Valentine's Day Nails (Part 1)

I went out of my color comfort zone for this one!  I wanted to do something different for Valentine's Day, so I picked a few colors I have not tried yet.  I like that polish is such a subtle accessory that you can do something a little different and not feel too uncomfortable. :)

I decided to use Stunning by Pure Ice, which is a pink and slightly silver velour finish polish from their Runway Collection.  I used 2 coats and the dry time was fast!  I've never used a polish with this type of finish before, but it was pretty amateur friendly!  
For my accent nails I used The Bigger The Better from L'Oreal.  It's a mix of fine black and silver glitter in a clear base.  The glitter is pretty dense so this was just 1 coat and I wiped the brush a few times before applying.  I did have to dab glitter on a few spots, but it was to avoid getting too much on my nails so the base color would still be visible.  

Claws in effect :)

I don't know that I'll be wearing Stunning very often, only because I lean more toward lighter colors.  The layering options with The Bigger The Better are endless, so I'll likely be using this one quite a bit!

Outside - natural light

Both of the Pure Ice and L'Oreal polishes came out late last year (around October/ November).  I still see a few bottles of The Bigger The Better here and there at Ulta and Walgreens.  In fact, I just purchased mine about a month ago, so chances are decent that you can still find one!  Stunning was part of a limited edition collection, but there could still be some bottles lingering around.  Pure Ice really keeps up on their social media presence and you can visit their Facebook page here.

What do you think?  Do you go out of your polish comfort zone when there's a holiday?  

Disclaimer: Since we are just getting started we are learning about lighting and such. Please bear with us as we get better at the photography. Thanks! 

An Inspired Manicure

This manicure was truly made up of inspiration from a few sources.  I recreated this awhile back when the idea of a blog was more whimsy than anything and it was the first one that I was really proud of.  I was perusing a few nail blogs and came across this post from Polished Cousins.  It took me all of 10 seconds to decide I HAD to try and recreate it!  I had a few grey cream polishes already thanks to iHeartPrettyPolish (including Essie Chinchilly that was originally used, but wanted to try a different grey).  I did not have the glitter, so I promptly ran to Walgreens to purchase Essie Luxeffects Set In Stones.
See? Inspiration was abound!

 For my recreation of this grey sparkle manicure I chose Wet n Wild  Megalast polish in Wet Cement; also in the greige cream family of polishes.  This was two coats of Wet Cement with no top coat because it dried pretty shiny on its own. Then I dabbed Set in Stones around the base of my nails just using the Essie bottle brush since it's already pretty small.  I think the Polished Cousins version is way more gorgeous than mine, but for a first try I was pretty happy with the result!  Please excuse the skin around my cuticles, I had no idea I'd ever be posting pictures of this on a blog! :)

 

Both Wet n Wild Megalast Wet Cement and Essie Set in Stones are widely available at Walgreens, Rite Aid and Ulta.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Disclaimer: Since we are just getting started we are learning about lighting and such. Please bear with us as we get better at the photography. Thanks! 
These pretty polishes were purchased by me and I am in no way affiliated with either company.

Love, Charlotte: A Deborah Lippmann Dupe Alert!

I'm not a snob when it comes to nail polish brands.  I've tried some expensive polishes and struggled with the formula and have tried others that were incredible.  The same can be said for less expensive i.e. drugstore brands (there is one brand, I'll post about in the coming weeks, that I feel is extremely under-promoted).
So, if I can find a less expensive version of a higher end polish I love, I'll certainly give it a shot.  And that's where this unnamed bottle of love, charlotte comes in.

For a long time Sea Dust, the Urban Outfitters version of Deborah Lippmann's Mermaid's Dream, sat on my wishlist.  It seemed a more reasonable option to try cost-wise to determine whether I wanted to spring for the real thing.  Mermaid's Dream is on my wishlist too, because it's beautiful!  However there are no Urban Outfitters in my area, so when I happened upon this polish for $3.50 at Charlotte Russe I was excited to try it.

I wish I could do a comparison to either the Mermaid's Dream or Sea Dust but since I don't have either, you'll have to let me know what you think.  The formula was pretty easy to work with and I used three thin coats for the pictures.  Dry time was quick, but a little gritty with the glitter, so I added a coat of Poshe.  The color seems pretty close to me, but here are the swatches! 

Disclaimer: Since we are just getting started we are learning about lighting and such. Please bear with us as we get better at the photography. Thanks! 
This pretty polish was purchased by me, to appease me until I can get my paws on the real Mermaid's Dream!

Winter Blues NOTD

Do you ever feel blue in the winter? I know I do. All this cold and "hibernation" in my house can get a girl down! So to combat that I've been wearing China Glaze Man Hunt over and over. Man Hunt was a part of the Safari Collection from Summer 2012, but I got it for Christmas from my husband. {Funny story: he knows I love nail polish but didn't really feel like looking at my wishlist, so he just went to Ulta.com and bought all the China Glaze colors they had in stock online (I got 12!). I don't think I would have asked for Man Hunt, but I'm glad I have it now!} Man Hunt is a rich, royal blue polish with a nice glossy finish. Today I decided to pair it with Jessie's Girl Confetti.

Confetti is a beautiful blue-purple (or blurple, if you will) shimmer. As you can see from the photo below, Confetti gives Man Hunt a nice sparkle that would make any girl's blues go away! I must say I love the effect and find myself asking...what else can I layer it over?

 

After looking at my nails for a few minutes I thought, "Whay stop there?" and added an accent nail of Rainbow Honey 20% Cooler. I have to agree with her description of this polish - it really did make (me feel like my) manicure was 20% cooler after adding it.

 

I purchased Confetti at Rite Aid, but the Jessie's Girl site says they are also avaailable at select Walgreen's, Fagen and Tiffany Drug stores.

20% Cooler can be purchased from Rainbow Honey's store here.

Although Man Hunt is no longer available online at Ulta, you might be able to find it on clearance at your local store as well as online at Amazon.

***Edit***I just discovered a linky party that happens every Friday! If you are a fellow polish blogger go link up and share your fabulous Friday mani! I'm off to check out all the pretties!

Disclaimer: Since we are just getting started we are learning about lighting and such. Please bear with us as we get better at the photography. Thanks! 
These pretty polishes were purchased by me and I am in no way affiliated with any of these companies.