Monday, June 3, 2013

Favorite Oranges/Corals

So, probably a year ago, I wouldn't have had many polishes on this list. Orange was a color that I didn't think would work on me, so I just didn't buy many. I did have a coral or two, but they leaned very much to the pink side of things. Here are a few that I've come to love. Some of them border on red, but to me they are more orange (and my red post is going to be craziness as it is, so I'm putting them here).

Model's Own Hedonist. I'm not sure what you call this color exactly. Neon red? Neon coral? I really don't care what you call it to be honest...all I know is that it is HOT HOT HOT!!


China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy (shown here with Lynnderella Connect the Dots). This is THE neon I think of when I think of neons. It was one of the first neons in my collection. It is a neon coral that is eye searing in real life. I will say, the formula (like with many neons) is not the greatest, but to me it is worth it for this one.


Scofflaw Nail Varnish David Bowie's Bulge. This bright coral polish is one I almost didn't get when I was placing my Scofflaw order, but it is one of my absolute favorites! The turquoise works so perfectly with the coral here. 


Julie G Sugar Rush. This polish is one of my stand outs in the "textured" category...but with heaps of topcoat added. I could not stop gawking at the amazing shimmer that came out when I slapped on some Gelous. It looks pretty cool with no topcoat as well...but the topcoated version is amazing.

(with topcoat)


(without topcoat)


Pahlish Anticipating and Pacing. Wow. This polish is just stunning. The shimmer is to die for. 


Quo by Orly Orange Pop. Bright orange crelly. Very summery and almost neon in some lights. 


Essence Get Up! I mainly use this one for nail art. It is a true orange. As orangey orange as you can get. 


Lynnderella Cauldron Drippings (over Essence Get Up!) This is the only (mostly) orange glitterbomb that I own so far. It is very orange and very Halloweeny, for sure. 


China Glaze Riveting. This was the orange that made me decide I could "do" orange. I adore it. It is perfect. 



OPI DS Luxurious. This is definitely a kissing cousin to China Glaze Riveting. I probably don't need both but gah they are so pretty!!


OPI DS Couture. Coral holo. So nice. Need I say more?


American Apparel Poppy. Once again...I'm not sure what color this is. In some lights it looks totally red (like in this picture) and other lights it looks totally orange. I really adore it and and it has a fantastic formula to boot. 


OPI Y'all Come Back, Ya Hear? This is a perfectly squishy jelly that I adore. And perfect for jelly sandwiches too (as you will see in my second pic with Icing Tiger's Blood). 



Layla Coral Glam. So...this isn't really coral...except for the name...but I still love it. 


Nail Pattern Boldness Seppuku (With a Frisbee) -1 coat over Zoya Heidi. Gorgeous matte glitter!


Zoya Heidi. This was one of my very first orangey corals and I remember I almost swapped it away because I didn't think I could pull it off. I was disappointed when my Zoya order came because I wanted it to be more of a pinky coral. I'm glad I rescued it from swap purgatory because now it is my favorite coral creme. 


Now, if I'm being honest with you, this is MOST of my orange/coral stash. Why do all of these make the list? I have to say, since orange is a color that I have historically been more leery of, I've been very careful when adding them to my stash and have only kept those that I REALLY love and think work for me. Therefore, I think it is a portion of my stash that is really culled down to only the gems.  

Sunday, June 2, 2013

A Month of Favorites: Nail Art

Hi everyone! So...you probably don't know this but it was my 1 year blogiversary at the end of May! Woo hoo! I can't believe that between Google Friend Connect and Bloglovin I have almost 250 followers now! I never expected that many people to visit my corner of the interwebs, so thank you so much to all of my loyal readers! I do have a giveaway in the works, but I'm not quite ready with all of the components yet. It will be coming at some point this month...so stay tuned.

I've decided to celebrate my 1 year blogiversary I'm going to do a month of favorites. Now this will involve all aspects of my collection from my favorites within color families, finishes, nail art, workhorse polishes (I'm excited to share my favs there with you), as well as treatments and mani tools. I will be reposting some things from previous posts as well as all new swatches this month. There are some of my favorites that sadly, I have not even worn in the past year since I've been blogging so hopefully I will have all new swatches of those.

Today I've decided to (re)share with you some of my favorite nail art. Now this stuff is pretty much all new since I've been blogging because until this past year I didn't even think I could do nail art. With a little encouragement from the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge, I pushed myself to do things I didn't think I was capable of and found that it really wasn't as hard as I had built it up in my mind. After countless attempts at stamping, I finally mastered that as well, so now I have worked nail art into part of my normal routine. This is definitely my proudest accomplishment. Now as you go through these...hopefully you will see the progression...they definitely got better as time went on!

My First Watermarble: This was back waaaay before my blogging days and when I still had super short nails. I was so proud of this at the time!


My First Glitter Gradient: I was so very pleased with this too. This was a little while before I started blogging as well. Oh and...peeeeeps!!


Tribal Stamping: 


Striping Brush Stripes


Neutral Half Moons


Galaxy Nails


Strawberries


Betsey Johnson Roses


Layla Misty Blush Stamped


Monet Waterlilies


My Second Water Marble


Cupcakes


Rainbow Chevrons


Orange and Blue Stamping


Best Stamping Polish Ever: ChG Millennium

Laser Mani



Happy Little Trees


Wrapping Paper


Snowflakes


Holly Berries


Christmas Water Marble


Home Alone Mani (just for fun!)


Peacock Feather Stamping


Zebra Stripes over Illamasqua Collide


White Flowers over Nude


Mardi Gras Gradient


Conversation Hearts


Pastel Brushstrokes


OPI Pirates of the Caribbean Dots


Sunset Gradient


Pigment Nails


Vegetable Garden


Sorry for the excessive amount of pictures, but I just had to include all of my favorites for you! I hope that everyone will enjoy my month of favorites!! As always, thanks for looking!