NOTD: Orly Terra Mauve + OPI I Juggle...Men

The colors are a bit off for the Orly Terra Mauve in these pictures but the main point of this post is really OPI I Juggle...Men, which is a really beautiful sheer sparkle which is somewhat duochrome pink/light blue. My only issue with it is that it seems to hate me by causing the most bizarre issues to the color below it such as; fissures, crinkling and intense shrinkage. I thought that this was caused by Poshe last time but it appears to not be the case because all these things except maybe the shrinkage happened before I applied it. Don't get me wrong though I've still had issues with Poshe in the past and will still not be repurchasing it. Apparently I am the only one having issues which is baffling me. I am going to try it over dry polish w/ top coat and see if that helps at all because I really love I Juggle...Men and am desperate to make it work. I do want to say though that Terra Mauve went on like butter and was perfectly opaque in 2 coats although if you aren't picky and are pretty careful you could probably get away with one coat.

Sorry I did such a messy job, again I did it rather late and I had no patience for it, not that it mattered in the end but yeah...I am going to aim for an earlier time so I can be a bit neater!

You can see in these pictures some of the shrinkage although it's not easy to see, but on my ring finger and my thumb by the cuticle you can see as good of an example as I can capture but it's also pretty mild compared to some of it. The crinkles and fissures are really hard to capture, especially on a darker color like this, so just try to imagine it...

NOTD: Orly Sapphire Silk + Essence Movie Star

I've been wanting to use Orly Sapphire Silk again for a while, it's a very pretty color. I didn't want to do anything too fancy since I overdid it on my last manicure a little bit. I wanted to try something a bit different for the accent nail this time though, so I used Essence Movie Star which is just a gray creme...but a surprisingly nice one.

My only complaint is that the bottle is so tiny, but with the price I guess I can see why. The brush is very good, usually mini bottles' brushes are mini and stiff as well but not the case here. The formula was also very good. I will definitely get more colors by Essence next time I go to Ulta (which is the only place I've seen that brand). I also like that there isn't a stark contrast between the 2 colors. Most of the time when I do the accent nail it's really obvious, but this is a nice way to have a little fun, but not TOO much fun haha.

This is the manicure I used my new Poshe top coat on...so far so good, as you can see it has a high shine and all that.

In indirect sunlight. The colors are more accurate here.

In direct sunlight.

Mascara, My New Friend + St. Patrick's Day NOTD

So I just started wearing mascara a few days ago, specifically Covergirl Lash Blast Fusion which I like a lot so far. I like the brush a lot! I got it in blackened brown this time, which is nice, but I think I'd like to get it in black next time for a more dramatic look.

Here is what it looks like on, with Urban Decay Sin on the lids (I know it's technically a primer but I got it to use as a brightening shadow) and Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencil in Bourbon on the water line...I was careful to not get any sparkles there.

I feel like when I wear the mascara with a brightening eye shadow I don't really need an eyeliner on top, it pops enough. I don't really like eyeliner (other than on the water line) anyways because it's a B**** to get it just right...I always make it too thick etc. etc. Mascara is much easier to get looking right.

I only use the liner on the water line really because I don't like putting mascara on my bottom lashes...it looks nice but it's just kind of fiddly. I think I'd do it only when going out or something. It only takes a second to put the liner on, and if it rubs off it is no big deal...although I used 24/7 in hopes of it not rubbing off so easily since usually it either rubs or melts off nearly right away!

Last but not least I have my St. Patrick's Day NOTD...I know it's not until tomorrow but I am going to remove it tomorrow night so I decided to have it on at least a day ahead of time so it's not a complete waste. I used a makeup sponge for the gold, I started out trying to make the tips gold, but I messed up so I covered it up with a bit of a gradient. I think this would have come out better if my nails were longer, or if I did the gradient a bit shorter...I'll have to try again though, since it's a fun and pretty easy look. Practice makes perfect :).

I don't know what it is about when I do my nails, but 1/2 the time I end up liking the polish I used on the accent nail better and regret not doing it on all the other nails and having what I did on the other fingers on the accent nail instead...

Gold is Orly Glitz, green is Zoya Shawn and the accent finger is Orly Royal Velvet.

NOTD: Orly Sapphire Silk + China Glaze Ingrid

Finally felt OK enough last night to do my nails...I figured after having something pretty loud on for a while I'd tone it down a notch with Orly Sapphire Silk from the Precious collection for Spring 2011 on most of my nails and China Glaze Ingrid from the Vintage Beauties collection on my accent finger. These colors are both beautiful!

I am glad I decided to get Ingrid for my brown (I was looking for a brown for a few weeks), since it has a really pretty gold shimmer to it that I had a terrible time getting to show up in pictures, since it's rather subdued. Which is what I like about it really, just shimmery enough to be interesting but not so much that it's "blinged out". I think I've found the brown I was looking for! I do want to try some more browns later on though. The formula for this one was a little on the runny side, and I ended up making a mess on my right hand since I had even less control, and had to do like 3 coats just to even out mistakes, but otherwise it's very nice and opaque. I actually painted over 1 coat of Sapphire Silk with it because I forgot I wanted to do the accent nails, and aside from tiny little bits on the sides and tips you can't tell at all. Even then you'd have to look really closely to tell at all.

Sapphire Silk is a very pretty jelly-ish green toned teal, it actually matches my new purse...well, nearly. It's actually a good deal darker, but it's along the same vein. My camera doesn't pick up the green so much, but this is pretty darn close. I really love this color, if I "have" to wear a creme then I'll probably gravitate towards this one. At least if I want something a little on the darker side. The formula was really nice too, I probably could have done with 1 coat but I did 2 just to be on the safe side and even out any mistakes.

Also does anybody know if Sapphire Silk is similar to OPI Ski Teal We Drop? It looks very similar in the bottle, and I want Ski Teal We Drop but if they are as similar as they seem then I don't need both.

All in all a rather "safe" manicure (well my right hand would disagree, I was so messy this time) but I wanted a bit of a change from all the crackles etc. for a little bit. Besides, I think next time I'll probably do OPI DS Signature with Hard Candy Beetle as the accent so I think it makes it more fun to have a bit of a break from "gimmick" polishes in between, to make it more special :)

My Favorite Base & Top Coat

I want to talk a little bit about the base coat and top coat I use, since I really like them a lot! At first I was using a combo base/top coat from Sally Hansen but I heard that you have to use one of each, so I went out and did just that!

I'd heard a lot about Seche Vite from other nail bloggers so I had to pick it up when I saw it at CVS (I've seen it at Target too) and I am so glad that it's easy to find since I just know I am going to use this stuff like crazy, it's perfect! Of course if you've done like 5 coats you can't expect it to not dent but it still dries pretty nicely even then. I love it because before I'd get sheet marks in my nails because I almost always have to do it relatively soon before bed, but not with Seche Vite! This stuff is really amazing, I can put it on and be picking my son up or going to bed soon after with no issues.

On the other hand I hadn't heard anything about Orly Bonder but it sounded pretty good and I like Orly so I thought I might as well try it out and I am hooked. I love how it is a bit tacky and not smooth so that it grips your nail polish really well. I've been using it for a while now with no problems, I highly recommend it!

Orly Rage

Crummy late night manicure...between my deep nail beds and the glittery polish I had a heck of a time cleaning it up, so I am just going to leave it to clean itself up with hand washing etc.

Rage is a really pretty foil that is a rose gold. It's super pretty :). It has just the right amount of brightness that it's not super crazy but it's not muted either.

It wasn't too hard to apply, it was a little bit on the thin side and took 3 coats to not have streaks of nail showing but it wasn't too finicky.

I messed up on the index finger so I dunno how long I'll keep this on since I would rather just do my nails another color than fix it up (not to mention there are a bunch of new colors I've gotten recently that I am really itching to try).

Don't get me wrong, this is a really pretty color and if I am feeling like wearing a foil/metallic I'd probably use it for that...I just messed up a lot putting it on (getting it all over my fingers and messing up on a couple nails) so I am just not really in awe with my nails right now :P