Announcement for September!

Hello everyone!  I am so excited to share some big news with you!  Tomorrow, as a new month begins, I will be venturing down a path of nail art adventure with my fearless partner-in-nail-crime, Stephanie, from Sincerely Stephanie, as we take on the 31 DAY CHALLENGE!  I am thrilled, and a bit nervous, to take on this challenge, but I really do think it'll be great!  And I hope you all will really enjoy it and draw inspiration from it!  Stephanie is my closest blogging buddy...since we started chatting through the Black and White Challenge, we have been friends and we are so excited to do this Challenge together!  She is a phenomenal nail artist...her free-hand work completely blows me away, so make sure to check out Stephanie's posts as we go along as well!

Below is the outline of the Challenge.  I've also included the image of the original challenge, just in case anyone is interested! Tomorrow starts with Day 1, and we will post daily until October 1, which will be Day 31!

Stephanie and I have been planning this for a long time, so we are pumped up and ready to go!  Here goes nothing...!!

Original 31 Day Challenge image

Julep Maven Bombshell Box for September 2012!

Hello lacquered loves!  Today I have my Julep Maven BOMBSHELL box for September 2012.  I did some fun nail art with the Trina Turk lacquer shades in the box!  I like this fashion collaboration, and I loved the polishes.  I may be partial to cremes, but I was way more impressed with my box this month than the last few I've received!  To see more details about the box, and more about this nail art mani, click the Read More link below!  AND there are some awesome discount codes below as well!!

Layla Softouch 05 Cherry Diva - Swatches and Review!

Hi everyone!  This afternoon I have a special polish to show you.  This is Layla Softouch 05 Cherry Diva!  Softouch polishes from Layla are special because while they are matte finish polishes, they are very different from other mattes I have used, or matte top coats for that matter.  The formula of this line is completely different, and I think, way better!  For some more info from Layla, see this [video].  Let's see some swatches and then we'll talk formula!

Cherry Diva is a deep rosy pinkish-red packed with gold sparkles.  Below is two coats of Softouch Cherry Diva, no base or top coat.  It is suggested that they are worn alone.  Once dry, the polish has a rubbery, matte-like finish, but the golden shimmer throughout still really shimmers!  It's very unique.  You can feel a little grittiness from the shimmer once the polish is dry.

A little blurry so you can see how the gold still sparkles with the matte finish!

As far as the formula goes, I am really impressed!  Most matte polishes are chalky and difficult to work with and apply.  This one applied just like a normal, high-end polish!  The Softouch finish wasn't evident until it completely dried.  I rarely wear matte finishes because I think they are a pain, but I am LOVING this!

I was curious how top coat would affect the finish, so I added one thin coat of Out the Door top coat.  Once it dried, the finish was still rubbery and matte!  The texture is less gritty, and just as rubbery.  I can't speak for sure because I haven't done a wear test on this, but top coat may help it last longer, though I'm sure the wear would be better for a Softouch polish than a regular matte finish.

With top coat, dry.

For my non-Italian readers, Layla Cosmetics nail polishes can be purchased at a variety of locations including Ulta, Harlow & Co, Ninja Polish, and Fabuloustreet.com.  I found Cherry Diva available for $9.95 [HERE].  Layla has multiple collections out, including Ceramic, Magneffect, Hologram, Mirror and Softouch.  For more information, see the Layla English website!


The product in this post was provided by the company/PR for honest review.  For more information, see my Disclosure page.

Nails Inc Sprinkles Polishes - Swatches and Review

Hi everyone!  Today I have three of the polishes from the Nail Inc Special Effects Sprinkles Collection!  I picked these up at Sephora, and I am loving them!  The jelly/creme hybrid bases are packed with small round glitter in different colors.  Some of the glitter is even matte, which really gives the polishes a cool look!  I picked up three out of the four in the collection.  Let's check them out!

All swatches are two coats of polish and two coats of Out the Door top coat.

Nails Inc Pudding Lane has a bright blue base with yellow and matte dark blue glitters.  The yellow glitters that are covered by the blue base appear sort of green, so it give the polish lots of depth.  I love how the yellow glitters shine in the light but the blue ones are matte...super unique!  However, beware, this one did stain my nails a bit after wearing it for a day or two.

Nails Inc Sweets Way is a milky white base filled with light pink, light blue and white round glitters.  All the glitters in this one are shiny.  It looks like I somehow took a chunk out of the polish on my pointer finger =/  I apologize for that!!  This ones is soft and sweet, and milky white glitter polishes are all the rage in the Indie Polish World right now, so I'm happy to see a big brand do it!

Nails Inc Sugar House Lane is in my opinion, the most unique polish in this collection!  The lady at Sephora called it 'dirty dish water' which kind of upset me, because I love it...she obviously doesn't understand the intricacies of fine polishes!  ;-)  This is a nude-taupe base full of white and matte black glitters.  Yessss, black glitter.  I love love love it because it is nice and neutral, but funky with the black and white glitters and borderline weird, all at once!  <3

The formula on all of these was great!  Super easy to apply...the glitter just slides right on.  Two coats of Out the Door smoothed it out, but if you use a thicker top coat, you may just need one coat.  I love how some of the glitters are submersed in the base and some come to the top...it's just yummy and really makes these polishes special.  You can't achieve this look by just layering glitter over a base...they're so much more than that!  The fourth polish in this collection is a pink polish called Topping Lane!  Swatches can be seen [HERE]!

Which one of these yummies is your favorite?!  <3

butter LONDON Fall/Winter 2012 Shades - Swatches and Review

Hello lacquered loves!  Today I have three gorgeous new butter LONDON Autumn/Winter 2012 polishes to share with you!  mmmmm you know I LOVE my butter LONDON, so I am super excited to show you these pretties!!

First up is butter LONDON Trustafarian, a soft green scattered holo.  I love seeing a big, high-end brand like butter LONDON do something really cool like a holo polish!  And this one is quite nice!  It's definitely scattered, but in the sun it is rainbows everywhere!  I used three thin coats here with no top coat, but I think if you wanted to layer it over a soft green polish, like butter LONDON Bossy Boots, you could probably do one thick coat and save some polish.

In the shade, the holo is basically nonexistant, but the color of the polish base is quite nice.  I wonder how many non-lacquerheads go into the store and buy it because they think it's just a green glittery polish...they'll be in for a big surprise when they walk outside!

Next up is butter LONDON Gobsmacked.  This is gorgeous...I already know that I will reach for this a ton through the cooler months of the year!  This is a charcoal base packed with deep silver and black shimmer.  In the shade, it's pretty, but when you walk out in the sun you realize this one is a SPARKLY STUNNER!  Love it!  This is two coats with top coat.  According to butter LONDON, gobsmacked means "to be totally speechless.  Unable to think of anything to say."  This polish definitely has that effect!

Finally, this is butter LONDON Lovely Jubbly.  This is a gorgeous, girly glitter bomb!  The majority of the glitter particles are magenta, but there are also blue, gold and red specks in there!  Love it!  After the first coat, I thought for sure this would be a layering glitter, but with a second coat, it was nearly opaque!  I added a third coat for good measure and to fill in any gaps.  The only downside to this one is that is sucks up top coat...I used three coats of Out the Door top coat on this, so I would suggest using something a little thicker with it.  Honestly though, I wouldn't mind if this one took ten coats of top coat...it's gorgeous!!

A+ to butter LONDON for this Autumn/Winter Collection!  There are two other polishes in this collection: a silver holo called Dodgy Barnett, and a burnt orange metallic called Shag.  Knowing butter LONDON's tradition of quality and general awesomeness, I'm sure those two are amazing as well.  The three polishes that I got to try are all must-haves in my opinion!  butter LONDON is quickly becoming my favorite high end brand...I'm never disappointed!

butter LONDON polishes retail for $14 and are available at Ulta, Nordstrom, and butter LONDON's website.  In my opinion, they are worth every penny!! =)

The polishes in this post was provided by the company/PR for honest review.  For more information, please see my Disclosure page.

Priti NYC Summer In Arizona - Swatches and Review

Hi everyone!  Today I am excited to share a new-to-me brand with you, Priti NYC!  I knew I would love this brand when I got on their website and saw that the word priti has several meanings in Sanskrit..."out of satisfaction, with love, and pleasurable sensation."  Sounds good to me! <3  And on top of that, Priti NYC prides itself on being a leader in eco-friendly beauty, and I would have to agree.  They are cruelty free and vegan, and pregnancy and kid safe.  The company supports environmental and womens' rights organizations.  I'm in love with their outlook...for more info check out their About page on their website.

I also love that they list out their ingredients and explain where they come from.  When you're on their website, and look at a polish, read through the ingredients...very interesting!  Right up my alley!  To see what I'm talking about, click [here] and scroll down a bit!  You can tell that a lot of love and thought has gone into building this company and creating their polishes!

I am fortunate to be able to review the Priti NYC Summer In Arizona set, which includes four beautiful shades that I think are great for a summer in Arizona or fall!  =)  I love the discription of this set on their website..."A hearty Americana collection for the adventurous heroine in all of us!"  LOVE. To see swatches of the four shades in this collection, click the Read More link below!

Fall Saran Wrap Mani with OPI Germany Shades!

Guten Tag!  Today I have some nail art with amazing Germany Collection by OPI polishes!  I started out with a base of two coats of OPI Every Month Is Oktoberfest and did the saran wrap technique with OPI Deutsch You Want Me Baby?.  I finished off with Out The Door top coat.  So simple.  So stunning.

To achieve the saran wrap nails look, simply let you base color dry completely and then paint on a thick layer of your second color.  Take a piece of plastic wrap (or I used torn up sandwich bags), scrunch it up, and blot it on your nails to create a marbled look.  Finish with top coat, and you will be impressed with yourself!

So excited for more fall nail art!  These colors are rocking my world!  What nail art looks are YOU looking forward to seeing soon?!  <3

Jordana GLITTERS #4: The Multicolors!

Hi everyone!  Today's post is the final post in a series showcasing the Jordana GLITTERS.  I have reviewed a few of these a long time ago, but now I have the opportunity to review the entire 24 piece collection for you guys!  I want to present to you all of the options you'd have with these glitters, so the swatches I did are not traditional swatches...each finger is a bit different!  So far you have seen the blue, green, pink, purple, red, silver and gold polishes from this collection...to see the multicolored glitter polishes from this collection, click the Read More link below!  Some of these are really unique, so you'll definitely want to check them out!

You can also check out the [blue and green] glitters, [pink and purple] glitters, and the [silver, red and gold] glitters!

Jordana GLITTERS #3: Red, Golds and Silvers

Hi everyone!  Today's post is the third of four in a series showcasing the Jordana GLITTERS.  I have reviewed a few of these a long time ago, but now I have the opportunity to review the entire 24 piece collection for you guys!  I want to present to you all of the options you'd have with these glitters, so the swatches I did are not traditional swatches...each finger is a bit different!  To see the red, silver, and gold polishes from this collection, click the Read More link below!

You can also check out the [blue and green] glitters, [pink and purple] glitters, and the [multicolored] glitter mixes!

Guest Post at Love for Lacquer

Hi all!  Exciting news!  Today I have a guest post over at Love for Lacquer!  Jess is such a doll, and her blog community is really awesome, so I am honored to be over there!

Click the Love for Lacquer image below to head over and see my tribal nails!!

Have a great day everyone!

Jordana GLITTERS #2: Pinks and Purples

Hi everyone!  Today's post is the second of four in a series showcasing the Jordana GLITTERS.  I have reviewed a few of these a long time ago, but now I have the opportunity to review the entire 24 piece collection for you guys!  I want to present to you all of the options you'd have with these glitters, so the swatches I did are not traditional swatches...each finger is a bit different!  To see the pink and purple polishes from this collection, click the Read More link below!

You can also check out the [blue and green] glitters, [red, silver and gold] glitters, and the [multicolored] glitter mixes!

Jordana GLITTERS #1: Blues and Greens

Hi everyone!  Today's post is the first of four in a series showcasing the Jordana GLITTERS.  I have reviewed a few of these a long time ago, but now I have the opportunity to review the entire 24 piece collection for you guys!  I want to present to you all of the options you'd have with these glitters, so the swatches I did are not traditional swatches...each finger is a bit different!  To see the blue and green polishes from this collection, click the Read More link below!

You can also check out the [purple and pink] glitters, [red, silver and gold] glitters, and the [multicolored] glitter mixes!

Milani Neutrals: Pinks and Browns - Swatches and Review

Hello lacquered loves.  Today I am happy to share some gorgeous Milani Nail Lacquer polishes with you.  I believe most of these shades were released earlier this year and are now part of Milani's core line, but I think these gorgeous neutral pinks and browns are great for fall.  I love dark vampy shades and jewel tones as much as the next person, but sometimes something a little different is needed, and I think these pinks and browns are perfect!

All swatches used Out The Door top coat.

First up is Milani A Rose Mylady, a soft nude-toned pink with a subtle shimmer.  This is two coats with top coat.  The formula was great, nice and opaque.  In the bottle, I wasn't crazy about this shade at all, but on the nail, I loved it!  It's classic and beautiful and appropriate any time of year.  When you have a feminine shade on like this, your fingers and hands look long and graceful.  Very bridal.

Next up is Milani Pink Slippers, a soft peachy pink with a pink shimmer throughout.  The formula on this one was a bit sheer, so I used three coats here.  It may be nice layered over A Rose Mylady.  I wasn't too crazy about this polish on my nails, but I think it could be really pretty on very fair skin.  I think it just felt a little "old" on me.

Milani Teddy Brown is a chocolate milk brown.  It wasn't as gray as it looks in these photos...it was really brown on my nails against my skin.  It was difficult to photograph!  This is two coats.  I had a little bit of a problem with cuticle drag, but other than that the formula was very nice.

Milani Signature Gold is a shimmery gold metallic.  Sort of brushstrokey and a little runny.  But still a really nice gold for fall!  Metallics are definitely in for the season!

Finally, Milani Chocolate Sprinkles is a deep warm brown base packed with a golden-brown shimmer.  I love this!  It's perfect for fall.  The formula was great; this is two coats.  I don't have anything else like this in my stash...love love love!

Milani really impresses me.  The more polishes I try from them, the more I like their formula and selection.  A Rose Mylady, Teddy Brown, and Chocolate Sprinkles really stand out to me.  Milani polishes are available at certain drugstores such as CVS and on the Milani website.  Milani Nail Lacquers retail for $4.49.


The products in this post were provided by the company/PR for honest review.  Please see my Disclosure page for more information.

butter LONDON Trout Pout

Hello lacquered loves!  Today I have a polish from one of my favorite brands to share with you!  This is butter LONDON Trout Pout, a creamy pinky peach polish.  This came out for the spring/summer this year, and I just love how yummy it is.

This is three coats with a top coat of NYC.  The formula was a little streaky, but three coats evened it out well.  It walks a fine line between a pastel and a neon, and I just felt luxurious with it on.  butter LONDON has that effect on me!

I got a lot of complements on Trout Pout when I wore it.  I think the color is super classic, but very eye-catching.  Sometimes you just can't beat a sweet creme polish!

Thanks for reading today, folks! <3