Little Bottles of Happiness

I feel like all I do is move...

2011-03-05T15:20:00.003-05:00

I realized something this morning. I haven't posted on here in ages, but I spend hours a day on tumblr. I love tumblr. And in term of posting things (At least for me) it greatly exceeds Blogger in terms of ease. And since all I ever post here is art anyway, it's usually only one-two picture posts. So I'll be moving it over there. Feel free to come find me on tumblr if you have one. This blog will still be up, since I use it to keep track of my favorite blogs, but don't expect any more posts here. Sorry.

Here's the new address- http://bottlehappie.tumblr.com/

Christmas Nails and Hauls

2011-01-04T13:07:00.003-05:00

I realized that I was a dunce and launched straight into my shortcomings last time. I apologize. Let me rectify that.

DID EVERYONE HAVE A GOOD HOLIDAY :D :D :D !?!?!?

Alright, got that out of my system. Though seriously, I hope everyone had a great holiday, no matter which one you celebrated.

Mine was Christmas, in the biblical sense. So these were my Christmas Eve nails-

I hope that doesn't show up so freaking huge on blogger. I'm trying a new way to upload; maybe it will help me keep to my new posting schedule. *shrugs* We'll see.

Anyway, I was really excited that I finally got the whole sponging thing right, these turned out well, at least in my opinion. And all the little characters are painted on there with one of those pen tip brushes that they have at all the drugstores around the holidays. Oh, and the second Wiseman over there is leading a camel. :D

On to the Ulta haul! And the Sally's haul, and the one bottle I snatched up at Wal-Mart. That's what I did on New Years with my Christmas money- bought scads of polish. I think I made out with about 17 bottles that day, but most were on clearance or had a coupon or something like that.

The Ultas- Little Black Dress, Red Carpet Red, Soho Bleu, Cocktail Waitress, Urban Jungle. Correct me if I'm wrong, but is Urban Jungle supposed to look like MAC Ming Dragon? I don't have any MACs to know.

Barielles- Gelt Me to the Party, Elle's Spell, and Jess' Champagne Toast. These were all on sale. :D

OPIs- DS Extravagance and Rising Star.

Sally Hanson Complete Salon Manicure Sequin Scandal (whew, what a name!) and Orly Shine. I had a coupon for Shine as a freebie, which is why I picked up yet another silver foil. It was either that; Leave it to Blue (I think) or Oh Cabana Boy. And I need another neon pink worse than I needed a new silver foil.

Oh, yes. This was 49 cents, so I got it just for the name. This is quite obviously an obnoxious shimmery pink, yet the name is 'Classic Coral Crème'. Why is this? Why, NYC?

Then I moved on to Sally's, picking up Ruby Deer, Mistletoe Mischief, and an odd Blue Paradise I'd never seen before. *scratches chin* Interesting.

I was really disappointed, though, that I couldn't find Essie Sew Psyched at Ulta. I've been lemming that one hard, and keep looking for it, but my Ulta must have tossed the collection quick. Somewhere I heard, however, that Wal-Mart had started carrying Essies.

And what do you know. They had it.

So, that was the New Year's haul. I will bore you with the Christmas gifts I got later. :D

Help please?

2010-12-28T14:20:00.003-05:00

Wow. I am so sorry. It has been forever since I've posted. I know it's not technically the new year yet, but I resolve to post at least twice a month next year. We'll see how long that lasts.

Now, before I forget, I need some help. I'm taking one of my rare treks to Ulta on Friday and I need to know what is good! I've picked up most of the fall and winter collections, particularly the Burlesque OPIs and the Christmas China Glazes, but I'm not sure what else will be good. Any Essie suggestions? Orly offerings? Piggy Polish preferences? :D

Anyway, let me go see what I have on my computer. I'm at work without a camera, so the pickings may be slim. I filed my nails down to wear my Christmas fakes, which I hope to get up soon, and left them bare for a few days. Big mistake. They all started snapping, so I've got ittle nubbins now. Heh, maybe they'll grow out a bit before I start posting regularly again.

Oh, here we go. One of my Christmas mani's that I actually took a picture of! Incredible

This would be that Zoya red that everyone is so crazy about- either Blair or Colbie, I can't remember off hand. I marbled it on my middle finger with Sally Hansen Going Green, then slapped a coat of China Glaze Golden Enchantment over the whole thing. Normally I'm not much of a red wearer, but I really like my Zoya reds, this one and the matte in particular.

That's all I've got. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments for my Ulta Haul, and I hope to see you soon!

I have Energizer Bunny Bad Luck

2010-10-06T11:54:00.004-04:00

It just keeps going and going and going....

Yeah, so remember how I was talking about how rotten my existence has been in my last post, and how I wanted a giveaway to set it back in place with a more positive attitude?

Didn't happen. My laptop crashed several days after that. You know, that slim piece of plastic that every college student depends on, and keeps their entire life on? Yeah, mine turned into a brick one night in the middle of doing homework. I lost everything. I have a few backups, but it's taking me some time to get them all restored correctly. *sigh*

So Susie, doll, I'm sorry about the delay. I have your polishes, I will do my best to get them sent this week.

Now that that is over with, how about some pictures?

Sorry this is so blurry. As you can see, Pinky was already clean and I forgot to snap a picture. These were my nails when I went to see Dracula last weekend. Black with silver crosses, then red with black roses. I loved them, but they started breaking the next morning and I had to cut them down.

This was.... interesting. I don't really remember. The lighting is all funny, cause the base is OPI Jade is the New Black. Erm, yeah, moving on.

Ah, this is better. This is SH Fairy Teal with a BM fauxnad over the top. I love those flowers, and Fairy teal is getting close to being one of my very favorite polishes.

Ooh, I liked these too. Anybody watch Meliney's videos on Youtube? I'm totally NOT taking credit for this design, it's all hers. It's just awesome, so here's the tutorial. It's all hers, not mine.

I just changed the colors around a bit, and used flowers instead of butterflies.

Actually, I almost left them like this. I really liked the way it looked.

And here's my NOTD. Actually, it's more like Nail of the Week, since I rarely paint them more than once when I'm at school, away from my hoard. SH Fairy Teal, that Nail Junkie look-a-like from Nicole, and some striper brushes. Purty.

Ok, that's all for now. I'm trying to be better about updating, I'm just failing miserably.

Long time and a special treat.

2010-09-15T21:28:00.003-04:00

Alright, it's official. I am an awful blogger.

But I have an excuse. I won't go into details, but I have not been able to catch a break all semester. I tore some stuff off the bottom of my car, lost my wallet, two people in my family died, I tried out for a play and didn't get cast, the list goes on and on.

There are a few silver linings, though. When I talked to one of my directors at school about my financial fears and being able to pay for next semester, she went before the council board and had them vote me an immediate scholarship of $2000. My theatre teacher came to me today and told me that he really wanted to cast me in the next show we do. Things are getting better.

And I finally reached a (small) milestone here at Little Bottles of Happiness- I have fifteen followers! In honor of this achievement, as well as hoping to get my life back on a more pleasant track, I'm having a little giveaway! It's not much, and I will have to limit the entries to the U.S. only, since I don't have a whole lot of money for shipping.

This is for anyone who feels like I have been feeling lately. Included are four Sinful Colors polishes, 1 blue and 3 greens, green to give you luck and chase the blues away!

Included are (L-R) Happy Ending, Mint Apple, All Mighty, and Innocent.

And the rules-

Comment on the blog telling me the time when you were the most depressed, and what finally got you out of it. Include your email address. 1 entry
You must be a follower! I'm greedy and want more followers! :D 1 entry.
Tell the world! Blog it (put a link in your comment), tweet it, tell it to your neighbor, something! 1 entry

Deadline is next Saturday, Sept. 25. Winner should be announced shortly after that.

I can't wait!

Two Months...

2010-08-23T17:51:00.010-04:00

That's how long it's been since an update. And this is why, readers, I don't join the blogger network. I can't be trusted to post with any regularity! My internet connection options were pretty slim for the past couple of months, so I haven't been able to post. I also spent two weeks at various summer camps, spent about a week and a half entering MSI's Month at the Museum contest (wish me luck on that, by the way. Semifinalists are supposed to be notified by Wednesday.) and was trying to get ready for school. Which started today.

Wait, you all don't want to hear about my boring life. You want to see pictures! All right, all right.

Lacquer Laine posted a week or so ago about this great franken that she had got in a swap. Here's my version (for the record, people, I see cool frankens and I make my own versions. I hope you don't mind.) Anyway, she asked people to go out and try to make theirs, and I did. Although it is technically 'called' Jungle Love, at least to me. :D

I've also started this rather crazy project. I've always painted fake nails and glued them to the tops of my bottles so I could see them in the drawers. Well, everytime my mother or sister tries to get a bottle open, they pop the nail off. So I decided to glue them onto trading cards and put them in a binder so you could see every color easily.

Those would be the glitters. The pink page is showing through the blanks.

Here's a close up of one of the cards-

Not exactly very neat, but effective.

Here's what my desk looks like while I'm working on them-

These are from my latest haul.

WetnWild Buffy the Violet Slayer, 10 Palm Beach Purple, Sally Hansen Shining, Sally Hansen Sparked, Sally Hansen Gray by Gray, Sally Hansen Fairy Teal, and Confetti My Favorite Martian. The Confetti and 10 displays just showed up at my CVS, and I had coupons!

This was an interesting occurance. Generally, most of my frankens end up in the flat $.99 Wet n Wild bottles because I go through scads of White, Black and Clear. So when I went to clean this one out, I filled it with acetone and gave it a good shake. Next thing I know, I'm covered in slightly diluted black polish, as well as my desk and computer. The culprit- a hole in the top of the bottle.

Really, really strange. I've never had one do this to me before.

And finally, a NotD. I've had a huge lemming for Deborah Lippmann's Lady Sings the Blues. I knew I was never going to be able to get my hands on it, so I made my own. Oh the joy of frankening.

With flash-

And without-

This is about half Love My Nails Crystal (One of my favorite glitters. I have two bottles, plus what I used for this) and the rest a mixture of Wet and Wild Nocturnal and some clear. I call it The Blue Note. Somebody who has the real deal, how close was I?

Alright, I've emptied my SD card. That's all for now.

A pretty franken.

2010-06-22T20:56:00.001-04:00

I went to my optometrist this afternoon, and the two lovely ladies at the counter asked me for a link to my blog. Hi! You found it!

Anyway, on to business. I saw yesterday where The Manicured Manatee was making a dark green holo. I decided that I would give it a whirl too. Here's mine-

This is my green holo franken Malice. I couldn't get a good sunlight shot of it because my dumb camera wouldn't focus. ~~(I'm just kidding, Canon. I love you.)~~ Anyway, it doesn't do it's 'holo thang' quite right- it reflects green, yellow, and orange, but no other colors really. I think it's the Milani holo that I used.

Tools of the trade-

Excuse the strange lighting.

Oh, and for you at Focus- I found this in one of your examining rooms- it made me laugh.

What a depressing weekend.

2010-06-20T21:22:00.001-04:00

So if you regularly read this, you will have read the epic tail of the thumbnail break.

Well guess what.

I broke the other one too.

Little sister asked to see my class ring. My thumb got caught in a crevice (that shows you how thin they are) and snapped a big chunk out.

So it had to be trimmed down too. It ended up about the same length as lefty. When I got home that evening, my right ring finger bent completely backward. Ouch.

So I made the painful decision today to chop them all down and let them grow out again.

Here are my nails before-

And after-

*Sigh* Have I mentioned before how much I hate my index fingers? I have never been able to get that squoval shape I like on them like I have my others.

Anyway, I decided to use one of my new Zoyas yesterday- Anastasia at the request of Skulda. I also bought a new basecoat from Claire's (it was on sale). Wiped right off within minutes. So I gave up. At that point I was so aggravated I didn't even want to look at my nails.

Today I thought I'd give it another go. Used Zoya Indigo this time. I was all set to be disappointed with the lack of glitter, but was actually pleasantly surprised. There's a lot more sparkle in real life than in the pictures, though.

Also, has anyone seen those Claire's flakies? They look an awful lot like the Oceans from Sinful, just not as thick of flakes. $12.50 for six slightly-smaller-than-usual bottles.

In which I give up on this ridiculous title scheme.

2010-06-18T15:00:00.005-04:00

*Sigh*. I really should have seen this coming. I tried desperately to stop it, did everything I could to keep it hanging on, but all to no avail.

This afternoon, as I walked into Sally's, my thumbnail snapped.

Now you have to understand. My thumbnail broke on Wednesday. I went home on Wednesday to visit my mother and showed up with a cracked nail. I didn't have any of my kit with me, so I rushed down to the pharmacy and bought a sally hansen nail repair kit. It was awful. Grainy and nasty and powdery, and it still didn't hold my nail together. So I babied it until I could get back to my hoard and fix it again. This time I dragged out an acrylic sculpture kit I had bought to maybe do my mom's nails with.

Now, ever since I saw A Polish Problem's saga with acrylics, I had eschewed them. I thought if I couldn't paint my real nails, I wasn't going to do them at all. That was until I busted my thumb. I was so proud that I had finally gotten all my nails to a good length and shape. I couldn't stand the thought of trimming them all down to match my thumb, nor did I want to wander about with a nubbin on one finger. So I caved and did some acrylic over the top of the break.

Well, this afternoon (In Sally's, no less. How mortifying- to break a nail in a beauty supply store. Ugh.) I heard a pop and sure enough, off came the broken part. I didn't get a picture of the break itself, but I'll show some comparisons.

Then, to add insult to injury, the acrylic started coming off.

Before it was over, almost all the acrylic was gone, leaving me with a battered and bruised thumbnail, having spent three days in torturous experimentation, and a shoebox full of new Zoyas at home that will shun it in it's mangled condition.

Ok, so maybe that is a bit of a stretch. It's not mangled, just short and over-buffed, probably. Anyway, here's to show you just how short-

Left thumb- broken one.
Right thumb- still in good shape.

All this to say- I broke a nail. :D

In which I have a package...

2010-06-17T16:16:00.004-04:00

O Hai Ther! Look what showed up on my porch this morning! My new Zoyas!
Very nice packaging...And the new pretties. 18 in all.

Ibiza, Kotori, Indigo

Posh, Veruschka, Harlow

Envy, Irene, Suvi, Akyra

Evangeline, Anastasia, Roxy, Blair

Penny

Now you would think that with this awesome deal, all the blogs I read, and this being my first accumulation of any Zoya polish, I would have got some of the Sparkles. And I did. Except this happened:

Poor Mimi showed up with a broken bottle. I decanted her into an old WetnWild bottle.

Aaaannnd, Mimi, Ivanka, and Charla! :D

More on these later. I'm off to do my submission for PHD's weekly challenge.

In which I try to find a way to ship.

2010-06-09T00:15:00.004-04:00

I can’t believe I’ve been with an internet connection for three weeks and not updated. I’m a horrible excuse for a blogger. Geesh.

I’ve been thinking about the Zoya exchange. I’ve got about 20 picked out, and about fifty I’d like to trade, but I don’t know how to ship them. Does anyone have any suggestions as toward shipping?

I wandered back into a dollar tree the other day hoping for more old Maybellines. Pretty good selection, actually.

Three of the waters there in the bottom. Been looking for those.

I was hoping those French manicure bottles in the back would be good franken bottles. I tried to clean them out with some acetone, and this is what I got.

NOTD-

Orly Enchanted Forest and OPI Mad as a Hatter.

I’ve also added some more art fakes to my facebook album if anyone is looking at those.

And a picture of my new kitten Turtle stealing my sister’s slim jim.

Later!

In which I have a happy mistake

2010-05-28T15:14:00.004-04:00

So just a quickie post today.

Tuesday night I knew I was getting ready to pack up all my earthly belongings (read: polish), so wanted to do something I could deal with for several days. I toyed around with Copa and Cabana (the new WnW Craze oranges) but decided that they looked disgusting with my skin tone. So I swapped to an old standby- blue.

This is Orly Snowcone with CG Blue Island Iced Tea on the tips. Black striper, decals. And now one of my favorite manis ever.

In which I have a large amount of polish and attempt a water-marble

2010-05-10T18:14:00.009-04:00

Hello everyone. It's been a rather long time ( a month >.<) Anyway, I bought a tablet back at the end of March, and decided to go on a no-buy. When my no-buy was up, I went nuts. So now I am back on a no-buy. Yick. Um, Pictures!
Heh heh.

Ginger, Sour Apple, Meteor Shower, Blue Hawaiian, Electric Lilac, Mahoganie

LOL, 2Nite, DV8
Lapis of Luxury and Turquoise & Caicos

Hidden Treasure (!!), Silver Lining, Dive Deeper, Sea and Be Seen
Flip Flop Fantasy, Sun Worshiper, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, Kiwi Cool-Ada, Towel Boy Toy

Gussied Up Green, Rodeo Fanatic, Wagon Trail

52 & 60

Devotion, Awaken, Hi-Tek

Electronica, Revvvolution

Russian Navy Suede, Sexy in the City, Blue Island Iced Tea

La Playa and One of the New Loreals (can't remember right now.)

And the water marble I did with the Poolsides and Sinful Colors Dream On.

*Phew*

In which I have more dots and a small haul

2010-04-06T21:02:00.005-04:00

So I don't have a whole lot to say today, but I do want to get some new pictures up. Without further ado-

Small haul- new Massini's, Whose that Girl and Jade, Orly Prince Charming (the only one I needed to finish that collection), Finger Paints Dream a Little Dream, China Glaze Shower Together, and Nina Ultra Pro Dragon Berry and Star Fruit. I also have Soursop, but I left that one at home. My mom bought the Nina's for me for Easter. She got really excited because the collection is called Hard Candy, and I've gushed about HCs in the past. She was so disappointed when she found out they weren't. Also some decals. I love decals.

Todays NOTD- China Glaze Shower Together and Happy Go Lucky.

And then some more art fakes-

Harry Potter nails: Left to Right- Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and a Quidditch nail.

Beauty and the Beast- Rose, Lumiere, Chip, Belle, Beast.

Art inspired by Garth Nix's Abhorsen Trilogy- Charter Marks, Clayr, Lirael the Remebrancer, Sabriel the Abhorsen, Sam the Wallmaker, and Saraneth.

Finally, Hey Arnold Nails. Phoebe, Helga, Gerald, Arnold, Harold, Rhonda, Big Gino, Eugene, Curly, Mr. Simmons, Lila, Sheena. Hey Arnold! is one of my most cherished childhood memories, and I still love it. Some fans still exist, I'm part of a board here.

That's it for now.

In which I have glowing fingernails and flowers.

2010-03-29T20:51:00.006-04:00

So I was in an Easter Program yesterday as an angel/heavenly presence. Since it is all done in blacklight, I thought I ought to find something simple and subtle that wouldn't glow. I decided on a white/silver glitter with a gold stripe.

This is what I ended up with-

Pretty, right? I thought I couldn't go wrong. Until I put it under blacklight. Big mistake.

Now normally, that would be awesome. Not when I'm supposed to be an ethereal spirit. It took me a bit to figure out the culprit. My basecoat.

Normally:

Under blacklight:

I guess that explains it.

Anyway, on to today's nails. If you remember last post, I seem to be growing inordinately fond of bright spots against black. Instead of dots, I did flowers this time.

I decided the iPod case was a better prop. The green swirly in the glass turtle was distracting.

And better flower shots-

Same color combos as last time.

NOTD Polka Dots and Lots of random pictures

2010-03-18T19:48:00.007-04:00

Today we have my dotty mani and some random shots of my desk and room. I don't know why I took them, but I thought I might share.

And here's the mani. I saw this design somewhere (I don't remember where, I'm sorry!) and wanted to try it. I started with a layer of WetnWild Black with WetnWild white spots-

This looked so interesting, I was tempted to keep it. I'm glad I didn't, though!

Colors Used- WetnWild Black Creme, WetnWild French White Creme, Sally Hansen Flashy Fuchsia, WetnWild Sunny Side Up, China Glaze Solar Power, China Glaze Four-Leaf Clover, Sally Hansen Brisk Blue, and China Glaze Grape Pop. I find myself slowly caving and buying more of the Up and Away collection.

And here is my weekly stash. As I've said before, almost all my stash stays at home, but when I'm at school, I carry about 15-20 bottles. When I go through eight in one design, I guess that makes sense.

And then my desk, with all my other assorted supplies.

I bought the place-mat because my polish remover was starting to take the finish off the wood :|

And I leave you with a picture of a fraction of my playbill collection. They make for excellent wall decorations.

Oh, and I made that scarf. :)

Why I should not do Ruffians and Patty's Day nails.

2010-03-15T22:32:00.009-04:00

It is exactly as the title suggests. I should, under no circumstances, ever try a ruffian again.

I don't know why, but this just did not go with me. It was fairly straightforward- it's Orly Rage as a base and WetnWild black as the top, but I just didn't like it. I like my St. Patrick's Day nails so much better.

It's CG Refresh-Mint as a base, with multiple different colors on top. Thumb is a rainbow with a pot of gold, middle is a leprechaun hat.

For some strange reason, the green stripe of the rainbow does not show up at all. Maybe it's the lighting, because it is definitely there.

Aaaaaannnnd, middle, to show off my mad striper brush skillz-

The four-leaf clovers are just little decals. For some strange reason, they came on a sheet of flowers and there were only six of them, thus the hat. And my clovers look like flowers with their obnoxiously long stems. *sigh* Well, I tried. I like it. It's springy and festive and I can't wait till Patty's day. I get to dress up at work. They don't realize what happens when I'm told I can 'dress up'. :D

Two posts in one day!

2010-03-11T22:04:00.003-05:00

Alright, so here is the new mani I did after removing Stripey Suzi.

China Glaze Grape Pop with Cina Decals. Pretty standard, but springy, and I like it. I tried to do Heli-Yum, which apparently clashes horribly with my skin tone. Drat. I liked the color. Maybe I'll save it for art or someone's toes.

The cashiers at my local Sally's are starting to recognize me. They wanted to know if I had seen the new displays, since I only go in when new polish has come out. Considering I had three of the new ones, they took it as a yes.

In case anyone is interested, I am pushing 450 bottles. Ouch.

NOTD and mini-haul

2010-03-11T15:10:00.005-05:00

So first off, my NOTD, which will soon be changing since I just got back from Sally's.

OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui with Art Club White Striper. I think I like posing this way better. And for the record, this is lefty. You can't see it, but poor lefty suffered a debilitating injury last weekend when my index got in the way of a bread knife. Ouch. It's moderately healed now, but how I managed to cut my finger in the most callused place, while not cutting into the nail really shocked me. Oh well, at least it survived.

Now on to the Sally's Mini-Haul! I ran through Claires yesterday to find some of the mood polishes, and I got the glittery pink/purple, as well as the teal/blue. I also found an old sparkly on the clearance shelf- it looks like Golddiggers white cousin. It's called Hollywood, I think. Anyway, pictures-

Please ignore the horrible lighting. This is (L-R) Seche Vite Top and Base Coats, (they had a BOGO), CG Grape Pop, CG Heli-yum, and Orly Snowcone. Plus some decals. As you know, I'm much more into art, and I left all my other artsy stuff at home.

In case anyone gets confused by my pictures, a little backstory. I'm a sophomore in college, and live in two places. I usually post from school because I don't have internet at home, but some of my pictures are taken there. The wooden desk with crummy light is at school, the plastic drawers which hide my stash are at home.

Ok, I think that's it. I have new stickers to play with!

:D

2010-03-09T19:50:00.004-05:00

Just a precursor- I have a follower! That makes me very happy. Welcome, Skulda. I'm glad you enjoy my blog.

Anyway, the promised art. It's very similar to the Valentines Day mani I did, but I decided that the V-day was too subtle, plus I wanted to break into some of my new shopGoodwill polishes.

I don't know what it is, but I love these little bitty polka dots. This is Art Club Bronze for the dots, and an unknown Sally Hansen (I think) red that I am calling Old Money for the sake of my database.

Also, my thumbnails are getting horrendously long. I literally almost took off a guy's ear with one in my Directing class. But none of my others seem to be growing at the same rate. This shouldn't surprise me, my thumbs and pinkies always grow faster than my other nails. Huh.

Oh well. That's all for now.

Contests

2010-03-09T12:54:00.004-05:00

You can expect more art tonight, but at the moment I am charging my camera batteries. What I do have is contests!

Manicured Manatee is giving away a whole collection of Color Clubs here and Painted Lady Fingers is giving away the new konad plates here.

Happy contesting!

Auction haul and failed mani

2010-03-01T20:44:00.009-05:00

I bought fifty bottles of polish last week. For less than thirty dollars.

I'll just let that sink in a little

Ok. I bought them off of ShopGoodwill, which is a lot like ebay, except it operates out of all the Goodwills. I actually work for shopGoodwill, that's how I found out about it.

Anyway, I didn't get anything amazing, but I did get a few good things. Here's a big shot. I didn't do anything special with them yet.

There was a baby Essie in there, as well as two Sally Hansen Fire Opals and a handful of OPIs. I also now have two China Glaze Flying Dragons. I need to do something with the extra now.

Moving on. I had this adorable mani this weekend that I did while watching Sweeney Todd. It was awesome, but had chipped irreparably by the next morning. So you get chippy fingernails. Deal with it. They were awesome and piratey, but now are no more. *sob*

The neat thing was when I took the polish off my thumb. You see the neat little decal? Well, all the polish got trapped underneath it and looked like this-
I just thought that was fun.

I've taken pictures of all my little nail art fakies. So, picspam. Enjoy.

The end. :)

Illamasqua Contest

2010-03-01T09:20:00.005-05:00

I just heard about the Illamasqua contest to design your own color. That is amazing! I've dabbled a bit in frankening, but I've never been able to duplicate this one color I've always wanted, so this is what it is.

I found this amazing countertop once. It was on vacation and was marble. Crazy shiny, black with tiny multi-colored sparkles and big gold flakes. Here's a picture-

It's not the best picture, but I think it gets the point across. This would be amazing as a nail polish. What do you think?

Quick Post: TOES!

2010-02-23T21:49:00.005-05:00

Hey, yeah. My ugly toes. I didn't feel like taking off the Pie in the Skye/ Absolutely Alice mani I did yesterday, but still felt like painting and wanted to take the opportunity to post while I still have the internet at school. I felt like doing something a bit more dark, since sparkly or girly toes make me feel silly. So this is WetnWild Black Creme with China Glaze Solar Power dots. Also, since my stash is at home and my Seche is destroyed (I poured it in my Sally Hansen Insta-dri bottle because I like the brush, not realizing it still had topcoat in it. It turned several manis yellow. Ew.) I bought a cheapo Borghese topcoat at Walgreens. Works rather well, actually. At least for simple stuff. I wouldn't suggest it for anything very textured. Anyway, pictures. I don't suggest you enlarge these, it may be too much for sensitive stomachs. You have been warned.

Close up for dots-

That's it for today. Cheers!

Moving and lots of pictures

2010-02-22T21:11:00.010-05:00

I seem to be very behind in this post. I've been moving my blog over and it's taken a lot of time. For those of you who are new, Welcome! For those of you moving with me, good to see you again! Alright, enough blathering. On to the pictures.

It is again time, ladies (and gents? Shout out, men!) for the camera card shuffle. What will we have today?

Ah yes, the semi-failed argyle. This is SH Jumpin' Jade with Art Club stripers in White and Bronze. Here's the thumb, too-

Let's see, next....
My Mardi Gras mani. CG Cowardly Lyin, CG Emerald Sparkle, and Finger Paints Icy Iris. Claire's Silver Striper.

Mom actually had something similar to this for Valentines-

SH Pass-by Pearl, WnW Shield, and CG Awakening.

Birthday nails! Milani Cyberspace (The blue holo) and the Claire's Silver striper again.

My birthday was a blast this year. I convinced my mother to drive me into the city to find the only Ulta within 500 miles and I had fun.
Right to Left- Essie Aruba Blue (My first Essie, I was so excited), CG Four-Leaf Clover, CG Custom Kicks, CG Flyin' High, OPI Mystery, OPI Glow, OPI Absolutely Alice, OPI Mad as a Hatter, and OPI Gargantuan Green Grape. I spent way too much money that day. You can see my drawers in the background. I desperately need a new one (teals and turqoises have overstayed their welcome at the Green house and need to get out) but I can't find room on my shelf to put it.

And here's Valentine's day. I'm firmly anti-Valentines, but couldn't resist a little red. So this is WnW Black with NYC Broadway Burgundy Frost as the spots. Excuse the smears of hair dye everywhere.

And just for grins and giggles, here's my sister with a GIGANTIC FRIGGIN' ICICLE. Enjoy.

And finally, my NOTD- The new Maybellines just popped up in my Walgreens, so this is Maybelline Pie in the Sky with OPI Absolutely Alice tips and my favorite silver striper.

And thumb.

Alright, that's all for now. Stay tuned for the next installment.

Look what I found in the Mail!

2010-01-16T09:05:00.000-05:00

Anyone else remember the CND survey a few months back? I stumbled onto a link and filled out all the info, thinking I would never have a chance for a CND polish any other way.

Well guess what showed up in the mail today!

My mother (who was in the car with me at the time) didn't know what it was, but I recognized the logo straight off. I ripped open the package with glee.

I ended up with Indian Rhubarb and Copper shimmer. Anyone else get a package with different colors?

And here's my hasty, one-finger, applied-in-a-moving-vehicle swatch. Lovely.

That's all for now. I'm off to CVS to see if I can locate the new Milani Holos.

After-Christmas Goodies

2010-01-12T11:08:00.000-05:00

Ok, first things first. I have found Opulent Cloud! Let me know what you all think, I might buy another bottle for a contest or giveaway....

And now time to dig through the camera card to see exactly what I snapped over the last month or so.

Next, my grandmother is amazing. She bought me my first konad. And I do love it so. Here's some pictures.

This is OPI DS Coronation with Konad Blue Polish over the top. And I believe plate m3. Speaking of Konads, anyone else think there should be a Alice in Wonderland konad plate produced? Yannow, a top hat, chess pieces, a cheshire cat smile, that would be awesome.

Ok, up next we have my prize from Wixbetty- her Happy Birthday dupes! She held a mini contest to name the polish, and I won a bottle of it and my own version.

So here we have the HB dupe, "Very Merry Unbirthday", and my version, which I am calling "Sweet Sixteen"

And a mani-

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away and Very Merry Unbirthday.

And now, one of my gems- A custom set of Phantom of the Opera fakes.

Left thumb features the mask and a red rose with black ribbon, right thumb has the chandelier. Her's a close up of the mask thumb.

So that's about it for this installment. Till next time-

Jade

Christmas Nails

2009-12-21T09:34:00.000-05:00

Just a quickie post- a nice Christmas mani.

This is China Glaze Emerald Sparkle with some little white decals that look vaguely like snowflakes. Here's the thumb, they look better there-

The flash washed the out a bit.

On a side note, anyone seen Princess and the Frog yet? I loved it. I've seen it twice and may go see it again. I was a Disney baby and a new one got me real excited.

Merry Christmas, all.

Work, penguins, music and Christmas

2009-12-17T13:16:00.000-05:00

Yes, yes, I know. This is a nail blog, why am I rambling about other junk?

Anyway, I love my job. I'm really lucky. I get to sort through antiques and other fun stuff, take pictures, and post it on the internet. The problem is, I don't know much about the stuff I'm posting. I had a beautiful cut glass candy bowl that I sold not too long ago, and I just now got a whiny email from the buyer saying it wasn't cut glass but cruddy pressed glass. So I botched up another order. I've already got all kinds of complaints from people. I'm not sure if it's me or if it's just your typical ebay buyers who think they deserve treasures for pennies. Gah.

And now penguins. My mom is an incredible seamstress. She helped my sister make a stuffed penguin for her art final, and I talked her into making me one too- here they both are.

The one on the left is Pedro, my sisters, and the one on the right is my Phantom penguin. I love him so. I promised Mom that I would post them.

As to music, I've just downloaded the soundtrack to Princess and the Frog. Typical Disney magic, and I can't help myself when it comes to soundtracks.

Finally, a Christmas mani to finish up for the day.

This is Orly Enchanted Forest and Wet n' Wild Gilded from their Christmas Collection. Makes me think of evergreens with garland and lights. I love the little holographic hexes in the smattering of gold glitter.

Closeup on thumb to see the sparkly goodness. Yes, I know my cuticles are deplorable. I'm working on it. Any suggestions?

And one more picture- here's my Christmas tree for your yuletide enjoyment

Merry Christmas everyone.

Finally, some pictures!

2009-12-08T17:16:00.000-05:00

Alright, so I finally got back to a place with internet with my camera, so here come pictures! Picture heavy post, so prepare some reading material if you have a slow connection.

First off, the Follow the Unicorn contest pics.

Here's my lovely box, with all addresses blocked out :)

My first glimpse of my pretties....

And my lovelies! Thank you, Diana!

Next up, we have my dollar tree hauls.

Now these I'm not sure about. The one on the far left is called 'Gold Wash', but the other two are both called "Give me the Chills". Are they the same? They look like they are different colors.

Anyway, GW is a light Gold shimmer and GMTC is a pale peachy/pinky bar glitter

Let's see, SH Silver Frost and Rich Frost

Maybelline Plushed Plum, Diva Groove, and Rock Diva

Maybelline Aluminum Gold, Shimmer Maker, and Tasseled Taupe

Maybelline Khaki Fringe

Maybelline Blue Chill, Indigo Blues, Blue Riders, and Blue Aluminum

Can anyone guess what my favorite color is? :)

Maybelline Purple Comet

Maybelline

Top- Matte Gold, Matte Plum, Matte Brownie, Matte Galaxy

Bottom- Matte Olive, Matte Sapphire (!) Matte Blue, Matte Grape

And my NOTD. Maybelline Khaki Fringe (2ct) with Maybelline Shimmer Maker (1ct) Seche to finish.

Closeup of thumb for shimmer. Excuse the deplorable state of my fingers. It's finals, and I have a half million papers to write.

Finally, can anyone tell me about this little gem? I found it at Wal-mart (I do go there occasionally) and found a whole display! I only bought one, and don't plan to buy any more. $6.50 for a SH is a little steep for me.

Anyway, here's Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Pedal to the Metal. A rather nice metallic-y lavender.

I was ecstatic to see today that I made it onto Pretty Random's blog roll today. Made me smile a bit more.

Till Next time, y'all.

~Jade

Contest winnings and Dollar haul

2009-12-02T18:53:00.000-05:00

I finally got my 'Follow the Unicorn' package from Painted Lady Fingers. My whole family watched me open it, and my cat was particularly fond of all the star glitter.

I took tons of pictures, including my sisters popping the bubble wrap, but I left my camera at home this weekend. :( I'll get the pictures up soon.

I also heard about the scads of polish trucking into the Dollar Trees. Curious, I wandered off to one this evening and wandered out with ten bottles of polish!

I've been hesitant on the matte train, only having three mattes, but now I have eight. In multiple colors. :)

I'm going to examine another one tomorrow, and hopefully get some pictures up soon!

Contests!

2009-10-22T15:46:00.000-04:00

I don't know if anyone is actually reading this, but Painted Lady Fingers is having an awesome contest! Go check it out!-

http://paintedladyfingers.blogspot.com/

And now pictures! I finally got my camera, so prepare for pic spam!

[gallery]

That's all for now.

First pictures.

2009-09-29T13:08:00.000-04:00

Alright, so here a few pictures. Nothing major, just some stuff I had saved.

As you will see, my major push into the world of fingernails was my awful *gasp* nail-biting problem. So please, help me get past this awful stage in my life.

A random rainy day manicure. I don't remember the colors, but I do know I can't stand rhinestones. I had them picked of before the end of the day.

More of the same.

Spring break nails. A foray into the world of Nail pens. Was going for a stained glass look, ended up with Partridge Family.

One of those water-swirl things. I thought these came out nicely. Please excuse the crappy state of my pictures. Still waiting to get a new camera.

These are my sister's nails. She asked for Japanese Cherry Blossoms for her birthday. Blue is CG For Audrey, brown is Sharpie, and the pink is a franken color.

All right, that's it for now. Keep watching for more!

~Jade

Hullo world

2009-09-29T12:56:00.000-04:00

Hey there. I've decided I've spent far too much time reading nail blogs, so I'm starting my own! I don't have a camera yet, but as soon as I do, I'll start putting up pics.