OPI DS Amethyst

I found this polish on a nail salon rack when I was getting a pedicure and I asked the salon owner if I could buy it and she said $2.50!!!  It is only about 70% full and the silver cap was replaced with a normal one, but I am still a happy camper!  DS Amethyst is a linear lilac holo and a little lighter than DS Original.  I didn't put on a topcoat on out of fear of dulling the holo, but the OPI DS holos dry with a nice shine unlike some holographic polishes.  Hope you enjoy!

OPI Alone At Last

This is from OPI Soft Shades 2005.  It is a very pretty milky white with hidden pink micro-shimmer.  I love nude/neutral polishes like this every now and then because they are perfect palette cleansers between loud and obnoxious manis.  Tomorrow I think I will go for something bright!

Flash

Sunlight 

Clarins 230

I have had a string of bad luck lately, first my macbook screen decided to quit working and then I ripped my nail so badly that I had to nubbinize my nails even shorter than I am used to.  Oh well, I decided to wear the crowning glory of my nail polish collection to make me feel better.  I present to you  Clarins 230, also known as Unicorn Pee in the nail polish world.  It is best used as a layering polish, so I decided to layer it over three coats of OPI Do You Think I'm Tex-y.  I mostly see it layered over a purple base, but I decided to try something a little different.   How do you like this combo? 

OPI Do You Think I'm Tex-y?

Clarins 230

Full Sunlight

Shade

Flash

You can see the shrinkage that Seche Vite caused on the tips of my nails.  Even so, I ended up wearing this mani for five days.   

I also decided to finally order from Rescue Beauty Lounge.  I ended up getting Scrangie, Pizzicato, and Moxie.  I will share the gorgeous Moxie today.  It is a frosty white that has a candlelit yellow glow.  It is pretty unique and I received a few compliments while wearing it. 

Shimmer Polishes

Because of my busy schedule this past week, I had been painting my nails and taking pictures without posting them here for everyone to see.  I have been loving the shimmers! Hope you enjoy my swatches. 

Essie Smooth Sailing (sunlight) 

Essie Smooth Sailing (inside with flash) 

I adore this polish and the name is very fitting, perfect for summer.
  

Essie Jackie Oh My

This is a gorgeous milky off-white with subtle shimmer.  This was three coats and you can see some visible nail line.  I could have done four coats to make it completely opaque, but I got lazy.

Zoya Charla

This polish looks like a mermaid fin.  There isn't much to say about this other than everyone should own it.

Zoya Blogger Collection

Last week during my last round of finals I will ever have to take I ended up ordering the Zoya Blogger Collection from www.birchbox.com.  I couldn't resist buying this limited edition collection because I absolutely love jelly nail polishes and it only cost me a whole $2 with my birchbox points. These swatches are all three coats with no top coat.

From left to right: Zoya Coraline, Zoya Kate, Zoya Belle

Zoya Coraline 

Zoya Kate

Zoya Belle 

Belle was the standout from this collection for me.  No one does shimmers quite like Zoya.  You could pass on the two jellies if you already have the OPI sorbets from last year's Texas Collection, they are identical based on this blogger's comparison.

I'd also like to thank Liesl and Steve for nominating me for the versatile blogger award.

Visit their blogs here: 

http://lacquerman.blogspot.com/

http://liesllovesprettythings.blogspot.com/

Essie Reggae + Zebra Stamping

Reggae is a very old Essie that I received in a swap about a year ago.  It is discontinued and so old that I can't find any information about when it was originally released.  It's even in an old style bottle, without Essie embossed in the glass. It is a frosty lime green, very unique.  Hope you enjoy!

Here is Reggae with black zebra stamping on top.  Sorry for the imperfections, I am a beginner at stamping.  Hopefully with practice I can get better.  Any recommendation for stamping plates to try out? 

 

Essie Steeling The Scene

My sister bought me this polish for Christmas at the very start of my nail obsession and I have used about a fourth of the bottle.  I want so much to love this color because it is so glowy, but unfortunately it does me no favors.  This polish is so metallic that it shows every little brushstroke and nail imperfection.  Application has to be flawless to look even halfway decent.  I will be taking this off because I can't stand the streakiness of it.  Maybe next time.