Mani and Review: nailtini "Mai Tai", China Glaze "For Audrey" and "Lemon Fizz"

I had so much fun with this mani! I received nailtini's, "Mai Tai" in my Ipsy bag this month and for the first time tried out the Monster Bundle dotting tools using China Glaze's "Lemon Fizz" and "For Audrey".



I used "Mai Tai" as an undercoat and then used the dotting tool to dot on "For Audrey" and "Lemon Fizz". I then realized that I was using too much blue and yellow and then dotted a few more drops of the "Mai Tai" to space everything out a bit.

I wish I had long nails and could paint my whole nail with "Mai Tai" and then use the dotting tool at my nail line to put one line of "Lemon Fizz" and "For Audrey" alternating dots. My fingernails naturally curve up and growing them long just looks gross. I will keep trying various ways with the dotting tool in the meantime.

As for the consistency, all nail polishes rocked. They were not too runny or clumpy and glided right on the nail. It's been five days now and I still do not have even one chip! I am practically amazed at this because by now I would have a few chips, at least (I type at work all day). I use Seche Vite top coat all of the time, so that did not change. I wonder if it has something to do with the dots of color I put on my nails, which dispersed the weight of the polish throughout my nail avoiding chipping as much compared to two or three coats being put on at approximately the same depth, which makes the polish all one piece on the nail, if that makes sense. I am not sure. I will continue to try this out with the dotting tool to see if it helps in the chipping process.

All in all, ratings are:

China Glaze "For Audrey": A+
China Glaze "Lemon Fizz": A+
nailtini "Mai Tai": A+
Bundle Monster: A+
Seche Vite Top Coat: A+ all of the time!

Don't Forget to Enter the Giveaway!

ColorSutraa started a "Minions and Mini-Manis Multi-Blogger / Indie Maker Giveaway where 16 polish makers and bloggers are giving away prizes to 16 people all over the world! Please visit http://colorsutraa.blogspot.com/2013/07/minions-and-mini-manis-multi.html to sign up!

It's the first giveaway that I'm participating in and it was SO MUCH FUN to shop for polishes (6 in all), purchasing a Minion at McDonalds and I still need to get some mini-candies. I am looking for retro candies that we used to eat as kids (70's era).   :)

As ColorSutraa stated on her blog:

"The giveaway will run from July 17th, 2013, 12 midnight EST to August 7th, 2013, 12 midnight EST. Winners will be picked by the weekend and prizes mailed out directly from the participants within 2-3 weeks. This is open INTERNATIONALLY. Remember to enter as many of the options as you can to increase your chances of winning and don't forget to share!"

Thank you, ColorSutraa for allowing me to participate and good luck everyone!

Review: OPI "I Theodora You" and essie luxeffects "a cut above"

As I've already stated, I'm not a maven...yet; therefore, at this point in the health/beauty blogging world, I am an infant in writing about the subject and taking pictures. Throughout the lifetime of this blog, please let me know how it can be improved. If you have any ideas on how something can be better, I would love to receive your feedback.

So, this is my first review....*NERVOUS*!! I've seen other great health/beauty bloggers out there who are amazing...just remember, I am a virgin to this sector of the blogging world.

I absolutely love Essie and OPI nail products (and my faves are indies!!). Recently, I purchased "I Theodora You" from the OPI "OZ - The Great and Powerful Collection" and essie luxeffects nail color, "a cut above" because I adore pink and even though I'm 41, am like a magpie and love shinies. A little bling never hurt anyone!

(the above is a great drawing created by rhiannonladd)

 

 

I used OPI's "I Theodora You" as a base coat and OF COURSE did not think to take a picture of it by itself. I used two coats and it appears to have a jelly quality to it. One day I would like to make a sandwich of glitter and the nail polish to see the effect.

 

 

 

OPI "I Theodora You"

 

 

I then used essie's luxeffects "a cut above" (does essie capitalize anything because this blogging editor is certainly trying to?). It was nice not to have to fish glitter out of the bottle. The glitter went on smoothly, which was a pleasant surprise.

 

 

essie luxeffects "a cut above"

 

 

The Type-A personality comes out in me when viewing these pictures. I will not use that background anymore (it is my husband's Coca-Cola bottle cooler). The top is a bit scratched and the reflection of the windows is glaring down in the pictures. Yay! My first lesson in what not to do here!

 

After applying Seche Vite top coat, the following are the results:

 

 

 

 



 

It is OBVIOUS that I am not a photographer in ANY sense of the word and I hope to improve upon that. Any tips would be helpful. Also, this pic makes my hands look HUGE. They aren't petite, but they aren't gargantuan, either. Oh well, I hear pictures put 10 pounds on a person, so my hands are now 10 pounds heavier up there. :)

 

I hope you enjoyed my first real post. I can't wait to post more as time permits.

 

Take care everyone and don't forget about using your Seche Vite top coat! It's the bomb! I will blog about this little beauty at a later date.

 



Genesis 1:1

This is the beginning of a mid-life crisis. I'm sure of it. I'm 41 years old and am all of a sudden smitten by all things beauty, especially nail polish. I have moisturized since I was 15 years old and have been addicted to eye shadows, lipsticks, perfumes and all things beauty for as long as I can remember.

Recently on Facebook, I have noticed an explosion of nail art/design pages and sites and have gone nuts in purchasing new nail polishes, textures, etc. It is quite truly ridiculous. I don't know what I'm doing, but whatever it is, it is FULL SPEED ahead.

I hope that you join me on the ride of transcending from a complete amateur to a beauty maven. Is this the kind of things we do when our daughters turn 20 because we have more time? I have no clue, but I want to enjoy the ride.

Please contact me if you have any beauty finds you'd like to share. I am addicted at this point. I guess it's better than crack*, heroin* or meth*...though if that were the case at least I would be skinny...hmmmm...maybe I shouldn't think about that too much.

Let's get started!

*And no, I have never been addicted to drugs, though sometimes I wish I could to relax but it's just not possible.