Orly Smoked Out Swatch- Smoky Collection Fall 2014

Today I have polish from the Orly Smoky Collection (Fall 2014) called Smoked Out.  Let me go ahead and say that pictures do NO justice for this polish.  I don't know why it was so hard to photograph but in real life it is gorgeous!

China Glaze This is Tree-Mendous Holiglaze Collection

Hi y'all :)  Today I have a polish from the China Glaze 2013 Holiglaze Collection.  I picked up 3 polishes from this collection and all of them have been fantastic!  I grabbed This is Tree-Mendous (green & gold micro glitter), Put A Bow On It (fuchsia micro glitter), and So Blue Without You (bright blue shimmer foil).

Glitzology Country Girl- LONG REVIEW

This was a special mani for me, because it was for my son's 1st birthday party :)

We had a farm themed party and I knew I wouldn't have time for animal nail art, so when I found this john deere themed polish on Glitzology's site I knew I had to have it!  They were having a 50% off sale so I got this polish and a Cupcake scented cuticle oil (it smells like heaven).

I used the 3 Minute Artificials as my base, then 2 coats Barielle Lily of the Valley, 2 coats Ulta Sun-Sational for accent nails, then ONE coat Country Girl, followed by 2 coats of Gelous topcoat.

Digital Nails Hipster in a Blender

Today I have a really great neon glitter for y'all :) Tonight I am doing a Glow in the Dark Midnight 5k Run/Walk for Relay for Life, so I wanted something neon & bright!

 Sunlight

5k Walk Multiple Sclerosis Mani

Today I'm sharing a mani I did for another charity/fundraising walk this weekend.  This 5k walk is benefiting the Multiple Sclerosis Society, to help raise money for researching a cure.  If you would like to donate towards our team, you can do that here.

The orange nails are two coats of Zoya Sharon, topped with one coat Zoya Sienna.  The white fingers are two coats China Glaze White on White, the orange is Ulta Sun of a Gun, black is CG Liquid Leather, & green is Sally Hansen Grass Slipper topped with Milani Hi-Tech.  All nails have one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.

Haul Pics

First up this is my polish I won from Well Nails, The Gentlemen!

Here is what I got at Sally's 50% off Red Tag sale last weekend, I added everything's original price and my total should have been $58, I paid $11 after all coupons and sale prices. Here's what I got!

 China Glaze Ahoy!, Grape Juice, & Def Defying

 China Glaze Ingrid, Finger Paints Merry Mistletoe & Sparkle Top Coat

Orly Nite Owl

These are the polishes I got today with my $5 off a $5 purchase (FREE!) coupon, plus my free Orly

China Glaze, Flip Flop Fantasy, Glam-More, & Immortal

Orly Royal Velvet



This is my new remover pump!  I saw someone post about one at cvs (i think) but could find  the post.  My cvs didn't have then in so no way to know if it's what i was looking but family dollar had them, and it was cheaper! It has acetone remover in it, but I'll probably fill it with acetone instead.

Family Dollar Twist Lock Pump Nail Polish Remover: $2.75

I have also updated nail wheels, tab is at the top!

*** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and thanks for looking***

Across the Universe

I got my first high end polish recently, Deborah Lippmann Across the Universe.  I'm not one to spend $18 on one polish so of course there's a good reason i bought this. I had a coupon for DL $10 off on HSN.com, they shipped for free, and i had a 5.95 shipping refund credit sitting in my PayPal account so i ended up paying a little over $2 for it :) You cannot beat a deal like that! It applies great, opaque in 3 thin coats but i prefer to use a black or navy undie with it.

Once I got it i thought it looked a lot like Revlon Radiant so i compared the 2 in this post :)

This is one coat wet and wild Fastdry Ebony Hates Chris, one coat DL Across the Universe and one coat Revlon radiant.

(DL on pinky and middle, Radiant on ring and index)

(Radiant on left, DL on right)

This is one coat wet and wild Fastdry Ebony Hates Chris, two coats DL Across the Universe and two coats Revlon radiant.

(DL on pinky and middle, Radiant on ring and index)

(Radiant on left, DL on right)

Both polishes are very similar in that they both have bright blue micro glitter and medium green, silver and light blue small hexes. The main difference is Across the Universe has a sheer navy base and more hexes, and Radiant has a clear base and has much more micro glitter.

I like Radiant as a polish on its own, and Across the Universe as a layering polish.  If i didn't get Across the Universe for so cheap i would have just stuck with the cheaper, close-enough dupe, Radiant.

  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

Matte Flakes- Zoya Opal

Happy friday everyone :)

This week I have a matte flakie mani for you!  I love flakie polishes but somehow this is the only one I own.  I was actually having a hard time picking a polish so I grabbed 3 nail wheels and let my son choose a wheel and then a polish (he's 11 months and mostly wanted to eat them, so this was purely luck of the draw lol).  Without further ado...

this shows the green side of Opal

Two coats Ulta Little Black Dress, two coats Zoya Opal, one coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Topcoat (to prevent chips and extend wear) and one coat NYC Matte Me Crazy Topcoat.

this shows the blue side of Opal

LBD is a black polish with silver shimmer, its subtle though, I use it most times I need a black polish.  Opal is a green to blue flakie polish.  Micro to medium sized flakes, suspended in a very slightly green tinted base.  (For me,) The flakes seem to shift green in lowlight, and blue in direct light.  This is one of those polishes I can stare at all day, which is exactly what I needed because my christmas present (my new engagement ring!) from my husband came in this week and I cant stop staring at that either!

close up, please excuse the flakes all over my finger, you can't see them IRL or I would have cleaned them, haha! on the right is my beautiful new ring!

  *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top of the page, Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

Christmas Polka Dots

Merry Christmas (Again) Y'all :)

This is what I had on my nails Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I was really rough with my chevron mani and had a little tip wear (very little actually) and a few places were lifting up.  when I took it off, that mess was like cement! it took quite a few layers off my ring and pinky fingers :( 

This mani is made with Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips, in Haute and Naughty with polka dots in China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Sally Hansen Instadry Spring Green, and China Glaze White on White, with a coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust on top.  

I was not a fan of the strips, although this is my 3rd day of wear and i have no chips, lift or tip wear.  however when I applied them they looked as if i had immediate tip wear because i couldn't get the strips to wrap on my tips.  I also couldn't find a perfect size match on some of my nails so there is a naked strip on the side of those nails, and they didn't fit up to my cuticles so it looks as though my polish has grown out.  I did however like the ease of applying these and no dry time since this was a 2am rush mani.  I also really loved the color and the lack of wear after 3 days of opening presents and building baby toys.  I would be willing to try these again as i think maybe it's something i would like better after some practice.  These were part of a giveaway package I won from Radiant Brown Beauty. 

**update- i am now on my 5th day of wearing these and im bored so im taking it off. i have 0 wear. no more tip wear than when i applied them  and no chips!  on the other hand, I had a horrible time removing them! i used my usual method that works great even for glitter bombs, and it just made them gummy. when i finally got the color off there was a glue type residue left.  I didn't get it all off until i removed polish 3-4 times and filed my nails**

** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page, the tab is at the top :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)

Christmas Chevron

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays Y'all!
Here is my final Christmas manicure, a Christmas chevron design :)  I hope all y'all have a great holiday weekend, we will be having lots of family time.

Red is Pure Ice Creme Siren with China Glaze Ruby Pumps.
White is China Glaze White on White with Orly Winter Wonderland.
Green is Sally Hansen Instadry Spring Green, China Glaze Paper Chase and Sinful Colors Call You Later.  Two coats Sally Hansen Insta-dri Topcoat. 

   *** Y'all please take a minute to also check out my jewelry page :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)
http://steelandsashes.blogspot.com/

Week 5 of October manis- monster mash

This weeks mani is to match my Halloween costume for trick or treating with my son :)


Here is a picture of his costume...

And here is a picture of my hat,  and im also wearing matching legwarmers and fingerless gloves with a black sweater and jeans...

I went through 3-4 design concepts before i decided on this one so i hope y'all like it!

2 coats Pure Ice Splash, 1 coat Sally Hansen Instadry Spring Green, stripes are L.A. Colors Art Deco White, stitches are Wet N Wild Fastdry Ebony Hates Chris. One coat Sally Hansen Insta-Dri top coat.


The Splash was a bit sheer but workable, the Spring Green was thick but most the Instadry polishes ive tried are. Very little smudging with this new top coat. I was using Sally Hansen Instadry Clearly Quick which i think was just a clear polish.


Not sure what is up for next week so it will have to be a surprise!



 *** Y'all please take a minute to check out my jewelry page :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)
http://steelandsashes.blogspot.com/

Week 4 of October manis - Frankenstein

Here are my Frankenstein nails :) i love how they came out except my back smeared :( this was a different black than last time since maybe its my clear making it smear? Anyways i still like them :)
Base coat then taped off with scotch tape diagonally. One coat (probably should have done two) of sally hansen instadry spring green, stitches and details done with nicole by opi pen and L.A. Colors art deco white. Two coats sally hansen instadry clearly quick

 *** Y'all please take a minute to check out my jewelry page :)
Contact me if you'd like to purchase one, and Thanks for looking :)
http://steelandsashes.blogspot.com/