Monday, November 10, 2014

Covergirl Outlast Nail Gloss: Crushed Berries

Hi lovelies! I cannot get enough of this deep, dark berry cream for fall...I can't believe this is the only polish I have like it!  This beauty was found in the Walgreens clearance section a few months ago and is the first Covergirl polish I have probably worn since high school!  This is Crushed Berries from the Covergirl Outlast Stay Brilliant line.

fall berry polish

I used two coats and a quick dry topcoat.  The formula was nice, thin and pigmented.  Because a darker berry polish was a newer venture for me (and the thinner formula), I struggled around the cuticle area a bit...but I adore this color!  I love that it is not as purple or pink as some berries and has just the slightest hint of brown that gives it this color.  Wear time was really good...after the 5th day still no chips, just nail growth and slight tip wear.

covergirl crushed berries

covergirl crushed berries

dark berry polish
Outdoors sunlight
Crushed Berries isn't in stores anymore but you can find it on Amazon for a good price!  While I would definitely buy this line again, I think the the normal price of $5.49 - $5.99 is a bit much.  I will pretty much stick to checking in the Walgreens or Target clearance areas or a good sale.  Thanks for stopping by and let us know your favorite berry polishes!
~ Hayley

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Happy November! Fall Worthy China Glaze skittlette

I hope everyone had a great Halloween with lots of chocolate involved! I cannot believe it's NOVEMBER.  The weather is still  in the 80s on my side of the country....but it's supposed to get cooler this week (finally)!

In honor of it fall, I wanted to do a simple skittlette and finally try my OPI Glitter Off that I had been pining away for.  It has been completely M.I.A. in stores, but I finally found it on Amazon. Also, China Glaze Boundary of Memory had been sitting in my melmer untried for too long, so I had to change that!

boundary of memory

This is China Glaze Release (thumb, index and middle), Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Ion (a Target exclusive from 2012), and China Glaze Boundary of Memory glitter (pinky).  Nothing super intricate, but I loved the color combination.  The China Glaze formulas were great...2 coats and easy to work with.  Ion was challenging, so you're not missing much if you don't have it!  The color is pretty (light warm grey) but was streaky, tough to apply evenly, and dry time was long even before I could topcoat for fear of pulling.  I don't know how it compares to China Glaze Five Rules or OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls (let me know if you do!) but they might be close!

china glaze boundary of memory

china glaze fall 2014
Indoors - Release has more grey undertones
I didn't know what to expect with Glitter Off...I figured after 2 days I would see wear.  I did use topcoat since Boundary of Memory doesn't dry super shiny on its own.  Maybe the topcoat helped, because around day 5 I worried that there was some super glue mixed into my bottle since it was still going strong.  I removed it on day 6, and it was very much like peeling an eggshell; little pieces came off.  I was still happy that no remover was needed, so I call it a win!  It is very dry right now in Arizona so maybe that aided in it adhering better to my nail?  Any ideas?

China Glaze the giver

Indoors low light - love Boundary of Memory!
Lastly, (but not least) THANK YOU to all our new friends who entered our first little giveaway!  We hope you stick around. :)  Congratulations to the winner, Heather, and stay tuned for more in the future!

Saturday, October 25, 2014

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.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

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.

Greige Gardens

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.

Pure Ice 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 ~