Rainbow Connection: The Obsession

As the title of this post states, yes, I adore Rainbow Connection by OPI.  I adore it so much that a while back I did two manicures in a row using it as a glitter top coat.  How very creative of me.

First I used it on top of Essence Color & Go choose me!, and then I layered it over OPI's Planks A Lot from the Pirates of the Carribean collection.

I also tried out the Sally Hansen Diamond Flash fast dry top coat.  I like it, but not for dense glitters.  For those I prefer Sally Hansen's Insta Dri or Seche Vite.

Grape Going! + DS Temptation

First off, here's a few swatch photos of Grape Going! by Sally Hansen.  This polish was nice to apply and had a pretty good formula.  I love the color.  Purple/blue duochrome and really bright! :D  I took these pics with the flash on because it captured the color a little better.

Here's the finished look.  Temptation went PERFECTLY on top of Grape Going! :D  It was a match made in polish heaven.

Weekend fun! + Another Blue Manicure

I had a pretty good weekend, hence the lack of blog updates.  I went out of town with family.  We went to the beach and then stayed at a hotel in a town a couple of hours away where my mother used to live.  We ended up eating at Don Cherry's restaurant and then going to a local bar for a beer.  I wanted to visit the famous "Jack's".  (It's not called that now, but everyone calls it that anyway. xD)

Don Cherry's has this AWESOME drink called the Electric Popsicle (as seen below).  It's sooooo good! The last time I had it I had a green popsicle; this time I got pink! I had to take a picture.  The beer wasn't mine, but Electric Popsicle wanted a friend. ;) 

Anyway, onto the nail polish!  I bought more. (of course!)  Yesterday I bought these for a dollar-something each at Walmart.  I actually really like these polishes! They're awesome, and an awesome price.

(L-R:  Sturdy Sapphire, Teal Steel, and Ice Queen)

I bought these on Friday; also at Walmart.  I've been meaning to try these Maybelline The Color Show nail polishes but haven't gotten around to it.  So...I bought a few.  Plus, I saw swatches of Wine & Dined on somebody's blog (I forget who; if I remembered, I'd post a link or something) and loved it!

(L-R:    Styled Out, Wine & Dined, and Amethyst Ablaze)

Obviously, with new nail polish comes a fresh mani.  I decided to try out Sturdy Sapphire.  Now, I will mention that this polish is quite sheer.  This is three coats:

I like it, though.  It applied smoothly and it didn't leave a million brush strokes.  It's really shiny and pretty and bright, despite the fact that it doesn't seem like a bright color! And, did I mention the price of these Hard as Nails polishes? You can't go wrong.

After those three coats I decided to add some glitter, so I used Ice Queen.  Ice Queen has light purple and bright blue hex glitter and fine silver glitter.  It looks really awesome paired with Sturdy Sapphire.  I had to do some fishing for the bigger chunks of glitter and I used two coats.  It's a very pretty glitter polish.

 Of course, I wasn't finished yet.  After the glitter, I then decided that "hey, since this blue polish is very sheer, why not try a glitter sandwich.  This is what it looked like: Not THAT much of a difference, as you can tell.  The first photo was taken with flash.

Last but certainly not least, I've decided to share my favorite cuticle cream with you all.  It's called "Nail Butter" by TVAL.  TVAL is a local store that sells 'homemade' beauty products.  They make the products IN the store! It's a pretty cool place.  They even sell cupcake shaped soap.  :D

Ever since I've started using TVAL nail butter, I've noticed my cuticles haven't been so dry and flaky.  Not so many "hang nails" either.  I like this stuff.  It works for me! It also comes in several different scents, or unscented.

HERE is the TVAL website.  You can order online and it ships internationally!

Weekend Haul.

I REALLY NEED TO STOP BUYING NAIL POLISH. -repeats to self-

Buuuut, it's so prettttayyy.

Of course, I went to Shoppers Drug Mart over the weekend to purchase some more Essence polishes.  The one that I desperately wanted was not there, so I bought Black is Back and Luxury Secret, and the next day I bought a bunch of colors from Lawtons.  I cannot enter a store without browsing the nail polish section.

In order, they are:

• Sally Hansen - Rock n' Roll
• Essence - Black is Back
• Essence - Luxury Secret
• Sinful Colors - Purple Diamond
• Sinful Colors - Daredevil
• Sinful Colors - Pink Glitter
• OPI - Nothing Mousie 'bout it
• Milani - Green Glow
• Milani - Ruby Jewels

Those are my first Sinful Colors and Milani polishes, so I need to try them to see if I like them or not!

It's A Black Tie Affair

No, not really, but this polish that I'm about to show you is called "Black Tie" from Sally Hansen's Diamond Strength line.  It's a really pretty duo chrome-ish color.  I really like it; it's easy to apply and looks pretty good.  I really need a new camera so I can properly capture the color of these polishes.

This mani includes Black Tie, and an accent nail topped with Scandalous by Revlon.  Scandalous ruined the manicure, but I was way too lazy to take i off and re-do the Black Tie.  Unfortunately.  Not to mention, I made a mess with Scandalous.  Maybe it was that second glass of champagne...shhh.

You can't really tell in the photos, but at some angles, Black Tie looks sort of purple, and at others it looks sort of green.