I hope Santa was good to you. Hopefully, you enjoyed being with friends and family, or at least tolerated it without too much discomfort.
This has been the craziest of all Holiday seasons. My dad's been sick since April, my sister is moving and the closing on the sell of her old house is tomorrow. You get the idea. We got our tree up 2 days before Christmas and I was wrapping gifts until 2am on Christmas Eve.
Needless to say, doing my nails and posting have been the least of my concerns. NOTD is a chipped ChG Jolly Holly I applied days ago... cannot even remember when.
Wishing you a happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year,
The Nail Narc
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Spirit of the Holidays....
Zoya Sarah + Northern Lights + ChG Mrs Claus
Ott lamp
...threw up on my nails.
I was still feeling blue and thought something blingy might cheer me up.
I posted a few pictures in various lighting since it appears so different in each light. In shade or artifical dim lighting the Mrs Claus is very prominent. Almost looking like pink glitter.
This is one of the few manicures my mother has noticed and complimented. Perhaps she notices most of them and keeps her thoughts to herself usually. Hmm
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
OPI DS Magic
You may have wondered where I disappeared to. Just a heck of a lot going on. I've been less than healthy over the past few weeks. I think I have got SAD (seasonal affective disorder), too. It gets dark about 4:30 now. I can't stand this time of year.
I put this polish on tonight, thinking it might cheer me up. Its so beautiful! Glittery and duochromey, though you cannot see that in my photos. It shifts to purple.
Nekkid Nails
My nails were just getting too long. They were driving my crazy. I was catching them on everything. Notice the middle finger. I ripped my nail in about the middle of the nail bed. I ended up having to put a silk wrap over the entire nail. I wonder if I've lost strength since I went way down on my biotin. I felt it was breaking me out, but I'm still breaking out... so maybe that isn't why.
Zoya Skye
Love this polish. Its more like a ballet slipper beige-pink than the photo. Close to RBL Plie. I like this polish, because it isn't as sheer as some pale Zoya colors. Very pleased this one.
Zoya Valerie
I thought Valerie would be more purple than it is. Really, its more of a wine color than a purple. This photo might lean a little more red than it really is. My other photo leans more purple than it really is. So somewhere in the middle.
ChG 2Nite
I'm not sure I ever wore this polish before now. It is so perfect. The entire OMG collection is fabulous. You know how I love blue. I'm finding I get much better application and wear of these holo polishes by putting them over a day old manicure. Otherwise, they chip easily. I love having rainbows on my nails! *happy dance*
ChG Ruby Deer
This is a pretty crappy photo. My day old mani is all gunked up. Still, I show you it, because I adore this color. I am smitten with the entire ChG 2010 Holiday collection. So many great polishes. I believe I bought them all.
Application and formula were great.
ChG Gussied Up Green
From the fabulous Rodeo Diva Collection of 2008! This could be my ultimate favorite green polish! Its has those darkened edges that give it the vampy quality. The rich green just glows. If you've overlooked this China Glaze Collection check ebay or your favorite etailer.
Zoya Jacy
This photo is much more color accurate. You can see the hidden shimmer if you look close. A really pretty color.
Zoya Jacy
This photo is not very color accurate, but it shows the hidden shimmer of Jacy, which sadly was difficult to observe on the nail.
Nicole Fell From the Tree
My collection of squashy boob bottles is growing! Nicole is putting out some awesome nail polish. This is part of the 2010 Holiday Target Exclusive Collection. I picked up quite a few of them. They're just gorgeous! I feel as thoughthis picture is quite lacking. I love the depth of the color and the slight duochromatic pull to blue.
Orly Out of This World
This is a gorgeous polish. I feel like I am seeing it everywhere, though. Most noteably in my recent Zoya haul. Julieanne looks a heck of a lot like this polish. I haven't compared them, but I'm going to guess they're close.
Nails Inc Elizabeth St
This is a really pretty nude with a subtle shimmer. A great polish when you want great application and need something subtle and clean looking.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Katara & Sparkles
If you recall we found Katara about 3 weeks ago. She and Sparkles are now best buddies. I found them just this morning curled up on the computer chair with Katara passed out on top of Sparkles. Sparkles doesn't seem to mind at all. Such sweet little kittens. Tomorrow Katara makes her first visit to the Vet.
Milani Spellbinding over China Glaze Branding Iron
This gorgeous polish is from Milani's 2009 Halloween collection, Black Magic. I looked high and low for it last Halloween, but ended up ordering it from Cherry Culture. Its quite similar to China Glaze Lubu Heels. Its a bit more opaque than Lubu heels and 2 coats is enough, compared to 3 coats of Lubu Heels. Perfect formula.
I layered 2 coats over China Glaze Branding Iron, a shimmery blackened red, to make the black less stark.
Green flecked franken
I made this franken with
1/4 Pure Ice Electric
1/4 New York Summer Amaranth
1/4 Kiss Me Here
1/4 WnW clear
The glassy flecks are very subtle. I adore the hidden shimmer of it and its greyed out hunter green color.
Franken topped w/ Pure Ice Oh Baby!
This combination reminds me of Mac Jade Dragon, which is untried for me.
Mac Bad Fairy
My first Mac polish! My photos do not seem to do it justice. The Ott light seems to wash it out and make the coppery hue more prevalent. I am very happy with this polish. I found the formula very good and it wore well.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Gradient Mani
I have never received so many compliments on a manicure in one day! Customers were telling me all day how much they liked it.
I did this gradient mani last night. It was easy and fun. I used ChG Frostbite as a base. I added Zoya Ivanka first at the cuticle end, then put OPI DS Magic on the tips, then I used SH HD DVD in the middle to blend them together with the help of a little Orly Smudge Fixer. The smudge fixer smooths and blends the colors together.
I am loving these new foil-glitter polishes. Zoya's Sparkle Collection, OPI's Summer Flutter Collection, and Sally Hansen HD Ultra all have polishes with this awesome finish.
OPI Ate Berries in the Canaries
Perfect formula! I do love a quality OPI polish. Every company has hits and misses, but OPI probably has the highest number of hits when it comes to ease of application. This is from the 2009 fall collection, Espana. I really liked that collection of nearly all cream finishes. This color is great for transition between fall and summer. Dark enough for fall and vibrant enough for summer like days.
ChG Bahamian Escape
This is my childhood favorite color! Remember Crayola Crayons 64 pack? There was a crayon called "Sky Blue" and this is THE color! They've since redone the crayon colors, so I don't know what's in those 64 color packages anymore.
The formula on this leaves something to be desired. Like many pastel polishes, its a little gloppy and thick and doesn't always self level itself well. Still I have 2 bottles for some reason....
ChG Tempest over ChG First Class Ticket
I had intended to wear First Class Ticket. I got on 2 or 3 coats and the found the formula gloopey and uneven. So disappointing! I'm afraid I cannot recommend it highly. So I grabbed Tempest, which was untried. I had bought it at Sally's last year and never tried it. OMGosh I was missing out! It is smooth like butter! It has an unusual shimmer to it.. maybe a bit frosty.. I dunno, its sort of duochrome-y. I top coated it and it looks like glass covering its swirl-y duochrominess (are those actual adjectives?). It could be a tad brush strokey, so be careful. This is one coat over the First Class Ticket.
Monday, September 13, 2010
ChG VIII + Nfu-Oh 51 & 39
Please excuse the dents! I slept on this mani before fully dry. It looks like a Bloodstone or some sort of jasper. I just adore Nfu-Ohs flakies. They bring so much fun to a manicure.
Lookie what was found this morning!
UPDATE
Kitten is doing great! She and Sparkles are best friends. We decided to name her Katara.
Dh found this helpless little kitten while working on my mom's pool. We think we will name her Callie. I'd say she is no more than 6 weeks old or so. She was very hungry and frightened.
ChG VIII
This is my favorite vampy cream of all time! I don't tend to like those that lean red or brown. This photo is under an OTT lamp, so it brightens it up a bit more than regular daily light will. It really is almost black, rather than as purple as it looks here.
I, also, do not like straight black on myself. I prefer this or a green, such as OPI Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow.
ChG Foxy
My husband picked this color. He said it was vibrant, but grown up looking. I agree. Its a gorgeous autumn shade, perfect for this time of year.
ChG Midnight Ride + CND Raspberry Sparkle
I really do love my CND Effects. They're really fun. I had applied ChG Midnight Ride and was disappointed with how black it was. The eggplant shimmer was very subtle. I decided to tart it up a bit.
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