HPB Oct. Halloween Mani Link-Up

Ready for a little Halloween mani?

This month we are linking up with Hobby Polish Bloggers, a great group of casual nail bloggers that give encouragement and guidance to other nail bloggers. It's kind of like a support group for those of us who blog just for the fun of it. As a group, we are starting a monthly link-up and this is our very first one! And appropriately, the theme is Halloween!

I decided to do an accent nail featuring what I have been referring to as "Lil' Frankie". I knew I wanted to do a mani with black but I also needed some sparkle so I used Blue-Eyed Gril Lacquer's Siren Noir on the rest of my nails. The idea for Lil' Frankie came to me since I got this neon green glow-in-the-dark polish from Rite-Aid. I knew I wanted to use it in a Halloween mani and Frankie fit the bill. I did a Google image search for Frankenstein nail art and there were tons of cute ideas! I'm sure there are even tutorials! Anyway I got the idea from those images to make his face fit my nail and just went from there. I think he turned out pretty cute too!

What will your nails be for Halloween this year? Let us know in the comments.

An InLinkz Link-up

Throwback Thursday: Sally Hansen Greige Gardens and Pure Ice Busted

This will be short and sweet because I hesitated to post this, but decided to share with you.  I was looking through pictures on my old computer trying to get organized (Ha!).  I never posted this pairing because I was really new to learning lighting and poses...but there is no denying that this is a great combination and I will be pairing these two again very soon! 
I wish I could tell you these two were still available, but sadly they are discontinued...hence my throwback!  You may very well have these in your collection already.  Otherwise, I don't think these polishes are terribly unique so you could come up with a similar perfect pair!  This is Sally Hansen Greige Gardens and Pure Ice Busted.

Sally Hansen CSM Greige Gardens leans dusty purple most of the time, but otherwise looks grey on the nail.  Pure Ice Busted is pretty much exactly what you see here, a very fine, very shiny, pinky purple shimmer in a sheer murky purple tinted base. This was 2 coats of Greige Gardens and 1 coat of Busted.

I really like Busted because it just glows on the nail...at least against Greige Gardens.  My only issue with these polishes is the dry time is so slow...as in sheet marks the next morning slow.  I have other Complete Salon Manicure polishes that don't have such a dry time issue, but a quick dry topcoat is recommended for this one.

Thanks for stopping by and your support on our Facebook and Twitter too.  Don't forget to enter our very first giveaway so you can win Prosecco and other goodies!

~ Hayley ~

Our very first GIVEAWAY!!

We admit we are a bit belated on this giveaway celebrating 100 Facebook followers, but better late than never, right? To celebrate we are giving away a little goodie bag filled with the following:

Yep, you can enter to win your very own Sinful Shine Prosecco as swatched by Hayley in this post! Also included are Sinful Colors 24karat, the e.l.f. concealer brush and cuticle pen, a pretty Bath & Body Works nail file, and some yummy salted caramels.

Enter in the Rafflecopter below. Sorry but this one is US only. We just aren't comfortable shipping internationally at this time. But if you can give us a US address to ship to, go ahead and enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sinful Colors Prosecco - Part 1

I have been happily wearing the same polish color for 2 weeks straight.  What?!?  

Yes, and it's this one!

It took awhile to post, because the very first day I wasn't sure the color looked good with my skin tone.  Then it grew on me, and then changed how I wore it, which will make more sense later.  I'm sure you have seen a swatch or two of Sinful Shine Prosecco.  Prosecco is a limited edition stunner by Sinful Colors and has been disappearing quickly.  It is part of the Fall 2014 Shining Bright Off The Runway collection, and I purchased mine at Walgreens.  I heard a rumor Sinful is bringing this back in an upcoming collection, so keep your eyes out.  I hope that is true because I need a back up of this one...and hopefully one to share in a future giveaway!!

The first time I tried Prosecco I used 3 coats, but I noticed 2 coats had this lovely sheerness that looked more gold taupe than the grey taupe with the 3rd coat.  Both are beautiful, but I am drawn to this way, thus the second wearing so I could show you!  Two coats makes the nail line just barely visible in some lighting, but most of the time it's not.  I  decided to make this a part 1 so I can do a comparison later with 3 coats and with a matte topcoat.  I officially am in love with it, and think it will work with lots of skin tones.

These photos are all 2 coats only and no top coat.  The formula is absolutely perfect and dry time was not bad at all. The glass flecks that Sinful Colors put in this shade are magical and I hope we see more polishes from them that are like this!  The glass flecks have slight color shift in the sun from gold to green and orange.

Indoors

I'm so smitten with this polish, especially for it being a nude color.  This is absolutely office appropriate and perfect for fall.  For only $1.99 you definitely need this one in your collection (and wear time was fantastic!)  I love wearing this with white and navy blue.  I would love to know what you think about Prosecco.  Have you worn it yet?  Let me know! :)

*This song is playing as I write this: New York by Blind Pilot.... I need to make a note because it is a pretty chill song!  :)  Good job, Pandora!

Endless Summer Extend-a-Mani

Hopefully you have seen my first "Endless Summer" post where I used Cult Nails Intriguing. I decided after looking at it for a day that I wanted to brighten it up a bit. So I tried my hand at stamping! This was my very first attempt and I don't think it went too bad. Now I have this desire to collect all of the buy a few more plates so that I can do some more nail art!

Outside, Full Sun

Indoors, natural light

For this, I stamped a lovely leopard print on my middle finger and jazzed up my ring finger by changing the polish to match the stamp. For this I used Essie's Tart Deco. I have to say that while this is a bright polish, I love the color for summer and especially the beach. My poor bottle needs a little thinner though since the formula was thick and a bit streaky. It didn't self-level very well either. Admittedly it has been sitting in a drawer unused for a year, so it makes sense that it needs a little TLC. You can really see the unevenness in the picture above.

Outside, Full Sun

Macro shot of the stamped finger

Almost forgot to say that I used a Konad stamper and stamping plate that I received last Christmas (yes, it has taken me this long to muster the courage to stamp!) I'm not sure it has a number but it was in a mini set that had a picture of Santa on it.

Have you ever tried stamping? What are your favorite plates and designs? Please let me know in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

~Jackie~