Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Back with bells on!

Hiya, kids!  Sorry it's been so long since my last post.  I thought I could keep up with posting while I was in this crazy travel period, but it turns out I was wrong.  What times I've been home, blogging has just not taken a priority.  Unfortunately, neither has taking care of my nails!


Luckily I have managed to photograph at least one nice mani, and I really think I'll be able to post more regularly now.  So, let's get to it!

Ginger bells....ginger bells!  It's polish time, in the city!  Ahem.  You're welcome for that earworm.  Anyway, what we have here is OPI Ginger Bells (one of my recent $1 salon clearance acquisitions) topped with Sephora by OPI Traffic Stopper Copper (one of my recent NYC acquisitions).  TS Copper was a lemming of mine for a while, and I'll tell ya, it does not disappoint.  I kinda want to throw it over anything even remotely warm.


Speaking of warm (and fuzzy), I've missed this! Can't wait to get back on track.


Also, quick reminder.  The Heart Walk is this weekend, so that means there are only two days to donate if you want a chance to win the plushy heart and some polish goodies!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

If you heart your heart....

You should consider supporting the American Heart Association!  The AHA hosts Heart Walks all over the country throughout the year to raise money for research, education and advocacy.  These are great opportunities to raise funds, show support and best of all...WALK!  If you are mostly inactive (like, ahem, ME), incorporating more walking into your day-to-day life is one of the best ways you can get your heart working and start living a more active lifestyle.


This year my company will be walking as a team in our city's Heart Walk.  You can help support my efforts by making a donation through the button below.


To donate online, the AHA can only accept a minimum donation of $25.  I realize that that can be a bit of a blow, so to "sweeten" the pot, I'll be sending every person who donates at least a small token of my appreciate.  Of course, if you're a follower here, that token is VERY likely to be lacquer-related.  Also, every person who donates is entered to win this ADORABLE plush heart.

To start things off on the right foot, I picked up a perfect heart-smart red, Forever Yummy by Essie.

Please don't hold Essie responsible for this crappy picture.  It really is a gorgeous warm red.  I might have gotten away with one coat, but to be sure, this is two.  This polish has all the qualities of Essie's fantastic formula.  Who knows...maybe the winner of the heart will also end up with this beauty?  *Wink, wink*

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any support you may be able to give!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

A word on Pink Wednesdays

Yes, it's Wednesday, and there is no pink.


I've decided to scale back my Pink Wednesday postings to once a month.  I will still post at least a couple of times a week, but it may not always include Wednesdays.  I'm just feeling sort of boxed in by a schedule and rule, and it's making me enjoy this endeavour less, especially when I have fit this in with a life that can go from zero to 120 in nothing flat.


Hope you ladies won't mind, and that you'll enjoy my slightly less predictable postings!

ZOMG, Stickers!!!

Remember when you were a kid and the Book Fair came to your school, and your mom gave you money to buy stuff, and you really should have bought books (cause books are good and educational), but you bought...well, sometimes you bought small posters featuring horses and fuzzy kittens, but usually you bought STICKERS!  And then, when you were reaalllllly really good in class and your teacher offered you a prize and your entire day was made because that prize was STICKERS?!? 

Yeah, I wish I was a kid again. 

Nevertheless, as a full grown adult human being, I still kinda love stickers.  As a manicure enthusiast, I especially love stickers because they help make up for the fact that I have zero interest in stamping, zero freehand artistic ability and I do occassionally get bored with simple polish manis. 


Zoya Kaufda
Zoya Midori
I picked these decals up at Ulta...they're Essence, and they only cost about $1 a sheet.  Not a bad investment for an experiment!


What do you miss most about childhood?

Friday, September 9, 2011

What are you in the mood for?

On my recent trip to the big NYC (during Irene, go me), I picked up a number of Forever 21 polishes.  (I'm gonna take haul pics tomorrow...geez, get off my back, conscience!)  One of them was the first color-changing polish I've owned since my lacquer obsession began.  Check out this MoodStruck Teal to Turquoise polish:


Shade.  Stop hiding, Pinky!  
In the first pic, the index finger is cold, and the accent/ring finger has one coat of Finger Paints Art You Wondering on it.  Cold turns the blue-based aqua into a green-based teal.  The Finger Paints polish was sitting in my untried pile, and it turned out to be a great complement to the color change polish! This is really one of my favorite manis I've done since before my fall travels began.  Yes, my nails are still in pretty rotten shape (especially after a recent shaving incident), but my cuticles are quickly improving.


I really loved how this MoodStruck polish dried supah-fast and with a kind of rubbery finish.  I opted to leave it without a topcoat for this very reason.  I've seen a few MoodStruck reviews that rated it pretty poorly, but I'm gonna give this a big ol' thumbs up.  I'm going on a cruise in late October, and I can't wait to pick up some Del Sol color-changing polishes during that trip.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

I'm pink with embarrassment

I don't know how many of you have paid any attention to my raison d'etre, but I started this whole thing out of a desire to STOP ruining my hands with my incessant picking.  Well, you wanna see what happens when I get busy and stressed and don't take the time to take care of my cuticles?


The sorry state of my fingers does not do this lovely OPI justice.  This is Pink Flamenco, a hostess gift given to me by my best friend Rebecca.  It's gorgeous, one of the most flattering pinks I think I've worn so far. 

Now that I'm done jetsetting and entertaining for at least a small number of weeks, I've already begun to pay better attention to my hands.  Guess what I got in New York to help me do that?  LUSH Lemony Flutter!  Awwwww, yeah.  It's everything it's cracked up to be.  That reminds me...I owe y'all another haul post!