morning sunlight is sooo gorgeous to photograph with.  Too bad I'm not a morning person.  But I have been capturing some swatches first thing in the morning before I go out there and work.  My work tends to be very rough on manicures.  However, this is my ring finger and I like everything about this; the length of the nail, its shape, the way the color looks with my skin tones, and it doesn't seem to be a finger I choose to chew.  If my cuticles were cigarettes, I'd be smoking 2 to 3 packs a day!!! 

I have Seche Clear and then a coat of Nailene's Miracle Maker as a top coat.  'Holo Yellow' didn't need much help to be shiny though.  It held up to shine all by itself.  Reminds me of gold lame pants.

I'm not sure this is a true 'holographic' but, what do you think?  Do you wear yellow polish and if so, what brand?

Nailene's Miracle Maker was sent to me for review. These are my honest opinions on the product.

Winner of the St. Valentine's Day Marathon Manicure

Those that read my blog know I have a giddiness about 'pleasant surprises.'  This one has had me giddy all month.  :D

I had 50 comments during the 14 days of the Marathon.  Each comment became an entry.  I wanted to reward my followers that take a moment to share a comment with me.  I had my own Valentine's Day sweetie pick the winner.

The winner is  VANDALEYEZ MAKEUP!!!

Here's what you won Lissa...

The heart-shaped package has pink roses that are actually slivers of soap!  I got one too and put them in a heart-shaped glass dish and put a soft pink votive candle in the middle.  Makes my tub area feminine. :)  Hello, Kitty is a plush key or zipper ring.  From Claire's, nail art stencils so Lissa can do a much better job of using them than I did with my set.  Candy!!  I hope this one is her favorite because it's one of my favorite candy bars.

But wait....there's more!!!

Two Finger Paint's Valentine's polishes; a Milani pink polish that I found adorable, it has gold micro-glitter; Orly's 4 polishes from their Valentine's collection.
Some close-ups...

All items are brand new.  I purchased them all myself.  I hope this is a pleasant surprise for Lissa.

Lissa is a blogger as well.  She has a fledgling blog and an Esty store.  She makes her own mineral makeup.  Lissa, we have to talk...I love mineral makeup....LOTS!! ;)

Thank you all that visited my blog during my marathon.  And, Phew!  I'm glad it's over even though it was fun.  But I'm off to put on a raunchy yellow glitter polish!!!!  LOL!!!

Miss Independent - St. Valentine's Day Manicure Marathon-Day 14

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

This is the final day of the Manicure Marathon.  And even though I have had tons of fun, I'm pinked (and red) out!  I have past the finish line!  Well, not quite yet but, that's another post. 

My hubs got me this for Valentine's Day...

Thankfully, it's small and we did split it.  Very chocolaty!!

I got him this...

My hubs is a feracious reader.  Since retiring, he reads even more.  My brother and his family got me a Kindle for Christmas and my hubs has been pouting about it ever since. I share very easily but, he would have none of that.  So, I made him very happy with his very own.

I'm rounding out the marathon with a new Nicole by OPI nail polish.  This is my first Nicole purchase.  And this shade was the perfect introduction...

This is 'Miss Independent.'  I saved this one for the last day for a reason. 

If you are flying solo during Valentine's Day, it can be a very lonely day.  I had felt that way many times.  It wasn't until I embraced my 'single-hood' that I stopped seeing the entire world as 'coupled.'  So, I would spoil myself.  I'd get a special gift for myself.  I'd get a bouquet of flowers and put them on my kitchen table.  I spent the day gushing over everyone else's flowers they got at work and then would go home to make my favorite meal and spend the evening remembering that I had no one to account to, I could leave my clothes anywhere I wanted, I didn't have to ask anyone where they wanted to go out to eat!  I was Miss Independent.

The promotional piece from Nicole by OPI states that this is a lavender.  It's a metallic lavender, yes.  Yet, it's pastel, soft, pretty and reminds me of Valentine's Day cards from the Victorian age.

The brush is a fat, flat one and I do like how it performs.  The polish did have some buckling and it didn't dry as fast as I thought it would.  Hence, some smudges.  But I am in serious 'like' over the color.  I have 3 coats and, 2 would have been just fine.  I have a coat of Nailene's Miracle Maker as the top coat.  One negative, I don't like the shape of this bottle.  It makes it clumsy to hold while polishing.

'Miss Independent' wore fairly well.  I am showing it the 2nd day of wear.  It didn't chip or peel.  And, metallics can get streaky but the brush, I'm sure, helps eliminate that issue.

How do you like the fatter, wider brushes?  Do you like this color for a Valentine's day polish?  What has been your experience with using Nicole by OPI?

Nailene's Miracle Maker was sent to me for review. These are my honest opinions on the product.

Dolly Lips - St. Valentine's Day Manicure Marathon-Day 13

It probably is quite clear, even though I haven't flat out said it, that I don't have kids.  Reason: I don't want kids.  This should have been evident when I was a child.  I didn't play with dolls, instead, I had a microscope.  While other kids played 'dress up', I read a book. 

However, this doesn't make me oblivious about baby dolls.  My sister, who has 2 adult children, had lots of dolls and loved playing with them.  I think she had about 10 Barbies and a couple extra from me that I got as gifts.  So, I DO know what color dolly lips are...

I have never heard of Cosmetic Arts before.  But I found a full display of them at Ross.  I got this pink creme and 3 other colors; all creme.  If those other colors work like this one, I'm going to end up liking cremes more.

This color is like no other pink I have.  And they didn't even name it.  Thus, 'Dolly Lips'...

I would almost say this is a day-glo color.  It's super bright and an in-your-face pink.  I got 3 compliments wearing this polish.  And, one was from a self-professed polish addict that works at Ulta.

I've mentioned before how cremes do not like me.  I think I found the exception.  This is 3 coats with  Quick & Slick top coat that made it shine way more than the camera is showing. 

I'm fair skinned and this color looks great on me.  But I bet it would really rock on someone that's darker or tan.  Perfect for summertime.  Or...for Valentine's Day.

Did you play with dolls as a child o,r where you nerdy like me?  I had one of those huge Barbie heads that I could apply makeup to and style the hair.  It was a complete fail, so I used my sister instead.  Did you have that make-up Barbie head too?

Loving My Hearts - St. Valentine's Day Manicure Marathon-Day 12

Wow!  Only two more days after today!  This Marathon has gone quickly since I have done a post every day.

This is my favorite St. Valentine's Day manicure polish for the entire marathon.  This is Finger Paint's 'Up & Coming Artist'...

 

 It's a bubblegum pink and it's a girly pink-slight-shimmer color.  There are several reasons I like Finger Paints.  One is they are affordable.  Another one is that they have a wide color assortment.  And yet another, they have clever names.

It just would happen that my nails would break and then they'd all be uneven lengths.  Man, my right hand is even worse!  Hopefully, 'Up & Coming Artist' is so pretty that it distracts from the uneven lengths and the crying for moisture cuticles.

I even noticed that my adidas shirt I had on when photographing this manicure matched...

So, could I play around with this manicure and add in some love?

But, of course!  I didn't own one single Nicole by OPI until about 25 days ago.  It was that Spawn of Satan, 'Justin Bieber' that had a collection done by Nicole that possessed me.  Then I saw 'Love Your Life' and knew it would really work for this Manicure Marathon.

I tested 'Love Your Life' on some wax paper to see how dense the heart glitter was.  Well, it wasn't very dense at all, which has been my experience with mega glitter polish.  So, using the same wax paper, I swiped polish on it til I got a hold of some hearts and then transferred them onto my nails.  I still had to stroke the polish on the nails because there is pink and iridescent  micro-glitter in it.  But I manually, randomly placed the hearts.

The heart glitter is subtle enough that it doesn't make me look like I'm 13.   But then what would I know; I act 13!

I put on a couple of coats of Seche Clear to trap the glitter down.  It worked on most of them.  I think I only lost one the day and a half I wore this manicure.

Sweet enough for a St. Valentine's Day manicure.  Oh, and yes, that glitter didn't come off the nail easily at all.  At that point, it ceased being a sweetheart!

Do you have any mega-sized glitter polish?  If you do, what's the shape?