SURPRIIIIIISE!!!! :D

Well, I most definitely was NOT expecting to do this post tonight, but I guess that would be the nature of a surprise!  hehehe

Claudia mentioned last weekend that she was sending me a little something...umm this is not  a little something!! This is a WHOLE lotta awesome!  Stunning silver foil bubble mailer, black & purple crinkle packing, CANDY (including some extra special Mexican hard candy :D ), sample packages of body wash and straightening balm (goodness knows I can use that!), a super sweet card in my favorite: a vellum envelope, and what ever  could there be in the mystery black tissue tootsie roll?!?

Well let's find out, shall we?!  "Aaaand 'err we GO:"

I seriously cannot even BELIEVE this nail mail...and I am fairly certain my jaw was on the floor and my eyes were bugging out of their sockets. O_O 

All I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Claudia!  :D :D :D  I am now the very proud and extremely excited owner of Nfu-Oh 61, one of the classic and most stunning silver linear holos ever made!!!!!!!  This is my first Nfu-Oh and I must say I love the sexy little bottle with its corset bodice cap and the viney flowers on the bottle as well.  So purty!  Just like its contents - and the person who sent it to me. :D

Claudia is the lovely lady behind idreamofpolish31, which has undergone some changes since I last paid a visit, and I must say it is looking superb!  Cherry blossoms and coral are two things that make me smile, and her swatches and nails are both top-notch.  I've always envied those of you that have those beautiful long nail beds! ;)

I highly recommend that you dream of polish with her from time to time. :) ...you won't regret it!  Especially if you get to know her and her incredible personality. ♥  I've thoroughly enjoyed all our hours chatting on Facebook, especially since she & I are both bilingual in Spanish and English, so we frequently shift back & forth between the two. Such FUN! hehe

So many fun details! There's even chevron tape on the polish wrapper!!

And here is a fitting sneak-peek to my next post: butter LONDON Posh Bird with an accent of Victoriana.  I purchased Posh Bird from Claudia about a month ago, and thus began our Facebook chats!  :D  I was SO glad to finally find one of my most desired butters at far less than MSRP! ♥

Nighty night, dears!!!!  Happy Friday!  Be sure to show your blogger buddies some love. ♥ :)

Holo back, girl!!

Ahhhahaha!! :D  A strange title, I know, but there's a story behind it.  I wish I could find the email thread or the Facebook message & copy it verbatim; alas, I've searched to avail! :(  I know it had something to do with this:

I sent it to Liesl & Essie, and somewhere in the ensuing discussion of this hilarious sticker, Liesl said something about being a holo back girl, or I guess that makes me a holo back girl - oh YES, that's what it was! Liesl said she'd  bring holos  back, so "I guess that makes me a holo back girl." :D hahaha!  (And yes, I'm listening to "Sexy Back" right now ;) But ON TO THE HOLO!

My friends, I give you Born Pretty Store's holo #12!!!!! Isn't it just AMAZING?! :D  This is a super saturated dark green leaning teal linear (obviously) holo. :)  I was debating long & hard over which one to get when I placed my order, and this one seemed to be the most unique shade from the many blog posts I perused.  Upon actually getting it on my nails, I would have to agree.  I've never seen such a shade as a strong linear holo!  Well, maybe there are some indie brands that have done it, but no other "mainstreamers."

HOLY HOLO FLASH!!! :D hehe  Yeah, I maybe shoulda adjusted the brightness here, but JUST LOOKIT THAT FULL RAINBOW!  Ahh holos make me so happy. ♥  ...as do many other things & especially people in my life, but on my nails, nothing quite compares to a stunning holo, IMO. 

This was two coats over OPI Nail Envy.  The formula was super easy to apply & drying time was quick to average.  If I recall correctly, I only put topcoat on my pointer to try & get rid of a sheet mark, and as you can see, the other nails are just as shiny without a topcoat. :D

Ah yes, the size: my one & only complaint about this polish!  I do not know why I am categorically awful at paying attention to bottle sizes, so just like when I ordered my Jade Delirio Rosa & thought I was getting a good deal, I made the same "mistake" here.  The super macro shot makes it look huge, but wow is a 6 mL bottle tiny ! :O  So I will have to use this one sparingly. I paid $5.59, which when you work it out, a full-size Dance Legend or Enchanted would've been about the same price!  Oh well, I'm glad I have holo #12 in my life, despite the technically hefty price tag. :)  What really blows my mind is that their holos were "marked down" from $12.88!  Now THAT is outrageous for 6 mL!

*blue holo center* ;D

As far as wear time, I probably shouldn't be too critical because as you may recall, I didn't use topcoat on all my nails. Which was most likely why I only got about a day and a half of wear before some serious chippage took place. :-/ Lesson learned, ladies! Always use topcoat (unless it's a texture! haha), even if the polish is uber glossy on its own.  I seem to forget that a topcoat's purpose is not only to lend the glossy finish, but to PROTECT & serve - like a policeman/woman. ;)

As I'm sure you have seen, Born Pretty Store Holo Polish #12 is quite the looker, sultry & shifting from a medium, brighter teal in the sun (aka a daylight bulb + flash), to a rich forest green teal, to very dark "blackened" teal. :D  I regrettably didn't think to take pics of what it looks like in the shade or our nasty fluorescent bulbs at work, so I guess a word picture will have to suffice!  It's a rather flat (yet still interesting!) forest green with holo particles appearing as microscopic silver flecks.  Reminds me of a pine tree with frost on it:

**All credit for this image goes to shirley - behind the lens

I felt it appropriate to include this imagery as we got our first honest-to-goodness snowfall here yesterday, and although only vestiges remain (thanks to this morning's sun), I'm sure it won't be long before this area looks just like the above photo. :)  If only shoveling & frozen nose hairs didn't have to come along with it!!

Another thing that made yesterday special was spending the majority of the day (& night!) with two very special new friends of mine, Janette & Annette (yes, they're sisters).  While I was sleeping in, they were hard at work, putting in overtime in the warehouse for the company where the three of us work.  They finished at noon & invited me to lunch at our local Chinese buffet, which was tasty & as always, replete with laughter. :)  

Annette: "Where did you get a knife?!  I've always said they should really give us knives, and here we've been stuffing whole chunks of broccoli in our mouths for years!"  

Me: "Uhh, back there... in the silverware tray at the end of the buffet bar?"
Maybe you had to be there, and it'd help if you knew these two, but trust me  - it was hilarious! :D

After lunch, sadly, Janette had to head home to play hostess to their hunting party - it was deer hunting season opener this weekend - but Annette & I headed over to the craft fair that allows the ladies that don't go hunting to have some fun doing what we do best (shopping) while the guys are out freezing their butts off all day.  I think we got the better deal. ;)

Then later, Annette invited me & my Kali puppy over to her house for a wine & movie night!  Lots more laughter and stories shared, sitting cozily nestled in front of a fireplace, sipping homemade apple cider (after my wine-ometer had maxed out - at 1 glass!), in the beautiful home of a dear, sweet friend. ♥  These are the moments that make it a wonderful life. :)  

Find them or make them happen, recognize & treasure them!

Above the Curve Wisteria

I must say Above the Curve was not an indie brand I'd ever heard of before, but I spotted Wisteria on a Pinterest polish sale board, and was desperately hoping it could be mine!  As I feared, someone else had already expressed interest, BUT the polish fairies were kind to me because I guess that person never got back to the seller, so it became mine!! :D

Although not a strong linear holo, you can definitely see it, especially in the sun, and the dusty dark cool purple crelly base is very sexy. YUMMM.

Another really awesome thing about this polish?  This is WITHOUT TOPCOAT.  Yup, you heard me right! I don't know how it's possible, but this is one glossy polish! :)  And two easy, breezy coats to boot.  If I remember correctly, I did have some bald spots in the first coat, but the second made for absolute perfection.  Wow, I really don't know what else to say about this polish! LOL  So how about once again, I let the photos do the talking?  I'm sure my frequent readers are tired of listening to me ramble anyways! :P

Darn you, fuzz!!! :P  *focus on the Spectraflair...focus on the SF... ;)

I do apologize for the whited out fingers in the flash shots... I figured I had to use them though because they more accurately depict the true base color of Wisteria. :)

And alas, I cannot find the original Spanish wisteria photo I wanted to use in this post. :(  It was from my study abroad time there in '07 and I cannot figure out where I stored those photos - which is rather worrisome!  So I guess I have to settle for this one:

This is from my trip to Spain last year...definitely a lovely GIANT wisteria vine, but the one I had in mind included some very good closeups of those exquisite blossoms. :)

A SWEET fall treat!

After waiting for what seemed like eons - in reality, about 3 1/2 weeks - I FINALLY got my shipment from the Born Pretty Store on Friday. :D  YAY!  Because of their low, low prices (hmm kinda like another store we all know!) I purchased all sorts of goodies: 4 different packs of water decals, a set of dotting tools, a bracelet, a BPS holo, a 4-pack of BGirl crelly glitter polishes, and what I shall show you here today; Sweet Color S080!  What a great name, huh?! :P  Darn those Asian polish brands and their propensity for using numbers instead of names.
And I owe that haul to Wendy from Wendy's Delights, whose post about S080 made me immediately head over to BPS and throw it in my cart. :P

Mmm!  Isn't this positively delicious?!  Just because I want to, I've decided I'm going to call this polish Sweet Pumpkin Spice, because IT NEEDS A NAME.  And I ♥ Starbucks' PSL, which this makes me think of, however since there are at least a few polishes officially named Pumpkin Spice, I'm adding "Sweet" to my moniker.  Betcha can't guess where I got that ! LOL  I know, I know, I'm just SO  creative!

I used Tea Beauty Cherry Blossom (yes, it does smell fruity!) on my accent nail because I *thought* it would make a good base for these water decals as it matches one of the flower petals exactly... however I did not realize the decals are actually translucent, so alas you can barely see the true colors. And the small details were lost completely.  :(  Guess I need to put them over a light color!  However, the glittery center is still pretty nifty as you can see. 

Despite the misleading packaging, they are  in fact water decals not stickers, although I had a minor freak out during my initial perusal of the goods! ALL of the water decals I got are labeled as "stickers." -_-

Sorry about the flash, by the way.  I couldn't get a good pic of the colors otherwise.  Stupid "yellow" kitchen lights!

Aren't they super pretty?!  I can't wait to try them over ChG Light as Air, for example. :D  Application was very simple: soak in warm water for 10 seconds, carefully slide it off the paper backing, and lay on your polished nail! VOILA.  Then throw on a topcoat. :)  I actually cut one design in half because my nail beds are pretty small.  My plan was to do that all along to make 'em last longer too.  I believe this pack was only $2.86 though?  

Side note: I only say "make 'em last" because I don't really plan on ordering from BPS again due to the extended time in transit and I'm a bit wary now that my roommate reminded me of the VERY high incidence of credit card fraud in Singapore.  Not saying they're  guilty of it, but working in international sales, we do see a lot of fraudulent activity related to Singapore.  Anyhoo, back to the mani!

I love this copper because it's so dark and sexy, and in some lights it looks more golden & others, more of a true warm copper.  For some reason I could not capture the warmer side of this polish. Grrr.

Application was flawless, 2 coats is all you need and really if you're in a hurry, one would  suffice!  I did actually do 3 by the time I took these photos because I had some tiny nicks & sheet marks so I needed to get rid of those post haste!  Other than that, there was no reason for a 3rd coat.  Also, IMO, topcoat is not necessary, but I do have Sally Hansen Salon Manicure/Ultra-Wear top coat on here.  Probably because I put it over the decal & just kept going! :P

Inside, under a lamp using my "daylight" bulb... for some reason Cherry Blossom kept photographing more orangey than the lovely pinky red that it is (emphasis on the pink)!  This polish is special to me because I got it at the Walgreens down the street from my best friend's former home in Chicago when we were there in June to get the house ready for renters. :)  I wish that I'd gotten the minty one too.  It was a VERY pale bluish mint creme, and the formula on this one is so nice, it's giving me some serious regrets right now!  The scent is pleasantly fruity, and obvious if you get your nails within 5 inches of your nose, but with topcoat, I can barely smell it.  Yup, just checked again!

Oh btw, the fun floral cap design was one of the main reasons I wanted one of these polishes - yes, I'm a semi-sucker for packaging.  Hence why I put tape around the cap...I'd heard the design rubs off kinda easily & I wasn't about to take any chances!! 

Today I had the idea of mattifying Sweet Pumpkin Spice as I figured it would up the cozy fallish factor of the polish - YUP I dare say it did. ;)  Honestly, I don't really *get* the need for the suede polishes or whatever, because all you need to do is add matte TC to a shimmer polish like this one for the same effect.  Or that's my personal opinion anyways!  I'm also partial to the money saving element of my method... this is NYC Matte Me Crazy for which I paid $1.72 and I can use it on anything my heart desires. ;) lol

My final assessment on this mani: I LOVE this rich copper for fall, the water decals are super fun and don't sink into the base color like stickers always do, and Cherry Blossom is a perfect creme. ALL good things; BUT Sweet Pumpkin Spice (aka S080) has already chipped.  Badly. :(  So it's coming off after only about a day and a half.  Don't be sad!  I loved it while it lasted and am VERY excited to try out the BPS holo I got!!! :D  I might have to try it with Orly Bonder next time instead of over Seche Rebuild.  That could've very well had something to do with it.  I will let you know! 

As a parting shot, I wanted to show what else I was up to today: wearing false eyelashes for the very first time! :D  I kinda love 'em!  This could be the start of another fun beauty addiction. ;)

Again, stupid "yellowy" incandescent bulbs! -_-

Goodnight lovelies!!!  I hope your work week gets off to a good start!