Spring has arrived!

Hello lovelies~ Spring has arrived here in Australia and so what better way to celebrate this than to bring out the pastel polish shades? :) I saw 'chelle's awesome pastel mani and was inspired to create my own. I don't have any flower fimos so I used my dotting tool to paint some myself ^^

Boy, I used soooo many nail polishes for this mani. All stripes were applied with Glossyblossom nail art striper in white. Here's the whole list!

Pinky: base - two coats of Ulta3 spring fling; flower - Ulta3 watermelon, spring blossom
Ring: base - two coats of China Glaze Light as air; flower - Color Club Uptown girl, Ulta3 spring blossom
Middle: base - three coats of China Glaze Re-fresh mint; flower - Misa Dirty sexy money, Ulta3 spring blossom
Index: base - three coats of Ulta3 spring blossom; flower - mix of Ulta3 spring blossom & spring fling
Thumb: base - two coats of Ulta3 spring shower; flower - China Glaze First mate, Ulta3 spring blossom

How fitting is it that half the polishes I used had 'spring' in their name? :) I am so, so, soooo in love with this mani ♥♥ I keep staring at my nails-eeeeek! Hehe, I love my pastel polishes and totally need to own more of them. What do you think of pastel shades? :) And, have a look at my Blog Birthday giveaway as well if you haven't already!

~Sharon

The Neon Creeper Heel Manicure

Good morning, Dear Reader!

After a few days of no polish change, I was up for a more involved mani this morning, so I did a nail art interpretation of a T.U.K. high-heeled neon creeper.  Why yes, that is incredibly random and out of the blue, but when you see the shoe, you'll see why it inspired a manicure.

The backstory, to mitigate some of the randomness, is that I need a new pair of all-purpose, running out the door shoes.  I've mentioned my taste in clothing is pretty plain, but my taste in shoes is far from it, with the current worn-out pair being red/purple/pink mosaic flats.  I've always loved heels, and being kind of short I wore them just about all the time for years (I'm still a normal height for a woman wearing them, and if there's no good reason not to...).  That era ended when I completely tore an ankle ligament (I was pledging a sorority and fell on the first step of the house's spiral staircase, smashing my ankle on every step on the way down,  while everybody was waiting for me at the bottom - my grandest entrance ever), until I just recently discovered shoes with a platform.  They look impossible to walk in, but they're totally comfortable and nothing at all to walk in, so heels are back on the table for me, and they've been included in the hunt.

That brings us to the inspiration picture,which I mentioned was a pair of T.U.K. neon creeper heels.

My Manicure Inspiration

To make the manicure, I started with three coats of China Glaze Kiwi Cool-ada, stamping plate H9 for the leopard print, which is a larger pattern and let me cover each nail with only one stamp.  I used that XL stamper I tried once before and hated because I've read reviews from a few bloggers with whom I normally have a similar experience who loved it.  That made me think I needed practice, and that proved to be the case.  There is a trick to using it, which is absolutely no pressure picking up or placing the stamp, and then it does a really beautiful job.  Having stamped, I filled in the dots on the leopard print with Misa Dreamy Purple, painted the tip one nail with Dreamy Purple to make it like the top of the shoe, then sealed with top coat.  Here's how it turned out.

My Neon Creeper Heel Manicure

There's not fabulous light today, so Dreamy Purple looks darker in the picture than in real life, although I think I should have hunted down Nubar Pasadena Purple for this one - it would have been more clearly purple.  I'm still really happy with the manicure because it's ridiculously fun.

That's my new weekend manicure and just about all I have to yap about this morning Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Purple and flowers

Hey everyone~ :) I know I said in my last post I'm sick, but I couldn't resist changing my mani so...yeah :P I decided to combine my favourite colour with my favourite nail art - purple and flowers!

The beautiful flowers need to be credited to Jessie over at Jelly's Nails. Click on the link for a video tutorial! The flowers may look complex but they are basically just 5 dots... :D. Gotta love simplicity ♥

Polishes used:
OPI Parlez-vous OPI?
Ulta3 lily white
Misa Dirty Sexy Money
China Glaze White cap

Oh, and the lovely people over at Born Pretty Store have provided all you wonderful readers of Polish Infatuated with a 10% discount code. Free shipping + 10% discount...I'm thinking I should head on over to buy something - and so should you all! :D

~Sharon

Stamping Plate D20

Good morning, Dear Reader!

For today, I tried out one of the D series stamping plates, D20.  It's got a whole bunch of butterflies and Tinkerbell on it.  I started out with two coats of Misa's Spinning Out of Control, a purple shimmer, and stamped over it in Konad White Pearl.  Here it is on a cloudy day.

Stamping Plate D20 over Misa Spinning Out of Control Nail Polish

That's certainly upbeat!  It's also just about all I have to tell you about, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

China Glaze Crushed Candy Crackle

Good morning, Dear Reader!

About a week or so ago I showed you Nfu Oh 40 over Misa Quirky Smile, but what I didn't show you was that I got an extra day out of it by topping it off with China Glaze Crushed Candy, the Crackle Glaze that's about the same shade as For Audrey.  I really just wasn't particularly excited about removing the flakies, and it didn't occur to me until after I'd added Crushed Candy that I'd succeeded in making the situation a little worse.  Since we know by now that I was able to remove all of it, all's well that ends well, and it was fun while I wore it.

China Glaze Crushed Candy Crackle over Nfu Oh 40 and Misa Quirky Smile

On this one, I really like how glowy the flakes are as they peek out of the kind of muted creme shade of Crushed Candy.  I think as long as a base polish and a crackle are pretty dramatically different from one another, I'll like them together.

That's what I have for you this morning, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Random nail art with nail stickers~

Hey everyone~^^ I was feeling really random the other day and so tried out some of the nail stickers I received from Born Pretty Store awhile ago.

I applied two coats of Misa Office polish-tics on to my fourth finger and OPI Siberian nights on to my other nails. The flower nail stickers were randomly stuck on and I added a rhinestone to my middle finger. I used the bullion beads to make a design around a pearl before sealing them all with a top coat. I'm not sure I like this, but I don't hate it.

The nail stickers held on well for the 1 1/2 day I had this manicure. The bullion beads however, didn't stay on for long. By the end of the first day, some of them had already fallen off. I'm not sure if it's my lack of experience with them which affected this though, so I might review them again another time.

Checked out my Thank you-Sorry giveaway :) here yet? ^^
~Sharon

Some of the products in this post were provided for review. For more information, please view my disclosure policy.

Review: Office Polish-tics

Hello~ :) I'm sneaking in a quick break before diving back into my pile of assignments lol. I wore Misa Office polish-tics a couple of weeks ago whilst on my prac and since it lasted for the week, I thought I'd write up another quick review.

This is two coats of Office polish-tics and I think the photo was taken on the third day of wear. As you can see, no chips or tip wear :D. This lasted until the fifth day when I finally took it off. The polish was slightly thicker than normal, but not thick enough to worry about.

Application: 8/10
Chipping: 10/10
Price: 9/10 (purchased at transdesign.com)

Yet another work appropriate polish to add to my favourites list :). Oh and don't forget about my Thank you-Sorry giveaway here!
~Sharon

Time Out

Hello there!

I didn't intend to take such a long break after those two labor-intensive posts. It just kind of happened. For one thing, we got a dog three weeks ago, so my nail-polishing time has been significantly reduced. I haven't even been on MUA very much of late. And...though you may find this shocking...I haven't even bought any nail polish recently.

I'll let that sink in for a minute.

Again, we'll blame this on the dog. It seems that little doggies need all sorts of things (a crate, a bajillion toys, a bed, a harness, a collar, a lead, dental paraphernalia...) that cats don't need or at least that no cat of mine ever had. So I've been saving money for dog things.

I'll also admit to some degree of fatigue with the whole thing of late. Not with polishing my nails, I always love doing that, but I don't really find that any of the new collections are really doing it for me right now. Everything seems pretty but not exciting enough to spend money on. Also, I'm tired of hearing people complain about crackle polish. It's fine if you don't care for it, but I'm not sure I ever need to see another MUA post that begins, "Is it just me, or..." regarding crackle polish. AIEEEEEEEE.

Some recent-ish manicures.

Revlon Royal, from the Top Speed line. These polishes are really nice. I resisted buying this one for a long time, because Orly Royal Navy looked so disgusting on me. But this was nice! I wore it the day we adopted our dog.

This is Pay Days are Happy Days, from the Misa 9-5 collection. I bought almost all of them.

Pretty highly dupe-able I'd say. But Misas are great quality and very inexpensive, so I was happy to grab them up. L-R: Coffee Pick Me Up, Office Polish-tics, Pay Days Are Happy Days, Working Hard or Hardly Working, PaintMyNails@Work.

Sadly I've been neglectful about taking pics of the colors I wear lately. (Oops.) Frankly I've been wearing a lot of OPI Moon Over Mumbai because it's hard to mess up the application and it doesn't show wear very easily. My nails are having kind of a janky moment right now and I don't feel like fussing with a spectacular color, so low-key is where it's at.

Tell me what you're excited about getting or looking forward to seeing for spring and summer. Maybe that'll put me back in the mood to blab about polish again. :)

February haul

Helloooo~! After a month of no buy in January I kind of splurged a bit by rewarding myself and purchasing some polish from Transdesign :D. Long story short - I worried myself sick about this package since I had some tracking issues. I even contacted Carina over at GildedNails about the problem and she was such a sweetheart with helping me out and giving me excellent advice <3. Anyway, I finally received my order today so it's really, really awesome all that worrying ended on a happy note.

Enough of my rambles, on to the polishes!

I was really excited about China Glaze's Anchors Away collection but didn't end up buying as many as I thought I would. The Misa polish also garnered heaps of positive reviews so I thought I'd give it a go, especially since I don't have many work appropriate polishes - of which I'll be needing quite a bit this year, eeek! From left to right:
Misa Office polish-tics
China Glaze First mate, Ahoy!, White cap, Below deck, Sunset sail

I also couldn't resist a few bargains here at home too :P. Left to right:
Ulta3 earl grey
Australis Emerald star
Mode Cosmetics Blue steel, Starry night

I can't wait to try out my new China Glazes - they're the ones I was most looking forward to haha. I'm especially eyeing White cap, I've seen bloggers layering it over various polishes and I LOVE the effect it gives :D

I hope you enjoyed my haul post!
~Sharon

A random nail art design

Hello~ Wow, the weekend has just flown by! I was super busy and didn't have much time for my nails but things have finally calmed down again.

I quite liked how the nail art turned out this time, but I'm sad that the polish wrinkled :(. I guess I didn't leave enough time for it to dry before going to shower.

And the polishes I used:

Essie Turquoise & Caicos
Glossyblossom Nail art two way striper in white
Misa Dirty, Sexy, Money
Ulta3 black satin
Eclipse #527

Thanks for dropping by~
Sharon

Misa Shake It to the Samba

Good morning, Dear Reader!

I woke up hungry this morning, and you know what I really wanted?

Cantaloupe!

I like to have it for breakfast with cottage cheese in the middle, but I couldn't find any decent pictures like that - they all had gross things added, like a ton of brown sugar (brown sugar's not bad in general, but on this...).  I just did the manicure like plain cantaloupe anyhow because the lack of pictures the way I like it kind of indicates that mine is not a universal preference.

I did this manicure in the ruffian style on all ten nails, having built a bit of confidence with that technique yesterday.  For the outer rind I used OPI San Tan-tonio and for the green I used OPI Don't Mess with OPI, both from the OPI Texas Collection.  I don't really count them in this manicure since you can't get a good look at them.  I really just wanted to see how opaque the OPI's are, and they're more pigmented than most recent OPI collections have been.  I used one coat of each, and they were opaque enough close to the cuticle that no more was needed.  It looks like either would need two coats for a regular manicure, but we'll find that out for sure soon.  To complete my cantaloupe nails, I used two coats of Misa Shake It to the Samba.

Misa Shake It to the Samba Cantaloupe Manicure

I like it but for the fact that the tan section blends in with my skin so well - it shows up in the picture alright, but is really hard to see in person.  I don't think I could have done better though - the tan is about as dark as I could go for the rind color, I'm just kind of pale to wear this one as well as someone else could.  Looking at it, I think this would work much better against dark brown skin, where the tan would show well and the cantaloupe color would really pop.  But I'm stuck with zero pigment in my skin and I don't expect that to change today, so I'll just have to wear it as well as I can.

I don't have any fabulous stories starring the cantaloupe.  I did grow some gorgeous ones in that garden I told you about yesterday, but harvesting them was a little anticlimactic after several months of answering the daily whine of "When can we pick some cantaloupe?" from my then-stepson.  It would have been cute had he been eight, but he was nineteen, and his use of the word "we" followed by any verb generally meant "you," so that sort of sucked the fun out of it over time.  Ahhh, fond memories...

That's today's Produce I Wish I Had manicure, and just about all I know at this hour.  I'm still hungry, but have come to acceptance of the fact that cantaloupe and cottage cheese isn't in the cards for me this morning, so I'll go find something else.  Until tomorrow, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!  

Dirty Sexy Money

Maaan, I really suck. I'm sorry I haven't been updating as much lately, the holiday season has really busied me up and on top of that, I have recently been reaching for polishes which I have already shown on my blog so there was no need to blog. But as the festive season draws to an end, I hope to be able to blog more :).

Below is two coats of Misa's Dirty Sexy Money. It's a really pretty dusty turquoise; I can't believe it's taken me this long to put it on!

Thanks for dropping by~
Sharon

Yes, another haul :)

I was pleasantly surprised that the postman dropped by today, I hadn't expected this Transdesign order to arrive until Friday. Of course, I could hardly wait to start playing with the polishes, but unfortunately I have work due tomorrow which I need to get cracking on :(.

First up, my Color Club haul! Have I mentioned before that all my photos are clickable? Definitely click away to see enlarged photos!

Top row: Wild Orchid, Uptown Girl, Revvvolution
Bottom row: Wild at heart, Soft as Cashmere, Magic Attraction

Aaaaand my first Essie and Misa polishes, not forgetting my huge lemming by China Glaze :D!

From left to right: Turquoise & Caicos, Mummy may I, Dirty Sexy Money


I can't wait to try them all on! I'm really loving what I ordered this time round, and especially, especially eyeing Revvvolution. Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze aside some time for a fresh mani later on today :).


Thanks for dropping by!
~shazzii

Misa What I Like About You Collection

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I was just checking my email, and found a press release I got from Misa last night.  It's for their What I Like About You Collection for Fall 2010.

Here are the bottle pictures.

Misa's What I Like About You Collection for Fall 2010

Here's the promo picture.

Misa's What I Like About You Promo Picture

And there's the text of the press release, with the bold being mine so it's s little easier to read:

Fall in Love This Fall With Misa Cosmetics’ What I Like About You Collection

July 19, 2010 – Philadelphia, PA. Sometimes it’s easy to know just what you want, but

you’ll immediately know what you need when you lay your eyes on the Misa Cosmetics

What I Like About You Collection, six new shades for fall that plumb the depths of

color intensity. You’ve explored the dark side of romance with the Poisoned Passion

Collection; now fall in love with the ecstasy that love can provide through these dare-

you-to-look-away glimmering hues. Just like a budding affair, these colors will spark

inexplicable emotions and near-obsessive thoughts. Go ahead—indulge your deepest

desires!

Fall 2010: What I Like About You Collection

Quirky Smile: Something about his lilted smile lets you know he’s interested…and

this shimmering Prussian blue is no less attention-grabbing. However, this rich shade

invites you into deeper territory—what’s lurking beneath? In this case, you’ll discover a

polish that evokes stormy skies and churning seas, a perfect metaphor for love’s mixed

emotions.

Like It Like That: You can’t avoid feeling upbeat when a relationship is going just right,

or when gazing at nails that are the perfect shade. Just try to block this candy apple

green out of your mind; when you like it like that, why deny yourself the pleasure?

Spinning Out of Control: Sometimes you just can’t control yourself—and you

wouldn’t have it any other way. Embrace that euphoric feeling with a brooding

cobalt blue-violet that says, “Don’t stop this merry-go-round; I’m enjoying the ride!”

It’s You!: Searching for the perfect mate is like searching for the perfect nail polish

shade: When you find it, you know right away. Like a perfect-match partner, this

multilayered iridescent hue offers the best of both worlds: a smoldering forest green shot

through with copper ribbons that glimmer and twinkle perfectly in candlelight.

Perfect Kiss: Don’t blush! When you recognize a good moment, grab what’s yours: the

perfect kiss. A well-planted smooch can provide material for days of daydreaming, and

this vibrant fuchsia is equally fantasy-inspiring. An eye-catching color like this one will

have any man’s lips quivering uncontrollably.

When U Say My Name: Chances are, your man has plenty to say, but nothing is sweeter

than when he whispers your name while in a sweet embrace. Blissfully sink into the

moment while donning this sultry rust, and don’t be afraid to demand, “Say it again!”

No release date is specified.  I received the press release after 5 on Friday, so I don't know if July 19 is just the official date of the press release or if it's the collection release date.

That's what I know today.  Until tomorrow, love and nail polish to you!  

What my nails did while I moved house

Well, I moved.

All of my polishes survived intact, but to be honest it's not as if I gave them much chance of coming into harm's way. I transported them by car and now they're safely stowed away in the bathroom closet, eagerly awaiting a Helmer. We're planning a trip to IKEA in the next couple of weeks when we have a better idea of what we really need. It's easy to get out of control in that store, so we're not going without a list, lest we end up spending $100 on INGBORSTs and YOOBLIs and whatnot.

Anyway. Moving was very bad for my nails and cuticles. Before I started the heavy-duty packing I cut my nails very short and painted them a dark vampy color, L'Oreal Boogie, which I showed you in the previous post. As I was running out of my preferred Instant Artificials base coat at the time, I reverted to my original favorite, a combo of Palladio ridge filler and Palladio Fuse bonding base coat.

I don't know if it was the Palladio products or the L'Oreal polish or the the combination of the two, but here is my L'Oreal Boogie manicure after 6 (6!!!) days of packing, taping, wrapping, cleaning, washing, etc.:





IMPRESSIVE.

Because of this little experiment I don't think I'll be replacing my Instant Artificials anytime soon. It's a good product but it seems the Palladio combination works better for me.

Anyway after I took the Boogie manicure off, things got pretty real in terms of the hands-on moving work and I could only be bothered with my nails enough to slap on a sheer, very forgiving polish every couple of days. For this type of manicure I really like OPI Bubble Bath and OPI Moon Over Mumbai. Both are sheer enough to be very easy to apply, they hold up well, disguise any staining and if they chip a little or have some tip wear it's not terribly noticeable.

One day I was so over everything having to do with moving that I went to work with NO POLISH ON MY NAILS...AIEEEEEEEEEE horror show. Holy stains.

So now that moving is behind me (I'd like to say FOREVER but realistically I realize I can't live in a duplex for the rest of my life...unfortunately), I've been able to nurse my destroyed cuticles along to where I am enjoying putting a bit of effort into my nails again. One nice thing is that because I wore so many sheer polishes for so long, my nails are far less stained than they had been. I suspect that this will be undone in fairly short order, but it was nice while it lasted.

In any event, here's what I've been up to, color-wise:


This was a really cute combo that I'm bummed didn't photograph too well. Here's a bottle picture so you can get a better idea of the blue:


I'd had the Ruby Kisses polish for a while but picked up the Savvy not long ago. It's part of a new collection of six (I think?) polishes that, at my quick glance, seem to be intended as sparkly top coats. I liked this combo a lot and received some compliments on it. I'd like to try Glass Slipper over some other colors.


I was very happy to find Orly Rage; I missed it when it first came out and thought it was gone for good. I really love this finish in a polish, and this manicure lasted several days with no visible wear. Would do business with again!


I really cannot say enough about Misa polishes. The formula is crazy nice, and for $3 you really can't beat it. This one was a joy to put on. Misa does have the craziest, most awkward names for their colors...Right Here Now, No More Later? If you say so. I guess it doesn't matter as long as the color payoff is there.

Next up I have an Illamasqua for you, as well as some newer finds. I don't think I'll be buying any new bottles for a while because I'm quite content with the many (many...many many) colors I have for the time being. After moving and coming face to face with how much STUFF a person can accumulate, I'm not feeling very acquisitive of late.

But no worries! I'm sure it's just a phase!

Misa Black Out Collection

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

Earlier this week, three Misa collections popped up on Head2Toe without warning: Black Out, Mardi Gras, and Bare Necessities.  I got all three of the Black Out colors, five of the six Mardi Gras (I didn't want another red creme), and none of the three Bare Necessities, which are all described as sheer.

Mine arrived, and I swatched the Black Out colors for you since I haven't seen anything of them online.  All three are cremes and two coaters.  The pictures are with srtificial light - it keeps raining here, with the sun coming and going.

Total Eclipse of the Heart is a slightly muted, slightly blue medium purple.  I had to have this one for the name.

Misa Total Eclipse of the Heart from Misa's Black Out Collection

It's Electric is a pretty medium blue creme.

Misa It's Electric from Misa's Black Out Collection

Finally, Black Out, a black creme.  Misa seems to be very proud of their black creme, because they keep re-releasing it under different names.  It's almost good in one coat, certainly good enough for layering, but I did two to be consistent.  This one is a bit dry, as I used it as my post-swatching manicure, layering something over it I'll show you another time.

Misa Black Out from Misa's Black Out Collection

So that's Misa's Black Out Collection.  I have no complaints about them, they all applied well, and I like the colors quite a bit.  Truthfully, Misa Where's the Soiree, the last release of Misa's black creme, was my go-to black for layering for a while, but I don't know where it is... I'm glad to have a replacement.  

I'll show you the Mardi Gras less the red soon, but you're on your own for Bare necessities!

That's all for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!  

Forgive, Forget, For Me I Will

Look, I know that the economy is rough right now. It can be hard for companies selling non-essentials like nail polish to make ends meet. But can I make a suggestion? If you must downsize your entire nail polish naming and marketing staff and replace it with one work of literature, make it a dictionary. DO NOT, under any circumstances, use the poetry journal of an eighth-grader whose nom de plume is Mistress Raventwilight Sorrowgoth.


(photo courtesy of Vampy Varnish)

"Forgive, Forget, For Me I Will"? What IS that? I want to call it a sentence fragment, but I think that is too generous. Sentence fragments make sense with additional words placed before or after them, but all that I can think might come after this is "The dark miasma of my tortured soul cries out. / Brandon didn't ask me to the Homecoming dance. / Life is an endless shadow."

Misa, it is no coincidence that when I tried to find a picture of this nail polish, the first page of Google search turns up this:



Forgive this naming travesty? I don't think so. Forget it? I'm trying as hard as I can. Do you think sacrificing a hamster to our Dark Wiccan Vampire Lords would hasten the sweet caress of blessed oblivion?